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missinghan · 4 years ago

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falling for the first time ⤖ bang chan

❖ genre : hogwarts au; fluff

❖ word count : 2,1k.

❖ warning : explicit language

❖ summary : your plan of putting all effort into avoiding bang chan as much as possible has been going smoothly for almost seven years until he asks you for a dance at the Yule Ball. or alternatively, your families hate each other but wait...has he always had those golden flecks in his eyes?

❖ author’s note : here’s the song they’re dancing to 🖤

one.

The once cold ballroom has waited for eons it seems, for a real heart to beat a new rhythm into the matter that made it.

Meanwhile, you too have been waiting (for two-ish hours) in the corner with your cup of root beer abandoned at a table for your dance partner. You’re currently half-clutching your dress and half-panicking because Chan wouldn’t miss an event as extravagant as the Yule Ball. He’s not the type to be sour over little things either just because he didn’t win the Triwizard Tournament. Or perhaps someone else just happened to ask him?

A blood-curdling shriek bursts your eardrums.

Jeongin gives you a nudge with his elbow from behind. “Grilled scream-cheese?” he asks with a mouthful of gluten and carbs, a plate of a sandwich with a (literally) screaming slice of cheese slapped in the middle.

“No, my appetite is ruined,” you say, pushing it away slightly and heaving an audible sigh.

The Ravenclaw boy makes an alarming noise—something similar to ‘uh-oh’ and swallows the big bite from before as fast as he can. “Where’s Chan?”

You only shrug, “Don’t know. Don’t care.” If only you could do that with the train of thoughts that have been going in and out of your ears for the past a hundred and twenty minutes.

“Y/N, you look troubled,” he purses his lips, frowning at you.

“I’m not,” you voice in denial, trying your best not to come off as snappy. No, you will not give up your facade that easily. You won’t leave Chan’s ego nor Jeongin to rest without a fight by saying that you actually want to dance with the heathen!

“Yeah right, let me-“

“Don’t. What if he’s already asked someone else?” You momentarily shudder at how sad you sound. The root beer shouldn’t have hit you this hard. “I mean look at him, he’s Bang Chan. I’m pretty sure those girls from Beauxbatons have been eyeing him up and down since the Tournament.”

Jeongin lets out a huff of laughter in disbelief. “Are you even hearing yourself right now?”

“One of you guys could have asked me. Or I should have paid Jisung to be my partner yesterday. I just, I don’t know, what am I saying? I’m confused.”

Your friend is officially done with your bullshit so he decides for himself that he will now set down his food to make your first and last Yule Ball arguably unforgettable. “Honestly? I can lie and say I would dance with you if you weren’t so full of pride. But truth is, none of us asked you to dance because we all know how badly Chan wants this opportunity. Wake the fuck up! He’s been planning this since forever. I’ll go look for him, wait here,” he points a finger at you before running off, leaving your heartbeat pause awkwardly like a broken record.

The ballroom feels significantly colder now.

“Miss Y/N?”

Ah, perfect timing. What’s another way to phrase ‘being an absolute idiot at a ball’? Oh right, it’s ‘talking to your professor five minutes before the first dance while your friends are socializing left and right’.

“Yes, Headmistress McGonagall?”

Your professor peers around when she realizes that you’re all alone. “Are you and Mister Bang ready?”

“R-ready?” Suddenly, you feel out of place.

“Well, of course. It’s only traditional that the three champions start the first dance!”

“Oh.”

two.

Only the celestial bodies above can know how melancholy you are. But you’re met with a sky without stars tonight.

With your head on your elbows, lips pressed into a straight line, your gaze falls from the endless canvas of darkness to the hustle and bustle of students leaving the Great Hall to head back to their designated dormitories. A sigh. You definitely don’t need to know what they’re going to do for the after-party. Ryujin used to show you an article on this peculiar machine called ‘a laptop’ that the more you sigh, the faster you age. If Chan keeps doing shit like this to you, you’re gonna be all old and wrinkly by the time he comes here.

If he is going to show up at all that is.

The moment you peel your eyes away from the overcrowded main gate, a broad figure is shuffling himself through his drunk Quidditch teammates, sloppy couples, and burnt out professors. He dashes through the empty hallways to reach the spiral staircase, skipping three steps at a time, risking the chances of falling on his face just to get to you.

Pulling himself to a halt at the last step, Chan sees you all curled up against the balcony railings and feels a pang of guilt wash over his innards like a wave. You’re pulling your legs toward your chest, defeated eyes gazing into the space ahead while your hair falls to your face messily. Like you’ve gone through the depths of the Fourth Dimension, struggling through dark matters and a rite of divinity at the end of the line. All for him.

You’re beautiful.

And the amount of affection that’s piling upon his rib cage? Astronomical.

Your gaze is averted away; even with a slight scowl, sloppy clothes and messed up hair, you still flare radiance. He thinks that if a meteor shower is happening right now, you can still outshine it. “You came,” you mention.

For once, Chan finds himself at a loss for words. “Y-Yeah,” he manages to swallow. Yeah? What the fuck, Chan? Is that all you’ve got to say?

“I-I’m sorry, Y/N. Yeji accidentally mistook one of Minho’s potions for her allergy medicine so I gotta take care of that before coming,” he scratches his forearm awkwardly, head hung low with guilt. “I didn’t know it would take that long…”

“Oh.” Wow, jealous stinks. This isn’t pre-school, you’d better snap out of it. “Let’s head back. I wanna check on her before passing out.”

“She’s fine now, sleeps like death. Chaeryeong is there too, you know, just in case.” Chan feels perplexed as he tries to coax anything but the ‘head back’ option from you.

You tilt your head. “And...?”

“I’m afraid you owe me something?” A slow smile begins to outstretch upon his facial muscles, deepening the dimples on either side of his cheeks that you adore the most. “A dance, I believe,” he makes a thinking face while striding toward you.

Coldly, you stand up to dust your dress. “I don’t want to.” You’re not having it, he can tell. But does Bang Chan ever give up?

“A bet is a bet, Y/N.”

Chan’s hand fishes inside the pocket of his trench coat to take out his wand. His hand delicately gives it a swift flick; once, and twice followed by a low mumble from his lips. Immediately, light pulses from the tip of the wand before shooting upward, disintegrating into a million bits as though a starry night is embracing the both of you. He does the same action again to cast a different spell. Music laces through every fiber of air without effort, like honey being poured into your ears.

“It’s just one bet,” he pouts with a hand fully extended toward you.

You should have realized how good Chan looks tonight. A black dress shirt that’s buttoned below appropriate, matching trench coat, silver accessories lining his fingers and ears with naturally tousled hair from running here. He looks so gorgeous that it almost suffocates you, that it almost makes you want to hiss ‘fucking unfair’ out loud.

Enchanted by his poise and grace, your body reacts without the consent of your mind. You seize up when you unknowingly place your hand on top of his, the touch sending electricity down your spine. A simple response has become all too complicated for your brain to process.

You grow breathless the moment he grabs you by the waist and pulls you flush against him. “Yeah, a bet so you’ll leave me alone,” you remark sarcastically to ease your nerves.

“Look, it’s not my fault that the Goblet of Fire chose me to participate in the Tournament,” Chan chuckles lowly, eyes crinkling into crescent moon shapes while he sways you to the soft melody. Dots of light continue to float around weightlessly, reflecting the golden flecks in his eyes. He’s ethereal in the worst way—the way that isn’t healthy for your heart.

But you soon slap on another scowl when you realize he just reminded you of why you’re even here in the first place. If only you weren’t so salty about Slytherin winning your team over at the final Quidditch match before the holiday occurs. Let’s just say you weren’t exactly in the best mind state after getting your ass kicked in your favorite sport.

And Chan wasted no time to slip in between the line of comical humor and your ultimate torment. Which results in—if you get to attend the Triwizard Tournament, he will leave you alone for the rest of your life; but if he is the chosen one, he gets a dance with you at the Yule Ball.

It’s really not all that bad if you think twice about it. Dancing with Bang Chan, the Slytherin’s Quidditch team captain, the student with perfect academics and conduct for six years straight, and now one of the Triwizard Tournament champions this year.

Music threads through the atmosphere and lifts away gravity. You can’t count how many times you have stepped on his toes due to nervousness because you’re too much of a coward to look him in the eye. But he’s the only thing you can seem to focus on right now.

“Besides, don’t you think this is a good opportunity to get rid of the tension between us?” Chan asks honestly, and this causes you to perk up.

“What?”

Lights are twinkling with every step as Chan spins you around gently, your dress billowing out prettily as your heels click against the cold concrete. After that, he swiftly pulls you back into his arms and you exhale in relief like you were meant to be there all this time.

“Don’t act dumb, you’re terrible at it. I know the only reason why you’ve been avoiding me since first year was because of our families’ stupid grudge. ”

Your eyes are cast downward, sadness glinting in your round pupils. “Either way, my parents wouldn’t like to see me talking to you. And look at what we’re doing. It’s going to be catastrophic if they find out.”

“Well, they can’t just magically appear now, can they?” Chan leans a little closer to lock his eyes with yours.

And you break it seconds later because you’re an absolute coward for a Gryffindor. “We’re attending a magic school. Anything is possible.”

“Did they even tell you what the actual problem was in the first place?” he huffs out in faint annoyance.

You shake your head. “I don’t think they’d even remember.”

“Then would you stop giving me that look as if I just shooed your owl way every time I said ‘hi’ on my way to class? Have you ever thought about my feelings? About us being civil for once? Like friends? Or even more so?”

“I-“

“We’re not our parents, Y/N.”

Your heart becomes all erratic at his words. It’s nothing like those fully-fledged, tear-jerking nor cheesyass confessions that you’ve gawked at one too many times, but it makes your heart flutter and stirs up those cliché butterflies inside your stomach. This can’t be compared to the Yule Ball—it’s even better than that. Because it feels as though you and Chan are the only presences that graze the surface of this land. There’s no one to judge, no fingers to point, no gossip spreading like wildfire.

It’s perfect. Almost.

“Us...it’s not- it can’t happen. It’s not supposed to happen. It’s not possible, Chan.”

Wordlessly, he stops, moves both of your hands to his shoulders, and wraps his arms around your torso. The sound of your heartbeat against his is so in sync they just drown out the music completely. Time is frozen in place, leaving you to hang on the edge with him, hanging onto this single moment as thin as the red string of fate. You’re waiting for him to do something, say something.

Just then, Chan cracks a wry smile and pulls you closer by the nape of your neck, resting his forehead comfortably on yours. “We’re attending a magic school. Anything is possible.”

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grailfinders · 3 years ago

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Fate and Phantasms #175

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re entering the Dead Heat Summer Race! That’s right, we’re finally doing some Summer servants... in the Summer! We’re still a year off, but at least they’ve got the spirit!

As an added challenge, I’ll make sure all the teams get their own car! Fran & Maid Alter get a pass since they’re teamed up with people that already have cars (Babbage & Nero, respectively), but the others will all have their own vehicles to ride!

Anyways, today we’re building Nero Claudius... again. I promise this is... probably(?) the last time. She’s a Creation Bard to build up her golden theater on the sea as well as a sick car. She’s also a Draconic Soul Sorcerer to grab those giant guns she’s got on her back.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Team Electric Steam feat. Papa!

Race and Background

Nero is still a Human Noble. This gives her +1 to any two stats, and her Constitution and Charisma will need rounding up in a second, so go with those. She also gets proficiency with History, Persuasion, and Performance, plus the Lucky feat to re-roll her attacks, saves, and checks plus incoming attacks three times per long rest. You might be in a bikini, but you’re still the emperor. You get what you want, and what you want is just about everything.

Ability Scores

Surprising no one, your Charisma is your highest stat. The race was basically a popularity contest, and you won almost every leg of it. Second is Dexterity- you’re fighting in either a dress or a swimsuit, but in either case it’s definitely not armor. Your Constitution is next, races take a while and there’s no time to stop for snacks, so you’ll have to toughen up a bit. After that is Intelligence. You’re flighty, not dumb. Your Strength isn’t amazing, you don’t really need big muscles to look good, but we’re dumping Wisdom. It wouldn’t be high at the best of times, and the caster class suits you to a dangerous degree.

Class Levels

1. Sorcerer 1: Starting off as a sorcerer may get you less health and fewer proficiencies, but you still get Constitution and Charisma saves, as well as Arcana and Religion. You’re a caster now, it’s time to act like one.

The big reason we’re starting here right away is for the goody you get from being a Draconic Bloodline sorcerer, Draconic Resilience. Thanks to your great-great-great-great-great-grandparent Dragon Ancestor being a red dragon, you get an extra 1 hp for each level of this class, as well as a doubled proficiency bonus on charisma checks involving dragons.

You also get an unarmored defense of 13 + your dexterity modifier. Now you can wear a swimsuit anywhere you like without issues. I’d still recommend you don’t meet the king dressed like that, but you’re a noble, I’m sure he’s already expecting a bit of eccentricity.

You can also cast Spells using your Charisma, grab Light and Minor Illusion to put on a good show, Sword Burst so you can actually use a sword (we’ll get better options later), and Magic Missile and Create Bonfire for some quick shots from your cannons. You also get Absorb Elements, because this and Blade Ward are the easiest to get “weakness nullifying” spells, and this one’s actually good.

2. Bard 1: Bouncing over to bard real quick gives you another set of Spells that also use Charisma. You also get Bardic Inspiration, d6s you can hand out as a bonus action to allies. While they have one, they can add it to an attack, save, or check they have to make. You have Charisma Modifier inspiration dice to give out per long rest.

You do whatever you want, and while Prestidigitation isn’t quite that open-ended, it’s still pretty good for a single spell. You also get Friends, Command and Charm Person to be your usual charming self. Grab Cure Wounds for just a touch of healing, and Feather Fall. You’ve got giant metal wings, they should be good for something, right?

You get proficiency with Animal Handling as well.

3. Bard 2: Second level bards are Jacks of All Trades, adding half their proficiency bonus to all ability checks. You can also perform a Song of Rest on short rests, adding 1d6 to healing done. Your dulcet tones inspire everyone around you! (Usually to put as much distance between themselves and you as possible, but hush)

Your inspiration also turns into Magical Inspiration- creatures can use your inspiration to add to their spell’s damage or healing potential.

Finally, you get the spell Unearthly Chorus, which doesn’t have any damage or healing potential! It just makes you even better at charisma checks. It’s also very flavorful for someone about to open a theater.

4. Bard 3: Third level bards graduate from their college, and the College of Creation will one day allow you to afford a car! For now, you only have a Note of Potential, adding extra effects to your inspiration depending on how they’re used. Adding one to an ability check gives the user advantage on the die roll. Adding it to an attack roll deals thunder damage to the target and each creature next to it that fails a constitution save. Adding it to a saving throw adds temporary hp to the user equal to the roll plus your charisma modifier.

You know how I just said you only have the note? We lied. You can also make a Performance of Creation once per long rest or by spending a second level spell slot. You can create any nonmagical item, as long as it is worth less than 20 times your bard level in GP, and medium or smaller. Neither of those restrictions will help you make a car, but they’ll improve as you level up.

Finally, you get Expertise in Animal Handling and Arcana, doubling your proficiency bonus in both skills.

For your spell, Enhance Ability makes it easier to do whatever you set your mind to, giving advantage on one kind of ability check for the duration.

5. Bard 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Charisma for stronger spells and more inspiration.

You also learn the Dancing Lights cantrip so you can put on even better shows, and Pyrotechnics for pretty much the same reason. You need an existing source of fire to set it off, but you can always combo it with Create Bonfire in a pinch.

6. Bard 5: Fifth level bards are a Font of Inspiration, recharging your inspiration on short rests instead of long ones. Also, your inspiration grows to d8s.

You can also make a Motivational Speech with a third level spell slot, giving your party temporary HP, advantage on wisdom saves, and advantage on its next attack if it gets hit by an attack.

7. Bard 6: Countercharm is okay, spend an action to give advantage to your party on charm and frightening saves, but we’re really here for your subclass specialties. Your Performance of Creation can make Large objects now, and you can spend an action to make an Animating Performance, turning a large or smaller (gee, that worked out nicely) object into a Dancing Item for up to an hour. It’ll only dodge on its turn unless you use your bonus action to command the thing, but you can inspire people and command it in the same action. You can make a dancing item once per long rest, or by using third level spell slots. Also, you can only have one at a time. I’m pretty sure a functional car in a medieval setting is worth more than 120 gold though, so we’ll work on it some more later.

For your spell, I’d suggest Suggestion, it’s very useful for making the world revolve around you.

8. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers become a Font of Magic (you are just becoming a font for all sorts of crap, huh?), giving you sorcery points equal to your sorcerer level. You can turn spell slots into points, or points into slots, or even cooler stuff next level!

For now, the big new thing is you can cast Shield. Those giant metal wings make it harder to hit you than you’d think.

9. Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers get that cooler thing I was just talking about, Metamagic! When you get it now, you get two metamagic options that can alter how your spells work; Heightened spells force disadvantage against their save on one creature they effect, and Twinned spells target two creatures instead of only one (Note: twinned spells only work on spells that target a single creature.)

You also get Scorching Ray, giving you a macross missile massacre of fire out of those organcannons you’re hauling around with you.

10. Bard 7: We’re stopping back in bard real quick to grab your fourth level spell, Hallucinatory Terrain. Somehow you always bring the waterfront with you when you use your NP, and now you really can do that!

11. Sorcerer 4: Use this ASI to max out your Charisma for the best spells possible. Speaking of the best spells possible, you can cast True Strike now for advantage on an attack next turn! You can also cast Shadow Blade so you have a sword you can attack with. A cool, spooky sword that deals psychic damage and has advantage against targets in the dark. Yes, it took us half the build to get a sword, that’s what happens when you’re a cavalry class.

12. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers are even better at skill checks now thanks to their Magical Guidance, using your sorcery points to reroll failed checks for, essentially, permanent advantage on whatever you do.

You can also cast Water Walk. Eventually your NP will involve actual water, so you’ll want to be prepared for that. Forcing your whole party to do the doggy paddle every time you want to cut loose isn’t a great look, be a team player here.

13. Sorcerer 6: Our last stop on the sorcerer train is sixth level, giving you an Elemental Affinity for fire. All your fire damage spells get your charisma added to their damage, and you can spend a sorcery point after casting one of them to gain resistance to fire damage for an hour. Always remember to apply sunscreen throughout the day. Now more than ever, that shit gets hot.

To take advantage of this new affinity, you can cast Melf’s Minute Meteors, launching chunks of those cannons off and firing a couple per turn at your enemies, dealing fire damage in a small area around their destination. Creatures have to make a dexterity save, and if they succeed they take half damage. Like scorching ray, these are multiple instances of fire damage, so add your charisma to each one.

14. Bard 8: Back in bard for good now! Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity so you can start being good with a sword. Just in case that’s still not enough, you can cast Charm Monster now too. You have enough gravitas to bend the authors to your will, I’m sure you can handle a manticore or two.

15. Bard 9: Your Song of Rest grows to 1d8 now, but more importantly you get fifth level spells! Animate Objects is another way to build your car (we’re still 5 levels away from performance of creation building it) or to get your cannon bits into position.

16. Bard 10: Tenth level bards get another cantrip! Honestly, we probably should’ve gotten Mending earlier. Adventuring in an outfit where a single snapped string can completely remove your top isn’t a great idea. You also get Magical Secrets, giving you two spells from any spell list. Flame Blade gives you a more thematically appropriate weapon, and Fireball is a big boom you can fire off.

On top of that, you get another round of Expertise, doubling your proficiency in Performance and Persuasion.

You also get a bigger inspiration, letting you hand out d10s.

17. Bard 11: Eleventh level bards get sixth level spells, like Mass Suggestion. It’s like Suggestion, but for the masses.

18. Bard 12: Use this last ASI to bump up your Dexterity again for a higher AC and better swordplay.

19. Bard 13: Your song of rest increases to a d10 as well, and you get the seventh level spell of champions, Mirage Arcane! If you make an illusion you can really feel, is it still an illusion? Anyways, you can make your golden theater now and the ocean surrounding it, and it all lasts for 10 days!

20. Bard 14: Your capstone level of bard lets you hit a Creative Crescendo, creating up to five items at once when you use your Performance of Creation. One of those objects can be Huge, the rest all have to be Small or smaller. You also don’t have to worry about cost when making objects, so that car is finally within reach!

You also get Magical Secrets again for two more spells. Prismatic Spray gives your golden theater some big ass cannons, creating a 60′ cone of light that deals different kinds of damage and effects. You also get Tenser’s Transformation, turning you from a full caster class into a proper fighter once more. You get temporary HP, permanent advantage on weapon attacks, you deal extra force damage, gain proficiency with all weapons as well as strength and constitution saves, and you can attack twice per action. The downsides are you can’t cast spells and after it ends you have to make a constitution save afterwards to prevent exhaustion, but I think it’s appropriate that we finally gave Nero those migraines she’s always complaining about.

Pros:

As usual, nero’s build is pretty adaptable, with a little bit of everything to help out any dedicated role in the party. She has healing, dps spells, utility, social graces, pretty much all skill checks, and also literally the ability to make whatever item she might need in a given situation.

Tenser’s Transformation is meant to turn wizards into melee fighters, and you’re (more or less) a bard. With almost 200 HP thanks to this spell and the ability to make your own armory, you can turn yourself into a terrifying war god practically at will.

Elemental Affinity can be really scary if you game the system right. Max out a casting of scorching ray to deal 20d6+50 damage to a single target. That’s better than a 9th level fireball. It also gives resistance to one of the most common damage types!

Cons:

Fire is one of the most common damage types, so it’s also one of the most common resistances. You have other stuff to fall back on, but it’ll put a crimp in your style if you go up against fire elementals. Or water elementals. Or fiends. Or- you get the picture.

We don’t improve on physical stats until level 14, which means you’ll be stuck with an AC of 15 for a majority of the game, and your sword skills won’t be that useful until very late in the campaign.

The big moment where the build really comes together as Nero is around level 19-20, meaning most players will never actually reach that point. Sorry guys, Nero is a luxury few can afford.

#fate grand order #FGO #D&D 5e #DND #Nero Claudius (Caster)#Sorcerer #Bard

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blueberrypossum · 4 years ago

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You are my weakness

Howdy yall!! I wanted to get this out for the Hollidays so that everyone got their daily dose of Leonard love (I can't get this man out of my head).

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️: There are swear words and little bit of adult content (such as making out and yearning)

I don't know if others are like me, but I love listening to music while reading fanfiction so here's a few songs I was listening to while writing

Hope you guys enjoy!

(BTW the word fat head is slang for stupid or foolish person, I just see Danny using slang and such)

Okay, that’s not how the conversation went, Mickey is lying to you!”

“That electric pole couldn’t lie to his worst enemy!”

“I guess you’re below that point then, aren’t ya?”

The orge yokai let out a bellowed laugh next to you and you couldn’t help but laugh along with him. You both were hanging out on his balcony, Danny, Mickey, and a few of your other friends were back inside; you all had a successful heist and were celebrating back at his and his gang’s place. You slightly move the mug in your hands, the hot chocolate slowly swallowing the marshmallows Mickey had placed in it.

With winter hitting the surface world, the Hidden City had gotten colder and some of the witches had cast a spell to let it snow, the fluffy little flurries covering the city in a thin blanket of white. You looked back over at Leonard and couldn’t suppress the smile that grew across your face. You’ve been friends with him and his gang for years, always working together to be known as some of the best thieves down in this golden city.

You brought your jacket close, well, Leonard’s jacket. Anytime you were cold and forgot to bring something warmer, you were always up to steal Leonard’s clothes. He never complained and never asked and you would make sure to leave it where you found it. You could hear the faint laughs of Danny, Mickey, and your friends inside, knowing that they were placing bets on the card game they were playing. As you took a sip of your drink, it was Leonard’s turn to watch you silently. He took in your red cheeks, how your fingers twitched against the warmth of your cup, and how the snow stuck to the top of your head like a crown.

It has been years; years of earning each other’s trust, months of becoming close friends, weeks of falling for you. He watched as you ran your fingers through your hair, the snowflakes that had settled melted or pushed away. Your arm was touching his and he tried his damn hardest to not let it show that it bothered him, how he wanted to lean into you, lean into your welcoming scent and breath you in instead of the icy wind.

You were so addictive and he hated it.

You let out another giggle and he gave you one of his side grins.

“What’s so funny?”

“I was just thinking about today. How Danny literally started to sing to the crowd while we made our escape, maybe he should join a band.”

“With that ugly mug? He would mostly likely have to be the drummer since people swoon over the singer, guitar player, and then the drummer.”

“Does that mean you get to be the guitar player since you play?”

“And leave Mickey to be the singer? I think we’re better off as thieves.”

You placed your hand over your mouth to hide your laughs as the jokes finally got to you, her body unwilling leaning against Leonard to hold you up as your body heaved up laughs. The tall yokai gladly took in your weight, your warmth spreading over him like wildfire and couldn’t help but let a light hue of red cover his face.

You were extremely close now, to the point that if you breathed the little ice cloud would cover his face. You were still letting out chuckles as you finally looked up at him, tears barely forming at the corners of your eyes, causing your eyes to sparkle like deep twilight. All titans above he has fallen for you, he has fallen so deep for you he was surprised he was still standing.

“Are you done laughing? I’m pretty sure the humans above heard you.”

You roll your eyes and set your mug over on the ledge of the railing, the steam of the hot beverage slowly dancing with the breeze.

“You know bad jokes are my weakness. Unlike you, I can actually admit to it.”

“I can totally admit my weaknesses.”

“Really? What’s your number one weakness then?”

This was it. This was the time to say his bloody feelings, to let you know that he thinks about you nonstop at random times of the day, how he makes sure that nothing hurts you during their heists, how he lays in his bed and thinks, just for a bloody second, what it would be like if you were there next to him. He could feel sweat start to build up on his body as the silence continued between you two. You were so genuine, loyal, funny, and your features could make anyone swoon.

His mouth opened up to say something, anything, until Mickey came crashing through the door. Leonard quickly moved over to where you and him were no longer touching and he moved his face to hide the blush that covered it. Heavy laughs and booing bursted out from the apartment as the cold air was let into the warm building.

“Y/N! Y/N! I need your help! Danny cannot beat my ass at this next game!” The eel yelled, his face warm with the booze mixed within his hot chocolate. He grabbed your arm and you let out a laugh as the eel basically fell onto you as he tried to drag you back into the apartment. Leonard gave Mickey an evil eye as he dragged you away, a low growl rumbling out of his throat as he turned back to the night sky, his beaten up fingers running through his hair. Maybe it was a sign, to either let you go or to go after you, he didn’t know.

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

You had left the apartment after your friends left, and Leonard couldn’t help but stare at the front door. Mickey was passed out on the couch, clinging to his handful of cards he had from the final game and Danny was cleaning up the last of the mess.

The green yokai looked back at the balcony and saw that the snow was building up speed and little piles were being created.

“So, ya going after Y/N?”

Leonard instantly perked at the sound of your name and he quickly turned to Danny, who’s eyebrow was raised and a frown was crossed over his face.

“What the hell are you talkin about?”

The rat yokai let out a gust of air as he threw the last bit of trash into the trashcan and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Ya know that Y/N has fallen head over heels for ya, right? I knew that you were a fat head, but not that much.”

Leonard looked over to his side and his hands balled into fists, the emotions that raged inside of him were just too much, he had flings in the past, but he didn’t want that with you.You weren’t just going to be a fling. He wanted you. He needed you.

“What should I do, Dan?”

The tall rat was a little taken aback, never once in his life had he seen his friend so defeated, almost helpless, so desperate that he was asking for help. Danny looked around until his eyes landed on Leonard’s jacket, the one you had been wearing an hour ago.

He handed it over to Leonard.

“Go.”

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The alleyway was silent as you walked home, your hands stuffed into the pockets of your hoodie as you watched your small breaths create clouds in front of you. The last few hours flashed around in your head and your heart went weak at the sight of Leonard that jumped through your head. You wondered what he was going to say, you wondered if he was going to say anything at all, you wondered if he only saw you as a friend.

You heard hard and fast footsteps behind you and your hand was instantly out with a knife in your dominant hand, prepared for anything. You turned just in time to see who it was that was racing after you, almost trying to catch up.

“Leonard?”

The ogre yokai was out of breath by the time he got to you, his coat and jeans clinging onto him for dear life just like his hands were with his jacket. He took in several gulps of air and just when he thought he had gotten his breath back, it was taken away from him once again.

Snow was once again sprinkled onto your hair and even your eyelashes and your cheeks were clinging for any kind of heat. The city lights dusted you with a golden blur and in the silence he could hear and see your steady breathing from your chest.

Holy fuck you were exhilarant.

He was so distracted that he barely heard your voice against the pounding in his ears.

“What are you doing here? Did something happen?”

He looked down at you and then lower at his jacket, his fingers creating fingerprints due to the cold.

“You, uh, you forgot this,” he grunted and swiftly handed it to you. You took the jacket into your hands and gave him a frown.

“Len, this is your jacket.”

Shit shit!! What do I say? What do I do?

“Yeah, well, you wear it so much it might as well be yours,” he growled as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets, his eyes wandering around so he didn’t have to look at you.

You were still confused but put on the jacket anyway, the old scents that you had held dear hours ago flooded back with open arms. You could smell the sweat of the jacket, the adventure, the thrill of being Loathsome Leonard, you could smell his cologne that made him smell like a foggy pine forest with nothing left but moss covered stones and mysteries left unsolved.

“Thank you, but I’m guessing that's not why you are truly here,” you said with a light sigh, the chilly environment no longer bothering you. He watched as you brought the collar of the jacket closer and noticed how you smelled it and it made his throat and mouth dry.

“It’s hard to talk to you, you know that?” He huffed out as he scratched the back of his neck.

“I know, but you know it’s just me, right?”

Yeah. He knows it was just you, and that’s what made it unbearable to stand here and not kiss you, have you, to be yours.

He tried to think of something up, something cheesy and romantic like Danny, or truthful and spontaneous like Mickey, but if you liked that, you wouldn’t be hanging out around him, you wouldn’t want to be with him.

“Isn’t my weakness obvious, Y/N?”

Your frown only went deeper as your brain tried to think of what the hell he was talking about, and then the conversation came lashing back like a wip. You tilted your head at him and he rolled his eyes and looked at you again, but not at you, but the piece of clothing you were wearing. The jacket. The jacket you were wearing. You.

Oh.

All the blood in your body raced to your face and your hands were moving through your hair so fast that you were surprised that you weren’t bald yet. You tried to remain eye-contact with Leonard but it was almost like you were back in school, blushing and stuttering over a small crush. But this wasn’t a crush, this couldn’t be a crush, this was something fully developed, more well rounded and shaped, this wasn’t something you could just get over with.

The silence was almost too much for the yokai and for a split second he could feel fear and regret hit his gut like a punch, until your lips crashed into his like a freight train.

You were standing on the end of your toes and your hands were holding his face as you kissed him, praying to the titans above that you didn’t mess it up.

Leonard almost went dead within your hands as the heat from your lips traveled over to his, his hands had slipped out his pockets but they stood stiff near you as if afraid to touch you. For Leonard it felt as if the kiss lasted a few lifetimes full of adventure and heartache, but the kiss was short and simple.

You pulled back as you looked up at him with worried eyes. Maybe you had taken it too far, maybe you should’ve had him specify what he meant to double-check, or maybe just-

His lips were back on yours again, this time with meaning, this time with everything he fucking had. You instantly melted into the kiss and so did he, his hands holding onto your face, his thumb softly caressing the skin under it. That hand soon moved to behind your head as your hands went to his chest, your fingers gently holding onto his shirt. With his size and strength he was practically looming over you, consuming your scent, your passion, your taste. Your head started to dip as the kiss started to get heated, more meaning being pushed into it.

You barely had time to come up for air before he attacked your lips again and soon your back was against the wall of the alleyway and everything in your head was getting dizzy, all you knew was that Leonard smelled good, he felt good, and you’ve craved this for months.

Leonard couldn’t keep himself off of you, unless you said something, he was going to chase and explore this feeling you were giving him. His strong hands roamed your waist and couldn’t help but pin you against the brick wall of the alleyway. Your lips were soft, delicate, and your scent was practically calling his name, and your hands traveled up his chest and hooked around his neck and to all the higher beings above to say that you gave him a high was an understatement, because highs don’t last forever, but the love he felt for you would.

“Leonard,” you moaned into his mouth and he instantly slammed his hand up against the wall next to your head, his instincts going haywire within him.

He had never heard you say his name like that. He had only dreamt of it, only allowed his mind to wonder to you groaning and moaning his name during desperate times.

He growled into your mouth and it shook you to your very core to the point that it felt like you were sweating during the winter storm around you. You were able to get another breath before his lips once again found yours and he growled deep into your mouth. It’s almost like he knew you would go weak in the knees because he was holding onto you.

It felt as if he was made for loving you.

“Leonard.”

There it was again, the desperation, the thrill in your voice that was laced with need, you needed him, you wanted him. Another growl rippled from his throat as his kisses slowly trailed down your cheek, then jawline, and then your neck. You let out a gasp as his hands dipped under you and he lifted you up, pushing you more against the wall as he had full and utter control.

He took in your sensitive skin, the shiver that ran through your body, how his jacket looked on you. He couldn’t get enough, he could never get enough of you, he wanted this to last, to taste and savor every last second with you. But, when you said his name again, it was filled with panic.

“Leonard! The cops!”

The ogre yokai quickly turned over to the end of the alleyway; there were two cops standing there, flashing their flashlights down the dimly lit alleyway. As he questioned why the hell they would come down here and ruin his and yours night, he looked above your head to see the obvious No Loitering sign.

“Shit.”

He gently let you down and took your hand and headed in the opposite direction, the cops instantly spotting you two and gave chase. Of course, the cops wouldn’t do much to just two people loitering, but you both had just done a heist and you both knew that your faces would be plastered over every police station.

You and Leonard quickly darted into every alleyway, trying to find a building or area where you could stay hidden until the cops lost your trail. You couldn’t help but laugh as you both raced away from the cops, you felt like a kid again, running away from the cops for vandalizing or when you didn’t know how to hide from the law when you were younger.

Leonard heard your laughter and he rolled his eyes at you, once again laughing at the face of danger. But, you were his weakness, and he was glad of it.

#rottmnt #rottmnt loathsome leonard #loathsome leonard x reader #rottmnt loathsome leonard x reader #rottmnt mud dogs #rottmnt mud dogs x reader #Spotify

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scottymcgeesterwrites · 4 years ago

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Final Fantasy VII Remake Review

Year: 2020

Platform: PS4

I finished this game shortly after posting all my main single-player series Final Fantasy reviews. I was still digesting it and thinking about it to put together my review.

Synopsis:

The Shinra Electric Power Company rules over the city of Midgar, and the eco-terrorists AVALANCHE stop at nothing to try and prevent the life essence of the planet from being used as energy. Barrett, leader of AVALANCHE, hires a mercenary named Cloud Strife for their bombing mission on a Shinra Mako Reactor. Cloud doesn’t care much for the greater cause and only wants his pay. But then, after a mission goes awry, he meets Aerith, a flower girl who is the descendant of the Ancients. He quickly finds himself wrapped up in the greater conflict against Shinra.

Gameplay:

Final Fanatasy VII Remake has one of the best gameplay styles of any Final Fantasy game. It’s that good. It seems like after all these years, this is what Square really wanted to do. Since this was released after Final Fantasy XV, it’s pretty much the successor to its gameplay. While Final Fantasy XV has you more or less spamming the attack button with occasional spell casting and item usage, Final Fantasy VII Remake has you much more involved with the Materia system, abilities, and guarding/evading. One notable example is that Final Fantasy XV always told you when you should guard in order to counter, but Final Fantasy VII Remake has you figure that out on your own.

The abilities are so goddamn flashy and cool during gameplay. Tifa’s moves are quite possibly the most awe-inspiring.

My only complaint is locking onto the enemy during battle. You have to press down on R3 to lock onto an enemy, and I sometimes found that jarring with the camera controls. Sometimes I accidentally disengaged from an enemy and missed an attack. Since your moves are dependent on an Active Time Battle system, you can waste a turn if you get hit while conjuring a spell or taking out an item. That sometimes made me go “REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”. But in the long run, those were very small gripes. The battles are so much fun.

Since the game follows only the Midgar portion of the story, it’s linear. But you reach sections where you are free to roam around and do sidequests before continuing with the main objective. I’m sure the later releases of the remake will feel much less constrained. But this remake does a good job at expanding upon Midgar without feeling too redundant.

Graphics:

Jesus Christ. This game is gorgeous.

Both in-game graphics and pre-rendered cutscenes. The switch between a pre-rendered cutscene and in-game cutscene has become much more seamless than ever before.

If you remember my Final Fantasy XV review, I mentioned how NPCs and other in-game animations seemed stiff and stilted. Final Fantasy VII Remake takes steps to remedy that. Characters have more fluid movements and everyone’s lips move a lot more. However, lip movements can come off as awkward. My friend was watching me play, and during one in-game cutscene they said “Something looks weird with their lips.” At times, lip movements seem too dynamic when the character is standing relatively still, which comes off looking like Mr. Ed the horse trying to talk.

Despite those small awkward things, the rest of the game is extremely polished. Remember how blocky Final Fantasy VII was? We now finally see these characters and the world of Midgar brought to life in beautiful HD graphics.Like holy shit. Everyone looks so beautiful.

Before I played this game, I was a Tifa stan, but now, ho man, they made Aerith so much more appealing.

SO.

MUCH.

MORE.

APPEALING.

And Tifa shines better than ever. I’m very tempted to just gush about her but here is just a couple enticing gifs.

Imagine playing this game and still thinking gamers are oppressed.

Story:

Final Fantasy VII Remake follows from the start of the original game up until the party leaving Midgar. Square plans to release the rest of the remake later.

I have to say, they made the story a lot more engaging than the original. That may seem like blasphemy, but the dialogue and voice acting was just so damn good. Some of my favorite moments included the banter between Aerith and Cloud. Like I said, I wasn’t into Aerith that much until I played the remake. She’s just so damn cute and charming. One of my favorite parts was when she said, “Shit” and almost fell, after mentioning how she didn’t need help climbing a ladder. Her voice is so lovely and amusing to listen to. The growing romance between her and Cloud doesn’t come off as forced or cringey, because we now spend so much time with Aerith.

Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie have much more important roles in the story. This gives us a greater sense of Avalanche as a ragtag group.

Entire chapters focus on them, especially Jessie. I cringed a bit at Jessie to be honest, despite her popularity. She now comes off as a copy of Aerith in the sense that she comes on strong to Cloud. But really strong. Like “I want that D right now” strong. Cloud has officially become your usual anime boy who is good at everything that can make any woman magically fall in love with him. So that whole thing made me roll my eyes.

There are some new characters inserted, such as the SOLDIER Roche. I thought they were going to do more with him but, apparently not. The new characters can be a bit “meh”, such as Chadley. Johnny isn’t a new character but may as well be since his role is so expanded. He was probably the most annoying, constantly calling Cloud “bro”. That gave me some bad flashbacks of Prompto’s modern-speak in Final Fantasy XV.

The remake adds a certain new plot element that you’re not sure at first where it’s going until it’s revealed at the very end. The ending can be a bit out there, as the original storyline is changed significantly. SIGNIFICANTLY I was curious if this game would make sense to first-timers, but, probably not when you reach the end. The ending heavily relies on you knowing the original game.

My only complaint about the story was how they started the motorcycle chase cutscene. That was my favorite cutscene of the original game, with Cloud driving down the stairs and the group getting into the car. I liken it to the barrel scene in the original Hobbit novel. But like the Hobbit movie, they made the motorcycle scene pretty outrageous. Like so over-the-top that my initial reaction was to scoff at it. It also struck me as awkward, because there were many moments when the bad guys could have shot them but just. . .stood there watching Cloud kick their asses.

Some people may be upset by how the remake ended, while others find it cool. I thought it was cool. But at the same time, now I want an official “remastered” Final Fantasy VII too. Just a game strictly like the original but with vastly improved graphics.

Music:

The music was pure eargasm. There were many moments when I fanboyed screaming “THIS IS THE SONG! YESSS!” They remixed the songs so well, from the battle theme to the Shinra theme, and the Wall Market theme. Everything you loved about the original soundtrack but MORE gusto, more pomp and circumstance.

A couple complaints though.

1 – I think the focus on making the music more orchestrated takes away the mood of the original music. I missed some of the synth and electronic from the original game because it related well to the technological city of Midgar. The synth and electronic featured in the original game gave off a brooding, darker mood.

2 – I didn’t like what they did with the Crazy Motorcycle music.

Notable Theme:

It’s difficult to find pieces of the original soundtrack as of today, because Square is taking them down from YouTube. Still, some people have managed to keep up some of the coolest tracks from this game. Unfortunately, the videos have gameplay footage, which could be spoilers, technically.

I’ll just leave it as this:

The Jenova battle theme is a much longer piece in this game, but it pays off at the final quarter of the song.

Trust me.

Verdict:

The remake does the original justice. We waited so long for this game and it delivered, unlike Final Fantasy XV.

I don’t think a first-timer would really appreciate it though as much as a fan of the original game would. Sure, there’s nothing stopping you from just going into it without knowing the original game, but there are things that one wouldn’t understand unless you played the original game. In that sense, the word “remake” is a bit misleading. Maybe they’re “rebooting” the entire Compilation of Final Fantasy VII? It seems like they’re going for what they did with the newer Star Trek movies, if you catch my drift. But I can’t say for sure exactly where they’re going with it until the next game comes out, but it seems that way to me.

#final fantasy #final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii remake #tifa lockhart #aerith gainsborough #cloud x tifa #cloud x aerith #aerith #tifa #square #onvideogames #video games #final fantasy jessie #jessie avalanche #final fantasy vii remake jessie

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shoichee · 4 years ago

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GoMs + Kagami as Persona Users

Headcanons on the Generation of Miracles (and Kagami) if they were to become a persona user in the world of the Persona series (Kuroko and Momoi included)

@akichan-th THIS IS FOR YOU

Warning: KNB series spoilers !!

Kuroko Tetsuya

since his presence is nonexistent in the real world, as a phantom thief, he’d probably desire to be a noticeable hero, you know? even in the 22.5 OVA, he told Kise that passing around wasn’t fun but he was going to do it for the sake of the team

his phantom thief outfit would be flashy in a sense of maybe eye-catching color schemes, or bold patterns

his attire could be baggy/oversized navy blue/black street clothing with TASTEFUL neon-colored accents and his mask would be a neon-colored huge sports shades/goggles situation (i was about to say some trendy sunglasses but sunglasses don’t stay on at all); he’s a skater boy ???? basically??

like, his PT attire could very well be a Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight DLC outfit 👀 it has those vibes

persona element is curse and let me explain why: he doesn’t have the gifted physique like the other GoMs and he’s cursed to rely on others for him to make a difference, and his motif has always been “shadow” ALSO he’s the PHANTOM sixth player YOU CAN’T CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE

he’s a front-line battler, but his skills are very support heavy: support skills that increase attack and defense for his teammates; i also wanna say he has spells that inflict dizziness ailments because in the anime, players are always losing their shit and whipping their heads around to find this tiny boy LMAO

he would definitely have a signature move that would direct all enemy attacks and status moves to himself for a set amount of turns to aid his teammates

his persona would have an extremely high Endurance and higher than average Luck stat but everything else is an all-time low

i’m going to say it, his shooting weapon is gonna be a paintball gun filled with neon paint just to fuck with the shadows and still make it HURT

code name would be “Umbra” (which means innermost part of a shadow) or “Ghost;” imagine some PT member shouting, “Oh no! Umbra’s knocked down!” and all the shadow sees is this brightass, neon kid on the floor

i would love his codename to be “Shadow” but there’s already the term shadow to describe the monsters in the metaverse

Kise Ryota

he views a “rebel” as your basic punk

since he’s a model, he knows japanese punk fashion very well

guess who’s gonna come into the metaverse being this hot ass punk boy? Kise motherfucking Ryota

black spike collar

lots of those tiny chains and harness/buckle action somewhere

ripped black leather pants that give Joker’s own leather pants a run for its money PLUS WITH SHINY BLACK BELT

lots of patchwork and stuff

THIS IS WHAT MORE OR LESS I’M TALKING ABOUT IF YOU WANT VISUAL REFERENCES

his mask would totally be a visor goggle to add further to the punk theme

part of me is biased that Kise is a blondie and “kise” is based off of “yellow” and Ryuji is blonde and so now i headcanon him as the electric element

okay, but since he’s an “all-rounder” he’ll probably be able to access mid-tier level attacks of all elements, including almighty to an extent

but if i was basing his element off of personality, he’d be ice for sure; he’s actually cold-hearted to people whom he doesn’t consider “worthy” and the anime only showed his friendly side because most of the time, he’s shown talking to his friends and people he respects

speaking of all-rounder, his stats would be all high all around, with his Magic stat peaking the highest

Midorima Shintarou

this boy is a bit tricky to figure out what his PT attire would be

he doesn’t have any time to think about “what he would be as a rebel” type of thing

however, if he were to desire to become something, i’d say he would want to be a supernatural being who can distribute good luck for himself every day

think of those JRPG wizard/mage/warlock outfit motifs (and they match up nicely with the idea of astrology and horoscopes); probably lots of brown/beige/hues of green scheme? or a black/various colors of purple for a FULL on witch vibe

it makes sense too because as someone who always shoots from afar and never dunks, mage classes always cast from afar and never attack up close to their opponent

and his frog puppets remind me of a witch’s animal familiars LMAO

there you have it

his mask would be a dark dark purple or a pure black domino mask that has little stars littered sparingly everywhere on said mask

his shooting weapon? my guy is stacked on staves ready to cast long-range spells

wind element for sure (because his basketball shots all catch air with lots of hang time | (• ◡•)|) with tons of gun skills

signature move would be a magic skill that never misses no matter what (his range is the entire metaverse)

his persona stats are also pretty well rounded but his highest stats would be Magic and Luck, with Endurance being a close runner up

Aomine Daiki

also hard to figure out a PT attire for this guy

according to KUROFES, his alternative career would be a police officer so i would think he despises criminals and the Phantom Thieves altogether ?

if anything, he’s more suited for the S.E.E.S. investigation team in Persona 3

Aomine doesn’t give a fuck, but he has a soft spot to protect others so like having a gun evoker definitely suits him more than a mask summon BRJWBDJW

i see him as a fire element, but his persona would have a lot more physical skills than anything else

bonus: since he used to be Kuroko’s “light,” he can have some mid-tier level bless skills

to make a reference his “formless” shots and forms, as well as his rapid changes of pace, his signature move would be a 5-hit physical skill that changes targets with every hit

statwise, his Agility stat is the highest out of everyone in the GoM, and his Strength and Endurance would be runner up stats; his Magic stat would be extremely dismal

Murasakibara Atsushi

this guy thinks about nothing but food and how he hates Teppei-species people basketball, so honestly he’s not interested in the Phantom Thieves business

like what? Murasakibara dressed in a getup? it’s a big “press X to doubt”

so i envision him to be more suitable for Persona 4, where he has to confront the other self that loves basketball and truly does care about people, and he had to be honest and accept that side for him to attain a persona

would he ever go back to the said “persona world” to go fight some shadows? unless there’s a good reason why he should or you bribed him with snacks, he won’t budge an inch

just give this man a Persona 4 school uniform and he’s ready to fight

his persona would primarily have physical skills, with lots of “wall” support skills, element “break” skills, and lots of passive skills (lots of nulls/resists) available for it to learn

highest stat for him would be Strength, then Endurance, and surprisingly have Agility as the runner up

he’s a huge tank of a persona user

Akashi Seijuro

i’ve talked about his PT outfit in this headcanon here, including his mask and why

hear me out, since this man is good at everything in school, and since there are archery clubs in Japanese schools, i wouldn’t be surprised if he was a Robin Hood with the scopes; what am i tryna say? his shooting weapon would be bow & arrows

i feel like people would automatically think he’s a bless/curse element like Akechi since “he has two sides,” but i feel like it’s not exactly right? if anything, i headcanon him to be more of a psychokinesis element

why? i want to attribute that to his emperor’s eye and his perfect passings, both each specialties from their respective “sides” of Akashi, and that requires extreme precision, almost to the level of “telepathy”

there’s also everyone thinking he can see the future too i mean

in the end, Akashi’s dual sides merged into one again, so having a whole bless/curse element wouldn’t even make sense anymore

but i will say, this man deserves to have a persona with almighty skills back to back

this guy isn’t the captain for no reason

so his persona would utilize psychokinesis and almighty skills, with special buff skills that increase critical rates for his allies (to refer to the fact that his passings enhance other players); his persona would also enjoy a large selection of passive skills to choose from to either be ultimate support or ultimate offensive sweeper

to also reiterate from the mentioned headcanon i linked, his code name would either be “Crimson” or “Scarlet”

his persona is a literal glass cannon, referring to the fact that Akashi is actually a mentally fragile basketball player; extremely high Strength, Magic, and Agility (but not as high as Aomine though) stats, average Luck stat, but extremely low Endurance stat

Momoi Satsuki

Momoi, i think, would envision herself in the metaverse as someone who’s never underestimated because of her usual demeanor or physical looks

even me, i got fooled thinking she was just only a fanservice girl and not this incredibly intelligent girl who was critical to her teams’ successes

so i would think she would imagine herself to be in a huge respectable position of power, like a lieutenant or general, who can command others and strategize to victory

her outfit would be similar to the attire from the Assassin’s Faith set from Love Nikki with the black Army Floppy Hat from the Army Major set on top (also from Love Nikki)

color scheming i can imagine a lot of black/white with gold trimmings/accents here and there

her mask is a Venetian eye mask i can literally see it; it’s so pretty with the gold plating !!

her role would definitely be a navigator + analyzer/tactician from the backlines, so while she isn’t in the battle most of the times, if worse comes to shove, she’ll be in the frontlines as a last resort

in other words, she’s a Futaba, but she isn’t a sitting duck and can fight if needed

she has an incredible Luck stat, higher than average Agility stat, but average stats for the rest (Magic, Strength, and Endurance)

ailment, healing, support, and buff skills are all at her disposal, along with some gun skills (which can definitely be broken when paired with her high Luck stat)

“Duchess” (a woman having a noble rank) would be a really cute codename for her

Kagami Taiga

why do i literally see him as a shinobi (ninja)

i have no idea why i do, but i think it’s just his name:

“While Kagami's name is associated with the ‘tiger’, Himuro's name means ‘dragon’. In Chinese mythology, the Azure Dragon of the East and the White Tiger of the West are eternal rivals. This rivalry is further expressed in their surnames: ‘Hi (氷)’ means ‘ice’ while ‘Ka (火)’ translates as ‘fire’.” - KNB wiki

so i literally see both Himuro and Kagami as rival clans duking it out

jokes aside, Kagami is a very honorable player, but he did at one point exhibited a “darker side” to himself, playing selfishly and being arrogant in the beginning

shinobis were considered to be “dishonorable” and “beneath the honor” of the samurai in their eras, so i feel that this could be a great image for what Kagami thinks is a “rebel”

being a ninja would make use of his jumping skills too

i imagine him in a fitted black halter neck top (so his abs are for us to see), with an iconic long red scarf wrapping his neck and hanging down to his waist at the back side

black forearm guards/wraps?

and then he has mahogany/dark red??/black???? loose cloth wrapped around his waist, like how you would tie a jacket over your waist ?? and then black nu-bakama pants and finally some dark boots for those pants to be tucked in

no one can convince me otherwise, but he’s gotta have a red full-face oni mask with black horns and some golden tiger stripes on the sides of the mask and around the eyes

HIS PERSONA ELEMENT IS BLESS BECAUSE HE IS KUROKO’S “LIGHT”

he would totally have some almighty skills and “Heat Riser,” a move that raises all of the user’s attack, defense, and accuracy/evasiveness (because the colors of the move’s animation remind me of Direct Drive Zone, something that was pretty much unlocked by Kagami for the team)

his persona is one of the OP/late game personas where all their stats are amazing across the board; even if his stats were high all around, his “lowest” would be his Luck stat

codename for him is “Tiger” no one cannot argue with me for this one NRNEIJFEO

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inkribbon796 · 4 years ago

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Like a House of Cards Ch. 1: Showtime

Summary: Four heroes have been replaced and their intentions are less than pure. The city is dangling on a knife’s edge over a precipice. Dominoes knocked over as the city tumbles like a house of cards.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

It was a long time coming. A long time coming.

It was early, almost sunrise when Logan and Ethan walked into the base. The door opening like the curtains of a show for them. It was early, the only people who saw them walking in who weren’t already gone on the early patrol were Chase and J.J.

So needless to say, they weren’t in danger of getting caught.

Because the four of them weren’t who they were pretending to be. They were the Suits, sent to replace and impersonate certain heroes they were similar to.

Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs. Disguised as heroes meant to protect and save people.

Logan and Ethan walked in, Logan casting a glance to the hidden camera he knew for a certainty was in the entry hall, his pupils displaying with robotic precision and aura tapping against the barriers Marvin and Nate had long since set up as a defense, but since Mare and Lunky had passed by the sensors so many times it didn’t trip an alarm.

Chase and J.J watched them from the communications room, not altering the cameras so that Bing wasn’t tipped off. He’d been conducting his private investigations recently and none of them wanted to tip him off while he was so suspicious of all of them. Since talking to Joan, the android had cleared those in Dark’s family, and Jackie but that was it.

Ethan went into the kitchen to make some coffee as Logan relieved Chase and J.J from the watch and slid into the seat where he performed the duties that the real Logan was supposed to do. This close to their mission point precision was crucial, and any time wasted fighting Bing was a detrimental loss.

Logan was sitting in the communications room, working at one of the computers, when Ethan brought him a coffee. The room was empty except for him.

Ethan walked in, sipping on his coffee, smiling as he set one down for Logan, “So, how’s it going?”

“Without incident,” Logan answered. “You should get to bed, get ready for the next mission?”

“Geez, Sargent Frowns, it’ll all be taken care of,” Ethan took another sip. “Bastards won’t know what hit them.”

Ethan chuckled as he took a couple sips of his coffee, “Well if you don’t mind me I’ll just “go to bed” or whatever.”

Logan nodded and as Ethan was leaving the room, Joan was coming up the hallway.

“You seen any of the Sides recently?” Joan asked Ethan, looking worried.

“Yeah,” Ethan pointed to the door, “Logan’s in the comms room.”

“Is Patton in there with him?” Joan looked a little bit relieved.

“I saw him while I was out on patrol,” Ethan lied to them. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“Get everyone in the base together, we’ve got a security problem,” Joan explained.

“Got it,” Ethan hurried away as Joan walked into the comma room.

“Fucker’s gonna get us caught,” Ethan muttered angrily under his breath, tipping back the rest of his coffee.

Bing and Jackie joined Joan in the comms room with “Logan” and they started talking about another sighting of Spade in downtown Brighton and they wanted to compile information.

Something that was eyebrow raising to Spade because he’d been making his way from Janus and Remus’s house to the heroes’ base. But the real Logan wouldn’t be privy to that information so Spade, pretending to be Logan, did a pretty good impression of being surprised as he exchanged places with Bing so the android could take a seat in front of the computer.

“An’[1] that’s the report,” Jackie concluded.

“It certainly is good information to have if they’re becoming more active again,” Logan told them.

“My thoughts exactly,” Bing pointed some finger guns at Logan. “Here, I’ll get some images I got of the guy.”

“Hey Logan,” Joan smiled at him as Bing was integrating himself with the computer to look for something. “How have things been?”

“They could certainly be improved upon,” Logan commented, turning towards Joan and letting out a long, tired sigh.

“Yeah, I bet they could,” Joan agreed before a blast of magic hit Logan square in the back. Pain rocketed up the Suit’s body and his nanites glitched as Joan and Jackie threw down a disc on either side and Bing’s nanites came up and wrapped around Logan so that when the Suit stopped feeling like he was being used as a live wire, he was trapped.

When Logan turned his head he saw that Marvin was standing at the door, magic at his fingertips. The Suit was literally and figuratively surrounded. His eyes and glasses glitched, “Something always gets in the way.”

“He’s covered in nanites,” Bing warned.

“My spell should have ripped his illusion off,” Marvin told them. “I can hit him again.”

Logan looked down at the nanite constructed wires and cords trapping him and rolled his eyes, then he looked up at Joan, “Do you mind telling me what gave me away, for data correlation’s sake?”

Joan held up their phone, “Morality doesn’t use punctuation when he types, he barely uses words at all.”

“Ahh,” Logan commented cooly, smiling. “My mistake. I always tend to forget his atrocious insistence against punctuation is the only awful part of him.”

“Where’s Logic?” Jackie demanded. “Why are yeh here? Are yeh Spade or some demon? ‘Cause this is a shite time ta do this.”[2]

“Now why would I tell any of you,” Logan threatened.

“Yeh can tell us or we’ll beat the shite outta yah,”[3] Jackie threatened right back. “Logic’s been through enough shite lately ta e’en tolerate this.”[4]

“Oh trust me,” “Logan” frowned. “He hasn’t even begun to suffer.”

“An’[1] why should we trust yeh[5]?” Jackie demanded. “What’d yah do ta the real Logic?”[6]

The false Logan let out an amused chuckle, “You all have never even met the real Logan. I’m doing all of you a favor.”

“It’s Spade, fry ‘em[7],” Joan decided.

The snare lit up and electricity began coursing through the Suit’s nanite body, frying his nanite shell by inches.

Locket Payload: Critical Failure Imminent!

In a panic, that was visible on his face, Logan let out a scream as he curled around his chest and an EMP blast came from him that fried almost every electronic in the room, Bing only managing to not have to reset himself. By the time Bing was recovering, he was able to watch with the other three organic beings in the room as “Logan” burst into pixels and a cloud of nanites and shot into the light switch to hide. The young glitch demon curled around a central point of aura protectively in case Bing came after him.

Those precious seconds of hiding let Bing force the controls back on line and initiate a complete physical and electrical lockdown of the base. People, texts, calls, all unable to leave the base.

“Emergency lockdown engaged,” Bing’s voice rang out through the base just as an explosion rocked the building.

It was a small explosive charge that had been placed by Hearts, not enough to blow a hole in the side of the base but enough for the contents of the bomb to set the room on fire.

To set Marvin’s library on fire.

To Marvin’s good luck, Wade was close by and saw the fire starting up as magical tomes and spell ingredients, turning a normal fire into a popping magical one that was threatening to burn the entire base down.

The fire alarm and the sprinkles kicked up, causing further damage to the books.

Wade swore as he tried putting out the magical fire.

At the sound of the explosion, Marvin and Jackie raced over and Marvin screamed in agony as he helped put out the fire. Nate racing in to help. J.J, Chase, and Ethan came over to help but were pushed back by the others.

It took another minute to get the fire contained and Marvin was kneeling in front of the doorway to his library and looking at the ash and burnt books in horror.

“Sorry, Marv,” Jackie sat down next to his friend.

“They burned my library down,” Marvin said in grief.

“What is going on?” Wade demanded. “Last I heard there was some kind of meeting but when met with Crank, Nate, Average, and J.J the fire alarm went off. Who called the meeting?”

“We did,” Jackie told him, standing up. “It was just bad fookin’ timin’. Spade’s in the base, he got in. It must’a been him who caused the explosions.”[8]

“It’s not Spade,” Bing shouted as he ran down the halls, his nanites still fixing up the patches of metal and wires that had died in the EMP blast. “Or if it is the situation just got much worse ‘cause[9] that’s Logic.”

“What do you mean that’s Logic?” Joan demanded in a panic.

“Either Logic’s been Spade the whole time or Spade infected him with somethin’ ‘cause he’s been actin’ weird for a while,”[10] Bing said. “Lo’s still in the base. I’ve got him cornered in the sprinkler system, but he won’t stay there.”

“How could it possibly be Logan?” Joan demanded in irritated frustration. “He would never.”

“We might not be dealing with the actual Logan,” Nate spoke up, his mind already racing with possibilities. “We might be dealing with the same guy who attack me outside of a bar over a camera of all fucking things.”

“That was his suit right, Logic’s fine,” Joan defended.

Then Nate thought about that, it had been a question that Logan had always been dodgy and evasive on how the logical and scientific hero had wound up with a cursed soul splitter that didn’t work . . .

“Either way he’s got my nanites,” Bing interrupted. “Which explains how Spade got them in the first place. His suit is laced with them.”

“Are yeh[5] sure?” Jackie demanded.

“I’d recognize them anywhere, my Bluetooth was even tryin’[11] ta[12] connect with them,” Bing asserted.

. . . That didn’t . . . Nate was still trying to reason in his head.

“Which is weird because humans can’t use nanites raw,” Bing replied. “Only the Googles an’[1] Anti have the ability ta[12] use my nanites like that.”

“Shit, he’s a glitch!” Mare warned internally. “A damn smart one since he was covering his tracks as he was turning. I knew something smelt off about him. He always smelt like burnt wires and electricity.”

You tell me this now? Nate cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. While Nate was thinking the rest of the heroes were talking.

Nate felt the eye roll, “I always forget you sacks of meat can’t smell aura. I just figured, since he was supposed to be a null, that some other demon or one of the other Sides had their claws in him. The rest of them are dripping with aura.”

“Joan,” Nate spoke up, his voice soft and almost scared.

“Yeah?” Joan sat up.

“How long has Logic been Logic?” Nate asked desperately.

“Always, what kind of question is that?” They asked in return.

“I just have to rule it out, does Logic come from a family of mages? Is anyone else in his family magical.”

Joan paused for an abnormally long amount of time. “No.”

“Okay, that makes sense, being null is recessive,” Nate reasoned. You needed and aura and magic for a soul to become a demon. Logic didn’t have that, ergo he wasn’t a demon.

“Nate,” Mare tried to urge.

“He only targeted Marvin, nothing was stolen, nothing was taken from the computers, he just impersonated him and took off,” Wade reminded.

“The Sides are still gone, what are we gonna do?” Jackie demanded.

“Well when we find him, we’ll ask,” Joan reassured. “Logic’s a level-headed guy, I wish I knew where Morality was, or Princey. They’re able to calm him down.”

“Nate, let me go, and I can scent Logic out, if I don’t find him, then I’m wrong and he’s clear,” Mare tried to bargain.

“Fine,” Nate agreed and Mare broke free and looked around.

“Great,” Marvin growled.

“I’ll be back soon,” Mare didn’t spare Marvin a glance, “sorry about your cache.”

Then Mare stopped and looked at a corner of the wall and floated up to tap at it. “Hey there, don’t think I don’t see you.”

Then he ripped a camera out of the wall.

“Mine are visible,” Bing told him as the demon tossed the camera to the android.

Mare stood next to Nate, “I know, bet you that there are more, and there’s a glitch in the walls. Probably has been for a while now.”

“Is it Anti?” Jackie asked.

“Nah, Anti smells like a thunderstorm that was cooked in the oven too long,” Mare reported. “Young, likes to identify as a male; so King’s kid is out. It’s Logic, I’ve picked up that scent on him before. Maybe it’s a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing, or Logic’s always been a spy. Can’t say.”

“Maybe that soul splitter did work after all,” Nate reasoned. “Which means that he’s not wanting to come out ‘cause[9] he’s scared, so I can’t blame him. Just where’d he find the camera? That probably turned him, which makes sense why he likes to hover around the thing, he probably wants the fragments of his soul back.”

“First off, morbid,” Joan held up one of their hands. “And second, I found it at an estate sale. I gave it to Thomas, who—”

Joan trailed off, already knowing they’d made a mistake.

Nate stared at him, “Logic’s name is Logan, who’s Thomas? Is that Princey or Anxiety?”

“Not exactly,” Joan tried to evade.

“What does that mean? Is Logan like a middle name or a name he just prefers more?” Mare asked. “Or was Thomas, Logic’s name before he was split?”

Joan really didn’t want to have this discussion without any of the Sides, but Logan was apparently hiding in the walls and the other Sides were all missing. So maybe this was as good a time as any. “Look, if you’re right and Lo is some kind of demon, which he’s not because Logic is a harmless sweetheart, then we didn’t know because a soul splitter is only supposed to make one demon right?”

The room descended into chilling silence.

“The fook yeh mean one, Logic got like a twin or somethin’?”[13] Marvin demanded.

“More like septuplets,” Joan admitted, holding up seven fingers.

“Oh shit,” Mare realized.

“They all came from the same person?” Nate gasped. Logic. Morality. Creativity. Deceit. Anxiety . . . A glitch. Two showmen. Two empaths. A deal maker. And whatever the hell Orange is.

“I’ve never seen a spilt this clean, or create so many, usually a splitter just makes one and it can’t even do that right,” Nate commented. “But they’re all so lifelike. How powerful of a mage was Thomas?”

“He wasn’t,” Joan tried to explain. “Or at least, I never saw him do anything.”

“Well, at least we know where the other Sides went,” Mare spat through clenched teeth.

“No, no,” Nate cut him off. “That’s not a fight a glitch can win, not on their own. We should just focus on finding Logic and containing him before we accuse him of anything.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Joan agreed.

The heroes and Mare began completely cleaning the room of any cameras or listening devices, whether they were Bing’s or not. Then they made a plan to ensnare Logan. They started by taking out the cameras and bugs in the major room before Bing began actively trying to catch Logan.

It was an endeavor that Bing was not successful in. But the Suit saw an opening and went for the unlocked front door.

When he did, Logan slammed into an invisible barrier, sparks and magic arcing everywhere.

Nate quickly moved in to seal off the containment circle with more salt as Logan was picking himself up.

“Hey, Lo,” Nate knelt down, “rough week?”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations

1. And

2. Why are you here? Are you Spade or some demon? Because this is a shit time to do this.

3. You can tell us or we’ll beat the shit out of you

4. Logic’s been through enough shit lately to even tolerate this.

5. you

6. What did you do to the real Logic?

7. them

8. It was just bad fucking timing. Spade’s in the base, he got in. It must have been him who caused the explosion.

9. because

10. Either Logic’s been Spade the whole time or Spade infected him with something because he’s been acting weird for a while

11. trying

12. to

13. The fuck you mean one, does Logic have like a twin or something?

#Superhero AU #Masks and Maladies #Thomas Sanders #Jacksepticeye #Crankgameplays #Markiplier #Natewantstobattle #footnotes #kidnapping mention #Jackieboy Man #Bingiplier #Natemare #Logan Sanders #Joan Stokes #Chase Brody #J.J

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chromium7sky · 5 years ago

Text

Four eyes/ ObsureD | second shot

A/n: wtf, the second part for four eyes. Still can't believe this. You may follow #damirae and #foureyes

Not long after they were having chat at the kitchen, the alarm suddenly blaring intensely. Damian and Raven jolted and quickly sprint towards the control room.

"What do we got?" Raven looked at the screen as Damian typing on the keyboard looki g at the coordinate where the alarm set off. It seems there's a group of mage call the Riot terrorise at north region of San Francisco city.

"The Riot. Again with their agenda." Damian sighed as he looked at their information. The Riot consist of three ameteur mage who decided to use their power to proven they are worthy. Instead doing good deed they decided to be scoundrel as they wanted to fight the mage based hero like Raven to measure their capacity.

The member of the group are Mimic, Psyche and Mirage. Mimic has the power to copy, Psyche has the power to take over the enemy body while Mirage has the power to project item out of thin air.

Damian still remember where his body controlled by Psyche to do reckless thing such as stealing Raven's cloak or switching both of their cloak. There were the time where both of them body swap which is a very very bad day.

"Ah, the three idiot again? What did they want this time?" Raven stared at the screen with the face of three mischievous rascal.

"A showdown." Damian quickly to his equipment room picking his best weapon and his costume. As soon as he's fully equipped, he went to the launching pad toward the Robin's airbike.

As He flip on the switch and pushed a couple of button, the engine start to hummed and and it start to warm up. Putting his helmet, and twisting the accelerator, the propeller start to spin blowing the debris near by away including it's cloth cover.

The bike has levitate and Damian balanced it by controlling it's handle.

"Arm and ready, Robin." Raven casually sit behind him, riding the air bike.

Damian almost jolted but he manage to calm down and look at her by the shoulder. "Hold on tight." He pressed the valve as the propeller spin more faster. "Lead the way, Raven."

Raven activate her power as her eyes went all white. She held her hand past his shoulder as the purple energy surrounding it. A door, a worm hole like door open, without wasting any time, Robin dive into the portal door with his bike.

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

" Why not we make this road more, alive?" Mirage waving his hand towards the road nearby and suddenly the road turn into gigantic snakes as it began to curled and gliding. People where shouting in fear, some run towards the other street.

Then came a girl with light blue hair, crackled haughtily as she saw people start to get away. " Freeze!" She lift both of her hand, light turquoise line start to come out from her finger and attached to a couple of people. They movement start goes to restriction then froze up. "Sorry, no sorry. Guess you guys are now riled up!"

As she moved her hands, the people who has been attached by her string start to picking up some pipes or wood lying around, start to do vandalizing.

One of the group, a boy just found the lighter. The unwilling victim had been forced to pick it and light up. Before the boy throw the lighter toward a store full of cooking utensils, the lighter has been suspended in mid air with purple aura surrounding it.

Before Psyche, the girl with blue hair, questioning what happen, then came the rain of batarang towards them which makes Mirage forming a shelter out of water from the water supply nearby.

The engine noise start to deafening them along with wild blown debrises that makes them closed their eyes. " What is this??!" Psyche shouted and has lost her concentration towards her puppet victim.

Without their knowing, all three of them has been bind by dark tentacle that come from the floor. Mirage shouted " Mimic! Do it!!"

Mimic smiled as he move his hands, another set of tentacle appeared pulling out the tentacle that bind them. " This is easy."

"Try it again." This time came in a batarang along with hard steel string circling the three amateur mage lower limbs. With a hard pull all three of them stumbled on the ground along with the purple tentacle embracing them, preventing their further movement.

"Shit!" Mimic curses as they have been captured.

"Guess we have gone through Lovecraft alpha plan well, Raven." Damian walked out of nowhere with hooded cloak as he bring his sword.

"I'm surprised it went well," Raven appeared behind the shadow of black bird.The Riot all shudder as they met the two demonic duo hero, Robin and Raven.

"Wrong timing for making a fuss at San Francisco city, Riot." Raven levitate display her eerieness.

"Shit." Mimic cursed under his breath. "Psyche! Use it! Use it now!" He shouted.

The way Mimic shouted makes Raven grew anxious about what about to happen. As Psyche successfully let one of her hand out Raven quickly step in front of Robin.

"Raven! Wha-" before Robin continue his sentences, a bluish flame blasted from Psyche hit the Witch girl.

The fire didn't burn her clothes and her skin but Raven scream as she crouched holding her face.

"Raven!!" Damian try to grab her but Raven went out of control as she unleashed violent shadows as she scream.

Her gem on her forehead glows dangerously red and the shadow whipping through the air. The Riot tried to escape by using the dirty tactic failed as the shadow start to suffocated them.

"H-hel...." Psyche drown in those shadow as she held her hands towards Damian.

Damian without thinking much he hold Raven from behind. "Raven! I'm here!"

Raven still screaming as the pain still burn.

"Raven!" Damian scream as wrapped his arms around her, embracing her. "I'm here. Nothing will hurt you. Not when I'm watching." He cooed her as his whispered.

Raven as if awaken from nightmare slowly landed her head on his shoulder. "R-robin?" Her voice similar to a girl who has been scared by her nightmare.

"That's right. I'm here." As he rub her back up and down. The. He could feel wet sensation on his shoulder. Is she crying?

The shadow slowly start to dissipated freeing those smothering ameteur mage who are now gasping for air.

Before they managed to escape, Damian quickly throwing three set of Bolas towards them, tying them down.

The Riot try to escape with magic but to no avail the Bolas were unaffected as it has been set by Raven to be anti magic properties.

"Raven, look at me." Damian hold on her chin as he cast his eyes on her face. Her eyes are gone!

"Damian." She whispered. "I can't see." She rest her face on his chest, holding onto his shoulder. Damian cursed then look at the Riot.

"Follow my lead. We're going back to the tower." As the young Robin lead the witch towards his Air bike. As he seated her, he glared at the culprit then at Raven and back to them. "Damn it." He cursed.

He walked towards them. "What did you do to her?" He pull out expandable blade from his glove. "Spill it out or your guts will."

The Riot were silent then mumbling each other. After a few exchange look and nod, they look at him. " We were..." The girl swallowed her saliva then proceed. "Stealing from one of the old shop down town." She shown the pendant. The pendant that has the lotus flower shape with each of the petal has eyes.

" We felt some huge energy from this pendant and it seems we have contact to it." Mirage explain. "They say the will help us by offering a pair of two eyes of thy enemy."

"We thought it might be fun prnak but turns out something else." Psyche bit her lips as she recalled what happen.

Damian got nearer as he inspect the pendant. With the blade he pulled the necklace, torn off from the light blue hair girl. "I need to go to the tower to find the book about this. I think I have seen it before." As Damian inspect the cursed artifact. Quickly he pulled the back zipper from his utility belt and put the artifact in it then stored it back on the other side of his belt.

"All three of you better come with me. We need to track down the source and gives the eyes back to Raven." As he pointed towards Raven who is seated, sighed, holding out her hand in front of her face trying to test her vision which to no avail.

"Please have mercy on us." Mimic beg some sympathy for them.

"Not until we solve this mystery or else." Damian walked towards raven who sit on the bike, silent. "Raven."

Raven jolted then turn her head towards them. "Yes?"

"I don't know if this is possible but can you teleport us towards the titans launching pad?"

"Us?"

"I found something that stole your eye sight."

"A curse?"

"Curse artifact I pressume."

"...okay then. I'll try." Raven take a deep breath, gathering her thoughts and concentration. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

In a blink of an eye, they were teleport back to the teen titans launching pad along with captured The riot.

Mirage was astounded." What level is this sorcery?"

Raven turned her head to the pressumed direction."Way better than you."

Damian went to the control centre picking up three mysterious devices from the drawer. In a quick move, he threw three of them towards Riot's arm and they quickly wrap around it. "As a safety measure, incase you guys were up to something." Damian pulled the Bolas releasing them.

The mages up on their feet. Mimic as mischievous try to cast a spell but it died before it be able to execute. "The band are anti magic too and..." Damian unfinished his sentences.

Mimic jolted by surge of electricity which made he landed on his knees. " It absorb your magic energy and turn into electricity." Damian continue after the demonstration. Mirage and Psyche look at him with horror.

"You can't do this to us, you bastard!" Psyche screamed at him.

"It's a perfect punishment for three of you." Damian shrugged. "Hope you learn your consequences for doing such damage by banishing my friend's eyes!" He pointed at Raven. "Since you're here with us, it is the time for your atonement by helping us to break thecurse."

"What if we decided not to cooperate?" Mirage raised his eyebrow.

" I tell you, if I didn't stop her, Us and this world would probably end up in hell." Damian glared at him. "Be grateful with your spared life."

The riot shivered. " Okay, we'll do it."

"Good. All we need is a book And a real mage." Damian walked toward his airbike. Raven still there standing as she lost in here thought.

"Hey."

"Damian."

"You okay?"

"It didn't burned anymore but I still can't see." Raven sighed. As Raven tried to walk, she goes wobbled and quickly Damian grab her by the waist.

"Don't get hard on yourself. Come, let me be your eyes." His voice goes soft as he put her arm around his shoulder. "You three, follow me."

"Yes, sir!" All three of them quickly followed Robin and Raven.

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friendlylocalwhumper · 5 years ago

Text

finding the videos | telling lux | thunder

content warning: referenced/implied noncon.

Four safehouses in as many hours. They’re hard to find, impossible to get into. But for Lux, Emory would do the impossible.

He’s brought a few things for the search. An extra hoodie for Lux, clean and dry, big enough to hide away in. A picture of them together. A little plastic orb that glows with no batteries, and hangs itself in the air without hanging from a string - enchanted to hang in their bedroom by the ceiling like a little moon.

He hasn’t been able to convince many magic users with the enchanted object that he’s a warlock. A few have let him into their safehouses, kept an eye on him - but when he starts asking questions, they get paranoid quick. It reminds him of how much Lux doubts, how he asks hesitant questions, doesn’t believe things that are right before his eyes. Like they’ve all been tricked before.

“Have you seen him?” Emory asks, holding up the picture. In it, Lux’s arms are draped around him, and they’re both beaming, the sun shining behind them and making orange light peek through Lux’s curls.

“No way,” Mutters the witch who takes the photo from his hand. She turns it to see it better in the light from the cracked window - no electricity in here - and laughs out loud. “It’s the vet!”

“The vet? Like, veterinarian? Has he been healing animals?”

“What? He can heal?” He fingers tighten on the edge of the picture, eyes hard and calculating. “Fucker can heal?” At Emory’s watching her in return, outwardly guarded but secretly panicked at his slip-up, she continues, handing it back to him. “No. Vet, like veteran. New to most, but a few of us recognized him. From years ago. And he’s got the…” She smiles, shrugs, waves her hands vaguely; Emory watches her movement like any second she’ll cast a spell to send him flying out of the safehouse he doesn’t belong in. “You know. He acts like he’s seen some shit. Shifty eyes, always tense, sticks to corners, doesn’t sleep. Smart to be that way when big shit goes down. Not so smart for all the time. Guy’s gonna crash hard, sleep for a whole day, get himself swept up by cops or something.”

Emory waves the picture impatiently, gesturing for her to give him something to work with. Her eyes flick down to catch the colorful image again.

“He looks happy in that,” The witch muses curiously. “Didn’t know he could smile. You tryna find him to make him happy like that? Or to wipe him out? Warlocks that get searched for don’t usually end up alive.”

“I want him safe. I want him home.”

Her eyes glint, head tipping back. “Ohhhh. I get it. Well, listen. He’s not yours anymore. You don’t have magic, guy, and he’s with his kind now. I don’t know what shit you’re into, but you don’t own him anymore.”

Dark brown eyes flash with anger. “What? Own him? He’s my-”

“Boy toy, warlock pet, good boy. I know. New trend, you’ve obviously heard. Pick a witch or warlock off the street, beat the hell out of them, twist their head all up ‘til they’re tamed. ‘s fucked up. But, hey, whatever does it for you, you know? Long as no one tries something with me, I don’t care. We’re all fucked either way.”

“I’m not some fucking - I didn’t do that. He’s my boyfriend. God, you’re sick.”

“It’s a sick fucking world, dude.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” A near-glare finds its way onto his face, hours of frustration adding up to something that leaves a sour taste in his mouth. He’s only been met with poverty and violence and paranoia and, god, he thinks some part of him might hate magic users. Or hate how they have to live. The injustice of it is clashing with how much it’s torn at him today, and he just wants to get back to his part of town, to his nice house, with Lux safe and clean so he can pretend that warlocks can live normal lives.

“Boyfriend, then. Didn’t know Vet was a-”

“Watch it,” Growls Emory, and the witch’s eyes flicker with something as she takes a half-step back. He knows that she’s a little bit scared now. He doesn’t like that, but he’s not really in the mood to comfort a witch after the day he’s had.

“He’s not here.” She wants Emory gone, that’s clear. Wants it bad enough to lie?

“Mind if I look?”

Magic crackles in the hallway they stand in, red and restrained. The witch raises a hand, eyes locked on the threat before her. “Yeah, I do. Vet’s not here. Go look somewhere else.”

Emory’s just a little pissed at how this has gone, but as he decides how to react, he notices that it’s been quiet since he walked in. No warlocks sitting against the wall cradling injuries, nobody cursing or laughing drunkenly or using magic. This witch might be alone in this safehouse. He wonders what happened to the others.

“Alright. Fine. Just, if you see him, tell him to come home.”

Two more safehouses searched, and Emory has a new limp. Temporary, not like the one that crops back up for Lux sometimes. It’s nothing as bad as poor Curls’ once-dislocated hip, just bruises around his knee and down his shin. Those kicks were meant to break something so he couldn’t get away or put up a fight. Warlocks fight dirty.

For one of the first times in his life, Emory begged. He can’t fight as well as they could, so he begged, pulling the crumpled picture of Lux out of his pocket, swearing that he was just looking for the man he loves, not trying to hunt anyone down or get warlocks killed.

His hand shook as he raised the photo to show them, and they laughed at him for it. One of those moments where he thought he might be getting a glimpse into what it’s like to be Lux. It still makes him dizzy with humiliation, thinking about it hours later.

This safehouse doesn’t look as rundown as the others. The windows are securely boarded up, the stairs climbable, the front door sporting a lock that looks like it actually works.

Emory knocks like the magicless, hilariously out-of-place guy that he is.

There’s shuffling. Movement. Emory cradles his ribs sorely, waiting for the beating that comes with barging in somewhere he doesn’t belong.

The door creaks open, amber eyes taking stock of him instantly. Emory holds still.

“Whadda you want?” The magic user asks tersely.

Emory raises the photo. He’s too tired to beat around the bush. “Him. Curly hair, quiet, nervous. My name’s-”

“Emory,” The guy guesses, then pulls the door further open. “Yeah, he cries about you in his sleep. You gonna get him outta here? He pisses me off.”

Heart absolutely fluttering with relief, Emory steps inside. It’s good to hear that Lux has at least slept. “Why’s he piss you off?”

“Uh, ‘cause he’s a spineless crybaby that just gives you big scared eyes if you come near him? Vet or not, he’s annoying as shit. He likes you. You hit him? Listen, he’ll get over it, you just gotta hit somewhere no one can see the bruises. Trust me, he’ll stay.”

The words make Emory feel ill, but he doesn’t lash out. From this whole search, and even just from being with Lux, he knows to listen to more than words. If he had to guess, he’d say this amber-eyed fugitive is speaking from the experience of being the one who was hit, not the one who did the hitting, even if the warlock is still smirking. He’s guarded like all the others.

He leads Emory inside, flicking either hand this way and that to take down some of the wards that keep non-warlocks out. Leads the way into a big room that looks like it was made by tearing down one wall between a sitting room and a kitchen. There’s a card game going where warlocks and witches sit on the floor, a pile of random things in the middle of the circle.

And there, over on the couch, is Lux. The warlock is halfway curled up, knees up by his chest where he sits, head lying on couch cushion at his side, eyes closed. It looks like he fell asleep sitting folded up there, shoved into the corner of the couch, far from the others with his back to the wall.

There are bruises on his face, and near his throat, and peeking out from under his ratty sleeves. Dirt is streaked across his skin. There’s blood staining the couch, but Emory can’t tell if that’s normal here, or if it’s from Lux.

“Curls,” He whispers as he sits gingerly on the couch. “Lux, honey?”

Lux doesn’t stir. When’s the last time that he slept? Two days ago? More?

The amber-eyed warlock scoffs and steps forward while Emory leans closer, raising a hand to place it gently on his boyfriend’s arm. Emory’s prepared for Lux to react badly, to be startled and then emotional.

But the other warlock grabs a fistful of Lux’s shirt and hauls him up off the couch to punch him square in the jaw. Lux jerks awake, gasping, scrabbling to get his legs under him. His hands shake and push against the guy holding him upright.

“Morning, sunshine,” Amber eyes mocks and lets Lux stumble back with a shove. “You’ve got a visitor.”

Lux’s eyes find Emory, and his legs give out just in time for him to fall back down onto the couch. A sleepy, shuddering breath huffs out of him. “Em?” As sleep fades he gets more tense. “Em, wha-at, what’re you doing here? F’ck’off,” He growls at the warlock who lingers to watch how the reunion goes. Amber eyes stalks away.

“I was looking for you. To bring you home. You can come home, Lux, just come back with me. I messed up, I know, I’m sorry-”

“You didn’t. Em, look, it’s - this is where I belong. If you ever wanted to let me go and have a life that’s, that’s not sad and stressful and, and if you want a boyfriend who doesn’t - who isn’t me, this is your chance. Just let me go.” Lux is hugging himself, speaking to his knees, like he’s been practicing this in his head for days, resigning himself to it. There is exhaustion in every inch of his posture.

“You don’t belong here, honey.”

“I do, I… don’t belong where you live.” He’s curling in on himself, hiding from Emory’s support and entreaties. Only when his head is tucked down does he continue. “‘m messed up. Dirty. Not, not someone you wanna be close to, wanna touch. Hnn.” A soft, involuntary frightened sound escapes him at the very concept of touch. It’s been less than a day since, since the last one. He hasn’t even been out of the house, away from Emory, for long. He’s already been pressed into the ground and left barely able to limp more than two times (three? Four? He lost consciousness, and the days melted together, so he can’t be sure).

Emory touches Lux’s shoulders, lightly, lovingly, and the warlock draws a shuddering breath. “Curls. If you don’t belong there, then I don’t either. I just want to be with you. Even if it has to be here. I wanna watch your back, keep you safe, let you get some sleep. Help with your shoulders. Keep the nightmares away.” Lux takes a tumultuous breath that sounds like it could peak and crash into a sob. “I just love you so much, Lux, you’re all I want.”

“I-I, I’m bro-oken, Em, ‘m used, you don’t want…”

“I do want you. Your voice, your mind, your heart. You’re a whole world, honey, you’re so beautiful to me. What’s happened to you doesn’t change that.” The videos. Lux thinks he’s too dirty, too used up to be good to anyone. “Lux, when… when you kiss me. When you lay next to me. When I wake up and you smile because you were waiting for me. It just makes me so happy. It feels right. You’re the one I want forever, Lux, I want to be at your side forever. You’re the boy I wanna marry, Curls. Please come home.”

“I, hnnn, it’s…” Tremors crawl from his spine to his fingers. “O-o-okay. I, I wanna go ho-ome.” Emory’s fingers on his shoulders are massaging relief into the aching joints. “Wanna go home.”

It’s one of the hardest things he’s ever done, pulling Lux up to his feet to go. It’s a sad, tired, tender moment that sits lodged in space, time slowing to a stop like it’s so wrong for Lux to be so worn down that the universe is lingering to watch and mourn. Pulling Lux up to his feet puts a strain on his shoulders that pulls a new sound out of him, a choked-back whimper that makes the other magic users perk up. They listen, feigning disinterest, to gauge whether Emory’s hurting Lux, whether there’s a threat among them.

Up on his feet, Lux sways, lines etched into his face from the pain of standing, all the color drained out of him. His fingers are wrapped tightly around Emory’s arms for balance and it’s barely keeping him from falling like a marionette with its strings cut.

“Do you want me to carry you, Curls?” Asks Emory, wishing he could sweep his love up, kiss his cheek, bury his face in those curls and just listen to his boyfriend’s breathing.

“I can walk.” The others are watching. Listening. Lux doesn’t feel safe showing how badly he needs help. Emory won’t push it.

So they attempt a smooth, careful walk toward the door. Lux limps stiffly and makes soft sounds, cheeks flushed with humiliation, tremors running through his legs. If he fell, Emory would catch him and pick him up. It would be easier. But Lux stays upright. They make it to the door, and outside, the warlock taking short, shallow breaths and faltering in his pained steps.

“What’s wrong, Curls?”

The warlock squints into the natural light as he peers out to flick his gaze over everything that moves. “Outside. ‘s not safe.”

Emory’s brow furrows slightly. No, he guesses it’s not, judging by the state of his boyfriend. “Not when you’re alone.”

Lux shudders, ducking his head down, but he doesn’t apologize as if he’s scared that he pissed Emory off. He’s more closed off than that right now. Emory rubs circles between his shoulder blades for a moment before getting them moving again. “It’s okay, Curls. I got you. Don’t gotta watch for danger anymore, or be tough. You can relax.”

“N-nnh, not until we’re back,” Pants Lux, taking halting, agonizing steps down from the porch to the sidewalk. “N’t ‘til we’re back home.” His stamina is fading fast. Making it to the car is starting to seem like too high a demand. “Even, th-, hhh, then. I dunno, if. If it’s, sa-a-, -afe… nnnh…”

The warlock makes an airy sound as his legs fold under him, eyes fluttering closed. Emory cries out as he kneels to follow the momentum, arms wrapping around the warlock’s middle to keep him from flopping over and hitting his head on the pavement. “Curls, honey, are you -” Lux isn’t responding, isn’t tense in his arms. He’s floppy, not even eking out a whimper. Passed out.

#whump #drabble #lux #emory #angst #rape tw #referenced or implied noncon #losing consciousness #flinching #shaking #pain #mine

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tigerkirby215 · 4 years ago

Text

5e Volibear the Relentless Storm build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Riot Games)

Voli unironically makes me think weird thoughts.

As hyped as I was for the Fiddlesticks rework new Volibear is really something else. Meme about the “reveal” stream and call me a furry as much as you want but seeing this titan that would make Galio blush walk up to the ARAM bridge was downright impressive.

Shame that he’s going to be like 4 feet taller than Teemo in-game but still.

GOALS

Sky Splitter - You can’t be a thunderous demigod of war without a little thunder and lightning.

Thundering Smash - You don’t get the title of “Thousand-Pierced Bear” with nothing but punches and bites. Well, you’re still going to be punching and biting, but it’ll do a little more.

Storm Bringer - Voli isn’t going to reach Tarrasque size in-game or with this build, but we can still be a big boy.

RACE

Want to play a furry? Shifter. All Shifters have 60 feet of Darkvision and can activate their Shifting feature with a Bonus Action, which lets them get Temporary hitpoints equal to their level plus their Constitution modifier and an additional effect based on their subrace.

For your subrace Beasthide are tied to the spirit of the bear. You get +1 to your Strength and +2 to your Constitution, proficiency in the Athletics skill, and when you shift you get an extra d6 of temporary hitpoints and along with a +1 to your Armor Class.

Longtooth can also work if you want to do more damage while shifted with a bonus action d6 unarmed bite.

ABILITY SCORES

15; CHARISMA - I’ve spent enough time on FurAffinity to know that Volibear has a lot of Charisma, and CHA is a requirement for a lot of funky multiclassing stuff.

14; WISDOM - You’ve lived for countless eons as a demigod; you know your way around life.

13; STRENGTH - A bit lower than I’d like but it’s good enough for its intended purpose.

12; CONSTITUTION - You’re a bulky brawler who can fight toe-to-toe with your brother Ornn.

10; DEXTERITY - A little on the lower end but you’re a big guy, and aren’t exactly known for being quick on your feet.

8; INTELLIGENCE - You’re about as crazy as Riot were when they decided that you were some sort of Eldritch demihorror. Like, seriously; Volibear is an Eldritch Horror?

BACKGROUND

Unfortunately there’s no background for Frejlordian Bear Demigod of War, so I’d suggest building your own background with proficiency in Arcana and History, since you’ve been around long enough to see all sorts of magic blossom. Call it the “Spirit of The Great Bear” background.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - FIGHTER 1

Starting off as a Fighter for their saving throws among other things, but as far as your skill proficencies go take Intimidation and Survival to fulfill the spirit of the bear.

As a Fighter you get a choice of Fighting Style, and while Unarmed Fighting is an option from the Class Feature Variants UA there isn’t much need for us to fight with our bear hands (hah puns) so we’ll instead be going for Great Weapon Fighting. I think you can reflavor a Greataxe or Greatsword as great claws cutting through your foes. Oh and if you haven’t picked up yet this build is going for a Runeguard Volibear motif, so grab some Chainmail with your starting Fighter equipment.

As a Fighter you also get access to Second Wind, letting you heal yourself for a d10 + your fighter level as a Bonus Action. You can do this once per short rest which does correspond to a 120 second cool-down. I just want to point out that this was the old icon for Volibear’s passive:

LEVEL 2 - CLERIC 1

Naturally the Thunder’s Roar needs a little bit of Thunder and the Tempest Domain is filled with the electric wrath of the gods! Tempest Clerics get Wrath of the Storm to “thunderously rebuke attackers” as written in the ability’s description. When a creature within 5 feet of you which you can see hits you, you can use your reaction to force the creature to make a Dexterity saving throw. They take 2d8 damage of either thunder or lightning (your choice) on a failed save, or half as much on a success. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Of course a Cleric can do more than hit enemies that touch them with empowered static. Clerics gain access to Spellcasting! You can have three Cantrips from the Cleric list: Thaumaturgy will let you channel some of your inner godly powers to make thunder boom along with your voice, or you can create some norther Light to help the Frejlordian mortals and give them Guidance. Boom two cantrips in the same sentence!

As a Tempest Cleric you always have the Fog Cloud and Thunderwave spells prepared to let loose a storm. For your spells of choice Bless will let you bless your allies with the spirit of battle, letting them add a d4 to their attack rolls or saving throws. Detect Evil and Good will let the spirit of the hawk guide you through danger. And Inflict Wounds is a far more brutal spell for far more violent attacks on your enemies. But of course Clerics are prepared spellcasters so be sure to swap out your loadout for what the team needs. Volibear might not heal in-game, but everyone can appreciate a Cure Wounds.

LEVEL 3

Now’s the point that things get a little funky. It’s easy enough to program a melee range stun or melee range lifesteal ability into a video game but it’s far harder to implement into a D&D build. Hard melee range CC is a rarity in 5e and is almost exclusively reserved for Monks, and healing with harm is even harder to come across. I could probably put levels into Monk or Paladin or even Wizard to get these abilities but it would require quite a heavy investment in a lot of classes just to recreate a few abilities. But there is one class that gets all the abilities I would want for Volibear with the fewest levels possible.

WARLOCK 1?

How’s this for something out of left field, eh? But in a way it makes sense that the Thousand-Pierced Bear gets some Eldritch power, and what better for a spirit of battle than a sentient weapon? While most of your power is self-contained the Hexblade patron can lend you strength in a number of ways: you can choose a weapon that you’re proficient in which lacks the two-handed property to be your Hex Warrior weapon, allowing you to attack with Charisma instead of Strength or Dexterity. But seeing as your Charisma modifier is equal to your Strength currently and you’d be better off using a two-handed weapon I’d recommend sticking to regular weapons for now.

But regardless of what you use to fight you can still apply a Hexblade’s Curse with a Bonus Action to a creature within 30 feet once per Short Rest. The curse lasts for a minute but it ends early if either of you die or if you’re incapacitated. Until the curse ends you gain the following benefits against the target:

You gain a bonus to damage rolls equal to your proficiency bonus.

Any attack roll you make against the target will crit on a 19 or 20.

If the cursed target dies, you regain hit points equal to your Warlock level + your Charisma modifier.

Turn on all your items and abilities when getting into a proper brawl with the enemy top laner; lock down the biggest enemy in a fight with your ultimate while the rest of your team deals with the rabble. Or just dive the shit out of the enemy ADC.

And of course as a Warlock you get access to Pact Magic. Your Eldritch roots give you two cantrips and two spells: Thunderclap will let you cleave through your enemies with Titanic Hydra, and Prestidigitation will give you access to more minor thunder magic.

If you want more of an early damage boost Booming Blade is very in-flavor for you, and of course as a Warlock Eldritch Blast is always an option.

For your spells of choice Hexblades can learn the Shield spell, and to channel the power of the Frejlord for some more retributive damage and a bit of added tankiness take Armor of Agathys for an icy chill against anyone that tries to hit you.

Before I go deeper into the build I should explain how multiclassing Warlock with other spellcasters works: in essence your total number of spell slots doesn’t increase, but you get your Warlock slots which come back on a short rest. This means that you can use your Cleric slots to cast your Warlock spells, or use your Warlock slots to cast Cleric spells. The ability score you use to cast is based on what class you get the spell from, but your spell slots are static.

LEVEL 4 - WARLOCK 2

Second level Warlocks get access to Eldritch Invocations and even though we didn’t take Eldritch Blast we’re still going to have to hold onto most of our Invocations for some stuff at later levels, so for now take Eldritch Sight to let your godly sight Detect Magic for you.

Speaking of Magic you get another spell and hey: Witch Bolt does Lightning damage! I mean, it’s bad, and you have considerably better options. But it does do Lightning damage! Truthfully we’re going to be swapping a lot of stuff out at later levels.

LEVEL 5 - WARLOCK 3

Third level Warlocks can choose their Pact Boon and as a Hexblade of course you want Pact of the Blade to always have your “claws” at the ready. Pact of the Blade will let you summon a weapon into your hands as an action, and your Hex Warrior feature will work on this weapon too. So woo two-handed Hex Warrior weapons! There is more to the Pact of the Blade but this is all that’s important for now: I suggest reading the rest of the feature over if you’re curious what else it does.

But now that we have our Pact you may as well grab the Improved Pact Weapon invocation for a free +1 to your “claws” among other things. And you get access to second level spells like Misty Step, because you always to be packing Flash.

LEVEL 6 - WARLOCK 4

4th level Warlocks get an Ability Score Improvement, so increase your Charisma and your Strength by 1. Why the uneven Strength score? Because you can now wear Platemail; you’re welcome.

As for your spells? We’ll be holding off on that for now.

LEVEL 7 - WARLOCK 5

The 5th level of Warlock is what we working towards. First of all more Invocations, and we’ll finally grab Thundering Smash thanks to Eldritch Smite. If you hit an enemy with your Pact Weapon you can channel one of your Warlock slots into the attack to do 4d8 damage Force damage and knock the enemy prone if it is Huge or smaller. Remember that melee attacks against prone enemies automatically have Advantage, so more chances to crit with your claws! But also remember that Eldritch Smite only works with your Warlock slots, which are heavily limited.

There are several other invocations that can be good grabs if you want to swap out your existing invocations. Cloak of Flies will let you get some more damage out with Sunfire Cape (and will also help you be a terrifying Eldritch bear boi), Mire the Mind will let you keep enemies close and away from their towers, and if you have a DM who’ll let you swap the invocation out later Thirsting Blade will give you access to an extra attack a little earlier than normal.

As for your spells? Here’s where the investment in Hexblade pays off:

Elemental Weapon from the Hexblade list will let you channel the Relentless Storm, giving your weapon +1 to hit and letting you deal an extra d4 of Lightning damage (or acid, cold, fire, or thunder) on hit.

Vampiric Touch will let you drop the weapon for a Frenzied Maul, doing 3d6 necrotic damage and healing you for half the amount of necrotic damage dealt. The spell takes you Concentration for up to a minute so you can keep biting and clawing when low to get your health back.

And if you’re willing to drop Armor of Agathys and Witch Bolt:

Spirit Shroud from the recent spells Unearthed Arcana will let you keep enemies close with Randuin's Omen while also making them unable to heal with Deep Wounds.

A Majestic Roar will let you Fear enemies in front of you, forcing them to dash and flee from you. And yes I want to point out that Voli’s old E was called “Majestic Roar” and had an icon that looked like this:

Oh and you can take another cantrip. I mean you may as well grab Eldritch Blast by this point?

(Artwork by Riot Games)

LEVEL 8 - FIGHTER 2

Second level Fighters get Action Surge, allowing them to take one additional action on their turn. The great thing about this on a caster is that you can use this extra action to cast a spell, so if you desired you could cleave through a crowd with Thunderwave and then pounce your main enemy with your blade claws!

LEVEL 9 - FIGHTER 3

#BigBoyHours. Third level Fighters can invoke the power of the world runes as a Rune Knight Unearthed Arcana. Rune Knights get Bonus Proficiencies in Smith’s Tools and the Giant language but that’s the least of your concerns:

Rune Knights have access to Rune Magic. You learn two runes which you can inscribe onto your weapon or armor. Each rune has a passive benefit as well as an active one which can be invoked in combat. You regain the ability to invoke the runes after a short or long rest.

The Hill Rune (Huag) gives you Advantage on Saving Throws against being poisoned, and resistance to poison damage. It can also be invoked as a Bonus Action to give you resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage for 1 minute.

The Frost Rune (Ise) gives you advantage on Animal Handling and Intimidation checks, so you can communicate with the Ursine and scare off those unworthy. In addition you can invoke the rune as a Bonus Action to increase your Strength by 2 for 10 minutes. This isn’t as useful for you since you’re using Charisma to attack, but it’s still good for skill checks and saving throws, and you can put the rune on an ally’s equipment to let them reap the benefits.

But most importantly Rune Knights get Giant’s Might; you can activate the ability as a Bonus Action to gain the following benefits for 1 minute:

You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

Your weapon attacks deal an extra 1d6 damage.

Most importantly if you’re not already Large you become Large for some #BigBoyHours! This doesn’t work if you don’t have the space to grow but when fighting outside you can double your height (which is on average about 5 feet for a Shifter) and then if an ally casts Enlarge / Reduce on you can become Huge, being four times bigger than you originally were! 20 foot tall bear; show that bridge who’s boss!

I’d consider invoking Giant’s Might and the Hill Rune as a sort of “knock-off Rage”, as it gives you a lot of the benefits that Barbarians get while Raging but still allows you to cast spells. Oh and you get #BigBoyHours as you tower over your foes!

LEVEL 10 - FIGHTER 4

4th level Fighters get an Ability Score Improvement: increase your Charisma for more powerful strikes with your Hexblade.

LEVEL 11 - FIGHTER 5

5th level Fighters get an Extra Attack, letting them attack twice with the attack action. If you took the Thirsting Blade invocation from Warlock I suggest you get rid of it since it doesn’t stack.

If you don’t think you’ll be reaching max level or want more Ability Score Improvements an extra level in Fighter will grant you that, but for the sake of this build the last 9 levels will be in Cleric.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

LEVEL 12 - CLERIC 2

You know what I love about these builds? How we can level our abilities first, then our ultimate, and then finish off with the passive. Regardless second level Tempest Clerics can Channel Divinity. All Clerics can Turn Undead to force it to make a Wisdom saving throw or run away, but Tempest Clerics can channel Destructive Wrath to do max damage with any Lightning or Thunder spells. Currently you don’t have many of those, but that will change soon.

LEVEL 13 - CLERIC 3

At third level Clerics get access to second level spells, which means you have second level slots for your Misty Steps. With the Tempest Domain you have Gust of Wind and Shatter innately prepared; while Gust of Wind isn’t too useful (especially at this level) Shatter will give you more AoE options to get value out of Destructive Wrath.

For your prepared spells Hold Person will let you stun paralyze a foe from a little further away, and Aid will let you buff up your health with some rubies. Aid in particular is great with Warlock slots because you don’t even lose a spell slot for the day!

LEVEL 14 - CLERIC 4

Fourth level Clerics get an Ability Score Improvement so max out your Charisma modifier for maximum damage and godly growls.

You can also learn one more cantrip and prepare one more spell: Mending will let you compensate for some of your thunderous wrath, and a Knight’s Vow with a Warding Bond will let you help your teammates.

LEVEL 15 - CLERIC 5

At fifth level Clerics can Destroy Undead with their Channel Divinity, but it’s only up to CR 1/2 so it’s a little weak at this level.

You also get access to third level spells: Tempest Clerics have Call Lightning and Sleet Storm innately prepared, so you can cast both the storms and the blizzards of the Frejlord! In addition Spirit Guardians will let you channel the spirit of the Ursine to defend yourself and your allies.

LEVEL 16 - CLERIC 6

6th level Clerics can Channel Divinity twice per short rest, but in addition they get their domain feature and Tempest Clerics can use Thunderbolt Strike to push enemies 10 feet away if they’re Large or smaller. This has great synergy with Elemental Weapon, allowing you to push enemies away whenever you attack them!

LEVEL 17 - CLERIC 7

7th level Clerics get access to 4th level spells. Tempest Clerics have Control Water and Ice Storm innately prepared; I really suggest looking at Control Water because it’s a rather insane spell despite the simple name.

But you can also prepare some more spells: Death Ward will give you a Guardian Angel for protection, and Freedom of Movement will give you some much-needed Tenacity.

LEVEL 18 - CLERIC 8

8th level for Cleric has a lot of features: firstly your Destroy Undead feature now works on Undead of CR 1 or lower, but as a Tempest Cleric get a Divine Strike that does a d8 of Thunder damage. And finally you get an Ability Score Improvement for more Wisdom now that your Charisma is maxed out.

And for your spells? Honestly none of these are really in-flavor so I’d suggest getting some lower level spells. I can’t tell you everything to do, especially as a prepared spellcaster.

LEVEL 19 - CLERIC 9

9th level Clerics get a 5th level spell slot for spells like Destructive Wave or Insect Plague. Yeah Insect Plague is odd, but Destructive Wave is a perfect capstone of thunderous force!

You can also prepare spells like Flame Strike, for a thunderous strike that’s a bit more Radiant, or Dawn to let a light through the thunderclouds to guide you ahead. Hey is that Pantheon falling from the sky?

LEVEL 20 - CLERIC 10

Our capstone is the 10th level of Cleric for Divine Intervention. You can attempt to channel your godly powers as an action; when you do you must roll on a percentile die and if the percentage is equal to or less than your current level then your desires will come true. If this fails you can only try again after a long rest, and if it succeeds you can’t use the ability for 7 days. Since it’s only a 1/10 chance of this happening I suggest you just roll a d10 instead of a d100.

And finally you get one last spell and one last cantrip: Holy Weapon is a great capstone to make your claws do as much damage as possible. And for your cantrip? I dunno Clerics get way too many cantrips.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

By Freljord's might - While you don’t have the biggest healthbar you are incredibly sustainable with runes to give you resistances and plenty of abilities to keep you in the fight with more health and AC.

Tremble at my roar! - You can be useful in all aspects of a fight, be it big bursts or DPS, AoE or single target. And if anyone tries to hit you Wrath of the Storm will hit them back!

Battle is in my blood - Most of your abilities come back on a short rest; while your more impressive stunts are tied to long rests you’re still able to rip and tear with only a light snack to keep you up.

CONS

Strength and wisdom guide me - This build is rather bloated with a high Charisma, Wisdom, decent Constitution, and a requirement for Strength and Platemail. If your initial stats are a little higher you can put some more into Wisdom.

A fool and his head are easily parted - You have two weak points that are fairly important: Dexterity determines Initiative among many other things, and there are plenty of powerful spells that force Intelligence saving throws.

Let the storm follow in my wake - Truth be told the levels in Tempest Cleric are done more for flavor than actual utility. You’d be far better off multiclassing into a Charisma caster (this build would honestly be really good with levels in Paladin) or just continuing down Fighter and Warlock.

But when the only thing stopping you is the will of the dice gods there’s little to hold back the thunder! You’re no enchanter, and a few weak spells won’t stop your claws; slice through your enemies and destroy everything in your wake! Thunder’s more of a nice after-touch.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

#dnd 5e #dnd build #dnd guide #dnd multiclass #dnd cleric #dnd warlock #dnd fighter #Unearthed Arcana #League of Legends #League of Legends Volibear #furry

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jq37 · 5 years ago

Note

[obligatory recap ask]

**spoilers for subway skirmish and borough of dreams**

@kickmuncher3 and @galfast: ty for your asks, I’ll use them for the next two recaps. this is probably the least efficient way for me to handle this but I want to keep all of these visually consistent dammit.

One of the funniest things about this season of D20 is most if not all of the cast has lived in NYC which manifests as very specific references and in character complaints that you just know come from a place of truth and experience. Which is to say we got a lot of that in these episodes.

Also, this has nothing to do with anything but living in NY update: On Sunday, I saw a man hanging upside-down from a tree--by his feet--and playing the flute. And barely anyone registered it at all. So I really cannot stress enough how much New York is Like That.

Pete opening the fight by blasting a fireball and then telepathically calling out Kingston is--como se dice--a Power Move.

Brennan *immediately* channels the opposite of whatever energy Emily's on and goes right for Ricky's dog to the horror of everyone at the table and his absolute delight. Like, it's a spectral dog but still. Bro. Dog.

Kingston taking the heat metal damage to get Epona to drop him is so raw. But then, for the rest of the fight, he doesn't say a single thing except for his Command spells which is a very different kind of raw.

Question: Is Riz's mom the only good cop that exists in D20?

I know this was an RP ep and I know they knew it was gonna be an RP ep but I wonder what would have happened if they had pretended to cooperate with Epona to get more info. Probably just an extended RP ep that would have segued into this same fight eventually. But I'm curious about what information they let get eaten by a swarm of rats.

Misty's Irresistible Dance spell is very clutch.

The gators from the last fight are back in the form of Kug's summons and one of them still has a grudge against Misty. Misty is all, "send me your resume!" because she appreciates the spunk. I was starting a sentence about what the hell play this sentient gator is going to be in but as soon as I hypothetically asked it my brain was like, "Peter Pan. Next question."

Y'all, this really was Kug's fight. Between calling the roaches, crocs, and gators, channeling Moonshine to call lightning, and killing Epona within 40 mins of the ep, he truly was on fire. Good for him. He also turns into a bear but specifically a bear that would have escaped from the zoo. It's the little details that make this show great.

Brennan putting his foot down on tying rats together not being acrobatics is the eternal DM mood.

Back to Epona for a second, do we think she was working for Robert directly? Someone connected to him? Something else? When her shadow split after Ricky's attack was that meaningful or just flavor? Where did that badge come from? Has it always existed? What does destroying it mean? It didn't seem to help. The bad cop ghosts were still around, just no one could control them at that point. If they had yoinked that badge, could they have had a summoning item that hey could use? Or is it bad karma to use something like that? Is it still bad if you're forcing the bad cops to do good stuff? Did Brennan anticipate this or is the Coach Daybreak 2: Electric Boogaloo? Lots of questions.

Misty's cutting words to the cop (saving Ricky) making the Law and Order "DUN DUN" noise is great.

Emily ends up not needing to roll to make rat nunchucks because her health goes low enough that her magic ring activates but I feel like she low key wanted rat nunchucks.

Wild that Kingston went down for just long enough for it to be cinematic before being revived by Misty ("Get up, old man,")

Also wild that this whole fight only took about 45 seconds of in game time. It makes sense if you think about it the way you would a movie and that's how most D&D fights are but that's so much play time for so little game time and it hit me this ep because I was actually keeping track of rounds.

Anyway, I have not mentioned up until this point that the whole crux of this fight is to last long enough for Alejandro to roll high enough to summon the train to Nod but, long story short, Pizza Rat shows up to save the day. Does that make more sense in context? Marginally.

I like that the train to Nod shows up on the wrong side of the tracks. Like I said, man. Details.

Oh and to my above point about the cast making comments about NY as people who have lived in NY, I loved Brennan looking directly at the camera when he was going off on people who just stand at the door like idiots while you're trying to get in and then Siobhan pokes like half her head into frame so she can also stare directly into the camera. Mood.

When Ally said Pete shoots Kingston I half believed it for a good couple of seconds. I was right there with Lou.

OK, so I don't know how many of you have watched Sharkboy and Lavagirl (and, if you haven't feel free to skip this bullet) but no movie has brought me more enjoyment overall than SB&LG. Not because it's good because it's not. But it's so insane that it's amazing. It's right in the sweet spot. I always say, if it was any better, it would be Spy Kids 3 and, therefore, unwatchable (SK 1 + 2 are dope as hell though, for the record). I bring it up because the way Brennan describes Nod reminds me a lot of Drool in SB&LG. Like, the rollercoaster subway car def could be in the same universe as the Train of Thought. This is all to say that I think Brennan could have written a version of SB&LG that was better without being worse. Idk if that comes across as complimentary, but it is, and to both parties actually.

From the way Nod (the kid) is being framed (in this ep and the next) I know we're not supposed to mistrust him but, put in that situation, there is no way I would trust the gray faced, black eyed, creepily gliding dream child.

Post fight, Kingston wants to offer an apology for what he said about Pete and Nod wants to apologize for putting Pete in his current situation. Also, the group decides to be more open in general. Kug, as most of us guessed, got beauty and the beasted for white collar crime by his business partner (Gabby) who is Esther's mom and a witch (also, Ricky thinks his crush on Esther is a secret which is just adorable and completely incorrect).

Brennan cuts sharing time off because this is the combat episode dammit! Save it for next session. But, because I'm behind, next session is now! Let's get into The Borough of Dreams.

Misty, as a faerie, is instinctively mistrustful of vising other magical worlds and eating the food or taking things at face value. I love that she's playing a character where she can ask these questions and not be meta-gaming because I had some of the same concerns.

Wildly, WALLY walks out of the train as he just happened to be on it (as conductor) at the time. Kug bursts out with the fact that he's his dad and Wally takes this to mean that Rat Jesus is his bio dad but, even after being left alone for so many years, he claims Bruce as his real dad. He's wrong but he's sweet.

"I thought you were mad at me." Brennan, you didn't have to do that.

Murph clearly trying to not accidentally call Wally a piece of shit because that's his go to Kug way to describe things is so funny.

"We could turn me into a rat." WALLY

Kingston and Misty looking at each other like, "These absolute children," while Pete and Soph are making Brittney Spears references.

So we find out what all of the magic stuff they picked up does. Misty's mirror can see invisibility. Pete's grill helps with persuasion. The thousand hour energy makes you immune to sleep for 42 days(!) The bagel can be used for divination or to essentially kill a person but spread their essence throughout the universe (which low key sounds like a sacrifice someone might make to help cancel the spread of say an undead presence or a money virus).

I want Ricky and Wally to be friends forever.

Kingston's lack of connection to the dream world is so sad. Like, he's no nonsense but he's like NO NONSENSE. Like no nonsense possible. So he's just walking around like Eddie Valiant in Toontown.

And, at the same time, the rest of the party is doing the MOST nonsense. Mary Poppins-ing into the sky. Misty is making out with the moon. Wild.

SOBER SALAD

Ally drops the ketamine on the tomatoes line and Brennan fully breaks

Very sweet for Pete to bring Kingston a salad, even though that's such a random food to just have in your pocket(???). Why does salad keep coming up on this show? One more time and it's officially a motif.

So the dream world basically works on Sharkboy and Lavagirl/Xanth/Phantom Tollbooth/Wonderland/Toontown logic. If you've seen/read any of those, you basically have it down.

"Only people with Sprint have service."/"Oh, amazing!" Brennan threw that softball out for anyone who wanted it and Emily, as usual, hit it out of the park.

Brennan very clearly knows his NY history. The mob boss (lucky Luciano, no not that one) that he mentioned during the sleeping with the fishes bit is a real dude and basically the dude who brought organized crime to the US (in the form we know it now).

Ricky and the mints. Lord.

Anyway, the one item I didn't mention earlier is the holy grail detergent which can literally clean souls. Which sounds mighty interesting considering some of the other stuff that's come up this campaign.

(Also, I wonder if you could use the bagel as spell components since it contains everything in the universe in microcosm).

I can't believe Pete was the one saying, "At least eat before you shotgun that 1000 hour energy." By the by, the 42 hour span of the energy drink makes me suspicious. Is that just for humor (and accurate math) or it this a Chekov's Gun kind of an item indicating some kind of time jump at some point? Ricky drinks it later in this ep so, if there's a clock attached to that, it's ticking. I'm prob reading into this but I assume if you're still reading these, this is what you're here for.

Ally making sawing motions before being told an egg creme has nothing to do with eggs and is in fact a drink.

Pete! OK, so Pete has made some good steps in this ep, starting with promising to start reining in the drug usage. Later he works on his magic and also gets over Priya. This is the most endeared I've been to him all season. Especially his, "I try to do a good job," line. I felt that.

"It's still open to you." Aw.

Brennan clearly saw the chance for a lore drop this ep and boy did it drop. Let's run through the highlights.

Nod dumped all this on Pete the way they did because it's super super hard to contact a Vox Phantasmus beforehand due the the natural, waking world inclination to brush off dreams. You have to have the job before you can talk to the boss. Cruddy system but that's how it goes.

When Sophie said the thing about Robert Moses creating spaces that can't be accessed she meant by magic but it's an interesting way to phrase it because the irl Robert Moses is known for (allegedly, but like, it tracks) trying to keep black people out of certain spaces.

Robert Moses sold his soul to Hell and Faerie which is why he's still alive it seems. No one wants to collect on his soul and anger the other party.

Whoever predicted that the golden door for Emma Laz's poem was the rectangle from episode one, collect your prize because it's confirmed in this ep.

We learn about the ephemeral axiom which basically says, a dream can be all things but once it manifests, it's a single thing. (you might even say, "it is what it is".)

So another big thing we learn is that if a dream gets so big that manifesting them in the real world would break the game, it's called a Paragon. There are four total: Heaven, Hell, Faerie, and The American Dream. (Wild that The American Dream is the only country specific one that exists. Like, I rep my home team of course but the U.S. is a pretty latecomer to the country party. You'd think someone else might have gotten Paragon status at some point.)

"Was one of them the Grand Canyon?"

Anyway, dragging the American Dream into the waking world would fix the American Dream to mean one thing--I assume making tons of money if Robert Moses has his way. I'll admit, I was a little fuzzy on the mechanics of this on my first watch-through because pulling the American Dream into the real world sounds like it should be a good thing. But I think, at the most basic level, it's a matter of you shouldn't put magic that shouldn't be in a box in a box. I'm still wondering about the exact implications for the waking world if he succeeds though. Like, how would that manifest? Would everyone suddenly become money hungry (lol, how would you tell)? Would people still want what they want but the American Dream would just be understood to mean making stacks and none of the good Superman-y stuff?

"It's not Protestant work ethic is it?"

Robert Moses is undead and can't get into Nod, so those are good things to note.

I was so ready for Wally is get dispelled and for him to be a figment of Kug’s imagination or a dream or something. I braced myself so much. I was ready to set up a firing squad for Brennan for doing that to Kug.

Who tipped the bugsters off to where Pete was gonna be? As far as I can tell, the only people that knew were the gang plus Alejandro and Esther. Maybe someone was scrying on them and that’s what the roll Zac failed during the wedding ep was.

As soon as Brennan mentions locking the door, Ally immediately makes the connection and goes, "Key to the city." Nod "locks" the American Dream and gets rid of the lock which seems to mean the American Dream is temporarily unavailable. Which seems not good and like it's gonna have collateral damage for sure but I guess you bad is a matter of degrees and Robert getting in would be worse. But still, imagine your immigration papers get declined because some random kid decided to close down the American Dream for a couple of days.

So, we get some backstory of Misty. She apparently just was straight up not having a good time in Faerie so she stole Titania's shoes (allowing her to be in iron-filled NYC without triggering her fairy vulnerability) and peaced out.

"She's gonna kill you."/"Only if she can get here and I have her Goddamn shoes." (**A million airhorns in the distance**)

I love that Emily is still on the souls thing. Emily doesn't believe in Occam's Razor. In fact, I'd like to propose a corollary called the Axford Axiom: The coolest path between two points probably isn't the correct one, but it should be! I want her to run a campaign so bad so I can see her be in a game where her crazy endgame is what's going on because she's the one who wrote it.

Misty: Let's go to hell!

So much like a videogame, the map has opened up and we have three places to check out. The former locations in the dream world of Faerie (Carnagie Hall), Heaven (JFK airport), and Hell (where do you think? Hell's Kitchen). The gang splits up to look for clues (and drinks, in Misty's case). Actually, make that four places: Pete goes to the Met Museum of Memories to basically Avatar mind meld with the other Voxes and get a handle on his magic to a degree (thank God--Nod?). We'll take these in order of appearance, which means we're off to Hell with Kug and Ricky (plus Ox and Wally).

(Focus on the Pizza, baby!)

At first I wanted Ricky, the good boy, to go to Heaven, but the idea of a firefighter in Hell also has appeal.

Re The rat holding his guts: Gross.

Ricky holding his axe like a cell phone.

So we and Kug learn that the rat-spell that was cast on him wasn't actually a rat-spell. It was a spell that would make his outsides reflect his insides and his insides happened to suck. I'm wondering if that means that it's a static spell that reflects his outsides at the time it was cast and it would need to be recast to reflect any moral progress made or if it will just revert him once he's made enough progress.

I'm also wondering (partially bc one of my players asked to do this last session) can a Druid wildshape into a person? I feel like no, but like, did any of you ever read Animorphs? You know how in book 1 Tobias gets stuck as a red-tailed-hawk but then later her gets his morphing ability back and then he can turn back into his human form for 2 hours at a time? What if Kug just started doing that? Just being a rat who is sometimes a dude.

They also go to the statue of liberty (which has a French accent, natch) who shows them that there's, like, a money/greed virus infecting the Dreaming and the American Dream. Ricky smells undeath again. They think vampires. That's plausible but I'm not sure.

OK, Heaven.

WHOOOO, strap in y'all

(Sidenote: I wonder what would have happened if Soph hadn't chose to go to heaven. I feel like she could have easily run into you know who in hell had she chose to go there, but I'm getting ahead of myself).

Brennan actually tries to lead Emily into the thinking about Dale mindset but Emily, having reached a note of closure in Soph's character arc, pushes back on that.

honeyougotastormcoming.gif

Brennan,about to wreck her entire life: Cool.

I and the cast keep saying heaven a lot but it's like an all roads lead to Rome situation. It's heaven, Valhalla, Elysium, nirvana. Like, whatever Good Place you believe in. It's the Good Place.

Sophie, upon being told that if she jumps into the fight at the Pearly Gates she knows nothing about, she might literally die: And what about it?

Emily's face when Brennan says, "And you see Dale," is so much. You can see the entire range of human emotion in her eyes in that moment.

Sidenote: I wonder how much of her backstory Emily planned and how much Brennan dropped on her. Like, she knew Isabella was part of her backstory obv. Did Brennan come up with all of this whole-cloth or did she say she wanted there to be something supernatural and and let him fill in the details. Very curious about the collaborative process.

When Dale's character art comes up, it says "Sophie's Angel" for Dale's descriptor so where I thought we were going was that Dale was Sophie's Guardian Angel who wasn't supposed to be romantically involved with her and the reason he was gone is that he was forcibly brought back to heaven. But that may be because I recently watched this.

Dale, is upsettingly sweet with Sophie, calls her "sweetie" the entire time they're together, fights a ton of angels to get to her, and says he got her text message. Emily is about to cry. *I'm* about to cry. I'm sure the only reason Brennan isn't fistpumping is because he needs to stay in character.

Dale gives this cryptic piece of advice before he is dragged off by angel guards: When you get to the top, I know what it'll seem like, but there is someone there.

Emily, of course: I fight the angels.

The angels, hilariously, don't take it personally that she's fighting them--and very well, but not well enough to beat a nat 20. Sometimes the dice are spooky in tune with the story.

"He's got a job to do here. Who's gonna watch the deer?"

Dale also tells Soph to tell Jackson he said hi which is interesting to say the least.

Emily gets two very dope lines in a row:

"Let me hold your hand through this Alejandro."

"I'm gonna kill her. And I don't think she's going to the great big airport in Brooklyn."

That's it for her for now, but let's put a pin in that for now and come back to it after we check in with the others.

Siobhan and Kingston are at the former spot of Faerie, the Glamour Bar.

Zac jokingly (I think) guessing Dr. Doolittle as the thing Siobhan can't remember when she says Eliza Doolittle is so funny.

Also, her terrible cockney British accent on top of her actual British accent is great.

I love that the two actual Real Adults are the ones who go and get wasted mid-mission.

Brennan introduces "Bobby Goodfellow" and it takes Siobhan exactly four seconds after Brennan finishes the word "Goodfellow" to be like, "It's Puck." She knew and she knew her character would know it and she hardcore pounced.

I meant to mention this before but it's super funny that Kingston has been around the magical block but there's still so much he doesn't know. He was surprised by a bunch of stuff in this ep that I'd think he would know about (like the Midsummer's faeries being real) but nah. He's like, "This is my specific brand of magic nonsense. That's what I know about. I don't mess around with any of *that* stuff. I stay in my lane. I stay in my city."

Ty Brennan for teaching me how to pronounce sláinte. This is the first time I'm hearing it out loud.

I love his Puck voice. Like, the little British street urchin voice.

No big surprise, Puck sent the mirror on the order of Oberon and Titania (who are not back together but are knocking boots according to him).

Puck warns Misty, "The world of mortals is not long for this world," and follows it up with a seemingly sincere, "Come home. We miss you," which is an interesting thing to say after announcing that Titania is gunning for her. Who is this we, Puck? Your boss wants to bodyslam her!

Also, what do the faeries know that they're not saying? All of them in the bar seemed to know something was off but none of them said anything and Puck didn't elaborate.

I've always liked the trope of the person from the otherworldly, magical or super advanced being like, "Idk what you're talking about. Humans are great!" because it's the opposite of the snooty elf/vulcan/whatever trope that I really can't stand. Misty showed shades of that in this conversation but I feel like there's still so much that we're missing in her backstory and I wanna know what it is.

(Also, this is prob just me being a little pepe silvia but I would be very unsurprised if Misty got an opportunity to betray the party at some point. Don't @ me. It's just something I could see myself offering to a player for the drama of it all).

Anyway, Kingston is extremely uncomfortable in the bar and makes a hasty exit so let's go to the museum with Pete and Nod.

Ally jumps onto the, "Suggested donations are for suckers" train w/ Siobhan.

Turns out, Pete f'd up Robert up so much that he has kind of a brain link with him. I wonder how long that's gonna last.

Pete gets proficiency in arcana and a choice between lesseing wild magic surges or gaining some control over them (2 wild magic rolls on a fail and ally gets to choose which effect takes place). Obv the second one is more fun rp-wise so that's what Ally picks.

It's a memory museum so OF COURSE he gets a chance to look at the memories of the rest of the party. But it's getting late so he only has a chance to check on one person's memories. He, naturally, picks Kingston. Makes perfect sense from an RP perspective but out of character I feel like Misty is the most closed book of the party.

Pete sees Kingston's life from his childhood to the present (Brennan puts Lou on the spot to do some improv...I mean beyond the improv they're already doing) and it's about what you would expect based on what we know about Kingston but it's very beautifully described (sidenote: did any of y'all ever watch the life and times of juniper lee? where she can't leave the city bc she's like the buffy of that world? I really felt shades of that, except more self imposed).

During that montage, a character is like, "You could make hundreds of millions of dollars--I mean, I'm exaggerating," (s/t like that) and I'm not gonna go back and check but I feel like Brennan (or maybe Lou) made almost exactly the same comment in the first ep of this season in a very similar context.

Oh, also, Kingston gets dubbed Vox Populi by a dragon on Bleecker Street in case you were wondering about logistics.

Again, Nod says that inviting Liz into his life was basically dooming Liz to be stuck dealing with the Unsleeping City but I feel like unless you have a Vox position or something similar you should be able to, like, opt out. So what you need to ignore some weird stuff day to day? May I direct you to my earlier anecdote about the flute dude in the tree. New Yorkers are good at that. And if she moved away, would it even be an issue?

Actually, that raises another question. Is NY the only place where magic is happening? It can't be because Santa is doing his thing at the North Pole. And NY has the Umbral Arcana which shields magic from muggles. Does that mean that elsewhere, magic just isn't hidden? I'm guessing that works because the bulk of magical happenings are happening in NY. Which, again, if so, couldn't Liz just move if she really wanted to? Or is she actually being *kept* there?

Ahhhhh, that argument scene with Kingston and Liz. Ow.

Robert's subconscious is heckling Kingston's memories the entire time.

The party gets back together, Pete immediately lets Kingston know he was memory spying on him and hugs him (while Misty is drunk a singing over him). Their rift literally caused a kind of rift in NYC which is now healed (which causes Sophie to see the Unsleeping City/Dreaming Yin-Yang sign over their heads).

Ricky drinks the 1000 hr energy so start the clock I guess.

Misty, upon hearing that Dale is dead basically does that John Mulaney bit: Hey, do you want me to kill that guy for you? Because it sounds like [s]he sucks and I will totally kill that guy for you.

It's the day of Priya's art show which I totally forgot was happening. Before that, Sophie finally goes to see her brother and we can return back to that pin I mentioned earlier.

(Also, it’s the 20th which means we’re getting really close to Christmas)

He says that their family got mixed up with the Confettis and they've been helping to launder magical items that Confetti is paying some rep from Hell (an associate of Robert's).

And by, "Some rep from hell," I mean Isabella Infierno specifically.

Emily, hilariously riffs for a while about how small it was of her to call Isabella a succubus even though she clearly knows at this point that Isabella is some kind of demon. I mean...Infierno. Come on.

Sidenote: Which demon actually trying to be subtle would pick the last name Infierno? You wanna blow your cover for the aesthetic that bad?

Emily goes, "Oh my (beat) Nod," which I think is the exact way she dropped the first, "Oh Melora," in one of the first eps of Naddpod.

Anyway, it turns out that Soph's family knew that Isabella was gunning for Dale (he was getting close to realizing something shady was going on) and, while they didn't call the shot, they let it happen.

Oh! He also says Dale was a chosen one from "some monastery" which, of course, fits in with Dale's comment about saying hi to Jackson. Now I'm wondering if his other comment--about there seeming like there's nothing at the top--is about whatever chosen one test he had to take to get the position to begin with. And maybe he was giving a clue to Sophie so that when she takes it, she'll for sure pass and get whatever dope powers or weapons or privileges come with the position.

"The only reason I'm not going to go after you right now is because I'm not organized enough to give you the fucking revenge you deserve." Soph is cold as ice after hearing about what her family did.

"Maybe you should have said that to Isabella before she went after me." Another mic drop line from Emily. This really was her episode. You can really see Emily channeling hr genuine emotional reactions into her character.

La Gran Gata shows up to let Soph know she has her back to hunt down Isabella. The only other warlocks really seen played are Fjord on CritRole and Leiland on Bloodkeep so it's wild to see a character with such a chill relationship with their patron.

So, Priya's art show. They show up (to a distressingly unsafe building from Ricky's perspective) and it turns out, not only is it performance art (the worst kind) Pete *is* the art.

"I present to all of you: cruelty, a exploration of a relationship. Peter, take my hand."

major barf.

Pete goes OFF

Kingston: Picasso is art, this is bullshit!

Siobhan: Her last name is Danger? I hate this bitch.

Pete gets over Priya instantly which totally tracks because, like I said, barf.

Sophie stealing Ricky's thing and rooftop jumping. Zac narrows his eyes when she says that.

I love Isabella's title card. It says, "Literal Succubus". It reminds me of the funniest scene in Bedazzled when the Devil (Liz Hurley) gives Brendan Frasier her business card and it just says, "The Devil".

But she's here and she's here to fight! I'm so excited for this one y'all! Unsafe building. Lots of civilians. Sophie (and Emily) going totally feral. I haven’t looked forward to a fight this much since Adaine went for Aelwen. Let's gooooo!

#asks #dimension 20 #the unsleeping city #d20 #riz-gukgak #this is 5k words #aren't I good at utilizing my free time

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way-down-meme-town · 5 years ago

Text

Tootsie (Act I)

Under the cut you will find 124 lyrics from the 2019 musical Tootsie for your enjoyment!

Opening Number 1. “The night is falling on Manhattan and soon the daylight will be gone.”

2. “Anticipation’s all around you as one by one the lights are coming on.”

3. “Your feet wanna fly and your pulse wants to raise ‘cause you’re free and you’re young and you’re in the right place.”

4. “You’re right here. You’re right now. You’re a part of New York.”

5. “Nothing in the world is like the feeling that anything is possible here, even the impossible is possibly possible here in New York.”

6. “Any dream can be a dream come true in New York.”

7. “Underneath the city that is all pavement is a city that’s all heart.”

8. “God, this is exciting. Don’t you feel giddy?”

9. “Alright everybody, let’s all stop the rehearsal again.”

10. “Would my character say the city is all heart?”

11. “Where in the history of the printed libretto does it say any of that?”

12. “My character deserves his truth.”

13. “I am just saying what every other actor on this stage is thinking.”

14. “You want out? You’re out.”

15. “This opening number is benign and dishonest, directed by an inept, derivative hack and this musical sucks.”

16. “Is he an actor? Yes, of course he is. Is he successful? Yes, of course he’s not.”

17. “You won’t see his name on the marquee.”

18. “Sounds to me like you don’t know what the hell you’re looking for.”

19. “He’s feeling victimized and bitter, like nothing good is gonna happen soon.”

20. “The odor of humiliation begins to permeate the room.”

21. “They need someone nicer, someone less reactive. Can you really blame them?”

22. “He’s gonna make it to the top.”

Whaddya Do 23. “Whaddya do when suddenly you realize the calendar inside your head is running out of pages?”

24. “Whaddya do if you can see the odds are good you’ll never be the person you’ve been trying for?”

25. “Whaddya do when everything you wanted more than life itself is laughing at you?”

26. “Whaddya do? You make it work.”

27. “Whaddya do when everything is happening but everything is happening to everybody but you?”

28. “Are you haunted by the fact all you want to do is sacked and it’s all you want to do until you die?”

29. “I am stuck struggling in the muck, standing here all purpled and perplexed caught in the gap between what the hell just happened and what the hell is gonna happen next.”

30. “Ya got the list of all the hopese and dreams I missed.”

31. “Sometimes I look in the mirror and I am sad at what I see.”

32. “I came to the conclusion there really must be something wrong with all of those douchebags who won’t hire me.”

What’s Gonna Happen 33. “I know what’s gonna happen.”

34. “I’ll try to go to bed with fear of failure flopping like a fruit bat in my head.”

35. “Which incidentally isn’t half as disconcerting or upsetting as going for a part you know there is no way that you are getting.”

36. “I’m heading downtown for the audition where everything I’m dreading will be coming to fruition.”

37. “Somewhere through the fog of insecurity and hate, I’ll try to convince them that I’m charming.”

38. “They’re gonna throw the book at me ‘cause I’m guilty.”

39. “We hereby sentence you to a lifetime of waiting table and debilitation self-loathing.”

40. “She’s a fake. She’s a phony. She could never win a Tony.”

41. “I now live in a place I know quite well. I’ve left the world and I’ve entered hell.”

42. “I’m this far away from a fainting spell.”

43. “I’m trying to take it slowly.”

44. “I’m trying to be my best.”

45. “I watch a vivid sequence of humiliating instances from my past go by and think what kind of masochist keeps coming back for me.”

46. “No! I know what’s gonna happen. Don’t tell me that I don’t.”

47. “Don’t say that I’ll rise to the occasion cause I won’t.”

48. “I’m smart enough to know that I’m too stupid to admit you can’t survive a diet that consists of eating shit.”

49. “The trick is knowing when it’s time to pack your bags and say that’s it.”

50. “You know what’s gonna happen. I know what’s gonna happen.”

I Won’t Let You Down 51. “I’ve always imagined that you are the flower and I am the dirt.”

52. “My world spins around you. Whenever you fall I’m the one who gets hurt.”

53. “I give you all I have. Give me one thing in return.”

54. “Have me help you to help me to help you to help me to help you learn that I won’t let you down.”

55. “I’ll be here to play any role you need me to play.”

56. “You give me your trust. I give you my word.”

57. “Nobody sees me and nobody listens and nobody cares, but you know what’s in here. Love and devotion that needs to be shared.”

58. “I won’t let you down because you believe in me, because you’re the one who can see I’m here and alive.”

59. “I won’t let you down cause when I felt empty inside you filled up my cup, you lifted me up.”

60. “I’ll never let you down. I’ll do what you need me to do.”

61. “I promise I’ll always come through. Just call and I’m there.”

62. “Please make the right choice. Remember my voice.”

63. “Just give it some thought. I love you a lot.”

I’m Alive 64. “I’m alive. I’m alive. Good God almighty, I’m alive.”

65. “Don’t hold your nose. I won’t decompose.”

66. “My world was a dud. Lots of death, lots of blood.”

67. “She was almost dead, but she’s alive.”

68. “What can I say, I got carried away, but now’s a new day.”

69. “Here’s the headline. She’s gonna be mine.”

There Was John 70. “I was the girl in the bubble at school, behind my own personal wall for protection. I’d sit there alone like a fool. I never was able to make a comeback.”

71. “This life takes everything you give it, like a puppy or a kid.”

72. “He told me he wanted some kids and a wife, and that’s when I realized this is my life.”

73. “Yes, my heart was almost broken but I’d made my choice and I’d make it again.”

74. “Here is me, another dressing room number one thousand and three. Exactly where I should be.”

I Like What She’s Doing 75. “I like what she’s doing. This might be a thing.”

76. “She’s fun but profound.”

77. “What she’s selling, I’m buying.”

78. “I love that she’s trying. Let’s follow her lead.”

79. “We were flat on our back, but now we’re on track.”

80. “She’ll polish this turd into treasure somehow.”

81. “Well, we got work to do. God knows how we got this far.”

82. “Alright kiddos, it’s your favorite stage manager. Breaks over!”

83. “Everyone else, there is a revised schedule on the board.”

84. “He saw your motionless hair and your avocado figure, and I lost the man I loved.”

85. “To be fair, dear, you did kill the last one.”

86. “Don’t I deserve a chance at a future that celebrates me?”

87. “I love what we’re saying. I’m smiling at last.”

88. “It’s great how we’re playing. I’m having a blast.”

89. “I trust you completely, so does the whole cast. We like what you’re doing.”

90. “She’s got something special that makes you engaged.”

91. “It’s almost electric when she hits the stage.”

92. “I can’t tell you how but, honey, I hope she keeps doing what she’s doing now.”

93. “She won’t take directions. She’s changing the play. She’s like an infection that won’t go away.”

94. “She just wants to fight me. She does it to spite me. I hate what she’s doing.”

95. “She’s bringing up memories I need to forget.”

96. “She’s stealing my girl, she’s stealing my show, and I’m ready to blow all because of that cow.”

97. “Goddamnit! She’s gotta stop doing what she’s doing now!”

98. “If you take her, you better take care of her!”

99. “I will devote my life to her happiness. I love her.”

100. “I like what she’s doing. She’s got so much heart. She’s so friggin’ sexy and so frickin’ smart.”

101. “She’s made me an actor.”

102. “Something was missing and she’s what it was.”

103. “How will I live without you here?”

104. “You have turned this show into a joyous anthem for all women.”

105. “I won’t let you down, because you believed in me.”

Who Are You? 106. “I can’t escape the feeling I met you long ago in someplace filled with sunlight.”

107. “I’ve never been a needy or romantic guy, falling like a meteor in some poetic starry sky.”

108. “This is a different story, something completely strange. What the hell am I doing?”

109. “It’s nice connecting with someone, somebody I can talk to like someone I’ve always known. Where on Earth were you hiding?”

110. “I think it’s just amazing how fast this friendship has grown.”

111. “It’s felt so long since I was young and running free. I locked myself inside a box, but suddenly there’s the key.”

What’s Gonna Happen (Reprise) 112. “You’re gonna stand me up and I’ll be staring at the phone, sitting there all dismal and pathetic and alone.”

113. “It never doesn’t happen.”

Unstoppable 114. “She’s got me flying like a bird.”

115. “Stand aside, cause this girl’s on a roll. She’s unstoppable.”

116. “We got the role! We got the gig!”

117. “Told you before. Show me the door, I’ll kick it down.”

118. “Look out world, cause this girl’s on a roll!”

119. “Nothing and no one, not anything anyone ever can do or say can stop her.”

120. “I’ll be taking the world over soon.”

121. “There’s no mountain these heels can’t climb.”

122. “Nothing on Earth can stop me, cause I’m unstoppable.”

123. “Another sold out house tonight and it is because of you!”

124. “This has turned out better than I ever could have imagined. I love you.”

#ask meme #rp meme #sentence meme #musical meme #musical #musicals #tootsie

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milkcartonbastard · 5 years ago

Text

Wide Eyes

Fandom and Pairing- The Outsiders (Johnny X Dally and background Steve X Soda.)

Notes- The setting is modern times. I use the word 'Fae' as the plural form of Fairy. This was a request and I know I haven't been taking them for this fandom, but it was a lot and I was blown away.

This is a Mythical Creature AU that I am living for.

Warnings- Johnny's home abuse and attempted murder. As well as Dally's New York experience. There's violence towards the end. Language warning too. Leave comments, please. I love hearing from you all.

~~~

The fan hanging from the ceiling of the Curtis living room hummed loudly in the gang's ears. There was a frequent swishing sound coming from Two-Bit flicking his switch blade around, his eyes locked on the black television screen. The gang was getting restless and sweating profusely. It was the end of Spring and it was already one of the hottest Summer's in Tulsa. Which was fitting, because the Curtis brother's were behind on their bills, causing their power to be cut off. Darry had the money to pay the bill, which had been doubled in order to be reactivated, but had to wait until Monday when the City Court House was open and accepting over-due payments.

Steve had been generous enough to use his abilities to hook up a system that caused the fan to move without electricity. But it was slow and just moved the hot-air around and caused the sweat-fall to worsen. Steve was good at things like that, but that was his gift after all. Steve's mother was a witch and had passed her genes down to him. He had a natural sway- one that didn't require spells, of course he could still do those too- over fire and mechanics, which was fortunate considering the only place that would hire him was the DX down the road from his place. He worked on cars during the hottest parts of the day and then came home at night to relax. But it was never very relaxing, considering his step-dad was a piece of shit and always trying to push him around and control his life. He was a warlock, like Steve, but his power must have been bitterness, because Steve had never seen him do anything useful in his life.

Steve's magic was pretty superior to other warlocks he knew, which was not many, at least that's what he believed. He knew of his step-dad, some prick at school who loved to make strong breezes blow girl's skirts up, and Johnny Cade. Johnny kept his powers more concealed than Steve had ever been able to. He'd only seen Johnny use his abilities once and it was against some psycho who had flicked his knife out at the gang. If it hadn't been an emergency- also a situation where the Curtis brothers weren't there- he would have been sure Johnny still wouldn't have used them. It was an incredibly strange thing to see, which said a lot considering Steve had know the Curtis brothers his entire life. Johnny's black colored eyes expanded until you could no longer see any of the whites of his eyes and his voice sounded like it was under water.

"Sleep." Johnny had gently placed his hands on either side of the man's greasy face and then the man had fallen unconscious as soon as the word's left Johnny's lips. Steve had known Johnny was a warlock, but seeing that had just shocked him as much as not knowing would have. Two-Bit had been there with them and had told the rest of the gang about it as soon as he'd seen them again, changing his face and acting it out for the Curtis brothers, who were having an 'inside' night. Everyone had patted Johnny on the back and told him he'd done a good job. He'd smiled only slightly, but his rosy cheeks gave away how thrilled he was.

"Alright. Fuck this. It's hotter in here than it is outside! Surely we can find something to do outside." Two-Bit whined and stood up. He pulled his chuck's on and laced them up. Nobody moved to stand up or put their own Converse on.

"I don't know, Two. It's hot and I've heard some rumor's going around about some Hunter's in the area. Maybe we should just stay in and lay low." Darry said. At the mention of Creature Hunter's, Pony's eyes left the homework he was doing off to the side and flickered across his oldest brother's face. Their parents had been caught a couple years back and had been terminated, which had prompted Darry to raise his brothers and the three other boys since. The Hunters had never gotten a possible ID match, which meant their parent's bodies had been too mangled to identify. That was a good thing- an impossibly horrifying thing- because that meant the three Curtis brothers were safe. For now.

Two-Bit sighed heavily, his knees buckling to the floor in front of the oldest boy's feet. He pressed his palms and fingers together, his bottom lip jutting out and quivering slightly, begging Darry for some freedom. "But it's so nice out. We can go play in the park and you can chase all the cars you want. Please? You can't say no to this face."

"Yes, I can. No, Two-Bit." Darry stated firmly. He leaned back in his recliner, his shirt soaked in sweat. Two-Bit groaned and thought for a second. A split second later, he stood up and his face had changed. Barack Obama was now standing in the Curtis house. He smiled charmingly at Darry and fixed the tie that was laying perfectly with his navy blue suit.

"Well. Certainly we can work something out. Come now, the President of the United States Of America has decided we are going to the park." Barack Obama fixed his cuff-links as he strolled to the door. Johnny was quick to shut the door, kicking the bottom while sitting on the floor nearby. Johnny would hate for someone walking by the house to see the President looking through the screen door. Obama stopped in his tracks and suddenly the Shift was gone. Two-Bit stood with a defeated look on his face.

"What if we all just go out and grab a bite to eat. If we open your fridge with all this heat, who knows what will happen?" Two-Bit was deflating, already going to take his shoes off.

"Fine. We'll go out for a little. But no Shifting, no magic, and no wolfing out. 'Hershey bars' is the code if you see anything suspicious or if something happens. You all know the drill." Darry grabbed his shoes and Soda hopped off the couch and went to grab a shirt. Two-Bit fist punched the air as they all got ready. It was around 6pm and he was ready for some fun. Of course, the Dairy Queen wouldn't be a blast, but he knew milkshakes would be involved.

Pony flipped his Calculus book closed and grabbed his shoes out from underneath the couch. The ceiling fan came to a complete stop, Steve's magic had stopped working and his red eyes faded back to their whisky brown. Soda came sauntering in, wearing one of Steve's cut up thrift store shirts. It had been carelessly cast onto the floor earlier when he and Steve had disappeared into his room. Pony was very glad that he'd decided to get his own space and move out of his brother's room, cause he was sure he would have had to change his sheets.

Steve and Soda stood by the door with Johnny and Two-Bit. Pony stood up and brushed the cookie crumbs off his pants. Darry was tying his boots up and everyone waited patiently by the door. Soon enough, Darry was shutting the door to the house and they were piling into the Curtis's beat up red truck. Two-Bit got shotgun, and since it was a stick shift and Darry couldn't change gears without hitting the knees of whoever sat between him and Two, the other four boys piled into bed.

By the time they got to Dairy Queen, the boys were no longer sweating and their damp of their clothes had dried. Pony and Johnny were sat crisscross beside each other and talking amongst themselves. Steve was sitting with his back against the cab window and Soda was laid in his lap, staring up at the clothes and pointing every now and then as they drove.

Johnny felt a strange twisting in his gut. Steve's fingers were carding through Soda's wheat-gold hair. Steve wasn't looking up at the sky, only at Soda's pretty face. Johnny wanted that. He wanted someone to stare at him like he was the stars. Like he was the only beautiful thing in the world to them. He'd used to like Ponyboy, then he'd gained a small crush on a girl up the street- Malia Smith was pretty, but her personality was like pouring salt in an open wound- and then he'd ignored his feelings for anyone until they had all just faded away. Pony was nothing more than a really good best friend and Johnny had decided he'd wanted it no other way.

"What kinda milkshake do you want? I feel like it's a strawberry kinda day for me." Pony said. Johnny felt a smile spread across his face. He only loved one type of milkshake from Dairy Queen and everyone knew that. Pony's face twisted up. "Peanut butter, again? Gross."

"It's delicious, thank you very much. One day you're going to be in a peanut butter mood and you're going to be telling me how wrong you were all these years." Johnny's face got hot and he laughed softly. "Whenever you concur your peanut allergy, that is."

Johnny and Pony both started laughing hysterically. Two-Bit heard this, which prompted him to unbuckle his seat belt and open the beer-window. He asked the two what was so funny. It took a full minute before either boy was able to compose themselves enough to answer him.

"Pony's the only werewolf I know wuh-who is allergic to peanuts." Johnny felt laughter bubble up inside of him again and then the silent laughter fit took over. Two-Bit snorted and watched the two teens.

"Yeah! I thought dogs were supposed to like peanut butter! What a-" Two-Bit was being dragged back into the cab and hit in the back of the head by Darry. Two-Bit cackled and just like that, the family was pulling into Dairy Queen and parking. It was almost empty, save for a few people at the drive-in and a couple people getting carry out orders. Darry led his motley crew of creatures into the restaurant. They all got milkshakes, minus Soda who decided he wanted a cookie dough blizzard instead. They payed and went outside to hang around at the tables. They laughed and swapped shakes occasionally. Nobody but Darry drank any of Johnny's peanut butter shake, meanwhile Soda wouldn't share his blizzard with anyone but Steve.

"Well if it isn't my favorite mutt. How ya been Horseman?" Curly Shepard hopped the little neat gate around the outside eating area. He clapped his hand on Pony's shoulder and stole a sip of his milkshake.

"Sweaty. What about you?" Pony snatched his shake back and Curly grabbed a nearby chair. He spun it around and sat with the chair back against his stomach.

"Fan-fucking-tastic. I found this awesome hangout for ya know- people like us- and figured y'all could use a new club-house since yours no longer has air-conditioning." Curly grinned lopsidedly. His dark eyes stuck out against his pale-white face. His curly black hair was getting shaggy now, almost as long as Pony's. But Pony had tied his back in a small bun today, since it was too hot to have that mess in his face.

"Sounds shady. Any Hunter could waltz in at anytime. That's a trap with a beacon attached." Darry shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest. His muscles jutted out of his tank top, causing him to look a lot more defined than usual. The tan that he'd gotten a week earlier was helping too.

"Nah, this cat had a glamour Cast on the place. Only our kind can really see the place. It makes normal eyes just glide over it. A Hunter's worst nightmare. I'm heading down there right now. All kinds and species are welcome. Come with. All y'all." With that Curly stood up and pushed his chair back where it came from.

"Who is this guy? He could be a Hunter for all we know." Steve had his arms crossed too. Pony glanced over and noticed Johnny's closed eyes. What was he doing?

"Show up and find out." Curly started to walk away, grinning widely, but that grin faltered quickly and he stopped moving. He walked closer to the table and started to speak again. It sounded like words were being pulled from his body.

"His name's Buck Merril, he's an Elf and part of a sm- small resistance. His goal is to get a bunch of our kuh-kind together and let us interact. He thinks it'll make us all stronger if anything ever happens in Tulsa and - ugh, what the fuck!- and we'll know each other good enough to want to stand together." Curly's mouth snapped closed and he was breathing hard, his cheeks puffing in and out. His mouth opened, he snapped it shut, then it opened again. "Other than that he just wants to party."

Just like that, whatever was pulling the information from him stopped and his body relaxed. Curly cleared his throat and shook his head, like he was shaking an intrusive thought away. "The club is on the East side, in the middle of Blossom Street. Can't miss it, it's got a Elvish symbol carved on the door. Only we can see it. See ya fuckers there."

Curly finally left that time and the table was dumbfounded. Two-Bit was the first one to speak up. His poster was loose and he had a giant smile on his face, but his grey eyes were stormy. "Anybody want to go for a Hershey bar? There's some good ones down the street."

"That was me. No chocolate needed." Johnny whispered. Soda's head snapped around, a look of amazement on his face.

"What did you do to him? He looked like he was going to shit himself!" Soda's mouth tugged into a smile and Steve snorted.

"I just made him give us some more information. It didn't hurt him, it's just that he was fighting back a little. Happens." Johnny sunk down in his chair and slurped his milkshake. His face was a little bit rosy, but it wasn't the sun. He'd used his powers for the first time in a while, which shocked both him and the others.

"Alright, well, I am willing to bet my fur that 'Buck's' place has air-conditioning. I say we check it out." Soda sat his empty blizzard cup down on the table. Steve rested his arm across Soda's shoulder and nodded along. Darry worried his bottom lip and looked at the other three. They all shrugged and nodded their heads.

"Alright then. Codeword is the same and so are the rules. If we don't want to go back after tonight, we do have to. We'll just check the place out." Darry stood up and gathered his trash. They all threw away their garbage and loaded the truck up. They picked up Curly on their way, since he was trying to walk in the heat. Curly had his head stuck through the beer-window and was giving Darry directions.

~~~~

When they arrived at Buck's, they were immediately caught off-guard. The place was crunched between to shabby looking houses and was... kind of crooked. From the way Curly was talking about the place, it was a mansion with golden windows and door-handles. None of them had expected this run-down bar to be the destination. Curly clapped his hands down on Darry and Two-Bit's shoulders.

"It only gets better from here. Let's go, boy!" Curly ruffled Darry's hair and pointed at the building. Darry smacked his hand away. Annoyance clearly on his face.

"Once more wolf joke and I swear-"

"You'll what? Bite me?" Curly yanked his head out of the cab before Darry could do anything. The gang unloaded and followed Curly Shepard to the door. He placed his hand over the Elvish symbol on wooden surface and the door swung open, letting them in. The place looked like shit from the outside looking in. As soon as they had crossed under the doorframe though, everything blurred with movement.

The 10ft by 10ft room with dusty walls and shitty looking bar tables changed. The room was giant now, stretching way open like a high school gymnasium. Large chandeliers, dripping crystals, hung a good 15 foot off the floor in replacement of the one naked lightbulb that had been there. The cracked tiled floor became marble and perfect. There wasn't a speck of dirt on the shiny floor and the gang wasn't prepared to see people appear out of nowhere. Soon the music reached their ears and they noticed all the people dancing. All the Creatures dancing.

"Holy shit." The entire gang's mouths were hanging open. Curly had changed along with the room. He had two, dark, ruby, colored horns poking out of his messy curls and bending backwards. His demonic features were showing and Darry almost panicked. Curly's cheek bones were jutted out and looked like they could cut someone. His tongue was forked and he had dark fingernails. He gestured to the room and grinned at the six of them.

"Welcome to Paradise. All Glamors and magic disguises get removed at the door- since we're free to be ourselves here. Buck will probably come and introduce himself to you all." A girl came sashaying out of a section of people. She was all curves and long, white, hair. She had a set of shimmering, butterfly looking wings, sprouting from her back and pink tattoos wrapping her exposed, chocolate colored, skin. She wrapped her fingers around Curly's horns and tugged him down to kiss aggressively. She was pulling him into the crowd and he was wrapping his hands around her waist. He struggled out a 'behave' before disappearing completely.

"Are we going to get a welcoming like that?" Two asked, incredulously. He laughed, smacked Darry in the chest with the back of his hand, and disappeared into the crowd. Darry rolled his eyes.

"We can split up if you want. I think- I think we'll be okay here." With that, Darry disappeared into the crowd of people too. Steve and Soda coupled off and started dancing along with the other groups of people. Pony and Johnny stayed together.

"No offense, but if a Pixie grabs me too, you can count me as good as gone." Pony shouted over the music. They were making their way through the crowd, looking around. Johnny laughed softly, no sound so much as his shoulders moving up and down.

"I'll probably just awkwardly stand next to you two." Johnny really laughed as Pony's cheeks and the tops of his ears went red. Something solid collided with Johnny and he stumbled backwards. The literal troll that he had bumped into caught his arm and steadied him.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching wear I was going. My bad," Johnny looked up at seven or eight foot troll. His skin was a mossy, green color and was like thick hide, sort of like a pig. He had two large teeth poking out of his mouth. They were a pearly white color, like the whites of his eyes. His iris's were a pale yellow. He waved Johnny off.

"Happens all the time, kid. Your first time here?" He asked. Johnny nodded and the troll gave him a smile. "Well, my name's Phillip. Nice to meet you, kid. What are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Warlock. My name's Johnny, by the way."

"Well, Johnny, my advice to you is to hit up the pool. The merfolk love to be in the company of warlock's. They're pretty friendly, if you get my flow. Have fun, Johnny." Phillip took a big swig of his cup- which looked more like a bowl- and left Johnny alone. Johnny stood in the middle of the room, looking around at all the different creatures. He could see centaurs, trolls, goblins, Fairy folk (Fae), Elves, and some he couldn't even name. He felt a rush of excitement fall over him. He went to hit Ponyboy's arm in excitement, but realized he must have been washed away in the sea of people. Johnny didn't feel anxious to be without one of his friends. After all, he had no reason to be scared right now.

Johnny was in a building full of people just like him. He wasn't in school surrounded by normal kids. He was in a room full of people like him, which meant he was the new normal. For the first time in his life, Johnny thought about the fact that here, he wasn't a freak. He was normal- he was himself. Johnny felt his muscles loosen up and he began to move through the crowd again.

For the first time that night, he noticed that little lanterns and tiny houses were strung up on the ceiling. If he looked close enough, he could see Pixies- which were in their normal form, that was roughly the size of a dragonfly- flying around and going in and out of the houses. If he listened hard enough, he could almost hear the soft buzzing sound their wings made- sort of like a hummingbird's wings.

"Hi, there. Who might you be?" A sweet voice brought his thoughts back to the ground and not to the tiny village floating above him. The voice belonged to a very attractive Fairy. She didn't have any wings, but he still knew she what she was. She was gorgeous and had fire red hair. Gold markings were beside her emerald eyes and she smelled like lavender. She giggled when she caught Johnny staring. She wet her bottom lip and grabbed Johnny's hand. She started dragging him forwards. He followed, absolutely dumbstruck that anything as beautiful as her would even look at him.

When they broke out of the crowd, she pulled him into another nearby room, which Johnny was shocked to see. This place was even bigger than he'd originally thought. Wow.

The look of this room was far different than the room in the front. There was wallpaper with little naked Cherub babies on it and clouds with naked men and women sitting atop of them. The floor was grassy and he could hear a stream trickling from rock to rock. The grass looked real and Johnny was almost positive it was. The ceiling looked like the starry, night, sky. Johnny could pick out Jupiter and its moons, but that was about it. More Fae and Pixies were sitting in the room, at the base of trees and in the knee-high grass. Johnny saw Two-Bit was off in the corner, telling jokes and shapeshifting as he told the story. One second he was Elvis, then the next he was Kim Kardashian and Johnny was clueless as to how those two people were interactable.

The Fairy girl was still pulling Johnny along. She looked as though she was headed to the big tree in the back of the room, by the wall. The tree had a hole in it, which a pearly liquid was dripping steadily from. There were Fae and an Elf or two sitting around that tree. They were all beautiful and despite Johnny feeling like he wasn't a freak in this place, he started feeling very self-conscious.

"Drink with us." The girl dipped a piece of bowl shaped piece of bark into the liquid and held it out to Johnny. "You just look so lonely."

Johnny thought about that story, Tuck Everlasting, that he'd had to read in 5th grade. But that Fountain of Youth and Immortality had come from a spring in the ground, not a nut-hole in a tree. The girl giggled, which sounded high-pitched and like wind-chimes. A male Fairy with brown and white feathery wings started to run his fingers through Johnny's hair and giggled too. Surely one drink wouldn't be so bad? If he didn't like it, he wouldn't drink any more of it.

Johnny gently took the bark-bowl from her and went to put it to his lips. Before he had time to, it was being jerked from his grasp and thrown into the little lake of pearly liquid at the base of the tree. Before Johnny knew what was going on, an arm was around his shoulder and he was being led away from the tree and the people there.

They were all laughing and giggling hysterically. Johnny felt a clarity, he didn't know he had lost, return to his mind and he turned back around to look at them. They were not Fae, nor were they Elves. They were Dark Pixies, standing there with scarred and torn dragonfly wings. They were not nearly as beautiful as Johnny had believed either, which made his gut clench. He was a Warlock with the ability of illusions and mind control. How was he not able to realize somebody was literally using powers like his own against him? Shame knotted up in his gut.

"Dark Pixies are trouble makers. All of them. I'd give them a piece of my mind if I really thought it would do any good. They're just so damn- pesky." The person leading him away from the Pixies was talking, but Johnny hadn't realized that there was a person leading him away. When he finally caught back up in the situation, Johnny's eyes wondered over to try and see who had knocked the drink- if there even was a drink- away from his lips.

Johnny had not been prepared, at all, to see the most beautiful guy he'd ever seen to be beside him. He was obviously a Fairy, since Johnny could see his pointed ears poking out from underneath his shaggy white hair and some Fairy tattoos circling his left wrist and disappearing at his forearm. He had the iciest blue eyes that Johnny had ever seen.

Even with those couple features, it should have been impossible for any more of him to be attractive, but his cheek and jaw bones were chiseled and hard. If he stood still for a long period of time- Johnny was sure he could pass for the most gorgeous work of art to ever exist. Just like before, Johnny felt the need to curl in on himself.

"What kind of non-Fae, moron, are you? Didn't your parents every teach you about Fairy Drink?" The guy stopped guiding the two of them when they reached a kitchen-esque area. Food was piled high- like there was a catering job going on. The Fairy fixed his blazing eyes on Johnny and he felt breathless.

"Uh-well- I... no. What's a Fairy Drink?" Johnny felt his face get hot. The Fairy's eyes softened a little, but only for a millisecond.

"It can only be ingested by Fae and Fae alone. Anyone else, even the strongest of Pixies and whatever the fuck else, either goes insane or dies. Most of the time both." Johnny's throat went dry. Those Pixies were trying to kill him? What did he ever do to them? Johnny had never met any other Creatures beside the ones in the gang and the Shepard family. Were they just plain old bullies, or did they have a grudge against warlocks in particular? Certainly that couldn't have been it. They didn't know Johnny was a warlock. He could have been a vampire, werewolf, or even a wendigo for all they knew.

"I can clearly see you overthinking this, Kid. Don't take it personal. Those assholes feed off of mischief and, apparently, attempted murder." The guy crossed his arms over his chest and heat flared in Johnny's stomach. He had toned arms, sort of like the in-between stage of Steve and Soda. Johnny offered a weak smile.

"Thanks for helping me out back there. I'm Johnny Cade." Johnny stuck his hand out to the taller of the two. A large grin appeared on his face.

"Johnny Cake?" He chuckled softly. Before Johnny could correct him, he had clapped their hands together. "Well, Johnny Cake, I'm Dallas Winston. You can call me Dally, since I did save your life."

Dallas tossed his arm over Johnny's shoulder and led him toward the giant refrigerator. He opened the door and motioned to all kinds of drinks. "What's your poison? Animal blood, human blood, lactose free milk- whatever the hell that is-, or some actual poison?"

"Water is fine. But, thanks." Johnny swiped a water-bottle and cracked the seal. He took a few drinks to unclog his throat. Dally leaned back against a counter. He was looking at Johnny with a curious gaze, something Johnny fidgeted heavily under. He could feel those blue eyes trailing over the puffy scar on his cheek. His father had given him that. He'd slung a glass cup across the room, sending it splintering and cutting across his ten year old's face. He hadn't meant to, Johnny had thought then and still believed. He was drunk and had no idea he could actually hit his only son. Surely.

"Alright, Johnny Cake. Help me put together the puzzle on what kind of Creature you are. Vampires would never turn down blood and I highly doubt you're a werewolf. If you were, of course, that scar on your cheek would never have happened. It would have just healed. Of course, you could let it scar over if you were a werewolf, but most don't. Even then, you wouldn't have such dark circles under your eyes. Werewolves sleep like the dead." Dally's crossed arms flexed a little.

"I'm a warlock."

"Really? And if I were to say I don't believe you?" There was a mischievous glint in Dally's eyes. He wanted Johnny to show him his powers. Johnny nibbled at his bottom lip. He had never shown his power off to anyone before. Not even Ponyboy, who had been his best friend for many years. Was he really going to show an almost-stranger his powers because he was cute?

Yeah. Sounded about right.

Johnny closed his eyes- a habit he had when he did use his magic- and held his left fist up. He felt the gentle sensation of his magic wrap around his chest. It felt sort of like someone was hugging him softly, which is a reason he used it when he felt scared or lonely. The magic made him feel like someone was there with him.

He felt a fluttering in his hand and he opened his eyes to see if he had made the right thing. Sure enough, when he opened his fist, a white butterfly with the same dark purple markings that Dally had was fluttering into the air. Dally's hand shot out and grabbed it. When he opened his own palm up, a little sticker with the words 'Good Job!' was all that was there. A lopsided grin spread across his face.

"Cool trick. Your parents teach you that one?" He asked. Johnny opened his mouth to tell Dallas that his parents were both normal and despised anything that wasn't human, but he opted to just mention that he learned it himself. Dally's eyes flickered up to Johnny's and he saw the surprise in those icy irises.

Dallas moved forward and cupped Johnny's face gently. The pad of his thumb was rough as he ran it over Johnny's right cheek- the one without a scar- and made gooseflesh rise to his skin.

"Your eyes don't look like any other warlock's I know. Usually the color changes, but I've never seen fully black eyes. The whites just completely disappear... which parent did you say had magic?"

"Oh, uh, my paren-"

"Let's go, Johnny. It's late and we all got to get back." Steve and Soda had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, which made Johnny jump. Dallas let his hand fall and had backed up. Soda's eyes narrowed slightly, but he hid that before the Fairy could see.

"See you next time, Johnny Cake. Watch out for those pesky little shits." Dally pushed himself off the counter he had immediately gone to lean on and started to walk off. He turned around to eye Sodapop for a second, which Johnny could tell Steve did not enjoy. "All the food here is free to take with you. The third shelf has plenty of protein for those... rough nights."

As soon as Dally left the room, Soda was eyeing the fridge like it was a party trick. Johnny opened the fridge and grabbed a pack of soft, pink, meat. He tossed it in Soda's direction and Soda tucked it under his arm. Tonight was one of those nights, in about an hour and the Curtis brothers had to be home.

Usually on their transformation nights, one of the gang wouldn't stay at the house and make sure all three of them stayed in the basement. Steve was going tonight, since it was his old man's birthday and he didn't want to be at his own place. Johnny was tempted to stay and go find Dallas, but he knew that the heat of walking home would suck, even in the dark. He joined Steve and Soda and they went to get the others.

~~~~

In the couple months since the gang had discovered the Haven that was Buck Merril's, they had been back more times than they could count. It was something about the pulsing of the music and the way they were free to look and act like themselves was the most freeing thing they had ever experienced. Two-Bit had made a dozen of friends and he'd gotten on Buck's good side.

Buck Merril was one of the few Elves that resided at the club. He'd come from New York with one of his kid-friends. Buck had deep and angry looking scars that ran down his face and neck. They weren't from a fight with another Creature or an angry honey badger. He'd gotten them from a group of Hunters, which was the reason he'd left New York all together. Him and his best friend's little brother had gotten caught and tortured before they eventually got away. Johnny had heard the story three times now, but each time made his stomach twist.

The first time he'd heard it, the Curtis brothers had been with him. He couldn't imagine the thoughts running through their heads. Were they thinking about their parents? Were they wondering if it had been quick? Maybe they were just thinking about what could happen to the gang if they were caught. Whatever was playing in their minds, Johnny had never seen such anguish on his family's faces. He hated it.

Tonight wasn't a night they were going to Buck's though. It was around midnight and Johnny was laying on his bed. He couldn't sleep, so he was laying on his back, staring at the palm of his hand. He'd already knew that he had natural powers over minds and illusions, but he hadn't realized how much he could do without spells. It was kind of like how Steve had manipulation over fire and mechanics, but he needed spells for the majority of magic. The only difference was that fire would dance whenever Steve did magic and all Johnny had was a thin layer of black smoke that settled over his palm.

His magic had been strengthening a lot since he'd met Dally. He'd even managed to get his hands on a spell book. Dallas had been letting him borrow some of them so that Johnny could practice his magic. Which gave Johnny something to do when he couldn't sleep. His parents were arguing in the living room, but Johnny was so used to it that he tuned them out. He guessed they were fighting over something stupid. His dad probably forgot to throw his beer can away or something.

Johnny was working on a levitation spell, which was kind of complex. Dally had assured him that he could do any magic he wanted, as long as he practiced. So here he was, practicing as best as he could. He had caused the water bottle on his to levitate and then he had gently put it back on the ground. He had been listening to his parents earlier, but as soon as he lifted the bottle and the sensation of a gentle hug encircled him, he'd felt tons better. His magic made him feel safe, so that was another reason he was practicing in his room.

Johnny closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. He extended his left arm, his palm open and his poster loose. He let the spell words- there were just two of them for such a complex spell- fall from his lips in quiet mummer. He felt that gentle pressure wrap around his chest and hold him softly. For a second, he imagined it was Dallas's arms, and then he felt the unmistakable movement of his target, except it was more than he'd wanted.

When Johnny opened his eyes- which were completely black- he realized that everything in the room was floating. His dresser and everything on it, the nightstand by his bed, his ratty old Converse, and his bed with him still on top. The bottom of the curtains in front of his bedroom window were gently floating, almost like they were blowing in the wind. Johnny smiled widely. He was making everything float! He was doing that. It made him feel incredible. He had mastered his first complex spell and he felt like he was floating- er- not in the literal sense.

Johnny's door swung open and hit the wall. His parents were arguing and his mother was pointing at Johnny over her shoulder. Johnny's black eyes widened and he gasped. "Let's just ask Johnny then! See what he has to think about wha-"

His parents stopped arguing. They were deadly quiet, in fact. Johnny dropped his arm, the dark air in his palm vanished, and everything crashed to the ground. It rattled the house, shaking the Cade family to their cores.

"What the fuck were you doing?" James Cade's eyes narrowed to slits, his fists clenching together tightly. His mother had her hand grasping her mouth, her eyes wide and shimmering with tears. She was afraid. Johnny was watching his mom with wide eyes, but he had been too focused on her.

A fist smashed against the left side of his face. It hurt too much for Johnny to be able to pinpoint exactly where he'd been hit. Johnny's eyes immediately began to water, despite his previous experience with being hit in the face. A hand wrapped up in his white t-shirt, dragging him by it. His father was leading him to the living room. He was yelling something, but Johnny was too focused on the pain in his cheek.

Why did this have to happen? He'd been so happy, he'd felt so good in those few seconds. But like always, as soon as he had a peaceful and genuinely happy moment- it turned to shit. Johnny was thrown to the floor, barely even inside of the living room. His mother was silent, but words and spittle were still flowing from his father's mouth.

Johnny must have been asked a question that he didn't hear, because a fist collided with his face again, his nose giving another sickening crunch. This was about the third time his nose had been broken and two of the times it had been his father's doing. Johnny wanted to sob.

"I asked you a question! How long? How long has your soul been sold to the Devil?" James was hovering over his son, his beady eyes were small and hollow. His mother was still quiet, lurking in the shadows with her hand covering her mouth in shock.

"You... did this! Not me! I was born thi-"

Johnny's father didn't even let him finish before he was boxed in the ear. One punch. Johnny's ears were ringing and he couldn't hear the words being bellowed at him. He could barely see anything for the blood covering his face and the tears in his eyes.

James stood up and stormed away. This was it? No more punches and no more broken bones? This was one of the easier beatings Johnny had taken. This was nothing compared to the time he'd broken one of the good China plates his mom had used for Christmas. That had been the first time his nose had been broken and his arm. Johnny didn't think he'd ever seen the gang that mad, besides when he'd shown up with a deep cut on his face, which had needed stitches.

Johnny had never dreamed his parents had ever really wanted to hurt him. Sometimes he deserved it, since he was a problem child. They had just been trying to shape him for the real world, but they just had a difficult way of doing it. He knew his mom would smack him every now and then, but it was more the liquor than it was her. His dad was just angry all the time and Johnny perfered him to hit his son than his wife.

Johnny had made plenty of excuses over the years for the abuse. He'd truly believed it was him and not his parents. It was hard raising a kid and it made parents tense. Being too tense causes people to snap. Little snaps was all it was, but as soon as he saw the gun in his father's hands, he realized that was not it at all.

His father was sick in the head. He had to have been, to pull a gun on his only child.

"No child of mine will be a freak. No son of ours will be a monster." His dad spit the words out at Johnny. He was cowering on the floor, but as soon as his dad cocked the gun and put his finger on the trigger, he felt something. Instead of a gentle hug wrapping around his chest, it felt like a punch crashing against his breastbone. Johnny screamed and his dad went flying across the room, the gun going off and the bullet lodging into the floor a few inches from Johnny's head. All of the lights and the windows cracked and shattered, sending shards of glass flying all around the living room.

It was deadly quiet. His father's head had bounced against the wall, causing his unconscious body to limply slide to the ground. That got his mother's mouth working. She started to sob and wail, walking around Johnny in a large arc. She had a couple thin scratches from the glass on her forearm, causing Johnny's heart to thunder.

"Mom, are you okay?"

Her head swiveled quickly- her eyes locking on Johnny. She snarled at him, teeth glinting in the flickering light- the only one that hadn't shattered- above the couch. "You're a monster. A fucking monster!"

She moved James's body, letting his head rest on her folded legs. She was sobbing, hands on either side of his face. She was talking, but Johnny couldn't hear anything. He was looking down at his hands. How could he have hurt his mom? His mother, who must have been too shocked to stop his father with the gun, hadn't deserved to be hurt. She was scraped up a lot more than he originally thought. Cuts were all over her chest and arms. He could have killed them both.

~~~

Johnny was crying, blood running from his mouth and nose. It was hot again tonight, but Johnny didn't care. He'd been walking for a while. He'd grabbed his one pair of shoes before he'd ran off. He hadn't known where he was going, only that he didn't want to be home or anywhere nearby. Which canceled out the lot and the Curtis house. He'd text the gang in the morning and hope they wouldn't be too mad at him for not showing up after what happened.

Johnny wasn't that surprised when he'd found himself at Buck's club. He'd been there a lot in the last couple months and didn't expect it to change anytime soon. He kicked some pebbles around outside of the shitty looking building. Maybe he shouldn't be here. Johnny turned on his heels, turning his back to the busted neon sign that said 'Buck's'. It hadn't been working for a few weeks now. Johnny picked up his feet and started walking again. He could probably crash at the Shepard house.

"Johnny Cake? That you?" Johnny jumped at the voice. Of course it would be Dallas who would notice him outside. Johnny turned around and looked at him. He was standing on the porch of the club, looking down at the bloody teen with furrowed eyebrows. Dallas couldn't really see Johnny in the darkness of the night, but Johnny could see him. His purple Fairy tattoos were gone, just like his ears. He looked like a normal teenager with a normal face. Nothing too handsome, but nothing too ordinary about him either. It was his Glamour, which had activated as soon as he crossed the threshold to the outside world.

"Yeah, it's me." Johnny's voice cracked and Dallas jerked his head over his shoulder. Johnny looked at the door behind him, still not sure if he should be here. Dallas sighed and hopped of the porch. His boots crushed the gravel under his feet and he stuck his hand out for Johnny to take. As soon as Dally's eyes focused and he saw all the blood on his face and shirt, a dark look washed over his face.

"What the fuck happened? Was it Hunters? Did they jump you?" Dallas grabbed Johnny by his shoulders and gently tilted his chin up with his hand. Johnny shook his head and then Dallas was dragging him up the porch steps and into the club. Not too many people were there, but it was still pretty full. Johnny saw Phillip the troll dancing with a troll girl nearby. Bethany, if Johnny remembered correctly.

Johnny was already trying to hold fresh tears back, keeping his head low and letting Dallas drag him wherever. Dally's hand was wrapped tightly around Johnny's wrist- a lot harder than Johnny thought he meant to.

Soon enough, Dally had brought them to a bedroom and shut the door behind the two of them. Johnny looked around and saw a mouth guard, the bandage wrapping for fists, and a first aid kit. Pictures of random people and things were stuck in the mirror above the dresser. Dally was in two of the three with people. In one picture, it was of a little Fairy kid with black wings. The kid looked like an angel with the feathers all prim and proper. It seemed to personal for someone to have up in a random room. This was Dally's room. He had brought Johnny to his room. Johnny let out a small sob and Dallas jumped slightly. He released Johnny's wrist and Johnny rubbed it softly.

Dally's icy blue eyes widened. They looked softer again, much unlike when he was around other people. Johnny was the only one he looked at like that, but Johnny still couldn't process that. "Shit, I didn't realize. What happened to you, man?"

"My parents. They caught me doing magic in my room. Weren't to happy," Johnny whispered. The words hurt his throat too much to say loudly. Confusion warped across Dallas's face.

"Why would- why would they be upset about you doing magic?"

"They're human. They didn't know I wasn't. They hate anyone not like them." Johnny wrapped his arms around himself, shaking slightly. He didn't need to be here right now. He needed to leave. He opened his mouth to offer an apology for inconveniencing Dallas, but what he did say wasn't what he meant to. "They tried to kill me. And I hurt them. I hurt them really bad."

Dallas didn't need to hear anything else, because he was wrapping his arms around Johnny's thin frame. He could feel the younger teen shaking like a leaf and he held Johnny tightly. Dallas was pissed. More pissed than he had been in a while. He'd never even met Johnny's parents, but he was already ready to break a couple laws.

"I'm a monster..."

Dallas shushed Johnny, rocking the two of them softly while standing. Johnny sniffled a couple times and patted Dally's back awkwardly. Dallas let his arms fall to his sides and he pulled a chair away from the wall and patted it. Johnny sat down and Dallas grabbed his first aid kit.

"Where are you hurt? Just the face?" Dallas asked. Johnny nodded, so Dallas gently took his chin in his grip and tilted his face up. His nose was definitely broken and his eye already had a deep purple and black bruise around it. Dallas was still mad, but that wasn't helping right now. Johnny winced when Dallas tried to wipe the blood falling from his nose. His lip was split too, but it had already stopped bleeding.

Dallas reached in the kit and grabbed a blue tube of liquid. He handed it to Johnny, who gently took it from Dallas's grasp, like he might hurt the other one. "Drink this. It'll make you feel weird for a second, but you'll be fine after that."

Johnny wiggled the container, watching the liquid swirl inside. He downed it in one go and Dallas watched him carefully. Johnny didn't feel anything at first, but soon his entire face was tingling violently. This was what Dallas drank after the ring fights, which happened every other week. Buck hosted fights sometimes and people bet on the winner. It was pretty cool to see people fight, when it wasn't Johnny or his parents.

Dallas wasn't undefeated, but he was closer to that than any of the other fighters. Johnny had been around for about four fights total and Dallas had been in about two of them. Dallas had won them both, when Johnny was there to watch. After the two fighters stopped fighting, they were both given two little blue vials. They healed automatically after that, which was wild to see.

"You're all fixed up. It got rid of the blood too, so now we just need to get you a different shirt." Dallas said. Johnny looked in the mirror that sat on the dresser. Sure enough, his face wasn't bloody anymore. Johnny gently prodded his no-longer swollen lip and repaired nose. It wasn't even crooked anymore, which had happened from the first two breaks.

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that." Johnny caught a t-shirt that Dally had thrown at him. Dally motioned for Johnny to give him the other one. Johnny stood up from the chair and tried to pull his shirt off. He was still shaking pretty bad though, his fingers kept trembling and dropping the hem of his shirt.

A pale pair of hands gently grabbed a hold of the bottom of Johnny's shirt. Dallas spoke in a soft voice, almost a whisper. "Bullshit I didn't have to help. I know what that shit is like and just because nobody really helped me, doesn't mean I can't help you. Suck it up, Cake, it's what friends are for."

Dallas was gentle, so gentle that Johnny was ready to break down and cry more. Dallas pulled Johnny's shirt over his head, their bodies really close together. Gooseflesh rolled across Johnny's bare skin. It wasn't remotely cold in here, but he could feel Dally's gaze on him and that was enough. Dallas helped Johnny into the clean shirt. Johnny really wasn't expecting Dallas to pull his shirt off, so he almost choked on air when he saw the bare chest of the Fairy.

Dallas discarded his- also bloody- shirt and tossed it into a hamper in the corner of the room. Johnny's eyes widened and his fingers were already reaching out to trace the tattoos on Dally's back. They were like the ones on his wrists. They were thorn bush vines that circled his waist and curled a little ways up his back. They were the same grape purple as the ones on Dally's wrists. They were really pretty.

"I've had them since I was little. After a certain age, all Fae get them. Mine and my mom's were the same." Dallas was looking over his shoulder and watching the warmth in Johnny's dark eyes increase. His fingertips were light and gentle, sending shivers up Dally's spine.

"I've always wanted tattoos, but I don't think mine could ever be as pretty as these." Johnny gave a small smile and Dallas watched him in the mirror. Johnny was mesmerized, tracing each and every vine and thorn. He wished he was Fae, just for the tattoos, honestly.

Johnny was silent as he traced them. Dallas didn't seem to mind, which made sense. They were friends and that's what friends do. They are comfortable around each other.

Friends do not do this. They don't trace each others shirtless bodies or stand as close as we are right now. All I have to do is move half and inch and I'll be pressed against him. Johnny thought the words, but as quick as they arrived, they left.

There were thick, pink scars on Dallas's back. They were raised above the skin and looked jagged. Johnny's fingers left the tattoos and traveled to the two, long, thick, and puffy scars that were on Dallas's back. They started a little below his shoulder blades and ended a couple inches above his tattoos. How had Johnny not noticed them first?

As soon as Johnny's finger ghosted the top of the left side scar, Dallas jumped. Johnny stopped moving and waited to see if Dallas told him to stop. He didn't, so Johnny finished tracing the jagged- cut?

"What are these from?" Johnny asked. Dallas pulled away then, going to grab a shirt from his dresser draw. Johnny backed up and watched the taller of the two move around his room.

"I used to have wings." Dallas spoke so softly, Johnny almost didn't hear him. Dallas had wings? The scars did match up with where the wings were supposed to be. How did he lose them? Was it an accident? Was there a fight? How long ago did it happen? Why did it happen? Johnny had questions swarming his mind, but he remembered when he got his cheek cut up and all the questions from that. He'd hated each answer that was drug out of him.

"What did they look like?" Johnny whispered the question. He saw the frustration- which he knew wasn't aimed at him- and anger flash across Dallas's face. Johnny just wasn't ready to see the painful expression on his face. He locked eyes with Johnny and flashed a weak smile.

"They were beautiful. I wish I cou- yeah." Dallas shook his head, like he was throwing the thought away. The words made Johnny's chest hurt. The pain was still on Dallas's face and just like with the Curtis brother and that story, Johnny would do anything to make that look go away. The picture stuck in the frame of the mirror jumped out at him. That was Dallas. The kid with the black wings- the ones that made him look like an angel. Those were Dally's wings.

Before Dallas could put his shirt back on, Johnny placed a hand on his back. The familiar hug sensation wrapped around Johnny's chest and black wings sprouted from Dallas's back. They were just like the ones in the picture, the little grey feather towards the top and all. Johnny backed away and the wings stayed on the scars. They even moved back and forth. It was a pretty good illusion.

Dallas's eyes locked on himself in the mirror and he smiled. It was a bittersweet smile, but the pain in his eyes was gone and Johnny had made it go away. Dally's hands twitched to touch them and Johnny nodded at him. Dally's right hand grazed the feathers of his left wing and he gave a startled laugh.

The illusion did not falter, but remained very solid. Dallas leaned into the touch of his wings and smiled at Johnny. He crossed the room and pulled Johnny into a hug. The wings disappeared, since it caught Johnny off guard. Dallas was hugging him tightly and Johnny felt nice. It was a 'thank you' that Dallas couldn't get out.

Dallas pulled back, but didn't move out of the space. He was looking down at Johnny, eyes scanning his face. Dallas brought his left hand up and let his thumb graze Johnny's scar. He was gentle, just as Johnny had been. Dallas opened his mouth to say something, but his bedroom door swung open. Dally's eyes lost their softness and he glared at whoever had opened the door. He dropped his hand from Johnny's face, but didn't move away from Johnny. There bodies were still inches apart.

Buck was standing in the door, looking at the two of them with a twinkle in his eye. He had grey eyes and his ears were tall and pointed. He had his long dirty blond hair pulling into a bun at the base of his neck. He was slim, but not as tall as Dally. Dally sighed and looked back at Johnny.

"Head up to the roof and I'll meet you there." Johnny nodded and Buck moved out of the way to let him head up the other set of stairs off to the side of Dally's room. He was going to go look at the stars and wait for Dally to join him.

"You're falling for that warlock boy, huh?" Buck leaned against the door frame. Dallas knew his face had given his answer away, because Buck whooped and clapped him on the shoulder. "Thought so. Go keep the kid company. Have fun, but we're going to talk about the next fight in the morning. I need to figure out who to put you up against."

Dally shot him the finger and earned himself a hair ruffle as he was going out of the door. He jogged up the stairs, trying to get the pink out of his cheeks and ears. When he got to the roof, Johnny was sitting on the edge and staring up at the stars.

Johnny looked over when Dallas joined him and gave him a small smile.

"What are you looking at? Any constellations?" Dallas asked. Johnny shook his head and looked at his feet, that he was kicking back and forth over the ledge of the roof.

"I'm just lost in thought."

There was a silence that hung between the two. Johnny was thinking about his mother's sobbing and the cuts from the glass in the windows. How could he have done that? To his own mother?

"What happened, Johnny? Why'd they do that to you?" Dallas was looking at him with those soft eyes again. Johnny wondered why he cared so much. Why he cared at all. He was a monster, someone who hurt his own family. What would stop him from hurting his friends? Johnny looked away and figured this was a shitty last conversation to have. Dallas would definitely hate him after this. If not hate, then just not want to be around.

"My parents are human, like I said. My powers started up around the time I met the Curtis family. I showed them that I could make Ponyboy fall asleep, just by touching him and saying it. They told me about them being werewolves and asked if my parents knew. I said no and then they explained that it should probably stay that way. I agreed, even then.

"Tonight, I was practicing a levitating spell in my room. It was just a water bottle on my dresser. Then it was supposed to be my dresser, but I made everything float. It was the best feeling in the world. My parents had been arguing and decided I should be brought into it, so they came into my room. They saw everything floating and the next thing I knew, I was getting beat up in the living room. My dad pulled a gun on me. I freaked out and threw him across the room. The windows and lights exploded, which cut my mom up pretty bad. She called me a monster and I think she's right."

Johnny took in a deep, shivering, breath. He felt tears try to pool into his eyes, but he blinked them back. "I know that they were just scared and it's my fault. I shouldn't have been practicing in the house. I knew better and my dad's just stressed over work and I-"

"Johnny, stop. Stop. This is not your fault in any way, shape, or form. No matter how scared or stressed a parent is, they don't try to kill you. They should never hurt you." Dally's eyes flickered to the scar on Johnny's cheek. He knew who had done that, without even having to ask.

"I still shouldn't have hurt them. I feel so bad." Johnny took his shirt-tail and wiped a stray tear away. Dally's shoulder pressed against his and there was a silence again. He waited for Dallas to get up and leave him, but it never happened. He stayed there and never once made a move to leave.

"My parents weren't great either. Back in New York, when I was with my parents, they fought a lot. They were drunks, so it happens. Well, my mom took it too far one night, after a huge fight with my dad. My mom got into his liquor, sort of to spite him. She got into a bottle of Fairy Drink, which was really bad since she was only half-Fairy. Long story short, she died and I just got... angry. I was out with friends more than I was at home. Buck and me were out one night and we got caught by some Hunters.

"I don't know how they knew about us. Either way, they stripped off my Glamour and when they saw my wings... you get the picture. I got us out of there, which was hard since Buck was so torn up and my brother was dead. They had us there for two days, just playing with us. When I got back to the apartment, my dad had all of our shit packed up and ready for us to leave. Buck came down to Tulsa with us."

Dallas scoffed and spit off the side of the building. Johnny was surprised at the fact that Dallas was the kid that Buck was with. That he was the kid in the story. "It wasn't until after we got down here that my dad told me about the Fairy Drink. He told me that someone had broke in. He said it was random and that they got scared and ran off without taking anything. Bastard."

Johnny was looking at the ground still. He almost jumped out of his skin when Dally's fingers slid under his chin and turned his head towards his. He was looking Johnny in the eyes seriously.

"So don't believe what your parents say. I know monsters, but you are not one of them." Dallas was staring Johnny down. "Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay." Johnny said the words honestly. He wasn't a monster.

Even after Johnny agreed, Dallas never removed his hand. His forefinger stayed where it was, but his thumb moved across the scar on Johnny's cheek again. It was dark outside, but the two of them were illuminated by the stars and the big, almost full, moon. Johnny bundled his left hand in Dally's shirt.

As if on instinct, Johnny's tongue wet his bottom lip. Dally's mouth quirked a little and then he was leaning down, closing the small distance between them. Johnny's mouth found his and there was a moment where neither one of them moved. Johnny felt like a middle schooler right then, so he deepened the kiss. He wanted to smile when Dally's other hand moved to his face, but he didn't want to mess up this kiss.

Dallas was gentle with him still, the only rough thing was his fingernail grazing across Johnny's scar and Johnny's hands doing the same to the scars on his back. Dally's mouth was soft and his face had a small amount of stubble, which nipped gently at Johnny's warm skin.

They broke away and rested their foreheads together. Dally's hands were still on Johnny's cheeks and Johnny's hands were twisted in his shirt. They breathed the cooling air in, smiling like idiots.

"See? Nobody thinks a monster is beautiful. So obviously, you can't be one." Johnny rolled his eyes and Dallas leaned back down for another kiss, something Johnny was more than ready for. Their lips had barely brushed when door to the roof crashed open.

"This better be important, Buck." One look at Buck's face was enough to tell the two boys that it was important. Johnny's stomach dropped and Dally was already getting to his feet.

"The Hunters. They're here."

#the outsiders #johnny x dally #jally #Johnny Cade x Dallas Winston #johnny cade #dallas winston #ponyboy curtis #sodapop curtis #darry curtis #two-bit mathews #steve randle #modern au #mythical creature au #fluff #angst #violence #give me feed back please #toby writes

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askdragonagecompanions · 6 years ago

Note

Can you please do one when the companions meet a blind mage inquisitor?

[personal headcanon im going to be using so I hope you don’t mind: but the mage inquisitor doesn’t wear shoes, just the foot wrappings we see the dalish, solas, and fenris use because they learned how to adapt a minor spell so that when they tap their staff to the ground the can kind of identify the layout of where they are and how many people are there. Kinda like Toph from Atla]

Dorian: At first he didn’t even realize that the Inquisitor was blind. Granted they met in the heat of battle. Even then he didn’t even know until the fight was over and he went to properly introduce himself. The Inquisitor was quite adept and never hit a friend, or him thank the maker. When he realized the Inquisitor was blind it was because their eyes were quite pale and out of focus. He felt a little foolish for not having realized it sooner, he wouldn’t have held out his hand to greet them. Honestly he’s fascinated by it. They’ve managed to adapt a simple spell one learns at an early age to work similarly to a bats echolocation. They can’t see but the vibrations and feedback alerts them to structures and people as well as enemies. It’s exciting and he can’t help but ask his questions on how they learned to do it and how it works. His mind has a million questions, and he’s quite grateful that the Inquisitor doesn’t seem to mind too much. Dorian knows sometimes his constant questions can be a bit much. As their friendship grows Dorian works with the Inquisitor to try and maximize the spell. Their battles keep getting bigger and more intense and he worries for his friend, not that they’re not capable, he just wants to make the feedback process faster so that they can have more time to react. He isn’t bothered by the fact that they’re blind. At first it’s more of a fascination on how they’ve adapted and it turns into respect and a want to help improve on that method.

Solas: Like Dorian he’s quite impressed with the Inquisitor’s ability to adapt a spell to work for their advantage. He wonders how draining it must be to their mana. Solas holds his questions at first. He watches the Inquisitor in battle and stays near to them just in case. After all they are in this situation because of him and they need to survive to close the breach. It’s amazing to watch them in battle. They wait until they have the precise location of their enemy and let off a barrage of spells and then wait again. He knows its because they need to make sure that the target has not moved too far, but he’s also seen that this technique alerts them to enemies he didn’t even know were lurking. Assassins hiding themselves. They rarely are able to get the jump on the Inquisitor. It isn’t really until Skyhold that he asks the Inquisitor how they learned to adapt the spell, he notes how the way they bed the fade to their advantage is quite unique. They get into many conversations on how since the Inquisitor can’t really see they rely more on their senses, hearing, touch, sometimes smell. They had to learn how to cast a little different from others, they can feel the magic and focus on that feeling and willing it into a certain shape or when they use their one spell as they tap their staff against the ground (a motion barely noticeable unless you were watching for it) they imagine it as sending out ripples and get a sort of image in their mind. It’s hard to describe. Nonetheless Solas is quite impressed.

Vivienne: Vivienne does quite a bit of research before inviting the Inquisitor over. The “Herald of Andraste” is quite a big title and she wants to see how they live up to it. The only thing that surprises Vivienne is their style of footwear but then it clicks. If one is going to use the vibrations to map out where everything is you can’t really have thick soles blocking out the vibrations. Ah well they’ll just have to compensate on the rest of the outfit to make sure no one glances down. Clearly the Inquisitor is quite capable on their own. The way she helps the Inquisitor is on their outfits to wear around Skyhold. She learns that they like soft fabrics and materials, ones that aren’t scratchy or heavy to wear when not on the battlefield. She makes sure that not only is the Inquisitor comfortable with what they wear but that they look stunning as well. With their permission she helps them decorate Skyhold as well. Sometimes Dorian joins in and while he can be pompous he does have a great fashion sense. She also works with the Inquisitor trying to learn how they do it so that it can be used for other mages who are blind which the Inquisitor seems thrilled about. The Inquisitor is an inspiration to many, not just mages, or those fighting against Corypheus’s madness, but to the disabled people of Thedas as well. It is no secret that the Inquisitor is blind. Vivienne just makes sure they look amazing when they’re in public. She also makes sure to help coach them on how to approach the nobility and not let them get under the Inquisitor’s skin.

Varric: He’s one of the few that had the pleasure of meeting them on the battlefield. If it were a novel it was a great plot twist to learn that the mage who just jumped down and started blasting demons left and right was actually blind. He makes a mental note of that on the off chance he actually does survive and writes a book about this whole thing. He saw them in battle and know they can take care of themself pretty fucking well. What he decides to help them with is make sure they’re not trying to put on a brave face and internally freaking out. They need someone to talk to, someone to let them know its okay to freak out. This shit’s crazy. As they get closer Varric sends word to his publishers that they should start selling some print in braille. Sure Josie does a good job of getting as many spell tomes written in braille as she can, but it has got to be so boring just reading about that all the time. As soon as he gets one of his back, The Tale of the Champion no less, he slides it over to the Inquisitor. He also works on getting a deck of Wicked Grace cards made with braille.

Sera: Okay so she’s the first to admit her first reaction with the Inquisitor wasn’t the coolest or whatever but she was excited. They fought so good, and yeah they were a mage which was a little scary, but they were only going for the shitheads so that was nice. It wasn’t until the bad guys were gone that she realized the Inquisitor was blind. She couldn’t help but ask how the Inquisitor knew how to hit all those people and be so good at it. She probably should have worded the question better or something… but the Inquisitor didn’t take it badly so that was good. The Inquisitor does try to explain it and she gets the gist of it. They use a spell it sends out vibrations like when you stomp your foot real hard, and then uses those to get like a map. Its a little confusing and she doesn’t really understand the magic part of it but she’s also really excited. It’s so bad ass especially when the shits they fight realize they just got their ass handed to them by someone who’s blind (someone who’s amazingly talented and cool and blind) but still usually their enemies don’t care to learn how cool the Inquisitor is. Sera waits until they’re closer to ask just how much their magic map thingy lets them see, but then rectifies that by asking if they can still do pranks. It makes the Inquisitor laugh and Sera takes it as a good sign. Sera makes sure to describe everyone’s faces when they get pranked to the Inquisitor so they can enjoy it just as much as she does. So the Inquisitor might be a mage, but they’re the coolest mage Sera knows. Definitely less creepy than Dorian bringing undead into battle eugh. (unless the Inquisitor picks the necromancy specialization then Sera groans because “And I thought you were the cool one. You’re still cool I guess just creepy now.” )

Cole: It does not bother him that they cannot see. What he does to help comfort them is different, he focuses mainly on scents and sounds that bring them peace of happiness. The Inquisitor does much for others and sometimes forgets about themself. He notices there are days where the Inquisitor wonders if they are a burden to those around them, and on those days he brings him to his favorite spot. It’s a small glen, most call it quiet but they’re not listening. The wind makes the leaves rustle. The bees flying around fill the air with a soft hum. It smells of lavender, and on a very good day the sun shines through and warms it all up. Sometimes he can even coax a few nugs to cuddle with them. He waits until the Inquisitor’s mind is less clouded before telling them, “You are not a burden Inquisitor. You inspire, you fight, and you protect. You are a hero to the people and amazing to your friends. Do not doubt yourself. You are loved.” They have a bright soul, only made brighter by the anchor. Their magic is different than the other mages in Skyhold. It isn’t sharp or electric like Solas or Vivienne’s, and it doesn’t tear at spirits like Dorian’s. Their magic is fluid, easily shaped and easily sent out like waves only to rush back with information for the Inquisitor’s mind on where everything is.

Iron Bull: Bull never planned for his first meeting with the Inquisitor to happen in the middle of a fight, but apparently the assholes that attacked the Chargers and him didn’t get the fucking memo. What he does notice right away is that even for a mage they fight differently. They’re like a spider weaving their web. As soon as someone even starts to approach them the set off a barrage of spells and take em down, then they way again, waiting for the next person to get close to them or even one of their allies. They don’t seem to dodge the arrows flying straight towards them even if they were someone obvious to see. He has his suspicions and they only get confirmed when they properly meet. He’s up front with them, he’s Ben Hasrath and will be sending reports back to the Qun, but he and the Chargers are also good in a fight and more than willing to help. He waits until they’re closer to ask his big question, do they think someone without magic could adapt something similar to that trick of theirs. He waits until they’re closer because one he wants to make sure its okay to ask about it, and two he wants to make sure he can trust them. The reason Bull asks is because he wants to have a fall back plan if he ever ends up losin his other eye. He’s not the type to just stop fighting, and if the Inquisitor can keep fighting so can he. The Inquisitor thinks for a while but then gets really excited and tries to think of a way to adapt the spell into a physical action or item that could be used by those who do not possess magic. Bull’s more than happy to act as their guinea pig cause there’s no real magic at play and he’s the one who asked about it in the first place. They don’t get it nailed down perfectly, but they’ve started. It’s gonna take a while to learn, but Bull’s determined and stubborn as hell so he’ll get the hang of it one day. It also helps him get a better understanding of the Inquisitor and honestly he’s really impressed with them. It’s easy to just sit back and accept what people tell you, that you’ll never be able to fight being blind, and yes there’s a lot more challenges but damn. The Inquisitor didn’t give up and they’re great in battle, just not so much against weapons that aren’t connected to someone like an arrow. Bull always tries to take the archers down first so that the Inquisitor doesn’t become a pin cushion.

Blackwall: Blackwall has worked with plenty of soldier’s in his time, seen many go blind, lose limbs, so he knows better than to ask the Inquisitor about their sight. He figures they’re a mage, they’re great in battle that’s all he needs to know about the subject right now. The more he fights with them the more he notice they seem pretty vulnerable to archers, so he brings the subject up to them, being polite and apologizing if he’s crossed the line. The Inquisitor doesn’t seem to mind and explains how their “sight” for lack of a better term only works for those touching the ground. It makes more sense now. Blackwall thinks about it and suggests having a code word or sound when archers are present so that the Inquisitor can throw up a barrier spell to act as a shield so they don’t get turned into a pin cushion as often, which grants a chuckle from the Inquisitor.

Cassandra: Okay so her fist meeting with the Inquisitor was not under the best circumstances. It didn’t matter if they were blind. They were still very much a suspect and her anger may have blinded her in realizing that they were blind. It wasn’t until she brought them out of the dungeons to see the breach that she realized it. Most who saw the breach the first time had a look of horror, the Inquisitor had just looked uncomfortable before mentioning that they couldn’t see. Didn’t mean they couldn’t feel it though. They described it as if the fade itself was bleeding into their world, which was an… odd way to put it if they couldn’t see (granted looking back it made total sense with the Inquisitor being a mage). She was prepared to protect her prisoner and that they wouldn’t be able to fight, much to her surprise she was wrong. She told them to put down the staff before realizing if they could fight it would be better for them to have it. There were going to be many demons before they got back to the forward camp. She made a mental note not to underestimate the Inquisitor again. They were strong. As they grew closer she apologized for her behavior. She thought they had killed the Divine and there seemed to be no other suspect. As they get closer she actually trains with the Inquisitor especially since they are fighting against red templars. If any of them keep the ability to dispel magic the Inquisitor will need to be prepared for such things. Cassandra doesn’t go easy on them in training either. The Inquisitor is quite capable in battle. Through their practices the Inquisitor learns how to sense in a way the sudden dark spot that’s growing as someone dispels the magic and avoid it. Cassandra’s impressed to say the least.

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hellyeahheroes · 5 years ago

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Building Virgil Hawkins in D&D

I need to distract myself from this X-Men melodrama shit so I’m doing another D&D build. This time how about we try to build one of Dwayne’s McDuffie’s greatest creation, electric nerd from Dakota, who may be known to you as Static or

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First, let us consider the goals of this build. We need to accurately reflect Virgil’s wide array of powers, including electric and magnetic abilities, some sort of healing and resistance to mind control and telepaths and few of Static’s iconic moves. And second, we need to get him his floating disc.

For Abilities, we will be using standard point array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8). As always I follow some of the guidelines from Tulok the Barbarian who inspired the creation of these builds. If you want or your DM tells you to roll or use point buy, go ahead and use this is a guideline. Remember that even numbers are better. We will prioritize Intelligence, Virgil is a textbook superhero with a textbook in each hand. Constitution will follow as de facto one of the most important stats in the game, then Dexterity and Wisdom, our lowest stats being Charisma and Strength. The base should look like this STR: 8 CON: 14 DEX: 13 INT: 15 WIS: 12 CHA: 10

Now for D&D outdated term for species, Race. As a Boom Baby Virgil is a Human of the Variant kind. Variant Human gets +1 to two Ability scores, I suggest rounding up numbers for Intelligence and Dexterity. You also get a bonus skill, choose Acrobatics

Variant Humans also get a feat. We will pick Magic Initiate, letting us grab two Cantrips and one 1st level spell from Cleric spell list - we can cast Cantrips as much as we want but we can cast 1st level spell only once per long lest and only on the lowest level.

Sacred Flame forces a single target to make a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d8 radiant damage - this scales with your total level to 2d8 at 5th, 3d8 at 11th and 4d8 at 17th level - you can easily say it is one of Static’s bolts of electricity since radiant damage is basically light and light is s form of energy.

Speaking of which, our second Cantrip will be Light. Upon touching an object, not larger than 10 feet in any dimension, you make it emanate bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light in the next 20 feet. It lasts for one hour, until you cast it again or take an action to dismiss it.

For 1st level spell, we will pick Cure Wounds, which allows us to regain 1d8+ your wisdom modifier of hit points. This is one way to give Static his, admittingly minor, healing powers.

For the Background, we will customize one. Pick up two skills - Perception and Athletics. The former is one of the most important skills in the game and the latter is only skill tied to Strength - meaning that if your DM asks to have you roll a Strength save or check you can likely argue it should be Athletics check instead. Take proficiency with Herbalism Kit to make yourself healing potions and a free language of your choice, pick something campaign relevant. And Watcher’s Eye feature from City Watch’s background, which allows you to recognize easier secret hideouts of local law enforcement and criminal organizations.

Now for the Class. While he received his powers through a freak accident, Virgil is known from his creative and intelligent approach to his abilities, he clearly studied them and related physics to do what he can do. As such, we will make him a Wizard. Besides, this is an RPG nerd, I bet you he played enough D&D to know Wizard is Tier 1 class across the editions.

We get proficiencies with daggers, darts, slings, light crossbows and quarterstaffs (which is close to a weapon Static used in one of the incarnations but useless for the build), Intelligence and Wisdom saving throws and two skills, pick Investigation and Arcana, which is closest D&D fantasy setting has to science.

Wizard’s main powers are spells. You get a spellbook to which you copy spells, each new spell copied takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. Each day during long rest you choose which spells to prepare for next day, equal in number and level to the numbers show in Spell Slots Per Day part of Wizard table plus your Intelligence modifier. They cannot be of a higher level than that of which you have available spell slots. I see it as Virgil having a notebook to which he writes down his new ideas how to use his powers and keeping notes on how they work.

If a spell asks you to make an attack roll it is with your proficiency modifier + your Intelligence modifier. If it asks for a saving throw, the difficulty of the save is those two modifiers plus eight.

First, we learn Cantrips, small spells that Static can cas as many times as he wants. We start with 3 of them and my suggestions are:

Lightning Lure - the target must make a Strength saving throw of be pulled 10 feet towards you and take lightning damage - which scales up with your total level just like Sacred Flame above - if it ends 5 feet or less away from you.

Prestidigitation - just a number of minor utility effects that are fun to have and can easily be portrayed as you using your electric powers to make them happen.

Shocking Grasp - you make a melee attack, with an advantage if the target is wearing metal armor, on a hit you deal 18d lightning damage (see the mentions of scaling above, same deal here) and cannot take reactions until the start of its next turn. Virgil has a different name for it, obviously

We also start having six 1st-level spells in the Spellbook. I’ll list my suggestions and then will list spells for higher levels whenever you get new spell slots for it but remember, you can add any number of spells you come across as long as you have the money for it so if you see something that feels especially Static-like or just good to have, go ahead and get it.

Shield is cast as a reaction to upcoming attack or an enemy casting Magic Missle, it lasts one round and gives you +5 to Armor Class and protects from Magic Missle

Absorb Elements is also a reaction spell letting you gain resistance to upcoming damage of any elemental type, and then deliver 1d6 damage of that type to the first person who hits you. I see it as some of Static’s resistance to other electric powers.

Witch Bolt deals the target 1d12 lightning damage AND you can then stay and concentrate for up to one minute, to make it take another 1d12 damage on each turn as long as you won’t do anything else, target doesn’t move from the area or won’t hide behind a cover, making you lose the sight of it. And it scales if you cast it from a higher spell slot, adding extra d12 for a level.

Feather Fall lets you slow the fall of up to five targets for one minute, if they land in this time they take no damage and land on their feet. Explain it as Virgil using some of his magnetic powers.

Chromatic Orb is another offensive spell, it allows you to make a ranged spell attack for 3d8 (+1d8 for each additonal level of a slot from which you cast it) damage of chosen type. Since this is Static you’ll be likely choosing lightning or thunder or maybe fire (as with any spell dealing fire damage I’ll bring up, just say the target got burned by lightning) as lighting ball, but acid, cold and poison are also available in a pinch.

Mage Armor increases your armor class to 13 + your Dexterity modifier, which may go a long way since you do not wear armor. Write it off as Static wrapping his body in a protective magnetic forcefield. Also, it stacks with Shield since it changes how your AC functions and Shield is a bonus to your AC, just saying for incoming conflict with the DM.

EXTRA: Tenser's Floating Disk lets you create a disc that can follow you and carry up to 500 pounds of weight but you cannot ride it as it has no power to move on its own. It is a poor substitute for Static’s disc but if you have a generous DM you might talk about it and work something out, maybe agree to combine it with your flying spells. If not, ignore this bullet point

Finally, you get Arcane Recovery, allowing you to regain some of your expended spell slots every short rest. These spell slots cannot be of level higher than 6th and their combined level cannot be higher than half of your wizard level rounded up.

On 2nd level Wizard gets to choose Arcane Tradition and we’ll pick School of Theurgy. it allows us to choose one of the Cleric domains and gain a limited number of benefits from it. We will explain it as Virgil trying to study nature of his powers from all angles, both Arcane and the Divine since we’re treating magic as replacement science for this build. We will choose Tempest Domain. From now on you whenever you can advance in levels you can replace one of the spells in your spellbook with Cleric Domain spell of a level you have spell slots for. If one of the spells I suggested isn’t working out for you or you picked a spare spell to replace (or just stumbled across it because it is also a Wizard spell), grab Thunderwave - it forces every creature in 15-feet radius from you to make a Constitution saving throw or take 2d8 thunder damage and be pushed 10 feet away from you.

You also get Channel Arcana, allowing you to copy effects of Cleric Channel Divinity feature, you can do it once per short or long rest (twice from 6th level and three times from 18th) and choose one of two options. Destructive Wrath lets you not roll damage on a spell dealing lightning or thunder damage - you just declare it deals maximum damage. Divine Arcana lets you add +2 to an attack roll or saving throw difficulty of a next spell you cast if it requires one.

The third option is Turn Undead, which basically frightens undead creatures that see you - everyone must make a Wisdom saving throw at your spell save difficulty or be turned for 1 minute or until it takes damage. It forces them to spend its turn moving away from you, makes them unable to willingly move closer than 30 feet towards you and is prevented all actions or reactions other than dash to get out of what doesn’t let it move or dodge if it cannot move. I guess we all know now why Static wasn’t in Blackest Night as he would make Nekron and all Black Lanterns run back where they came from.

And 3rd level you get 2 2nd level spell slots so I think it’s time we get you your Static Cling. We will need two spells for it. Spider Climb is a concentration spell that allows you to walk on walls up for one hour. Hold Person forces a Wisdom Saving throw to a forced target, making it paralyzed as long as you maintain concentration, up to one minute, with additional saving throws at the end of each of its turns. If cast from a higher-level spell slot it can affect an extra target for each level.

On 4th level, you get an ability score improvement, boost your Intelligence. For your next 3rd level spell pick Levitate, it lets you make yourself or another target float in the air and control on what height it is. Living creatures can move with speed as if they were climbing. If your DM is generous, convince them to let you combine it into one spell with Tenser’s Floating Disc. If not, cas it at a metal disc tied to your feet and move with your other leg like a skateboard or just try other tricks to get that effect, something may get past the DM.

You also learn a new Cantrip, Booming Blade lets you make a weapon melee attack. On a hit, the target is coated energy until your next turn and if it willingly moves, it will take 1d8 Thunder Damage, scaling to 2d8 once you reach 5th level, 3d8 on 11th and 4d8 on 17th, from 5th level the attack itself also deals extra 1d8 lightning damage and an additional 1d8 from levels 11th and 17th

5th level Wizard learns two 3rd level spells and you get a 3rd one on 6th level.

Protection from Energy grants you or someone else up to 1 hour of resistance to the chosen type of damage and lighting and thunder are both on the list of options

Lightning Bolt lets you deal to each creatures in 100 feet long and 5 feet wide line 8d6 lightning damage (+1d6 for each additional level from which you cast the spell) and a half on a Dexterity saving throw.

Fly lets you give a target a flying speed of 60 feet for the duration but it is a concentration spell so be careful. Also, unlike Levitate if you are still in the air when it ends you fall on your face.

On 6th level, you also get your Arcane Tradition Feature. Arcane Acolyte lets you grab Tempest Cleric’s Wrath of the Storm, which you can use as a reaction when hit by a melee attack from a creature you can see to deal 2d8 lightning or thunder damage to it or half on a successful Dexterity saving throw.

On 7th and 8th Level you gain 1 4th level spell each.

Elemental Bane lets you remove resistance from a target that fails its constitution save and take additional 2d6 damage each time it is dealt damage of chosen type. It is sadly concentration so you may need to cooperate with someone else on it. Consider it for a Black Lightning team-up.

Storm Sphere creates a 20-foot radius sphere of whirring air that forces creatures inside to make a Strength saving throw or take 2d6 bludgeoning damage, turns area inside into difficult terrain and allows you to, while maintaining concentration on it, on each turn take a bonus action to make a ranged spell attack with an advantage against a target inside for 4d6 lightning damage.

On 8th level, you get an ability score improvement, but we will take a feat. Elemental Adept lets you ignore resistance to lightning damage and whenever you roll damage for them, you treat any 1 on the dice as a 2.

9th Level Wizard gets 5th level spells

We will grab one from Tempest Domain - Call Lightning. It works only outside and creates storm clouds above you in 60-foot radius, then choose a spot and made it hit by lightning, dealing 3d10 lightning damage to all creatures within 5 feet from that point, half on a successful DEX save. You can maintain concentration up to 10 minutes to make this continue and make another lighting strike on each of your turns. It deals extra 1d10 damage when cast from a higher level and an extra 1d10 if there was already stormy weather when you cast it. I’m sure there is a scientific explanation on Virgil suddenly stepping on Storm’s territory but I sucked at physics.

We also get an extra 4th Level Spell. Fire Shield surrounds your body in thin flames for 10 minutes, no concentration, that provide you light and either a) resistance to cold damage and 2d8 fire damage to a creature that hit you or b) resistance to fire damage and 2d8 cold damage. Explain it as Virgil using electricity and it burning whoever touched him.

10th Level wizard gets a new Cantrip and a new 5th Level Spell

Our Cantrip will be Mage Hand, it creates an invisible hand that can do minor things for you up to 30 feet away. It cannot attack or activate magic items or carry more than 10 pounds but it is a good way to show Virgil’s magnetic powers performing minor tasks.

Our 5th Level Spell is gonna be Wall of Force, it summons a, maintained by concentration up to 10 minutes, invisible wall through which nothing can pass, be it enemies, projectiles, spells or even ghosts (no, seriously) and it cannot be dispelled by Dispel Magic. The only way to destroy it is a Disintegrate spell.

On 10th level we get a new Arcane Tradition feature and School of Theurgy grants us Thunderous Strike from a Tempest Domain. Thunderous strike lets you push a Large or smaller creature up to 10 feet away from you whenever you deal it thunder or lightning damage.

11th Level Wizard opens for us 6th Level Spells. Chain Lighting hits a single target and then up to 3 other targets (+1 extra if you cast it from higher levels) within 30 feet from it and deals them 10d8 Lightning Damage, half on a successful Dexterity saving throw.

12th level wizard gets an Ability Score Improvement, cap your Intelligence as your most important stat.

13th Level Wizard gets 7th Level Spells. Forcecage traps creatures within 20 feet radius inside an invisible force-field that they cannot leave through nonmagical means, can’t be dispelled by Dispel Magic and traps even ghosts. It lasts up to 1 hour. Attempts at teleporting out of it are successful on Charisma saving throw so it’s a good thing we just maxed out our Save Difficulty.

14th Level gives us our last School of Theurgy Arcane Feature, Tempest Cleric’s Stormborn. You now have a flying speed equal your walking speed as long as you’re outside. Honestly, at this point, you can forgo other flying means and grab a disc and just say you use it to surf in the air, DM should understand.

15th Level means 8th Level Spells. Mind Blank for 24 hours, no concentration needed, gives immunity to psychic damage, sensing emotions, reading thoughts, frightened and charmed conditions through magical means and divination spells, even up to including freaking Wish. Cast one on you each morning to never fear you may get kidnapped and exposed to Anti-Life Equation

16th Level Wizard gets Ability Score Improvement, I suggest adding +2 to Constitution - many of your spells are concentration so you don’t want to blow that check and extra hit points (and remember, upgrading your Constitution grants you extra his points retroactively as well).

17th Level allows us to pick a 9th level spell. We will reach our last gift from Tempest Cleric - Destructive Wave. This spell deals every creature within a 30-foot radius from you 5d6 thunder damage and 5d6 radiant or necrotic damage or half of it on successful Dexterity saving throw. Amusingly enough it is a paladin spell that Cleric only gets as a bonus from Tempest Domain and we got it on a Wizard due to School of Theurgy. No one can say Virgil hasn’t studied his powers thoughtfully.

18th level grants us Spell Mastery, allowing us to pick a single 1st level spell and a single 2nd level spell. From now on when Virgil has them prepared he can cast them as Cantrips, as many times as he wants without spending a spell slot, but only at their lowest level, higher ones still require a spent spell slot. Don’t worry about your picks, if they don’t work changing them costs you only 8 hours of study.

We also get a 5th level spell slot and my recommendation is Hold Monster - it basically works like Hold Person but is not limited in who can it be used against. See it as Virgil improving his Static Cling power.

19th Level Wizard gets the last Ability Score Improvement but we will once again take a feat. Even better we will take the same feat as before - Elemental Adept, now granting its bonuses to another type of damage we’re dealing, thunder.

We get a new spell slot for 6th level spells. Globe of Invulnerability surrounds you with a 10-foot radius force field that can be upheld with Concentration up to 1 minute. No 5th level spell cast outside the globe can affect the area within it and vice-versa and this effect blocks one additional level of spells for each level of spell slot above 6th that you cast it from.

20th Level Wizard allows us to choose 3 3rd-level spells as Signature Spells. It basically works like Spell Mastery described above plus these spells are always prepared and do not count against our limit of spells prepared. They don’t even have to be spells we were discussing here, as that level has some fan-favorite utility spells like Counterspell, Dispel Magic or Haste.

We also get a new 7th level spell slot. Reverse Gravity causes everyone in a 50-foot radius to fly upwards for 100 feet and if they hit something on their way they take damage as if they feel on the ground from above.

And so we have it, Static as a 20th level Wizard. How playable it is? I mean, it’s a 20th level wizard, so a very much. You have several means to fly, can dish out a lot of damage and overcome resistance and have enough means to protect yourself and control the battlefield. On the downside you’re squishy and if Power Word: Kill won’t get you instantly, one or two hits should likely bring you down within the range. We didn’t cap Constitution which is means concentration is not as good as it should be, lack of armor and low Dexterity means we’re easy to hit and forces us to rely on all these protective spells and stay away from the first line. Finally, even with Elemental Adept Lightning and Thunder are things a lot of enemies will be resistant or even immune to. But unlike his comic book, D&D is a team effort so join forces with someone more durable, who can take a hit. And in a pinch remember you can pick up more spells than the ones I listed. Say what you want about him, but Static has shown he can think on his feet.

You have any suggestions or criticism about the build? Be sure to share them, And check out my previous Cassandra Cain and Nico Minoru builds.

- Admin

#Static #Static Shock #Virgil Hawkins #Milestone Media #Dungeons & Dragons #DC

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