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hyperfixatinglove · 2 years

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3, 4, 7 & 13 for the meta questions? The f/o is your pick 💕

Aiden meta go brrr

3. describe the first time you watched/played/read your f/o’s source content.

It was like having a specimen under microscope lmao. I wanted to closely study Aiden's psyche and how he operated, why he did what he did, where his actions and thoughts come from, why there was such dissonance between his actions, words vs others. It was interesting to see him associate with Clara and T-Bone while still being apart and isolated from them to see him embrace the vigilante persona he created in rather disturbing end monologue.

I found wat//ch dogs to be interesting subversion of typical realistic superhero story and the motion that in order to have protagonist they must be good as person. Aiden is NOT good person, not by long shot. But you might understand why he does what he does, why he thinks how he thinks. I just loved how in this game protagonist doesn't mean morally good. I think we need more video game protagonists like Aiden.

Anyway seems like I went off again abt Aiden specifically while I meant to explain abt his source.

I do remember being annoyed how little hacking there was in main story. Personally my favorite quests in the game are ones involving sneaking and hacking and take downs. But the game has far, far FAR too many car chases, especially police chases or chasing after someone for story reasons. Those were frustrating and not particularly interesting missions.

I remember being in awe of the way profiler works, the app Aiden has that allows him to know intimate details abt npc's in game world. My favorite aspect of the game, just walk down a street and get all kinds of info tragic or funny.

I tend to watch walkthrough on yt first in order to determine should I buy a game - because I need to know what kind of shit I get myself into, such as is there club scene = annoying flickering lights, colors etc or is there possibly frustrating missions. That's what I did for Aiden's source too, when I got sudden hyperfixation and interest in Aiden as character that I never had before.

The story was meh I have to say, but I tend to overlook or forgive a lot if I enjoy characters or you give me crumbs of interesting story (without delving deep into it) and that happened here as well. Majority of the game is spend trying to find Nicky, Aiden's sister because Damien, his former partner kidnapped her bc he's super petty "boohoo my ex partner doesn't want to team up anymore" tantrum. Damien reminded me of Rais from Kyle's game, stereotypical, lazy depiction of villain that's simply just boring as hell. At least Iraq had some sort of presence and carried himself well even though even he is one sided.

Actually all villains in watch dogs are boring lmao. Only ones I actually liked somewhat were Iraq and Defalt and Iraq only bc he has nice banter with Aiden and unique laugh. Defalt was just this wacky, sexual humor troll hacker who I feel would've been good in sequel but they get the job done in passable way I guess.

T-Bone, Jordi and Aiden carried the whole damn game on their backs I swear. Oh and I'm still salty about Clara's death like just toss her into the wolves without any memorable scenes or presence ok.

Playing through his game myself was chore most of the time, but I kept going bc I just adore Aiden and other characters too much to give up. That and the satisfying feeling of slapping someone with a baton.

4. who was your first favorite character when you initially got into your f/o’s source content? was it your f/o from the very beginning?

I actually think my first favorite was Jordi! He just instantly establishes himself as someone who stands out and who's simply hilarious but gets shit done. I love how he just says "I called the cops" the convo is one of the best with Aiden and Jordi!

Also the "Its not the pizza guy" mission start convo but that's bc Aiden just happened to scratch his lips with him thump and I went OOOOH like a horny bitch while I just finished laughing at Jordi's antics.

Anyway Jordi is simply great! Perfect balance between wacky antics yet someone to be taken seriously.

Other candidate(s) for this were T-Bone and Tobias! T-Bone especially is so interesting (and he literally has his own DLC), he's easygoing but has lot of guilt and I'm sad we never get to any specifics abt his past as ctOS employee/creator. And something abt Tobias just caught my interest, he was friends with T-Bone and had this friendly rivalry with him and he has neat dialogue with Aiden (notice trend? I just love the contrast between Aiden vs everyone else)

I liked Clara as well, but honestly she was so underutilized it's a crime. We don't even know anything about her expect she worked with Dedsec and Quinn formerly and she's tattoo artist as well as hacker. There was opportunity to make her interesting but they just? Decided not to bc she dies? I'm still calling bullshit on it. Aiden saw the texts in Quinn's office he could've easily warned her! The game just doesn't?? Allow you to?? (Imagine AU where Aiden actually warns her and she goes underground bc she said in voice mail she's good at disappearing)

7. are there any specific scenes/chapters/moments of your f/o that you find yourself going back to revisit more often than any other?

Let's see.

I quite like visiting Aiden's interactions with Nicky (particularly mission Big Brother). Other missions include Dressed in peels (the prison in and out break), Thanks for the tip (Aiden's lines to Damien in this mission make me swoon I swear), Any mission with Bedbug (since his and Aiden's interactions are gold) also By any means necessary (Iraq & Aiden showoff is so good) and finally Ghosts of past for Nicky & Aiden goodness and No turning back because hoo boy Aiden when he crouches to watch Quinn die is holy shit great af.

Also as I noted a while ago with my Ushio ask, I like to watch stealth videos of Aiden slapping people with his baton while no one notices. Such as some missions here and there, gang missions..

I also love to watch playthrough where Aiden is as pacifistic as possible.

But as individual cutscenes go, I like watching the one where Aiden blackmails someone in prison, he's such little shit AND he's without his usual regalia so he looks so good jlsllasja

Also the scene where he rough houses Damien in Nicky's kitchen with his baton is golden hoo boy I love aggressive Aiden

Oh and the cutscene where he meets Lucky Quinn after elevator and is for a while held captive and he breaks himself free of it (and later kills Quinn but I mentioned THAT scene already)

And the scene with Jacks in the train bc Aiden is the softest he can be (or at least tries to be comforting to his nephew)

AND FINALLY the bar scene with T-Bone and Aiden is so good! And Aiden's "Hello Ray" is such good line the way he says it sdhsaidhkdak

13. do you have a favorite line your f/o has ever said?

Almost everything he has said? Ever? No?

Okay, I have to do some research!

My first personal fave is upon asked "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" his answer is poignant "I wouldn't know where to begin"

Also when he chats with Damien for first time he quips: "Your problem is I don't need you"

The line he says in the car when he drops Jacks his nephew to safe place makes me melt "When I deal with these bad guys i need you someplace safe. That's what makes me strong" I just jhjjjj ♥♥♥♥

"You did good bedbug" sjkljslljdkldsld he sounds kinda soft there?? I just kskhhk

"You took something far more valuable from me" at Iraq when he rambled abt Aiden messing up his masterpiece of blackmail job? Amazing. I have to say Iraq's answer "Motherfucker I don't even know you" is gold and it's lowkey stim of mine sjkhkahdkd make it stop

He has SO MANY good lines I'd be here all day listing ALL of my favorites.

#letters of love #vigilante

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rubyinasnuggie · 3 years

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Random Headcanons No One Asked For:

-Both Ruby and Weiss are left handed

--Yang was 100% prepared to tease them about it when Blake very pointedly uses her left hand to write something

--Blake is ambidextrous

--which makes Yang the only right-handed one on the team

--until the fall of beacon oops

-Ren is fully color blind

--once baby Nora figured that out, she made it her mission to explain to him what colors are based on other sensations (sue me I love this trope)

--she describes pink as the quiet comfort they share in each other's presence

--Ren finally sees color for the first time when his semblance upgrades, and he can finally see the pink petals with Nora

-Blake likes to climb on things and find random nooks and crannies to read

--it turns into a game of reverse hide-and-seek when someone needs her: depending on how urgent it is the entire squad will drop everything and look for her

-team STRQ won the Vytal tournament their first year, specifically Summer was the champion

--Yang was more upset about the disqualification than she'd ever admit, because she secretly imagined Summer was out there somewhere watching the tournament, proud of her babies

-Tai pulled himself out of his depression by gardening: having a routine helped him, so he encouraged baby Ruby and Yang to get similar gentle hobbies

-Ruby raises chickens at home

--she very lovingly feeds them corn and calls them her ladies

--Yang affectionately calls them creatures and cluckers and other such rude things to get a rise out of Ruby

-Ruby deeply wants a cow

--this is her one and only retirement dream

--although honestly she can never imagine herself living past her 20s

-Yang struggled with picking a hobby, she gets bored easily and hates the expected

--its only post-Beacon that she understands the benefits of a routine

--thats why she ends up with a ton of chores, just some structure to help her through the day

-Ruby will drink any type of milk, but Strawberry milk is her favorite

-Sun is allergic to bananas but he doesn't know

--he thinks bananas are supposed to be spicy

-Weiss loves sour apple

-Pyrrha loves chocolate almonds

-Yang thinks fish are creepy, she just generally doesn't love the ocean

--she thinks Neptune is a little clown though

-Oscar gets dressed by putting on his left sock, left boot, then his right sock and right boot

--RNJR made it their mission to interrupt him during this just to see him walk around with one boot on

-Ruby likes to bake, it's one of the few solid memories she has of her mom

--one night Weiss was feeling homesick and Ruby taught her how to make mug cakes

--"its probably not that good compared to your cake butler, but it's pretty simple, and I like them!"

--Weiss secretly makes them at least once a week, even back home in Atlas

-Weiss has taken flight lessons, at one point Ironwood really pushed for her to become a pilot in the military

-Blake has a field journal of the different types of Grimm she's encountered

--team RWBY & JNPR have spent several nights sitting in a circle talking and adding to the journal

--while traveling across Anima, Ruby sketched and took notes on all the Grimm she saw, just in case she ever found Blake again

-Weiss collects rocks

--no, not crystals. actual rocks

--shes rarely spent time in the real outside, but whenever she has, she picks up little rocks and puts them in her pocket before anyone can see

-Jaune never actually stopped writing left and right on the bottom of his shoes actually

-Weiss had never been allowed to paint her nails as a kid, she'd always get weekly French manicures instead

--by the second semester at Beacon, Ruby, Weiss, Nora, and Ren would have weekly manicure nights where they'd paint each other's nails

--there were several times they'd rope the rest of the teams into it, especially during the Vytal tournament where they'd write team names on their nails

--during the singles round they'd write Yang on one hand and Pyrha on the other

--"we couldn't make it fit without cutting one of the R's!"

-Pyrrha and Weiss became each other's default plus one's for fancy events, to the point people began to speculate that the two were dating

--Jaune was somehow jealous of them both and it was very confusing to him since he had poor self awareness

-Yang cuts Ruby's hair, but after she lost her arm she lost the fine motor skills to do a good job, so Blake started to do it

-Blake is always there to help Yang with her phantom pains and residual limb pain

--she helps massage Yang's arm while leaning close and purring

--Yang cried the first time Blake did this because she's not used to being taken care of

-Nora never gets sick and is the designated nurse when a bug goes around the teams

--the electricity incident was the first time Nora has ever been bed-ridden

-Weiss took ballet as a child

-Jaune is actually pretty good at the guitar

-Pyrrha is not musically inclined at all its a miracle she managed to do the iconic JNPR shine dance

--jk but actually she's a decent dancer when she has the steps choreographed for her but she has no natural rhythm

-in the last few months before Pyrrha's death, she and Jaune would waltz on top of the roof together

--there were several almost kisses

--maybe a few successful kisses who knows

-there are occasions (obv extremely rare) when Ren actually takes the bulk of the energy from Nora

--this leads to thrilling game nights where Ren makes multiple 40pt remnant-equiv-of-scrabble plays while Nora naps

-Oscar is the only person who can beat Ren in scrabble, although it's very closely matched

-Oscar is amazing at chess and will play it against himself like a little square

-Yang and Ruby are experts at the tabletop war game they play in the library

--9 times out of 10, the winner is one of them

-Oscar is the only one who also knew about Compost King, which was very exciting for Jaune

--Compost King is a common game night activity while they were in Haven because its so hard to say no to Oscar

-Yang is a straight-A student and has always been

-Blake never had any formal education and she finds a lot of the classes incredibly dull or ineffective at teaching the material

--she's always the one convincing Yang to skip a class and lie in the sun-warmed grass with her

--she still gets Bs easily

-Oscar is a very fast reader and will devour any book he's given

--his aunt would frequently bring home books from town just to keep him entertained

-Ruby has suffered from migraines and nightmares her entire life, post-Beacon they only got worse

-Weiss shops at local dust stores whenever she can, even though she could get shipments for free

--however she does have Ron Swanson's "I know more than you" energy when she's shopping

-Blake and Ren will sometimes take naps together

--not cuddling, just occupying the same general space

--wake them up at your own risk

-if Ruby isn't engaged with something, she can start to scatter and dissolve into rose petals

--its a very slow process and someone has always snapped her out of it before she's fully vanished, but Yang is worried about what would happen if no one caught her in time

-Ren is afraid of horses

-Blake hates being cold

-Yang naturally radiates heat cause semblance duh

-Weiss glued the tiniest gravity crystals to the underside of Ruby's bed to ensure it never falls

-JNPR likes to push their beds all together so they can sleep in one big pile

-Nora can only sleep if she's holding someone's hand

Hope u guys enjoyed! These are in no particular order, sorry that I kinda jumped around a lot 😅

Feel free to reblog and add your own ideas and headcanons! ❤

#rwby #jnpr #oscar pine #ruby rose #jaune arc #weiss schnee #nora valkyrie #blake belladonna #pyrrha nikos #yang xiao long #lie ren #rwby headcanons #rwby headcanon #rwby thoughts #bumbleby #renora #rwby redesign #long post #im sorry

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loving-all-for-loki · 3 years

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Voiceless Love Chapter 7: Missing You

Loki x reader, Bucky x reader

Word count: 2166

Warnings: swearing, sad reader, Bucky fluff

A/N: Okay, so for anyone who’s reading this as their introduction to this series, Loki is not in this a ton. I have a little, but if you didn’t read chapter 6, this is going to be very confusing. As for the series, this is the last “base” chapter meaning there are going to be two different options: the Bucky route and the Loki route. There may be three to four more chapters on each route until the end, I’m not entirely sure, but the choose your own part of the series starts after this chapter. I will be posting the next chapter for each route at the same time so the schedule is still continuous. Also for my tag lists, I will be tagging you in both. If you’d rather not be tagged in both and just one, please let me know. <3 Other than that, thank you for all the support. Remember the tag list is still open if you want to get tagged in the upcoming chapters. Back to the heart wrenching story.

Tag List: @caffeineoverloadandstudying @zizzlekwum @daddysfavoritesexkitten @buckylokisimp @magicalpieex @lokiyoulittle

You’re not sure how long it’s been since Loki was taken back to Asgard. Someone could tell you it’s been an hour or two months, but it wouldn’t make a difference. The outside light has not seen your room since. Your heart has not felt joy. The Avengers have not been blessed with your presence.

Bucky started to get really concerned for you days ago. They haven’t seen you come out of your room for food or even the bathroom. Tony teased the thought of you being dead, but nobody found it funny. Bucky even yelled at him for the insults about Loki still, knowing if you were to hear them by any chance, you’d go ape shit.

He’s tried to make contact with you, but he fails every time. Leaving food by your door, sliding notes underneath, even knocking and begging you to talk to him, but he’s always faced with deafening silence. His heart has not been the same since you locked yourself away. Steve complains about him no longer being a good spar partner and replacing him with Sam. He’s been left out of two missions for not being focused enough or being too chaotic. One time our of pure anger, Bucky ignored Cap’s orders and almost got himself killed.

“Bucky this isn’t the time to play around. We need you in the game. Don’t screw up again.”

“I’m sorry, Steve, but I-” “There are no buts in war and I think you’d know that. I understand your concern for Y/N, but you need to let it go. She’s not coming out. Leave her be. Focus on the missions or else I’m going to have to bench you.”

Bucky knows Steve is right, but there’s nothing he can do to stop his brain from thinking about you all day long. Every time he passes the library, he longs for the time where you would spend all day there reading stories about love and adventure. He longs for when you’d sneak into his room and spend all day in bed with him, asking him to read to you. He longs for your writings on his skin again. He feels so empty and boring without your scribbles all along his arm.

He sits around the living area ll day, drinking coffee and staring out of the window. The tower feels so quiet without you and Loki running around giggling, baking, reading, etc. It doesn’t feel like home even if home involves Bucky watching someone he loves love someone else. He misses your touches and glances. The way you’d offer for him to join you or taste the cookies you made. He even misses the occasional times Loki put too much salt in the cookies and made him eat them.

Bucky walks over to the door to your bedroom solemnly. He slides down the door and sits there with his long legs blocking the whole floor of the hall. He slowly rolls his knuckles on the door, knocking and hoping to get your attention yet he gets no response.

You’ve been under your blankets crying for so long, you don’t know how time works. The only thing reminding you that you’re alive is the times when Bucky comes and tries to talk to you. You have no energy to get out of bed due to the consistent crying you’ve been doing. You feel like you’re getting weaker every day. It’s the same feeling as when you healed Bucky from almost dying. Moving becomes a chore and you can’t fathom doing anything. No one is really sure how you haven’t eaten or peed for this long, even you. Sometimes you like to think it’s Loki’s magic allowing you to mourn the loss of him working. There are moments where you feel him around you.

You miss his cold touches, sending chills down your spine. His bedroom has become a place of pain and you refuse to go near it. Because he isn’t around to pick you up, you haven’t drank or taken a bath either. You completely ignore taking care of yourself. There’s no point in taking care of yourself if there’s no one to admire you.

Bucky comes up to your door again and starts knocking. You see his body block some of the light coming from under your door, showing that he’s sitting there. The sound surrounds you in the quiet room and drowns out your sobs.

“Y/N, please talk to me. We’re all concerned for you and want to help you.”

You ignore his voice, turning over to look at the wall opposite of it. Pulling the blankets over your head, you try to fall asleep but Bucky keeps talking to you through the door.

“I remember when I fell off the train back in… actually, I don’t remember when, but I woke up and was surrounded by Hydra. For years, I felt alone. I would black out at times when they controlled me and I didn’t know what was happening. Then Steve found me and told me he knew me. I was confused and scared. I was a soldier with no memory. For months, I was with someone who knew me, but I felt so alone. There was so much I was missing and didn’t know. Everything terrified me and made me alarmed. I was on the edge of my seat all the time. What I’m trying to say is I know how you feel. You miss someone you care for and I missed a whole part of my life I longed for again. I felt the loneliness you’re going through and I isolated myself, too. It was a terrible time and I want to help you. I don’t want you to deal with the feelings because I remember how it felt. Please, let me help you.”

At the end of his long speech, you felt yourself get up off of bed, still covered in your blankets. You open the door and look down at Bucky sitting with his legs out. He looks up to you with a pity smile as you stare down, still with tears running down your face. Bucky stands up and pulls you into him, holding you in a tight embrace.

“I know I said some… unkind things and I’m sorry. I’m also sorry you don’t have Loki here. We’ll get him back.”

You don’t believe him when he says they’ll get him back. You’re aware he’s only saying this to make you feel better, but your heart hopes his words are true and honest. The warmth of his body against yours makes you miss Loki even more, wishing it were his body. You squeeze tighter, imagining Loki in your head with his long hair, blue eyes, and strong hands. Bucky squeezes back, rubbing his hand up and down on your waist.

“You’ll be okay, doll.”

You back up from Bucky’s hug and adjust your blanket. He takes your hand and leads you down the hallways to the living are where Nat, Sam, and Steve are sitting. They quiet down their conversation as you walk in. Nobody looks your way or makes any comment about you leaving your room. Bucky has you sit down at the kitchen counter as he scrummages through the fridge.

“I’m sure you’re hungry. Do want anything specific?”

You shake your head and the way you don’t speak doesn’t go unmissed. Bucky nods, knowing the progress with you talking has gone away and you’re back to square one. He pulls out some leftovers and give them to you. You pick up a spoon timidly and start eating, but Bucky thinks you look weak. Your hand is shaking as you bring it to your mouth. It’s as if you had healed him again.

“Are you feeling okay?”

You shake your head no which alerts him. Bucky immediately takes the food from you and picks up you bridal style.

“Bucky, what ARE you doing?” Nat asks.

“She’s not well, I’m taking her to med bay.”

Steve gets up and follows Bucky and you. He watches as you keep dropping your head and waking up as if you can’t stay awake. Steve then looks up to his best friend and sees how tired he looks as well. Everyone’s aware of Bucky’s feelings about you and he knows nothing will change that, even your own love for Loki. Sometimes Bucky’s obsession and attachment to you scares him. He’s worried he’ll lose Buck in his pinning for you, his longing, his jealousy. He’s seen Buck in hard times, but sparring with him for the last two months while you were with Loki was rough to watch. Bucky was rough, sporadic. He was irresponsible during missions, reckless. It was like he had a death wish.

“Buck,” Steve says once he sees you fall asleep, “we need to talk.”

“Not until she’s being taken care of.”

“That’s the thing. Your attachment to her is unhealthy.”

“Steve, I know you lost your love years ago and I’m sorry, but my love is here in my arms and she doesn’t even know who she is to me. If I can do something, I will.”

“I have nothing against you helping her, but you need to detach from her a little bit. I’m scared for you.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You’re going to get yourself killed if you stop stressing over her all the time.”

Bucky doesn’t say anything, knowing that Steve is right. He doesn’t dare to argue against him because a) he doesn’t want to wake you and b) he knows nothing he says will change Steve’s concern for him. He’s right, though. He had been reckless, almost dying even after the first time. He’s hid his injuries from the other teammates, but looking down at you, he can’t help but think how it’s worth it. If he doesn’t have you, he has nothing. As long as you’re around, even if you’re not his, he’s happy.

“She’s all that matter to me now.”

“I understand that.”

They arrive at the Medbay and keep you there.

Weeks go by and you finally return to the team. Everyone welcomes you back with some drinks and games, trying to get you to warm back up to them. You appreciate the sweet gesture, give into their advances, and stay out there with them. Bucky’s heart jumps with joy seeing you smile and enjoy your time with the Avengers. A couple drinks in and Tony decides to play truth or dare with everyone which makes you roll your eyes.

“Really?” Clint complains.

“What? It’s fun!” “It’s childish, Tony.”

“Yeah, seriously, can’t we play something else?” Steve complains, too.

“How about drink or dare?” Nat offers.

“I like how you think, Ksenia Onatupp.”

Confused, Nat looks to Steve who is equally confused and shrugs. Tony grabs a large bottle of Vodka from the kitchen and sets it on the table.

“Alright, since he made fun of me, I say Legolas goes first.”

“This is so dumb.”

A couple rounds go by and everyone is a little tipsy. You end up sitting on Bucky's lap with your legs across him. He keeps a protective arm around your waist as his metal arm rests on your thigh, rubbing his thumb up and down. Steve keeps looking over to see you two cuddling, disapproving the way Bucky has been ignoring his advice and keeping some distance. He visited you every day while you were recovering from everything.

“Y/N, I dare you to dance.”

You furrow your eyebrows at the lack of music and direction. Tony looks incredibly proud, but as a more sober person, you know how dumb that dare is so you take a drink. Tony groans at you, but everyone else is just drunk enough (beside Thor who could chug three whole bottles of Vodka and feel nothing, lucky duck) to not care. You turn to Bucky and yawn, which is his signal to pick you up and carry you to your room.

You wander to the bathroom in your room to chance while Bucky waits in your room. He looks around at all the new things on your bookshelf. There’s a little stuffed snake which he’s sure Loki got for you as well as a lot of photos of you and him in frames. There’s one of you two during a movie night, you on his lap, and one of him kissing you while dancing. The smile on your face is wider than Bucky has ever seen. He knew you were happy with Loki, he just refused it.

Bucky walks back to your bed when you stroll in. You lay down as he tucks you in and kisses you on the forehead. Before he walks away, you grab his arm and dig through the table next to your bed. You grab your pen which you haven’t used in awhile and write ‘thank you’ on his arm.

“Of course, doll. I’ll see you in the morning.”

#loki fanfic #loki fan fiction #loki x reader #loki laufeyson #loki #bucky fluff #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #marvel x reader #bucky fan fiction #bucky fanfic #voicelesslove #lovingallforloki

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sirloozelite · 3 years

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A Review of SWTOR

So, not too long ago, a pair of friends (frenemies more like) of mine were playing SWTOR... and suffice to say they would not shut up about it. I’d always been aware of the game in the back of my mind, but it had never really appealed to me. MMO’s don’t really, as I would always be worried about random players sticking their nose in whilst I was trying to keep to myself.

Still, my friends would not shut up about it, and they kept recommending it to me, despite my internal aversion to it. Now, considering that they had both foolishly taken my advice on games to play in the past, I decided to return the favour and give SWTOR a chance.

And boy was I glad I did. Is SWTOR a good game? Yes... and no... and yes. It’s not perfect, it’s got problems, but it’s still a lot of fun, and I’m glad I’ve done at least one playthrough of the game.

Upon loading up I of course had to choose what storyline I wanted to follow. Since both of my buddies had gone Jedi Knight, (though I’d argue that a certain someone made their Jedi about as deplorable as Anakin) I decided to be the awkward one and went Sith Inquisitor instead, and honestly... I think I chose perfectly!

Oh and... for those interested... here is my Inquisitor:

His name is the Sixteenth Brother! What’s his backstory? Well... that depends on who you ask! Some say he’s the 16th sibling of a Zabrak family... others say he chose the name to hide his true one. Some even say he’s a time traveller from a distant future sent back in time after accidentally finding a Sith relic in his time. Whatever the truth is matters little. All that matters is that he was great fun to play as.

Oh and for the record, this review is based on a Free To Play experience and completion of the class storyline only. I’ve not touched the expansions yet, but intend to at some point. Any criticisms I have that are solved by subscribing are a moot point. Furthermore, it goes without saying but all of the below is my own opinions of the game. Doesn’t make them right or wrong.

The Good

There are many good things about SWTOR, almost too many to name. That said, there are some things I’d like to highlight.

The Story

The first and foremost best thing about the game is of course, the story. Being a Bioware written game created at the same time as the Mass Effect trilogy, I expected a good story... and I was not disappointed by the tale of the Sith Inquisitor. It was the standard tale of a protagonist coming from lowly origins, in this case a slave, and advancing up the ladder of society. Nothing too revolutionary, but add in the Sith and the Empire and it was made all the more better. Frequently, poor 16th Bro would get hounded for being an alien, and each and every time he’d beat the odds, and then usually show mercy to those who had insulted him. (I played him mostly light side... though there were a few times I surrendered to the dark and zapped people)

The world building within the story was also top notch. Plenty of detail is hidden away in the codex, much like Mass Effect, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t stuff in the actual gameplay and story as well. I’d never really been a legends fan, and whilst I’m still not, I do see why a lot of people love these sorts of stories. I was invested, and that’s what mattered.

Outside of the Sith Inquisitor, the very fact that there are seven other unique storylines and classes to play, as well as heavy character customization and role play more than make the game worthy of revisiting. There is a little bit of something for everyone it seems.

The Characters

Another great strength of Bioware games is usually it’s characters, especially the protagonists companions. I can happily report that, at least for the Sith Inquisitor, the vast majority of the characters in the story were great.

The three standout characters outside of the Inquisitor to me were Khem Val, Ashara Zavros and Talos Drellik.

That’s not to say that Andronikos, Xalek, Zash and Thanaton weren’t good characters either, I just didn’t enjoy them as much as Khem, Ashara and Talos.

Each character felt like they had their own arc. Khem Val growing to accept you as a Master and true successor to Tulak Hord was great, even if he and 16th Bro were constantly disagreeing about 16th’s methods. Despite his dislike of the decisions, I still sided with him when the time came to choose who got to control his body for good.

Ashara going from “I’m a Jedi and I won’t go against my teachings!” to “Peace is a lie!” was good development as well. I understand that some people don’t like this character much, but she was my go to companion most of the time. She’s not quite a Sith, but not quite a Jedi either, and that made for a perfect companion for the 16th Brother, as he was hardly a model Sith either.

As for Talos... well... he’s an archaeologist and a historian... and I’ve got a degree in history... so of course I was going to love him! Plus he was eccentric as all hell and added a nice voice of humour to the crew. His personal story about him trying to find his old mentor and carry on his legacy was heartfelt too.

As for everyone else, I was invested in their characters, don’t get me wrong, just not as much as the others. Both Zash and Thanaton were good villains that I took pleasure in ending, and Andronikos and Xalek got their fair amount of use on the field and in the ship. Everyone was friends at the end after all.

The Voice Acting

The other good point I’d like to highlight is the voice acting, particularly that of the male Sith Inquisitor. I’ve heard people say the female voice is better, but for my experience the male Inquisitor was the perfect match of sass and sarcasm. It made every scene with him in enjoyable to watch. RPG games were a single protagonist can get a bit boring sometimes. Commander Shepard suffers from this in Mass Effect at times. I never got that feeling with the Inquisitor though. He was hilarious from the second he stepped off the shuttle on Korriban and sassed Overseer Harkun (who I totally zapped to death) to the moment he took his seat on the dark council with a surprised Pikachu look on his face.

So yeah... super credit to Euan Morton for making the Inquisitor the dark master of sass and sarcasm!

Outside of the Inquisitor, I can say that all the other VA’s did a great job too. I can’t think of any character that had particularly bad voice acting off the top of my head.

Other Good Stuff

Outside of the three things I mentioned, SWTOR also has plenty of content to offer for everyone. If you want to do main missions, sure! Side quests? Sure! Space combat missions? Yep! Whatever you fancy, it’s there. There is no shortage of content to enjoy for hours on end, even as a Free To Play player like I was.

The Bad

And now to most likely upset some people... sorry about that, but no game is perfect, and SWTOR has some flaws that could put people off playing it. This stuff is by no means a game breaking deal for me, but it did annoy me and I felt like it needed addressing.

The Game is Tedious

My biggest complaint is that at times, usually after an hour of playing, the game can become tedious and boring to play! There were times it felt like a chore honestly, and I hate saying that because SWTOR is a good game.

The main reason for it feeling so tedious though comes down to how you move around the maps. When you can, fast travel is your best friend and can save a lot of time, however, not everywhere has a fast travel point near it.

This is where speeders come into play. You can buy one for a reasonable amount of credits, and they are faster than walking for sure, but not by much.

The problem with the speeders is that it is so easy to get shot off of one by one of the random enemies you are trying to drive past (and believe me there are hundreds of them!) that is becomes aggravating to move around the map from objective to objective. Avoiding enemies isn’t hard for sure, but sometimes you have to go right past them, and after hours of fighting enemies it can get a bit tedious being shot off your speeder in one shot just because you didn’t want to waste time fighting an enemy. Once you hit your level cap, fighting random enemies is pointless after all.

Maybe that’s just me though. I’d personally make the speeders a bit more durable. One tiny shot shouldn’t disable your speeder. Heavy fire... sure! Doesn’t help that sometimes you can tank a bunch of shots on your speeder and escape without being knocked off, but then on another occasion you’ll be knocked off by a sneeze.

Either way, movement around the maps can get annoying as all hell, but at least the scenery is pretty.

The Planets

Now don’t get me wrong, I like all the planets I went to... mostly... and my issue isn’t with the planets in general.

It’s with how bloody long it takes to complete them all.

The Story Arc quest lines for each planet can take forever sometimes and they end up going on a bit too long if you ask me. Alderaan and Hoth are the two that come to my mind the most. It felt like I spent weeks on those planets driving back and forth between areas to do simple tasks for little reward. Plus the sheer number of side quests didn’t help. I stopped doing everything that wasn’t a story or Arc quest once I hit Hoth!

Don’t get me wrong, I like side quests for sure... I just don’t like them to drag on forever! In a lot of ways, SWTOR reminds me of Mass Effect Andromeda. That game too also had side quests that went on forever.

My one piece of advice to nay new players for SWTOR would be to ignore the side quests and focus solely on your class story quests and planet Arc quests instead. If you try and do everything, you’ll burn yourself out quickly. Unless you are a completionist of course. In that case go nuts! XD

Other Bad Stuff

Aside from my two big gripes above, which are honestly minor in reality, the only other issues I really have with the game are the boring side objectives in some missions. Nine times out of ten they equate to ‘kill a bunch of dudes’. They are easy enough to complete, as you’ll be killing things anyways, so you don’t really need to put any real thought into completing most of them. They just feel tacked on and rather pointless honestly.

The Ugly

And now the ugly stuff. This is stuff that is between good and bad. Bad as in they annoyed me, but good as in I understand why others like them or they improved over time.

The User Interface

Oh god the UI! When I first started the game it was so overwhelming! Pop-ups everywhere! Hundreds of tabs and side bars and tutorial boxes being spammed my way. It was not friendly to a new player who had literally just jumped in. If I hadn’t played games like Civ or XCOM in the past I might not have been able to cope with how much stuff was going on at once.

Luckily, after a few hours of play, I began to understand the UI a bit more and became comfortable with it. I knew what was where and what did what, as well as what I didn’t need. (any PvP stuff for example) Plus the ability to edit the interface to your own liking helped a lot as well, so it wasn’t a complete lost cause, just overwhelming at first.

Flashpoints and Heroic Missions

So, these missions are designed to be played with other players online, clearly. They can be done solo, but they take forever to do so. Endless hordes of high HP enemies, including even higher HP boss fights is not that entertaining to me, and thus very quickly became boring to me. Artificial difficulty in a way. Plus if you do die, it ain’t half a pain in the ass to get back to where you were, only to find that boss that had 5% health left when it killed you is now back to 100%.

I gave up doing these sorts of missions and have no intention of returning to them unfortunately, which is a shame as some of the flashpoints have actual important story content in them.

Still, if unlike me you actually have friends to help you with these, then I get why you like them, and more power to you. I just don’t enjoy them much.

The Soundtrack

And now to really upset some people. Look... I like John Williams music scores as much as the rest of the fandom does. That said, there were places in SWTOR where it showed up and really really did not work! It almost felt like the game was just spamming random iconic tracks that sort of fit the scene, but really didn’t.

The biggest one for me that didn’t work was the final duel against Darth Thanaton in the Dark Council Chambers. During the cutscene between the two fighting, the music started on ‘The Final Duel’ from ROTJ when they were fighting, and they suddenly it shifted to the theme from Padmés funeral when Thanaton was overpowered! I mean, I get what they were going for with the music, but the sudden shift between tracks was unceremonious and didn’t work. If they were going to use licensed movie music then they should have just chosen one track and stuck with it rather than jumping between two!

Furthermore, to me those themes were written for specific scenes in their respective movies, and thus were created to fit those scenes, not random SWTOR scenes. If anything, the entire scene should have had it’s own score written for it rather than just reuse movie tracks instead!

That said, whenever the game does use original music that isn’t from the movies, it’s fine! The ambient background for the planets is great, Alderaan’s especially, and I hated that planet! They clearly had the talent of music directors to write Star Wars sounding music, so I don’t fully get why they didn’t just go with original music all the way rather than just reuse John Williams music instead. I don’t know if they didn’t have enough money or something. If that was the case then I’d understand.

So yeah, the music is a 50/50 for me. The original music is great. The movie music is still great, it’s just not used right.

Other Ugly Stuff

WASD controls. They aren’t game breaking, but I’m not a great fan of them. They make my wrist hurt. I adapted, like I did with the UI, so it’s not really a big issue, but I know it could put one or two people off playing it.

Another minor gripe is a consequence of the game being an RPG within an MMO. Other players are running around, often doing the same objectives as you. They can steal your objectives before you, forcing you to wait around for them to respawn so you can do them yourselves. Luckily there is usually other stuff to do in the meantime, and the re-spawn timer is smallish, so it’s not a huge problem. Just an unfortunate consequence.

Conclusion

So... would I recommend playing SWTOR to people? Yes! I would. It’s a good game, even with it’s flaws. I had a lot of fun running through the Sith Inquisitor’s storyline, and I learnt a lot about the game for any future playthroughs I do. I know what to expect now and what to stay away from, so hopefully whatever class I choose to do next will be full of less annoying little things.

That said, considering how long it took me to do the Inquisitor’s story, I feel like I’m gonna need a serious break before I can play another class. I was almost burnt out when I finished the Inquisitor, and I’ve still got the two free expansions to go!

So yeah... all in all, SWTOR is a good game,. I’d recommend it, and I’m glad I gave it a fair chance. It’s not in my top 10, but it’s one to return to. :)

So, if you’ve ever thought about trying out SWTOR before but were apprehensive about it, then I’d encourage you to give it a shot. It is free after all! Unless you subscribe. But you can at least try it for free! Bonus I say! XD

#swtor

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soukokuwu · 4 years

Text

FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY

THE GAME

》 angst (fyodor x reader)

》 trigger warning! death, toxic relationship, manipulation themes

》 word count: 2.1k

》 hi i’m glad you liked the fluff, hope you like this just as much!

“your thoughts are not your own”

A series of calculated moves. The workings of a brilliant mastermind. It was going to be checkmate very soon. The pawn is going to be making her last move, and it would be tonight.

The lights that paved the way to your house intensified his evil grin. His long black hair covered his eyes as he walked forward with his head hung low. The ushanka he donned kept his ears warm in this chilly night air. To a mere stranger, he may have looked sickly. But unbeknownst to them, he couldn’t feel more alive. Tonight would be the night he could finally be free from your shackles. Or to be clearer, the shackles he had let you put on him.

It was a chore. A part of his mission he had to carry out. This role had left him figuratively paralysed. He had to act like a caring, doting boyfriend. For the longest time, he has had to act like you were an exception. How vile. There was nothing wrong with how you treated him, no. That was not what he had a problem with. But he had grown close enough to you to peek into your past— every little minute thing you have ever done.

And he could only think of one word to describe your sins: appalling.

The more he thought about it the more it gave him a headache. But, it was a silver lining. When the time would come for him to dispose of you, he would at least have no qualms about doing it. The art of manipulation was fun to execute, but it was getting much too boring. You were much too easy to control.

Tonight would be his first night returning to your accommodation in a week. It was a mere week apart, but he knew it absolutely drove you crazy. Mind-reading was not needed for him to know what you were feeling: paranoid, anxious, self-hatred. All of which was what he had aimed to induce in you. It would make you more agreeable, inspire you into taking action to make him happy.

Oh and how simple it was— a plain argument was all it took. He had hired a man to flirt with you, and as much as you were blindly loyal to Fyodor, you also always had trouble with turning people down. It was all too easy for him to ‘catch’ the guy laying hands on you, with you all flustered and wondering how to turn him down. All Fyodor had to do was put on an angry facade, pull you away and warn you that if you let others do that again that he would break up with you. Then he left you to your devices, and made sure you got the message by not showing himself to you— until tonight.

You had been practically shaking in your knees. It was entirely not your fault, but Fyodor was aware that you were too unaware to understand that. Such spineless nature— an advantage for him, but it would be the cause of downfall for you.

Oh what a sad thing, to be human and longing.

As he approached your door, he smelt the aroma of your cooking. You cooked very well, that much he would admit. He slowly opened the door and walked toward the kitchen, and there you were— so deep in thought about your cooking that you hardly noticed anything else around you.

So unobservant. So easy to assassinate.

Keeping his sinister thoughts under wraps, he put on a fake smile and approached you, placing a quick peck on your cheek.

Such a revolting action.

You spun around to find your lover, a relieved grin taking over your face. “Fyo, I’m so glad to see you again!” you exclaimed, giving the gentleman a tight hug. It was just all over your face how happy you were to see him again. You had obviously been fretting non-stop. Fyodor had been bombarded with messages the moment he up and left you that night after the run-in with the touchy man. He had gotten bombarded until tonight, even. Not that he gave it any care in the world.

I barely even have to try. How pathetic.

If you knew what was going on inside his head, you would have run for your life. But of course you didn’t. You didn’t even think anything was amiss. All that you had going on in your head was how you were going to make it up to him— you did infuriate him that night, after all. You thought about it as you started to loosen your hold on him.

“I have an idea! Go wash up, I’ll whip up something amazing for you!”

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

The night ended with dessert and a bottle of wine. Not that Fyodor cared or appreciated any bit of it. Still, he managed to play the role of devoted boyfriend perfectly— making sure that tonight you felt complete, wholesome. He needed you in a good mood, a willing-to-please mood.

He was sat on the couch, waiting for you to finish washing the last of the silverware. Once he heard the water stop running, he turned toward you, patting his lap, “Come join me, milaya.” Fyodor gave you the most sugary smile he could manage. Fake— but it looked sweet.

To anyone other than you, it was nothing but a mirthless smirk. However, you were blinded beyond saving. It was perfect in your eyes; just what you needed to end a dreadfully long week. The fact that Fyodor effortlessly knew exactly what was going on in your head made him more excited than you could imagine. Everything would go according to plan, and it looked like he’d chosen the perfect pawn. A strong and weak pawn, ironically, all in one.

Sinfully stupid.

It had been two long months you’ve been dating. He had researched enough on you to know what you’ve been searching for emotionally— a promise of a better life. Your childhood had been riddled with problems, most of which caused by the fact that you had come from a wealthy family. So Fyodor played the part of a humble, ambitious man who came from nothing. And you fell for him hard— hook, line and sinker.

You sat yourself comfortably on his lap, your head pressed against his chest. To you, it was cosy, comfortable. You wondered why Fyodor’s heart was beating so fast, but you took it as a sign that he was delighted by your affection. Which was half-true, he was delighted, yes, but only because he was about to make the pawn deal a checkmate.

“Do you love me, milaya?” he asked, gently ruffling your soft locks.

“More than anything in the world.”

“I know this may be going a little fast, but what do you think I go meet your father?”

You looked up at him in disbelief. Did that just happen? Did he just offer to meet your father? After all the horrible things you warned him about? This was going to be such a huge step forward in your relationship. Something you could have only dreamed about. But it was going to come true.

“Are you sure, Fyo?” you asked, searching his face for any sign of doubt.

He flashed you yet another sweet smile. “Of course I am, lyubov moya. You are special to me.” Fyodor leaned in to kiss you, just to make sure he got his message across. He didn’t even have to instil fear in you— he was almost in disbelief at how easily he was getting away with all of this.

And just like that, you agreed.

The meeting was to be on the next day, at noon, in the quiet park just a ways down from your house, before heading into the heart of the city for lunch. According to you, your father was elated to meet the man who has managed to capture your heart.

And controlled your mind, Fyodor added to himself.

That night as you lay asleep next to him, he smiled genuinely for the first time since he’s known you. He looked at your sleeping face. You were a beautiful lady, with a dangerously charming smile and an appeasing personality. That was the only thing he would admire about you— looks.

“You shall serve for the sake of God’s amusement,” he mumbled to himself, eyes still glued on you.

Fyodor inched a little closer to you to get a better look at your beauty, the smile still plastered on his face.

“What a pretty little disaster you will be.”

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

The next day couldn’t come quickly enough for Fyodor. You had just texted your father, telling him that you and your new lover would be headed to the park soon. You were very excited, and Fyodor could tell. You were all jittery.

“Okay I’ve told him we’d be there soon, so we should probably head out now.”

And the moment Fyodor heard those words roll out from your tongue, he dropped all his masks and chuckled.

Stunned, you turned to look up at him, and found yourself bewildered by the evil grin he donned. Did you miss something? What was going on? Why did that laugh sound so... soulless?

“F- Fyo,” you stuttered, trying to close the distance despite how terrified you were. “You... aren’t acting like yourself.”

What was this you were feeling? It was like complete... malice.

His chuckle got a little louder, his shoulders shaking, trying to contain his content. His purple eyes had lost all light, and the way he was looking at you chilled you to your very bones. “On the contrary, milaya,” he said, leaning down so his face was directly in front of yours. “I’ve never been more myself.”

You swallowed, confused by the sudden change in his demeanour. You fought back the urge to ask him about it in fear of the response you would receive. His eyes were still boring into yours, and you realised that the man in front of you was a stranger. A complete stranger. And it was then that you knew.

“I will pretend that I don’t already see the question in your eyes, milaya.”

Your worst fears have been realised the moment you noticed the threat in his eyes. So that’s all this was to him? A game? And you were nothing but a tool, a stone for him to step on to get to his true destination. Judging by recent events, his target was your father, and you had been the perfect ace in the hole, giving him exactly what he needed.

“I’m just a pawn,” you thought out loud, “in someone else’s game.”

Fyodor’s sinister smile never left his face. He placed a hand on top of your head. “Correct. And you’ve finally made a move.” He patted your head before continuing.

“After all, a pawn that does not move upsets the entire game.”

A thousand things were running through your mind. But one emotion stood out: fear. For Fyodor to have told you to your face that you were a pawn, after two months of keeping up with his boyfriend act, could only mean one thing: this was your first and last move. A pawn that was no longer useful would have to de disposed of.

“Don’t look so upset,” Fyodor said, amused by your reaction to his every movement. Such a pity that your beauty had to be wasted on your soul. “There are times when a well-placed pawn is more powerful than any other piece in the game.”

You wanted to punch him. To run. To get as far away from this sick, manipulative freak as you could. You hated that all you could think of now is not only of his murderous intent, but also of the small moments that had transpired between the two of you— the way his thin fingers always caressed your cheeks, or the warmth you felt every night as you fell asleep next to him.

“You should be rejoicing at the power you have.”

“I have fulfilled my purpose,” you resignedly admitted.

Fyodor was pleased upon hearing that. “Exactly,” he agreed. “So I shall reward you with this.”

You felt his fingers lightly brush against your cheek one last time, before blood started pooling at your feet and everything around you started fading into black. So, this was what you got for trusting the man, huh? What a stupid, foolish way of thinking. Nobody could be that perfect and be true. What were you thinking?

“May you be released from the yoke of your sins.”

His emotionless voice was the last thing you heard as you released your last breath.

“and then an uneventful demise”

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd fyodor #fyodor x reader #bsd fyodor x reader #bsd fyodor dostoevsky #bsd fyodor dostoyevsky #bsd scenarios #bsd oneshot #bsd x reader #bungo stray dogs #rachwrote #bsd angst #bsd imagine #bsd imagines

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devilcat210 · 4 years

Text

His Favorite Time

Nakkun is playing his favorite toy, RC Car❤

He's a cutie🥰

Even though I'm already happy to see his smile☺

He always let me play when he think I'm bored only to see him😊

I love my boyfriend, Nakkun😍

~Aruga Yume

Meet my 7th OC, Naito Mare😁

Facts about Him

Date of Birth : 6 March, Age : 15

An ex-death reaper that specialized in dream and illusion. After being 'banished' (or retired from his job), his body reverted to human baby and had amnesia without his power.

Quiet, gentle, spontaneous, a little bit weak presences, sometimes oblivious, to read moods, and got medium ranking in academics.

He was adopted by Sally Mare who he prefer to call her 'Mom Sally' and Sally always call him 'My Son'. They respect each other boundaries and play games together eventhough Sally is busy with her companies. Naito always do the house chores when Sally has busy schedules alone until... Aruga Yume started to lived with them as a freeloader (because Sally picked up her as she thought that Yume can't take care herself).

Naito loves to play games, RC Cars, Hamburger, Sport Drink, Orange+Mango Juice, Fries, and eating nightmares.

Because he can see other's dream and weakness, sometimes Naito didn't get enough sleep as he forgot to do that.

He has really sensitive ears and got overstimulated in crowded place. After knowing this, Sally ordered a special-made headphone for him that can cancel other noises if he didn't want to hear it beside Yume's and Sally's voices.

Had three fake friends as they knew how to used him for money and plaything (because he can't tell if they are joking or serious). At first, they only used him privately and it grew up to physically hurt him in public. Because of that, Yume killed them as they already in her blacklist for her missions.

After meeting Yume, his memories slowly came back with his power. Still can't recognized Yume as his past lover until she told him that she missed him so much from a long time ago. They confessed each other 3 months later and Sally couldn't be more happier to see them (as Sally always see Yume as her own daughter too without her knowing).

Still keeping his past as a death reaper from Yume and Sally, knowing that Yume against him to atone his sin of her death. Because of his past, he didn't freak out when seeing Yume's killing two people out from public sight.

If you want to know more about them, please ask me in this tumblr😊

#my ocs #gacha club #my ocs are my babies #please don't steal my baby #gacha community #my oc #my wish #gacha edit #gacha edits #Naito Mare

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theonceoverthinker · 4 years

Text

When Will My Life Begin? (Fair Game, 12/?)

Summary: Tangled AU. Clover Callows has been confined to a tower for all of his life, and given the threat that his Uncle Tyrian says his semblance poses to his safety, he accepts that fate. It’s the only life he’s ever known, after all. But when he’s offered the opportunity to fulfill his greatest dream after a chance encounter with a thief -- or bandit, as Qrow Branwen insists there’s a difference between the two -- both Clover and Qrow will discover joys that they never knew life could offer them before.

AO3

Tumblr: (1) (2) (B1) (3) (4) (B2) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (B3) (10) (11)

A/N: ...You guys are either going to love me for this chapter or hate me! Just so you know, I’m preparing an umbrella for the things you’re going to fling at me for this one! XD Anyway, enjoy!

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Sometimes, raising Clover Ebi -- or rather, Clover Callows, as he now called him -- as his own ‘nephew’ was more trouble than it was worth.

Sometimes, it was a lot more trouble than it was worth, so much so that Tyrian had to remind himself that it was an endeavor that still merited seeing through.

Right now, as Tyrian trudged through the forests of Remnant, it felt like one of those times.

‘Uncle Tyrian! I put some dough in an oven and managed not to burn the tower to the ground! Aren’t I so smart?’

‘Uncle Tyrian, I want to see some stupid green lights and give away my identity to everyone you’ve carefully hidden it from for over twenty years!’

‘Uncle Tyrian, I want new paint from the furthest Gods damned corner of this dog’s dropping of a continent! Go get me some as well as a bag full of some other trash from the ground!’

What. A. Pest.

For twenty years, he’d had to live with that constant pest yammering in his ear all day long, asking -- nay, begging -- for trash or praise for his mediocre accomplishments or answers to his positively inexhaustible supply of banal questions.

This domestic life caring for Clover that Tyrian had subjected himself to was without question relentlessly dull, annoying, boring, and miserable.

Gods, if it weren’t for his semblance, he’d-

Well, if it weren’t for his semblance, Tyrian wouldn’t be so close -- so very, very close -- to being Salem’s right hand man, and with his ‘nephew’s’ continued help, he’d likely get that spot soon enough.

After all, that’s how he’d gotten so far. Others near the top of her hierarchy had fallen prey to many tragic ‘accidents’ over the years.

Who could have predicted how Arthur Watts’ latest invention would not only malfunction, but that the explosion would release chemicals that came together to act as a pheromone for Grimm?

How cruel could fate be to have the support beam that Hazel Rainart was hiding behind collapse just as he was about to complete his most recent mission for Salem?

What could have been done to prevent Leo Lionheart from attempting to desert Salem’s forces just as she’d had one hundred Grimm return from battle eager for something -- or rather, someone -- to eat?

And what sort of disaster would just the tiniest bit of luck have in store for Cinder Falls, Salem’s current right hand?

So yes, Clover was a pest, but he was a pest that nonetheless had been very successful at improving Tyrian’s placement in Salem’s hierarchy.

Tyrian supposed it stood to reason that he had to do things to keep Clover happy to ensure that that would only continue. He’d been careful to never push his luck too hard in that regard, knowing that even fear and guilt had its limits on what they could make a person willingly endure, and after their fight -- especially when it involved discussing actually going outside -- Tyrian knew Clover was getting agitated enough to possibly act on his desires.

Tyrian wasn’t about to let that happen, and so now here he was, about to make a trip all the way to the Argus Coves.

It was an ordeal, if for no other reason than that he’d be away from Salem, but it was one he would suffer all the same in her name.

He was lucky -- Salem had decided to spend the next fortnight in her Grimm pools, devising new forms for her malicious, yet stunning pets to take. She wouldn’t need his -- or, more importantly, anyone else’s -- services, nor ask about his whereabouts -- not that she ever did, always so respectful of her loyal subject’s privacy.

Salem trusted him…

In return, just as he gave her his unconditional admiration, he also gave her lies.

Tyrian hated lying to her about Clover, but he reasoned that helping her by channeling all of Clover’s luck into her most adoring servant’s being would be a better way of ensuring her victories. After all, who else would care about nothing more than Salem’s continued successes? Her other minions all had their own concerns and even if they didn’t, Train found that they were about as competent as a cat being trained to not drink milk.

In any event, his strategy had worked over the past two decades, and if he had anything to say about it, it would continue to work for the rest of his days. Perhaps, should he not only tell Clover about her, but also inspire him to love her as well -- and he absolutely could -- his scheme would persist even after his death.

He could only hope, for it was what Salem deserved.

Salem...Salem was a Goddess -- radiant, bold, cunning, enchanting, beautiful in both her body and soul, wise, gentle, ruthless, and far more qualities than Tyrian couldn’t state with all the world’s air in his lungs on top of even that. How the pitiful wastes of life in Remnant managed to not only not spend every waking moment of their purposeless days either bowing before her glory or gathering gifts to bestow upon her, but actually oppose her, he’d never know.

Cretins, the lot of them -- hopelessly lost cretins.

And of all the cretins Remnant had to offer, he got stuck with the worst of them to play the role of a lifelong babysitter -- and at present, delivery boy -- for.

Tyrian mentally mapped out his trip. If he stayed at a steady speed, took regular breaks, and ate and slept as he planned, he’d be at the Argus Coves by tomorrow afternoon. He’d spend two or three hours collecting shells and then head back to the tower. While he hated collecting the shells, and knew it would be a complete bore of a chore, it was best not to give Clover any reason to ask for more of them next year, or the next few of them, for that matter.

Then again, Clover had shown himself to be at least a little unpredictable, so he could only guess as to how quickly he would go through those paints, or what else he would desire for future birthdays.

After all, somehow, Clover had managed to conceal that mural of his from him for Gods knew how long. If it wasn’t for the subject matter of its depiction, Tyrian would almost be impressed by that bit of stealth. Clearly, he’d taught Clover well.

However, he may have been teaching Clover too well. If he could conceal an entire wall of the tower from him, what else could he be hiding? That tower might not have been large and Clover never left it, but it was fitted with many a nook and cranny for which to tuck away any number of trinkets.

Well, he’d just have to have a little search when he got back to the tower. He could disguise it as a game of hide and seek or just a checkup to make sure Clover was cleaning his living space well enough.

Clover might have believed himself to be clever -- he may have even crossed the threshold of cleverness a few times in his life -- but Tyrian knew he could put him in his place easily enough. Given how much lip disguised as wit Clover had started to show as of recent, perhaps it wasn’t a bad idea to do so sooner rather than later.

Tyrian had just started to drum up more ideas for how to best reign in his ‘nephew’ when suddenly, he heard a voice cry out.

“Let me go!” It was a man’s voice, one Tyrian thought he might have recognized, but was unable to recall its source on just it alone.

“Not a chance, you thief!” a woman’s voice responded, a low chuckle underneath her words.

Now that voice, Tyrian was reasonably sure he did recognize.

Before he could confirm it, another set of noises grabbed his attention -- the woman’s, and by the sounds of it, others’ footsteps were approaching

Quickly, Tyrian hid himself behind a tree, and just in time. Keeping careful as to remain unspotted, Tyrian peeked to look at the opposite side of the tree.

There, a group of five people, one of whom seemed to be something of a prisoner held tightly in one of their arms, emerged into his line of sight.

However, the four non imprisoned people weren’t just any people.

They were the Ace Ops.

Comprised of General Ironwood’s four children -- Harriet Bree, Elm Ederne, Marrow Amin, and Vine Zeki -- The Ace Ops served as the leaders of Remnant’s royal guard.

But what were they doing here?

Tyrian had only a small handful of run-ins with the Ace Ops all that much over the years since their formation, but despite that, he knew all about them, from their names to their weapons to their semblances -- when one was regularly gathering intel, threatening informants, and killing bystanders and witnesses who saw him doing either of those things in order to best assist Salem’s strikes against the kingdom’s capital, it was practically a requirement.

Because of that, it was odd to see Harriet on a horse, given that her semblance revolved around her own speed, but Tyrian didn’t let himself think about it too much, preferring to get an answer to his inquiry about just what led them so far out in the woods.

He looked at the prisoner in Elm’s arms and immediately, his eyes bulged with recognition.

Mercury Black.

Tyrian knew this man well. He was a thief, and unfortunately, a rather good one, or at least he seemed to be prior to this moment.

Salem had given Mercury not a small amount of her attention as of late. She entertained the idea of him as a prospective recruit for her forces, sending him out on missions to see just how much he could achieve. While he lacked Tyrian’s dedication to serving her, Mercury’s talent and need for direction as well as means for his survival in the cruel world they lived in piqued Salem’s interests. Like a lump of clay, Salem felt that she could perhaps mold him into a model member of her inner circle, one strong enough to enact her schemes and ready as well as willing to die for her at a moment’s notice.

Alas, it looked like Mercury’s talents had failed him. Tyrian knew Salem well and a failure that ended up with him in the custody of the Ace Ops of all people was likely a big one, all but guaranteeing the destruction of any interest she had in Mercury as a member of her forces.

Well, that just meant more attention and admiration for Tyrian to enjoy.

And not only that, but he would have the esteemed pleasure of reporting the news of his -- judging by Elm’s grip -- literally crushing defeat to Salem once she returned to her throne.

How lucky was that?

Hmm. So this is why he had to get Clover those paints.

It was a worthwhile enough sacrifice.

“Let me go!” Mercury repeated.

“I don’t think so, buddy!” Elm said, gripping Mercury tight in her unwavering hold, her feet firmly on the ground as to restrain any attempts of his to fight out of her grasp.

It didn’t appear to stop him from trying though.

What a waste of his goddess’ sights he turned out to be.

From her horse, Harriet turned to him. “If I can’t bring my father Branwen’s head, then I’m at least bringing him yours!”

“I don’t even have the stupid brooch!” Mercury yelled, still fighting for some nonexistent leeway in Elm’s vice like grip, not that he’d get that far if he even found it with the three other Ace Ops directly next to her.

“Don’t you worry -- it will be found.” Harriet then looked out to the team. “Elm, stay here with the prisoner and keep an eye out for Branwen. Vine, Marrow, and I will continue to comb the forest, and we’ll reconvene here in an hour with our findings. We’re not going home without that brooch.” The determination in Harriet’s voice had Tyrian bite his lip.

Crap. Knowing Harriet, that last sentiment may very well have been a true one.

In the twenty years since Tyrain took Clover, guards have searched the forest, but they’d never come across the tower’s hidden entryway. While the brooch was likely nowhere near the tower, and the Ace Ops were still roughly a quarter of a mile out from its exact location, Tyrian couldn’t help but acknowledge the feeling of unease in his stomach.

If Remnant’s most specialized guards -- Clover’s siblings, no less -- were searching this bit of the forest, whether looking for their long-lost brother or not...they might actually find something more than just some brooch.

Harriet directed the horse she was riding on towards the tower’s general direction.

Clover!

Knowing what he had to do, Tyrian slunk away from his hiding place and snuck through the forest, careful to keep both a strong distance between himself and Harriet as well cautious, yet quick movements to pass her and get back to the tower before she could ever learn about its existence.

It wasn’t hard. Tyrian had traversed these woods so much over the course of his life, especially over the past two decades, that he grew to know them better than he did his own hand. Every twist and turn and fork in the road on its dirt-floored surface was committed to his memory like the appearance of the very sun that shone above him.

When Tyrian at last made it to the tower’s entryway, he was well ahead of Harriet, ensuring that he would be absolutely safe crossing the canopy of vines in a way that would keep him as well as their odd disposition unspotted by her.

Tyrian rushed through the caves and clearing, all the way to the base of the tower.

“Clover!” Tyrian called out when he finally arrived. “I forgot my rain boots! Bring me back up!”

It was an odd excuse -- especially as there was no sign of rain coming for the foreseeable future -- but Clover would ask why he came back if he didn’t have one at the ready all the same.

Tyrian waited a second for Clover to respond, but for the first time in as long as he could remember, when he called to the tower, he heard nothing back. It was a foreign feeling, one that at present grated on Tyrian’s nerves like a room of mumblers.

“Clover!” he half shouted and half growled. “Wake up!”

Still, not a sound left the tower.

As soon as he realized that no sound would be coming out, Tyrian whipped the sharp, metallic end of his tail out and slammed it into the dirt between the tower’s bricks, pulling himself up and then clinging to the bricks with the help of his blades as his tail ascended his form further up the tower’s length.

It was a method for climbing the tower that he hadn’t used in years, manually climbing it himself -- practically antiquated thanks to Clover’s weapon, but it was handy in a pinch.

Right now, Tyrian absolutely felt like he was in the pinchiest of pinches.

With exhaustion that only climbed in magnitude as the seconds passed, Tyrian made his way the tower.

Tyrian called out Clover’s name twice as he rose from the ground, but to no avail. Clover’s room was as quiet as a tomb.

Oh, that room would be a tomb alright when he was finished with Clover…

No, he couldn’t think that way...as much as he wanted to...

Upon reaching the tower’s window, Tyrian paused for no more than but a second to catch his breath, looking around the room frantically all the while.

The tower was dark.

The tower was quiet.

Neither of those things had ever been true when a waking Clover Callows roamed its singular upper room.

Hell, thanks to his brat’s snores, the tower was never quiet, even when he was sleeping!

As soon as Tyrian had recovered enough of his breath to continue, he ran to Clover’s bed, pulling off the blankets with a harsh tug.

Clover was going to pay when he woke up.

However, underneath the covers, there was no Clover.

“Clover!” Tyrian called out.

Maybe...maybe he was just using the bathroom...in the dark...without noticing his uncle’s cries…

Tyrian rushed to the bathroom, but just as with Clover’s bed, Clover wasn’t there.

Oh Gods, where was he?

Confused, Tyrian ran around the tower, tearing apart anything Clover might be hiding or sleeping either in or under. He even opened the door to the tower’s stairwell which led to his own room and checked there. However, not one place held Clover’s form.

As Tyrian approached the tower’s window, he couldn’t help but run his fingers through his hair in much the same fashion as he searched for Clover -- frantically.

Was he actually kidnapped?

There seemed to be no sign of a struggle, and he’d taught Clover to distrust outsiders enough to at least cause something of a scuffle should one ever show their face in the tower.

Suddenly though, something removed Tyrian from his thoughts.

By the bottom of the tower’s small balcony’s staircase, a small glimmer of something was reflecting off the sun, creating a glare of light that went right into Tyrian’s left eye. Tyrian sidestepped the glare’s direct trajectory, but kept its location in his mind as he steadily approached it.

He had given Clover many things over his nearly twenty years in this tower, but never had he been given something so shiny as to create such a harsh glare.

What the hell could this be?

Upon reaching the staircase, Tyrian lifted the semi-broken plank where the glimmering object sat.

Inside the makeshift cupboard was a satchel...and inside the satchel was an emerald encrusted, clover-shaped brooch.

No…

It couldn’t be...

Had Clover learned of his identity?

While it made all too much sense for his mind to go there, Tyrian fought the instinct with facts. If Clover had learned who he really was, why would he leave behind the key piece of evidence of his discovery? He clearly wasn’t trying to make a point to Tyrian given how he hid the brooch in such an odd location and didn’t provide his beloved ‘Uncle Tyrian’ with so much as a note for context concerning the brooch’s existence and his reaction to it.

No, for some reason, Clover wanted the brooch and the satchel that held it to remain here, and Tyrian immediately swore to himself that he was going to discover that reason before any havoc on his life could be further wreaked.

He already had an inkling of a clue.

The Ace Ops were searching for a man called ‘Branwen’ -- whoever that was. Tyrian believed he’d heard the name once or twice in passing, but based on what they were saying, Branwen was a thief, a thief that had stolen the brooch.

It now made sense as to what mission Salem had put Mercury up to, as well as why the Ace Ops were called to take on a thief.

Wherever Clover was, it was likely with Branwen, and judging by the still revealed painting of Clover’s wish, Tyrian had a pretty good idea of where it was they were going.

Now, all he had to do was find them and end this trip of lunacy before they got there.

Tyrain warped the satchel in a bundle and hid it in the basket Clover had prepared for him. He then felt for the handles of his blades, The Queen’s Servants. Even without touching them, he could sense they were as hungry to restore his brand of order as he was.

It was a good feeling.

Approaching the tower’s window, Tyrian shot the long way down an exasperated look.

What a pain this was going to be to climb down manually once more for the first time in so long.

He swore to the Gods, without that semblance of Clover’s...

Sometimes, raising Clover was more trouble than it was worth, but for the benefits his semblance provided, Tyrian knew he had no choice but to clean up his ‘nephew’s’ mess.

#fair game #tyrian callows #clover ebi #rwby #tangled au #ace ops #elm ederne #harriet bree #qrow branwen

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faroreswinds · 4 years

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When I get bored, I look at useless stuff. Today’s useless stuff is: Quotes From FEH From Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude. Why? Because believe it or not, FEH does offer some insight into characters and their stories.

Let’s start at the top (heads up, this is a long one):

Summoning Quotes

Edelgard: I am Edelgard von Hresvelg, heir apparent of the Adrestian Empire. I will follow you, but I bow to no one.

Edelgard introduces her full name and what she is heir to. She is very clear about following you but bowing to no one. It makes her feel distant. This is fitting of her character in the game, as she follows her own rules and is distant from many characters.

Dimitri: I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, heir to the throne of Faerghus. I hereby devote myself to your cause.

Dimitri, similar to Edelgard, introduces himself by his full name and what he is heir to. However, his approach is more “knightly” than Edelgard’s, as he proclaims he will devote himself to your cause. This is fitting, as he does not live for himself until late in AM.

Claude: I'm Claude. I'm not big on formalities, so no need to put on airs. Feel free to throw me a feast any time, though.

Claude is the most casual of the three. He only introduces himself by his first name (probably to hide his identity) and makes no claims about following you or your cause. He is the only one who “makes a request” though, for a feast.

Friend Greeting

Edelgard: I was asked to say hello to you. Now that I have, I will take my leave.

Distant and rather cold. She does not drop names, and makes this seem more like a chore than a favor.

Dimitri: My apologies for the intrusion, but [Friend] asked me to send their regards.

Pretty kind and polite. Dimitri makes sure to apologize first and foremost for coming (the only one to do so), before name dropping the person he is there for.

Claude: I was asked to say hello by [Friend], so... Hello! And with that, I'll be off.

The most upbeat of the three and casual. Similar to Edelgard in that he is a bit standoff-ish, making it seem more like a chore, but at least name drops the Summoner.

Leveling Up

Edelgard

+[4,5] Points: I am always getting stronger.

A focus on her power, and always improving herself

+[2,3] Points: A step forward.

A nod to her ambitions, and always looking towards the future

+[0,1] Points: An underwhelming result... I will not let it happen again.

Finds her efforts to not be enough, and that she won’t allow that same mistake again

Edelgard has a focus on gaining more power. She is always moving forward, and never looking back, and does not want to fail in gaining strength.

Dimitri

+[4,5] Points: Impressive as this result is, I will not allow myself to become complacent.

Admits that his growth is noticeable, but nothing that should allow him to relax

+[2,3] Points: I will not lose anyone else. Never again...

A nod to his desire to protect others, and to how he lost people in the Tragedy of Duscur. He doesn’t want that again.

+[0,1] Points: A disappointing result, but I will persevere.

Disappointed in himself, but he will push forward

Dimitri underplays his growth, avoiding praising himself too much and even taking to heart about losing others. His focus is for others, and he will push forward.

Claude

+[4,5] Points: Sometimes I even surprise myself.

Despite his expectations, he can still be surprised

+[2,3] Points: I expected as much.

A nod to his nature to predict and expect

+[0,1] Points: Not one of my finer moments.

Is more playful and relaxed about his poor growth than Edelgard or Dimitri

Claude is more “chilled out” with his growths, not really overplaying or underplaying what he has accomplished. He’s calm and even playful. We get the sense of his ability to predict and plan with how he expects or surprises himself. Unlike Edelgard and Dimitri, we don’t get any nods to his ambitions or his past (not unlike his route, to be honest).

Ally Growth

Edelgard: Watch as I master this new power.

Edelgard calls her new skill a “power”, and asks that you watch her master it. Her focus on getting more powerful is clear.

Dimitri: You have my thanks. I will prove myself worthy of your trust.

Dimitri is the only one who thanks you for help (polite as always). Rather than talk about his power, he promises to prove himself to you.

Claude: I'll put this power to good use.

Claude notes his new power similarly to Edelgard, but instead of focusing it directly, he promises to put it to good use in some fashion.

Castle Quotes

Edelgard:

As a princess myself, I feel sympathy for Princess Veronica. I wonder if she is acting of her own volition.

The white-haired, red Emperor focuses on the other white-haired, red Emperor. She feels for Veronica, as if she sees herself in her. Whether the quote is trying to tell us that Edelgard doesn’t feel like she’s acting in her own volition, or does feel that way but is nodding to the fact that Veronica is not, is hard to tell (personally, I feel the a latter is true).

My father, the Adrestian emperor, was stripped of his power. As his successor, I will reclaim what he lost.

Edelgard’s ambitions are very clear in this quote. Her father lost power, and she plans on reclaiming what was taken from him. This goes well with her desire to conquer Foldan.

Having been thrust into an unfamiliar world, I find it difficult to feel at ease. Perhaps you know the feeling.

Nothing special here, just noting that she and the Summoner may share feelings over being in a different world.

Your enemies are similar to my foes in my own world. We may both stand to learn from our time together.

Edelgard is focused on learning here in this world, as the “foes of her world” are similar to your enemies, and that perhaps they could learn from each other.

Excuse me. I was taking a moment to rest. In my own world, I was so busy that I rarely had the time.

A callback to her desire to want to lay around and eat sweets, but as future Emperor she is too busy.

Dimitri:

Honor gained by killing is worthless. When killers are labeled Heroes...that is the most despicable "honor" of all.

A little bit about his mindset. That you do not gain honor by killing, and that killers should not be called Heroes. Although not directly said, he includes himself in this, as he believes himself to be a monster.

So many loved ones lost... Father. Stepmother. Friends. Allies. I alone can silence their pleas for revenge.

A little call back to not only those he lost in Duscur, but also his mission in the game and hearing voices in his head.

One rarely succeeds without help from others. If you need help, you can turn to me, or any of us.

A callback to how part of the theme of his route is working with others to succeed. Funnily enough, a lesson he learns himself.

Perhaps you can give me a tour of this land? It's so warm and bountiful, a far cry from my own homeland.

Here a learn a little bit about the Kingdom (not warm and bountiful), and Dimitri would love a tour from you.

As someone who learned to fight before learning to read, I am most relaxed when training. Care to join?

Another tidbit about the Kingdom, that people there learn to fight before reading. It brings him calm, and (polite as always), invites you to join.

Claude:

I'm not thrilled about how I got here, but seeing folks from different worlds work together like this? It's nice.

A callback to his desire for people of all types to live together without prejudice.

Someday I'll lead the Leicester Alliance, but my ambitions are far grander. I want to change the world.

Another callback to his goals for changing the world so that people can live together (but of course, is barely touched upon in the game).

I like you. If you want something, you don't just pray for it—you take action. We have that in common.

Here we note Claude’s disdain for the religion (you don’t just pray for it) and his “let’s get it done” attitude. He takes action (mostly, the game sometimes suggests otherwise).

Everyone here takes themselves so seriously. Why don't we have a feast? That would lighten things up.

His more laid back nature pops up here, and his love for feasts and good times.

I've been mixing up a new poison. Some might call it a dirty trick, but I just like to come prepared.

This is meant to call to her scheming and under-handed nature. It’s a shame this barely happens in the game, however.

5* Level 40 Conversation

Edelgard: You tend to look at me as though you expect me to leave at any moment. I suppose it can't be helped. You need not worry, however. Even if I did not care about this country and its people... For the sake of my own ambitions, I would still be sure to see this effort to its end. I promise you that. Remember who I am. I am Edelgard von Hresvelg, and I am sworn to help you vanquish your enemies. With my allegiance to your cause, victory is a foregone conclusion.

Edelgard is very sure of herself, as evident from not only her other quotes (such as mastering a new power and bowing to no one), but here too as she states “with my allegiance to your cause, victory is a foregone conclusion.” She is confident in her abilities and her path and who she is (as she proclaims who she is, Edelgard von Hresvelg [no other lord makes this proclamation]). However, we can see some of her more selfish attitude shine through here. She states that for her “own ambitions,” she will see the efforts of Askr through to the end. The focus on “her ambitions” calls back to her scene with Byleth after the death of their father, where she hoping you will join her when she is ready to move forward. She does seem to imply that she does care for Askr and its people, as even if she didn’t she would still help you, but she would help you for her ambitions’ sake no matter what rather than for the people at the end of the day.

Dimitri: I never expected to stand beside you for this long. In truth, I was more than willing to give my life to your cause. I am grateful to you, [Summoner]... That's why I need to say this... You should stay far, far away from me. No need to look so shocked. I did not mean right now. I know I have a duty to help you save this world. I will protect you no matter the cost. But when the day finally comes that you no longer need Heroes... Forget about men like me who are stained with blood. Live in happiness. That is my hope for you, dear friend.

Dimitri, not surprisingly, pushes away the Summoner (although he is the only one who name drops them here), as he views himself as someone to stay away from. Throughout his quotes, Dimitri is devoted and trying to prove himself to you. But here, we start to get that “dark side” 3H alludes to early on. Just like in his own game, Dimitri full heartily expected to die for you early on as he was “more than willing to give up his life to your cause”. And because he is grateful to you, the Summoner, he wants you to stay away from him because he believes that is the best thing for them. When his usefulness is spent, he believes he should be forgotten. That he is stained with blood. He talks little about himself and his wishes, other than wishing for you personally to live in happiness, and calls you a dear friend. He is the only one he doesn’t talking about having any desire to leave, however.

Claude: I didn't plan on staying here this long. Time flies, I guess. Sometimes I wish I could leave, but then I think about... You. There's something about you. You have a presence that compels people to follow you—me included. I've never been much of a follower, but you make me so curious, I can't help but stay by your side. I'll go back to my world someday. Before that happens, though, I want to learn more about you. So I'm planning to stick close to you from now on. That won't be an issue, right? I'm a useful guy to have around.

Similar to Edelgard and Dimitri, Claude begins by talking about leaving, and how he didn’t plan to stay here this long. But unlike Edelgard, where she says “it can’t be helped that the Summoner expects her to leave” and Dimitri, where he expected to actually be dead at this point, Claude simply didn’t expect to stick around for anyone and desires to leave. However, he is clear that he finds you personally fascinating and that he cannot help staying by your side. He is clear that he is not a follower and that he intends to leave, but he wants to learn about you, and not to worry, that he will be useful to have around. True to his own game, he is less concerned about talking about himself and more concern with focusing on learning about you and your secrets. However, he does have confidence in his abilities and praises himself by proclaiming he is “useful to have around”.

Extra: Titles and Descriptions

Edelgard: The Future

Princess and heir apparent of the Adrestian Empire. Her steadfast ambition is veiled by her elegant, self-confident demeanor.

As she is basically the games main character, calling her “The Future” makes sense as she looks toward the future and it is her actions that change it forever. However, it is perhaps a bit misleading as it implies heroism. Perhaps you do consider her a hero, but she does stand as the game’s main antagonist, and we don’t get that sense from her title.

Her description goes well with her subtle (not so subtle) nods to her ambitions.

Dimitri: The Protector

Crown prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Known for his chivalry, it seems a darkness may lurk beneath the surface.

Dimitri, when he isn’t hellbent on revenge, wants to protect people more than anything else. He wants to help the weak, and prevent the strong from trampling on them. Although he loses his way for a while, it’s probably fair to call him the protector for the most part.

Hid description is pretty spot on. He is chivalrous, but we get hints of that dark side of “having blood on his hands” and “being a monster”.

Claude: The Schemer

Heir to House Riegan, the leading house of the Leicester Alliance. Employs both an easygoing attitude and an effortless skill for scheming.

Claude is meant to be a schemer, and we get hints of that in the game. But he actually is more of a schemer in FEH than in Verdant Wind (a victim to VW being a copy of SS). Still, he does have some schemes, more than perhaps the other characters, so it is an overall fitting title.

Well, we certainly get that easygoing attitude from his quotes as suggested by his description, but FEH plays up his scheming more so than 3H. Still, that was the intention of his character.

#Long Post #My thoughts #FEH #Fire Emblem #3H #3H Discussion #FEH Quotes #Fire Emblem Discussion

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zecretsanta · 5 years

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Fic: Scavenging

To: @gaulemtypefemale-dm-l-016

From: @electric016

Merry Christmas, gaulemtypefemale-dm-l-016! Tenmyouji and Quark are my faves, so I’m always excited for an excuse to write about them! This fic sort of wandered off in a weird direction, but hopefully it’s all still in character and more importantly I hope you like it!

Ao3 Link

It had been about four months since the end of the Nonary Game and life with the Tenmyoujis had finally returned to normal. Even after the excitement of the moon and a second Nonary Game, there were still chores to be done and scrap to scavenge.

“Quark!” Tenmyouji called out, “Are you up yet? We need to get going.”

“Coming, grandpa!” came the disgruntled and tired voice behind his grandson’s door.

“You’re going to miss breakfast!” Tenmyouji called again, cracking a couple of eggs into the frying pan.

“I’m coming!”

Tenmyoji smirked to himself, knowing that before long he’d have a teenager to contend with. The thought was simultaneously amusing and terrifying as hell.

The door to Quark’s bedroom creaked open. The boy emerged mostly dressed. He wore a khaki pair of shorts and a t-shirt. His arm was in one sleeve of a jacket.

“Finally. I thought I was going to have to eat all of this by myself.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I don’t know, I’m feeling pretty peckish.”

Quark slumped into a chair by the kitchen table, leaning his head in his arms and muttered something in audible.

“What was that?”

“I’m going to eat them!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Tenmyouji placed a plate of eggs and toast and beans before his grandson. He knew he’d perk up a bit once he’d had some food. Mornings had always been a bit of a struggle with the boy, and Tenmyouji had a sneaking suspicion they’d only get worse the closer they got to Quark’s teenage years.

He joined his grandson at the table with a matching plate of food and a hot drink he’d like to say was coffee, in that it was dark and brown and bitter, but was actually a rather horrible root tea. He did enjoy the warmth and habit of it though.

“Where are we going today?” Quark asked, shoving a piece of toast in his mouth.

Tenmyouji put his fork down. “Well, I was thinking of maybe trying something different today,” he said slowly.

“Yeah?” Quark asked, looking curious.

Tenmyouji nodded. “I’ve been thinking. I’m not getting any younger and I might like to start thinking about retirement. Now don’t give me that face, nothing to get worried about. I’m just thinking an extra day off or two every week might be nice.”

“What does that mean?” Quark inquired, studying his grandpa incredulously.

“Well, what do you say you go out by yourself today? No supervision. I won’t be breathing down your neck or micromanaging what you find. I trust you.”

“What? Really?” “Sure! You’ve been at this for how many years now? I think it’s time for a promotion.”

Quark immediately perked up--it was as if his sleepiness were totally forgotten. “So where should I go?”

“Hmmm.” Tenmyouji took a swig of his tea. “Where would you suggest going if you were in charge?”

“Well.” Quark looked thoughtful, scratching the back of his neck as he thought. “There’s that old food processing plant in the next town over we saw last time we were there. I could start there.”

“Yes, I suppose you could. It’s an awful long walk though.”

“What? Aren’t you going to give me a ride?”

“Nope. I’m going to be enjoying my day off here.”

“Can I drive the truck then?” Quark asked eagerly.

“How are you going to push the pedals and steer at the same time? Nice try, kiddo. Maybe once you’ve got a bit more height on you.”

“Aww. So I guess somewhere I can walk to, huh?”

“Unless you’re planning on hitchhiking.” Quark opened his mouth. “I’m kidding. You’re absolutely not hitchhiking.”

“Well. In that case, there’s that old abandoned radio station. That might be a good spot to start with.”

“That’s not a bad idea at all.” Tenmyouji rubbed his chin. “I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone else having gone through it. I think that’d be a good place to start.”

After cleaning up breakfast and feeding the chickens, Quark got packed up to go out on his mission.

He looked a little as if he were about to set off for school, and it gave Tenmyouji a weird sense of misplaced nostalgia.

“Alright, you got everything you need?”

“Yes, Grandpa!”

“You got your lunch?”

“In my pack.”

“Radio transmitter?”

“Over and out,” Quark said pulling the radio out of his pocket and speaking directly into it.

“Okay. I think you’re set. If you run into any trouble, be sure to give me a call. Or you can give Red or Marco a call if they’re in range. But don’t bug them unless you need to.”

“Okay. What are you going to do today?”

“Hmm. Well I might drop off a loaf of bread with Clover and Alice and see how they’re doing. But mostly I think I’m going to catch up on some reading.”

“Sounds good! Tell them I said hi!”

“Will do, kiddo. Take care now.”

“Bye, Grandpa! See you later!”

Quark set out with a spring in his step. It was a good feeling, knowing his grandpa trusted him enough to send him out to work by himself, and quark was confident he’d be perfectly fine by himself. Really it wasn’t too much different than usual. Usually they’d travel together to a scavenging location, and then split up. They’d meet up for lunch and then go back to scavenging.

Quark enjoyed scavenging with his grandpa--well at least when he wasn’t getting in trouble for messing around. He liked when Tenmyouji found something particularly interesting or unique, he would call Quark over and explain exactly what it was and how it worked and how it could be used to turn a profit.

The novelty of striking out on his own was still fresh; however, so he was really looking forward to being totally in control.

The abandoned radio station was only about a 45-minute walk from their home. Three of the station’s call sign remained: K LV. Quark decided it must have been a Q. Ever since he was a kid, he always enjoyed recognizing his initial on buildings and signage. Q for Quark.

Breaking in was fairly easy. It seemed a lot of offices and commercial buildings weren’t secured during the radical-6 outbreak. They found so many that were simply left unlocked and ready to be explored.

Tenmyouji had trained Quark well and he knew the first thing he had to do was check for signs that the building might not be safe to enter. But this one seemed to be structurally sound.

Quark pulled his lantern from his backpack and switched it on, illuminating the hallway before him. The halls were dark and musty, dust floated up through the air as he entered. An ancient fire escape map on the wall gave him his bearings, outlining where there server rooms were and where he was likely to find the sound equipment.

He was aware from a theoretical standpoint that fear of the dark was pretty common, and he liked to tell himself that he wasn’t afraid of the dark at all. Why would someone who spent their life exploring dark rooms and who found a thrill in discovering the most remote nooks and crannies be afraid? The truth of course was that he still felt a little flutter of anxiety whenever he entered a new room.

Steeling himself, he turned the handle to the recording room.

“Huh,” Quark said aloud to himself, filling the hallway with the sound of his voice. “Won’t budge.” He turned the handle again and shoved his shoulder against the door. But still it remained stuck.

“Guess this calls for a little back up.”

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small crowbar. Wedging it between the door and frame, he leaned his weight against the metal.

Finally the door gave way and there was a whoosh of air as the seal on the room was broken and the pressure between rooms equalized.

He stood in the doorway, an apprehensive chill going up his spine and shone his lantern into the room. The light bounced off the large glass window in front of the control panel. There was a work chair turned slightly towards him and it gave him a start when he realized it held the remains of a slumped skeleton.

Quark was used to seeing skeletons. He knew many of them were victims of the radical-6 outbreak. He knew it was harder for his grandpa to see the skeletons and be reminded of what it was like to live through the fall of humanity. For Quark they were relics of a bygone age. Sad, but no more sad than a mummy in a museum. They did startle him every now and again though.

“Sorry to bother you,” Quark addressed the skeleton. “I hope you don’t mind, I’m just coming in to collect some parts.” His grandpa had taught him that the line between life and death is thin. Sometimes the only thing that decided what side you were on was chance. It was important to always be respectful of the dead.

“This is a pretty interesting set up you have here,” Quark told the skeleton, setting his lantern on the ground, and pulling out an additional flashlight from his bag. “I have a small radio, but it’s nowhere near as powerful as what you had going on here. I mostly just use it for calling people. Grandpa said you used to play music from here all across the city. We’re not allowed to do that anymore.” Quark affected a mocking adult voice, “‘Public radio stations are for official use only.’ They only play boring things like news and public service announcements. I think it’d be much cooler if they played music.”

Quark situated himself on the floor beside a control panel and pulled off the metal grating. “Ah yeah, I should be able to get a lot of good stuff from this. Thanks for keeping an eye on it for me.”

As Quark got to work he continued chatting to the remains in the chair, “You know, this is my first job out all by myself? Usually I travel with my grandpa. But he trusted me to go out by myself this time.” He glanced over to the skeleton. “I know he’s not telling me exactly what happened on the moon--oh yeah! I went to the moon recently.

“It’s a bit of a long story. Originally Grandpa thought we were going to meet an old friend of his, so we got all dressed up and everything, but then it turned out it was this weird game. It was actually kind of scary, but I didn’t want anyone to think I was a baby.”

He was silent for a moment, working through a tangle of wires. “You know, I think something bad might have happened to me up there. Apparently we were all infected with radical-6, and Grandpa said it was fine, but I don’t know. I was asleep for a lot of what happened. I think maybe it made me sicker than he wants me to know.”

Quark was quiet again. Working in the dark room by the light of his lantern and flashlight.

“Actually, I think he’s still worried about me,” Quark confided to the skeleton. “He’s been a little more overprotective, and it’s very nice of him, but to be honest it’s been a little annoying. I know he feels guilty about the whole thing, but I wish he wouldn’t. I don’t remember anything bad happening, so it’s all fine, right?”

The skeleton didn’t respond, but Quark said, “I know, I should probably be telling him this, huh?”

Still no response from the skeleton.

“Yeah, you’re right. But Grandpa can be so awkward about feelings.” Quark sighed.

“No, you’re right, it’s still better to say something. But it’s still a good sign that he’s sending me out on my own, isn't it? Maybe it means he’s getting over it.”

Quark sat back. “Okay well I think I’m good with everything here for now. Maybe I’ll come back on my day off, but I want to have a look at some of the other rooms while I’m here. Thank you for your company!”

Quark zipped up his bag and hauled it back onto his back. He briefly placed his hands together in a quick gesture of prayer for the skeleton, then headed on to the next room.

When Quark got home that evening his pack was full of useful wires and connectors. He was feeling pretty satisfied with his haul.

“Grandpa! I’m home!”

“Hey! Welcome back! How’d you do?”

“Really great! I found so much stuff! Do you want to take a look?”

“Hmmm. No, I think I’m good. How about tomorrow we go into town and you can try your hand at bartering? I’ll come along as your back-up of course. But I trust you. I know you did well.” He ruffled his grandson’s hair.

“Sounds good! And then do you want to go back to the radio station the day after?”

“I think maybe that day we can head out to the food processing facility. You can save the radio station for my days off.”

“Okay!”

“Alright, now go wash up and you can help me cook dinner.”

“Hey, Grandpa?”

“Hm?”

“I just wanted to say, thanks for trusting me to go out on my own. I know you’re really worried about me, especially after the Nonary Game, but I really am fine.”

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to say thank you.” He gave his grandpa a quick hug, then darted off to the bathroom to wash up.

Tenmyouji was bemused, but relieved. After the Nonary Game he’d been so worried that Quark would have come away from the experience clingy and paranoid. And truth be told--that was probably just a projection of his own feelings. Quark seemed fairly unfazed by the whole situation having been asleep for the most terrifying portions of it.

He was glad Quark seemed so thrilled with having this new opportunity for independence. Listening to Quark babble away about the adventures of his day, it sounded like he was happy to have the time to himself. And in his whole long life, there was only one truth that he had found to be absolute. When Quark was happy, he was happy.

#zecret santa 2019 #virtue's last reward #gaulemtypefemale-dm-l-016 #electric016

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chrysalispen · 5 years

Text

writing warmup #2

morning writing warm-up time! just an alternate POV from a certain in-game scene :3c

====

Nero tol Scaeva was bored out of his godsdamned mind.

Out in the middle of fuckall nowhere, chasing some curiously specific intelligence, malms even from the little shitehole desert town that reminded him of his own home in all the wrong ways, he was also thoroughly annoyed. The desert heat was slowly cooking him to death even with the self-regulated cooling mechanisms he'd installed in his armor, the wind had blown what felt like an entire sand dune into his mouth, and he badly needed to piss.

He'd pulled himself away from his most important project to take the data he needed personally and- nothing, so far. And yet here he was with one of his least favorite people in the world, watching a gaggle of lizardmen caper and shout around a bonfire, and waiting for something to happen. Anything.

How a supposed summoning ritual could be so dull was beyond his understanding.

Point of fact, he was about to pack the entire bloody thing in and look into just who had anonymously tipped off his sources, because he was half-certain that Frumentarium had been pranked. The beastmen had been trying to summon their god since the immediate aftermath of van Darnus' disastrous Project Meteor with no success; the notion that they might be able to manage it now-

"Nero."

The voice, female, canned and echoing through the metallic rattle of her helm's communications array, snapped impatiently through his ears.

"Yes, my sweet?" Smooth, devil-may-care, and just a little bit condescending: Nero knew full well how much that sort of response irritated her, which of course was why he did it.

"I just asked you a question. Have you fallen asleep at your post?"

"Patience, Livia. Their ritual's only just begun. If naught happens in the next--" the tribunus laticlavius checked his digital chronometer and, internally, the remaining capacity of his bladder, "--half-bell or so, we'll report in."

His fellow tribune made an irritated chuffing noise over the receiver, but said nothing further. Nero was well aware that Livia didn't like him. She saw him as her direct competition for Gaius van Baelsar's favor, resented what she saw as his inappropriately cavalier attitude towards their Very Serious Eorzean Campaign, and had made her rancor towards him abundantly obvious from day one.

The distaste was mutual. Nero was quite able to set aside his personal feelings for the nonce if a situation required him to use his gunblade- ferreting out spies under his authority as the commander of the XIVth's Frumentarium, for example. But it was a chore, little different to his way of thinking than performing maintenance on an engine. Livia on the other hand seemed to delight in bloodshed in a way that deeply bothered him. The only thing she seemed to love more than crushing savages beneath her cermet-plated boot was the Black Wolf.

And that, he decided with an inward grimace, was a line of thought he'd really rather not give terribly close consideration.

Black clouds were roiling overhead and the air had turned thick with fire-aspected aether; he could feel the warmth of it against his exposed face and his scalp prickled uncomfortably.

Nero considered retrieving his helm - it would provide some measure of protection against the concentrated aether - and then decided against it. The on-board diagnostics in his suit would have sounded their alarum did current aether levels pose any serious risk to him.

If worst came to worst, he’d have a headache for the rest of the day. Maybe not quite safe as houses, but safe enough.

Dispassionately the tribunus surveyed the scene below. A number of Eorzean soldiers wearing Immortal Flames colors and a small handful of adventurers had been brought to the edge of the circle, their hands lashed together.

Experience and secondhand observation from subordinates' reports told him that meant they were marked either for sacrifice or tempering; he wasn't certain which, and didn't particularly care to make the distinction. While he bore no particular ill will towards the denizens of these wild lands, he couldn't find himself bothered to feel strongly one way or another watching scenes like these, either. He was no hero, and he certainly wasn't going to stick his neck out for a motley collection of savages he knew full well would not extend him the same courtesy were their positions reversed.

Still, he observed, as he was wont to do. The adventurers were being dragged forward first, their apparent leader a tall, slender blonde woman with a staff strapped to her back. Some variety of caster, though he was hardly well-versed enough in such matters to know or care what sort. Now that was interesting; if the beastmen meant to sacrifice them to their god then why had they left them their weapons? Moreover, why had their victims not attempted escape...?

The ringleader--he supposed by this one's relatively gaudy sartorial choices that he was their priest--raised bracelet-clad arms and hands aloft to the sky in supplication. Nero didn't understand the tongue he spoke but it didn't take a scholar to understand that the Amal'jaa were calling out to their god.

At more or less the same moment there was a quiet beep from the old aetherometer on his wrist. Nero slid the casement open with a flick of his gauntleted index finger to view the results, and his soft hum of satisfaction rose, briefly, over the sounds of chanting and drums below.

"...and there's the waveform spike," he said aloud. "It appears they're finally getting on with it."

“I don’t need a play-by-play description, Scaeva.” Livia had perched herself on a nearby rock with a loudly disinterested sigh. "That said, do wake me when the savages are through with their little ritual. I should like to have news of actual consequence to report back to Lord Gaius for this trouble."

"What? Bored, are we?" He spared her a short and mocking laugh, never mind he was bored himself. "You don't care to watch them feed their pet god?"

"I take no joy in such things, as well you know. I would not even be here did I have the choice." He could practically hear the scowl she wore. "Perhaps if you paid more attention to your own mission, this would go faster."

With a mental shrug the tribunus turned his attention back to the canyon basin below, where the festivities had begun in earnest.

Heat blasted in a wave across his cheeks as the sphere of aether that had coalesced midair exploded outward to reveal the eikon that had formed within. It was a big, ugly brute, half again as large as a castrum watchtower, each of its claws fully seven fulms in length, and it turned its attention to the group of adventurers first. As Nero watched, the lizardmen cut the bonds of their prisoners and shoved them forward.

"... bathe these unbelievers in your holy light!" the priest bellowed. The words were very faint, but in the absence of any other sound they echoed perfectly against the walls of the canyon.

And suddenly everything else - the weapons, the lack of escape attempts - made sense. Not a sacrificial ritual, then. They intended to temper their captives.

He grimaced. Boredom or not, he really didn't want to watch them have their will subsumed beneath that of an aetheric construct. They'd have to be put down by their fellows - or by imperial steel, depending upon who encountered them first.

Nero felt a peculiar sense of regret as his eyes caught that flash of honeyed gold again. Such a shame.

Hoping to avoid actually witnessing the tempering process, he spat out a mouthful of sand, ran his fingers vigorously through his blond curls to shake out the dust that had accumulated there, glanced at his aetherometer, and back down to the scene unfolding below. By now the hapless adventurers and the soldiers at their back would have been bathed in Ifrit's flames, doused in his aether, and forcibly-

Something was happening.

The Hyur woman he'd glimpsed earlier stood alone, staring bemused at her open palms, then at her surrounds in clear-eyed but obvious confusion while the tempered soldiers around her bowed and scraped and wailed their empty praises to the construct that towered over them.

The eikon's tempering hadn't worked on her for some reason.

Nero's gaze sharpened with interest. Livia forgotten for the moment, he came out of cover, crouching down upon the lip of the overhanging cliff face for a better view. The priest and eikon were recoiling from her, their voices raised in agitation, and the woman-

The adventurer drew her staff from her back and shouted at the others to do the same. They did. Whatever protection it was that had shielded her from the eikon's will, she had somehow managed to extend it to the three others of her ilk that now stood at her side.

They were going to fight, Nero marveled. The mad bastards. They were actually going to try and fight an eikon.

"Well, well," he said softly, his gaze dropping to the chiming aetherometer on his wrist. "This is certainly a development."

Hopefully the data he’d glean from the adventurers’ unanticipated show of strength - as brief and bloody a fight as he expected it to be, four mortals pitted against even a weak ‘god’ such as this - would prove equally entertaining.

#writing exercise #a realm reborn #chrysalispen writes #writing nero is absurdly fun and i should do it more often #he's just like 'ahahaha good luck you crazy bastards'

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meetthetank · 6 years

Text

Perversion of a Desperate Prayer

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Graphic depictions of violence

Category: F/M

Fandom: NieR: Automata (Video Game)

Relationship: 2B/9S (NieR: Automata)

Characters: 9S (NieR: Automata), Masamune - Character, 4S (NieR: Automata)

Additional Tags: feral androids, Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Route C/D

Language: English

Series: Part 1 of the Overdose Delusion series

Due to recent tumblr fuckery I won’t be putting a link to the Ao3 page in this post. Next time it should be good to put a link in though. Hopefully.

Summary: 9S gets his wish.

Why 9S hadn’t killed the machine blacksmith yet is a mystery to him. Watching the armored thing work, with its back turned to him, it would be so easy to run him through with a spear, cleave him in two with a sword, or pummel him to death with a bracer. He could hack the thing, and it wouldn’t have the time to react before its controls are overridden. Yes, it would be simple, quick, painless. More than any machine deserves.

Yet as he holds his hand out to prepare a hack, he fails to go through with it. Seeing the little machine restore the worn white blade to a pristine state halts his attack. 9S lowers his hand with a tired sigh. Every one of those thoughts becomes harder and harder to not act on. He wonders how long it’ll be before he finally does.

9S’ head snaps up as the gears in the little armored machine click and whirr to life. Its torso turns completely around with its legs following soon after.

“There. Good as new,” it says in that grating mechanical drone shared by its brethren.

9S gives the machine a half-hearted thanks as he takes the massive white sword. He nearly loses his grip on the heavy blade before letting it be digitized by his pod for storage. His fingers trace the fading pieces of data with a will of their own.

“...Where is your partner, the owner of that sword. I haven’t seen her in some time.”

The machine’s words cut into his chest, making his whole body tighten as if he had been hit with a physical attack.

“She…” 9S isn’t sure why it’s so hard for him to explain this to an unfeeling machine, but forcing the words out is like swallowing coals, “She’s gone.”

“Ah...my condolences.”

9S turns away from it to hide the sneer that twists his face. What could a machine know about loss, about his pain? What could it know about 2B?

Drawing in a shaky breath, he exits the hidden workshop to resume trek to the resource unit floating nearby. Yet just as he’s about to leave, the machine calls him back.

“Wait, young android. Before you go, heed this warning.”

He stops, casting a tired glance backward at the blacksmith.

“There’s something lurking around the castle of late.”

“...What is it.” 9S curses his curiosity.

“I’m not sure. It seems to be an android...or rather, it seems like it used to be an android. It looks closer to a beast now.”

9S wishes he didn’t know what the machine was referring to. In the time since he's woken up, he’s seen more of these androids turned beasts than he ever wished. He counts himself lucky that they don’t seem to go out of their way to attack him. n Ifact they seem more like skittish animals than the monsters he recalls.

“...I’ll keep an eye out for it,” he mutters before leaving the machine blacksmith to its work.

“It’s like a living shadow. You’ll hear its simple weapon scraping across the ground before you see it.”

Despite 9S being nearly certain that this beastly android won’t drop from the high towers of the castle on him, there’s a distinct feeling of unease that puts him on edge. He instinctively reaches for his sword at every warped shadow or rustling leaves. How silly of him to be so scared by the words of a machine. The senseless thing probably saw a boar or moose inside the castle walls and thought it some monster.

And yet…

If it’s right…

9S keeps his sword in hand. Just in case.

There’s one more thing he has to do before taking on that floating tower of scrap that haunts his peripheral vision. Deeper within the castle lies the library, a sprawling collection of unreadable rotted books and home to the older scanner, 4S. 9S isn’t sure why he chose to isolate himself so far away from the other androids, if something happened to him it’d be hours or even days before anyone would know something was wrong. With this creature supposedly lurking around, his visit to 4S is twofold. To share enemy data as he requested, and to make sure the older model is okay. A part of him says he’s being too paranoid but ever since...He doesn’t want to lose anyone else.

The castle itself is eerie without the hoards of machines loyal to their king. Trekking through used to be a chore as he would have to fight through countless armored machines trying to stop him from getting too close to the infant king. But he could always rely on…

…

But she’s gone now.

And he’s alone.

She called him “Nines” here. She tried to deny it, but he knows what he heard. Her icy demeanor crumbled and was rebuilt in an instant, but he saw someone who cared about him. Someone who…

9S takes a deep breath and wipes the moisture pooling at the corner of his eyes. He lies to himself, it’s just the humidity and dust in the air. He doesn’t have time to sit and cry.

Emotions are prohibited anyway.

4S waves to him as he enters the library then hops down the series of ladders and balconies to meet him. His enthusiasm brings a little smile back to 9S’ face.

“Hey, Nines.”

As soon as that smile appears, it’s gone, replaced by pursed lips and clenched teeth, “Hey.”

4S studies him quietly for a moment before continuing, “Brought me some more data?”

“Yeah. Here you go.”

There are only a few enemy data files to transfer over, simple variations on stubbies and the like. The transfer is over in an instant.

“Hm, I wonder why the machines have such a fascination with hats. They don’t seem to have any purpose in combat.”

“There’s no reason behind anything the machines do.” 9S growls.

“I-...Well yeah, I guess.”

4S dismisses his screen and places his hand on 9S’ shoulder in a gesture of comfort that the younger model has to force himself to accept.

“Hey...do you want to take a break? You’ve been going nonstop ever since-...You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine.”

“...Okay. Well, if you want to talk at all I’ll be here.”

Beneath his visor, 9S stares at the ground between their feet. He can’t meet the other scanner’s gaze. He doubts he could even look at himself right now.

“Thanks.”

There’s a long pause between them, both unsure of what exactly to do. 4S lowers his hand at steps away from him, “...Be careful, okay?”

“Yeah,” 9S mutters as he turns to leave the library and continue his grim quest.

“It’s not just the machines now, you know.”

9S stops in his tracks, “What?”

“Yeah, there’s more than just machines to worry about now. There’s the infected YorHa units too, not to mention this...thing that I’ve seen in the castle.”

“You too, huh? That machine blacksmith by the throne room mentioned something unusual as well.”

“Masamune was the one who warned me about it. I didn’t pay much attention to him until I saw it myself.”

That takes 9S by surprise. The blacksmith’s word only served to unnerve him a little, good for nothing except a bit of paranoia. Coming from 4S, however, it’s far more credible.

“Is it...dangerous?” 9S asks.

“Dunno. It ran away the moment I saw it. It did have this...scary looking weapon, though.”

“So it has the potential to be dangerous.”

“Definitely.”

“Right. Be careful, then. Odd’s are it’ll get bored and wander off.”

They two scanners say their goodbyes to each other before 9S leaves the library, nearly sprinting through the halls of the castle to reach the exit. Even though both the machine blacksmith and 4S said that the monster lurking around is nothing more than a scared animal by nature, the idea that something unknown could be waiting in the shadows disturbs him.

Yet…

Curse his curiosity. If he could, he’d search for the beast. He could already hear 2B-...

…

He’s sure that 2B would chastise him for not focusing on their mission.

But she’s gone now.

…

It’s just him.

Him and his mission.

The blinding light of the never changing sun takes him by surprise. 9S finds himself in the large courtyard that separates the two halves of the castle, yet he doesn’t remember the trip here. A dense fog clouds his mind, but that’s been the case for some time now.

How long has it been?

The red-haired twins said he was out for two weeks after 2B died but after that?

Days? Weeks? Months?

Time has been moving so oddly lately. Not that it matters.

None of it really matters.

9S looks to the sky, to the sun locked eternally in the center. A few clouds drift by, giving him a small reprieve from the blistering, unrelenting sunlight. Staring up at the vast expanse of blue obscured by the clouds and the heavy vegetation of the ancient forest, he suddenly feels small. Insignificant.

Alone.

Really, truly alone.

There’s a dull, yet deep ache in his chest that lingers no matter how much he bunches his coat in his hand.

“2B…” he mutters to no one but himself.

If she were here...things would be so much different. No YorHa, no missions. They would be free. Free to explore, free to feel, free to do whatever they felt.

“If I could see you, just once more….Maybe I could finally-”

A sudden intense jolt of electricity runs from the back of his neck to the rest of his body, literally shocking him out of his daze. He whips around to see exactly what had attacked him, only to find his pod floating close behind him, with arcs of electricity jumping between one of its claws.

“Pod?! What the hell, why did you do that?!”

“Unit 9S did not respond to the previous five warnings. Preventative measures were taken to assure unit 9S was operating properly.”

“Warnings?” Had he really been that oblivious? “What warnings?”

“This pod detected a black box signal eleven minutes ago but was unable identify the unit it belongs to.”

“What does that mean?!”

“A black box cannot be identified when the unit has suffered severe corruption that affects the identification chip of the unit.”

“Where is the signal coming from?”

“Five meters away.”

9S scans the courtyard frantically for anything hiding in plain sight. The longer he goes without finding anything the more panicked he becomes. A loud scrape echoes across the castle, something metallic being dragged across the stone floor. It’s impossible to pinpoint and only serves to further stress 9S.

“Come on...where are you…”

He searches for any movement, anything out of the ordinary hiding in the bushes and shrubs that dot the courtyard. Any oddly moving shadows or misplaced shapes, but it’s difficult to discern anything through the mess of vegetation. The two bright lights that shine through the underbrush-

“Pod!”

At 9S’ command, Pod 153 fires a barrage of shots into the foliage that obscures the creature with glowing white eyes. Whatever it is lets out a pathetic high pitched whine as the energy bullets rip apart its hiding place. A massive shadow darts out of the bushes with speed that shouldn’t be possible of a creature that size, dragging what appears to be a length of rusted iron. Pod’s fire trails it as it bursts out of the vegetation in a shadowy blur, any bullet that does manage to hit it simply ricochets off of the thick black fabric that covers the monster.

Like Masamune and 4S said it doesn’t pay 9S attention at all, it rushes past him, only trying to avoid the pod fire. It moves so fast that he can’t get a decent look at what exactly it is. There’s at least one arm, the one that clutches the hunk of iron that drags behind it. Another arm ending in fearsome claws appears as it leaps up the wall of the castle, scrambling for purchase on the sheer stone.

“Pod, fire laser at forty percent power at its empty hand!”

Pod 153’s body splits in two, revealing a series of lenses that immediately begin surging with power. As if sensing the incoming attack, the monster scrambles up the sheer walls as fast as its claws can pierce the bricks. With precise calculations, a beam of light explodes from the lenses and hits its mark on the shrouded creature’s hand just as its claws dig into the stonework. The brittle stone explodes with from the force of the blast, and with its handhold gone the beast plummets to the ground with an ear-splitting scream.

It lands on its side, a sickening crack echoes above all other sounds the moment the monster hits the earth, its crude weapon landing a moment later. A cloud of dust and dirt erupts around the beast and its weapon, obscuring them from 9S’ view. He shields his face from the rush of rubble and dust despite wearing his visor and coughs when he accidentally inhales a lungful.

As the dust disperses, 9S watches the monster writhe on the ground. It wails in a hauntingly familiar yet distorted tone as it tries to right itself. Its claws tangle in its shroud and prevent it from standing up. It manages to rise only to stumble over itself and crash back to the ground with another pathetic shriek.

9S strides forward with his black katana in hand. This thing was threatening his friend and one of the few machines he’s keeping alive. He has to put this shrieking thing out of its misery. Its unblinking eyes lock onto him as he approaches, gaze unwavering even while it forces itself to its feet. One of its arms, the one it landed on, dangles uselessly by its side. It breaks its focus on the encroaching android to try and make its damaged limb move to no avail. Its focus returns to 9S the moment he gets within a yard of it, and to his surprise, it cowers away from him. This creature that looms over him is... afraid of him.

Now that it isn’t running at breakneck speed 9S can finally get a good look at this thing. Beneath the tattered black shroud that covers most of its body, there are several shards of metal that jut out of its chest and stomach. Some of them look like broken weapons, others are rusted chunks of the same material as its weapon. Its arms and legs have similar patterns on the exposed bone, muscle, and frame as the android corpses that litter the city ruins. However, the beast’s warped claws, twisted feet, and those piercing white eyes are distinctly inhuman. He can’t see its face as its covered by the thick black cloth. In fact, that cloth seems to be made up of pieces of fabric and...hide stitched together haphazardly.

Its unblinking eyes flick between him and his sword, the arm that still functions feeling around for anything it could use to defend itself. Sometimes it nearly touches the handle of its iron cudgel. Fearing what would happen should it hold its weapon, 9S lunges forward with a shout. Just as he’s about to strike the beast across the chest it swings its body with enough force for its useless arm to beat him out of the air. 9S tumbles to the ground and prepares for a retaliation from the creature, but nothing happens. All it does is take hold of its weapon and watches him right himself.

9S snarls as he prepares a plan of attack. He won’t let this idiotic monster humiliate him in combat. He is a scanner, a top of the line model, and he’s fought far worse things than some rotting android. A ring of golden energy appears around his arm and around the hilt of his blade just before he throws it at the monster. It spins in an arc, circling the creature but never actually hitting it.

The beast crouches low to the ground, its joints cracking and groaning audibly. It tries to keep track of 9S’ sword but 9S forces it to move faster and faster until the monster stops trying to follow it and simply stares at him and whines. Seeing his opening, 9S forces the sword to return to his hand and dashes forward. With a pathetic yelp, it deflects this blade with the mass of iron, but the second attack hits its mark. The katana slices through its shroud but it doesn’t connect with the beast itself. It shrieks as it leaps back, batting away 9S’ sword with its own weapon.

Each strike from 9S either glances off the monster’s crude weapon or carves through its shroud. The already tattered fabric is shredded even further by 9S with each attack. It isn’t the fact that he doesn’t even hit the creature that makes him roar and scream at it, but the fact that it isn’t fighting back. It’s just mocking him, effortlessly blocking or avoiding strike after strike with its weapon or shroud. A twisting rage builds inside 9S that drives him to attack with reckless abandon.

Pod 153 acts without command, firing a barrage of bullets at the shroud and shredding it faster than any of 9S’ strikes could. It tries to huddle behind hits massive weapon but 9S is just as unrelenting as Pod’s bullets. He puts all his effort into a strike aimed directly at its head, and just as he expects it shreds the last of the cloth that still shields it from his attacks.

With a roar the beast finally strikes back, clubbing 9S across the body with its crude length of iron. The pain is so great that for a moment he loses visual feed as he crumbles to the ground. It only takes a moment for him to regain his sight only to be greeted by the creature’s face hovering just inches from his.

Its putrid breath nearly makes him gag, its pointed fangs grazing his cheek with how close it is. Without the shroud obscuring its face, 9S can see the skinless face of what used to be an android. No facial features remain beyond the searing eyes and animalistic teeth. A shock of white hair, now yellowed and filthy, masks the exposed wiring of its skull. 9S scrambles backward as far as he can, just so long as he’s no longer underneath this vile creature.

As 9S holds his sword tight in his hand, the monster does the same with its own weapon. Its stance changes to that of a fighter, rather than a scared animal. Still, its eyes remain trained on 9S even as they size each other up. 9S makes the first move, launching forward to strike at its feet. Just as before the monster flings its mangled arm down at him, but this time he’s ready. With his lingering momentum, 9S swings up, slicing through the brittle metal and rotting wires of the monster’s arm. As the useless limb falls to the ground, the creature reels back and lets out a horrid corrupted shriek. Its retaliation comes faster than 9S expects, the creature twists its body around and strikes 9S again. This time he’s only forced back a couple of feet before he charges once again.

“Now you decide to fight back, huh?!” he shouts.

A rumbling snarl echoes from the monster. It swings the iron cudgel effortlessly in broad strikes that keep 9S out of range of it. He has to focus on evading, after taking two hits from that hunk of metal he’s not keen on taking any more. Especially since it seems that it’s suddenly decided to fight seriously.

But then again, so had he.

The creature leaps into the air, flips, and slams the mass of iron into the ground just inches away from 9S. Again, it leaps and strikes, and again. Each time 9S barely avoids it, the force alone winding him.

“Well, come on then! Do what you were built to do!”

He isn’t sure where this fury is coming from, but it roils in his gut and burns in his veins. A vile hate that spurs him to strike and strike without a plan.

“That’s all you know right?!”

The beast meets him blow for blow, striking with great spins and flips. It moves with the grace and precision of a YorHa android, and with the crushing power of one as well. The stone beneath their feet shatters each time the creature’s weapon.

“All you know is war!! All any of us know is war!!”

The tip of the makeshift weapon tears a long gash in his coat and drags him with the backswing. He crashes against the castle walls but doesn’t take a moment to let his jostled systems reorient themselves. The beast strikes its weapon against the ground and roars at him.

“But no...you’re different from the rest, right?!”

It charges him, or rather it runs a few feet then lunges at him, dragging the weapon behind it and carving great gashes into the earth. It spins furiously as it lands and strikes at 9S with everything it has left. There’s nowhere for him to run. He takes the full force of the monster’s attack. Something in his chest shatters and the rest of his coat is torn to shreds. Yet just as before, he refuses to stay down for long. He rises to his feet, albeit hunched over and clutching the wound seeping a thick red fluid.

“You...Your job was to…Kill us.” he struggles to growl at the monster, “An...executioner.”

Something jolts through the monster’s body. As if that word had physical weight to it, it freezes mid-swing. A low, pitiful whine escapes the beast, like the grinding of metal on metal.

“That’s what you are...right?!” he shouts, “That’s your job?!”

It charges him again, and 9S matches with a roar of his own. The fire churning in his gut swells and numbs the pains in his chest. He goes on the offensive, his unrelenting attacks chip away at the rusted iron and rotting android frame.

“So do your job!! Finish your mission!!”

9S fights with a feral anger, looking not unlike the monster he’s facing. His blood flows freely without the pressure of his free hand. A trail of crimson coolant follows each rabid attack he makes.

“Do it already!!”

He slices across the monster’s stomach, emptying it of what seems to be gallons of festering black sludge.

“Kill me!!”

The monster screams and slams the iron maul down, but 9S rolls forward to bury his sword in its chest next to the countless others.

“Kill me!!”

It grabs his face in its claws and pins him against the ground. Its claws constrict around his throat, the tips digging into his skin. He stains for air and beats his fists weakly against the monster’s crushing grip. Error messages cloud his vision as he gasps and chokes on the fluids that pool in his mouth.

“K-kil-....M-...”

Just as his visual feed fades to vague shapes and blaring warnings, the monster’s grip loosens. It draws its claws away from his throat and places them on his chest with a tenderness ill-fitting a beast. It presses its palm against his wound and lets out a pathetic sound that almost sounds like speech.

“N-....nnnn….Ni-”

9S screams and wrenches his sword out of the monster’s chest, then plunges it back in. And again, and again, and again, until he’s coated in the sick black sludge that bleeds from its wounds. His screams turn to roars, he puts every ounce of strength he has into throwing the beast off of his body. The synthetic muscles in his arms and legs tear under the strain, but he forces himself through the pain to pin the monster against the earth.

The wailing creature thrashes in a growing pool of its own fluids, feebly swatting at 9S with its remaining arm. With each stab its attempts to resist grow weaker and weaker until it falls still. Even as a lingering whine escapes the dying beast, 9S continues his onslaught.

He isn’t sure why tears start to fall or when exactly his vocal processors give out, but his rage fades only to be replaced by that crushing emptiness from before. His furious roars turn to choked sobs, the strength in his arms leaves him slumped over with his shoulders heaving from the effort of breathing.

With what little remains of his strength he reaches out to the creature’s face. His touch lingers on a bit of skin on her chin just barely attached. After wiping a bit of grime away, a little blemish appears, one that he’s only seen on one particular android. Such an insignificant thing; how could it tear into his heart like this? His fingers comb through the remnants of her hair as his tears and blood mix with the foul-smelling sludge.

9S moves in a daze, climbing off of her chest to cradle her skeletal head in his lap like a precious object. The wounds he’s suffered seep with each sob that wracks his body. He barely notices Pod trying to staunch the flow.

He sits there till his cries are reduced to quiet wheezes and tears no longer fall. Beyond the crushing exhaustion, there’s a tension pulling at his skin where the staunching gel holding him together hardens. His body is caked in sludge and blood that cracks when he forces himself to his feet. Something that mourning android said ages ago rings through his clouded mind.

With Pod’s help, he drags her body to a quiet spot surrounded by bushes and budding flowers. The pair collects pieces of rubble and loose stones broken during the battle to gradually pile them around her corpse. Once her body is completely covered with several layers of stone he and Pod embed her weapon, her real weapon as opposed to the crude iron bar, at the head of the memorial. He sinks to his knees once again, pain and sorrow draining the last reserves of strength he has.

“I’ll be with you soon...”

#nier automata #9s #2b #2b9s #4s #Tanks fics #nier automata fanfiction

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eternalsterekrecs · 6 years

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Heyy, do you know any sci-fi sterek fic?

First of all we would recommend you to check our SPACE AU and APOCALYPSE SCENARIOS AU tags. However, here are a few more fics for you!

SCI-FI

The Epic Space Opera of Stiles Stilinski and Sergeant Spacewolf by A_Diamond

Beacon Station is an extraplanetary center of research and exploration. Human scientist and minor disaster Stiles Stilinski lives there, as does the grumpiest alien ever: Derek Hale, the titular Sergeant Spacewolf himself. After a rocky start to their acquaintance, they’ve settled into sort of a love-hate relationship, wherein Stiles pines and provokes in approximately equal measure, and Derek grudgingly tolerates.

When a mechanical failure leaves them stranded together in the vacuum of space, the impending doom of almost certain death forces the truth of their feelings to the fore. Will our heroes finally get together? Will it even matter? Will they survive the danger?

(Yes, yes, and yes. There wouldn’t be a story to tell otherwise.)

Negotiations by mikkimouse

This is the fifth time Derek has met with Prince Stiles of Terithon VI to act as an interpreter, and it is by far the worst.

(Derek is an interpreter. Stiles is a prince. Feels ensue.)

Luminescence. by doctorkaitlyn

The first time Derek ever lays his eyes upon an actual Siren, he’s five years old. She’s beautiful and terrifying, as powerful as the stories have made her out to be and his mother tells him that if he ever meets one again, he should never trust them.

But when he returns to the planet of Pandora to get revenge on the bandit warlord who executed his parents and sister, he ends up joining forces with Stiles, a young Siren who knows exactly what it feels like to lose your family. It starts out as a relationship of convenience and mutual distrust. It doesn’t stay that way for long.

(or, that Borderlands fusion where Stiles is a Siren and Derek is kind of a Soldier/Hunter, and they join together for revenge and end up with something far more complicated)

way out east there might be a way out by paxlux

Life in the Capital Wasteland ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.

We Don’t Need to Know the Way Home by Green

The year is 2020. Better Living Industries has Battery City in a chokehold. Stiles is a teenager doing his best to help people out of the city, just like his mom did before him. But when BLI captures werewolves and starts destroying them, Stiles knows he has to do something more.

A.K.A. werewolves in the Zones!

ain’t that a kick in the head by ghostsoldier

In the post-apocalyptic wastelands of northern California, a grouchy werewolf in black marched across the desert and a courier followed.

Electric Heart by BarlowGirl

Derek looks at Stilinski, and thinks about Argents, thinks about recording devices slipped into his bags and clothing, lipstick stains on his skin. Outside, he can hear Stiles goofing around with the intern Scott, making sarcastic remarks and laughing, and under that noise, that fragile, fluttering heartbeat.

“What am I supposed to do with him?” Derek asks roughly.

Stilinski levels a sharp look at him. “Why did you ask Argent for him?”

Derek leans back against the couch. Shrugs. “He saved my life,” he says carefully. “Figured I’d return the favour.”

OR: In the near future, Derek meets a very peculiar android named Stiles and takes a liking to him.

Human After All by starsandgraces

When Stiles digs the cyborg out of the junkyard, his main hope is that it’ll do his chores for him. He definitely doesn’t expect it to have attitude, demand to be called Derek, or have a serious ulterior motive.

D33R3 by Amethystina

When Stiles finds a high tech, broken down android in a dumpster, he knows it’s too good to be true. There has to be a catch somehow — no one throws away expensive androids, and this particular one is unlike any android Stiles has ever seen. D33R3 looks so real that Stiles could almost mistake him for a human being. He can’t help bringing him home.

Stiles should have listened to his instincts. It soon becomes clear that someone is looking to reclaim their lost propery, and Stiles is nothing but an irritating obstacle standing in their way.

Ultra Violet by ElisAttack

“There’s no way he’s a quarian. Least of all the quarian prince we’re supposed to be escorting.” Erica whines, and Derek wonders why he named her his staff lieutenant, she has no tact whatsoever.

“I’m sorry, but you must be a level 4 friend to unlock my tragic back-story.” The prince jokes. “And call me Stiles, even I can’t pronounce my actual name.”

Or the one where Derek and his crew are assigned to be the glorified babysitter of an alien prince, and everything is not as it seems.

the glamorous life of a CI by coyotl

future sci-fi AU in which Stiles is recruited into being a confidential informant and Derek is his biomechanically enhanced agent/babysitter/bodyguard. And things happen. Smexy things.

Chasing You Down by Reyn

Stiles Stilinski, the famous intergalactic video blogger, is about to get his chance to get up close and personal with the equally infamous Velocity Jockey, Derek Hale. Not that he wants to, or anything.

All This Has Happened by 1001cranes

The thing is, most of it’s been done before. People competing for money, or love, or fame - it’s all boring, it’s all been done, has-been, seen before, who cares? Until some motherfucker finally realized - you know what’s really interesting?

Revenge.

Dystopian AU where fame is the name of the game. Sometimes revenge is the quickest way to the top, and Derek Hale has plenty to avenge - Stiles is just along for the ride.

A Wildness Warily Awakened by Etharei

Derek Hale and his Specialized Combat Agents Unit are assigned to B-CON Base, a research facility in the heart of the lone human settlement on planet Cali. Normally, such an isolated place would not warrant the presence of Specs - the Infection is raging across the known galaxy, after all, and zombies don’t kill themselves (unless there are no tastier alternatives at hand) - but Derek is on a private hunt for his sister. He soon discovers that the rest of his team have ties to the place as well.

It’s all just coincidence, of course. (No matter what Stiles bleats on about those.)

Also, zombies.

A W A K E N I N G by qhuinn

In 2011 a virus wiped out 99% of the Earth’s population. Now, four hundred years later, all of the survivors live in Beacon Hills, the last city on earth ruled by the Hale regime. Although Beacon Hills is largely idyllic, people are routinely disappearing and everyone is suffering from bad dreams. Stiles Stilinski is a member of the Monicans, an underground rebel organization who fight against the Hale regimen. When Stiles is sent on a mission to kill the government’s leader, Chairman Derek Hale, he discovers that there are deeper secrets to be discovered, and conspiracies to be foiled.

#sterek #eternalsterek #haleinski #fic rec #sci-fi #au #space au #apocalypse au #asks #anonymous

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danbevanwriting · 6 years

Text

The Ranking of Final Fantasy: Final Fantasy II

After the runaway success of Final Fantasy, Square wanted to capitalise on it and release a sequel as soon as they could. As such, Final Fantasy II was made a mere year later for the NES for Japan only. What made this sequel special is in how little it actually resembles its predecessor. Instead of taking the easy route, Square decided to change how the combat system worked, worked in a more elaborate story with more in the way of characters, and crafted a whole new world. Very impressive work considering the single year gap. Some assets were understandably re-used (such as character sprites being close to identical to FFI) but there was a fair amount of original designs too. Of course, none of this came without a price...

All of the above sounds pretty good on paper, right? Well, I'll start with the combat system. More specifically, the leveling system. Experience as a leveling up system is gone, and in its place is a system that levels up stats and abilities with their use. So, as an example, you level up your sword skill by using swords in battle, and you level up your intelligence or MP by casting magic (magic costs points to use now rather than the charge system in the last game, which is an improvement in my eyes). Again, on paper this sounds pretty good and logical! However the amount of time it takes to level up these skills to a high degree is insane, requiring literally thousands of casts to reach anywhere close to top level magic, and each spell has to level up individually. This means if you want to cast high level elemental magic for the 3 major elements (fire, ice, lightning) then you'd have to cast each about 3,000 times. The same issue applies to the weapons too, which means that despite there being a whole host of different weapon types, you are at a complete disadvantage if you level anything other than swords, bows, or axes as most of the types have little to no late game tier weapons. This is probably why the encounter rate in this game is so high. It's far higher that FFI from what I can tell, or at least it feels significantly higher. The constant battles make the game feel like a chore to get through, draining you of your resources in game and patience out.

Another flaw with this system is that to be able to increase your maximum HP or MP then you have to take damage or use MP in battle and finish the fight. This leads to a problem with the way the game calculates the damage taken. If one of your characters takes damage in battle but you heal it up during the fight, it'll negate the damage taken and not count for the trigger to increase maximum HP. The way this is all calculated means that a common 'power levelling' tactic is to fight the weakest enemies in the game, beat the ever loving crap out of yourselves for as long as you can, then finish the fight, resulting in massive stat increases. This easy work around means that the game can become trivialised pretty easily. It also makes the game in general very unsatisfying to play as the game is either way too hard or way too easy due to a lack of balancing and huge difficulty spikes for the unprepared. Instead the gameplay is an exercise in tedium rather than being enjoyable like the first game due to level ups not feeling as good as they did in FFI nor the exploration aspect of the game being very enjoyable either.

The exploration aspect of the game is the same as the first game: world map, towns, dungeons. The world map aspect is pretty standard and follows in the same vein as the first with the same sort of transportation options open to the player. I only have a couple of issues with it to be honest, both of which are relatively minor. Firstly it's deceptively small, which means that the game requires you to back track through a lot of it with quests sending you back and forth across the same parts of the world and getting you back to a home base of sorts. Not a massive issue as it is not a bad thing, thematically, to return to the base of the resistance between missions. This does slow the pacing of the game right down though. Secondly, the map has an issue with signposting difficult enemies. For example in the last game, as the map was significantly larger, harder enemies were gated in to zones you could only get to with the use of a vehicle or tool locked behind a dungeon or boss. Not the case here. It's very easy early on in the game to wander just a little bit to too far to the West and get one-shot by enemies meant to be fought a lot later in the game. It does give the world a more hostile feeling but it's not exactly fair either. The towns that litter the world map are fine, nothing too interesting of note as they all are pretty similar, although I do like how they change throughout the game at times, such as Fynn being re-occupied by normal citizens when you liberate it from the empire and Altair showing signs of damage after it's attacked. Helping exploration a bit is the key word system which lets you learn and ask key words to certain NPCs. It is somewhat limited in scope however and isn't utilised as well as it could have, but this was a NES game after all so I wouldn't have expected anything too amazing. The fact it is in this game at all and utilised how it is is impressive in itself, honestly.

The dungeons are a different story though, and is part of the major failing of this game. You'll spend the vast majority of the play time crawling through these dungeons which take a few different shapes but are mostly caves and stone fortresses. The tile sets look fine but the way that the dungeons themselves are designed is among the worst I've ever played. They're so tedious. Not only are they complex to a fault, having many twisting paths and dead ends that provide little to no reward, but they seem to be designed to create as much ire in the player as possible. Throughout all the dungeons there are doors, either in corners or at the end of a corridor with a few of them in a row, but unfortunately these doors more than often lead to empty rooms which drop you in to the middle of them. Not only is it annoying that there's nothing in the rooms (especially when you choose the wrong door out of several next to each other, only one of which progresses the dungeon), the encounter rate in these rooms is tweaked incredibly high. This means that it is more than possible to encounter enemies with every step you take back to the door which can be lethal if you're in the wrong situation or get a bad mix of enemies. Not helping the dungeons is the boring music, which certainly doesn't negate the tedium.

The music in general is rather lackluster to be honest. The only music pieces I can think of that are good are the normal battle theme, the over world theme, and the rebel theme that plays when you're in the rebel base. Everything else is really boring, or repetitive, or just bizarre like the boss theme. Seriously, what is up with that boss theme?(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fprhlzyl30s) The one used for later game bosses is better but still not incredible or very memorable. Honestly that's a word that can sum up the majority of the soundtrack despite how repetitive it is: forgettable. This is where the Chocobos are introduced for the first time, but they somehow ruin that through the music which is literally just one bar long and is repeated ad nauseam, and I don't think I need to explain why that is so terrible...

The story of the game ranges from boring to 'okay'. Characters are more than mere cardboard cut-outs like in FFI but they still aren't amazingly fleshed out. There isn't much in the way of character development for the main characters, despite them being distinct characters this time around. You never really learn much about Firion, Guy, or Maria during the whole game other than they're orphans and really don't like the empire because they destroyed their home. This is a shame as they are obviously with the party the whole game and just get nothing to say really. The supporting characters aren't too much better either. Through the game you get extra party members that take up the fourth slot in your party, however you'll quickly learn that this is sometimes just a death sentence for them, or you'll learn just to simply not care about them at all. Often times the party member will come in weak and underpowered, meaning you have to baby sit them as they gain levels, only for them to leave the party forever (taking all equipment with them) or they die to save the three protagonists in a dramatic moment. While it does provide a context for the fight and shows how desperate the war on the empire is, but it's also dramatically repetitive. Of course this is a really good story for a NES game and has far more complexities than anything else at the time. But now the story is mostly just not engaging. The story is mostly predictable, characters are mostly one note, the big bad, the Emperor, is pretty flat and starts the trend of Final Fantasy antagonists either being only one part of a bigger unseen picture, or coming back from the dead because 'evil magic'. Honestly I don't think there's a single memorable character here, and there isn't much I could tell you about the ones I do remember, aside from Minwu looks cool and unique? The story starts surprisingly strong though, with an unwinnable fight to wipe the party in order to set the tone and the pace of the story is pretty snappy too, setting you off in to the world and making decent progress with exposing or routing the empire from towns and even destroying their Dreadnought ship. Unfortunately the story's pace just nose dives after that, padding the story out with a world spanning fetch quest where the story just treads water until the end with boring long dungeons and an ending which is rather flat.

In conclusion, Final Fantasy II isn't very good. It's boring, frustrating, repetitive, tedious, but also has a couple of bright spots in the premise and the idea of the levelling up system. I played through this game on the PSP/ mobile version which is far less frustrating than the original or PS1 version. In the original game on NES, the frustrating stat increase system was even more annoying with a stat degradation that would take away points from skills or stats that weren't used for a while. I think that would have made me quit the game pretty early on to be quite honest. The original also only ever let you save your game outside, and with the length of some of these dungeons combined with the high encounter rate would also lead to an ungodly amount of stress and frustration.

So how does this game compare to the rest of the series so far? Well comparing the game to FFI alone, this is a night and day difference. You can tell this game was made quickly as the developers seemed to have forgot to make the gameplay fun before they focused on telling a more complex tale within a video game. Not only is this a bad Final Fantasy, it's a bad RPG, and is the black sheep of the series for a reason. Obviously this is going to the bottom of the list, where I predict it will stay for the rest of this series.

And that's it for Final Fantasy II! I won't lie, I'm glad to see the back of it. It's part of why I took so long getting this done, I lost a lot of motivation to get through the game due to some of the rubbish the game threw my way. It's only up from here though! Just for the record too, I plan to do all direct sequels in this series too, which means I'll be reviewing and rating Final Fantasies IV: The After Years, X-2, XIII-2, and XIII: Lightning Returns. The only one I probably won't touch is XII: Revenant Wings due to me mostly just being uninterested in it. Anyway, thank you for reading, and please look forward to when I review and rate Final Fantasy III!

Current Rankings:

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy II

#Final Fantasy 2 #Review #Retro #Retorspective #Final Fantasy II #Opinion #Final Fantasy Series #Ranking #NES

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