#the freeshooter

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

happy halloween/all hallows’ eve/things that go bump in the night day!

[askxigbar]

I’m not even a fan of sweets -

Th-thank you??

[muses-of-the-memory]

Sora tried to shake off the spider droids the best he could by using the Barrel Roll and Spin Attack techniques of his Podracer, but they just couldn't let go and he just watched them destroy his machine.

But then he heard sounds of gunshots and saw the droids being fired at. "Who's shooting them down? No time to think about that now." Sora spoke as he saw the last one come to the cockpit.

"Stream!" He shouted using his Keyblade's Water magic to try and short circuit the spider droid.

(@themultiverseheroines)

Closed RP w/@muses-of-the-memory

Ahsoka made her way deep inside the Sith Temple. The very place they were told to go to in order to find a way to defeat the Sith. However, it was all in vain. Not only did they find no way of defeating the Sith, but she found out the real truth about her master.

In the back of her mind, she knew the truth, but kept on denying it. She refused to admit the man she looked up, who trained her, taught her all she knew, and saved her, would become the Sith Lord Darth Vader.

The very same Sith who wiped out the Jedi at the Jedi Temple, but serves the Sith Lord himself, Darth Sidious, the Emperor of the Galactic Empire.

Ahsoka had hope she could have saved her master and bring him back to the light, but it seems, even though the two were reunited, there was no bringing him back. She too would have been one of his many victims, had it not been for Ezra Bridger. Who not only saved her, but brought her to a world between worlds. One where they could go through any moment in time and space.

However, they were attacked by Darth Sidious, who was attempting to break into this world. Thankfully, they stopped him and went their separate ways. With Ahsoka returning to the Sith Temple on Malachor, right after the temple was destroyed.

Ahsoka didn't know where these staircases will lead her, but she knew she had to keep her presence hidden. She knew Darth Vader was still alive and is still on the planet. So, she'll need to wait till he leaves so she can find a way off this planet. An easy task, right?

As she heads down the steps, she can feel there's a dark presence waiting for her. Something she's never felt before. So, she kept her guard up. Her hands ready to ignite her lightsabers, just in case she runs into someone or something not friendly down here.

@muses-of-the-memory

[theneoncaster]

Hit Minamicon 2024 as everyone's favourite freeshooter and facility defender. Monstrous characters as fashion cosplays are always a personal favourite.

Shout outs to Pez and Many Lemons for some of these shots.

(And hey, if you like ProjMoon and TTRPGs I wrote one inspired by Library of Ruina and Paranomal Mystery stories called Stories of the Singularity. We did an Actual Play stream of it which whipped ass. We've not worked on it for a while but I'd totally do an itchio release if enough folks want to see it polished~)

[literallys-illiteracy]

Project Moon Reading list

this is mt attempt at a comprehensive list of the references in Project Moon Games.

if you have any that arent listed, feel free to share them.

Lobotomy Corporation:

SCP-049 (Plague Doctor) (Speculated)

Portrait of Dorian Grey (Portrait of Another World; Mirror Of Adjustment) (Speculated)

Bible (One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds, Plague Doctor, Skin Prophecy, Flesh Idol, Burrowing Heaven, Express Train to Hell, Whitenight, Carmen)

Midsummer Nights Dream (Fariy Festival)

[Radio Station] UVB-76//The Buzzer (1.76Mhz)(Speculated)

Necronomicon//General Lovecraft (Skin Prophecy)

Colour Out of Space (Fragment of the Universe) (speculated; Thematically almost certainly lovecraft inspired)

The Little Match Girl (Scorched Girl)

Beauty and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast)

The Red Shoes (Red Shoes)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Scarecrow searching for wisdom; Warm Hearted Woodsman)

Colour Out of Space (Child of the Galaxy) (speculative)

The Snow Queen (The Snow Queen)

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (Rudolta of the Sleigh)

[Opera] Der Freischutz (Der Freischutz)

Snow White and the seven dwarves (Snow White's Apple)

Alarune (Alriune) (speculative)

The Little Prince (Little Prince)

Little Red Riding Hood (Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary; Big and Will be Bad Wolf)

Three Little Pigs (Big and Will be Bad Wolf)

The Six Swans (Dream of a Black Swan) (Speculative)

[Music] Bethoven's Moonlight Sonata (Il Pianta De La Luna, Silent Orchestra)

[Film] Spirited Away (Mountain of Smiling Bodies) (Design) (Speculative)

Wonderlab specific:

Alice's adventures in wonderland (Red Queen, Hookah Butterfly)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Scaredy Cat and the road home)

The little mermaid (Piscence mermaid)

Midsummer nights dream (Titania)

[Conjecture/Heavy Speculation] Snow Queen or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (Nobody Is)

Rapunzel (Tangle)

Lady in the Lake (White Lake)

Mythology and Folklore:

[Buddhist] Preta (Clouded Monk)

[Celtic] Faerie (Fairy Festival)

[German] Der Freischutz "The Freeshooter" (Der Freischutz)

[German] Doppelganger "Double Walker" (Nothing There) (thematic)

[German] Nachtkrapp "Night raven" (Big Bird) (Speculative; Personally unconvinced)

[Greek] Stymphalian birds (Punishing Bird) (Speculative)

[Greek] Pygmalion//Galatea (Pygmalion)

[Japanese] Baku (Void Dream)

[Japanese] Jubokko "Tree Child" (Grave of Cherry blossoms)

[Jewish] Kabbalah (Tree of life, Malkuth, Yesod, Netzach, Hod, Tifret, Gevurah, Hesed, Chokma, Binah, Keter, Ayin)

[Jewish] Succubus//Incubus (Porccubus)

[Korean] Urban Legend regarding "Grape Welch Soda" (An Opened Can of Welcheers)

[Norse] Yggdrasil (Parasite Tree) (Speculative: Giant Tree Sap)

[Roman] Justicia // Lady Justice (Judgement Bird)

[Roman] Laetitia (Laetitia)

[Russian]  Zhar-ptitsa "The Firebird" (The Firebird)

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

Library of Ruina:

Library of Babel

Do Androids dream of electric sheep? (Thematic, Achievement name)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (The Adult Who Tells Lies, Scaredy cat and the road home)

The Marvelous Land of Oz (Ozma)

Town Musicians of Bremen (The Musicians of Bremen)

The Jaunt (WARP trains)

Nosferatu (Nosferatu)

Macbeth ("And then is Heard no more")

[Film] The hour of the wolf (Tanya)

[tarot] The fool (Jester of Nihil)

[poetry] Sky, Wind, Stars, and Poem (SPB&TP mili song) (thematic)

[poetry] Orlando furioso /& Orlando Innamoratto. (Roland and related cast (Argalia, angelica, etc.))

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

Limbus Company

The Divine Comedy (Dante & surrounding cast)

The Wings (Yi Sang & co.)

Faust (Faust)

Don Quixote (Don Quixote)

Hell Screen (Ryoshu)

The Stranger//L'etranger//The Outsider (Meursault)

Dream of the red chamber (Hong Lu)

Wuthering Heights (Heathcliff & Co.)

Moby Dick//The Whale (ishmael & Co.)

Crime and Punishment (Rodion & Sonya)

Demian (Sinclair & Co.)

The Odyssey (Outis, Cyclops)

The Metamorphosis (Gregor)

Limbus Company - Minor References:

Peter pan (Smee)

Sherlock Holmes: (Timekilling Time Stage Names)

Scandal in time (Scandal in Bohemia)

A Case of the Gallows (A Case of Identity) (speculative)

The Adventure of three detectives (The Adventure of Three Students)

The White Scarved League (The Red Headed League)

The Clock Tower of Fear (Valley of Fear)

The Final Problem (The Final Problem)

Midsummer night dream (Midwinter Nightmare EGO gift)

The Time Machine (Hubert from TKT) (Speculative)

The Stars (Alfonso and Stephanette)

The Old Man and The Sea (Indigo elder) (Speculative)

Murder on the Orient Express (Murder on the WARP express)

Vampire the Masqurade (Casseti) (Speculative)

The Masque of the Red Death (Casseti) (Speculative)

The one who rules (Stage name "the one who lords") (speculative)

Real People:

League of nine:

Kim Kirim (김기림) (Rim)

Yi Hyoseok (이효석) (Aseah)

Lee Jong-myeong (이종명) (Yurang)

Kim Yu-yeong (김유영) (???/ Unnamed Member)

Chi-Jin Yoo (유치진). Pen name: Dongrang (동랑) (Dongrang)

Cho Yong-man (조용만) (Aneung)

Lee Tae-jun (이태준) (Sang-heo)

Jeong Ji-yong (정지용) (Young-ji)

Lee Mu-young (이무영) (Gap-ryong)

Park Taewon (박태원) (Gubo)

Kim Hae-Gyeong (김해경). Pen name Yi Sang (이상) (Yi Sang)

Park Pal-yang (박팔양) (???/ Unnamed member)

Gim Yujeong (김유정) (Dongbaek)

Kim Hwan-tae (김환태) (Nul-in)

other(s):

Agatha Christi (Grade 1 Fixer Agatha)

Kim Sakkat (Bamboo Hatted Kim)

Alphonse Daudet (Alfonso)

Vergil (Vergillius)

EGO and Abnormalities:

Midsummers Night Dream (Midwinter Nightmare) (EGO gift)

Carmilla (400 roses Anormality) (Carmilla EGO gift)

Metropolis (Resident of Metropolaris) (Speculative)

Snow White and the seven dwarves (Ebony Queen's Apple)

Pride and Predgudice (Spider of Marrige)

Poem of a dying butterfly (no.10 Crows Eye View) (A Dying Butterfly

Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer (Sandolph)

[Religion, Abrahamic religions] (Skin Prophet) (Heavenly Executioners throne) (Sign of Roses) (Heavenly Commanders Throne) (Broken Wings) (ichthys (Headless ichthys))

[Religion, Buddhist] (Ya Śūnyatā Tad Rūpam EGO) (My Form Empties)

[Folklore, Celtic] Faeries (Fairy Long-Legs, Fairy Gentleman, Faelantern)

[Folklore, German] Der Freishutze (Der Freishutze) (Der Fluchshutze)

[Folklore, Korean] The Green Frog (Blubbering Toad)

[Folklore, Korean] Dol hareubang (Wishing Cairn) (Pagoda Veneration)

[firestorm09890]

I used to think Xigbar’s title was lame as hell until I learned that it’s actually a sick reference and now it’s one of my favorites.

The Freeshooter in English and Magic Bullet Shooter in Japanese, both are direct references to the figure called Freischütz from German folklore. He received a certain number of magical bullets from the Devil that would hit any target he desired without fail. Fitting for Xigbar, considering the space manipulation thing. However, he would only be able to control the first 6 bullets; the 7th would be directed by the Devil himself, and would certainly hit someone the Freeshooter cared about.

I doubt Xigbar being Luxu was planned far enough in advance for it to be intentional, but... it’s easy to see the Master of Masters as a sort of devil figure, isn’t it?

[catboygirljoker]

i love when someone reblogs a xigpost from me and tags it with "xigbar" or "The Dark Freeshooter" <-or somesuch xigbar tag. and then when i go into the tag, a good ~25-50% of reblogs are of my posts. like i dont even think its because they like my posts i think its just because a good ~25-50% of posts that have been made about xigbar in the past year are my posts

[nicedracula]

The Freeshooter

[organization13-smash-or-pass]

Coming in Number 2 we have the man (or men) Xigbar himself! Described as Skilled at recon, this body hopping bisexual has been alive for centuries, and looking pretty good for it! But how many shots would it take for you to sleep with this freeshooter? That's for you to decide!

[momochiiee]

Freeshooter my beloved smug rat 💖

————————————————————————

Do NOT Repost!

♻️ Reblogs are appreciated and encouraged 💖

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

well apparently my brain went “it’s september so it’s That Season Of The Year To Think Abour Der Freischütz”

[the-android-and-the-wielder]

Closed to: @gravitasfatum

——-

“And with a few finishing touches…there we go! I’m a genius!” Vexen crowed as he stepped back from Syntha, who had to go into stasis due to a mission gone wrong.

The android slowly opened her eyes and looked around before they landed on Vexen and a wide smile split her face. “I feel so much better,Dad! Thank you!!” she chirped as she unplugged herself and immediately took off out of the basement in search of a particular Nobody.

She peeks into the Grey Area and spots her target, softly beeping in concealed excitement and tried her best to sneak up on the Freeshooter, pigtails bobbing and stuffed animal gripped tightly in her arms.

[cryptidsncurios]

AU: ODNOGLAZYY UBIYTSA

a.k.a.

That Modern AU Where Xigbar is a Russian Assassin Working for a Cult-Like Entity Known as Organization XIII / The Organization That Is Actually Secretly Run by an Even More Mysterious Entity and Boy Lemme Tell Ya It’s a Ride from Start to Finish

[[bio subject to change/additions if necessary]]

Name: Braig “Lock” Metkiystrelok (originally Luxu before his name change)

Codename: Xigbar, Number II, "Freeshooter"

Age: 45

Birthdate: May 22, 1979

Birth Location: Moscow, Russia

Ethnicity: Half Russian, half something else, but he hasn’t bothered to check

Languages: English, Russian, the majority of Spanish, some French

Height: 6′0″ (About 183 cm)

Weight: 180-ish lbs (About 82-ish kg)

Race: Human (apparently)

Sex / Gender: Cisgender Male

Sexual / Romantic Orientation:  Pansexual / Demiromantic

History:

Abandoned as a baby, left on the steps of an orphanage in Moscow, Russia, and dubbed “Luxu” upon his discovery, the first part of the child’s life was difficult, to say the least. Luxu started out life shy and polite, though as he bounced from foster home to foster home, even as a young child, he began to develop a far less friendly and more belligerent personality. 

At the age of 7 he was adopted by a man named "Mikhail Oleksandr Metkiystrelok." Mikhail was a strange, eccentric individual that Luxu quickly noticed to have a secretive nature, but as a parental figure could still be rather strict despite his ridiculous behaviors. Nonetheless, he demonstrated care and hope for Luxu's future, and Luxu picked up on that odd sense of humor.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and as the Cold War continued, they abruptly moved to California in the United States when Luxu was 10. Mikhail had his name changed to “Braig Lock,” believing that might help him fit in better with his peers. (It’s like a combination of Brad and Craig okay shhh I know it doesn’t make any sense leave me be.)

Yet what should have been a joyous new chapter in their lives quickly turned to tragedy upon reaching American shores. Only a few months after their arrival, Mikhail disappeared under mysterious circumstances---assumed dead---leaving a traumatized Braig to be moved back into yet another foster home.

During his first few years in America, Braig experienced isolation from his peers due to his thick accent, and his teachers encouraged him to take some form of speech therapy. Being the adaptive child that he was, Braig quickly took to exaggeratedly mimicking the stereotypical “Californian” accent that he often saw on television and movies (and amongst a few choice neighbors, of course). He still did not particularly fit in and was often the victim of his larger roommates, but at least the “commie” jokes came to an end.

During his mid- to late-teen years, Braig was uncertain of the direction he wanted to go in life. He engaged in various delinquent behaviors that often got him into trouble with law enforcement, such as petty theft, defacement of public property, and just basically being a belligerent nuisance to society. He often displayed a seemingly (though, of course, entirely false) apologetic enough demeanor once he was caught, so that the worst he would get throughout his youth was a slap or two on the wrist.

However, upon reaching early adulthood, getting his GED with considerable ease due to his shrewd intellect (important to note that his teachers despised him for acing his classes despite his lack of attention), his lax demeanor when it came to obeying the law did not lessen as he began traveling the U.S. and bordering countries in search of purpose. He was consistently in and out of jail and prison, accumulating charges of DUIs, drug possession, vandalism, discharging firearms (multiple times), and numerous cases of disturbing the peace, totaling in well over a decade or so of his life spent incarcerated in separate increments. (The prison tats from this era are utterly epic, by the way.)

Unfortunately, this felonious behavior led to difficulty in actually finding work (he really tried, okay, it’s not that easy), and eventually—disrespect for the law his forte by this point—he began working under the table as an unlicensed private investigator, and he was damn good at it. Braig took on jobs that were considered too dangerous for other P.I.s, or that involved outright illegal dealings, and during this time he honed his body into a weapon, gaining scars upon scars as evidence of his dedication---as far as losing his right eye (which he continuously changes his story as to its loss)---and learning all the best ways to avoid confrontation with the law.

As his career unfolded, Braig began looking for even harder, more intense cases. Coincidentally related to one of his many clients’ cases (a client that, oddly, chose to remain anonymous---but how could he pass up the pay), he stumbled upon information regarding a highly secretive, highly dangerous crime syndicate that went only by the name “Organization XIII,” or, often simply “The Organization.”

And apparently, his adoptive guardian of so long ago seemed to be connected somehow---and Braig could only assume that the Organization was somehow responsible for his disappearance.

Delving even deeper, he learned at the head of this Organization was a man named “Xehanort,” and once his findings were concluded, Braig decided to take on this Organization himself—out of revenge for one of the few people that had ever taken a liking to him.

At last he believed he had discovered the hideout of the person named "Xehanort"—an old recluse hiding in an obscure hovel, and the puppet master over five murderous “apprentices,” as well as a vast network spanning the entire globe.

But he had been incorrect about finding Xehanort---instead discovering Mikhail behind the screens.

As it turned out, "Mikhail" was nothing more than one of the names the man had accumulated, and that his previous appearance was just a disguise. His “true” identity was simply "The Master," or, as the Organization knew him, "Darkness"---he who controlled entirely Xehanort's actions himself.

Thus, the Master announced that at last it was time for Braig to take up the reins, as he was sure he would so long ago---that he would now become "Darkness."

It was then that the Master disappeared once again.

Braig considered following the Master---attempting to wring more information out of him---and yet he could see hundreds of messages that had popped up on the Master's ever-active terminal.

And Braig---suddenly feeling as though this might be the answer to his ever-present question of his role in this world---responded to each and every message, thus beginning a new chapter in the tale of Organization XIII.

Now under the guise of “Darkness,” Braig—now going by the codename “Xigbar, Number II, 'Freeshooter' ”—was granted one of the primary positions in the Organization, underneath Xehanort and his family. The other “apprentices” were informed that he had been a part of their ranks for an extensive amount of time, but he had yet to make his appearance for personal reasons.

No one questioned the explanation.

And no one questioned when he suggested they begin to accumulate new members—for the sake of expanding the global presence of the Organization.

And so continued the game, ever-onward---with no real explanation.

But isn't that how it always goes?

[heartlessfujoshi]

The Way It Was - An AkuSai one shot

Title: The Way It Was Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Pairing: Akusai (Axel x Saïx) Rating: General (Angst and Feels) Word Count: ~ 1,710

Summary: Axel gets assigned to a mission that brings back many memories - a painful reminder of why he is in the position he is in. 

A/N: Happy AkuSai Day! :D Please enjoy this angst that I wrote to honor the blessed day. 

---

Opening an obsidian portal, Axel stormed off, upset as all could be. He charged through the portal, and wound up back in the Grey Area, because of course he couldn’t be bothered to actually make the portal go to his bedroom. Why would he want to do that, when he could easily wind up in the Grey Area. It was like everything was against him at this moment. 

“Uh oh. Someone doesn’t look happy, do they?” Xigbar was sitting on one of the couches, looking at the same newspaper he’d been looking at in the morning. 

“Shut up.” Axel spit out, not bothering to turn around as the bane of his existence was there. He could feel their eyes on his back, no doubt with a slight tilt to their head, wondering what could have caused him to be so angry in the first place. 

“Ouch, Princess.” Xigbar shuffled the newspaper, and set it down. “What’s got your panties all in a bunch right now?” 

He didn’t bother to say anything, as he knew that the Freeshooter was looking for an opportunity to antagonize him. No, he needed to get out of the Grey Area, and get out of there fast. He stormed through the Castle That Never Was, and finally made it to where he should have RTC’d to, but his head had been so in it that he had wound up back where he had started. 

“So STUPID.” He shouted, shaking his gloved fists into the air. He could feel the fire within him itching to get out, and so he sent a blast of flames out towards his window, shouting out a few obscene words. He took a few deep breaths, and felt his shoulders relax only a little. While it had felt good to get that out of his system, he was still on the edge of losing it again. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a portal appear in his room. He knew immediately who would be walking through it, and seriously contemplated opening another portal to take himself away. But it was too late. 

“You are in a foul mood.” Saïx commented, looking slightly perturbed by his appearance. “What is the matter?” 

“You damn well know what the matter is!” He narrowed his eyes at Saïx, who was his supposed best friend. His best friend, and the one person that knew him better than anyone else. “You sent me there on purpose!” 

“It was not my decision.” 

“Bullshit!” He yelled at him. Saïx didn’t flinch, didn’t step back, nor did he show any sign of emotion towards him. “You sent me there on PURPOSE.” 

Golden eyes stared at him with a look of indifference in them. “I told you, I did not send you there. I do not create these missions. These are generated by the Superior and-” 

“Shut the fuck up, Isa.” Axel waved him off, his anger continuing to boil as he listened to his friend drone on. “I don’t need this. Not right now.” 

“Why won’t you tell me why you’re like this?” 

“I don’t see why I should.” He glared at Saïx, who was now going over to the small couch in his room. “Don’t you dare sit down.” 

As if defying him, Saïx took a seat while staring right at him. One of his chakrams manifested in his hand, and he spun it, heat flowing through the palm of his hand as he glared at Saïx. “Put that away.” 

Axel knew he couldn’t say no to that command. His chakram disappeared, the flames disappearing with it. He went and sat down next to Saïx on the couch, knowing that he was going to demand he sit down next to him. Might as well do it before he’s told to. 

“Now, what is the matter?” There was genuine concern in Saïx’ voice now, which caused conflict within Axel. “Talk to me, Lea.” 

“I hate going to home.” His voice was small. Words, short. His chest ached as he thought about seeing Radiant Garden, forever tarnished by their experiments, and now known as Hollow Bastion. “Why does he send me there? To punish me??” 

A gloved hand touched his knee, and he closed his eyes, letting that gentle touch wash over his senses. “It is not only you who bears the pain of going back there.” Saïx’ voice was as soft as his was. As if they were afraid to speak too loud, lest someone in the Castle heard what they were discussing. As if it were forbidden. 

His gloved hand fell naturally on to the top of Saïx’. “It’s awful there, Isa. The Heartless - they’re out of control.” 

“The keyblade wielder will go there soon.” Their gloved fingers intertwined. Axel closed his eyes, and let the healing touches of Saïx take over his entire arm. He wished they could take the gloves off, if only for a few minutes, but that would put them at risk of the Darkness that they used. “He will fix things.” 

“Doubtful.” Axel sighed. “I don’t want to go back there, Isa.” 

“If it were in my power, I would never send you on a mission there, Lea.” 

They sat in silence for a long while, both staring at their joined hands. Axel wanted to pull Saïx into his arms, and wanted to steal the comfort that only his friend could bring to him. But they had both decided that it would be a bad idea to engage in that kind of touch, as it would be a slippery slope. Neither of them could afford to go down that path - not right now. Not when things were beginning to change, what with the keyblade wielder finally coming into the fray. 

Axel was going to pull his hand away first when he felt the couch shift, and saw Saïx stand up, pulling his arm up with him. He went freely, the two of them standing face to face, their fingers still holding tight to each other. Without a word, Saïx stepped forward, and rested his cheek against Axel’s chest, allowing him to put his arms around him. Their fingers slipped apart, but it gave Axel the opportunity to hug Saïx close to his body. 

“I don’t want to do this anymore, Lea.” Saïx whispered, his arms now wrapped around his back. “Can’t we go back to the way it was?” 

If there was one thing he wished they could do, it would be to return to that moment in time before getting killed by the Heartless and becoming the Nobodies that they were. The anger he’d felt upon returning to the Castle had all but evaporated, and had been replaced with melancholy. As he held Saïx close, he rested his cheek against the top of his head. “I wish we could, Isa.” 

“At least we’re together.” Golden eyes stared up at him, Axel hating that his friend’s blue eyes were gone. But he lived with the change, as he knew it bothered Saïx as well. That was the curse he bore, being a devoted disciple of their Superior. To be in the inner circle, so that they could be in the know. 

He cupped his face, and offered him a sad smile. “I’m never leaving you, Isa. We’re in this together until the end.” 

“I know you won’t.” 

Axel returned his arm to be around Saïx, the two of them holding each other for a few more minutes, neither wanting to let go of this solid connection that they shared. There were no other members that understood what they had been through together. There was no need for them to know. 

Saïx pulled away from him, then opened another portal in the bedroom. “I have to go.” 

“I know.” 

“Please - don’t be mad if you’re sent there again. I hate seeing you so upset.” Saïx stepped towards the swirling Darkness. “I’ll do what I can, but sometimes it might not work.” 

“Thank you. And I’ll try for you, Isa.” Axel meant it. He would try and leave his anger behind, as it wasn’t fair to him. “See you again soon?” 

“You will.” Saïx went into the portal, but not before looking back at Axel and giving him a smile that he fondly remembered from their days back in Radiant Garden. 

Walking over to his window, he stared out at the ever present night of the World That Never Was. He would try for Saïx, because he hated thinking about making him sad. If there was one thing he never wanted to do, it was make Saïx sad. They were already told they couldn’t feel emotions, but Axel knew that that was a lie. He still had a wealth of feelings, from the anger he’d felt today, to the love he was feeling now as he saw the portal disappear from his view. It’s what made them different from the other Nobodies - being able to remember those human emotions. 

Axel left his room and went back up to the Grey Area, figuring he owed Xigbar an explanation. The Freeshooter was still seated on the couch, and looked up when he came in. “Ah, there you are.” Xigbar’s one good eye gleamed with mirth. “Are you feeling better now, Princess?” 

He glanced over at Saïx, who was talking to the Moogle that had set up shop in the Grey Area, the two of them meeting gazes for the quickest second, and then the connection ended. “I am.” Axel took a seat next to him, and reached for the newspaper. “So, how’s your day been, Xig?” 

“My day has been shit.” He listened to Xigbar rant for a bit, his eyes returning to Saïx, who he caught looking at him a few times. He could still feel him in his arms, holding each other close as they both sought comfort from one another. If he were to return to Hollow Bastion, Axel would do his best to control his behavior. Or, maybe he wouldn’t, as it did get Saïx to come to his room to check on him. Smirking, he leaned back and gave his full attention to Xigbar, who droned on and on but it didn’t bother Axel in the slightest. 

---

Cross-posted to AO3

[300iqprower]

Hypothetical Rank Ups No. 78-81: James Moriarty

Special thanks to @switch for the massive helping hand they gave in both deciding which effects best fit the flavor I wanted to go for, as well as balancing said effects! Really can't stress enough how helpful it was to, ya know, have someone who actually regularly uses Moriarty weigh in on his balancing. Why didn't Grandpa come home for me :( he really is evil...

The Freeshooter EX -> 'EX'

Apply Ignore Invincible to self (1 turn). Apply Ignore DEF to self (1 turn). Increase own Critical Star Gather Rate (1 turn). Increase own NP Gain (3 turns). Gain Class Affinity advantage against [Ruler] class (5 turns). Gain Critical Stars. [NP Gain Up scales from 10-40%.]

In the first of many changes following a certain pattern, Moriarty gets anti-Ruler on a near permanent basis, being 5 turns on a 5 turn cooldown skill. This both gives him a much needed extra-class niche in the incredibly overcrowded role of ST Archer, and it fits his role in lore as a being antithetical to order and virtue. We're also giving a MASSIVE np gain buff to make up for his low natural gain and his Buster NP. Through the power of the Freikugeln and its ability to grant one's desires, Moriarty can channel a pseudo-golden rule much as he can use the bullets to grant crit stars. While not granting him battery immediately like it does crit stars, his triple arts deck and 4 hit arts cards mean the buff on its own clears a path for him the ability to gain that NP with ease. Paired with his existing massive battery, even with a buster NP looping becomes possible. The skills main tradeoff is that these two long term abilities designed for passive use are still attached to his most dynamic skill, with the star bomb/gather and ignore invincible/def remaining 1 turn in duration.

End of the Spider's Web A+++ -> ‘A+++’

(Can only be used with 10 critical stars or more.) Increase own NP Gauge. Applies [Evil Alignment] to other party members (5^ turns). Increases own NP Strength by 20% (3 times, 5 turns^). Depending on Crit Stars add the following effects: - (20+ Crit Stars) Decrease NP Strength for all [Good] enemies (1 turn). - (30+ Crit Stars) Inflict Nullify Buff to all enemies (1 turn; at skill level 8+ stacks with and takes priority over similar effects). [NP Strength Down scales from 30-70%.]

Have i ever mentioned we need more skills that have crit star based effects? Especially when it comes to servants who are known for their ability to plan ahead? We're also buffing the evil alignment duration, giving much more flexibility that is very much deserved. You'd really think a character meant to be the embodiment of "evil for heroism's sake" would be the defacto changer of good-to-evil. rather than have to worry about there being so much cooldown time. This extended duration boosts said uptime to a much more comfortable 5 out of 8/7/6 turns. Similarly, for flexibility's sake the NP buff is now 3 times across 5 turns, making it much easier with Moriarty's finicky deck to get good use out of the buff. While the buff itself isn't increased, his NP's defense down means that it still pairs incredibly well with repeated use.

Meanwhile, while we arent getting rid of the crit star requirement (see what I said about good planning being the point), we are adding more crit star effects. If you have 10, the effects remain the same. If you have 20, there's a [potentially] crippling NP debuff on all Good enemies. If you have 30 or more, even support NPs get crippled with a nullify buff stack that at higher levels has the unique ability to stack on top of other nullify buffs. Because both these debuffs are 1 turn though, they require you to weigh your options and timing of use between the need for that 50% battery and/or evil alignment, timing it just before an enemy servant tries to unleash their NP, and even having the crit stars to do any of those things in the first place. Truly a skill only a mastermind can make full use of.

Evil Charisma A -> Rogue's Gallerist A+

Increase ATK for all allies (3 turns). Further increase ATK for all [Evil] allies^ (3 turns). Increase Critical Star Drop Rate for all [Villain] allies (3 turns). Apply Target Focus to all other [Phantom Spirit] and [Villain] allies (1 turn) (2 turns at skill level 8+). [Star Drop Rate Up scales from 30-50%]

I get why Moriarty's charisma doesn't double up on himself, he's a professor and all that...but they made him a dedicated ST DPS servant and an archer at that, so yeah i'm giving him the double up. Definitely chalk this one up to the sort of thing I'd need to test more firsthand to know if it's really needed, something friend supports only let me do so much. In the meanwhile I'm just gonna take the approval of a certified Moriarty User as reason enough.

We're also introducing 2 new servant traits at once! Villains will get critical star drop increased for 3 turns by quite a bit. Even with his high hit counts thought, Moriarty's relatively low generation and triple arts deck means he's much more reliant on allies than himself for generating stars through normal attacks. Lastly to finally give him some hard survival, we're doing it in a fittingly schemer sort of way. Rather than shield himself, Moriarty gets others to do it for him, applying target focus to all his fellow villains and the phantom spirits he's taken command of, with the effect applied for an additional turn at its highest levels. While this may seem conditional, the sheer number of villainous figures in Chaldea's roster at this point means it's very easy to ensure at least one ally can take hits for Moriarty.

[Phantom Spirit allies include: Robin Hood, Gilles De Rais (Caster), Hans Christian Andersen, Summer Kiara, Sakaki Kojirou, Phantom of the Opera, Nursery Rhyme, Henry Jekyll, Edmond Dantes, Mephistopheles, James Moriarty, Hessian-Lobo, Yan Qing, Sherlock Holmes, Paul Bunyan, Antonio Salieri, Red Hare, Salome, Van Gogh, Ashiya Douman, Barghest, Baobhan Sith, Melusine, Oberon, Don Quixote, Huyan Zhuo, Huang Feihu, CinderEli.]

[Villain allies include: Saber Alter, Altera, Emiya, Gilgamesh, Elisabeth Bathory, Blackbeard, Medea, Caster Gilles, Shakespeare, Mephistopheles, Hassan of the Cursed Arm, Carmilla, Lancelot, Vlad III (Extra), Caligula, Jack the Ripper, Hyde, Amakusa Shirou, Cu Alter, Jalter, Angra Mainyu, EMIYA (Assassin), Shuten-Douji, Ibaraki-Douji, Ozymandias, Lartoria, Enkidu, Gorgon, MHXA, James Moriarty, Emiya Alter, Hessian-Lobo, Meltryllis, Passionlip, Kingprotea, BB, Summer BB, Kiara Sessyoin, Scherezade, Wu Zeitan, Columbus, Yagyu Munenori, Mecha Eli MKII, Circe, Abigail, Semiramis, Anastasia, Avicebron, Ivan, Scathach-Skadi, Xiang Yu, Qin Shi Huang, Yu Mei Ren, Kama, Arjuna Alter, Maou Nobu, Spishtar (1st form or Costume only), Dioscuri, Caeneus, Van Gogh, Ashiya Douman, Ibuki-Douji, Vritra, Taira no Kagekiyo, Morgan, Barghest, Baobhan, Oberon (3rd ascension), Jacques de Molay, Kriemhild, Xu Fu, Moriarty (Ruler), Koyanskaya (all), Sen no Rikyu, Archetype Earth, Super Bunyan (3rd ascension), Kirei Kotomine.]

"Heroic" Spirits, everybody

The Dynamics of an Asteroid A+ -> A++

Deals damage to a single enemy.^ Deals 160% extra Special Attack damage to a single [Star] Attribute enemy. <Overcharge> Decreases DEF for a single enemy (3 turns).^ [Activates First] [DEF down scaling increased to 20/30/40/50/60%.]

Okay okay I think it's obvious what the theme here is by now. Actually it was probably obvious the moment I brought up Ruler-advantage but now it definitely couldn't be more obvious where there's only a dozen or so star attribute servants. Oh and uh... Apologies to Jeanne for getting caught in the Holmesian-Crossfire. Who knew there were multiple Lawful-Good Ruler Star servants-

So, all in all, Moriarty should be in a good place. He should be, but he sorta isn't for reasons beyond his control. With servants like Tametomo, Edgyia, Kintoki, Orion, and many others cluttering the same niche he has for DPS, he also has to match up unfavorably with the likes of Douman and color-based supports in his other niche. All in all he's too conditional without enough reward compared to his peers for filling those conditions. That's why rather than directly buff him, I mainly relied on keeping those conditions in place but making his support much more fulfilling, and against "certain" enemies making his DPS unmatched. All in all we have a servant who is MUCH more useful to the masters willing to think as far ahead as the criminal mastermind himself.

[literallys-illiteracy]

abberation discussion: Der Schütze and Der Freischütz

So from what i can tell, the difference between Der Schütze and Der Freischütz is one of losing oneself and giving it up (i donf know if this post is coherent, ill see when im less sleep deprived).

While the Freischütz (freeshooter) sought out all their beloved and killed them, in an attempt to trick the devil, their soul was taken from them. In a sense, and mirroring the origins of the name, the Freischütz sold their soul to the devil, leading them to continue living with no purpose, drive or soul.

Heres a small tangent about Walpurgisnacht: the origins of the name Der Freischütz is an opera, which in turn was inspired by a german tale of a marksman who had entered a contract with the devil for 7 bullets, but the 7th would only follow the will of the devil (so very very similar to PM); In literature, the term most commonly used for trading/entering covenant with a devil or greater being is called a “Faustian Bargain”, named after the German novel “Faust”. The book Faust is the namesake of Faust within Limbus company, leading to the point of this tangent which is actually longer than the original post: Why the fuck did Faust not get the Magic Bullet EGO or ID?? Its a perfect fit from the limited amount we know of Faust, as the literature is most of what we have to go off of.

Der Schütze, or “the shooter”, in contrast to loss of drive, the loss of the Freischütz‘s soul, possesses enough of their soul to enjoy the killing. while the Freischütz sought their beloved, killing them and, in the process, lost their soul; The Schütze does not remember their beloved at all, rather than selling their soul to the devil, they remain in possession of it, though wishing that they could leave it behind as the former did. The new Heathcliff EGO, Fell Bullet, i'm fairly sure, is the representation of heathcliff forgetting cathy, losing her name as time passed; Maybe, if he could leave their memories behind as the Freischütz did. if he let go of the past, would he feel any better? The final note is back talking about the Corrosion sprite for the EGO: we see in the trailer that during the corrosion, heathcliff seems to take the appearance of a heart, where he surrounds himself with the magic-shotgun-circles, showing the desire of the Schütze to lose their soul, what remains of their memory, trying to pierce their heart as the seventh bullet of the Freischütz did long ago.