#i should be able to defeat them by being almost 20 levels above...

[kitty0boy]

Marichat May Day 7 prompt: Secrets.

I think we can all agree that we were robbed in Shanghai. So I’m rewriting it because I can. This time though, the Shanghai special takes place somewhere in the middle of season 4 (probably after Guiltrip because that’s the episode I just watched) So there’s that.

————————————

Marinette was so excited to go to Shanghai about a day ago. She had taken to reading more about her Chinese heritage and, having learned that her parents wanted to surprise her with a trip to Shanghai, she was ecstatic to go. Her uncle happily provided his home for the visit and, to her great surprise, Adrien had come to Shanghai too. His father had coincidentally had business here.

She had worked hard to get over Adrien and at this point in time, it had nearly worked. She had taken down the pictures and erased his activities on her calendar. Unfortunately, the sight of him still sent her heart racing and made her tongue tied, but she stopped losing her head whenever he was around, which made conversation much easier.

She had strolled around Shanghai earlier in the day. Her uncle was concerned for her safety of course but she promised she would stay on the same street. She had looked in shop windows at the gorgeous antiques, clothes, and even more. Her sketch book was soon filled with new inspiration for her designs. When she turned to head home, she spotted a familiar mop of blonde hair and waved to Adrien. He didn’t seem to notice her though.

All these events felt like they happened years ago now as she stood a top a building with a distraught Fei. The sounds of Chat Noir taking great swings at the akuma rang loudly in her ears. Fei was the only one who could defeat them and she knew it deep down, but she still couldn’t bring herself to.

The next moment, she was falling. The events of a few minutes previous had quickly left her mind. She remembered learning to crawl, and falling off her bike, and drawing her first every design, matching t-shirts that said “Paris’ Greatest Parents”. She remembered capturing Tikki in a glass cup the first time they met, and standing under an umbrella that Adrien was holding. Master Fu was making her the new Guardian and Alya held her when she found out she was Ladybug.

“Marinette!” A desperate cry came from above her and she saw her partner. Was this another flashback? Without control of her body, her hand reached up to touch him, she wanted to hug him and thank him for everything. His hand latched around hers and pulled her flush towards him, then they weren’t falling anymore. She snapped out of it when she felt a shudder come from him. He picked his head up off of her shoulder, his face was stained with dried tears as more threatened to spill

“I finally found you.”

Fei, being fuelled by rage that Marinette had almost been killed, had become a dragon at last and easily defeated the akuma. She bounded towards Chat Noir once the pair of them had reached ground level. In the mouth of the bear form she had taken, was the butterfly. “Excellent job Fei, you really saved us.” Chat sniffed. His eyes were slightly puffy, which could have been from falling head first about 20 feet. “Marinette,” he turned to face her, his eyes watered almost instantly, “I need you to go and hide for now, Hawkmoth was taken by the akuma and I don’t want you to be anywhere near him when he reappears.” Marinette, thinking that it would be better to just follow instructions, began to walk away. Chat caught her hand.

“Just wait for me to come get you alright? I’ll bring you to your u- uh wherever you’re staying.” She looked at him puzzled. “But,” he waved a finger at her. “No buts, I’m making sure you get back safely. And don’t even try to leave without me, I will know.” She nodded and walked away towards a nearby, deserted alleyway.

“Marinette, what’s that on your shoulder?” Tikki flew from her purse. Marinette felt behind her with her arm before her fingers closed around a small disc. She pulled it off.

“That cat put a tracker on me. What a sly little,” Marinette recited but Tikki cut in. “He’s worried Marinette. You heard and saw how he reacted when you were falling.”

“No I didn’t, I just remember one minute I was with Fei, the next me and Chat were dangling from his baton in midair and he was crying.” Tikki smiled. “Yes he was crying, he screamed in terror when he saw you fall. It was quite frightening actually, that’s probably why Fei didn’t say anything.”

Marinette thought about this for a moment before realizing that she had somewhere to be. “We’ve got to go meet Chat and Fei now, there’s an akuma to cleanse and hopefully a Hawkmoth to catch. Tikki, Spots On!”

As she made her way to the alley where Chat thought she was, she couldn’t help feeling satisfied. She sent Chat to get Hawkmoth and although he didn’t catch him, she was still glad to see that the run had calmed him down a little. That was until he realized that Marinette was still alone in that alleyway. She was able to persuade him to wait and calm down before going to get her though, which gave her time to get back to her hiding spot and, with Tikki’s help, put the tracking device back where it had been moments ago.

A soft thump was heard beside her before she was being suffocated under arms that were magically stronger than the average person. “You’re alright, you’re alright.” He chanted over and over again before realizing that Marinette couldn’t breathe. He released her almost immediately and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. Marinette who wanted to comfort him, wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head and his chest. She could hear his heartbeat steadily speed up as he hugged her back and rested his head on hers.

“I was so worried when I found out you were missing. I thought maybe you had lost track of things, being how clumsy you are.” Marinette looked up at him and pouted. How long had he been searching for her exactly? Because it was about 9 pm now and she had started running around with Fei at about noon. He chuckled sadly and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Then you were missing for hours and I didn’t know what to think. I was scared you were robbed or kidnapped.” She smiled.

“The first answer was right. Fei stole my purse and I had the location of my uncle’s house on there. So I got scared that the thief might try to rob him later so I chased her down the street and got lost.” He gapped at her. “Are you crazy? You should had gone to your uncles and tried to contact me! That was so reckless and careless and-“

“What like how you throw your life away for Ladybug?” She didn’t have to say this loudly to have an effect. He immediately stopped and stared wide-eyed at her. Against her will, her vision started to blur. “You really need to stop doing that you know. I hate it when you do.” A tear ran down her cheek but Chat brushed it away and held her again. “Well I don’t think I ever want to see you fall off a building again so I’ll try to stop if you do.” She chuckled and buried her face in his shoulder.

“Hey, do you mind if we take a detour home?” He broke the silence a few minutes later and she nodded, allowing him to pick her up and carry her towards a darker part of the city. Unfortunately, Shanghai being as bright as it was, they couldn’t see many stars but all the same, they lay down on a rooftop and tried to find some.

“I like being Chat much better than my civilian life.” The comment came out of nowhere but Marinette still turned to listen.

“One of the many joys of being me, is a tightly packed schedule and endless amounts of responsibility. Many people regard me as this kind of statue that has to stay highly polished at all times. I think I’m too good at leaving that impression on people, my first girlfriend had flat out rejected me when I showed her my silly side. She said I was acting like a clown and that it wasn’t who I really was.” He had never told Ladybug any of this, she hoped that he wouldn’t hit too close to home.

“Sometimes I think that I don’t know who I am anymore. I know that I feel happy being funny and when I protect people, but,” he turned to look at her. His face was soft. “Right now is different.” She was confused. “Different how?” She questioned.

“It’s a good different. I know it’s kind of random but I just wanted you to know that, I feel like myself right now, which isn’t something I get to feel often. So thank you.” He smiled.

She would be lying if she said that her heart wasn’t doing backflips right now. “That sounds nice, but, why me? I mean, I’m not really anything special or different. I thought that you would be happiest with Ladybug.” He smiled. “I don’t get to hang out Ladybug very often, and when we do hang out, it’s more of a patrol. Everything is work with her, being with her is easy but we don’t really get the chance to just relax and be in each other’s company like this.” He frowned slightly.

“And don’t say you’re nothing special. I don’t really understand it but you have this magnetism that I can’t explain. I’ve seen it before. People are just naturally attracted towards you, I myself feel more attached to you than any other civilian I’ve met, and yes that includes the other superheroes.”

She gaped at him. She never knew how much influence she had on Chat Noir. I mean they’ve only met a few times. “I just, how? We aren’t around each other often. I mean sure you’ve saved me a number of times but other than that one time, we haven’t spent time together.” He shrugged, “I don’t know either. I just get the feeling that you’re someone who I can be myself with.” She smiled. “Well since we’re sharing secrets I might as well share one of mine.

He rolled over and propped himself up on his elbows, smiling down at her expectantly. “Well, there was a boy.” He tilted his head in confusion. “Was a boy?” She nodded. “I’ve liked him for forever but I could never get the words out. I stammer in front of him so much that he thinks everything I say doesn’t make sense.” He smiled. “Well you make sense to me.” She grinned. “Yes well I’ve been trying to get over him for a while now, but every time I see his face I just melt all over again. Not that I don’t want to love him, because I do. He’s one of the best people I know, but I know he’ll never feel the same.”

Chat looked confused again. “How do you know he won’t feel the same way?” She frowned. “Because I’ve always been just a friend to him. He makes that very clear.” Chat’s eyes went wide, but Marinette didn’t know why. “It wouldn’t happen to be Adrien Agreste would it?” Now it was her turn to go wide eyed. “How did you know?” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Uh lucky guess I suppose.” A tinge of pink was prominent under his mask. They needed a change of subject. She sat up and put on her best smile.

“Can I draw you?” His ears perked up. “Uh what?” He blushed again. “Can I draw you?” In what seemed to be a great effort, he screwed up his face and looked at her in a teasing sort of way. “Draw me? Or paint me,” he threw an arm over his forehead and posed in a, supposed to be seductive pose. “Like one of your french girls.” He swooned. She burst out laughing which, she noticed, created a sort of twinkle in his eye. “I mean we are french but I meant just draw you. You know, you pose and I draw you. I could even give you a cool outfit to wear.” He stood up and walked around so he was in front of her.

She crossed her legs and rested the sketch book against her knee. “Ok now strike a pose kitty!” He looked suddenly sheepish but posed like a model worthy of a magazine. She went to work drawing him out in a messy sketch that she could tidy up after. They went through a few poses before she stopped him.

“Hmm yes yes these are great model poses. Now how about a different kind of pose.” His face went ridged. She panicked and waves her arms in front of her. “I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to, I just want to try to express a different part of your personality.” He walked over and sat down in front of her confused.

“A different part of my personality?” She blinked. “Well yeah, you’re not just some perfect statue are you? Your also a silly cat, and a protective superhero, and a caring person, and a flirt.” He blushed then laughed. “Nice way to end it princess.” She crossed her arms. “Well it’s true, you’re a flirty person. You flirt with people all the time, whether it’s on purpose or not.” He blushed. “Do I really flirt with a lot of people.” She nodded.

He fidgeted a little. “Come on Chat, strike a pose, but not one worthy of fashion weekly.” He screwed up his face in contemplation before standing and apparently coming to a decision. “Ok then, how about the cat!” Then he struck a goofy pose. She laughed and he looked crest fallen for a second before she said, “Yes kitty that’s purrfect.” She started sketching away.

Little did she know. Chat Noir was displaying the biggest grin he had ever produced. A smile so bright, it could rival the blinding lights of Shanghai.

——————————

Thanks for reading.

[acidproofnotebook]

One-Punch Man Chapter 84, Update 125

As published online

Date:

Translator: u/hdx514

Rough page by page translations for those who don't want to wait. I'm skipping most pages with only sound effects.

Title page

Not lonely, but a solitary one

Pages 2-5

Bang wrecking Garou

Page 6

Genos: perfect moves that combine attack and defense into one

Ge: even though both use the same water stream rock smashing fists, the difference in master is night and day

Ge: the battle about to reach its conclusion

Page 7-11

Garou continues to get wrecked

Page 12

Garou: w…what is this

Ga: these vicious attacks are nothing like damn geezer’s style…

Page 13

Ga: bad…this is bad

Ga: my consciousness is…

Ga: it means…death…

Ga: Ahhhh

Page 14

Bang: what is that strange movement

Ba: where did he learn it?

Ba: he’s moving like a beast

Ga: I’m not done yet!

Page 15

Ga: if I use the fallen heroes as hostages, there might still be a way out!!

Bomb: I won’t let you

Page 16

Monsters get sliced up

Page 17 Bomb: Bang, we finished the monsters from the hole in the ground

Bo: it’s just Garou now

Page 18

Genos: life signals from monsters still remain

Ge: not sure why, but I cannot accurately assess their location or numbers

Ge:if we go down that hole, will we find the Monsters Association hideout?

Pheonix man: The Monster Association members were all killed? Damn, they really are unreliable.

Page 19

Phoenix man: even though we deployed significant forces to capture Garou alive

Ph: that Demon Cyborg…the power he possesses is unbelievable

Ph: even Silver Fang is here, there’s no chance we get Garou away from here

Ph: but if I leave empty handed after this crushing defeat, I might get eaten by Orochi

Page 20

Ph: regardless, I can only hope Garou can escape on his own …

Ph: ...what a desperate situation… Ph: does this mean I have to plan an exit strategy from MA…?

Ba: (referring to Bomb) if you were this badly injured, could you still be standing?

Bo: …if I were 60 years younger, I might be able to tough it out

Bo: …maybe

Bo: we’re almost there!!! Let’s finish him before the other heroes arrive!

Ba: roger

Page 21

Ga: can’t even move my wrists…

Ga: attacking your former number 1 disciple when he’s at his weakest, how despicable of you, Bang

Page 22

Ga: this other geezer, isn’t he Bomb, master of the whirlwind iron cutting fist?

Ga: to think the two reclusive masters of the martial arts world would gang up on me, shameless

Ga: even if I pretend to beg for my life, Demon Cyborg still won’t spare me

Ga: If I want to survive this crisis, I have to kill all three

Page 23

Ga (or Bang?): it’s impossible

Ba: do you know how much pain you have caused my number one disciple Charanko

Ba: Garou!!

Page 24

Garou flashback

Kids: let’s play a hero game!

Kids: you too, Garou

Kids: c’mon let’s play

Garou: huh, sure

Page 25

Kid: drum roll~~

Kid: justice man is here!

Kid: justice kick

Kid: aah it hurts!

Page 26

Ga: hey that’s dangerous

Kid: huh?

Ga: I feel bad (for the kid playing monster)

Kid: …how about you play the monster

Kid: justice cross

Ga: waa (steps out of the way)

Kid: what’s wrong with you?

Ga: s…sorry, Tatsu

Kid: I almost had you

Kids: what’s your problem, you’re a monster, you’re not supposed to do that

Kids: let’s pin him down

Kids: okay-

Page 27

Kid: justice man kick!

Kid: monster Garou defeated~

Ga: what is this, pre-death flashbacks?

Ga: these memories disgusts me

Ga: that kid…right, I remember him…Tatsu, that popular kid

Page 28

Kids: hey, what’s going on? Why are you fighting?

Kids: shall I call the teacher?

Kids: Garou is being violent

Kids: we were only playing, but he got mad! What’s his problem

Ga: I….I can’t take it any more!

Ga: come Tatsu, me vs. you, let’s figure it out

Tatsu: ha? What are you talking about, I thought we were just playing

Page 29

Ga:  I DON’T want to play monster! It’s no fun at all!

Ga: let’s duke it out, if I win you stop bugging me, that’s the deal!

Tat: Sabu, Yotsu, hold Garou down

Ga: despicable….stop…let go! I…

Ga: aah…damn it!

Kids: he’s crazy, let’s call the teacher

Kids: run Tatsu

Kids: pin him down, pin him down!

Kids: what happened?

Kids: you guys should come and help

Kids: Tatsu was being nice and Garou took advantage of him

Kids: he’s the worst

Kids: Garou got serious with Tatsu all of a sudden while playing the game

Kids: what’s this guy even thinking

Kids: I feel so bad for Tatsu

Page 30

Tatsu is a king among the kids, Tatsu is a bully, Tatsu is nasty

I’m in the dark, always alone I have no friends

Tatsu is a good athlete, Tatsu is popular

I despise the popular ones

not sure of the order of the following dialogue

Teacher: why did you get violent?

Te: I heard you got mad while playing a hero game, is that true?

Te: can you not even tell the difference between a game and reality!

Ga: no teacher, it’s because Tatsu is so popular that everyone is badmouthing me

Te: you were the violent one, weren’t you? What if a window got broken, how are you going to pay for that!

Ga: Tatsu always…always treats me like a monster

Ga: NO!

Page 31

Ga: I don’t dislike playing the monster

Ga: am I holding a grudge against Tatsu for playing the hero?

Ga: no, that’s not it either

Ga: it’s just that playing the hero game has made me realize how absurd it is

Ga: the one who’s popular can bully the one who’s hated however he wants

Te: you are in the wrong, apologize now

Te: call your parents

Ga: this is not just bullying, this is a faithful, real life adaption of a kids’ game that is accepted by the public.

Ga: you are free to choose your role, but the ones who ends up playing hero must have the support of the people, how could that ever be me.

Ga: naturally, the script in which the one playing monster scores the victory doesn’t exist in the first place. I was destined to lose.

Page 32

Ga: what is justice! What is evil!

Ga: at the end of the day it’s just following the will of the masses, and the masses wants me dead!

Ga: unforgivable! There is no logic!

Ga: I can’t explain the reason behind it, but it makes me mad!

Ga: I will make you understand! Ga: I will deliver my punch on behalf of the disenfranchised!

Ga: and I reject your notion of good and evil!

Page 33

Genos: he fell

Bang: it’s over

Page 34

Ga: no way it ends at a place like this!

Page 35

Garou shatters earth

Page 36

Bang/Bomb: what?!

Page 37-39

Garou lifts tree and swings it

Bo: this is bad, his body…

Ba: what’s with this burst of power?!

Page 40

Bang: don’t you realize it yet Garou!

Ba: if you keep going like this, you really will die!

Ge: Bang, above you!

Page 41-42

Phoenix man lands and grabs Garou

Page 43

Bo: more monsters!?

Ba: there’re still a few left!!!

Page 44

Ba: !

Ba: Genos-kun

Ge: Bang, you saw that just now, didn’t you

Ge: that thing has become monster, it even befriended one

Ge: I trust that you won’t object if I shoot both of them down

Page 45

Phoenix man (calling to Elder Centipede): Can you hear me!!?

Ph: I have Garou

Ph: just finish these guys off!

Ph: I’m leaving the rest to you!!

Bo: ???

Page 46-47

Ge: spiral incineration cannon

Ph: Elder Centipede

Page 48-50

Elder Centipede emerges and tanks Genos’ cannon fire

Page 51

Bo/Ba/Ge: What was that!?

Page 52-53

Elder Centipede breaking ground

Page 54-55

Disaster level: dragon

Giant monster insect Elder Centipede

Page 56

Bo: w..what…

Bo: is this a living thing!!?

Ba: damn, we must protect them (the fallen heroes)

Page 57

Ba: up you go

Page 58

Bomb using whirlwind iron cutting fist to save the fallen heroes

Page 59

Ge: those life signals must have been caused by it…

Ge: it’s not that I wasn’t able to pinpoint its location, it’s simply too massive

[very long -- rest under cut]

Page 60

Ge: completely unharmed after taking the cannon fire

Ge/Bo/Ba (not sure who said it): an opponent that can easily break my wrists…

Garou (I think): that centipede…

Page 61

Ga: why did you come here?

Ph: don’t worry, Elder Centipede will handle the rest down there

Ph: that guy is a literal natural disaster that swallows everything

Ph: his indiscriminant power of destruction is truly shocking

Ph: an anti-climactic “hero hunt” as usual, wouldn’t you say?

Ph: you  can’t just knock them out, they must be eliminated permanently

Ph: heroes who are knocked out will be always come back bouncin’

Page 62

Ph: …you just rest easy

Ph: Elder Centipede will end it all

Ga: ! (starts struggling)

Ph: stop wasting your energy

Ga: those heroes are my prey

Ph: yo yo, stop moving!

Ga: damn you, let me go! Unforgivable!

Ph: hey hey, don’t get angry

Ph: it’s your fault you didn’t finish them off after all

Ph: plus, this is a golden opportunity for us to off 2 S-class heroes

Ph: the S-class heroes are the biggest threat to the Monsters Association

Page 63

Ph: you experienced it firsthand, didn’t you

Ph: there is such thing as battle compatibility

Ph: if our advisor Gyoro is right, in the entire Hero Association, there are only four who could take on Elder Centipede

Page 64

Ph: The wielder of unparalleled supernatural power, “tornado of terror”

Ph: The sole commander of a military force that’s beyond even HA’s control, “metal knight”

Page 65

Ph: The strongest human “King”

Ph: And…the one who almost killed Elder Centipede, the strongest hero, “Blast”

Page 66

Ph: Elder Centipede is working with Monsters Association in order to seek revenge against Blast

Ph: he just can’t wait to lure the hermit Blast back onto the battlefield

Ph: unfortunately…those two down there (Bang and Genos) do not possess the power to turn the tides in their favor

Ph: Silver Fang has obtained unmatched power through martial arts, but that only works on opponents of a similar size

Ph: Demon Cyborg’s capabilities are terrifying

Ph: but he carries nothing on-board that will threaten a monster of this size.

Ph: He cannot go beyond the destructive firepower of his weapons

Ph: that is the limit of Demon Cyborg

Page 67

Ph: with a lineup like that, they are surely doomed

Ge/Bo/Ba: It’s coming!!!

Page 68

Page 69-70

Elder Centipede charging against the three

Page 71-72

Ba/Bo: Whirlwind water stream air-blasting sky-splitting fist

Page 73-75

Impact, Elder Centipede cracking, Bang and Bomb posing

Page 76

Ge: what a technique (flashback of Bang and Bomb talking about their technique: it’s a killing blow, but it has openings, my understanding is they needed Genos’ attack to act as decoy in order for their combo to land, because it’s not yet perfect)

Ge: it even shattered such hardened shell…

Ge: this must be

Ge: the pinnacle of technique/skill

Page 77-78

Ba/Bo: it’s not over yet x 10

Page 79

Elder Centipede pushes Bang/Bomb back

Page 80

Ba: ouch…that was careless

Bo: but we got it

Bo: the impact will ravage its body

Bo: turn into powder, monster

Ba: for two old folks like us, using this grand technique once is our limit

Ba: great thing we landed

Ba: a little help, Genos

Page 81

Ba: it’s over

Page 82

Elder Centipede molting

Page 83

Ba: it can’t be

Page 84

Ba: this guy just molted!!!

Ba: and it’s even bigger than before!?

Ba: how could this be

Page 85

Bo: we cannot defeat that thing…!

Bo: and we need to protect the unconscious heroes…

Bo: what shall we do!? Bang!

Ba: it’ll catch up to us if we tried to run

Ba: this forest park is just outside the city limits …

Ba: if we leave we’ll get civilians involved

Page 86

Ge: Bang, I will fight it

Ge: try my best to lure the centipede over here

Ge: you guys grab the injured heroes and get out of here

Page 87

Ba: Genos kun

Ba: you want to go alone

Ba: can’t say I agree with this plan…

Bo: I know there’s little chance of success, but don’t be reckless

Bo: the future belongs to the youths

Genos’ flashback of Dr. Kuseno: whatever you do Genos, don’t be reckless

Page 88

Ge: am I really going to…

Ge: leave this monster be

Page 89-90

Ge: That is not

Ge: possible

Page 91-92

Genos fighting Elder Centipede

Page 93

Ba: this is madness

Ba: cannon fire cannot harm it

Page 94

Ge: whether it’s this thing

Ge: or the monster from yesterday (Gouketsu)

Page 95

Ge: or Garou

Ge: they’re all part of the Monsters Association

Ge: this fight

Ge: is unavoidable

Page 96-97

Genos attacking Elder Centipede from above

Page 98

Ge: Dual Blade Rush

Ge: that’s what you have to do to fight them

Page 99

Ge: I’m participating

Ge: destroy

Page 100

Ge: if this is me being reckless

Ge: !

Page 101

Ba/Bo: Genos kun!!!

Ge: at this rate, I’ll…

Page 102

OUT OF THE FIGHT

Page 103

Genos recombines

Page 104

Ge: Jets drive arrow

Page 105-106

Genos kicks Elder Centipede tooth, which cracks

Page 107

Ba/Bo: he’s inside its mouth

Elder: it’s over…

Page 108

Ge: ! digestive acid

Elder: I’ll melt you in a few seconds

Ge: it’s you who are going to melt

Page 109-110

Ge: Super Spiral Incineration Cannon

Page 111

Aftermath of Super Spiral Incineration Cannon

Page 112

Bo: …!!!

Ba: he finished it!!

Page 113

Elder Centipede tanks the hit, is fine

Page 114

Ge: at the end…

Ge: I am unable to…defeat…

Ge: nor able to protect…

Page 115

Ba: let’s get out of here

Ba: Bomb!

Ba: grab the rest of them!!

Elder: futile struggle

Ph: what’s the matter

Ph: you were still responsible for taking out half of the heroes, it can’t be that bad

Page 116

Ga: not like that!

Ga: This is not what I had hoped!!!

Ga: I…I wanted to beat them with my own strength!

Ga: only then I can be a symbol of terror…!!

Ga: that’s the purpose of the hero hunt!!!

Ph: symbol of terror? You? Hahahaha…

Ph: in your current state, if you went back there, you’ll just end up getting trampled to death with the rest of the heroes

Ph: right now, you do not possess the strength to disobey Elder Centipede or executive members of the Monsters Association

Page 117

Ga: crying…

Ga: sooner or later…I’ll show you what I’m capable of…

Ge: how could I…

Page 118

Ge: what am I missing…!?

Ge: are there several others like that?

Ge: in front of those monsters…

Ge: what can I do, besides look on with envy…?

Bo: Bang! This is bad

Bo: at this rate it’ll get outside the forest park!

Bo: there will be casualties in the city!!

Page 119

Bo: at this rate…I won’t be able to walk

Bo: how old do you think I am

Ba: I’ll leave it to fate…

Ba: brother

Page 120

Ba: for the last time in my life, I’ll give it my all

Page 121-122

King: Elder Centipede~!!!

K: yo! Pest!!!!!

K: I’ve brought your target – “Blast”!!!!

Page 123

Ba: !?

Ge: that voice…King!!?

Ge: Blast!?

Ba: what…!

Bo: !!!? Look!!

Bo: it’s stopped chasing and is going towards another direction

Page 124

Elder: Blast…?

King: thaat’s….riiiight!

K: the very one that beat the crap out of you and made you wet yourself, the hero Blast!!

K: if you want to fight him again, come over here!

K: why are you so scared you can’t move?! Straighten up!!! Hey, if you’re about to shit yourself you should go home!

K: a bug like you, you must want to run back underground and suck on your mom’s tits!!!!

Page 125

Association staff: King arrived at the location near S city where Elder Centipede has reemerged!!!

Staff: thank god! It’s King, he’ll have a solution…

Staff: …there are several other heroes onsite

Staff: when I warned him their battle might cause collateral damage and injure the innocent, he told me “I hope you could give me information that can provoke Elder Centipede”

S: he might have wanted to lure the monster to him and fight it one on one.

Page 126

Staff: it sustained grave injuries at the hands of Blast in the past, but escaped with his injuries underground

S: it would be great if we could finish it off this time…

S: even though it’s top secret information, I still told king the past between Blast and Elder Centipede

S: and explained to him if the battle were to become dragged out or increase in scope, it might causegreat disaster for the surrounding areas …

S: what did he say?

S: he just said “understood”.

The roar of the King Engine……

Page 127

K: luring it here so no one else gets involved…

K: finish it off with one shot before it escapes underground

K: damage must be contained…blowing it back into the city is not an option…

K: there’s very limited time to make your decision

K: that’s it

Page 128

K: …

K: …Saitama?

Page 129

K: Saitama~!!!?

K: it’s about to

Page 130

Shot of Elder Centipede charging

Page 131-138

SERIOUS PUNCH

Page 139

Saitama: ah

Page 140

Sai: Genos, is that you?

Page 141

Sai: you really are here

Sai: just like King said

K: by the skin of my teeth…that was a close call…

Sai: it’s all good, we’re here aren’t we

K: huh? Saitama, you sound…happy?

Sai: I feel awesome for some reason

Page 142

Sai: it’s a great stress release after getting owned by you in video games

K (thinking): it’s still bothering him …

K: that’s not it…I thought I told you it’s because of your inflexible, singular approach towards battles

Ge: Saitama sensei, can I ask you a question

Sai: what?

Ge: what am I missing?

Sai: huh

Sai: power, I guess?

Page 143

Ge: …!!!!

Ge: thank you very much

K: aaaaaaahhhhhh…that’s no good Genos…

K: you cannot use Saitama as reference

Ge: sensei has guided my path with his battle

Ge: the symbol of great strength, that is my goal…

Ge: I will be there

Page 144

Ph: Garou…he has finally lost consciousness

Ph: rest easy

Ph: we’ll soon be with Orochi

END

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 6

The Fall of Fabian Seacaster

OK, let’s do this.

We pick back up with Kristen and Riz who are still outside Garthy’s room. Kristen’s Detect Good and Evil from last week pings Garthy as well as the general aura of the Golden Gardens which is protected in the way a sanctum sanctorum would be but with celestial energy. Riz and Kristen improvise a not super cogent plan that involves ribbon dancing and knocking over barrels before Riz just decides to cut to the chase and ask Garthy’s guards to send for Sandra-Lynn. Once she comes out (still looked sexed up and pretty annoyed) they’re not quite sure what to ask her and Riz wants to bail but Kristen (who has cast Zone of Truth, tried to muscle into Garthy’s house, and gotten smacked down physically by Sandra-Lynn) says that she’s worried about Sandra-Lynn because she’s “not poly but [she’s] acting poly.” Being directly called out is enough to snap Sandra-Lynn out of it (and to think about Fig’s reaction) so she agrees to get her stuff and come back to the gang’s suite.

Meanwhile, Fabian is hanging out with Bill’s cult of 20-ish warlocks. They’re all super glad to see Fabian--who they assume has been sent by Bill to help them--and they want him to regale them with the tale of how he slew his father in battle. Fabian tells them the story which, as you all know, isn’t a story about besting his father in a hard-fought battle so much as it is about a story about bittersweet mercy killing. They are less than impressed, especially considering they want Fabian to defeat Captain James Wicklaw who has promised to kill all of Bill’s followers. Ego stung, Fabian says that he may not have bested his father but he did (help) kill a dragon and, more importantly, he’s gonna lead them into an ambush against Captain Wicklaw (who he sees, presumably looking for him, with 30 men).

Oh boy.

Fabian telepathically alerts the Hangman that he’s about to get into a big fight before slamming down a door and full-out attacking Captain Wicklaw. He’s able to get a good couple of attacks in and Wicklaw misses his first couple of attacks but then Fabian fails an intelligence save with a Nat 1 and gets stunned while Wicklaw tries to open his skull and eat his brain.

Meanwhile with the rest of the Bad Kids, the Hangvan alerts Gorgug that the Hangman has sped off and everyone assumes Fabian is in trouble. They all do their best to get to him as quickly as possible and, even though these scenes are intercut with Fabian’s I’m going to summarize them all at once:

Fig (w/ Gorgug in tow) Dimension Doors as close to the Hangman as she can. Then, Gorgug has the idea to try the classic pirate move of grabbing a rope, cutting the weight, and instantly flying to where on the ship you want to go. They try that and begin flying towards Fabian at terminal velocity, both dislocating their arms. Fig passably disguises herself as Jemina Joy (even with quadruple disadvantage) and tries to get a wizard to teleport her to where Fabian is but they’re going way too fast for anyone to hear her. Gorgug (also with quad disadvantage) tries to throw a hand axe and, on a nat 1, almost cuts the rope they’re swinging on.

Gilear is fully passed after a back-slap from Fig.

Adaine casts fly on Riz (because his rogue speed means he can make the most use of it) so he can go get Garthy to see if they have any teleport spells. Then, she gets on Baxter with Kristen and Sandra-Lynn (plus Tracker who follows in spectral wolf form). Kristen tries to bring up Sandra-Lynn’s relationship stuff again and Adaine casts Tasha’s Hideous Laughter on her. Adaine tries to pull from the jacket to get something to help her get to Fabian faster and she gets a Razor scooter.  

Ragh drives the Hangvan towards Fabian’s.

Riz finds Garthy who takes him to a room, pops out neon angel wings, and does some kind of teleport spell that almost seems like it moves the space closer to them rather than the reverse.

But, none of this really matters because Brennan says none of them will be able to make it to Fabian before 22 rounds of combat. Woof.

Still in the first round of combat, 2 of the warlocks manage to hit Wicklaw and break Fabian out of his grapple (right after Wicklaw says that he’s eaten many of Fabian’s siblings but let’s put a pin in that because we have so much to get through here). Fabian declares that all spells are on him for the remainder of the fight (which is maybe the last funny thing he says all night). Then, 6 of the 20 warlocks on Fabian’s side die to gunshots from Wicklaw’s men. Fabian sends his men forward then falls back and attacks with his crossbow. Wicklaw mocks him for abandoning his crew so viciously that I feel like he should have spontaneously taken a level in bard. Brennan rolls for the ten still living pirates who never got names and only one survives. Then he rolls for the named pirates (Alistair and the three I haven’t mentioned yet because this episode is A Lot--Chungle-Down Bim, Old-Young Benjamin, and Creaky McBarrel) and only Creaky dies. In two rounds, Bill’s cult is down to four (plus one guy who peaced out after Fabian said he didn’t actually brutally murder his dad).

Fabian’s tactical retreat shakes the confidence of everyone but Alistair who stays loyal (even as he gets wrecked on his next attack on Wicklaw). Chungle-Down Bim is so disgusted by Fabian’s cowardice and performance that he tries to Eldritch Blast him and misses. He says, “Yeh ain’t no pirate and Bill would spit in yer eye.” Fabian has to hold back tears. He, with a heartbreaking mix of trepidation, reluctance, and resolve, asks if there are any ropes he can use to escape. Roll a perception check. He does.

Natural 1.

Sure, Brennan says. There’s a rope that looks like it will 100% guaranteed hold Fabian’s weight. Fabian goes for it--leaving behind a stunned and crushed Alistair--and finds that it’s actually a clothesline. He goes plummeting down a quarter-mile towards the ground but, before he actually hits, he hits a bunch of other ropes and, on his last possible chance, is able to save from splatting and taking max fall damage. Lou opts to take some damage anyway because he’d feel like he was cheating otherwise.

The rest of the group shows up through their various means and all immediately assume that Fabian got jumped. Fabian is meek in a way we’ve never seen before. I’m talking Adaine with Jawbone in Prompocolypse meek. He doesn’t tell them what happened and he answers all the questions with short yesses or no’s as much as possible. The healers heal him (plus Fig and Gorgug) up and take him back to the suite. The Hangman asks if he’s alright. “No Hangman,” he says. “It’s all bad.” Cathilda brings him kippers but he feels like he doesn’t deserve them.

Garthy has a little tete-a-tete with Fig about their tryst with Sandra-Lynn. Garthy is all about getting down but not if that person is in a monogamous relationship (even though they’re against them on principle). Fig (who has been avoiding her mom since the top of the ep) says she’s only mad at Sandra-Lynn (she says Sandra-Lynn, not Mom--oof) since Garthy didn’t know better. It just sucks that this happened to Jawbone. Jawbone as in Jawbone O'Shaughnessy? asks Garthy. Turns out he’s visited (many times) and they’ve boned (super hard) which, honestly, totally tracks.  

Because she didn’t get a full night of sleep, Tracker can’t keep the Moon Haven spell up all night which isn’t great. Kristen can also gather than she’s too tired to remember anything that happened earlier in the night (ie: things about Sandra-Lynn and Jawbone). Fig, concerned that she might get mind controlled again without the Moon Haven up asks Adaine to tie her up (this actually happens before the above conversation with Garthy).

Sleeping arrangements are Fabian, the Hangman, and Riz as a bodyguard in one room and everyone else in another. Adaine trances a little early so she can regain her spells and be awake in case anything happens. Brennan makes everyone do wisdom saves. Kristen and Adaine roll high and Adaine gives her TWO (2) NAT 20 portent rolls to Fig and Gorgug. That leaves Riz and Fabian, but we’ll get to them in a minute.

Adaine wakes up from her trance and she sees Ragh get up early as well. He says he’s going to get some food. Adaine, vigilant as ever asks Ragh who his first kiss was. Ragh acts confused for a second, and then screeches and attacks her, waking everyone up. He’s been dominated. Adaine goes for a Tasha’s Hideous Laughter and subdues him. Also Fig is able to escape Adaine’s magical ropes so maybe she’s not the best person to do that next time.

Meanwhile, Fabian is having a nightmare. He dreams of Wicklaw trying to eat his brain and Chungle-Down spitting in his face and his betrayal of Alistair. He sees the ghosts of the warlock  cultists entering hell and his disappointed father. And then, he’s approached by a man. A man with a familiar, non-threatening sounding, yogurt-offering voice. Fabian, like Adaine before, feels very strongly that if he looks at this man’s face, something terrible will happen but he does take the offered yogurt and agrees to go with him without looking at him. He’s taken to a lovely, sunny, kind of museum area dedicated to Bill Seacaster. Fabian thinks it’s very nice but he starts to notice that though there are many pictures of Bill and Hilariel, there are none of him. He asks why. The man says that Fabian needs to look at him. Fabian is hesitant. The man says that Fabian really needs to look at him. The yogurt in Fabian’s stomach curdles, weakening him (and me because yogurt grosses me out on the best of days and this is not the best of days). The man turns Fabian’s face to look at him and Fabian finds himself looking at a doughy, middle-aged Fabian Seacaster. He laughs hysterically and Fabian wakes up, plunged into the sea.

Elsewhere, Riz wakes up in his room. Fabian is gone, he’s paralyzed, the Hangman has been stabbed through by Fabian’s sword and is leaking oil, and Kalina is sitting on his bed. She was able to get in with the Moon Haven spell down. She speaks to him unsettlingly casually. She sounds almost friendly as she demands Riz and his friends stop looking for the Nightmare King’s crown on the pain of their lives. Riz, a grizzled old knight to his core like all of Murph’s characters, can’t wrap his head around why she would be doing this. It’s simple. Power. She psychologically toys with him, saying that Riz throws himself into his cases (which she seems to know quite a bit about) to distract himself from how sad he is about his dead dad. Then, she says that Fabian is in massive danger and if Riz doesn’t play ball (pun not intentional but it’s staying in), he’ll die. Riz assumes she knows where the Nightmare King’s crown is and she asks why he’s sure she knows which makes him think she actually doesn’t know. Riz, who sleeps with his sword because he’s rightfully paranoid, uses it to Misty Step outside but he’s still paralyzed so he just hits the ground and breaks his arm.

Kalina meets him outside, tells him Fabian is long gone, and tries to bargain with him: information about his dad for information about what he knows. Riz counter-offers that he’ll tell her about where the Nightmare King’s crown is if she guarantees his friends’ safety. She doesn’t care about the crown. She wants to know what Riz knows about her. Riz agrees (to save Fabian) and tells her everything he knows except that he withholds the information about Adaine’s mom being involved and tries to withhold the information he got from Ragh but he accidentally gives himself away without saying Ragh’s name. That’s enough for her to put two and two together though and she leaves to kill Ragh’s mom.

Back in the sea, Fabian has to make three Constitution checks. He rolls two nat 20s in a row for the first two and is rescued two flying imp monsters (presumably sent by Kalina) who drop him off at the edge of town. Fabian, absolutely destroyed, rips off his eyepatch and takes off his Owlbear jacket as he makes his way back. He rolls one last Constitution check. Nat 1. He’s got pneumonia. Cathilda shows up in the Hangvan to pick up Fabian.

The rest of the group is still shaken up by Ragh’s attack. They snap him out of it and someone gets Garthy. Post Riz’s encounter with Kalina, Ragh bursts in, devastated and says that someone from home called and said that his mom died. The whole group is immediately suspicious because--post Gorgug/Zelda debacle--they know they shouldn’t have signal. Ragh tries to call another number and all he hears is laughing on the other end. When Riz (healed up by Garthy) looks, he sees that his phone shows 5 bars for a second. Riz, Tracker, and Sandra-Lynn also see the flicker. Possibly illusion magic. Tracker and Garthy can also now suddenly see the Shadowcat in the picture (but it doesn’t seem like the rest of the Bad Kids can). Riz thinks Ragh’s mom is in serious danger but not dead yet.

Garthy has the idea to send the group to the Leviathan Library so maybe Adaine can learn a Sending Spell to communicate with their various parents and allies in Solace. They give Adaine a note that says to let the group safely use the library addressed to one Aida Aguefort.

Fig checks in with Sandra-Lynn to see if maybe she was under the influence of something more malevolent than alcohol when she cheated. Sandra-Lynn cries, and admits that she just F’d up but that they should deal with the problem at hand for now and that’s where we end, with the bulk of the group en route to the library.  

Detention

Fabian for Everything

Oh Fabian.

Fabian, Fabian, Fabian.

I don’t think I have ever seen a series of events so driven by a single character’s careless actions.

Truly, almost every single bad thing that happened in this episode can be traced directly to Fabian losing his entire chill at the worst possible time.

All those warlocks, dead (And Alistair either dead, seriously hurt, or set on the path to show back up with a vendetta later on down the road).

Because Tracker didn’t get her 8 hours, she couldn’t do the Moon Haven properly which is why Ragh got mind-controlled, the Hangman got stabbed, and he got brain-jacked and dumped into the ocean.

It’s why Kalina got to Riz. It’s why Lydia’s in danger.

And it wasn’t just that what he did was dumb, it was also completely unnecessary. There was no plot reason for what he did and he wasn’t forced into it. It was a completely character driven decision and it was bad, y’all. It was pretty much an absolute fail parade.  

Honor Roll

Brennan and Lou for Absolutely Stellar Roleplay

Everyone had their moments this episode.

Siobhan and Zac made some clever choices. Ally brought some needed levity. Emily subtly continued her emotional threads about Fig’s relationship with her mom and her distress over her actions while mind controlled. And Murph had that absolutely stellar scene in the back half of the back half of the ep with Kalina.

But Brennan and Lou 100% carried this episode.

Brennan is such a good DM that I feel like it’s almost easy to take for granted. Like, if you visit a town, you’re gonna talk about how how cool the shops, and food, and events were. Not about how well the roads are paved. But if the roads are all janky and potholed and stuff then it’s a big issue.

This episode clearly took a major turn from whatever was supposed to happen but Brennan deftly kept pace with all of Fabian’s wild choices and made sure the roads were paved before he got there.

So much of this episode was just Brennan talking to one other person (Fabian and then Riz during the Kalina scene) and he nailed all of it. The disgust from Chungle-Down. The betrayal from Alistair. The concern from Cathilda. The quiet but sinister lilt of Nightmare Fabian. And the affable, dispassionate, Just Business evil from Kalina.

And Lou. Everything Fabian did this episode was an extremely bad idea but it is exactly what Fabian would do in the situation. Lou played him completely consistently, even when it clearly pained him to do so. 

When Lou rolled a nat 1 on his perception check for an escape rope, Brennan essentially handed him a fully loaded gun and said shoot yourself, and Lou grit his teeth and he did it.

Mad respect to both of them for keeping the tension and gravity going for a full three hours basically. That was lightning in a bottle. D&D is an amazing game.

Random Thoughts

I know there’s a significant chunk of the fandom that ships Riz and Fabian and, can I just say, RIP to y’all.

It really was narratively cool that we started out with the Sandra-Lynn plot in this crazy, over the top, comic scene and then ended with the quiet conversation between Fig and her mom on the same topic. It really was a through line throughout the episode without over-shadowing the main drama. This episode had a clear A and B plot just like a scripted show.

Also if Garthy is a powerful as Brennan is making them seem, wild that the NK and Kalina were able to bust through what is supposed to be super sanctified ground, especially since Tracker--a jr. cleric--has been keeping them at bay by herself.

Zac: This is a real Axford move.

Also Zac: I don’t understand what’s gonna happen if this goes well.

Riz and Murph Equally: We’re so stupid.

I think it’s funny how players in D&D tend to treat Zone of Truth like it forces them to spontaneously say things that are true rather than just preventing them from actively lying.

The kinda wild thing about how this whole mess started is that Fabian’s character development is part of why it happened. When he told the warlocks about the dragon and his dad, he gave everyone else their due credit, didn’t hog the spotlight, and didn’t lie/embellish the truth to make himself sound cooler. That in turn disappointed them which made him relapse into S1 Fabian who attacked Gorgug on the first day of school for absolutely no reason. I was actually going to give him major credit for that before he, you know. Made some other choices. He absolutely gushed about how cool his friends were and then invited exactly none of them to his terrible plan.

Lol at Lou being like, “I rolled to get Alistair to make a better speech?”

Bill’s cult of about 20 guys has collectively sent him like 350k gold. That’s insane! They’re all so poor!

Lou playing Fabian very confidently making an absolutely suicidal decision, and then surfacing to laugh hysterically for a full thirty seconds out of character about how he’s for sure gonna die, was such a mood. It was like Lou was being held at gunpoint by Fabian for the entire first half of the session.

Big props to Zac for trying to get everyone in on the action by suggesting the Hangvan would see that the Hangman was gone and let the group know.

OK, so now let’s talk about that line about Wicklaw having eaten many of Fabian’s siblings. Hoo boy. You know this episode was wild because that line was said and never followed up on. What might have been a headline in a different episode was a footnote in this one. No big surprise that Bill would have fathered a ton of kids. That pretty much tracks, as Adaine said last ep. I feel like this was something that was going to come up regardless, Fabian just forced it to be right then and there. This dude hates Bill so going after his kids seems like an obvious move (unless he’s bluffing I guess, but I doubt it). But, like, did Bill know about these kids? Was he fully ignorant? Willfully ignorant? Did they know they were Bill’s kids? Are there any left? Can Fabian please have a little pirate sister because I would love that so much you don’t even know.

You think Lou expected to say (loosely quoting), “I try not to cry in front of Chungle-Down Bim,” when he woke up that morning? Idk but I can tell you that I didn’t expect to hear it and feel strong emotions about it.

Chungle-Down Bim, which is short for Bimothy.

Lol, Brennan makes Emily rolls with Quadruple disadvantage and she still gets a 15 because she has a plus 11 to persuasion. No wonder she’s so quick to slam the disguise self button if there’s even a sliver of a chance it’ll work.

Adaine getting a useless Razor scooter on the way to try and help Fabian and then being like, “Well, I’m still gonna keep it,” was such a funny beat during the tenseness of that fight scene.

I need you guys to know that this is a mindflayer ability: Extract (Ex): An Illithid that begins its turn with all four tentacles attached and successfully maintains its hold automatically extracts the opponent’s brain, instantly killing that creature. Truly what was he thinking? You’re gonna eat his brain? Go ahead because he clearly isn’t using it!

You know the part of Princess Bride when Wesley is giving the “To the Pain” speech to Humperdinck? I feel like that’s what Brennan did to Fabian this episode. “Oh you think I’m going to kill you? No, that would be too easy. This fight is to the pain. You will watch your allies get slaughtered until you are forced to betray them or die. You will escape but in the most clownish fashion possible after breaking your most loyal ally’s heart. You will be beset by your concerned friends and forced to either own up to your horrible life choices or stew with them and lie by omission. You will be the reason your ultimate enemy is able to break in and attack your friends and you will be forced with your worst nightmare before being unceremoniously dumped into the sea. You won’t die. You’ll just wish you had.” Absolutely brutal.

Anyone else feeling a possible villain turn from Allistair? Dude’s a warlock so he’s already prone to dabbling in questionable power sources. And Fabian really did him dirty. I was hoping he’d at least get Kristen or Tracker to try to see if he was around anywhere for a heal but he just went into shellshock shutdown mode and they bounced. We didn’t see him die on screen so I feel pretty strongly that we’ll be seeing him again in some form.

Also, maybe I’m way off, but did you guys feel like Fabian missed a clear opportunity? I thought he was gonna ask his dad for help. Or, at least try and talk to him before the fight. Clearly it’s possible because the warlocks are doing it. Just pray for some infernal intervention or guidance or powers or something? Worth a shot when you’re in such a bad situation anyway.

Fabian never did tell the party what was going on. They all still think he was ambushed and forced into a fight somehow. I really can’t wait for the truth to come out. I wonder how long he’ll sit on that info. He better tell them before they fight Wicklaw again and they find out that way.

Every single player playing up their concern for Fabian and making a point to presume he was in the right and that it had been a wrong place/time situation to make him feel even more like garbage was *chefs kiss*.

The Hangman basically acting like a big metal dog and pressing itself up against Fabian to comfort him is weirdly adorable.

“Anyway, I’m gonna go get tied up.”/“What?”

Also I love Adaine’s reaction to being asked to do it. She’s like, “What? I mean, I’ll do it but, what?” Sidenote, Fig said she was gonna ask Riz as her first choice but that’s also a terrible choice! He has like a minus 2 strength modifier I think. Ask Gorgug!

Truly, the entire episode can be encapsulated in the fact that Siobhan was sitting there with two nat 20 portent rolls but sidelined and useless because Fabian decided to go completely rogue.

I have to give Adaine big credit for checking to see if Ragh was mind controlled because whenever I’m watching a show where a bad guy can shapeshift or possess people, I always think, “Why don’t they just have a codeword or something?” This is one of the few times I’ve seen it properly executed. Genre savviness saves lives people.

Fabian’s rolls really matched his decisions this week. It was like the dice were punishing him with all those nat 1s on crucial checks.

Also, Brennan being like, “You get pneumonia” was lowkey hilarious. Just like, insult to injury. What’s next? He’s gonna die on dysentery on the Oregon Trail?

I wonder if Fabian is considering chronomancy-ing this away? The thought for sure crossed my mind. Also, everyone was joking about everything being all a dream, but that’s something that could happen in this campaign without it being cheap because it’s been set-up that that’s the kind of bad guy they’re up against so I’m staying vigilant.

Ragh coming into the room and, voice cracking, announcing that his mom was dead cut me up so bad. And I thought it would be not as bad on my rewatch. Nope, still awful. I can’t believe I like him so much now. This is like a Steve from Stranger Things level turnaround for me. Also, the chat was absolutely blowing up when Murph was like, “I tell her everything,” without excepting Ragh’s info at first. Brennan is a nice DM for reminding him about that (despite the absolute ravaging of Riz and Fabian otherwise this ep).

Also gotta give a shout out to Murph this ep for playing Riz so well during the confrontation with Kalina. His steadfast, simple, “We can’t stop. It would be wrong. Fullstop,” mentality is so pure. Riz is such an interesting character. When he tried to withhold info, Murph said, “I have low deception.” That’s who Riz is. He’s a rogue with low deception. He’s sneaky but only in pursuit of justice. No guile at all. Kalina, who is as casual as he is wound up and amoral and he is knightly is such an interesting foil for him. I’m very intrigued to see how this develops.  

Like I said in the recap, Garthy and Tracker can now see Kalina in the picture, even though neither of them saw her when she broke in (that they know of) so the plot thickens there. I’d go into it more but I really don’t have any new theories off the top of my head and this was honestly the least of my worries re: this ep.

Also, she says that all of her abilities come from serving the NK, and she had the abilities since she was working with Pok so this doesn’t seem to be a new development. I will say though, based on the info the group got, I really thought she was gonna be a more ancient being, you know? Maybe it’s just a title and she’s just the latest tabaxi to serve him and get it? I dunno.

Truly the mood for this episode was dawning horror. Things just got progressively worse in new and interesting ways every single scene.

Speaking of, let’s talk about Fabian’s vision. First of all, Brennan did a great job real-time DJ-ing that scene. The switch to that creepy music was very unsettling. Second of all, the chat exploding when Brennan started doing That voice and everyone for a brief moment thought that maybe, Maybe, Gilear was the Nightmare King, was delicious. But, on to the important stuff: When this happened to Adaine, my guess was that if she had looked at figure, it would have been a representation of her anxiety which I think was like 65% correct based on what happened to Fabian. Her worst possible future for herself is probably herself ruled by anxiety to the point of uselessness so she would have seen that version of herself. Fabian’s worst possible future self is essentially Gilear. Which, on behalf of Gilear, ouch. But, yeah, I see why it would be. And, honestly, NK-Fabian was worse than Gilear. Gilear is pathetic, sure, but he’s pathetic in pursuit of his own goals. To be stuck in his dad’s shadow, devoid of any other purpose is the antithesis of Fabian’s whole making a name for himself thing and a sick twisting of his very real pride in his dad. It’s a real raw nerve to hit, especially right after his colossal failure that left him feeling unworthy of even his favorite snack.

I’m really glad Fabian looked at the face of his nightmare. Brennan pushed him a little (in that fantastically unnerving, cajoling yet demanding voice) but I think he would have done it anyway. Like, it’s good information for the team to have and, if anyone was gonna get hit, it made most sense for it to happen right then, when Fabian was already at basically his lowest point. Both Adaine and Fabian felt like something horrible would happen if they looked at their nightmare and I’m wondering if there’s a mechanical effect to that or if it’s just psychological. I feel like there might be some not yet revealed mechanical effect going on but, when your players are as devoted to the RP as Lou (who, again, asked to take damage from his fall even after Brennan was gonna let him off with just the shame) you can get away with just giving the character trauma and having the player hinder their own actions based on it.

Titles for this recap that I rejected include Actions and Consequences and Keyfish 2: Pirate Boogaloo (because the first part of this episode truly felt like the CritRole Keyfish incident but spread out over an hour and a half).

Yet another thing that would have been a headline item in another recap but is just a footnote here: Aida Aguefort. That’s gotta be a sibling, ex, or parent (in my order of probability). What is an Aguefort doing running a pirate library? Are they as chaotic as the other Aguefort? I think it would be very funny if Arthur is this dude in a high position in a “normal” town who is just feral and Aida is living on this insane pirate island but, like, a completely normal librarian.

Oh, speaking of Aguefort, Kalina called him out on his child soldier factory and, listen, I know she was just trying to hurt Riz but she doesn’t not have a point.

Kristen was able to discern that Tracker probably won’t remember what happened with Sandra-Lynn but I hope she keeps track of that info because if Tracker rolls high perception and finds out that she semi-willfully kept that information from her, she might be miffed.

Are all of Bill’s dead warlocks gonna work on his hell ship now? Didn’t they become warlocks specifically because they were bad at being pirates?

I notice the group didn’t wait for Fabian even after Riz presumably told them what happened. I also notice that Cathilda was able to find Fabian right away which is interesting.

Adaine solemnly Razor scooting at the front of the party towards the library is low key hysterical.

Fig better hope it doesn’t get back to Jemina that she was being impersonated.

Also, that plan was crazy but super not the craziest thing Emily has ever done and Brennan backed her up on that. He was like, “This is good. This isn’t Hilda Hilda,” which is where the bar is because Emily is crazy.

Fig: We’re gonna fail./Gorgug: We’re gonna die./Adaine: And, more importantly, we’re gonna fail school.

Riz’s “How about no dead friends,” one-liner was so good. Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything to stop his paralysis. Ouch.

I’m assuming Kalina was asking what he knew to see if there was anyone she needed to kill because they knew too much about her? Because, otherwise, it seems like unimportant info for her. I was thinking when it was happening that she needed him to give her that information so they could take it from him and he wouldn’t have it anymore, like in a weird Fae way, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. It’s probably just the simple thing.

Garthy doesn’t leave the Golden Gardens which is probably good for game balance. You don’t want to give the players a super powerful ally who has no reason not to help them at any given time. That’s rife for PC abuse.

I have to say, after last week, I was hoping we’d be done with the pirate stuff halfway through the ep and en route to Falinel but this was such a turn. I was saying to someone last week, it’s very tempting to try and predict where a D&D game is going by using typical narrative structure as a guide but that only halfway works because you really can’t account for the improvisational nature of it. I absolutely could not have guessed that this is what this episode would be and I’m glad.

Goes without saying, this ep totally snatched the crown for Most Heart Attacks Given To Me By BLM from Family in Flames.

“The game isn’t about what you plan; it’s about what happens,” sounds like a line from an inspirational Ted Talk, and not from a man who, minutes later, said that a pirate named Chungle-Down Bim wanted to use a teenager’s mouth as a toilet.

“I feel drunk from anxiety.” Same Ally.

You wanna know how many pages of handwritten notes I have for this episode? If you guessed 16, you’re right. And I was so into the ep, I forgot to keep track of crits, which is why I had to watch it a second time.

Emily proposing “felettes” as the feminine version of fellas.

“How many HP you at?”/”I’m not telling you.”

Just, the idea of this warlock drawing on Bill’s power to try and attack his son is so raw.

Brennan, being asked by Zac if he can help with Emily’s crazy plan: You absolutely may not and, in fact, take five points of damage.”

Siobhan: What do you have to lose?/Gorgug: *Rolls a nat 1 and almost severs the rope he and Fig are holding on to*

Garthy plays the harpsichord (I have in my notes harpsichord and not harp so I’m going with that) post-coital which is definitely a choice.

The shot of levity that Brennan injected between the big fight and the NK invasion by having Garthy know Jawbone was great. I knew it was coming as soon as Fig said his name, but the comic timing was still perfect. Apparently, Jawbone’s stories are crazy even by Garthy’s standards, which is wild.

Also funny, Fig being tied up as combat started. It didn’t end up making a difference but, at a certain point, when enough bad things have happened, piling more bad stuff on top just becomes funny like, yeah. Of course. That tracks.

Ally: Sleep when you’re dead, which might be this episode.

Riz and Gorgug (and Allistair) each roll one nat 1. Kristen rolls a nat 20. Adaine has 20s for both of her portent rolls (which she gives to Fig and Gorgug). And Fabian rolled an amazing 2 Nat 20s (in a row) and FIVE nat 1s.  

Edit: Oh, forgot to say! Next week there won’t be a game because Thanksgiving is happening in the States. Early Happy Thanksgiving for y’all in the U.S. who are celebrating. I’m thankful for a week off to recover after the ordeal that was this episode. 

[Footnote: This ended up cracking 6000 words, in case you’re wondering about the ways I choose to spend my time. Shoutout to y’all for reading these and justifying the dissertation length brain dumps my dumb, former English major brain compels me to produce for absolutely no good reason.]

[creativerogues]

A Cool Monk...

So WAAAY back in the 70′s, when dnd was in it’s infancy, the Monk was once a cleric subclass, and an overpowered one at that, with the ability to do more damage than a 5e monk can do in 1 round with just 1 hit and the ability to attack way more often than them...

And recently, after looking over Blackmoor and Greyhawk from the 70′s, I came up with something pretty neat!

So in 5e there’s this thing called ‘Ranks’, which need to be earned by a Character (and almost no one uses them because all dnd characters lack effort), but it’s worth it because it gives you some pretty amazing buffs!

And so I made my own little variant, as yet untested, but based more off of the ability for an OD&D Monk to go absolutely crazy!

So, here it is!

I know it looks blurry and bland but here me out, at level 20, a normal 5e monk can do 1d10 damage with each hit from their unarmed strike, and can strike anywhere from 3 to 4 times per turn without taking into account any multiclassing or archetype specific abilities.

So at this level, a Level 20 Monk would be considered a ‘Master’ in Rank, a Master of the Martial Arts.

The next step is Grand Master, someone that controls a whole monastery and essentially trains those soon-to-be Level 20 Monks.

That’s why the Grand Master gets a boost to Open Hand Damage that they cause with their unarmed strikes, all those punches, kicks and etc.

But here is where the DM can have fun, because the only way to advance up in the ladder, from Master to Grand Master, is to single-handedly defeat the current Grand Master is a fist fight, either killing the Grand Master or forcing the Grand Master to submit and making you the new Grand Master.

After that, the cycle continues, eventually you become a Master of the Winds (insert fart joke) and then a Master of the Seasons and eventually a Grand Master of Flowers, of which there is only ever one in the world, the only true master of all ki...

But while doing 4d10 + your Dex Mod per hit sounds great for a Monk, if you feel like the Monk is already a little too damaging, you can use some other features.

A few I’ve come up with are:

Once per long rest, you can use your Flurry of Blows, Patient Defence or Step of the Wind feature without spending the necessary Ki.

Think of this like becoming so in tune with yourself and the universe that you can flow with it naturally, not needing to strain your body or mind to do what others would see as extraordinary.

Perhaps they gain the ability to use the ‘Step of the Wind’ feature without spending the necessary Ki after they become a Grand Master of the Winds for example.

Once per long rest, when you use your Stunning Strike feature, you can choose to spend an additional Ki point to grant the target disadvantage on their saving throw.

Again, something very useful that can’t be used often. Trust me when I say I’ve seen many times when a Monk has spent their Ki point to do Stunning Strike, and the creature immediately passes the save and the Monk just wasted their precious Ki to do literally nothing to help themselves or the party...

So while granting disadvantage is nice, it also doesn’t guarantee that the creature is gonna fail, so there’s still a chance that a creature with a solid Con Mod could easily succeed, even with disadvantage...

Your Movement Speed is now equal to 5 x your Monk Level while you are not wearing armour or carrying a non-monk weapon or shield.

This isn’t really much until the later levels, because at Level 20 having a Monk that has a base movement speed of 100 feet and the ability to dash, dash and dash again, basically going 300 feet in 6 seconds because Monk, is pretty dope.

Combine this with running on the ceiling and running on water and you got yourself a badass...

Your Deflect Missiles ability now allows you to reduce the damage of an attack by ____ + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.

Instead of a d10, make it a d12, or 2d6, or 5d6, or 4d10, whatever you think is appropriate, but the ability to literally catch and halt a flying bolder in its tracks should be not only a sign of how badass you are, but to show how high up on the scale you are too!

Whenever you take the attack action on your turn, you can choose to spend 3 Ki points to make an additional unarmed strike.

I put it at a minimum of 3 Ki because the maximum number of regular attack any character should get should be about 10, that’s like a High-Level Fighter usnig even and Action Surge on top of it all.

And keep in mind, in order to get these kinds of abilities, your Monk first has to defeat this Grand Master of Whatever in single combat, meaning your could just have your Grand Master of Flowers do 400+ Damage in the first round if you wanted to...

Some more abilities I haven’t fleshed out yet are:

Spend X number of Ki points to automatically succeed on a saving throw.

Spend X number of minutes meditating and regain all your expended Ki.

These two are more for fun...

But after all that remember that each fight will be harder than the last. If you’re not using any of the above ideas or abilities and just want your Monk to do more straight damage with their unarmed strikes, then that’s fine, but remember that you’re fighting 10+ people who are very clearly more trained than you to get to the Rank of Grand Master of Flowers.

This is also a great thread to give to a Monk Player that has that super-animoo protagonist motivation of being the best martial artist in the world.

It gives the monk a motivation, and the monk should (hopefully) get their butt whopped at least once by one of these Grand Masters before defeating them and earning their new rank, or at least gain the privilege of training under a Grand Master of the Winds or a Grand Master of the Seasons to even gain the ability to challenge them for their title...

I’ve seen this before actually online in an old d&d campaign by everyone’s favourite not matt mercer named matt, Matt Colville.

With Bhaltair, the Human Monk, he gained the title of both ‘Master of Locusts’ and ‘Master of Ravens’, both things Matt made up, and after Bhaltair defeated the past Master of Ravens, he gained the title and some awesome powers to go with it, like being able to fly using raven ki magic stuff or turning into a flock of ravens.

So in a way, maybe Matt inspired me, in which case, Thanks!

P.S. I may or may not be testing this in an upcoming campaign, I have no Idea yet because no one has chosen a Monk yet, so it may not even come into play, in which case, feel free to test it yourself!

[thestrangefurret]

Putting the story under a read more so I don’t clog anyone’s dash with a block of text.

Ok so a bit of background to last night’s session. We are currently going through a low level official module before jumping into a homebrew campaign so if you recognize anything about the place the story takes place that’s why.

Our party has five members. A Kenku Bard, an Orc Alchemist, a Half Elf Wizard, myself the Aarakocra Druid and a Human Rouge.

We had gone to a abandoned town looking for a Druid who has information of our boss, a Dwarf who had hired us for a simple delivery quest that had obviously gone wrong. We met the Druid and he made us a deal. Take care of a dragon cult who are worshiping a young green dragon who claimed the town as his territory.

After we took care of the cultists surprisingly easily we rested for the night before we went after the dragon.

When it was time to confront the dragon our plan was simple, flatter the dragon and offer him gifts to get him to leave the town. The Bard, Alchemist, and Wizard were the ones who were going to do all the talking while the Rouge and I decided to go into stealth and follow them. The Rouge rolled a 21 while I got lucky and rolled a Nat 20 for a total of 23. Thanks to my roll I remained unseen by the dragon when the rest of my party called out the dragon and began to talk to him.

Their conversation with the fearsome young green dragon Venomfang was a mixed bag of results. With the Kinku Bard trying his best to woo the young dragon and the rolls of my party and Venomfang the proceedings were going somewhat slowly. Then it came to me and my fuck up.

The DM turned to me and asked since I’m the only one still unseen if I’m going to do anything or reroll stealth. So I decdied to enter the cottage the dragon was using as his lair. This cottage was covered with webs on the inside with a 30 foot tall tower built into the side. This tower is of course where Venomfang slept and kept his treasure pile. A small pile of coins sitting in the middle of the stone floor with a slightly rusted battleaxe at the top. Obviously it was the most valuable thing there so I did what any adventurer would do and took the battleaxe. This is where my fuck up really starts as the DM tells me to reroll stealth. I roll a graand fifteen and had planned to sneak away behind the dragon and stash it away for later.

But of course the dragon notices me and the combat starts, roll for initiative. The good news was three of us, myself included, were going before the dragon. The bad news the dragon was going right after me, the Aarkocra he is furious at. 

Since the young dragon’s AC was 18 my party’s first two attacks against the dragon fail and its my turn. So I used a very useful spell against the dragon, Moonbeam. Luckily Venomfang fails the CON save and takes the full damage I roll, 11 radiant damage. I then use my full movement to get behind the house. The dragon then releases his breath attack where I had been. And to note the dragon doesn’t use the breath weapon again or try to recharge it due to the DM forgetting about that. Venomfang then takes to the air giving two party members attacks of opportunity which unfortunately miss. Our Wizard then does the best thing she could have in round 1 of combat and successfully cast Reduce on the young dragon, making him a medium sized beast and weakening all of his attacks. The Rogues turn and she misses her first attack as well.

To put the next few turns quickly we have several successful attacks against the dragon Moonbeam is able to damage him again before he moves and unfortunately damages me and lose concentration on Moonbeam. The Kenku Bard puts an arrow almost in where the sun should never shine, the Orc Alchemist runs up the tower to get a view of the dragon from above and the Rogue was doing her best to get in those sneak attacks. Our Wizard however had an idea.

She decided to run to a nearby forge ruins and planned to cast Reduce on a two hundred pound anvil and have our Orc chuck it at the dragon and release Reduce on the anvil as it flew at the dragon. Of course this meant the dragon would be back to his original size. On the start of the round when the dragon returned to original size he was fortunately looking away from me with the still embedded arrow in my line of sight so I did the best thing at the moment use Heat Metal on the arrow damaging him and using my bonus action to do damage again. The dragon then dropped the Bard to zero health, being the first and only one to go down in the fight. Venomfang then flew to eye level with the Orc on the tower failing to hit with a bite attack. On the Orc’s turn he did the crazy move of jumping onto the dragon’s chest and smacking him with a vial of acid. It was then my turn, use my bonus action to cause damage with Heat Metal again and the dragon falls from the sky, dead from the damage of a burning hot arrow is his rear.

The table celebrated and let loose a roar of victory as us, a party of level 3 characters defeated our first dragon. The Bard’s player had kept track of the damage we did in which the first 3 turns of SIX TOTAL TURNS I did over 50 damage to the dragon in a mix of spells and attacks. It was an unforgettable fight of nerves and prayers.

[caycanhmenhkim]

My Favorite Top 10 Comedy Movies

Need to to obtain the consumer's side of the story before in order to buy deals. Loved the bit when her head rotates and projective vomits vile green debris.

A lot of people are not fans of horror movement pictures. Violence, squeamish material, possessed people, zombies, ghosts and suspenseful moments turn them off. I am not one of these people. After you can class in college on horror movies, I began to like them.

So individuals skills does a https://thelightnovel.com/read-great-demon-king-light-novel/ helpful? Well let us see. A reliable horror movie has to, at one particular draw the guests in enough to surprise them with something spooky. Now being able to draw an audiences attention to be able to movie at times very hard these days, but if you really study what makes people want more, there shouldn't be any problem.

Wolf Creek sits at #3 my list. Lots of you will most likely second guess this one, but blood pressure levels . reason this movie really got expertise. Maybe this is basically the torture scene, but you will find reason I found this movie much more disturbing compared with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre along with the Hills Have Eyes because movies which are meant to terrorize united states.

Michael Myers is the individual that started the slasher type. He first showed up in 1978's Halloween as a youthful boy who murders his older sister, and then returns home years later to kill again. His fights with Jamie Lee Curtis in the first two Halloween movies are perfect examples of how scary movie chases should work. Although, I think Michael's fights with Donald Pleasence (who played Dr .. Loomis) are the best chapters of the Halloween films. The only negative aspects to the Halloween movies to me are the continuity details. For instance, Halloween III, and not a bad movie, has nothing Great Demon King to use the other installments. Also, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later almost ignores established continuity from earlier movies with no explanation.

Another of Wes Craven's blockbusters, the film scream was hugely popular in the 90's for its resurrection for this teen slasher movie music genre. The plot was apparently inspired by the Halloween movie series and Gainseville Ripper murders of 1990.

Tremors: Tremors is an over guidelines monster humor. In it, a small town in Nevada, called Perfection, ironically enough, must fight against subterranean worm-creatures called 'graboids'. These graboids leap from the dirt to give on whatever is upgrading above. They may be fast learners and it will take the whole town to defeat individuals. This film is best viewed in HD.

Agree with my inclinations? Disagree with me? Post a comment. Out on the internet to keep an eye on your shoulder when walking in the woods come night time. The guys above the stalking.

[ventrue-rosary]

D&December - Entry 7

Week 1, Prompt 7: Level 20

This is a long one boys, enjoy!

Ko-Fi

Winter sweeps Evermeet in its icy embrace, tearing the remaining leaves from the trees, blanketing the floor in inches of snow. 

Amaranthe draws her coat tighter around herself as she huddles close to the fire. Staring into the dancing flames, she imagines the grinning visage of her benefactor, a mouthful of shadow and eyes of shadow.

The tip of a blade gently tips her head back and upwards to meet the face of Adarvan, creased in anger and pain. He had aged beyond the years that had passed, grey streaking through his dark hair, and wrinkles cutting into his elegant half-elven features. The skin beneath his eyes are grey with exhaustion.

She exhales slowly. She expected their paths to cross, but hoped they wouldn’t. For the years and experiences shared, for everything he taught her. She owes him a great debt. But that wouldn’t stop her driving her blade into his chest if he stands in her way.

‘Why?’ The single word is laced with agony.

‘Do you really not know? Are you really so blind?’

The sword’s edge bites into her skin, drawing a droplet of blood. ‘You are mad if you think…’

‘What happened to all of the previous hunters before us?’

Adarvan is silent, but he doesn’t move. 

‘They all inexplicably vanish. Quite a coincidence, no?’

Still, nothing.

Amaranthe sighs. ‘I have no tangible proof to offer. Just my word, for whatever that is worth.’

‘Very little due to recent events!’ he hisses.

‘I ask you this...do you really plan to stand in my way?’

‘I have to..’

‘I don’t want to hurt you.’

‘Nor I you, but I will not stand by and let you do this. Sanguine...is everything to our order.’

‘He is the one who’s going to destroy it! I wish you could see what I have…’

‘I can’t. And I can’t take your word on this, Amara.’ 

‘I know. I’m sorry.’

‘As am I.’

H removes the blade from her neck, taking a few steps back. Amaranthe stands, her hand falling to the pommel by her side, but she doesn’t draw. She can’t. 

‘You can’t hesitate hear, you understand? I will kill you.’

Her mentors last lesson to her. She heeds his wisdom, cutting open her forearm as she unsheathes the longsword. Flames dance along the steel. Amaranthe smiles grimly as Sanguine still answers her call. She feels them at the back of her mind, beckoning her to hurry and to them. 

‘You remember your lessons?’ he asks, falling back into a defensive stance.

She nods.

‘Good. It is time for last.’ 

Adarvan slice horizontally across his bicep. Radiant light burns across the scimitar. It should fill her with fear, or dread, or both. Instead, she feels comforted, as though they are back to sparring, like when she was just a fresh recruit plucked straight from her life of privilege. 

This time, Amaranthe is the one to take offense, charging head-on. His old tricks of faking her out no longer works. She knows better. She watches the blade, not the wielder.  

Their blades clash loudly as he brings his scimitar up to parry. Amaranthe lunges low with the back-swing, turning on her heel to add more power to the attack.

The edges of colliding steel screech as he raises his, pushing her attack up and away, leaving her exposed.

Amaranthe retreats. Adarvan taught her everything she knows. This would not be easy. She takes the sword to her own arm, cutting into the fresh wound there, gritting her teeth against the agony. She stretches her bleeding arm out. The blood snakes around her forearm and wrist, drifting away from her and turning into shackles that bind him to her. 

‘We shared many things over the years. Now, share my pain.’

Adarvan holds his scimitar at the ready, his face an unreadable mask. Perhaps it’s a dirty trick to play, but Sanguine must be stopped, the cost be damned. 

This time he strikes first. She narrowly ducks underneath the strike, feeling the displacement of air overhead. He thrusts his knee up directly into her face. A dull pain explodes outwards from her nose now gushing blood. Adarvan groans, clutching his own bloody nose. 

‘I meant what I said. I don’t want to hurt you.’

‘Then die.’ 

She narrowly avoids the slash to her chest, side-stepping to safety and answering with her own. Crimson spills from the vertical cut down his left arm, bicep to elbow, the flames burning the wound. 

Adarvan gives the wound no acknowledgement, resuming his mission to cut her to pieces, the radiant light from his blade burning her eyes when it comes too close to her face. When it cuts into her flesh, it burns in a different way to fire. Destructive in a completely different way as it burns with absolute finality. 

Amaranthe staggers, sinking the tip of her sword into the snow to give herself stability as her body aches.

‘You can’t defeat me! How do you expect to take down Sanguine?’

‘I don’t know,’ she answers truthfully. ‘But I have to try. No one else will.’ 

He shakes his head. ‘I loved you. You were like the sister I never had.’

‘Then help me! For the sake of our bond. For the sake of ourselves. You know me! Look what I’m putting myself through.’ Sje gestures to her wounds. ‘Would I do this, were I not absolutely sure?’

Adarvan’s scimitar falls into the snow. He sinks down, back against a log as he nurses his own wounds. For the first time since she met him, tears shine in his eyes. ‘I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m being forced to make a choice, and I don’t know which is right.’

Amaranthe sinks down next to him, covering one of his hands with hers. Compared to the snow and ice surrounding them, he is warm. ‘Please, put your trust in me. I won’t ask you to take part in this fight. Just stand down. Let me pass. Live for another day. Live for a thousand more days. That’s the choice you should make.’

‘You could do that as well. You got your happily ever after. Home. A husband. Why continue?’

‘When I found out what Sanguine was doing, I couldn’t turn away. I had to do something. You know me.’

‘Aye. I do.’

He places his other hand on hers, and mutters a few arcane wounds. Warm light polls down from his veins to where their hands join, then glide upwards across her form. She feels her pain life as the wounds knit themselves closed.

She smiles softly. ‘I had no idea you could do that.’

‘I might not be able to after today.’

‘You never know. I could lose. Her laughter is short-lived as she realises the possible reality of those words.

‘You won’t. You can’t. You die and I’m putting you on latrine duty.’ 

She laughs. ‘Thank you. For believing in me. Even if you did wait until I was bleeding out to do it.’

‘Maybe I just wanted an excuse to smack you around a little. Amara?’

‘Yes?’

‘The other hunters...they might not stand down. And any survivors left over might hunt you down for what you did. Be careful.’ 

‘They can try,’ she mutters to herself, as she marches towards to Order. 

The building stands sepulchrally quiet, and equally as ominous. She recalls the first time she was brought to these imposing stone doors, and nearly wept from the fear of what may lie within. She can’t say much has changed since then.

Her blood still allows her entry into the dark stone and marble entryway, the braziers flanking the giant flaming sword statue unlit. All is dark. All is quiet.

Her footsteps echo as she makes her way down the central passageway, to where she knows their chamber resides. 

‘You’re here, at last.’

She grimaces as she hears their voice, or rather voices, crooning into her ear, like a lover whispering words of devotion.

‘Nothing to say? You were so vocal with your dear, old mentor.’ 

Amaranthe purses her lips, the anger quaking in her hands. If she never had to hear all of their voices overlapping in discordant harmony in words meant to taunt or titillate, she would be happy.  

‘Don’t be a child, Amara. I was kind enough to clear your way, and you won’t even offer me a single word?’

Clear her way…? Did they mean...no, surely not.

Her feet pound on the stone passageways as she races towards dorm rooms, the canteen, training rooms, the study...all the areas one might expect to find hunters in training. Only the smears of blood offer any evidence of their existence.

‘No...what did you do!’

‘I was under the impression you knew...isn’t that why you are here?’

‘You monster! You killed them all!’

‘I...elevated them. They joined a being far beyond the imaginings of feeble mortal minds. They will enjoy ever-lasting life--’

‘They will be your immortal prisoners! Tell me how anyone would enjoy that?’

‘Why not accept my offer, and discover the answer yourself?’

‘I swear this one last service to you, my patron. I will end you.’ 

She reaches the doors leading into the crimson sanctum. They open of their own accord, greeting her with its familiar bas-reliefs of armies of hunters pushing back creatures of all shapes and kind, and there on the wall behind the altar, the form of Sanguine, blade pointed upwards to the sky, sunrays burstin from behind it across the land. 

Amaranthe walks up to the altar, removing one leather glove to feel the blood-stained stone against her skin. She kneels in front of it, closing her eyes as her other hand comes to rest on the altar. 

When she opens them, it is not the sight of the sanctum that greets her, but a black, shifting void stretching on for infinity. She stands on one end of a huge circle of blood that reaches up to her mid-calf. And there, floating half a foot above her, looms the humanoid figure of Sanguine. A body seemingly made completely of blood sliding down the vague form, but more immediately filling its place like they stood under a fountain of it. Two large horns curl aback from the effeminate face, the points almost meeting at the back of their head, like a sundered halo. A billow red cloak obscures their body.

Sanguine gently lowers themself to be only hovering an inch above the blood, and yet the still tower over Amaranthe. ‘My champion...how proud I am of you. You finally reached your full potential in the ten years since we first met.’

Amaranthe draws her sword. ‘No more words from you, demon. You’re not proud, you’re just happy you get to add another victim.’

‘Think what you like, you were always my favourite.’

Amaranthe activates her rite. ‘There was only one reason you looked down on me in favour. You wanted to be the one to kill me once and for all.’

‘Not kill. You could serve a much better purpose to me alive.’

‘I would fall on my sword before I allowed myself to join your legion. I will never join you.’

‘I never intended to ask.’ 

The cloak parts at the central seam, revealing not a single humanoid body, but dozens of them reduce to mummified states; eyeless sockets, hairless heads and small, shrivelled up bodies grasping around blindly with their arms, as though desperate for an escape. They speak no words, but the discordant jumble of screeches, cries and wails echo out as a chorus of suffering. 

Amaranthe clutches her ears as the din reaches an apex threatening to burst her ear drums. Her head swims in dizzy disorientation, not recovering until a large hand wraps around her throat. A long arm red and oozing manifest several inches from its cloaked form, and they charge across the room, throwing her hard. Her back smacks against a wall she didn’t even realise exists in this void. 

She falls to a heap on the floor, coughing out a mouthful of blood. She looks up and sees the small shrivelled being dragging themselves towards her by their arms. Amaranthe scrambles upwards, waving the flaming sword to keep them at bay. They seemed to care little, dragging themselves forward even as the flames licked and burned their skin. 

They continued surging forward, backing Amaranthe against the wall as they grab hold of her legs and reach for her arms, trying to pin her to the ground. She hesitates, struggling against their grip as she beholds the diminutive forms that once were people, living, breathing autonomous people. 

Any one of these could be Jedrek, or Ziana, or Landren, or any of the countless hunters she passed in the hallways, sparred with, broke bread with.

‘I’m sorry I couldn’t save you..’ she whispers.

She unleashes a primal scream of fury mixed with pain. Arcane energy bursts out from her as an explosion of hellfire, consuming the corpses surrounding her. They rain down beneath Sanguine, still and silent. Their face turns into an ugly snarl. They raise their arm upwards. Chains manifest in their open palm and strike outward, wrapping around her neck and both wrists. They yank her forward a few steps as their grip tightens, so much so she drops her sword. Then she feels some of her life and energy trickling out of her body. Sanguine is draining her!

Both hands grasp the one around her neck, attempting to pry it away but it holds fast. Amaranthe’a eyes drop to her sword resting at her feet. The chains are too taut for her to reach down for it, but…

She stomps on the very edge of the  handle with her foot, hard enough to jack-knife in into the air. She catches it in her left hand-switching it to her right as she cuts and across and through the spectral chains. 

A piercing shriek of pain rattles the chamber. She feels a tiny fragment of satisfaction at hearing their pain. 

She charges, tucking into a forward roll beneath a swipe of his hand, slashing across as she recovers. Some of their minions still their movements and drop down to the ground, dead. 

‘Desist,’ Sanguine orders as they summon a large sword in their hand, one that looks like its made of hardened, stiff blood than steel with one serrated edge. 

She retreats out of range of the slash that likely would have sundered her completely in two. Sanguine follows with a vertical cut, keeping Amaranthe on the defensive as she struggles to dodge away from these killing blows. 

Amaranthe raises her blade to deflect a blow aimed straight for her neck. The force of the attack knocks her sword from her grasp and causes her to pirouette on the spot, falling heavily to her side. 

She crawls forward to her sword, but her ankles are seized and she is dragged back away from it, those mere inches between them turning into feet…

Amaranthe rolls onto her back, beholding the looming form of Sanguine now with an additional limb. One hand presses against her chest, the other raising the sword above their head.

She stretches out one hand, summoning the arcane power in her veins. Lightning crackles around her fingers, and bolts out towards Sanguine’s head. Amaranthe’s hand twitches painfully with the remnants of the spell, but Sanguine fully rears back in agony, clutching at their face. 

Amaranthe makes a run for her sword, and once more armed leaps upwards into the air, driving her blade right into the joint between neck and shoulder. Her weight leveraging the handle drags the sword down and through their form, opening a large, long wound and killing off more of their prisoners. Blood spills into the existing pool, raising it to below her knees.

Sanguine’s breathes haggardly, letting out a weak chuckle. ‘I awaited this day for twenty-five years...in all this time, I never foresaw this. To think, I might die at the hands of my champion, my chosen, my beloved...you are stronger than I thought capable.’

They rise to their feet with a wet cough, leaning heavily on their blade, almost falling back down. Amaranthe feels no remorse, no pity. The next time Sanguine falls, she hopes they stay down. 

Their eyes meet. Sanguine’s hold infinite sadness. Amaranthe’s burn with all of her smouldering rage. ‘End me.’

‘What trickery is this?’

‘No trickery. I see now, I am not worthy of you.’ Sanguine bows their head. ‘Do what you came here to do. Kill me.’ 

Amaranthe slowly steps towards Sanguine. Her blade rests against their neck. ‘For all these years, I trusted you, and served you. Only now do I see you were a devil in disguise.’ 

Amaranthe raises her sword and brings it down on the back of their neck. It takes four separate swings to sever their head from their shoulders. Her sore, exhausted arms fall limply to her side as Sanguine’s entire form melts away, and all the souls of those they captured. She is forcefully ejected from his realm back into the sanctum, landing heavily on her back. 

She lies there for several minutes her breath still heavy and laboured, her entire body one chorus of pain and fatigue. Her fingers twitch around the handle of her sword, caught in a state of disbelief. 

Amaranthe forces herself upright and holds the sword to her arm. She hesitates for one moment, afraid of what would happen before she presses it into her skin, hissing at the pain. The cut bleeds, the blood trickles down the handle onto the blade. Nothing.  Sanguine truly is dead

Tears run down her face. She should be happy, so why? Why does it hurt? Why does she grieve?

Amaranthe picks herself up and walks through the hallways of ghosts and dusty memories, her arm bleeding uselessly, eyes still streaming. The doors open out to the breaking of dawn on the horizon. She inhales, taking in the icy morning air, closing her eyes as the first rays of the day shine above the tree tops, washing over her with their warmth.

[dirigiblesmc]

Dirigibles v1.0 Update

Dirigibles Update Version 1.0 =============================

It is finally here! With a huge influx of modifications I'm ready to call this update the version 1 update. Many things are still in the works but a ton of new features have been implemented.

EliteMobs ============================== One of the biggest game changers is the EliteMobs plugin. A brief synopsis of the features are as follows:

- New "Elite" mobs will spawn in the main world, the nether, and the end with a level between 1 and 999 - Mob levels are based on your current equipped gear, so difficulty scaling should match your equipment - Most mobs can be "Elite" - "Elite" mobs are identifiable from a distance by a white particle effect seen orbiting the mob which will change to a different particle effect as you get near - "Elite" mobs have high hit points, high damage, and drop special loot and special currency - Special currency can be used to buy unique gear and increase strength/drops of "Elite" mobs - Powers include invisibility, arrow immunity, and knock back resistance among others - "Event Bosses" can occur when 2 or more players are online - "Event Bosses" are very powerful enemies with special abilities and can be tracked by clicking the "Track Boss" link as it shows up in chat

There are many, many more details but feel free to ask questions when I'm on for more details.

Commands related to EliteMobs: /ag - Check/upgrade your guild rank /em check [yourusername] - Check your Elite Coin (EC) balance /em shop - Buy or sell loot from Elite Mobs for EC from procedurally generated items /em customshop - Buy or sell loot from Elite Mobs from admin defined items (currently default, but expect new items as time progresses) /em quest - Accept quests to earn EC

There is additionally a Adventurer's Guild related to this plugin, however a bug currently de-spawned the NPCs and I will need to work that issue out before it is functional again.

Multiverse ============================== The Multiverse plugin has been installed with the Core and Portal variants. With this, worlds will be created where some of them are interconnected inventories with specific game rules so that future dungeons and features can be implemented into the server. Some of the key features are as follows: - World creation and map additions can be managed by admin for unique world experiences - Worlds with different rule sets will be made to vary up the experience - Admin access to further expansion of game play experience - A Portal Hub has been created to easily jump between worlds

Portal Hub ============================== As mentioned above, the new Portal Hub has been created and set as a warp. The Portal Hub is a central location that will house gateways to new and exciting worlds! Access the Portal Hub by typing /warp Hub and you will be transported to the Hub. Currently, functioning Portals are:

- A portal to the Nether - A portal to World Spawn in the Main World - A portal to the Adventurer's guild (NPC's currently missing due to bug, but map is still available)

There is more information about upcoming portals in the "Upcoming Features" section below.

Coins ============================== The Coins plugin is a very simple, yet satisfying change to the server. Upon killing almost any Mob (aside from Wither Skeletons and Endermen due to public farms), they will drop a random amount of "Coins" with $5 - $20 value to be added straight to your /bal. Additionally, the plugin has enabled a "Death Penalty" to help balance the money drops and the EliteMob loot. The penalty will be a loss of a random value between $500 and $2000 upon death. This has also been implemented to counterbalance the KeepInventory gamerule as prior to the penalty, death was nothing but a minor inconvenience.

General Features/Changes ============================== Some commands and gamerule changes have been changed to better affect the gameplay experience:

- Gamerule MobGreifing has been set to false meaning creepers, elite creepers, blaze, and event bosses can no longer destroy the terrain/set fires as they use their abilities - /j,/jump has been disabled to help balance the experience and prevent future adventure map exploitation - The old mob based /warp hub has been deleted and the end based mob tower has been removed to make way for the future Mob Arena - Minor tweaks to inventory rules between worlds and gamemodes

Upcoming Features ============================== There are many upcoming features and events in the works within the Version 1 update of the Dirigibles Server. Please note that balancing and creation of these areas take time and will be announced in subsequent 1.0.x updates. Information on some of the features can be found below:

Mob Arena ============================== The Mob arena will be accessible from the Portal Hub. The Arena will consist of challenges that the individual can take where constant spawning waves of mobs in a large arena will allow an individual to farm coins by defeating mobs. Additionally, co-op and spectating will be developed so that it can be a social experience. Additional "completion" awards are to be determined, though prizes will be awarded to people who survive a challenge. Think of a Gladiator battle for prizes instead of eternal slavery.

Dungeons ============================== Server hosted dungeons and plots are in the works to expand on the "lore" and give opportunities for MASSIVE prizes ranging from items, cash, and others.

Weekly Black Market Deals ============================== Have you found the black market yet? Implementation of chest shops are in the works where black market deals will be available weekly of exotic items, discounted "steals," and various other deals. not HIMM has welcomed all authorized residents to pay him cash for his valuable goods.

Nightmare Realm ============================== A extreme world where the sun barely shines, beds don't work, and Elite Mobs spawn more frequently. Recommended to go into this world only if you're up for the challenge.

Final Words ============================== There are many Ideas I have for future content and will implement as much as I can in the near future. The goal is to remain a mostly Vanilla MC server, yet also include features that make the experience more engaging. So whether it is hunting down Elite Mobs in the caves, completing the next farm to become the server tycoon, or building a compound to show off to the other residents, how you choose to spend your time is up to you. Feedback is always encouraged as this is "our" server.

Additionally, these are all still new. And unlike normal MMO's, I don't have a massive crowd of people who can playtest and submit bug reports, so please let me know if something you run into seems "Game Breaking" in an advantageous, or disadvantageous manner. Additionally, if you run into a bug, let me know so that I can look into fixing it. I ran into a few massive bugs yesterday that I was able to squash, but it is the minor things that would need to be worked.

Most of all, thank you for being a part of our "community" and have fun!

-EGG

[keeroo92]

Savior, Bloodstain, Hellfire, Shadow Ch 3

~~~Previous Chapter~~~

Chapter 3: Of Qlipoth and Friendship

---Reader---

May 20th, 10:12 am

The next day, you and Nero found a clear area to begin your training. You thought it was some kind of statue garden before the demons arrived and smashed most of the sculptures. V stayed close, in case there was an attack, and you imagined to also watch as you made a fool of yourself but you were too unfamiliar with the man to voice the thought. He kept far enough back that it didn't make you too nervous at least. Nero clapped his hand on your shoulder, bringing your attention back to the present.

“First off, I’m going to teach you a bit about demons,” he began with a smile. “You’ve seen a few already, what do you remember about their appearance?”

You recalled the creatures that attacked you in the supermarket, shuddering in revulsion at the memory.

“I remember thinking the ones at the supermarket looked like giant bugs, but way more disgusting. And that they were big, like bears,” you responded, wondering what he was getting at.

“Right! Nasty little things, Empusa’s. The ones we ran into had been feeding, that’s where the red in their body came from. They had been feasting on human blood. We don’t know much about them other than that they aren’t very strong and tend to travel in groups of at least three. We’ve also seen a few variations of them, some flying and others less prone to attack. The main thing to keep in mind when fighting Empusa is to keep your eyes open for the group. If you only see one, chances are the others are close. Don’t let them swarm you if you can help it,” Nero instructed you, and you tried not to imagine how different your fight would have played out if there had been three of the monsters attacking you instead of just one.

 I would have died.

You gulped and refocused on Nero, taking in everything he told you as if it was all that stood between you and certain death, because it was.

“Tell me how you killed the one at the store.”

Your mind flashed back to the moment you managed to defeat the horrible beast, the feeling of elation and fierce pride that filled you at your success.

“I knocked it off its feet and bashed its face in with a frying pan,” you told Nero, wondering how much V told him about your first kill. He barked out a laugh and smiled at you, clearly amused.

“Nice! Knocking them down is always a good bet; their legs aren’t very stable and once they’re on the ground you can finish them off relatively easily. The face is a good target, or the abdomen. The belly works too, if you can reach it,” he advised you with a grin.

You carefully filed the information away in your mind, memorizing it for future use as Nero paused before continuing.

“Did you see the one with the scythe?”

Again, your mind flashed to the events of two days prior, remembering the demon Nero had killed just as you and V found him.

“Yes, but I barely saw it,” you answered him. He nodded, as if he had expected that.

“That was a Hell Caina, or Caina for short. They’re almost as common as Empusa and a bit trickier to deal with. They have surprising range, so don’t let them get close to you. If you get cornered by one, climb. They don’t seem to be able to strike at an upwards angle. If you can’t climb, wait for them to swing and roll under their legs – they have a wide stance when they attack. They’re weak to attack in the head and belly.”

You nodded, a sponge to Nero’s instruction.

“There’s a ton more demon types I could teach you about but for now let’s switch to some combat training. I’m going to come at you like a Caina would; I want you to focus on dodging and evading the attacks,” he summarized, taking up a fighting stance and backing up from you a few feet. His legs spread apart and he reached toward you, striking you in the stomach easily but without force.

“Dead. Again,” he stated simply and prepared another swing. You didn’t know what to look for, unsure how to tell when the blow was coming but sure it would come. You tried ducking and his gentle strike hit the side of your head that time, just above the temple.

“Dead. Again,” he repeated again and you watched his shoulders this time, catching them shifting into a new angle as he prepared his third strike. You saw his right shoulder start to move back as his left arms swung toward you yet again, and you ducked sooner this time, dodging the attack.

“Good! A few more times, just to make sure you’ve got it,” he declared with a pleased smile. You managed to dodge the next few blows relatively easily, but each time you had to focus intently to do it.

 If I get distracted in a real fight I’m done for.

Nero paused, giving you a moment to catch your breath. You gave him a grateful look, your body unused to this type of exertion. It wasn’t that you weren’t fit. The simple fact was that your body was used to long days of being on your feet at the emergency room, always in motion but rarely moving faster than a brisk walk. The quick movements required to dodge his attacks were a different sort of exercise, a sprint as opposed to the marathons you were accustomed to. After a few moments, you were ready to continue on.

“What’s next?” you asked your teacher, excited to learn more.

He smiled mischievously before speaking. “Now, I’m going to teach you how to take a hit.”

You looked at him quizzically, not sure what he meant, and he elaborated kindly for you.

“If one of them does manage to hit you, it’s important that you know how to minimize the damage, how to move so that you can counterattack instead of lying there for them to finish you off,” he explained patiently.

“That... makes sense. What do I do?”

“Punch me, and I’ll demonstrate.”

You hesitated at the idea, not wanting to hurt him. You knew he could easily take anything you could dish out, but still…

“Don’t worry, I can take it. Aim for my shoulder,” he informed you, easily following your train of thought. He stood there, waiting for you to strike.

You pulled your arm back, readying a right hook. You punched him in his shoulder where he instructed you, not too hard but he still moved with the blow. You tried to note how he moved but it was too fast for you to absorb it.

“Try a few more times, Y/N. Watch my upper body,” Nero coached you. You wound up for another hit to the same spot, eyes on his torso as you landed a soft blow against him. That time you noticed how just before your fist connected, he leaned back slightly in the same direction your fist flew. His body bounced back into position almost immediately, recovering easily.

“I think I saw it that time!” you exclaimed, thrilled by your observation.

“Alright! I’m going to shove you then, and you try to do the same thing. I’ll be gentle,” he assured you, and you planted your legs in preparation. He reached out and tapped your sternum, indicating where he was going to strike. You watched, waiting, trying to judge the timing as his open palm shot right at you. It was so fast you forgot to move, and the blow struck you firmly enough to make you take a step back.

“Again,” he ordered you, and you resumed your stance obediently. That time, you saw his hand move a fraction of a second before he hit you, but you were still unable to move fast enough to shift correctly. You tried twice more before you finally managed to lean away just before his palm connected with your chest, and you marveled at how different the blow felt.

“Great job! Again,” Nero praised you, and you reset your stance again. It wasn’t easy, and your sternum started to ache at the repeated light blows, but as you practiced you gradually lessened more and more of his strikes and you grinned at your progress.

“Alright, great work so far. It’s important to be able to do that with any section of your body, so we’ll practice it more later on. For now, let’s see how you do with a weapon. Let’s start with the easy one; the gun. Have you ever used one before?” Nero asked you.

Instantly your mind pulled up the only time you’d ever fired a gun – the quiet boom that had echoed in your muffled ears on the mountaintop as you squeezed the trigger on your cousin’s massive rifle. You hadn’t landed a single shot that night, but you were drinking then. Hopefully shooting sober would make it easier to actually hit something.

“Yes, but not very well. I couldn’t hit anything,” you answered Nero, blushing slightly at the admission.

“Yeah, it can take some practice. Here, I’ll show you how to load it.”

He took the small gun from the ground where you had put it before beginning, practiced hands moving over the revolver with ease as he opened the cylinder, moving it to the left in a single smooth motion. He pulled a few rounds from his pocket, dropping them into the chambers and making sure to show you which way the rounds should face. He pushed the cylinder back into place with a sharp click, and handed the loaded weapon to you.

You took it from him carefully, making sure to keep the barrel pointed at the ground as you shifted your hands into what you imagined was a passable grip.

“Are you left-handed?” Nero inquired from your left side.

“No, right-handed,” you answered him and he showed you the correct position for your hands, dominant hand on the grip first and left held over it to stabilize.

“Ok, when you’re ready, show me how you’d aim it. Use that tree as a target,” he instructed you, watching you carefully as your arms lifted the weapon to eye level. You held the gun steadily, elbows tight but not locked. Nero barely adjusted your stance, kicking your feet slightly farther apart and nodding in satisfaction.

“Cock it and take a shot when you’re ready.”

You did your best to aim the weapon at the nearby tree, using your thumb to pull back the hammer before moving your index finger to cover the trigger. You slowly squeezed it until the gun discharged, a loud crack echoing in the clearing for a moment. You didn’t hear the bullet strike anything and knew you’d missed.

“Alright, good. We just need to work on your aim a bit. Try again but keep your eyes on the sights. Don’t look at the target as you fire.”

You followed his instructions, carefully lining up the sights with a perfectly placed knot on the trunk of the tree. That time, when you squeezed the trigger you were rewarded with a second crack as the bullet struck wood.

“Better, but you hit the tree next to the one you were aiming at. Try again,” Nero told you patiently, and you felt a rush of appreciation for his kind teaching style. You squeezed the trigger again and managed to hit the right tree.

“I did it!” you laughed and lowered the weapon, pointing it at the ground as you turned to Nero with a wide smile. He looked back at you with a matching exuberant grin.

“Well done, Y/N! Go ahead and fire the rest of the rounds and try to hit the same spot each time. Let’s see how precise we can get your spread,” he responded happily.

The last three rounds all hit the same tree but were at least a foot away from each other. Still, you were pleased with your progress. You were so focused on your training that you didn’t notice V stepping a little closer to the clearing to watch.

---V---

He watched you, the way you moved, the expressions on your face when you managed to hit the tree filling him with an odd sensation. Was it... pride? He couldn't recall ever being proud of another person before. Perhaps it was something else... maybe not. He couldn't be sure. He watched in silence as you and Nero returned to practicing hits and how to move with the blows.

All he could be sure of was that he enjoyed the way your body flowed when you moved with a blow, and he delighted in your smile when you stood up straight after a particularly hard motion after Nero changed his target unexpectedly and struck your belly.

He watched you for hours as you learned how to slice, stab, shoot, smash, and kill. You weren't a natural, but your determination and tenacity worked in your favor, and by the end of the day you showed great progress.

 I hope this will be sufficient for her to survive the coming battles.

---Reader---

May 21st, 8:26 am

You stirred the giant pot of oatmeal, lost in thought as you prepared breakfast for what were quickly becoming your friends. You’d enjoyed Nero’s teaching, V’s quiet focus and Nico’s unrelenting energy. You hadn’t felt this peaceful in years, which was ironic considering the chaos that enveloped your home.

 I didn’t even have any nightmares last night, that hasn’t happened since… I don’t even remember.

How incredible it had been just an hour earlier to wake up feeling rested. None of your friends were up yet, they tended to sleep a bit later than you did most days. You smiled at the thought, remembering the first morning you’d come outside into the campsite to find V and Nero sleeping on some mats, V peaceful in rest and Nero’s snores reminding you of chainsaws. How V slept through that, you couldn’t imagine.

You gave the oatmeal another swirl, taking a small amount onto the wooden spoon and tasting it. It was almost done, maybe another minute or two. V and Nero were still resting on the other side of the small campsite; you had gotten breakfast started as quietly as you could, and they had both slept right through it. Your eyes lingered on V. He was the only one who hadn’t shared anything about his past with you, maintaining an aura of mystery that made you ache with curiosity.

As you watched him sleep, his lips parted and he sighed, starting to wake up. You quickly redirected your eyes to the oatmeal, not wanting to be caught staring at the dark-haired man. You heard the rustle of him standing and the clattering of his cane as he walked over and sat near you.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” you teased him lightly. He smirked and let out a yawn, his long fingers covering his mouth as his jaw opened wide.

“Good morning, Y/N. Did you sleep well?” he asked you kindly, not even responding to your teasing.

“Yeah, actually, I slept really well,” you responded before trying the oatmeal again. It was done, so you laid out four bowls on the picnic table and served, V helpfully holding each bowl closer to the pot to help you.

“Thanks. Hungry, I hope?” you asked, and he nodded as he reached for the spoons. He picked up two and handed one to you and you smiled at him in return.

The pair of you ate together in a comfortable silence despite the fact that you barely knew each other. As the clatter of your spoons scooping up the meal slowed and eventually stopped, you broke the silence.

“What’s the plan for today?” you probed the lean man.

He leaned back, stretching his long arms over his head as he answered. “I imagine you’ll be training more with Nero. I’ll be making the trip to Dante’s to research what this growth in the city is, see if I can find a way for us to combat it.”

“Ah, good idea. Are you going alone?” you asked him, slightly worried.

He smirked, extending one of his hands out toward you. For a moment you thought it was an invitation, but then the black of his tattoos faded and a smaller version of Griffon appeared floating over his open palm. You marveled at the tiny, silent Griffon as he spoke, his voice low and amused.

“I am never truly alone, Y/N. There’s no need to worry. I’ll return by this evening, hopefully with some answers.”

His fingers closed and the miniature Griffon vanished back into his tattoos. He stood slowly, leaning on his cane.

“I’d best get moving. The hours of folly are measured by the clock, but of wisdom: no clock can measure,” he stated simply.

He gave you a nod and limped away. You watched him as he left, still worried about the poet but knowing you wouldn’t be much help anyway. You cleaned up the empty bowls as Nero started to stir, finally waking up from his deep sleep. He let out a long yawn and looked around, bleary eyed.

“Hey, Y/N. Where’s V?” he questioned you.

“He just left, he’s heading to Dante’s to research what the hell is going on,” you responded and handed him a bowl of oatmeal. He shot you a look of gratitude and dug in. You chuckled; Nero was always hungry when he first woke up. You heard clattering and curses from within the van, and Nico emerged a moment later. You’d learned she was not a morning person and you handed her the last bowl of oatmeal wordlessly. She grunted and sat down, eating almost as quickly as Nero.

Once he finished eating, Nero brought you back to the clearing for more training and the day passed in a blur of new fighting techniques and practices. Before you knew it, the sun had begun to set. You wondered if V had returned yet as you and Nero returned to camp. When the pair of you arrived, you found V and Nico deep in what looked like a serious conversation.

“Welcome back, V. Find anything?” you asked him amicably, standing next to the firepit and wondering what you could make for dinner.

His voice was dark, almost angry as he replied.

“I found much, and none of it good. Take a seat, both of you.”

You and Nero shared a glance of concern as you sat down and waited for V to speak, to tell you what you’re up against. You took a moment to study his face, seeing the dark circles under his eyes and the tenseness of his mouth and realized you weren’t getting any good news tonight.

“It took some time, but I found mention of a tree that grows in the underworld, the Qlipoth tree. It consumes blood, usually through local demons harvesting and bringing it back to the tree. The tree uses the blood to produce a fruit, which, when eaten, gives the consumer incredible power. I believe this is Urizen’s plan, to wait until the fruit is ready and then use it to gain yet more power, at which point we may as well stop fighting.”

You shivered at the quiet anger and despair of V’s voice. He seemed almost personally offended by the demon’s plans and you couldn’t help but wonder why.

“Okay, then. So, what I’m hearing is we need to go kick his ass as soon as possible. Is there any way to stop the fruit from growing?” Nero asked quietly. The news clearly didn’t sit well with him either.

“No, but we can slow it down by destroying roots of the tree and by defeating what demons we can, preventing them from bringing it more blood. The roots themselves form an almost symbiotic relationship with nearby demons, bonding to the strongest one available. Kill the host, kill the root.”

Nico released out a long breath, then leaned back.

“I’d better get back to work then, you’re going to need what I’m cookin’ up,” she informed the group darkly, standing. She headed back into the van and the three of you soon heard her cursing and clattering around her workstation.

Knowing there’s little you can contribute to the conversation, you decided to start on dinner. You had a few options, none of them that appealing. Eventually you settled on a few cans of chicken soup, going inside to use the stove to heat it up since the fire was looking rather low.

The sound of motors running greeted you, Nico already hard at work. You got started on your own task, both of you focusing on helping the two men outside defeat the terrible darkness that had cast a shroud over your home.

  ---Reader---

May 26th, 10:07 am

The next few days passed in a blur of fight training, cooking, and the now habitual morning bandage change for Nero. His arm was almost completely healed now, scar tissue developing incredibly fast. You mainly kept changing the bandage to ensure he had something to cushion his nub against the prototype arms Nico had been experimenting with. At first you thought she was attempting to make him a simple prosthesis, but after a few days it became clear these were meant to be far more than a replacement – she was building him weapons.

That sunny morning, she had an orange toned arm for him to try. At first glance it looked basic; molded to look like an ordinary arm. But upon closer inspection, you saw the fingers had spikes hidden in them.

“There’s a little button here, when you push that it’ll deploy the spikes. Should be pretty handy against a demon!” she quipped, chuckling at her pun. You joined in before she continued her explanation.

“Course, you have to get pretty close to use em, but that shouldn’t be hard for ya. I call it Bladestorm,” Nico announced proudly as she showed Nero the button near the elbow on the device. He, of course, immediately pressed it.

Five-inch spikes shot out of each finger on the arm, forcing Nico to jump back in alarm as they barely missed her skin. The spikes were serrated, looking like they could cut through steel. You stepped back a pace in alarm as Nero smiled apologetically at Nico.

“Watch it, psycho! You almost gutted me like a damn trout! Take it outside, go on!” Nico shouted at him and he quickly retreated outside the van to experiment with the new device, smiling like it was Christmas. You and Nico followed him outside to watch her creation in action.

Nero trotted confidently over to a nearby tree, cracking his neck as he went. He thrusted his new arm out, grinning like a madman as the spikes sank into the bark. He tried to pull his arm back, only to find that it was now stuck. You stifled a laugh as he futilely tried a few more times to free himself before he twisted his arm, and you heard a cracking noise as the spikes broke off into the trunk of the tree. Nico gasped and ran over to him.

“You! You idiot! The things are retractable! Aww, man…” she sent him a heavy glare and looked at the thoroughly embedded spikes of metal in the tree, clearly coming to the conclusion that she wouldn’t be able to retrieve them. She smacked the back of Nero’s head, muttering angrily about wasted resources. He grinned sheepishly at her.

“Sorry Nico… lemme get those for ya. Back up for a sec,” he told her, drawing his massive sword. She obliged hastily. He twisted the hilt and it emitted a sound like a motorcycle engine revving. The blade lit up, catching fire as he swung it against the tree, letting out a brash whoop as it made contact just above where the metal was stuck. There was a loud cracking sound as the top half of the poor tree came hurtling down. Nero smirked and slashed his blade against the remains of the tree, cutting off the section with the embedded metal spikes. It clattered to the ground and came to a stop right at Nico’s feet.

“How long do you need to fix it? I feel ready to kick some ass,” Nero commented to her as she picked it up.

“By all rights I shouldn’t even bother fixin’ it for you! You’ll probably just break it again anyway. Lucky for you I’m an artist and I wanna see my work completed!” Nico poked Nero in the chest with the chunk of tree as she reprimanded him, driving her point home before she went back inside the van to remove the spikes from the hunk of wood.

Just then, you heard the tell-tale clattering of V’s approach as his cane struck the ground. He’d been off scouting the area, keeping it clear of demons so the rest of you could make your preparations in peace.

“Hey V! Check out what Nico made for me!” Nero proudly displayed his new mechanical arm to V, who cocked an eyebrow at the odd contraption. “It had blades but I broke them. I think once it’s fixed we should be ready to go.”

“Excellent. We are running out of time as it is. The demons are getting bolder and we still have no idea what happened to Dante, Trish and Lady. Without them we may not even be able to finish this, but we must try regardless,” the poet replied tersely

“Who’s Dante? And Trish? And Lady?” you asked.

“More devil hunters – the best in the business in fact. The three of them faced Urizen the same day we met you, Y/N, but we weren’t able to get them out of the Qlipoth after the battle. It was all I could do to drag Nero out. It is my hope that we may yet find them somewhere along the way, but if not it will be up to us to end this,” V answered with a tight grimace.

You had your doubts as to whether anyone could have survived the devastation for over a week, but maybe the three “best” devil hunters would surprise you. You crossed your fingers and asked the universe for a little help. You followed V as he limped to the edge of the clearing your group had been using as a campsite, leaving Nero to his own devices. V sat near the firepit, adding a log to the flames almost as an afterthought. You plopped down beside him, and he glanced at you, his gaze serious and penetrating.

“You may not survive the coming battles if you remain with us. Your help with Nero’s injury has been invaluable but if you wish to leave, this may be your last chance. As soon as Nero is ready, we’ll be setting off, and we won’t turn back again,” he murmured softly.

He seemed sad to say the words, and regardless of their truth you knew there was no turning back for you now.

 I can’t walk away when I know I can help. No matter the price.

You reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder, looking deep into his emerald eyes before you responded and choosing each word with extra care.

“I know what I’m risking by staying. But I’d be risking more by leaving now. Don’t think I haven’t noticed your health problems, V. We all know Nero can’t do this alone – he needs allies. He needs you. And if you should falter, he will fail too. Then what? The world falls. If I can somehow help you stand strong, help you support Nero and whomever we can find along the way, how could I possibly turn away? My life, or the hope of the world? It’s an easy choice for me.”

He nodded grimly with his mouth set in a hard line. He reached out to mirror you, laying a hand on your shoulder. His touch sent a jolt through you as he opened his mouth to speak again.

“I am glad to know you’re with us. Your presence…” He glanced away, unable to hold eye contact as he continued. “It comforts me. It’s odd to think it, but you may be the difference between victory and defeat. How fortunate for us all that you stepped out your door at the exact moment we were passing it.”

You blushed slightly at his kind words and squeezed his shoulder to offer your support. His gaze flicked back to your face, and for a moment you could’ve sworn his eyes locked onto your lips. You licked them nervously and he blinked, breaking the moment. His hand dropped from your shoulder and you followed his example, already missing the warmth of his touch.

“The most sublime act is to set another before you,” he murmured, still looking at you intensely.  “And here you are, setting the entire world before you. You are extraordinary.”

You blinked, unsure how to answer such lofty praise as V stood. He gave you a nod and walked away, leaving you to your thoughts.

________________________________________

May 27th, 11:27 am

Nico managed to fix the broken arm easily; a little bit of welding was all it took to reattach the broken metal spikes. Final preparations were made quickly; bags packed with granola bars and trail mix, weapons sharpened and routes planned. By 11 am there was no reason to delay any longer and the time finally arrived to leave the little campsite that you’d called home since the attack. The group split; you traveled with V and Nico with Nero. You made it a point to teach Nero how to wrap his arm before he left, but you still worried he might forget.

Still, parting was difficult. You’d come to care so much for these people in such a brief amount of time, and you didn’t want to split up. The basic plan was to take separate routes toward the main portion of the Qlipoth, searching for your friends along the way. For now the main objective was to clear out some of the outer lying roots, thereby weakening the main structure and slowing the growth of the fruit.

The day started easily enough. You and V picked a trail leading to the nearest visible root of the massive tree, planning to eradicate it. You weren’t sure how, the damn thing was nearly thirty stories tall already and you had no weapons capable of making such a structure fall. Regardless, you trusted in V’s knowledge and expertise on the subject and walked beside him through the wreckage.

The neighborhood you were in was part of the local community college, the campus featuring lush landscaping and plenty of benches for students to pause between classes and study on. You could almost see them, backpacks slung low on young shoulders, heavy with the weight of the expensive textbooks. It reminded you of your years studying to become a nurse, a time not long ago when you had finally had the clarity and focus to start building your future.

 I wonder what the future holds now, how different my path will be after this… catastrophe. Assuming I survive this.

You tilted your head to face the sun, reveling in the feeling of being alive with warm sunlight caressing your skin. You resolved to enjoy the simple pleasures during your journey, to not take a single breath for granted. The thought of death made your very bones shake with fear, but the thought of doing nothing was far worse.

 Never again. I’ll never let myself be a bystander if I can help it.

The thought filled you with determination, as it always did. Suddenly, V spoke, shaking you out of your reverie.

“One thought fills immensity,” he recited, his voice barely above a whisper. He looked at you, curiosity clear in his expression. “What are you thinking about?”

You briefly toyed with the idea of making something up, nervous embarrassment filling you. It wasn’t in your nature to share your innermost thoughts with others, especially when you didn’t know them well yet. But there was something about V that reassured the anxiety in your heart, his presence like a balm on your soul. He didn’t seem the type to judge or think less of a person; respect almost emanated from him like an aura. You discarded the lie, letting him see just a glimpse of the part of yourself you kept hidden, locked away inside you to keep it safe.

“I was thinking that even though I might not live through this, and don’t get me wrong, the idea scares the shit out of me, I still can’t let myself be a bystander. Better to die than to do nothing,” you told him honestly as you stepped carefully over some fallen bricks.

V’s jaw clenched, eyes flashing as he continued walking beside you, following your footsteps.

“I understand the feeling. I’ve heard it said that courage in the face of fear is the most difficult to accomplish,” he responded thoughtfully.

“Fear either stands for forget everything and run, or face everything and rise,” you commented back and he chuckled lightly.

“A clever way of saying it,” he replied with an amused smirk. The pair of you turned a corner and your eyes widened. The ground had shifted, rising at least twenty feet to form a near vertical cliffside, the rapid change in elevation causing the building before you to shear partway through. You could see inside the upper levels and it reminded you of a dollhouse where the walls could slide away for easier access. You looked left and right to see how far the new terrain extends, but more buildings blocked your line of sight.

V sighed as if he expected this, his following words confirming your thoughts.

“As I thought. The roots grew so rapidly the very Earth has shifted to make room. We’ll have to find a way up or go around,” he stated mildly. He stepped forward, the soles of his sandals making an oddly satisfying rhythm against the pavement. You followed him, still staring at the bewildering sight. He reached the front of the building and peeked inside briefly, only needing a glance to ascertain the damage.

“There’s no way through here, let’s try the next building,” he informed you. He twirled his cane absentmindedly as he walked, making you wonder why exactly he used it.

 An old injury? Some kind of medical issue? Maybe he’s deformed or something. Odd how whatever his reason is, it seems to come and go.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the strange crunching sound of the red barriers forming; demons. V immediately grasped his cane more firmly, pointed it forward and summoned Griffon and Shadow, his tattoos lightening noticeably as they appeared. You counted three Empusa and two Caina appearing as V withdrew his book of poetry.

“Let’s kick some ugly demon asses!” Griffon shouted as he dove toward the nearest Empusa, Shadow roaring as she shifted into a bladed form and charged forward. A Hell Caina near you stole your attention, its scythe dripping red menacingly as it approached you. You knew you couldn’t risk getting within its attack range, so you drew the revolver from your belt. You pulled back the hammer and aimed, firing it as quickly as you could manage. The Caina staggered as the bullets struck home, hitting it in the chest. It dissolved quickly, vanishing in a puff of black dust.

You allowed yourself a brief moment of satisfaction before you turned your attention to the next demon, an Empusa. This time you drew your hammer and dagger, circling it carefully as it drew closer. It streaked forward and you lept back, taking a swing with the hammer and a slash with the dagger as you went. The dagger barely sliced into its flesh, but the hammer hit home in one of the Empusa’s tiny eye sockets. It let out an enraged squeal as it stepped back to recover.

You glanced at V, making sure he was managing well but you needn’t have worried. He circled the battle, ever on the fringes. As you watched he dashed forward, his cane sinking into the flesh of a dying Caina.

“Die,” he instructed the demon in the harsh tone he reserved for battle. You switched your focus back to your own foe as he darted off again.

The Empusa you were fighting charged you again, and you took careful aim with your dagger. You sliced its throat deeply in a death blow as it barely grazed you with its claws, leaving a shallow cut on your arm. Nothing serious. You looked around for the next enemy only to find there were none left and the red webbing had disappeared. You stowed your weapons, panting, as Griffon landed on V’s waiting arm, cursing the demons as the last one dissolved into nothingness.

“Is that all you shitbrains got? Yeesh,” he teased the dying demon from his master’s arm. Shadow growled in agreement, stalking over to V for him to scratch behind her huge ears. It made a lovely picture, V standing there with one cane-holding arm held aloft for Griffon to perch on, his other arm patting the massive panther. His hair fell forward and you grinned in amusement as he shook his head to move it out of his eyes instead of pausing his panther-petting.

His head turned to look at you as you approached him, Shadow following suit to eye you warily. You weren’t a cat person, yet you found yourself curious what her fur felt like. You extended a hand cautiously for her to sniff, thoroughly pleased when she did exactly that. She pushed her muzzle against your palm in approval and you ran your fingers through her fur. Up close, it resembled V’s hair, though Shadow had red lines pulsing through her fur periodically. She was soft, feeling much like an ordinary housecat under your fingertips. You smiled as she pulled away to return to V’s tattoos in a cloud of black particles.

 I wonder what  Griffon’s feathers feel like?

“Hey, Griffon, can I touch your feathers?” you asked him shyly and he looked at you with one beady eye.

“Hear that, V? Your little lady friend wants to touch me,” he teased as he fluffed up his feathers, showing off a little bit as he continued, “First she makes goo-goo eyes at you, Shakespeare, then she goes and pets the cat, and now she wants to touch me. Sweetheart, you have some seriously weird taste.”

You blushed and tried to ignore the goo-goo eyes comment as you waited for Griffon to actually answer you. He sighed and mumbled something to V, who smirked, but finally the blue demon lowered his head in a gesture of permission. You reached out and stroked his neck feathers, finding the almost airy texture to be firmly enjoyable. You ran your fingers across his back, enjoying the warmth of the strange bird and taking comfort in it. He watched you the entire time, somehow looking both amused and suspicious.

You were mesmerized, stroking him continuously until he finally spread his wings to leap off V’s arm, taking a loop around the area before coming back.

“Alright, enough of your weird feather-fetish. Can we get moving, for crying out loud?” he complained loudly and you blushed again as V smirked, emerald eyes twinkling with enjoyment. A long moment passed before his gaze fell on Griffon.

“Scout ahead; we need to find a way up there, or a path around it,” he instructed the brazen avian, using his cane to point at the cliffside. Griffon flapped away, muttering under his breath about being a glorified set of binoculars combined with a plushie.

You sat on a nearby bench and pulled a bit of trail mix from your bag, holding out the package to V as an invitation. He smiled and joined you, taking a handful of the snack as he approached. He sat close to you and you held the bag between you so he could reach it easily. A thought occurred to you – you’d never heard V mention any foods he enjoyed.

“V, what’s your favorite food?” you queried between mouthfuls.

He swallowed and reached in for another handful before replying, “I honestly haven’t had the opportunity to try very many different dishes. I have not yet disliked a dish. Your stew had a wonderful flavor, easily my favorite so far.”

You beamed, unexpectedly warmed by his words. You reached for another handful of trail mix, but V’s hand was already in the bag. Your fingers collided in a flash of heat, both of you jerking back instinctively. You almost dropped the bag but managed to keep it in your grasp.

“My apologies,” V mumbled awkwardly, his face a little red.

 Is he… embarrassed?

The idea seemed ludicrous at first; the ever-confident, always composed V, embarrassed? By just a touch of your fingers? No way, impossible.  But as you watched his face his blush deepened, and he looked away awkwardly. A playful grin spread across your face at the realization.

 Payback time.

You felt a surge of confidence with the knowledge of his embarrassment and your heart fluttered as you casually leaned your head on his shoulder, hand reaching for more trail mix and bringing it to your mouth. He tensed but didn’t move away, his intricately tattooed shoulder warm under your cheek.

---V---

He stopped breathing for a moment when you lied your cheek on his shoulder. The contact of your fingers had been accidental, but this…

His heart thumped a galloping pace in his chest and a lightness passed through him. He felt almost dizzy at the sensations, the meaning of it all so frustratingly, maddeningly unclear. This was the kind of contact he had never experienced as Vergil. The slow blossoming of his emotions was so utterly opposed to the few memories he had of asserting his power over women, the gradual growth of his affection a stark contrast to the quick conquests of his former life. Vergil had never even considered someone a friend; V had no context or history to draw upon to interpret your behavior.

 How does one know when they have made a friend?

“Y/N…” he began softly, getting your attention. You let out a soft hum of acknowledgement and he licked his lips nervously before continuing on, determined. “Are we… friends?”

Suddenly your cheek was no longer on his shoulder and his soul cried out at the loss of contact. You faced him and he gauged your expression as best he could with his limited understanding. Your eyes looked confused, almost sad, mouth slightly ajar as you stared back at him.

“Of course we are, V. Why do you ask?” you responded, sounding almost hurt.

He swallowed uncertainly; difficulty admitting his weaknesses was a trait that he carried over from Vergil, it appeared. “I… don’t think I’ve had a friend before.”

Your expression softened and you leaned back on his shoulder again. Your hands set the almost empty bag of trail mix aside as you wrapped both arms around the limb you were leaning against. He felt an odd sensation; a mixture of pain and joy warring in his heart – loneliness being eased. He hadn’t even realized he had been so lonely. He cautiously leaned his own head down atop yours, smelling your hair. Through all the demon blood and dirt from your travels, he caught a gentle aroma that he didn’t not recognize.

 That must be her… how exquisite.

“Oh, V… that must have been hard. I consider myself lucky to have you as my friend, and I’m glad to be your first,” you whispered against his shoulder.

 How does she do that? How does she always say exactly what I didn’t even know I needed to hear?

His eyes watered a little at your words and he responded with a tone so soft you had to strain to hear it.

“The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.”

His eyes closed; his body was finally able to relax as you held his arm gently, his mind cementing the moment in his memory. His eyes shot open a mere heartbeat later as he heard wingbeats getting closer.

“Griffon approaches,” he announced, lifting his head mournfully.

“Ah…” you responded, disentangling your arms from his. You stood, stretching beside him, and he quickly averted his eyes as the sight stirred something within him that he was not yet ready to face. He reached for his cane, standing as well as Griffon came into view, flapping occasionally as he coasted back to land on the bench the two of you had only just vacated.

“You want the good news or bad news first?” the demonic bird bagan, fluffing up his feathers. He didn’t wait for a response, plowing ahead almost in the same breath. “So there’s a way up a few miles that way, but there’s at least four groups of demons in the way. I didn’t go in any buildings so you might be able to avoid some of it, but a couple of em looked like they could murder us with their pinky fingers!”

V sighed heavily. “That may take us the rest of the day to get through if we end up fighting. We’ll have to try subtlety.”

“Try not to die,” Griffon quipped as V lifted his arm, summoning the bird back within his tattoos. He cursed, frustrated and doubting you two would make it through without being detected.

He looked up at the Qlipoth, centering his mind on the task at hand. He glanced back at you to see you digging in your pack for something.

“Y/N, what are you doing?” he asked you with a raised eyebrow.

You pulled out a pack of sticky bandages, smiling triumphantly.

“V, sit down and take off your sandals. I’ll need your cane, too,” you ordered him, already walking back to the bench. He obeyed, curiosity prickling his mind as he removed his sandals, carefully handing them to you.

~~~Next Chapter~~~

[kriscynical]

Kris’s Trial of the Sword Tips

There are some tips out there that I thought were pretty common knowledge when it comes to defeating the Trial of the Sword, especially the Final Trials, but after I made that post last night and chatted with a couple people, I guess... they’re not as common as I thought? 

Given this apparent fact, here are my tips for getting through the trials.

Some of the following information might seem like dumbass obvious stuff to most of you, but if even one person hasn’t thought of it or didn’t know about it, it’s worth including! This is the stuff that I found most helpful for my own playthroughs.

(Cut to save your dashes because this got decently long.)

Learn how to Perfect Guard/shield deflect guardians. The Eastern Abbey on the Great Plateau is a great place to practice the timing for it (a split second after the eye turns blue, usually... you develop a rhythm pretty quick) with the handful of stationary guardians that are peppered around. Saving right before confronting the first one gives you an easy way to go back again and again and again, especially if you blow through all of your shields really fast while you’re learning. Being able to shield deflect guardian beams will help you a lot because while you run into a couple guardian stalkers in the Middle Trials, you will deal with a LOT of guardians in the Final Trials including stalkers, turrets, and the skywatchers (I %*&$#-ing hate those little bastards with the fire of a thousand suns because I can never shield deflect them correctly!).

Watch the strat video by Austin John Plays on YouTube (a few of these tips come from that video). I don’t think every one of his tips are really sound (I took a lot of damage trying to do some things the way he suggested because they were overly tedious for my style of gameplay, so don’t take it as gospel), but overall I’ve found it to be really helpful. Your mileage will vary. (x)

Set your Sheikah Sensor to treasure chests. You WILL miss them otherwise, especially the buried one next to the skull cave on Floor 2? of the Middle Trials and the ones encased in ice in the Final Trials.

You can’t carry weapons or armor into the trials, of course, but you CAN carry in an already activated food buff. Exploit the hell out of this.  

Cook yourself the strongest, longest lasting defense buff in the game by combining 1 dragon horn shard and 4 armored porgies. It will give you a level 3 defense buff and the dragon horn shard will make it last for 30 minutes, which is the longest possible buff.

If you haven’t finished all 120 shrines and are short of the 30 heart mark, cook up whatever hearty food you need to max out your temporary hearts going in. Any help you can get to start with is invaluable.

If you have finished all 120 shrines and have a full stamina gauge and 26 hearts (the way I personally like to play the normal game itself), use the horned statue in Hateno to swap out your stamina for 30 hearts. I barely use the aerial archery slow down during the trials (save for Floor 4? of the Middle Trials with all the wind and elemental boko archers, but I still had enough stamina to get the job done), climbing is minimal, and hearts are far more valuable. Even with 30 hearts you’ll still have more than enough stamina to climb whatever you need to in the trials.

Save right next to the pedestal where you start the trials -- before eating your buffs -- so if you die, you don’t lose the buffs you just cooked.

Eat your hearty buff first to get your temporary hearts if needed.

Eat your defense buff and IMMEDIATELY drop the Master Sword into the pedestal to start the trials so you can take advantage of every second of that 30 minutes. It took me roughly an hour and 40 minutes to get through the Final Trials, an hour to get through the Beginning Trials, but only 29:30 to get through the Middle Trials. Don’t ask me how that ended up working because I have no idea.

If you reach a rest floor before your defense buff wears out (and I hope to god you do because you’re in bad shape if it takes you 30 minutes to get through ~six floors!) and you need to eat immediately to heal, be very careful to make sure your status effect ingredients cancel each other out when you cook. Otherwise you’ll cancel out your remaining defense buff if you eat something with a new buff effect! This seems obvious but I was almost stupid enough to do that my first time through, so...

This shouldn’t need to be said, but cook every hearty foodstuff you get individually, even if you don’t have 30 hearts. Extra temporary hearts aren’t going to do you as much good as a full health restore will, and each individual hearty item will, of course, fully replenish your health and give you at least one temporary heart if your health gauge allows it.

Don’t try to conserve your weapons by bombing wooden supply boxes and barrels if you have a defense buff (or any stat buff) running. Just use an ax or two-handed weapon. Bombing wastes a HUGE amount of time because you have to go on a chicken hunt for the supplies it just scattered in all directions, and you’re liable to miss something. When every apple is critical, you don’t want this to happen.

Do not stay on the raft in Floor 11 of the Beginning Trials. You’re a sitting target for every bokoblin along the way, and their arrows HURT. I had much more success -- and less damage taken -- by hopping off the raft and swimming over to the nearby rocks that have a chest hidden in them.

Always always always try to knock moblins and bokoblins into deep water. They can’t swim, and they instantly die. Wood weapons/shields will float and any metal weapons/shields can be retrieved from the water with Magnesis.  

Remote bombs float in updrafts. I forgot this at first when it came to the elevated chests in the wind floors of the Middle Trials. Just drop one and let it float as high as it will go. It’ll be high enough to break the platform to get the chests.

For wizrobes floating over bottomless abysses in the wind floors of the Middle Trials: make sure they’re not over a platform, Stasis them, and shoot them in the head with a normal arrow. When Stasis wears off they’ll fall into the bottomless pit and be considered dead.

Don’t bother trying to lure the stalkoblins to rusty weapons to be struck by lightning in the first few floors of the Final Trials. Odds are you’ll get electrocuted while you’re at it, and that shit hurts. 

Fire weapons keep you warm when equipped in cold areas. Pick up the Meteor Rod from the wizrobe in the earlier floors of the Final Trials and keep it on you for as long as possible in the cold floors, only unequipping it to fight something. If you’re quick, you won’t take any cold damage. It can also let you delay in eating your cold resistance food, especially if you’re not mortally hurting for hearts yet.

When you receive the thunder blade from the Stalnox in Floor 5 of the Final Trials, use it to disarm all the enemies you come across from there on out. Do not fight with it! You don’t want it to break. Just swing it once to make the enemy drop its weapon, steal the weapon, then equip something else to finish them off. Yeah, getting kicked by a moblin hurts when you’re in nothing but firebreaker pants, but it hurts a hell of a lot less than getting whacked by a moblin’s knight’s claymore. 

You can one-shot kill Lynels with ancient arrows! I thought this was well known, but I guess not! It creates a vortex behind them that sucks them in, and the trials count it as a kill. I don’t recommend doing this in the game itself, though, because that vortex sucks in all the Lynel’s weapons and stuff, too, so you don’t get any spoils. Because you technically cheated. But all is fair in the Final Trials because holy shit biscuits.

Save all of your bomb arrows for the Final Trials Floor 21 with the one guardian skywatcher. Climb up on one of the pillars to get above it and try to disable all of its propellers with bomb arrows and then spin attack with two handed weapons to take it out once it’s on the ground. Screw trying to shield deflect.

On Floor 22 of the Final Trials, skirt around the left hand wall to take out the guardian stalker first, then the skywatcher, and then the turret. This will keep more than one of them from detecting you at once.

On Floor 23 of the Final Trials, after immediately shooting the Lynel in the face with an ancient arrow, just pick off the mounted bokoblins with a bow stronger than 13. 2/3 of your bow stash should be over 20 by then and the trials are plenty generous with arrows if you destroy every box and barrel you see up until that point. Don’t mess with Stasis or any nonsense like that. It wastes time and gives them a chance to hit you while Stasis cools down. If you try to climb the only good tree in the area, the guardian turret will lock on to you and you’re screwed. Stay on the ground and hide behind that tree for cover.

And that’s all I’ve got! Hopefully any of you who have been struggling with the trials will be able to make a little headway with some of this information.

Good luck!

[221bdisneystreet]

klancemonth film week prompt #3: eternal sunshine of the spotless mind au

here’s my third prompt for @klancemonth2018: an eternal sunshine of the spotless mind au! for prior context: after a severe falling out in their relationship, keith decides to have his memories of lance erased via a special medical procedure. he quickly regrets his decision, however, and does everything he can to stop the process within his mind. he soon stumbles into his last existing memory of lance: at the beach house where they first met

(warning for minor alcohol mentions in the beginning; sidenote also that lance and keith are much older in this au, around their early/mid-20s)

Even in the crevices of his dissolving memories, that old beach house was exactly as Keith remembered it. Its strawberry-red exterior and white frames stood in stark contrast to the moonlit darkness, and despite the thrash and howl of the winds that made even the palm trees bend like reeds, the house still remained in its full two-story glory.

Keith knew that it wouldn’t last.

He raced down the bridge leading to the porch and opened the front door. Even the inside was the same as it was two years ago, with its simple floral wallpaper and old-fashioned oak paneling and creaking floorboards. The scents of aging wood and dust, with hints of saltwater, lingered like a passing phantom and crept into Keith’s lungs. He nearly coughed from inhaling such strong yet old smells, yet it still felt...oddly welcoming to him.

After Keith shut the door, the faint noises of shuffling and scraping wood emerged from a nearby room. Just then, a familiar and triumphant  “Ah-ha!” silenced that brief symphony of sounds. Keith walked over and peeked into the room, which appeared to be a small but cozy storage room.

“Keith, my man! We’ve hit the jackpot!” Lance grinned, shining his flashlight into a large, open cabinet. Inside was an assorted number of liquor bottles in all sizes, from colorfully-labeled bottles of beer to taller and more plain-looking bottles of wine. Keith couldn’t help but smile a bit fondly at seeing the delight on Lance’s face. He always knew how to find the thrill in anything, even in something as simple as sniffing out a hidden liquor closet.

Lance clapped his gloved hands. “Well, pick your poison. I’m personally feeling for something a bit elegant tonight, so a swig of champagne sounds good in my book.” He peered into the cabinet and rummaged through the trove of bottles, the glass clinking together softly. “You down for that? Or do you want something else? I’m flexible with my alcohol.”

“Nah, I...think I’ll pass for tonight. You choose what you want,” Keith said, slipping his hands into the pockets of his wool coat. Shivering slightly, he buried his chin a little deeper into his scarf.

“Alright, whatever you say.” Lance came out with a champagne bottle in hand and approached Keith. With a wink and a sly grin, he asked playfully, “Meet ya upstairs, samurai?”

Suddenly, the house began to shudder violently. The cracking of wood exploded in Keith’s ears as the walls started to splinter.

This was it.

It was already happening.

“I have this pretty sick mixtape that we can listen to together! Come on!” Lance shouted from above as he rushed upstairs.

“I don’t know if I can now,” Keith shouted back. He ambled back into the storage room and peered down, gently kicking at the warm beach sand that had suddenly covered the entire floor. “I have to leave…”

No sound came from upstairs. Nothing but the crackling of oak and peeling of wallpaper and paint made their voices known.

“...so go.” Lance’s voice, distant but still distinct, echoed from above.

“I did.” Keith whispered, and he let out a heavy sigh. “I thought you were crazy or something.” His mind spinning wildly, he wandered towards the living room, observing the walls that trembled around him. Webbed cracks began forming on the windows, the glass beginning its descent into a shattered void. Keith gave a short, quiet laugh and shook his head. “But really, I thought you were exciting.”

Fine specks of powder streamed and showered from above as the ceiling slowly crumbled. Old picture frames fell off the disintegrating walls, and vases and lamps toppled over.

“I wish you stayed that night,” Lance called out.

“I wish I stayed, too. Well...now I wish I stayed. I...” Now suddenly ankle-deep in a cold and shallow flood of seawater that leaked into the house, Keith waded towards the couch, his footsteps splashing loudly and the soaked cuffs of his jeans clinging to his skin. A regretful smile curled up in his lips. “I really wish I stayed. I really do.”

As Keith stared at the rippling seafoam beneath him, Lance said, “I came downstairs and noticed you left.”

After a hesitant pause, Keith said, “I walked out the door.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Well...maybe I do know,” Keith sighed and sat down on the couch. “I was scared. Even though I was well into my twenties, I still felt like such a scared kid that night. I mean, I’ve always been that way every day of my life. Scared of being alone, of being abandoned. Rejected. I dunno…” He bent forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “I just wasn’t really thinking again, I guess.”

“Wait, you were scared?”

“Yeah. I thought you already knew that.” Keith let out a tiny and hollow laugh. “I just ran outside, trying so hard to outrun my humiliation. Trying to hide myself away again.” He stood up again, walking towards the fracturing windows. As he gazed outside, the ocean began to surge rapidly, the waves rolling past the shoreline and towards the porch.   

“Was it something that I said?” Lance asked, his tone laced with confusion and concern.

“Yeah…” Keith hesitated, his fingers picking at a loose stitch in his coat pocket. “...you told me, ‘so go’ with such disdain.”

“Aww, I’m sorry.” Lance’s voice was apologetic, full of sympathy. Keith just shrugged, “Ehh, it’s okay.”

So go.

Those two words, far away in the stretches of nothingness, still pounded in his head.

The next thing he knew, Keith ran to the front door, threw it open, and began jogging away from the porch, away from the house, away from––

“Keith?”

That voice, calling for him like a child beckoning for their mother, made Keith stop in his tracks and turn around. Lance finally came into view from upstairs, poking his head out from behind the railing. With a solemn expression, one that appeared pleading and desperate, he asked, “What if you stayed this time?”

Keith smiled with soft remorse. He really wanted to stay. He tried so hard to stay, to cling tightly onto every happy memory of them, to desperately rescue every single piece of joy that Lance had brought into his life, to carve those little moments of their love permanently into his brain so that they could never be erased.

But he failed.

Every memory was always within his grasp until it had been forcefully yanked away from him and lost to the gaping jaws of oblivion.

He should have known his efforts were useless. The procedure was supposed to be completely foolproof. Success rates always at 100%, customer satisfaction guaranteed. That is, if you even remembered what the satisfaction was rooted in.

And yet, Keith still tried to defy science, to defy nature, to defy logic.

All so he could keep Lance close to his heart, even if it was for a fleeting second.

“I can’t, Lance,” Keith answered, shaking his head. “The memory’s gone. It’s just become nothing.” He let out a defeated laugh, even though now he started to feel tears pricking out of the corners of his eyes. “And you can’t rebuild something out of nothing in your memories.”

The house had now been stripped to almost nothing, with only the staircase and the porch still mostly intact. Lance frowned at Keith’s words.

“Well, at least come back and make up a goodbye?” Lance asked, his tone gentle and soothing. “Let’s pretend we had one?”

Goodbye.

Keith wished it didn’t have to come to this. It was a cruel and impending truth that he had to accept, the grand and bittersweet finale of this whole charade.

But if he could be able to share one last cheerful moment, no matter how small…

With a soft smile, Keith made his way back to the porch and stood at the foot of the staircase. Lance started walking down the stairs. Keith used every ounce of his determination and strength to savor every little bit of Lance. His teal sweatshirt, his denim jeans, his ruffled hair, his smooth skin, his dark blue eyes that still twinkled in the luminous glow of the moon, the tender smile that curved up in his lips…

When he was near the bottom, Lance knelt down so he was at eye-level with Keith.

“Goodbye, Keith.”

Around them, the landscape roared as everything around them shook and collapsed in an earthquake into oblivion.

“I love you, Lance,” Keith murmured, still smiling through teary eyes.

As everything started to fade away into a haze, Lance leaned towards Keith. Even though the sounds and sights and smells were growing muddled and sinking into an abyss of nothing, even though a blinding light from beyond Keith’s evaporating memories shrouded his vision and slowly pulled him out of his mind, Keith somehow could distinguish the last words that Lance whispered into his ear before they dissipated like smoke.

“Meet me...in Montauk…”

[majimonstersstrategy]

Amphare

Intro:

If you’re a fan of having high speed and a decent amount of options in any given situation, Amphare may be the starter for you, with decent physical and special attack stats and average defenses, Amphare has no clear weaknesses, and has one amazing strength in it’s speed, which allows it not only to often go before opponents, but to threaten them with melee attacks where other monsters can only use ranged attacks and threaten range attacks where others couldn’t threaten attacks at all. In this strategy review, I’ll analyze the stats, moves, traits and upgrades to determine what would be best to take on an Amphare.

Stats:

Amphare has some of the most standard stats in the game, with only an above average speed going for it stat wise.

Offense: Amphare has 3 in strike, magic, brawn and talent. While this may at first seem like a hinderance, as it has no clear advantage over other monsters, the ability to attack decently with both physical and magical attacks allows Amphare to play the situation appropriately, using magic attacks against physical tanks and vice versa. Unfortunately, the lack of a 4 in either accuracy stat means that a battle against a dedicated tank will usually mean missing, as 2d6+3 only has a 27% hit rate against a 12 defense. Overall, it earns a solid B for it’s ability to be a mixed sweeper, but misses out on getting anything higher since it can be hard walled.

Defense: Amphare has completely standard defensive stats. Its speed can keep it away from strong physical attackers but in a realistic scenario it will be average. It earns a C+ in this regard, since it can in theory use its speed defensively, but not often.

Utility: Amphare is all about the speed. 7 speed means you have initiative advantage and can position yourself better than your opponent. Being the only utility stat, this puts Amphare as above average, and monsters with an 8 in speed are very rare in Majimonsters. It earns an A in speed.

Trait: Amphare has Clerity, the ability to move two extra spaces when running in a straight line.

Offense: From an offensive standpoint, this will very rarely allow give you the opportunity to reach a melee attack, but using it to get into ranged attack range in massive battles is a great use of it. Overall, it gains a C in offense, it can be useful offensively, but will very rarely come up.

Defense: Celerity being used to run away is a pretty good use of it if everything goes wrong, moving 9 squares without any speed investment is impossible for other monsters, this will keep amphare free from all melee focused monsters, but is too limited to really  play around ranged users. It gets a B, it can be used to stay safe, but it’s only recommended if all else has failed.

Note: Breeding a larger Amphare to be able to use as a mount or passing this ability to a mount monster  would allow for the fastest mount in Majimonsters.

Starting moves:

Offense: Electrocute works as Amphare’s early ranged option. Pounce is only really the best move in two scenarios. If you need the extra 5 feet of movement, and if you’re battling a monster that resists lightning damage. Sparking bite is the main melee move for an early Amphare and is the only move to have a trigger effect, while this isn’t a great effect, it is better than anything your other moves can do on amphare and in melee it should definitely be used over pounce when possible.

Defense: N/A

Utility: N/A

Grade 1 moves:

Offense: Charged strike acts as a damage boost in melee combat, allowing for a d8 damage dice over the d6 of all your starting moves. Lightning bolt has an effect that allows it to reach a range of 50 feet.

Charged Strike: B-, You have better options at this grade and a 1d8 damage with no other effects is not something that’s going to be remaining relevant.

Lightning Bolt: B, the range makes this remain a little more relevant in later levels, the low damage and lack of other useful effects keep it from being above this.

Defense:

Static Aura: A, Static aura forced monsters in melee range to move 10 feet or be disoriented. This pretty much hard counters physical attackers, and remains useful throughout.

Utility:

Sonic Speed: S, At the end of Amphare’s turn, Amphare can move 20 feet without provoking withdraw strikes, allowing it to reposition wherever it wants.

Grade 2 moves:

Offense: Bolt Beam is a massive boost over the ranged attacks of the previous grade, not only having more damage, but also can cause disoriented, just like Sparking bite, which you’re probably used to by now. Crackling Strikes serves a similar purpose to the previous grade’s Charged strike, a damage boost with nothing else to offer. Swooping Strike allows for Amphare to attack and move right after, and also may knock an opponent prone. Sudden Surge gives Amphare a utility attack, meaning it can attack twice in one turn

Bolt Beam: B, A strong attack that can cause an effect is always good, disoriented isn’t the best but this is still completely usable. This has a direct upgrade next grade so if you want something like this, I recommend waiting for it.

Crackling Strike: C+, This is the strongest attack you can have at grade 2. This will not remain strong later on, but it’s very usable at this level.

Swooping Strike: A (wo SS)/ C (w SS), Moving after attacking is amazing, especially if you didn’t pick up sonic speed last grade. If you did, this is… not nearly as good. Being able to use grit to make it more likely to cause knocked prone does make it the most reiable effect causing attack you have access to.

Sudden Surge: A, a utility attack is always amazing to have, and an extra attack per turn is never something bad. It’s got bad range, bad damage and no effect, but it’s something few monsters get access to and you definitely want to at least consider picking it up.

Defense: N/A

Utility: Fire Stride: D-, this can allow Amphare to create a massive wall, but the lack of a maintain ability makes this only last one turn, meaning at most this is an extra d6 if combod with ally’s moves. You have much better options that are much more self sufficient.

Grade 3 moves: Welcome to where Amphare goes from a speedster to a nightmare, you have some of the best move access in this grade that you’re gonna get.

Offense: If you’ve been wondering when that amazing speed of Amphare’s would have a chance to shine, take Furious charge. Now your sonic speed disengage, your celerity and anything else to allow for disengages has a use, move as far as you can and ram into something, this move makes you the killer rabbit, but it’s tough to use effectively. Stunning Shock is an upgrade to bolt beam from last grade, it’s stronger and the most reliable effect attack you have access to so far

Furious Charge: A+, anywhere from 5-13 (6-14 with brawny) damage all based on your ability to position and use your disengages, this rewards clever play more than any other move. Not having to roll damage is nice since it lets you plan ahead more.

Stunning Shock: A, a little overshadowed by furious charge, but this isn’t a melee attack and if you want a ranged attacker Amphare and picked up a magic boost and Talented, this is definitely gonna let you compete with most ranged fighters this grade, and will remain useful later.

Defense: Combat focus allows you to dodge an attack by any enemy. Unfortunately, that also means you don’t get to attack and at this grade, you have access to some amazing attacks.

Combat focus: D, might be great for other monsters, but you simply have way better options available

Utility: Static Field allows you to effectively force an opponent out of the field, but this is very much a worse wall and even worse than static aura. Haste makes you even FASTER. However, you don’t have a response attack so you’re not getting the most out of this yet. If you’ve tutored one on, or plan on picking one up later, this becomes much better.

Static Field: D, you had a better utility option 2 grades ago, don’t take this

Haste: C/A: If you don’t plan on using response attacks, the boost to speed doesn’t matter too much. If you do, this move is great.

Grade 4 moves:

Offense: Here you have two great options and two mediocre options. Lightning lance and thundering strike are great upgrades for magical attacks and physical strikes respectively. Lightning rush does less damage than thundering strike and deals recoil damage, which you don’t want, and uproar is usually less reliable than the other moves, without the boost from having the same affinity

Lightning Lance: S, take a damage increasing upgrade and this move will be slicing through enemy groups very effectively while allowing you to keep a distance.

Thundering Strike: A-, good damage for this trait, but nothing special really.

Lightning Rush: C, less damage, has recoil damage, low chance of effects. You have better options

Uproar: B, Can hit enemies around you, with a damage increasing upgrade, this can do good damage.

Defense: N/A

Utility: Here you have one of the best effect moves you’re gonna be getting. The ability to blind all your enemies is great, and the pressure is on them to roll to escape it, which is always better than it being on you to apply it.

Flash: A, amazing support move which can be the difference between victory or defeat. This is genuinely good enough to make Amphare a good support mon.

Grade 5 moves:

Offense: Here you get a great effect move in Knock-out strike which also provides some coverage move, though it does have less damage. A higher damage coverage move in monstrous bite, and your strongest move option in Lightning power

Knock-out strike: A, If you’re going for a support Amphare build or a physical attack build, this is worth considering for the effect. Odds are a physical attack build will want more damage than this though.

Lightning power: A, your highest damage move option, although damage is all you’re getting pre upgrade so keep that in mind.

Monstrous bite: B, High damage, and an effect that you’ll almost never get off. This is mostly an option if you’re looking for a coverage move or your team struggles with Mystic types.

Defense: This tosses attacks at everything in a 10 foot radius, which means not only can you rack up some good damage, but it keeps melee attackers from wanting to be near you

Lightning Aura: A, Does good damage without having to use your combat action, and lets you really punish any physical attacker that goes near you or your frail teammates.

Utility: This is basically a free three technique upgrades, and acts as a massive damage upgrade if you planned for taking it.

High Voltage: S, your lightning moves are all empowered damage now without using grit, have fun dealing damage!

Stats upgrades:

Accuracies: Amphare starts out with average accuracy, and you really want to increase that as soon as you can to really be able to reliably land hits on your opponents.

Speed: Amphare starts off fast, so it isn’t necessary to focus too much on this. Getting complacent or picking up furious charge make great use of a speed boost though, so definitely consider it.

Defenses: It’s very difficult to make a tank Amphare using only the moves it can get naturally. For a physical build, increasing it’s protection is good, but due to sonic speed, you can choose to instead focus points exclusively on your discipline and try to outposition enemies.

Health: If you’re playing a support Amphare build, you need this, but otherwise, you can afford to go for speed and accuracy instead.

Traits: The following are traits I especially recommend on Amphare, I will not include class specific traits.

Brawny/Talented: You have plenty of great attacks at your disposal, so doing a little more damage with them is a pretty good use of your trait.

Focus: Lighting: Nearly all of your moves are lightning affinity, so boosting this actually can boost more than simply getting Brawny/Talented does depending on your build.

Artillerist: One of the biggest things Amphare has going for it is threat range, it is a threat to enemies very far away due to it’s ranged attacks and speed. More range only makes this more true and keeps it safer.

Complacent: Complacent is an excellent trait on faster monsters, since it can allow you to gain the initiative then swap for a slower monster, after you’ve gotten into melee range.

Technique upgrades: Amphare benefits mostly from increasing it’s damage. Below are what I believe to be the strongest upgrades for Amphare

Attack on the run upgrade: If you don’t have sonic speed and have a physical attack that isn’t swooping strike on your Amphare, take this. It’ll be extremely handy and makes excellent use of your speed. With sonic speed, the utility of this drops heavily though.

Intense/Punishing upgrade: Punishing upgrade allows for the most possible damage on a move, intense upgrade is a more reliable damage boost however, and useful outside of empowered attacks.

Defiant Upgrade: High voltage gives this effect to all your moves, but with all the great moves you get in grade 5, it might be worth it to just take this on a move.

Swift upgrade: allows you to attack twice on a turn, but you’re usually using your utility action to sonic speed anyways.

Sample Builds: The following are strong builds I’ve created not using only what Amphare can naturally do. These can all be enhanced or expanded upon using merits, mentored moves, class skills and class traits.

Physical attacker Amphare:

5/5/12/3/10/8 4/3

Celerity, Brawny, Focus: (Lightning), Fierce anatomy (bite),Savage

Monstrous Bite (intense upgrade), Thundering Strike (punishing upgrade), Furious Charge (staggering upgrade), Sonic Speed

Strategy: Here you have three moves with different types and sonic speed to get you out of melee range and let you reposition wherever you want after you attack. The goal here is to exploit savage to hit different types for massive damage. Intense and punishing upgrades can be switched. Focus can also be switched to fury or basic. The strike bonus maximizes your accuracy, the protection keeps you relatively safe in tough spots and the point in speed allows for max damage on your furious charge. This build pairs well with other physical attackers/tanks since this allows you to use sonic speed to maneuver around the battlefield and pick your targets. If your party lacks these kind of monsters, consider swooping strike instead with a mastery or punishing upgrade

Mixed attack Amphare:

5/5/10/5/10/8 4/4

Celerity, Brawny, Talented, Focus: Lighting, Artillerist

Lightning power (Intense Upgrade), Lightning Lance(Defiant Upgrade), Lighting Bolt/Swooping Strike/Furious Charge (punishing upgrade), Sonic Speed/Static Aura

Strategy: So Amphare doesn’t really gain access to many physical coverage moves and a lot of the ranged moves are simply better than their physical counterparts. Lightning power is here as your strongest move and should be your go to for taking out single enemies. Lightning lance on the other hand is your strongest option against groups. Your third move can either be lightning bolt for better range if you feel you need it, swooping strike for a move to battle against stone affinity monsters, or furious charge to use that maginificent speed stat. Sonic speed can keep you mobile and safe, while Static aura is better if there are other long range fighters in your party and not enough tanks to keep you all safe.

Support Amphare:

7/4/10/3/10/9 3/3

Celerity, Resistance: Stone, Exemplary, Heroic, Healthy/Complacent

Knock Out Strike (sinister upgrade), Flash (swift upgrade), Sonic Speed, Static Aura

Strategy: Flash will be your main move with this build, allowing you to consistently blind your opponents, if an opponent is immune or blinding them is simply not helpful enough, getting in close and landing a knock out strike will lower their health and has a good chance of putting them to sleep, don’t be afraid to use it to catch monsters as well. Sonic speed will allow you to reposition to apply your heroic and exemplary bonuses to your allies and static aura will allow you to disorient enemies you’re near. Healthy and the lack of resistances should keep Amphare relatively safe, meaning this build doesn’t mind being up close as much as others tend to. You can replace the Healthy with Complacent to be able to swap out whenever you want for no drawback. This allows Amphare to be used for just initiative rolls then go into a better monster for the matchup or get close to a target then swap to a physical attacker for massive damage.

Notes: Here I will give advice on how Amphare can be improved upon using merits, class skills/traits, and mentors.

The apothecary can boost the damage of Amphare with Power, Might and Mind concoctions to allow it to deal even more damage.

The Transmuter can use Transmute affinity to fix Amphare’s problem with learning almost entirely lightning affinity moves, and Transmute Condition to make it’s effect moves far better, allowing Amphare to apply bleed/burn for more damage or freeze for more crowd control. (using this with Flash is a great combo)

The concordant’s power surge and power sink are both very powerful bonuses to Amphare. The evoker can use Evoke Cover & Exposure to boost the effectiveness of a ranged Amphare while a physical Amphare benefits greatly from Evoke Power & Feebleness to boost it’s damage and survivability

The knight’s Hastened allows for Amphare to get in a powerful furious charge at the beginning of any battle, and Thorough is a great way to add to amphare’s mobility in combat. The champion’s battle bond and deadly bond will boost it’s damage while the Commander’s Assault, Overwhelm and Reposition provide more accuracy, damage and mobility respectively.

The ranger’s Pathfinder makes sure that your speed is never diminished.

The Drajulecrafter’s glyph of affinity acts as a great boost to Amphares with lots of lightning attacks.

The scoundrel’s quick witted basically allows for sonic speed as a trait, which you can use to move further or get another move.The opportunist’s prime target, debilitating blow and sealing blow all help with its effect moves. All of the trickster’s abilities do the same, but hamstring especially will boost the damage substantially.

As for breeders, you have a large variety of options, I’ll list some options here, but there’s simply too many to list all that you could make. Adding basic, wind or fury to Amphare will boost the coverage moves Amphare has available. Boosting speed and accuracy or damage will make it a more threatening force to deal with. Increasing the size of an Amphare or using breeding to pass the celerity trait to a large majimonster would allow for an excellent mount in case this is something your team is looking for.

Finally for mentor moves, picking up multiple grade 5 attacks is always a good option. Amphare has other pretty good options. Any response attack will make Haste a far better move and allow for a response build, using Haste, your response attack and two regular attacks, which will allow you to actually stay in melee range of enemy monsters since you can deal damage even on their turns. Boosting protection and strike is ideal for these builds. Finally, Amphare does have the stats to be an effective tank, and picking up tank moves like deflect or mountain’s fury allows for a tank/support amphare with the ability to safely and effectively maneuver around the battlefield applying buffs to allies.

As for merits, charge, improved empowered damage and shift are the most beneficial merits for Amphare. Charge can boost it’s physical attacks, empowered damage makes it deal much more damage with the help of grit and shift basically allows for sonic speed.

[marydragneell]

Ember 2 (final)

The Crackling Embers

By: @cutegirlmayra (Thanks for the commission! Here’s something sweet! 😉 )

Ember was rotated backwards on a steel stretcher, strapped with leather, she laughed and figured she could tear easily through them.

Except… she couldn’t move.

The electric steel receptor would zap her even on slightest movement, but that didn’t stop her from wiggling her tail when the door slid open and she saw Shadow.

“Shad-! AHHHHEEEEEOOOO…ouch.” The electricity immediately turned on, shocking her into a stillness again as her tail flopped down over her.

“Hello.” She smiled sweetly to him. “You gonna bust me outta here?”

“…We need you for something.” Shadow stopped in front of her, folding his arms.

“Ohh~ A mission?”

“For G.U.N.”

“Pass.”

She frowned.

“…For Sonic… and his friends.” He glared a warning, showing his need for her to reconsider.

“Ehmm… we’re buddies, but… favors?” she was only stalling now, playing around.

She hadn’t seen Shadow in a while, so she was hoping-

“…For me?” he looked agitated.

“Sure, anything for family!”

He nodded to a camera and she was rotated back into a straight position as he untied the straps.

“This is serious… Sonic team requested backup.”

“Little Hedgehog got his foot struck in a drain?” she teased, smirking.

“… Eggman has taken over 20 percent of the world… And Sonic couldn’t stop him.”

He seemed to grimace at that fact before helping her down.

“Thanks.” She took his hands and hopped off the steel, “One sec.” she lifted a sharp claw…

She shred through the steel with a few quick and precise swipes.

Sparks flickered everywhere and she cockily placed her claws up to her mouth, blowing on them.

“Alright, continue.” She grinned, looking over her shoulder to him.

“But I warn you… I will never work for G.U.N…”

“Hmph, then work for me.”

He looked annoyed, and she wagged her tail.

“There’s never a ‘good side’ to you, is there?”

She followed him through the sliding door of G.U.N’s base, looking around and pretending to be amazed at the technology, but mostly there for Shadow.

“As family, it’s almost like my job to try and find that good side to ya, bro.”

“…Bro?” he seemed confused, turning around. “You were created as my prototype, a companion to me and have restored more memories of Maria than I can count. I owe you that much… but no. We are not ‘family’.” He glared, holding a hand up to her as she went to take it, but winced back when he said such a cruel thing.

She puckered her lips and side-commented over her shoulder, “Grumpy quills…”

They continued to walk and she didn’t take his hand, seeing as he was only gesturing, but she didn’t quite understand the socialisms…

She was still living alone… sometimes running into Sonic and his friends, but not much.

“Who’s Eggman?” she asked, walking into an elevator with him.

Shadow turned around and clicked a button, which fascinated her when it turned bright from the touch.

“He’s Gerald’s evil grandson.”

Her finger went to spike into the next buttons, hoping to see them light up, but her shock at hearing that made her miss and stab the side through instead. “WHAT?!”

Shadow saw the fizzing of the area as she struggled to try and pull her finger out, sighing in disappointment at her childish ways and rubbing the bridge between his eyes with his fingers…

They arrived at an upper level, and Ember looked very confused, finally seeming to take some things seriously.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she followed Shadow out of the elevator, “You mean… Gerald had other family we didn’t know about?” She made a face, showing some sorrow. “Shouldn’t we try and reform him? I mean,… he’s kin!” she ran after him, but Shadow pivoted and continued his cruel stare at her.

“Reform Eggman?” He scoffed, “He’s bent on taking over the world. He’ll robotize every living thing till there’s nothing left to conquer. Then he’ll build a ridiculous theme park!” he swiped a hand out, making Ember step back and look down in greater sadness. “He’s insane… and once again, we have no kin… we’re experiments. Remember your place.” He went to continue walking, but a voice from above suddenly spoke out, making him look around.

“My, my… you’re so cruel to her, Shadow… I’m glad I’m used to it.”

“Show yourself, Rouge!” he almost demanded, making her pout as she was sitting on a beam in the shadows.

Her wings flexed out, making a sound that spooked Ember as she dove down and landed quite gracefully.

“Remember me?” she batted her eyes and then winked to Ember, who swiped a claw at her and growled.

Her ears drew back, not liking this bat girl…

As Rouge flew up again and circled Shadow, she grew even more tense, shaking as she raced to grab Shadow’s back quill. It was instinctive, she just didn’t like other people around Shadow… especially those she didn’t know really well.

She poked her head over Shadow’s shoulder and stuck her tongue slightly out at Rouge.

Rouge smiled back to her before landing by the control panel, revealing monitors as she typed in certain things.

“Eggman has conquered a continent, but he’s not done there. According to Tails, he’s spreading out. We’ve let sleeping eggs lie for too long… it’s about time we stop underestimating Eggman’s potentials.” Rouge turned to them again after typing, “My guess is you’re taking the rocket?”

“Yes.” Shadow turned and grabbed the back of Ember’s red cloak, pulling her back to follow him.

“Whhaa-a-a!” she was startled, tip-toeing back before pouting and turning around. “Yeah, yeah… I’m coming, I’m coming…”

“G.U.N only protect certain areas… we’ll have to infiltrate his base and take him down at the core of his invasion…” Shadow grabbed a large rocket, then gripped her hand.

This made her look down and smile, thinking he was going to help her into the rocket.

But… his grip was really… really strong.

“You should brace yourself…” he mentioned.

“Wait,… What do you meeeeeeAAAANNNNNN!!!” she was shot into the air as he held her hand while the rocket shot up and arched through the skies, a direct route to the continent.

Her gums flapped everywhere, making a silly expression as they finally began to move swiftly through the open skies towards their destination.

“This is gonna take time to get used too!” she screamed through the disturbance in the air, but Shadow kept his eyes fixated on the direction of the rocket.

She frowned again, arching her eyebrows back. “Shadow…”

Her purpose… if he didn’t need her, what was it? She hated the fact that she was just a companion. A prototype… the second favorite…

She looked down at the ground, gripping her arm and starting to feel some pain from dangling behind him.

She looked back at him.

No pain? Or was he masking it under that cold exterior?

She wanted to believe there was kindness in him… and she was sure there was! But…

Will he ever show it to her?

She squinted her eyes shut, biting her jaw down. ‘We’re family! Yet… he says we’re not!’

Once again, she went to inquire, “Shadow!”

His eyes shifted frighteningly fast down to look at her, but his head never moved.

She gulped, “Uh… shouldn’t we be serving Eggman? If he’s Gerald’s grandson…”

“What part of ‘evil’ and ‘taking over the world’ did you not understand?” he scolded.

She looked away.

Suddenly, Shadow’s face shifted, and he looked back at the rocket…

“Hhhmm…” he seemed to disagree with his tone and spoke out again. “I understand that Gerald means a lot to you… perhaps how Maria meant to me…”

She looked back up at him, hearing his voice turn a little more empathic.

“…But Eggman’s not like Gerald. He’s eccentric. Maniacal. There is some good in him but only when the odds are against his favor… then he helps us to defeat a foe that challenges himself.” He glared forward. “He’s selfish and has no care for nature. Life or not, he’ll stomp on anything just to seize power over it…”

“…Sounds unforgivable.” Her mind raced to the children…

“….Ember.” he looked down to her, less angry now.

“Yes?” innocently, she looked up.

“…Stay close. I…” he looked away, being vunerable for a moment. “…I don’t want to lose you.” He stared off into the smoky distance yonder… there, in the grey and brownish hue of cloud cover, or was it smoke..? There came a few robots with jetpacks on, holding guns as their arms, and a large—oversized and ugly—megabot that’s eyes glowed red through it all.

“…Get ready.” He took on a serious look, pulling out a gun.

Ember, seeing the amount of foes waiting for them in the skies, narrowed her brow and swiped her cloak away, revealing her black emerald imbedded in her chest.

“Bring it on!” she cried out.

He protected the rocket as long as he could, but then released his hold and pulled Ember towards him as it exploded from being fired at.

He didn’t even glance at her, just kept shooting, but she used her Chaos attacks to knock out the littler robots flying after them.

“We’re heavily out maneuvered!” she cried out, looking around and noticing they were dodging a lot of their hits. Her chaos moves weren’t necessarily fast enough to get the targets right away, and Shadow’s gun was running out of ammo.

Click, click, click!

Shadow glanced down at his gun.

“Shoot.”

He threw the gun and a robot’s jet spiraled out of control.

“Ember!”

“Right!”

She exposed the spot on her chest and he gripped the outer, slightly protruding part of the emerald.

She closed her eyes.

“CHAOS CONTROL!”

They were teleported before a huge beam of light from the giant robot was able to melt them out of their immortally…

They were flashed back into existence as Ember fell into his arms, exhausted from the dark, prototype power that dwelt within her.

She breathed heavily as Shadow removed his hand and hoisted her up. “Are you alright?” he looped her hand over his shoulders, another hand to help lift her waist up.

“I just… need a moment to breath.” She admitted, but they heard a strange noise…

“What was that?”

Water noises and engines were heard in the distance…

Then, quickly, Metal Sonic and Chaos swerved around the corner of some ruined buildings. A red light flashed and Shadow looked up.

“Darn!” he threw her up into a bridal style hold, and raced on his skate shoes away while the two of them chased them down.

“Find Eggman!” Shadow shouted.

“What!? I won’t leave you!” she gripped his chest fur…

He glared down, “You want to be of use to me?”

Did… Did he know?

“Then stay alive! And get your job done!”

“B-…But what about-!”

What about you?

He threw her into another alley way, flinging her quickly through the air as she flailed a moment and landed in a garbage disposal.

The two raced by her, focusing on Shadow and not noticing the difference.

She shifted around a moment, before coming up with a banana peel on her head, looking upset.

“…Hmph!” she gripped it and threw it down.

“Yuck! Now,…”

She turned around with a glare, bearing her fangs.

“WHERE’S EGGMAN!?”

Pacing around his base, Eggman looked at the blips on his monitors. “Where’d he go…” he gripped his floating chair… “I’ve only conquered this continent… no big deal! Why send him of all things!?” Eggman shoved the chair away as it swiveled in the air and spun rapidly away.

It regained a neutral hover as Orbot and Cubot continued to cower away from it.

“M-may I suggest… we also call in our own backup?” Orbot lifted a finger up, and then placed his hands together. “There are some lovely mercenaries who would be happy to dispose of-“

Eggman’s rage got the better of him. He soared his fist up into the air, and it came crashing down with a terrifying power against the control board.

It dented the area and he lifted his hand, now quivering from the pain and rubbed his other thumb inside the palm of the hurt hand. “Grr… I’d rather deal with this pest myself…”

“Gosh, that looked painful!” Cubot chirped.

“To what? His hand or his ego..?” Orbot muttered, but the two scattered in fear as a wrench was thrown at them.

“You’ll see… I’ll destroy Shadow, and then next-!” he stomped towards them, making a big scene before something rattled above them.

“…What the-?”

Ember smacked a air vent’s entrance down as it slammed against Eggman’s raised head.

“OFFPH!” he fell backwards as she dropped down, landing on his stomach. “IIIEEEE!!!” he arched forward, hovering his arms up as he stared at the unfamiliar face, but Ember didn’t seem to notice him.

She flicked her tail and hit him down, not feeling anything really and looked around.

“Huh? I thought I heard an evil monologue?”

“T-the… The Boss!” Orbot shivered, his hands quaking up by his mouthpiece.

“Boss..? OH!” she looked under herself. “It was so round! I thought it was just a rug or something!” she jumped up and down.

“OFFPH! OFFPH! OOOOO!” Eggman was like a squishy trampoline, every time she jumped up, she stomped both feet down, smiling giddily.

Finally, she jumped off on the third hop and he gripped his stomach, turning away with tears starting up from under his glasses… only on the far edges could you see a trace of them bundled up by his eyes corners.

“That hurt… you little…” he whimpered out while she dusted herself off.

“You know, those air vents really need some dusting.” She then struck an animalistic pose, showing off her claws as she scraped them against each other in long swipes.

Sparks flew off of them and Cubot ‘ooh’d and ‘aw’d as she did so.

She smirked, “So… you’re robotnik’s grandson? You look a little like him, I’ll give you-“ her smile faded, seeing him rise up and shake his head, then turn around to loom over her.

Her perfect memory triggered and before her wasn’t Eggman anymore… it was Gerald.

“And how do you know my grandfather..?”

Her eyes shook, unable to break out of the vivid memory.

She stepped back.

He looked too much like her former master… how could she ever battle him now?

“Who are you?”

He cocked an eyebrow up.

“I… I’m Ember…” she felt her whole body wanting to obey, falling slowly to her knees, catching herself before she did so.

‘Why… Why am I acting this way? My fidelity… is it this strong?’ she twitched violently every few seconds, unable to figure herself out for a moment.

“Ember..? Ah!” His glasses shone a moment across before he put a finger up to his chin.

“Ember Wolf? The immortal prototype. Yes… I remember reading something about that…”

She suddenly looked up, amazed he knew about her.

But how..?

“I… I thought all records were-?”

“Born as one of the first experiments. First to live, however. You’re embedded with a cursed Emerald, one my great Grandfather found and tried to erase from history… It produces a dark energy from time to time… corrupted and unpure, it’s said to completely envelop you in utter chaos…” He looked up, nodding to himself. “Yesss… I think I understand now. It described you as a companion to Shadow. Someone designed to protect, unless Shadow. You’re primary purpose was to-“

He paused, looking down at her and smiling.

“Say… you would be a fine asset to my cause!”

“What cause?” she glared, almost growling out the words as she bent her head down, trying to will her body out of submission. “To rule and ruin the known world!?”

“…What has the known world done for you?”

Her shook and she felt something sink within her heart.

“Join me… Ember~” he spread his arms out, “You’re… family…”

“My what!?”

Now she was able to push herself off the ground, stepping back as Eggman moved forward, snickering…

“Hohoho… Yes, indeed. Ember. For burning passion and everlasting flames that never burn out of loyal love! This is what your name means… I could teach you about yourself… the many things you possess… the many things you can do…”

He lifted his pointer finger up, winking beneath the glasses before moving closer to her.

Shadows of their silhouettes loomed behind Cubot and Orbot as the two watched the scene. Scarily enough, as Eggman grew closer, his shadow turned more diabolical, and Ember’s began to decrease in size…

“We could make this world anew… the way dear old Grandfather Gerald hoped it would be…”

“S-…Stop talking. You don’t even know him!” she struck her foot hard to the metal floor, a vibration came off of it that stopped Eggman’s eager approach. Her tail swished behind her, readying for a counter…

“Oh? Do I?” he leaned back, his smile growing and curving up across his face. “No sick. No afflictions of any kind. A world without sorrow and hunger… an immortal realm of perfection.” He spread his arms out, stating his grandfather’s ideals as though it were poetry.

“You… weren’t you designed to sustain these ideals?” he raised an pronounced eyebrow up, looking back to her. “I mean… you were designed to protect Shadow, and all other experiments. To keep them doing their jobs… After all…” He put his hands behind his back, leaning forward with an all-knowing look and losing his smile. “Shadow was the cure. You were to deliver the package safe and sound…”

“I…” she gulped, unsure if that really was the meaning behind her life. “I’m a delivery girl?”

“Hmm?” He blinked his eyes, surprised by that. He then leaned his head back and let out a mighty laughter, making her flustered and embarrassed as she growled.

“What’s so funny!?”

“Hoho! I meant that figuratively, my dear. This… wonderland that I’m proposing… it’s what you and the doctor always wanted. Even Maria would have been satisfied…” he outstretched a hand to her. “Join me… it’ll be fun.”

She stared at the hand… remembering how Shadow’s hand outstretched to her but she chose not to take it.

She looked away.

“Come… now… be a good little guard dog.” He smirked wider now, his eyebrows coming down slightly as Cubot and Orbot rushed over to her.

“It is rather fun.” Orbot admitted.

“Well, when you stay on his good side.” Cubot countered.

“Ember…”

She froze.

“What would dear old Grandpappy want..?”

Her shoulders fell slightly…

“My Ember…”

She looked up, eyes filled with purpose and determination.

Shadow races through the barren streets, looking to see Chaos and Metal Sonic have disappeared. “Where is she..?” he mutters to himself, whispering it as a quiet plea it seemed to find her. His head shifted back and forth, “She couldn’t have gone far…” worry seemed almost apparent in his voice as though he wasn’t trying to hide it.

“HYAH!”

“What!?”

He spun around, getting taken down by an unknown enemy.

He tossed and fought through the fog…

Gripping their hands, he held the enemy in a lock in front of him. “Show yourself, you coward!” he spoke through gritted teeth.

As the fog cleared, Ember breathed heavily, matching his power…

His eyes widened, “What..? Ember..?”

“WHOHOHOHO!” Eggman’s eggmobile floated down from the smoke above. “HOHOH-ACK! HOFF, HOGH, HAR!” he coughed from the smog and lifted a foot up, standing in his carrier to hack out the dust that entered his lungs, among other unwanted chemicals…

He wiped his mouth and then sneered down to Shadow. “At least one of you is proving useful! Behold! My great grandfather’s experiments do still remember their purposes!!! To serve me!”

“Ember…” he glared at her, but his eyes looked torn between fighting her or not. “What’s going on? What did he bribe you with?”

“No bribe, simply loyalties.” Eggman took out a handkerchief, blowing into it. “Poor little dear…” he faked sobbing, “All she ever wanted to serve her delightful creators. And now that she has one again, she’s putting everything else aside to serve her dear family~”

“Ember, no!” At the word ‘family’, Shadow’s eyes widened in horror. “He’s lying to you!”

“I’m more of a father than you are a brother. After all, tossing her to the side? Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He shook his head, waving his finger as a scold. “You should know better. Well, Ember knows her place now. Best to serve real family than those who refuse to be so!”

“Ember… you’re better than this!” he pushed back against her power, but she stepped forward and challenged it.

“…I…” he looked a little shaken up, something she wasn’t used to seeing. “I don’t want to hurt you…”

“Heeeeh… too late for that. Ember! Dispose of him! He’s not upholding the measure of his creation!” Eggman rose up again, swiping out his hand in a dictator fashion.

“Roger.” Ember cried out and swung Shadow over herself, causing him to crash down.

“Erk!” he sweated profusely against the new outcome… he rolled into a ball to avoid most of the damage, hitting her away by rushing into her gut in a spin-dash, then uncurling away. “Ember, what is this madness?! Your purpose is to be my companion!”

She turned around, smiling. “No…” She swiped a Chaos attack back at him, but he dodged the air slash…

Still looking torn, his eyes shook as he narrowed his stare at her, unable to bear a glare…

“I was designed to keep you in check. Just in case you failed your purpose and went on the unbeaten path.” She rose her head up.

“And looks like you did…”

“Destroy him!”

“Is this about G.U.N?!”

He dodged another attack as she raced up to swipe her deadly claws at him.

Jumping from building to building, the two began a chase, which Eggman followed willingly, enjoying the spectacle.

“Ember! Don’t do this..!” he cried back, “Chaos Spears!” he swiped his arm and yellow spears of energy mass were created, hovering for a second in the air, remaining still until shooting forth after her.

She raced between them, jumping from left to right, before crossing her arms and then slashing them out to cut the beam in half.

His eyes twitched again, her power was much like his.

Since he was startled and in the air, Ember used this chance to leap up, slamming him down.

“WHOHOHOHO!” Eggman stuck up his nose and showed his mouth creating an ‘o’ as he laughed. “Splendid! She’s proving more useful then you ever were, Shadow!”

As they crashed through old, half-burnt buildings, they finally hit a floor that wasn’t just loose debris, but sturdy enough that it could catch their fall.

She held him down by his neck as he looked up to her, reaching for his power limiters…

“Ember…” He wearily spoke out, straining against her hold. “You leave me no choice… I… I didn’t want to lose you… but …” he began slipping one off, “I can’t lose the world… Maria… I promised to give the world she loved a chance… she… she loved it so much…” he was about to get it off before a dainty and gentle hand was placed over his own.

“What?” he looked up, amazed.

Ember smiled lovingly down to him.

“No need…” she stated.

“Brother.”

“Ember..?”

His eyes shook in awe, but she slowly leaned up and off of him.

“I know how to stop Eggman. I gained his trust long enough to at least secure that.”

She winked, flicking her tail.

“Honestly, did you really think I’d get so butt hurt over one little toss?”

She rotated her shoulder, feeling it a bit hurt from the fall and then extended her hand to him, leaning down.

“Let’s defeat him… Together, Shadow.”

He stared for some time, leaning up and then smiling down as he closed his eyes and put his limiters back on.

“I should have known… a double-agent.”

He then looked up with a much kinder expression.

“See? I know my purpose.”

He lifts his hand.

“And what’s that?”

His smile is contagious, and she smiles bigger as well.

“Taking care of my little brother.”

“…Excuse me?”

He looks unamused by that phrase.

“Alright, alright.” She giggles, “Being your helping hand…”

He smiles again, taking her hand with as he’s hoisted up from his spot.

“Then let’s take him down… Sister.”

She squees in delight, crunching her body up tightly and lifting a leg up, glad he finally said it!

“It’s about time!” she exclaimed.

As they came out, they both targeted Eggman’s eggmoblie, holding one another’s hand and remaining close in their leap skyward.

“H-huh!?!?!?” He rears back, moving out of their way. “What’s this!?”

She looks over to see him smiling again, ‘I’m so glad…’ she thinks to herself.

‘He seemed so shaken up when he thought he had to stop me… I’m glad I know my true purpose.’

She then turned back to Eggman, a look of fierce conviction on her face.

‘…To never break his heart…’

After a huge explosion and Shadow and Ember taking down some of Eggman’s forces… Eggman flies home on a half-broken Eggmobile, smoky from hits and his head all crisped up from their Chaos attacks.

He falls onto the floor and starts bashing his huge fists into it. “It’s not fair! It’s not fair! Everything was looking up so well…” Eggman sprayed chibi-tears, whining about his mishap of trusting Ember.

“Sir… if I may…” Orbot hovers over, typing some things into the monitor as Eggman throws his tantrum, kicking and crying, before looking over to the screen.

“Hmm?”

Cubot wipes his tear with a handerchief, “Here, blow.” He instructs lovingly as Eggman turns back, broken down and defeated, and blows his nose into it.

“Yuck! This blows!” Cubot didn’t like the snot on his hand and ended up making a pun as the handerchief stuck to him. He waved his robotic hand frantically around in disgust, “Ahh..ahhh!!!” flying around in despaired distraught before Orbot showed the mercenary group he mentioned beforehand.

“There. Now these are some of our finest allies! You should hire them.” Orbot scanned the screen closer in on the face of their leader…

“Oddly enough, he’s never known defeat. Sound promising, boss?” Orbot turned to look back at him as the screen kept closing in on the main leader…

Eggman sees them,…

Then the leader.

 He smirks with a shine in his glasses…

“They’re perfect. Hehehe…hohoho…WHAHAHAHA!”

End.

[lindoig8]

Monday to Saturday, 2-7 August

Monday

We had toyed with the idea of going on from Richmond to Julia Creek, but we wanted to get back onto the Boulia road that night so eventually decided to cut south-east from Richmond on the Richmond-Winton road. It was quite a pleasant drive with almost no other traffic until we got onto the bitumen closer to Winton. We didn’t need to go right into Winton so turned towards Middleton on the Boulia road about 5 kilometres out of town. We quite enjoyed the drive but had driven well over 300 kilometres on the day so decided on a bush camp 67 kilometres east of Middleton.

It was a great spot. We got our rig about 150 metres off the road, hidden from westbound traffic and only briefly visible by eastbound vehicles. It had been warm and partly cloudy all day, but we still lit a fire and Heather made another great batch of bread in the coals. We had our Happy Hour in the shade behind the van but moved closer to the fire as night fell and it got cooler. I cooked part of our meal outside while Heather cooked in the van and we had a wonderful meal (as always) inside and watched a couple of episodes of our DVD series in bed. I got up for a drink and checked the time at 10.14pm – just as the wind hit. (It often seems to go from dead calm to mini-tornado in Queensland.) It hit us instantly and was ferocious – but died off and came again several times, each time accompanied by a little rain. We have only seen very transient sprinkles twice since leaving home so rain was a novelty, but it gradually got slightly heavier and we started to worry that a heavy shower could leave us at risk of getting bogged given that we were unusually far from the road. We slept fitfully, but at 3.15am, we decided to pack up and get back on the main road. Our fire was still hot so I had to empty that and ensure all the embers were out (the wind was howling at the time and blowing ash and cinders everywhere) and our firebox had to cool before I could pack it away. But we managed to pack up pretty quickly – just dumping some things inside the van to be dried and reorganised in the morning – and fortunately had no problems driving back onto the road. Of course, I was soaked from being out in the rain, but it was no big deal. We drove on towards Middleton, imagining that we had 67 kilometres to drive at night in poor conditions, but only had to drive 9 kilometres before we came to an almost deserted rest stop. There were 3 other vans that among the trees, but all a long way from us. We just drove in and parked close to the amenities and climbed straight back into bed. Getting back to sleep was not easy though!

We have done very little night driving this trip, but before we left home, I had a lightbar fitted to the bull-bar and it makes a HUGE difference to visibility – 20 times as bright in front of the car and with a much wider spread than the spotlights we originally fitted – definitely worth the money because it helped me avoid hitting at least two kangaroos in that 9-kilometre stretch.

Tuesday

We slept late and were the last rig to leave the rest stop – but only by a few minutes. We reorganised all the stuff that had been thrown into the van in the middle of the night and surprisingly, everything was almost completely dry. It stopped raining almost as soon as we broke camp during the night, but there were still a few flecks of rain in the wind when I was packing up this morning – although even that was gone by about 11 am.

We drove on past Middleton and reached the Boulia caravan park soon after lunch. (A notable point along the way today was that we ticked over 15,000 kilometres so far this trip.) We both felt pretty buggered but got set up and comfortable in a good spot quite quickly – and just relaxed. I had a few things that needed doing on my PC and we downloaded and sorted photos, but didn’t do much else. We had an early night, watched a DVD and slept the sleep of the righteous!

Wednesday

We had a huge lot of washing to do – two enormous loads in their big washing machines here – but it was washed, hung out and dry by early afternoon – a good day for drying, warm and windy.

We had a few minor maintenance jobs to do on the van and car, but they were soon done too and we drove into the township for fuel, a gas bottle refill and some groceries. It will be a few days before we get another chance to buy anything so Boulia was our buying opportunity. Fuel is not cheap here and with our long-range tank, it costs over $300 every time we pull up at a bowser. At least it only has to happen about every 1000 kilometres or so.

Thursday

We spent most of the day writing up our adventures from the past week but we did have other things to do. One thing was trying to fix the fan in our rangehood. It turned out to be two wires that had simply shaken loose, but putting them back in place was a nightmare. The wiring is almost completely inaccessible and the only way I could see what I was doing was to bend backwards over the stove, almost at right angles, and work above my head. We got it working at last, but it is a real botch job and I am not confident that it will stay fixed once we get back onto rough roads. (Ten days later, it is still working! [but fourteen days later, it wasn't!]) We took the opportunity to replace the light over the stove that had numerous cracks and pieces out of it, but quite miraculously, it was still working. We cleaned everything around the rangehood but blew a fuse in the process. We have never been able to figure out which fuse relates to which circuit, but we spent an hour or so pulling fuses and testing the results and I think we have now documented the results with a reasonable level of confidence. I wish we could do the same with our water tanks, their fillers and the taps inside the van. We have spent many (many) hours on that over the years and still have only a few tentative guesses.

A really big thing happened today! We became great grandparents again – for the fourth time. We have a delightful new addition to our family – Lily Regan Baker – congratulations Tom and Laura.

Friday

We had a slow start today – not that we slept in, but we knew we had a pretty straight drive that would only take 3 or 4 hours so it was close to 11 am before we actually got our of town. We expected the Donohue (Queensland section) and Plenty (Northern Territory section) Highways to be pretty rough and all unsealed until about 60 kilometres from Gemtree but found that more than half the Queensland section was sealed and wide enough for the 4 or 5 other vehicles we saw to pass with ease. We only stopped a couple of times but when we had our lunch, we explored the nearby area for flora (quite a bit) and fauna (zilch!) so our break was probably more than half an hour. It was a pleasant enough drive although with nothing of great note to look at and we crossed into the Northern Territory without fanfare and checked into the Tobermorey Station camping area a little before 3pm.

There is no power or water here (apart from in the amenities area), but we are completely self-contained so that is no impediment. It is about four and a half years and 20-odd thousand kilometres since we used our generator and I thought it would have become clagged up and hard to start after so long. We could easily get by on gas and battery power, but I have been wanting to try out the generator so I put half a litre of petrol in it and pulled the handle and voila, it sang its happy tune and we had AC power to the van and via the van to our car fridge. Amazing! I went off looking for birds around the area for an hour or so and the generator ran out of fuel just as I got back so I put a couple more litres in it and let it run until it was dark. We were the only van here at first, but three more vans pulled in an hour or two later and two more almost on dark so we didn’t feel that they should listen to our generator all night so I turned it off – even though they could probably not hear it from inside their vans. (I will discuss some of these rigs later because we saw them several times.)

Saturday

We woke a bit earlier than usual and I went straight outside and fired up the generator – good little fellow, it started first pull again. We sat up in bed with a cuppa and did a few puzzles and then it was time for scrambled eggs and bacon for brekky. We puddled around packing up and getting ready to leave and were almost set to go when I noticed that one of the car tyres was half flat. We are not sure if it is a slow leak from the valve or a puncture, but either way, we had to change the tyre. Given the drama of our last flat tyre, we set about the process more scientifically and got all the required equipment out and ready to go before we started trying to fix the problem. We used the hydraulic jockey wheel to raise the back of the car a bit (quite a bit) and then used the trolley jack to get it a bit higher. All went well except that we still couldn’t jack the car quite high enough to get the wheel off – but a bit of muscle finally solved the problem. Then the only problem was that an inflated tyre is bigger than a flat one so we still needed to get the car a bit higher to get the good wheel back on. Not to be defeated, I decided that an alternative to raising the car higher (beyond the limit of the jack) was to lower the ground under it. Out with our trusty little spade and with a few chops and scrapes, I created a depression under the axle and was able to get the wheel almost in place. At least one nut could be started so by tightening that one a bit, it pulled the wheel in far enough to get another one started. That let me start a thirdone and in due course all five nuts were on and our trusty rattle gun came into its own (again) and the whole job was completed and the car and van boots repacked within about an hour – compared with more than two-and-a-half hours last time. At last, we were on our way and it was still not yet noon.

The Donohue Highway terminates at the State border, and on the Northern Territory side, it becomes the iconic Plenty Highway, known as one of the most challenging tracks in Australia – comparable to the Tanami. It truly is! We managed to do 222 kilometres today on some of the worst road I have ever driven. My hands and wrists are quite sore tonight from gripping the steering wheel and trying to point the car where we wanted it to go, rather than where the road wanted to take us. There was one 3-4 kilometre patch of sand/bulldust that was exceptionally challenging (the map referred to it as the Bulldust Stretch). The loose stuff was really deep and the wheel ruts were much deeper than our car’s underbody clearance. This meant that for several kilometres, we were ploughing ten or more centimetres of sand and dust out of the way to allow us to go forward. There were several other equally treacherous, but shorter, patches, but this one was the longest and worst I have encountered. Our amazing vehicle was roaring as it graded a path for us at a maximum speed of perhaps 20 kph with the accelerator almost flat to the floor and steering was a huge challenge. It was all I could do to keep the front to the car pointing in the direction we wanted to go – hence the sore hands and wrists tonight. We have driven some challenging roads in the past decade or two, but this is certainly up with the best of them. Surprisingly, other patches of the road, particularly later in the day, were great and I got up to almost 80 kph in a couple of the best places.

We have bumped into a bunch of 5 or 6 rigs travelling together a few times (the ones I mentioned at Tobermorey) and I have chatted with a couple of the drivers. Three of their vehicles are cute little orange Chamberlain tractors with a top speed of about 55 kph. They travel all over Australia (Heather thinks they were in Broome when we were there in 2019), having a lot of fun, but actually raising money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. I was talking with one of the guys at Gemtree this afternoon and he said they got through the bulldust without too much trouble, but when they came to the worst patch (obviously after us) they found a huge road-train, with three fully laden trailers, hopelessly bogged in the middle of the road. They had to take to the bush to get past him but we had seen a few road graders not far from there so I imagine they will eventually extricate the poor guy.

Every kilometre was an achievement for us but we finally made it to a free camping spot near Jervois Station – a Rest Area on the banks of the Marshall River - passing the camped Chamberlain tractor guys just a couple of kilometres earlier. I was very thankful to have a slightly early end to the challenges of the day, just over halfway from Tobermorey to our next destination at Gemtree.

We did a minimal set-up of the van and I started the generator – not really necessary, but it helps to keep the car fridge cold and it is a bit of fun generating our own power. In the past few days, I reckon we have run the generator for at least 12 hours, maybe 14, on a maximum of 4 litres of petrol. A lot of the time, it is just idling, but it kicks in a bit when the microwave, toaster or kettle are on – nothing else seems to make it work above an idle anyway.

I went looking for birds along the riverbed. I saw quite a few, perhaps 6-7 species, but nothing of particular note, the most exciting probably being several inquisitive Cloncurry Ringnecks.

One other car and trailer pulled in right next to us and started asking questions, but we didn’t encourage them to share our corner of the Rest Area – and maybe the ticking of our generator put them off – but they chose to park almost 100 metres away and didn’t interrupt the serenity of the place for us.

We had picked up a few second-hand DVDs in Boulia – they had at least 100 as well as some books for people to take or swap – and we took a handful. We have left quite a lot of ours at other places so purloining a few from Boulia was perhaps a small quid pro quo (and we have since passed several of them on at other places after watching them ourselves). Anyway, we played one after dinner and watched most of it before it died and we missed the end. Having said that, I am not sure we missed anything – it was no great shakes as a movie. Maybe some of the others will be better – and might play right through.

[s2he-gamewalkthrough]

Part 19: Passing of the Torch

In this part, we fight the optional bosses, Nentou and Bunchu. They are hard.

If you don’t know what this is about, please refer to this previous post.

[Any new comments by me will be designated by brackets.]

I'm only going to bother with upgrading attacks for Soushou and Tensho at this stage because they're the ones I'm going to use for the final boss.

To increase Tensho's weapon from level 3 to 4, just use this combo:

And after that, talk to Taiitsu and have him upgrade your weapon again. He'll do it automatically this time! And for free! (Choose the first option when given the chance.)

Five stars! Hooray!

Now Soushou's turn:

Level 2 to 3:

Level 3 to 4:

Yeah... It's the same combo for both. (If you look back at the level 1 to 2 combo, it's also the same... Convenient!) Unfortunately, Taiitsu can't increase it any higher.

I think at this point, you can visit Nentou (up in Taijou Roukun’s village) with Soushou in your party, and actually fight Nentou--with Soushou alone. Beware, as Nentou is HARD. He will use a lot of powerful attacks and support moves.

The best strategy I've found is to get all of Soushou's moves up to level four, with his level in the late 50s to early 60s. When you face Nentou, don't bother using Soushou's special move; just use his standard attack. Save all of Soushou’s EP for healing. Unfortunately, Soushou is slower than Nentou, taking away the "first hit" advantage.

Also, Soushou's healing move only heals about 1600-1700 HP. Nentou tends to deal out 2000+ HP damage... NORMALLY. This is mostly due to how much Nentou abuses--er, I mean, uses stat-boosting moves. There are two that he tends to use the most: a move that boosts his defense, and a move that boosts his attack. His special can do a hefty 2000 HP already (if you're lucky, it'll only do around 1500), so with an attack boost, he can sometimes hit you for 3000+ damage. Ouch.

So yeah, count on healing A LOT if your HP drops to the 3000-4000 range. Sounds like I'm being really cautious, but there's a reason for that. If you start skimping on the healing, you will die very, very quickly; because Nentou usually doesn't give you a second chance to heal. Also, there are times when he can cancel out your attacks. Luckily, it doesn't take away any EP if you've used a move that requires EP. Also, it doesn't let HIM attack either. But it's still pretty annoying as it tends to make this battle a lot longer than it has to be.

This is definitely one of the longer and tougher boss battles of the game, and it doesn't help that Nentou himself can heal (though only for a meager 1000 HP). It really is a battle of endurance and attrition. Just be patient, keep at it, and lo and behold, you've defeated Nentou!

For all that trouble, Nentou teaches Soushou some kind of final technique... which increases Soushou’s special to five stars! Hooray!

Now, for Bunchu... Yes, you can fight him too, with Cho Kei and his wife, Kouranei. So making an exception, here are the combos to upgrade their paopei/attacks:

Cho Kei:

Lvl 1 to 2:

Lvl 2 to 3:

Lvl 3 to 4:

Lvl 4 to 5: Talk to Taiitsu again.

Kouranei:

Lvl 1 to 2:

Lvl 2 to 3:

Lvl 3 to 4:

Lvl 4 to 5: Talk to Taiitsu again.

Anyway, you're going to have to level up Cho Kei and Kouranei if you even want to have a chance of winning. Bunchu is tough. Unfortunately, it doesn't help that Cho Kei and Kouranei know absolutely no healing moves. It also doesn't help that leveling them up is a huge pain in the behind because of their lack of pure offensive moves.

If you want to level them up efficiently, then go to the Houshindai and find the level where Raishinshi's brother Hakuyuukou resides. Just keep going down right as far as you can using the trains. At one of the "dead ends" (where you can't go right anymore), then that should be where Hakuyuukou lives. It's one of the levels above Bunchu’s old residence, if I remember correctly. Anyway, just go down the stairs there, and train near the red warp point. That way, you can level up, and heal quickly when your team's HP gets low (using Hakuyuukou).

After much trial-and-error, I have found a somewhat decent strategy for beating Bunchu.

Before you fight him, Cho Kei, Kouranei, and Bunchu gain their most powerful moves/specials. It's recommended that you have Cho Kei's and Kouranei's levels be in the late 50s-early 60s, though the higher the level, the better. If you've maxed out the level on Cho Kei's paopei, spam his standard. It will do WAY more damage than his newly gained special attack. However, you'll want to spam Kouranei's newly awakened special, because if it critical hits, it can do around 3000 damage to Bunchu. Also, BRING LOTS OF HEALING ITEMS. Before, I thought that you couldn't heal senin with potions, but there's actually an item that you can heal them with... Which are these things:

You get these in chests, or by making Dokouson's master transform them (remember? Part 11a). To get the base form in the first place, you can buy them from one of the senins in Kongrong, if you have the right currency. But for the rest of us, then you'll have to either buy them from Roushi's place (the shop there sells them) or traverse alllll the way down to the vending machines in the final dungeon. One of the vending machines will sell them, for a mere 600 money, if I remember right.

...Yeah, just go get them from Roushi's place. It saves a lot of trouble and frustration. It's a really good idea to go ahead and upgrade them to the 2000 HP healing kind, even if it means losing the 100 EP restoration effect. With the damage Bunchu deals, it's better to worry about HP first, EP later.

Anyway, back to defeating Bunchu. Although he can't heal himself, he's still annoying because his riding beast Kokukirin will sometimes block your attacks. So like the Nentou battle, this one rides on a lot of luck. Just spam the above mentioned attacks, heal when you can, and pray that you'll land a lot of critical hits/not get too badly hurt.

After you get his exp low enough, Bunchu will "transform" into his more powerful form. Don't relax yet, because while he's almost close to defeat, he's even MORE powerful in this form. And faster, too. (In my playthrough, whenever he entered this mode, he became faster than Cho Kei... though luckily Kouranei was still the fastest.)

At this point, heal one more time, and just go all-out on him, because chances are, you won't have the time to heal anymore. Keeping Kouranei alive is your top priority though, as she'll always attack first, giving you an advantage. In this stage, Bunchu will almost always abuse his special, which can cause upwards of 4000 HP of damage! That's pretty much the amount of HP Cho Kei and Kouranei have! If you're lucky (luck again...) Kouranei will be able to dodge enough of Bunchu's attacks and finish him off. FINALLY.

Truthfully, I had to let Cho Kei get knocked out in this battle... His wife was the one who finally defeated Bunchu after evading like three of his attacks in a row.

[In case you’re wondering how many times I had to fight Bunchu before I actually beat him... it was over 20 times. OVER TWENTY TIMES]

After that nightmare, what do you get? Well, you get to keep the specials for Cho Kei, Kouranei, and Bunchu, of course!

Anyway, the new specials:

Cho Kei's special allows him to throw a huge boulder at one enemy and costs 40 EP. It's not that great, actually.

Kouranei's special (costing 50 EP) allows her to... shoot? Throw? many needles (the Taiyoushin) at the enemy. It hits all enemies on screen, and does a pretty decent amount of damage.

Bunchu's newly gained special move allows him “transform” into super mode. It costs 99 EP, sends all his stats through the roof, and makes his (original) special attack do tons more damage.

[We’ll be finishing up the last of the side-quests I’ve found in the next part. See you then.]

To be continued.

[foxforfree135]

Borri Dont Use Whirlind Sprint

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Finish the quest 'The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller without whirlwind - posted in Skyrim Spoilers: I just started my second play through of skyrim and I'm stuck on this quest. I'm at the part with the gates that open as you walk past the stones. I know exactly what I need to do, but I don't have whirlwind sprint. I think I should have gotten it by now. Did I just miss it while doing a previous. Whirlwind Sprint - Vertical Functionality - posted in Skyrim Mod Requests: Hello and thank you, Nexus modders! Ive searched the Nexus quite thoroughly and have not come across any mods that modify Whirlwind Sprint to have the specific functionality I had hoped for when I first was introduced to it. I had hoped to be able to use Whirlwind Sprint not just to move across land or water, but also. I don't know what causes it, but every now and then when I use whirlwind sprint My character keeps running real fast after it is done and is moving at super speed. Not sure what causes it, but it has gotten me killed a few times. I am wondering if this is known and if it is known what causes it.

Borri Dont Use Whirlwind Sprint Flip Phone

Borri Dont Use Whirlwind Sprint Phone

Borri Dont Use Whirlwind Sprint Car

Borri Dont Use Whirlwind Sprint Phones

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2Detailed Walkthrough

2.2The 7,000 Steps

Meet the Greybeards.

Quest Giver:Jarl Balgruuf the GreaterLocation(s):Ivarstead, High HrothgarPrerequisite Quest:Dragon RisingNext Quest:The Horn of Jurgen WindcallerReward:Word for the Unrelenting Force shout, Word for the Whirlwind Sprint shoutID:MQ105

Master Borri teaching 'Wuld'

Quick Walkthrough(edit)

Go to Ivarstead.

Climb the 7,000 Steps.

Speak to the Greybeards at High Hrothgar.

Detailed Walkthrough(edit)

Ivarstead(edit)

After you're finished in Whiterun, you'll want to head to Ivarstead, as it is located at the foot of the 7,000 Steps leading up to High Hrothgar. Once you get there and get close to the bridge, you'll hear a conversation. Talk to one of the men, Klimmek, and learn about what dangers are lurking ahead. You can take an optional quest from him to deliver supplies to the Greybeards. You may also ask people there to tell you some information about High Hrothgar:

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NameResponseWilhelm'The Greybeards are a solitary lot. I don't think they've ever ventured outside their monastery. We get the occasional pilgrim passing through here on their way to the summit, but almost all of them have returned disappointed.'Klimmek'I've been to the monastery many times, but I've never even laid eyes on one of the Greybeards. Not that I'd care to. Being masters of the Thu'um, they could kill you by uttering a single word. Well, not that they would. They seem peaceful, but I wouldn't want to provoke them. 'Bassianus Axius'Klimmek brings food supplies up to them once every few weeks when the weather permits it. Other than that, they seem like a quiet lot. Don't really know too much about them.'Boti'It's frightening living below their monastery. Sometimes I swear I can hear strange noises rolling down from up there. It sounds like thunder, but there's never any rain. What do you make of that?'Temba Wide-Arm'The Greybeards stay away from me, and I stay away from them. Suits me just fine.'Gwilin'Always thought it was odd that there's a layer of thick clouds covering the peak of the mountain above the monastery. Not sure what's up there, but I bet the Greybeards know.'Jofthor'They call the path to the monastery the 7,000 Steps. Can you imagine? I'm not certain if I could even make it to the top without collapsing from exhaustion.'Fastred'The Greybeards are a strange bunch. I heard they live their entire life without uttering a single word; can you even imagine?'Lynly Star-Sung'I've always fancied a journey up the 7,000 Steps to the monastery. Anything to break the boredom of living in this town. I envy you.'

The 7,000 Steps(edit)

When you start on the trail up, you'll run across various leveled wildlife and monsters, and a couple of pilgrims, Barknar and Karita. You will also find various etched stone tablets ('emblems') giving you information on the history of the dragons and the Way of the Voice.

Shortly after the fourth emblem where you meet Karita, at a point where the steps are sandwiched between two cliffs, there is a frost troll that will jump from the top of one cliff if it sees you (though sometimes it may be found further up the path). For low-level characters, this can be a difficult fight. It can be avoided altogether by sneaking past it at night or scaling the cliffs nearby.

Combat strategies(edit)

Frost trolls, like any other type of troll, have a weakness to fire. Thus, handy combat strategies include using weapons which have a fire enchantment, using fire-based destruction spells, and summoning a flame atronach. The Shout Fire Breath could also be used, as a word for it can be gained early on in the Companions questline.

Trolls can deal a substantial amount of damage, but most of it can be avoided by tactically falling back when one sees the troll raising his arms or preparing a power attack. If you need to heal, you can sprint away; the troll will not generally outrun you. Similarly, using a shield to block the Troll's attacks can also be effective, but does depend highly on timing.

It is possible to scale the rocks just before the troll, allowing you to use ranged attacks to safely eliminate it. However, the troll may regenerate its health faster than you can damage it. Using a bow with a fire enchantment or ranged destruction spells such as Firebolt would give an advantage.

If you are careful, it can be killed by long distance arrows from the entrance to the ravine it lives in. Go into stealth mode, stand at the entrance to the ravine, all to the right, and shoot at the troll when you can just see it on top of the cliff. If done properly, the troll may shift left or right a little, but will not come after you; the x2 sneak attack bonus (x3 with the perk) should allow you to kill it quickly. However, if it falls off the cliff, this will not work anymore.

If you retreat down the stairs, Karita, who is meditating at the tablet, will help defeat the troll.

Avoiding the fight(edit)

It is easily possible to simply run past the Troll, as it moves rather slowly.

Being a Nord, one can use their racial power Battle Cry to make the troll flee for 30 seconds, giving enough time to run to High Hrothgar. Similarly, being a Bosmer, one can use Command Animal to calm the troll.

You can scale the rocks to the left of the ravine, and you’ll never be detected at all.

The Greybeards(edit)

High Hrothgar

After finally arriving at High Hrothgar, you'll be greeted by Master Arngeir, who speaks to you on behalf of the other Greybeards (whose voices are too powerful for conversation). After proving you are the Dragonborn by using the Unrelenting Force shout, they welcome you to their monastery and instruct you on how to use the dragon shouts, or Thu'um.

Borri Dont Use Whirlwind Sprint Flip Phone

To further your training in the ways of the Thu'um, you will be taught the second word to the Unrelenting Force shout, Ro, and asked to practice it three times on ethereal targets that the Greybeards summon. Arngeir comments on how quickly you learn, then takes you outside for the next lesson. They teach you another word for Whirlwind Sprint. You'll be asked to practice it by using the shout to get through the gate Master Borri opens before it closes. When you're finished, Arngeir will send you on the last test: retrieving the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller.

Achievements(edit)

Borri Dont Use Whirlwind Sprint Phone

One achievement is unlocked when you complete this quest:

The Way of the Voice (20 points/Bronze)

Notes(edit)

If you activate and read all ten plaques along the 7,000 Steps, you'll receive the blessing Voice of the Sky that causes wildlife to neither flee nor attack you for 24 hours.

There appear to be only around 700 steps, but many may have been worn down or covered in snow over time.

If you consider steps as paces rather than stairs, there are around 2000 steps (when using the walking animation)

Despite the fact that, especially at higher levels, there are many dangerous wild animals along the 7,000 steps, the two pilgrims met along the way seem to be around the same level as the average bandit.

With a horse and a little cunning, you can skip both the long trip to Ivarstead and climbing the 7,000 Steps altogether. Starting at the Whiterun Stormcloak Camp, you can ride almost straight up the mountain, bypassing the dangerous creatures and the tedious long climb with only moderate difficulty.

If you bypass Ivarstead and the two pilgrims on the way up in this way, Karita will never be encountered, since she is set to disappear from the game once the player reaches High Hrothgar. Barknar will still be there at his position, on the way down, and so will Klimmek in Ivarstead, with his quest to deliver the goods. Unfortunately, the Frost Troll will also be there - although of course, fast-travelling directly from High Hrothgar avoids it (and all the above).

The shout the Greybeards use to create the attack targets for learning Ro is Fiik Lo Sah, Mirror Deceive Phantom. It is not attainable by the player except through console codes.

When you are asked to run through the gate before it closes using your new Whirlwind Sprint shout, you can make it through the gate in time using a regular sprint.

Upon completion of this quest, you will gain access to the main quest of the Dragonborn expansion.

Arngeir's dialogue about Whirlwind Sprint is slightly different if you already know a word of the shout. If you have learned part of the shout through word walls, you will receive the second or third part of the shout instead.

Bugs(edit)

If you enter High Hrothgar from the back door (where you perform the shout 'whirlwind sprint'), the Greybeards may not congregate in the hall and the quest will not progress (stuck on 'speak to Arngeir'). Exit from the front door and re-enter before speaking to Master Arngeir to progress.

This bug is fixed by version 1.2.4 of the Unofficial Skyrim Patch.

The Greybeards may attack you after you use an Unrelenting Force on them.

If you leave High Hrothgar after being presented the word Ro, but before learning (absorbing) the word on the floor, you may not be able to learn the word when you return. This can also happen in very rare cases even if you do not leave (more likely to happen later in the game if you have put off doing the main quest). This can break the main quest. There is no workaround for this other than reloading a previous save from before the word is presented to you.

If you interrupt Einarth while he's casting Ro on the floor by talking to him or shouting at him, it may not appear. ?

Save and re-load the game, and he should resume the casting.

When asked to demonstrate the Voice, the spectres may not appear.

Open your inventory and close it again and the spectre should appear.

In demonstrating Whirlwind Sprint, Master Wulfgar may inadvertently send himself flying off the mountain. ?

Quest Stages(edit)

The Way of the Voice (MQ105)StageFinishes QuestJournal Entry8

Objective 10: Speak to the Greybeards

10The Greybeards have summoned me to their monastery of High Hrothgar on the slopes of the Throat of the World. They seem to have learned of the mysterious power that I gained when I killed the dragon outside Whiterun.30The Greybeards summoned me to their monastery of High Hrothgar on the slopes of the Throat of the World. I spoke to Arngeir, one of the Greybeards, who believes that I am 'Dragonborn', which means I am especially gifted in the use of the Voice. They have offered to help me learn to use my new abilities.

Objective 20: Demonstrate your 'Unrelenting Force' Shout

5058

Objective 30: Learn the Word of Power from Einarth

80

Objective 40: Demonstrate your 'Unrelenting Force' Shout (<Global=MQ105TargetsHit>/3)

100120

Objective 60: Demonstrate your 'Whirlwind Sprint' Shout

140

Objective 70: Speak to Arngeir for further training

160The Greybeards summoned me to their monastery of High Hrothgar on the slopes of the Throat of the World. Their leader, Arngeir, recognized me as 'Dragonborn', and taught me more about my new Voice powers. After passing several tests, they sent me on one final trial, retrieving the legendary Horn of Jurgen Windcaller.

Borri Dont Use Whirlwind Sprint Car

The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 0, 1, 5, 12, 15, 20, 25, 55, 56, 59, 60, 70, 75, 76, 82, 85, 90, 103, 105, 110, 115, 125, 127, 130, 150, 180, 190, 200, 220, 240, 242, 245, 250, 255, 260, 265, 270, 280, 282, 284, 288, 290, 300.

Borri Dont Use Whirlwind Sprint Phones

Notes

Prev:Dragon RisingUp:Main QuestNext:The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller

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