#the trial of the spirit beast

[askthepsychic]

As they fly towards Rey’s first effort, Rey looks at Aaron “out of curiosity, do you know what it could look like if all goes well?”

Aaron looks at her “sort of. Spirit beasts have an exceedingly wide range of appearances they could manifest as, but one can get an idea of some common attributes based on the kind of spirit the one who hatches them possesses. In the case of a true guardian soul, like what you have presented over the course of your life thus far, there tend to be some angelic elements to their appearance.”

Rey smiles “I see. But aside from that, there’s a lot of things that are up to chance, right?”

Aaron nods, then looks down “I believe I know the answer, but I’ll ask anyways. Do you know that house?”

Rey blinks, looking at it “yes. A good friend of mine lives there. She’s going through college right now and I must say, based on things she’s told me about her ambitions, I’m looking forward to seeing what she does in the future.”

Aaron nods “as am I. Right now though, she could use some help. Let’s go in and check on her.” He then flies through a wall directly into the bedroom of Rey’s friend.

When Rey follows, she finds her friend, a unicorn named Stellar Heart, asleep at her desk. She comes closer and sees a textbook open under her. Rey looks at Aaron and he tells her to try to grasp one side of the book. When she does, a spiritual copy of it manifests in her hand which she looks at. “This is one of the more difficult courses she’s studying.” She says, looking at Aaron.

Aaron nods. “Yes. She was reviewing to prepare for a big test tomorrow. If she doesn’t complete her review, she’s likely to do poorly on the test. That will be a blow to her confidence. She’ll start to wonder if she’s really good enough to accomplish her long term goals. Up until now she’s been a straight A student if I don’t miss my guess. Even one score lower than an A at this point could compromise her so badly that she might give up on what we’re both looking forward to.”

Rey looks at Stellar. “I can’t accept that possibility. Her goal could help countless people have better, and healthier lives. Tell me what I can do to help her.”

Aaron nods “dream manifestation. It’s similar to the dream walking skill Luna and Nyx command. Not as potent, but it would still allow you to manipulate her dream. You could bring an image of that textbook into her dream, along with a desk and notebook. A quill wouldn’t be a problem either. All the things needed for her to complete her review and let you test her while still getting a full night’s sleep so she’ll be studied and rested for the test tomorrow. However, beyond these things, you would only be allowed to bear witness to the results. You can influence a reminder to remember her dream once, and only once.”

Rey nods “so I can help her finish her revision, but the only help I can give her during the actual test is a single reminder of the dream study session. Good enough.” She says, looking at Stellar as she prepares to delve into her dream.

As she manifests, she finds the manipulation of the dream to be highly intuitive, and thus she sets to work. In just a short moment, she’s smiling at Stellar as she blinks in confusion, looking around.

Stellar Heart, a sky blue coated unicorn with purple eyes, mane and tail quickly realizes what’s happened and looks at Rey again to ask “when did you learn to dream walk?”

Rey chuckles. “I didn’t. Not really. This is something different. But that’s not important right now. What is important is that you fell asleep studying. How are you going to pass the test tomorrow if you stumble in the last leg of the race?”

Stellar blinks, then blushes, rubbing the back of her head embarrassedly “good question. Guess I better wake up and get back to it.”

Rey shakes her head “not so fast. Wouldn’t it be better if you were well studied and well rested for the test?”

Stellar nods “well sure. Wait. Can you help me with that?”

Rey nods “that’s the plan. I’ll manifest a desk, quill, notebook and textbook.” As she lists each item, they appear. “Once you’ve reviewed the test material, tell me which pages are involved and I’ll quiz you. Then it’ll just be a matter of remembering this dream and you should pass your test with flying colors.”

Stellar smiles, nodding “sounds like a plan. Alright.” She says, picking up her textbook and starting to review the necessary pages.

A few moments later, Rey closes the textbook after quizzing Stellar “full marks. Remember this dream tomorrow and you’ll be set.”

Stellar nods “if you stick around, I’ll treat you to breakfast as a show of gratitude.”

At this, Rey’s smile falls “I’ll have to take a rain check on that one, Stellar. I’m afraid I’m in no condition to share breakfast with you at this time.”

Stellar blinks, tilting her head “why not? Got something going on? Are you sick? What’s up? I’d like to help if I can.”

Rey smiles ruefully “I’m sure you would help if you could, and I’m absolutely grateful for the sentiment, but… I’m afraid I’m a bit more than sick. Look. I’ll stick around till morning. That’ll give you a better understanding of what’s going on. But I want to make one thing clear right now. The condition I’m in right now? Temporary. Absolutely temporary. There are ways to get me back to full health from the state I’m in. It’ll just take time, that’s all.”

Stellar looks down. “I see. Rey… you’re dead, aren’t you?”

Rey blinks “I… um… how… did you guess?”

Stellar sighs “I’ve hung out with Ambrosia on more than one occasion. I’ve been around when she was working. When you started this dream, I noticed something felt off. Something about you. Your energy felt wrong. And with what you said after I asked if I could help you… I finally made the connection. Rey? Is this really a temporary thing for you?”

Rey nods “I swear it is so. Just you watch, Stellar, I’ll be back in my body before the year’s out. I… I still have things to do. People to protect. I’m not going to leave them or you. I’m coming back.”

Stellar gives a small smile and nods. The next day, she passes her test with her typical perfect score. As she heads home from school she can sense Rey nearby. She whispers a word of gratitude.

Rey smiles, watching Stellar a moment more before looking at Aaron “a perfect resolution. But… Aaron, is she… aware of me?”

Aaron nods “she is. Spending time with Ambrosia as she said she has. That can have a unique effect on someone. Stellar’s abilities are just beginning to form, but at this point, further time spent in Ambrosia’s company is unnecessary to further development. It would accelerate development to be sure, but at this point Stellar will steadily grow more aware of psychic phenomenon all on her own. And if she takes the right approach to this process, she could even unlock some special abilities for herself. If that happens, her current ambitions could prove to be only one of the great impacts she could have on the world.”

Rey nods “I see. Could I be of any help guiding her through this process?”

Aaron nods “you could indeed. Now, as for your score in this first effort. I’d say it’s a perfect score. Even when you spoke of your current situation, your intentions never veered away from helping Stellar. Good work.”

Rey chuckles “are you going to be reporting on my score every time? I’d prefer you didn’t. It could be distracting.”

Aaron smiles and nods “very well. Let’s find another place you can help someone, shall we?”

Rey nods, and the two of them head off to continue her work.

[sauronxgaladriel]

Haladriel Library

Saurondriel/Haladriel Fanfic Recommendations. Some of these stories could fit into multiple categories. If you have any more recommendations feel free to add them!

Marriage

Shadow-Bride by eye_of_a_cat

Bridesprice by FormerlyIR (Irony_Rocks), Irony_Rocks 

Poison & Wine by Coraleeveritas

Galadriel takes longer to discover Sauron's identity

no matter how many skies have fallen by stitchingatthecircuitboard

A man is a god in ruins by eye_of_a_cat

Queen of the Southlands by FormerlyIR

Galadriel Says Yes

The House That Fire Built by Ready_For_The_Laughing_Gas

dig up the bones (but leave the soul alone) by Wyrd_Syster

Gilded by eye_of_a_cat

And white winter, on its knees by eye_of_a_cat

The Trials of Mairon by EllieCarina

Mortal Laws by Helholden

A Portion of Thyself by Frotu

Reforged in the Making by FormerlyIR (Irony_Rocks)

Fabricated by Frotu

Canon Divergence/Reimagining of S1 and onwards

I could be your king by cliffdiving

The Tides of Fate by fireheart321

In Case of Defeat, Break Glass by eastwynds

that i may rise and stand, o'erthrow me by mortaltemples

Five times Halbrand's secret got revealed by eye_of_a_cat

Across That Fine Line by MyrsineMezzo

Instruments of Salvation by Scriberated

a fair form by properhaunt

Autocorrelation by EisforEverything

The Return of the Queen by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo)

A Feast of Starlight by TheLightofArwyn

Supernatural Creature AU

should have known better by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo) (Witch/Demon AU)

Wild Magic by Scriberated (Witch/God)

Storm Tides & Weaving Threads by elssiie (Siren AU)

just a taste by stardustspell (Vampire AU)

Haladriel meet before TROP

Spark, Ignite, Burn by cliffdiving

our souls were made from the stars by silverwing12 (Deleted)

Necessity's Bargain by Scriberated

Though the Gods and the Years Relent, Shall Be by Helholden

determination is the cure (for longing) by downtheroadandupthehill

where the spirit meets the bones by kangaroopaws

people throw rocks at things that shine by ophidion

Pick a star, and follow it home by CloudlySkies124

Hades Persephone Vibes

Beasts of the Hill and Serpents of the Den by Helholden

a dust like thine by mortaltemples

One-Shots

Unsired by shady-swan-jones (sweetleaf), sweetleaf 

the light of his eyes by eastwynds

now dark, now glittering by mortaltemples

In the Shadow of Your Heart by mzladybird

i cannot heave my heart into my mouth by fallofrain

this love is glowing in the dark by Orcas86

we could just kiss, like real people do by justatinycollector 

a millstone around my neck by mortaltemples

the nameless by bimmyou

next time by you_wear_fine_things_well

ouroboros by Amuria

Pregnancy/Parenthood

Light and Power by chronicallyexhaustedwriter

shining like a fiery beacon by ophidion

A Blessing of Eru by Scriberated

mitosis by Orcas86

Darkness Bound by no_more_doubt

Smut

A Stressed Tiding by FormerlyIR (Irony_Rocks), Irony_Rocks

this love is glowing in the dark by Orcas86

Buried in Bone by Invisible_Hand

Riptide by makeshiftdraco

Perfection by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo)

like magnets work, only drawn to thee by audreystark

To Follow the Light by Thrill_of_hope

A Moment of Honesty by Draconic_Grace

Dream Within a Dream by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo)

bind yourself to me by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo)

Dream Within a Dream by Nenya Business (Cec_Jo)

Lady of the Seas by eye_of_a_cat

Dark/Dead Dove

all your pain will end here by poeticmemory

Land of Enchantment by EisforEverything

perle by emphemeron

Glanduin Kiss by Anonymous

The Cost of Victory by EisforEverything

what you and i have wrought by thefudge

what heart's ease by fallofrain

Sauron as Annatar

hold her head above the water by Orcas86

next time by you_wear_fine_things_well

the light of his eyes by eastwynds 

Contaminate by Frotu

[majosullivan]

Nevermore Dashboard Simulator

🌷 many-coloured-grass Follow

Can we all agree to stop making jokes about each other’s deaths? Making light of someone’s death even as a joke is really gross

🪦 deadgirlwalking Follow

No I was murdered so I can reclaim it

85,958 notes

⏳ dream-within-a-dream Follow

Okay but can someone tell me how posts here are getting so many notes? There’s like around 100 people at the academy and I’m frequently seeing posts with well over 1,000 notes. Like, it would be one thing if these posts were years old but some of them are from 2 days ago. Did I just miss the memo and everyone here has at least 10+ accounts, like WHERE are you guys coming from?

👻 hourofsecrecy Follow

Can the spirits not show their appreciation for people’s commentery? Can the creatures of the night not find humour in wits and gists of others? What is the difference from the newly departed and the Unseen Ones?

⏳ dream-within-a-dream Follow

Absolutely horrific answer, thank you for your time

26,496 notes

🪱 conqueror-of-worms Follow

Tell me why it’s around eight in the morning and the first thing I see while heading to the dining hall is Lenore PINING Annabel Lee AGAINST A WALL

☠️ spookyxskeletons Follow

🪱 conqueror-of-worms Follow

Care to clarify who the hell you were referring to in this post?

☠️ spookyxskeletons Follow

Yes

3,270 notes

🎈 floatinghoax Follow

After everything the afterlife could have been, you’re telling me that I have to go to SCHOOL and have CLASSES that start at 9AM? Truly tempted to walk straight into the wasteland, there’s only so much a second chance at life is worth

#not to mention with have fucking ROOMMATES #this academy is MASSIVE #you’re telling me there isn’t enough room for single rooms in this place?

7,984 notes

🥀 wilted-rose Follow

I’m curious, who do you guys think you could take in their spectre forms?

🥀 wilted-rose Follow

IN A FIGHT

69,285 notes

🎶 decomposingmusic Follow

You’re not about to manifest your spectre, you’re just dehydrated

🩰 ghosting-giselle Follow

out of the way gay boy i’m boutta separate myself from my remaining mortal ties and embrace the abilites of my spiritual form

🩰 ghosting-giselle Follow

nures rom

173,032 notes

🌙 voyage-to-the-moon Follow

do you think the Deans wake up every day, take one look at us before telling Ms. Poppet ‘PUT THOSE BEASTS IN SITUATIONS!’

2,396 notes

🌃 eveningstar Follow

Does anyone know if Duke and Pluto (the two boys friends with Lenore) are an item or not? Cause any time I’ve seen them interact, Duke has consistently referred to Pluto as Mon Minou (my kitten in french) and I’m not sure if the two of them are together or if they’re just…Like That

🌃 eveningstar Follow

UPDATE: SO IT TURNS OUT PLUTO DIDN’T KNOW WHAT MON MINOU MEANT AND FOUND OUT THROUGH MY POST. HIM AND DUKE HAVE BEEN BICKERING ABOUT IT ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE DORM ROOMS

🌃 eveningstar Follow

Despite what you would think would occur from this development, none of this has answered by original question

#I was just curious if these two were gay or just European #by all accounts they might be both

6,974 notes

🍋 gives-you-lemons Follow

I think I’m about half with through the manor right now? Honestly this lesson is going much better than I expected!

🍋 gives-you-lemons Follow

RATS RATS RATS RATS RATS RATS R&)26?83@/$

5,052 notes

☔️ dew-dropped-nights Follow

[about to be eaten by one of the monsters in the Teraphobia trial] okay but do you think I’m cute? Be honest

4,824 notes

🪐 eureka Follow

Do you think that Annabel Lee and Lenore have ever explored each others bodies

🌷 many-coloured-grass Follow

Can you fucking not do this? Not only are they real people, they’re our classmates and clearly can’t stand each other. Stuff like this is weird and gross

🔮 sorcery-sorcery-sorcery Follow

I bet they fucked nasty up at the widow’s watch

🥂 drinking-into-the-grave Follow

This is actually how Lenore won the Mystery Manor lesson

☠️ spookyxskeletons Follow

Sometimes that butch pussy gets you acting unwise

🏵️ pendulum-in-the-pit Follow

THAT

WHAT

🪦 deadgirlwalking Follow

What’s not clicking

29,496 notes

[tk-duveraun]

Qijiu aus continue

Yue Qi dies shortly after leaving Shen Jiu behind to become a cultivator. It happens so fast, he only realizes WHAT happened when he's a spirit looking over his body.

He's not surprised to be a ghost, it's not as if he ever got a soul calming ceremony, but how is he supposed to save Xiao Jiu like this?

Regrettably, he journeys to the demon realm first. After all, if any righteous cultivator senses him, he'll be exorcised without hesitation. In the demon realm he learns a lot about demons, demonic beasts and spiritual creatures, more than enough to pass on to Xiao Jiu to give him a leg up as a cultivator, but he still has no ability to really interact with the world.

As time passes, he makes a decision. It's a bad one, but he can't wait any longer trying and failing to cultivate himself as a ghost.

Instead, he feeds himself to an abandoned runt from a litter of Soul-Devouring Dusk Hyena cubs. As he'd hoped, despite being unable to do anything else thus far, he manages to win against the cub's animal soul in the merger and take over the body.

He immediately starts his return journey. He arrives to the Qiu ruins still smoking, but finds Xiao Jiu's scent leading away. He's leveled up quite a bit from his trials on the path from the demon realm and doesn't hesitate to bite out Wu Yanzi's throat on sight.

SJ is still in shock from his qi deviation and murders, so he just stares at the hyena as it comes up and bloodily nuzzles his thigh. He pets its head and is rewarded with a happy whine and enough pressure from the thing leaning on him that he nearly topples over.

When the hyena is still there the next morning, he tells it, "Okay but when we find qige you only bite him a little. Maim one limb at most."

He takes the whine to mean the hyena is blood thirsty.

He doesn't question his assumption that it's intelligent enough to understand him.

[dgrailwar]

Round 13, Day 5 - A Wish for the Future

It seemed like the majority of you were willing to side with the goddesses. The tensions seemed high for just a moment, before the Ancient God's anger seemed to subside briefly, an expression resembling gratitude slowly forming on her face.

' I thank you. This future… '

There wasn't a moment for the Mother of Monsters to fully indicate her own gratitude, as another voice rumbled.

' I'VE HEARD YOUR WISH… A WORLD DEVOID OF HUMANS AND MONSTERS… '

The ground rumbled.

A massive beam shot towards Echidna, aiming straight for the core of the 'Grail'.

"...!"

The Ancient God's eyes widened, her own mystic eyes flaring with immense magical energy in defense of the Mother of Monsters as her curse flared outward, meeting the sudden attack head on and the resulting clash causing the chamber to rumble. Even then, the Ancient God's attack didn't seem to be enough, as two more waves of energy spewed outward, the cascade of magical power slamming into her massive form and causing her to stumble back with an agonizing roar.

"He's awake…?"

' Typhon… that is not my Typhon… '

While it did look almost identical to the dragon that Avenger and his Masters had seen, the pulsating purple growth on its chest was new. A small shape circled around the behemoth, white wings fluttering as dark ooze began to drip from the beast. Each dark puddle formed into a creature, as the three-headed dragon let out a massive bellow, the ground shaking once more as the Servants stumbled, quickly trying to catch their balance.

' I WILL GRANT YOUR WISH. '

The voice, that seemed to rumble like thunder and quake the earth itself spoke again.

"Hrm. So, the moth carrying Pretender's curse still lives, and it has begun piloting the Father of Monsters instead. How… vexing."

"Wait, a Pretender-Typhon? Not to steal MoonCancer's thunder as the worrier, but Pretender was already an incredibly powerful dragon… hooking up a fragment of him to one of dragonkind's progenitors is both way too compatible, and way too dangerous."

"Wait… why'd he talk about the wish being 'a world without humans or monsters', rather than a 'world of humans and monsters'…? Do you think that whatever Pretender's 'infection' is, it's like… twisting wishes around?"

The Gunner shrugged, before focusing his gaze on the Ruler and the MoonCancer.

"So, seems like the dragon doesn't want our world either. Plan on joining its team, or are we putting grudges aside?"

"...At least your wish considers humanity. Even if I don't agree with the principle… I'm not going to abandon my Masters or mankind! We're fighting together! To the end!"

"As if I'd turn down the chance to fight a final boss like this! I mean, I'm still super scared, but I've got to show off my god's divine might, right?"

"Hahaha! Glad that we're in agreement, then!"

The Avenger boldly stepped forward, throwing his arm outward. His mana, flames of vengeance and disaster, flared violently around him as you felt his Spirit Origin expand and grow in might, pushing his manifestation to the absolute brink.

"Kuhahaha-- KUHAHAHAHAHAAA! Behold, the giant Typhon! Beyond mortal, beyond dragons, beyond gods! Birthed of the Earth and the Abyss, his might was not meant to be overcome by humanity, nor his own kind! However, this serves as our final trial! A world of human and monsterkind, this is the path that our Masters have chosen!"

"I am Avenger! My True Name is the Count of Monte Cristo! Let us burn our spirits to the limit, and push on to a bright future!"

One by one, you felt as your Servants began to push their own Saint Graphs to the brink. Magical energy, prana surging like rapid rivers as they prepared to throw everything they had against the massive godkiller.

"Masters, let's prepare for battle! Show me the faith in the world you want, and I will respond in kind! You have Jeanne d'Arc's banner, so let it fly in the name of victory!"

"C'est la dernière danse! One last performance before it ends! I hope you're prepared, Masters, because there's no time to get cold feet now!"

"Alright, here goes nothing… Shree Vakratunda Mahakaya Suryakoti Samaprabha… Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva-Kaaryeshu Sarvada…!"

"Go! Kiheitai! Come forth, Proto-Arahabaki! We're sparing no expense, we're pushing with everything we've got, so let's put on a show that'll make even the gods tremble!"

The Gunner pointed his hand outward, the space on the ground being filled with a swath of armed and ready soldiers, his mana burning alongside the others as he leapt upwards, landing on the shoulder of a massive pseudo-divine machine.

"This is it… one more battle, and we'll have done it…!"

The massive form before them let out an echoing, terrifying roar.

The six remaining Servants readied their skills and weapons, preparing for the fight of their lives.

Behold, the ancient weapon that struck fear into the heart of the king of gods. A god-killer, world-shaker, he who could rip asunder the cosmos. Behold, the ancient ephemera that struck him down in the short time of its manifestation. A being that holds no desire for wishes, but only a desire to see one's hopes laid low and their hubris brought crashing down.

The Progenitor Dragon, corrupted by the Mors King's curse! Typhon-Ephemeros!

The Extra Class of Twisted Wishes, Pretender!

[aerscribbles]

I'm not getting to writing out the story for this WIP this year or probably the next (too much other stuff going on) so I want to put this out there somehow.

My mental nickname for it is 'TGCF Vertical Reversal AU'.

Instead of the more 'traditional roleswaps' (God/Calamity) it switches the places of Xianle and Wuyong on the timeline.

Jun Wu, thrice ascended as a martial god, god of disasters and misfortune, god of broken things. Generally way more hissy and spiteful than Xie Lian in canon. Also not very good at hiding the fact that he is constantly five seconds away from losing it.

Mei Nianqing the ~mysterious~ ghost king, infamous for his cartomancy, knowledge of the future and ability to manipulate dreams and fate.

The three unnamed vassals as gods who ascended after breaking up with Jun Wu.

Xie Lian as the Heavenly Emperor, as kind as he is strong, and oh so fucking tired. Constantly trying to parent all the other gods. also he gets to have pet tigers because I said so.

Hua Cheng as the gambling-addict State Preceptor of Wuyong. Responsible for Jun Wu's first encounter with the possibility of death. Currently trying to avert Xie Lian's rube goldberg suicide attempt.

Fengqing as powerful weather spirits in the territory of Mount Taicang. Mu Qing, a snow spirit known as Greed and Feng Xin, a wind spirit known as Ignorance (Hua Cheng is Anger). The names are referring to the three sources of mental suffering, as counter to the sources of physical suffering- Birth, Death, Sickness and Old Age (MNQ + the three mountain spirits). Hua Cheng is the old man shouting at clouds.

Mount Taicang and Mount Tonglu also switch narrative roles.

Mount Tonglu as a spiritually significant place for the kingdom of Wuyong, and also the place where the royal tomb is- 'in the fire we were born, to the fire we return'.

Mount Taicang as the ghost king trial location, though it isn't a volcano- think more Shinsenkyo from Hell's Paradise, a forested mountain overgrown with flowers, swarming with deadly insects and strange beasts- vaguely inspired by the wording of 'Body in Abyss, Heart in Paradise', a place of overwhelming beauty seemingly designed to harm you in every possible way.

The actual plot of this is less 'Xie Lian trying to force Jun Wu to become his successor by putting him through the Horrors and revealing Heaven's corruption' and more 'Xie Lian trying to ensure there is someone reliable in place to take over when he finally gets to kill himself, and cleaning house as a side benefit'.

But here's the thing. The deal with Mount Taicang is that it's the place where Xie Lian has imprisoned all of the Worst Things Ever, and the wards will fail if he dies. His power is the only thing keeping the Heavens afloat and a dozen other things functioning. The world is falling apart at the seams and is being held together with Xie Lian's lifeforce as duct tape.

Xie Lian is so, so tired.

And well, it isn't like anyone would really care if he died.

Care about the real him.

So, he plans to pass on the duties of maintaining the functional state of the world and finally find his rest.

Then his favorite child comes in and starts trying to beat some self-worth and appreciation for life into him.

Then everyone else shows up, including his old friends and the one who his heart betrayed him for.

And in the end, one person is enough.

I am 100% down to talk about this stuff if anyone shows any interest!

[englishotomegames]

Ten Trials of Babel -The Doppelganger Maze- (巴别十书：如何逃离二重迷宫)

Release dates (Steam) Chinese: March 13th, 2022 English and Japanese: November 15th, 2023

"You have been drawn into a game of racial survival, the 'Babel Cross'. Humans, Mekas, Spirits, Ghosts, Yaos, Beasts, Relics, Phantoms, and two unrevealed races, together explore the world within the book, climbing the mysterious Babel Tower. At the top of the tower, after passing through ten worlds, the victor gains glory and the hope of evolution, while the defeated are erased along with their entire race.

——And so far, the number of StoryDivers who have passed through the tenth world remains zero.

In the 'Doppelganger', the Story World you enter for the first time as a newcomer, you meet StoryDivers assigned to the same world: Saint, Victor, and Kruger. If the Doppelganger is triggered, you will face instant death; and the team, seemingly harmonious and friendly, also harbors restlessness and ominous signs.

Is the heart of those not of our kind different? The Babel Tower has taken away the 'language' of communication between the ten races, In the face of allies and enemies, what will you do?

■4-8 hours of gameplay (varies with puzzle-solving speed) ■6 characters to pursue (including 2 hidden characters) ■7 BEs, 1 HE, 6 individual character endings, and 1 grand finale ending, 15 endings in total to unlock ■18 pixel CGs for cutscenes and endings ■30+ puzzle maps ■Mild horror elements"

This is a game now available in English on Steam! It seems to have RPG, puzzle and horror elements in addition to the standard visual novel format. You can buy it here!

[nyaskitten]

Hmm in My head I think the Overlord isn't the only of his kind, that there were others, and he just got lucky.

I'm gonna yap like A LOT . Be forewarned.

They were a species of parasitic spirits conjured by powerful sorcerers and brought by the Oni Warlords to corrupt Ninjago, and after Mystake killled the other two Warlords, she kinda had to help FSM hunt down and exterminate the parasites.

Unfortunately for them, one of these parasites found his way into the body of a dying Patriarch, the Patriarch of the Central Flatlands (which would one day become Ninjago City, and this specific area is quite literally the area within which Borg Tower was made, hence why the Overlord always returns to that area, it's where he's most powerful) and merged with the untouched power that lay in his weakening body.

This resulted in the birth of the Patriarch of the Eternal Shadow, who would soon be known as the Overlord. FSM felt the departure of the Patriarch of the Central Flatlands, but just as well he felt a great corruption had entered his soul, and with Mystake, he sought to find what happened.

When they arrived, they found this new Patriarch wearing the corpse of the previous Patriarch, and FSM was enraged at the sight. He instantly went for the kill, much to the dismay of Mystake.

Though FSM managed to obliterate the body, he only weakened the spirit, and worse yet, now the Patriarch of Eternal Shadow had tasted the FSM's power, he bore some of it within him, and it just made him stronger, hungrier... it made him sentient...

The spirit's energy seeped into the ground, slowly draining the surrounding life and the very power upon which Ninjago was founded upon, and using it to strengthen himself. This would have HORRIFIC consequences (the creation the Balance, a power which ties the spirit eternally to Ninjago,) Soon was born the Overlord, and he tore the world open as he rose.

Terror and panic spread across the people of Ninjago. The FSM quickly returned to the sight of his prior conflict to find things had gotten way worse. Suddenly the parasite-spirit had grown, he had grown larger than the Patriarch he once embodied, he was something New.

The something New was way too powerful for the FSM, he created a species of beasts meant specifically to hunt elemental powers (grundles,) an untouchable fortress, an army of indestructable stone warriors, and a corrupted serpent whose sole mission was to devour everything in her sight.

The FSM was at a loss, and could only retreat, he had no way to stop anything the Overlord was throwing at him. He and Mystake had no idea what to even DO about this, that is until they started to look through the information compiled of the realms, and saw a stand-out realm. They were in awe, it was said to be a realm which housed a kingdom run by dragon energy, a realm of extreme advancements and unique design, Imperium.

With no other option, FSM went to Imperium alone (as Mystake, a full-blooded oni, would no doubt rile the dragons up more than he, a half-blood.) He went to the Empress of Imperium at the time and sought her aid in creating for him a suit of great power, one which relied on dragon and elemental energy.

It was kind of awkward though, because he swore he recognized at least one or two dragons there from the war, and now he was getting them to power a weapon of war? Whoopsies. (Ofc while he was there, he found a way to implement vehicles from Imperium into his Golden Weapon which is my explanation for the random-ass Golden Weapon vehicles.)

Anyways while the Empress' top scientists were very busy at work with this mech, the FSM took the time to study fighting techniques from the dragons, and developed from them the Art of the Golden Dragon.

After a few days of trial and error, the FSM's new battle armor, the Golden Mech, charged with both his own power and the combined energies of several other dragons, was finally ready to help him take on the Overlord.

When he returned, he was bombarded with a horrific sight, his once gorgeous realm was now in ruin, darkness growing all around, where he stood was one of the few lands of sanctuary left within his world. He had to act fast. He called out to the Overlord, who near-immediately arrived through the shadows, his legions in tow.

The FSM quickly summoned the Golden Weapons and used them for one last boost on his mech, and prepared for battle. What the Overlord WASN'T ready for was the FSM grabbing him by the snout, slicing off one of his wings, dropping him to the floor, stomping on his snout, and charging up his blade in order to decapitate him.

To combat this, the Overlord quickly summoned shadows to restrain the Golden Mech, then he was able to get up and blast the FSM back so hard he probably would've felt that for a week. Or three. FSM was lucky enough to land on his mech feet and continue to clash with the Overlord. Soon, he realized the battle was getting a Bit too futile, and he came to a realization.

Too much of the land had fallen to the Overlord, he couldn't expel him from this world, but he could seal him from the land... with that, the FSM charged his blade one final time, this time with all of the energy and strength of his mech and himself. He leaped upwards and he drove his blade straight into the ground.

The resulting shockwave was so powerful, it tore the island in two and knocked the Helmet of Shadows (or the Overlord's Crown of Horns,) clean off, and into the hands of the FSM. The Overlord's spirit was torn away from his body, and his spirit was stuck on the half of the island slowly drifting away, while his army was left on the FSM's side.

In order to do a clean-up, the FSM had to seal the Overlord's destroyed physical vessel in a realm beyond and between realms, a sort of pocket-realm akin to the Grasslands or Nether-Space (which only the Golden Weapons could open.)

Then he constructed an indestructable tomb and used the Helmet of Shadows to force the Stone Warriors down there. Some were stuck submerged in the sea or FAR in the wilderness where no one would find them (well except for Misako several thousands of years later but she's an outlier and should not be counted.

Eventually, FSM did have to trek back to the Dark Island in order to seal the Golden Mech within the Temple of Light, and then submerge the island as much as possible to ensure the Overlord would not return.

Then he had one last task to perform, removing the darkness from Ninjago. It was... difficult. At one point he considered just eating the Dark Matter and their crystalline remnants, but very quickly decided against that. Eventually, he and Mystake were able to get enough gold from the Golden Peaks to erase the Dark Matter from the land forever... he also had to reseal the grounds that the Overlord tore apart which was. A pain in the ass.

Ehhh one problem after ALL of that though... the Overlord's serpent was nowhere to be found, and his element-hunting dinosaurs were still running loose somewhere in the vast lands of Ninjago... but I'm sure it'll be fine... what's the worst thing that a snake with corruptive powers could even DO psht I'm sure it's Fine. FSM will be FINE nothing bad'll happen

[mymalebulk]

Trial 3 notes:

Subject has volunteered to undergo experimental growth treatment.

After the subject was informed of the risks, provided consent and agreed to perform regular check-ins, treatment started.

Initial check-ins reveal very positive results. Subject shows great increase in lean muscle tissue.

Subject reports increased hunger, energy levels and libido. [He's a huge flirt, pun intended, but that would definitely breach ethics.]

Dosages and food intake will be increased.

Subject has continued to grow... a lot. He's expressed gratitude for being included in the trial admitting that he's "always wanted to be big".

Subject reported constant hunger and horniness. [He frequently tries, and fails, to hide his arousal. I think that's grown too! It's getting really hard to focus around him with all that beef.]

Dosages and food intake will be further increased.

Subject's latest check-ins revealed explosive growth. Significant increases in muscle and body fat. Even increases in height! [His body is incredible!]

Subject shows decreased mobility and reports decreased ability to perform activities of daily living. This constitutes an adverse event... again.

Following procedure, all treatment will be stopped. Subject will continue to check in for monitoring.

Despite stopping treatment, subject keeps growing. [It's amazing!] No normal clothes fit him. Like the previous cases, subject will have to be moved to the facility for observation and 24/7 care.

Subject seems in good spirits however and is excited by the unlimited food, gym access and other services at the facility. I volunteered to collect his personal effects to make him more comfortable. [Found out we have a lot in common. Maybe, now that he's at the facility permanently (he's way too big for normal life), this could be the start of something between us. Ethics be damned.]

Final entry:

Subject [his name is Henry] has settled into life at the facility well. He continues to grow thicker, stronger, and bigger everyday. Without the treatment, his expansion has slowed, however his body has been permanently altered to always be in a slow, but steady, state of growth.

I make sure to take care of all his needs. [We can hardly keep our hands off each other. My boyfriend is a fucking beast!]

Trial 3 is complete, preparations for Trial 4 are underway. [Maybe this time, I'll participate.]

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

YOUR HIGHNESS I HAVE A REQUEST FOR YOU. 💍 not much of request, more of a suggestion if you ever feel like writing it, what about a necromancer yandere? or a mortician?!! OOOOUGHH im so obsessed with necromancers and everything related to them, and there's só many options!!! trying to realive darling reader? put me in! necromancer went to get body parts but when they were doing research they fell in love with one of the people they were getting body parts from, now they want to realive them! DELICIOUS!! killing unwilling reader and bringing them back as a form of punishment! IM ON! i give you full creative control thy humble lord, thank you for the food

(and of course, feel free to deny, YOU are the artist, you are what matters ❤)

Yeah, I can do this

Yandere!Necromancer x GN!Reader

CW: Mentions of death and corpses, both human and animal

The most powerful bastard to have ever lived.

The unspeakable horror known as Letum the Terrible, a powerful sorcerer that seemed to draw magic from the universe without any limitations; a bottomless pool of stamina who could wipe out armies with a snap of their fingers.

Or, as Nephin knew them, (Reader).

He still remembered the first time he met (Reader), when they were a young teenager and he was just a child. What the pitiful town's people called power hungry and malicious, Nephin understood to be ambitious and determined. Even at the age of five, the small boy could see how the people never broke (Reader's) spirit; how every time they publicly beat them out of fear, or accused them openly of evil and conspiring with dark forces, (Reader's) resolve strengthened.

Unlike wizards, who had to learn the ancient arts and memorize countless spells, or mages who had to use magickally imbued artifacts and books written by magick users of the past, the terrifying teenager was a sorcerer, who's power was instinct and perfected by trial and error experimentation.

Nephin craved the user's attention.

He studied so diligently, begging the universe to give him access to the energy of the universe or to grant him his own supply of natural mana.

The rest of the town was so focused on being afraid of (Reader), that no one but Nephin noticed their one and only flaw. (Reader) could not heal themselves.

Less than a month before the human known as (Reader) would seemingly fall off the face of the earth, they had changed the course of the little love sick child's life forever, after an encounter hidden deep in the woods.

Nephin cradled a bleeding rabbit, focusing on a simple healing spell, chanting it over and over again while rocking on his little heels, screaming in his heart for the universe to awaken his healing power. But the rabbit continued to bleed out over his shirt.

"Hel, oh breathing earth, this broken body. Hel, oh breathing earth, this broken body. Hel-"

The small little black rabbit went limp in Nephin's arms, releasing her last breath. Tears tumbled down out of frustration.

"No. No. No!" He whined, gripping the body against his chest harder. "Wake up! Wake up!"

A warm green light bubbled up from the earth like liquid, rising into the air around Nephin and the rabbit. It was working. "Wake up! Wake up!"

The rabbit stirred to life, moving within his grasp, without breathing.

Joy filled Nephin, believing himself to have finally achieved the power to heal, when he realized that the wound on the bunny never closed, and blood was still dripping from the gash.

He didn't have much time to wonder what was happening, as (Reader) emerged from the bushes, wide eyed at the sight before them.

"I.. didn't heal him right.." Nephin sadly stated, holding out the rabbit to his unrequited love.

(Reader) reached out for the beast, ignoring it's screams. After a brief inspection, (Reader) got on their knees to stand at eye level with Nephin. "What is your name, child?"

".. Nephin."

"Nephin, dear young magick user, you were born for power, but not to heal."

"-but-"

"This rabbit is dead." (Reader) angled the violently wriggling head towards Nephin so the child could see the green hue in the bunny's clouding eyes. "What you have accomplished, was quite impressive for one without training. You are a necromancer."

Nephin felt his tiny heart shatter. The tears that had begun to dry restarted, falling freely down his round, baby cheeks. "But I wanted to - to heal!"

"Look at me." (Reader) snapped their fingers, startling Nephin into choking back his sob. "With the advancements in non magickal science, even regular men can make healing medicines. With time, the doctors and the apothecaries will surely render healers useless. However, you can do what no healer has ever achieved. You can raise the dead."

(Reader) hoped that they successfully encouraged the kid, handing him back his first successful minion.

Their words would haunt him for the rest of his life.

After (Reader) disappeared, Nephin ran away from home, traveling across the continent to find necromancers to study under. They gladly accepted him as one of their own, filling him with praise over his natural talent. And as the years went by, Nephin grew in power tangentially with (Reader). He had no proof that the nearly inhuman Letum was (Reader), but with the descriptions of their abilities he had little doubt in his mind as to who they were.

Without an ability to heal themselves, (Reader) slowly became less and less of the person they once were. Stories told of the terrifyingly powerful being spread around the world, as the strongest warriors of all classes and species left to challenge them and were destroyed so thoroughly that there was not body to send back to their families. The only times (Reader) was injured was due to their hubris, which allowed their opponents to gain the upper hand. The fighters would be reduced to ash with a snap of their fingers afterwords, but (Reader) never missed the opportunity to allow their opponents to show off their pitiful abilities against them.

Scars covered so much of (Reader's) skin, that their original skin tone was difficult to determine. With a bald head and lack of a nose or upper lip, the intimidating menace was easily mistaken for a monster.

No one but Nephin remembered (Reader), but everyone knew of Letum the Terrible.

And as time went on, Nephin's love for his first crush never faded, counting down the days until he reached adulthood and could track down (Reader). He knew, logically, that (Reader) would not remember him, but whether or not they allowed him to follow them around like their loyal dog, or killed him without a second thought, was enough for him; just to be in their presence once more would be an honor.

On Nephin's twentieth birthday, when he was awarded the highest rank amongst his adoptive village and became not only an adult, but a necromancer more powerful than any other in history, he set out to find (Reader), ready to track them down by following their crimes like a trail of rose petals.

Instead, Nephin found a nation of people celebrating the death of Letum.

And it was as though his entire existence had been a waste.

Letum the Terrible was preserved with magick to be researched my magickal scientists.

Their body would not deteriorate, nor rot, as scholars from around the world freely came to poke and prod and slice open their body in an attempt to understand what gave Letum such immense power.

In the hall of intellectuals, Nephin stood transfixed before the viewing table, admiring what little remained of the neighbor he once knew. Their chest and abdomen were hollowed out, every organ except the brain removed and placed in jars to be examined. Everyone who got a chance to see the most powerful evil to have ever lived felt comfortable enough in the corpse's presence to mock (Reader).

"They died from something so mundane.."

"An allergy? Even children can heal themselves.."

"Perhaps they were bored with life.."

"Perhaps they weren't so strong after all.."

'Enough with this slander.' Except for (Reader's) body, each and every cadaver, no matter how incomplete they were, woke, and turned on the humans. The atmosphere quickly changed from cheeky to tragic, everyone scrambling in a mass panic as the dead began to tear apart the living. In the chaos Nephin stole away (Reader's) body, carrying them like a bride on their wedding day.

It took years to find every piece he needed.

Nephin searched the world for pieces to fix his precious neighbor, his first and only love. The two were now the same age as each other, as a corpse can not grow old.

Although Nephin found (Reader) just as beautiful with their scars as he did when they were children, the world knew of Letum, but only he knew of (Reader). So he hunted down pieces of the old (Reader) throughout the lands. Someone's similar shaped nose, a hide matching their skin tone and texture, scalping someone with (Reader's) hair. Bit by bit, throughout the years, with the help of a warlock under contract to resurrect her wife, Nephin sew (Reader) back together.

(Reader) woke up.

Head splitting in pain, they forced themselves to sit up, despite the voice of a stranger commanding them to take it slow. Everything was fuzzy, and they couldn't recall what had happened to cause such a stiffness and agony. The last thing they remembered was being bitten by a spider, and falling ill nearly instantly, collapsing alone in the woods.

They raised their arm to inspect their bite, but found an unfamiliar arm. Patches of skin stitched together. Their other arm was similarly foreign, and as their eyes learned to focus again, they learned that the same was true for the rest of their naked body.

"I wanted to clothe you, however I was worried the texture would be uncomfortable on your new skin." The stranger with white hair and tired eyes shyly spoke, disturbingly pale skin blushing red.

"I am in no mood for jokes." (Reader) attempted to proclaim loudly, however, their voice was nothing but a dry whisper.

"You may not remember me, but I remember you. I am the one who brought you back. And.." The red deepened as his smile trembled. "I am your master now."

"Ha! Cheeky. Regret your words, and I, Letum the Terrible, shall let you live."

"You are no longer Letum the Terrible." He bent down, caressing their left hand and placing a soft kiss on a their ring finger before pulling out a small box. "You are (Reader), my beloved spouse."

"That's it." (Reader) raised their hand, no longer amused. "This conversation is over."

And snapped their fingers.

.. but nothing happened.

Confused, they looked at their hand.

"I told you." Nephin said sweetly, admiring the green swirl of magick in (Reader's) eyes. "I am your master now."

[penny-anna]

hi everyone guess what time it is THATS RIGHT its fic rec time

Slowly but Also Like All at Once by putaposyinyourhair

"Any sign of Knuckles?” He huffs out a soft breath of air, mentally cycling through the answers that are starting to feel almost programmed by this point. Kris, he ain’t coming back. Kris, he’s gone, man. Kris, stop asking me shit I don’t have the answers to, dude. Instead he goes with something a little more sensitive. “Negative.”

AU based on the ending of Rise of the Beasts. tragically not updated for over a year but MUCH to chew on here & i must share this excerpt:

“Look, man, I can explain—” “Noah,” Reek begins again, tentatively— like he’s about to ask something that even he can’t quite believe he’s going to ask. “Did you fuck that car?” Noah damn nearly chokes on his own tongue.

Personal Space by Neon_Honeycomb

“Are you okay?” Cool, smooth metal presses against his face before he can even register Mirage moving, shattering the memory that’s slowly engulfing him until it dissipates entirely. He’s left staring again at the metal beams above, the backdrop of yellow clouds far behind them, and the movement of a single tree branch swaying just within sight. “Only you would have a roof fall on you and then ask if I’m the one that’s okay.” Noah and Mirage get trapped under a pile of rubble together. While waiting for someone to come free them, they get... comfortable.

its ur classic premise <3

lose my mind by Donts

“Do I turn you on, Noah?” Mirage murmurs lowly. Noah sucks in a breath, dropping his hands and opening his eyes, gazing at Mirage’s optics with surprise. Mirage is looking at him with a smug grin, and oh fuck. or 5 times Noah masturbates because of Mirage, and 1 time Mirage helps him out.

ohhh thats the good filth!!

A flickering spark, his unwavering spirit by caelleth

“We were… friends, weren’t we?” The words left his vocals before he could quell them, and Noah considered them before he could regain his wits enough to take them back. “...Yeah. We were friends.” His head turned, and he tore his gaze away from the mech, leaving Mirage to stare at his dust-fettered curls, struggling to find any words in this planet’s limited language that could ever hope to describe the unbearable mix of guilt and yearning and grief and above all that, unyielding hope that bubbled through his chassis. But it seemed no amount of words ever could, Cybertronian or otherwise. “I can see why,” was all he said to the human. (Or, the trials and tribulations of repairing a Cybertronian.)

another AU based on the ending of the movie. ohh this was a great time. the first Mirage POV chapter is a particular highlight.

Manhandled by SadVibez

Mirage picks Noah up to grab something on a shelf. Things quickly turn not so PG-13.

manhandling :)

An Old Mech Worries For A Human by SadVibez

During the fight in Peru, Noah was hurt after being dropped by Scourge. He hasn't told anyone and with Mirage to not fret over him, no one has noticed. Well, almost no one. Optimus notices Noah in pain and the two have a small talk.

a rare non-shippy fic. ohh i love a 'this character should have been injured let's talk about that' fic

Tactile Intimacy by BunnyFair

When Mirage makes an expected engine noise, Noah has to investigate and give his friend a thorough check up. Popping his hood, he soon discovers the world of tactile interfacing.

tactile interfacing for u!!!

human junk by Secretkept (KaiNinjagoo)

After a few nights of Noah sleeping in the garage, Mirage notices something he hasn’t seen before (PENIS)

firstly can i just say, summary of all time, i've been thinking about (PENIS) for weeks. secondly: great series feat. sexless robot Mirage & Noah navigating their relationship. love the realism of this one. great time.

Exposure Therapy by Neon_Honeycomb

“You’re not made of metal. I— I don’t know the limits of what you’re made of. I don’t know how much is safe contact, and when it turns into— when you— when I—” This is the part where Noah is supposed to get it. The part where he’s supposed to understand the depth of what Mirage has just told him, where he realizes the danger he’s in if Mirage so much as simply moves wrong at the wrong moment, the moment where he lets go and never comes near him again. He waits; waits for it all to click into place in that biological processor of his, waits for the moment he pulls his hands back to himself, waits for his face to morph into entirely justified fear. “I could break you, Noah, I could…” He’s not prepared for Noah’s expression to go soft. There's only one way for someone to learn how much strength to use when handling something, and that's through experience.

screaming yelling throwing up wailing sobbing:

Noah doesn’t break. He doesn’t immediately start leaking red, his face doesn’t even pinch like Mirage has seen him do when he gets hurt. And somehow that makes it so much worse when Noah looks up at him, looking just as good as he had a moment ago, completely fine, only for him to say, “Right there. That’s how hard it takes to start hurting.” like it’s no big deal at all.

[talking-ink]

Ladies and gents, I'd like to introduce you to my newest creature, Kit. You might if seen a while ago I was playing cassette beasts recently I got back into it after a long break and am almost done with the main story I think. But I wanted to make an oc for new wirral wo I give you kit!

I realize I might be bending the rules of cassette beasts slightly, but we have sentient robots, so... I suppose not too far? But kit is an ai from the far future who is along the lines of kinito pet, clippy, siri, etc who fell into new wirral and was kinda stuck in a flashdrive until they somehow managed to get themselves stuck into a cat-5 (I haven't thought about how) but through alot of trial and error they befriended the beast/spirit and it allows them to use it as a sort of body though it's not a perfect companionship (it is a cat)

Thus was my first take on them, and I kinda hated the clothes, so I changed them for the other piece, but it's an accurate picture still of what kit looks like in a proper computer/monitor situation

[monstersdownthepath]

Herald of Pharasma: Steward of the Skein

CR "15"

Neutral Medium Outsider

Inner Sea Gods, pg. 302

It had to happen. Originally, the Arcanotheign had the Finale spot on the Misfits and Monitors Month roster because of how busted her kit looked on first glance... But then I took a closer look at the Steward here, and knew that there was no contest. Even in her original iteration in Carrion Crown: Trial of the Beast the Steward pushed the boundaries of what was allowable by a CR 15 creature, and her final version in Inner Sea Gods is no different. In fact, she's actually slightly stronger than her first draft despite losing several chunks of her kit because they consolidated a lot of her kit into her spell-likes... and then added even more.

Her CR is in quotation marks because she's actually got 19 hit dice and a matching caster level for all her spell-likes, the highest of any other Herald in both respects (with one exception), who have anywhere from 15 to 18 Hit Dice and/or caster level, both of which almost never match, leading to a power disparity between their raw stats and how strong their spell-likes are. The sheer number of options she has available, combined with being statistically anywhere from +1 to +3 stronger in noteworthy stats than every other Herald, should probably put her at CR 16 or 17. A party of 10th level adventurers can't even scratch her, and a party of 12 to 13th level adventurers would struggle to harm her with anything requiring saving throws.

Fitting for what amounts to the mouthpiece of the President Of The Universe, Pharasma, the Lady of Graves. The first of the gods and the most powerful of all of them by an enormous margin, she would of course settle for nothing less than the greatest of the Heralds... though the Steward's normal jobs are more or less exactly what her name suggests, taking care of day-to-day tasks in the Courts of Purgatory and the Boneyard besides, like a combination of heavily-armored butler and mailman. This being a fantasy world, though, her jobs are suitably fantastic; she's not delivering mundane letters to the judges in the Courts, but proclamations directly from her goddess, and she's not sweeping dust from hallways, but daemons from doorsteps. When she's not doing busywork in the Boneyard, she finds herself drifting through the Material Plane at the behest of her goddess, returning the undead to dust, escorting spirits to the Boneyard, and delivering prophecies to people in whom Pharasma sees greatness.

The majority of her appearances in the universe are fleeting, momentary things where she appears in her ghostly, incorporeal form, looking down upon a newborn child and delivering a cryptic prophecy to all in attendance, sometimes going as far as to bless the child with one of her spells or whatever Pharasman Prophecy Package(TM) was sent down with her before fading away. When she's "off-duty," (read: waiting for a prophecy to become relevant and twiddling her thumbs in the meantime) the Steward often goes into deep introspection for years or decades at a time, finding a place in the universe to sit down and meditate for a while, often inadvertently causing people to flock to her unmoving form and treat it as an object of reverence or a holy site to Pharasma. There is at least one story of a Pharasmin priest who found her meditating and built a temple around her, which I feel like would be a surprise when she finally woke back up.

The Steward rarely raises a hand against anything but the undead and ones who'd create them, preferring to disable or flee rather than fight, but there are rare occasions when the Steward arrives to proclaim that someone must die, and very rare occasions when that 'someone' happens to be in the player's party. Now, shall we see how hard it is to fight (the Herald of) fate...?

We'll be starting, as we frequently do, with the defenses. The Steward's apparently metallic body can only be reliably damaged with adamantine weapons, as anything else is intercepted by her DR 10, and while we're talking about tens, she's got a meager 10 Fire and Cold Resistance but immunity to Electricity. She's got 26 SR like most Heralds, but her saving throws are actually above almost all of them thanks to her Aura of Fate (which we'll get into in detail in a bit), her saving throws towering at +15/+20/+22, all of which are above average for a creature of her CR, and while many Heralds are vulnerable to specific cheese tactics, the Steward is at least immune to disease, poison, ANY form of mental control, and all death effects. She's even got Death Ward at will to either use on herself or gift to others!

Death Ward and her immunities to poison, disease, mental control and, uniquely, being possessed all render her impervious to most tricks from Undead creatures, but she's got more than just those tricks when dispatching anything from zombies to archliches. She's got Major Image at will to weave distractions for mindless hordes to uselessly attack, the power to hold Undead of any strength in place with her unyielding gaze attack (DC 25 Will save negates + gives 24 hour immunity) for 2d6 entire rounds, and the ability to cast Undeath to Death 3/day to wipe out 19d4 Hit Dice worth of Undead in a single dismissive gesture. Her aforementioned Aura of Fate also works as a permanent Consecrate spell, making Undead inside more vulnerable to channeled energy and also making them very slightly weaker.

I'm not exactly sure how, precisely, the Consecrate works in this case; it gives a base +3 to the DC of channeled energy and a -1 penalty to the attack rolls, damage rolls, and saves of Undead, but if its area contains an altar, shrine, or "other permanent fixture dedicated to your deity." I'm not exactly sure if the Divine Herald of a deity counts as a 'permanent fixture,' but I think it should! It makes killing undead so much easier for her, and makes it harder for them to hurt her back!

Her gaze doesn't just hold undead, it also dazes the living for 2d4 rounds if they fail their save. Since the daze breaks if she hits them, she'll often fly right past anyone who's reduced to staring in reverence to focus on whoever is still standing, coup de gracing select targets if she must. Her primary offense is a pair of armored slam attacks, each one doing 2d10+7 damage and exposing the victim to her gaze even if they've averted their eyes, forcing the issue if they saw their allies fall to it and tried to avoid it themselves. While her slams are usually able to deal with most threats, she's also got Chain Lightning 3/day and... well, a few other spells.

Unlike the last guy we saw in full plate that enjoyed slam attacks, the Steward relies more on her spells than her physical power to dispatch her enemies as swiftly as possible. In addition to Undeath to Death, she's got Heal 3/day to obliterate either 150 or 75 HP from a single Undead target, or restore that much HP to a living being (including herself, natch) while peeling a bunch of unpleasant status ailments off. If she encounters someone who's time is not yet over, she also has Breath of Life 3/day to either restore a chunk of health to them, or restore them to life outright. Between three Heals and three Breaths of Life she's already got somewhere in the neighborhood of four healthbars, which I imagine will swiftly demoralize any party trying to wear her out, but this isn't anywhere close to all the tricks she's got up her sleeve to demoralize a party; this gals 3/day list is loaded.

Wall of Force 3/day, for one, to trap her foes behind invincible barriers, hedge enemies into easy Chain Lightning positions, and defend innocent civilians. Globe of Invulnerability to protect herself from any lower-level spells her enemies might be throwing out, and Greater Dispel Magic for anything beefier or anything they try to buff themselves up with. Hold Monster to shut down anything that might fail the DC 21 Will save for what may as well be the entire battle, and Greater Invisibility to avoid whatever avoided paralysis.

Whoof, Greater Invisibility alone on a monster with such an array of spells is painful enough; using it to let her get sneaky slams in almost feels like a waste when she could instead go full invisible and then use her tremendous 150ft fly speed to get into a more advantageous position and heal up, then an eye in the sky to let her properly check where to place her Walls of Force... or whatever else she feels like doing, because she's got 3/day access to pretty much any spell she thinks might be useful.

Yeah, remember how I was rubbing my hands together as I envisioned everything the Arcanotheign could do with ONE free casting of Limited Wish a day? The Steward has three, on top of EVERYTHING ELSE she can do, allowing her to adapt her entire strategy on the fly depending on what she's facing. Too many dangerous melee guys around? Dominate one. Enemy caster giving her grief? Slap them with Flesh to Stone. Really want to give someone an annoying quest? Zap a Geas onto them as a standard action. It wasn't this one's time, but they're already beyond Breath of Life saving them? Bring them right back with a snap.

And with every Save-or-Suck she replicates to harass a necromancer or an annoying band of adventurers, she's got one last trick available: She wouldn't be a good servant of the Goddess of Fate if she didn't have some control over it. So, 3/day as an immediate action, she can force any creature she can see--including herself--to reroll any roll and take the new result. Good for negating enemy critical hits, great for negating high saves or giving her another chance against a Save-or-Suck she's vulnerable to. It's only 3/day, but so is 75% of her kit! She's got a grand total of thirty level 5+ spells to throw out round after round, and that's only if she's decided a problem can't be handled with her fists or her gaze attack which, need I remind you, can lock any living or undead creature out of a fight anywhere from 2 to 8 rounds?

Her robust spell list and sturdy nature sits her firmly at the top of the Neutral Heralds, if not most of the existing Heralds. Normally when the Steward of the Skein appears among mortals, it's to bless the birth of an important, blessed person, or to destroy someone tampering with the sanctity of the Cycle of Souls. If you meet her out and about and there isn't a newborn or necromancer in sight, you'd better hope you don't need to roll initiative.

You can read more about her here.

[tgrailwar-zero]

While we entrust this Message Disk to you, it’s still evidence relevant to the Beast and I hope you’ll allow it to be played, at least some parts, for the trial.

You relinquished the Message Disk, as the ADMINISTRATOR took it. She squinted, a bit suspiciously before allowing it to float before her, a few flashes of light scanning through it before she let out a small breath, and you watched as the Disk vanished within her own personal 'inventory'.

The look she returned you was stern... but less intense of a glare than before.

ADMINISTRATOR: "There's nothing on this disk that exonerates or condemns you. It's use in the current conversation and case is nebulous at best. It'll be brought out if deemed necessary, as unlikely as that is. However, I appreciate you returning it."

PTOLEMAIOS: "Are you satisfied, Madame Administrator? It's rare for you to get so emotional over something."

SLAYER: "Oh, so the Pharaoh was right. This was more of a 'matter of the heart' than anything else. From days long gone, I assume?"

CLEOPATRA: "Well, I think it's sweet. I kind of want to see what was on there."

ADMINISTRATOR: "…We're moving on. I apologize for the detour. Maxwell, I'll grant the floor to you. Please put us back on track."

She stepped back, and you saw MAX smile and nod towards her, lightly patting you on the shoulder as he stepped forward.

MAX: "Looking back at the situation surrounding the Beast, a notable detail is that the Freyr chose to spare them- and wished for them to travel freely through the Solar Cell. There was obviously a purpose to this-- if Lord Sigurd would like to share..."

With a nod, you watched as SIGURD and BRYNHILDR both stood up, side-by-side.

SIGURD: "We understand that the 'corrosion' created by the Void Cell, given the time it's had to fester, is impossible for us to weather. The Heavenly Divinity can, but the losses would be too great, even if the Void Cell will almost certainly be destroyed. However--"

CLEOPATRA: "--Oh, this. Didn't we already vote this down?"

PTOLEMAIOS: "…It seems like circumstances have changed. Continue, Freyr."

SIGURD: "--However, the Interlopers are made from a similar substance. Logic therefore seems to lean in the direction that they possess an immunity to such corrosion, and therefore can approach the Void Cell without difficulty. Approaching the Void Cell will give them an opportunity to engage it directly, and perhaps provide a chance to defeat it with minimal risk to the Moon Cell, Solar Cell, and the Earth."

ADMINISTRATOR: "That's making the bold and quite reckless assumption that they cannot be corrupted."

SIGURD: "Bold it may be, but not reckless. As Heroic Spirits and as the guardians of this place, we owe it to both the people on Earth and the people here to try. With at least approval, I can begin to run tests, solidify my theory."

ADMINISTRATOR: "…What's standing before us was formerly one of the attack dogs of the Void Cell. Even if they've regained their humanity, the Void Cell may strip it away from them before they end up in an advantageous position. If they fail--"

BRYNHILDR: "--Then you awaken, and we hope you're successful."

ADMINISTRATOR: "It's risky."

BRYNHILDR: "Every option we have is risky. I understand your hesitation, I also know about how great and terrible the Titan is... but Sigurd is presenting an alternative. One with less senseless death."

SETANTA: "And really, that's admirable Brynhildr. One issue, though."

While he had been relatively disinterested in the conversation, as soon as the ADMINISTRATOR lightened the pressure, you felt him re-applying it.

SETANTA: "Speaking from personal experience, the 'curse' that's inlaid in them is just latent. It's not gone, and the right trigger will cause it to come back in full force. If that happens here, it's the Origin War all over again. If it happens out there, then who knows. They come back stronger, maybe they come back and nobody knows that something's wrong until it's too late. I'm not a person for 'maybe', so I say let's cut out the maybe."

He sat up, fully. You saw the other Lair Servants focus their attention on him, tensing a bit at his current boldness.

SETANTA: "Let's talk facts. You've got me on a leash. I ain't mad about that. Despite what I told you, you figured it'd be best to try and keep me on a leash to 'figure this curse out'. Twelve cycles later, no dice. So, you snap my soul in two, hold the curse in check and keep me on a leash. It works. Technically. What's your plan for them? Or, what's their plan?"

The young pup leaped from his railing and landed on the ground in front of you, beginning to approach slowly. You felt the air shift, the Keeper stood up, glaring downward.

PTOLEMAIOS: "Setanta. Stand down."

...The boy didn't stop. The Slayer held up a hand, gesturing for all the others to stand back.

NIKITICH: "Be calm, Keeper. He is not going to kill them. Yet."

As SETANTA approached, a dark sludge patterned with odd shapes beginning to ooze from the ducts of his eyes and the edges of his mouth.

His skin twisted, his sinews strained and burst, his eyes rolled and popped as they tried to fit themselves within this inside-out chrysalis.

You heard bones crunch and twist. Flesh tear itself open and reform. His eyes, red as blood, staring at you the entire time. His form grew taller, the youthful joy in his face slowly sloughing away as he loomed further and further over you, the abstract mess of flesh congealing into something more comprehensible until he was a hulking beast that shadowed your entire person.

SETANTA(?): "So. Answer me."

Its voice, deep and emotionless, rumbled and sent chills down your entire body.

CU CHULAINN(?): "You wanna play lapdog for the Sun? Do you think you're so big and bad that you can resist the Void Cell?"

A voice, low and resonant, akin to the snarling of a beast.

The beast smiled, dark and humorless, more akin to a beast baring its fangs than any emotion that a human would make. The 'smile' dropped as quickly as it came, and the hulking, bone-covered mass of a man leaned closer, the stench of death dripping off it.

'BEATHACH': "Or… maybe you've decided it's best to keel over and die?"

[kyri45]

Hi! Some time ago I said I started ISAT thanks to your post, and I finished it (and it did indeed emotionally devastate me), now I'm looking to try Sky to understand the AU better, and since it looks cool. I'm kinda confused on what kinda game it is tho, since it's a F2P MMO apparently? I played Journey (and loved it), but this seems like a different beast, haha

I know I could, just, google it, but it's fun talking to people who actually play <3

AAAAHHH WELCOME TO THE ISAT CLUB!!!!!!! now you know how it feels.

So! If you played Journey, you'll find that the first time you play Sky the 2 games are very, very, VERY similar. Same mystic and mysterious vibes, same wonders and monsters, more or less same lack of explanaition on many lore aspect that are left open to interpretation.

However, Sky is much, MUCH more developed than Journey, after your first playthrought, you'll slowly fond more and more places to unlock, secret entrances, events, seasons, characters, spirits, challenges, trials and many (oh so many) cosmetics.

It's a game that you can play as much as you want and eventually just leave there, nothing will happen unless you really want items from one season.

The reason I feel in love with sky are 2: freedom and humanity.

The game is just visually beautiful. I played Journey as well and I loved it, but Sky flying physic has something that leave me hypnotized everytime. You truly feel like you are soaring throught the clouds.

The world is just so peaceful (for the most part ahah) and you truly feel like you are part of this world along woth its creatures.

Most of my recent times playing I've been just standing on grass fields to enjoy the background music and sounds, or just fly around and feel the adrenaline of a freefall

As for the second aspect, no other MMO is like Sky, as you can only unlock chat and other stuff only after you spend in game currencies with other players. You can't even see how the player look like unless the 2 of you decide to lit the others.

This makes it so every interaction is truly special, as you can only use your call and the expression you collect throught the game. And incredibly you don't need more to create a frienship. I had so many sessions with strangers just playing songs togheter, or copying the others emote, or just honking to each other almost in morse code.

Everything is just so wholesome and cute and it's my little refuge.

It's a very human game i would say :)

[mrstsung]

I'm doing this shang tsung MY WAY!

Which ignoring canon that he was in. And placing him in my version of mortal kombat. (Which aligns more to the original timelines)

So a young shang tsung,who was once an earthrealm warrior,felt betrayed and was cohersd by shao kahn to join his court in outworld and fight on "his side" so to speak.

As for the dark magic/soul magic. He was always curious,but only curious. He only dived deeper because he was 1. Forbade to without so as much as a decent explanation on why it's "forbidden" and 2. Because he was trying to help earthrealm in any way possible,by any means. But he was again told no. So in his mind. It's like "wtf do you want me to do? It's like i bring a solution and you don't like me playing by the rules you created,which i try to follow yet. I get it spat back in my face" type deal. Course there's nuance to this and it's mainly raidens falt for not telling shang properly and handling things better. And yes,shang was his chosen and student before great lao. Great lao came in a tad bit later. Then came the tournament. He was actually trained by the shadow priests,who worked for shao kahn but revered shang. As they saw a prodigy in him. And magic aside. That man was a fucking excellent warrior,deadly as is. Add sorcery to him and he's a beast. <3

But anyways

Like i have a whole backstory more on shang tsung and i feel alan lee's shang is a good baby days shang tsung. Freshly cursed,freshly courtly mage,etc.

When we get tagawa's shang,is only after he gets his island. Which i hc was given to him by shao kahn as a gift. He wasn't gonna use it. So it was shang's dominion. In doing so he kinda fucked up because now,shang tsung was a lord of his own realm or pocket dimension. He has full jurisdiction and power over his island. The island's natural soul well was fortified to work in shang AND ONLY SHANG TSUNGS favor. He made the island self sufficient. (More on shang's island in another post) now. Only after spending years there,gaining knowledge,power,secrets,etc and a bit of forcefed defeat. Does our lovely sorcerer become more of the shang tsung we know and love. Wisdom and decades even centuries of knowledge gained.

Now back to young shang.

Young shang(alan lees shang/ mk12/mk1 shang) is a tad more prideful,maybe even jovial,always ever confident but in a youthful way. A spirit never breaking no matter how many times kicked down. These traits are amplified in his youth. He gets chiller and more relaxed and composed as he becomes more and more like out like elder shang tsung (tagawa's shang tsung/mk 95/mk11 shang) so that being said. Not too much difference,yet the aura is different and more of someone genuinely scholarly. Tagawa's shang is already a master,to get to that part. We need more development.

Now Lee's shang has great potential but i doubt that nrs ever would give him that genuine opportunity given how the script and story is being written. It feels its holding him back. And that kills me because it's such an amazing talent.

Now a young shang tsung to me is ever the curious. Not that ever stopped. But in his youth,he was always asking why or how. He wants to just know. He has to know. That can bite him in the ass or save his ass. Either way that is a core trait.

Shang tsung not being given an opportunity to join earthrealms warriors is a crime and honestly really really stupid on nrs.

It's rushed and they know it but they dont care because $$$ and micro transactions...

Anyways. Young shang tsung to me also needed a lot of reassurance not because of that lack of confidence,nah it's more of a reminder of "is this good? Is this wise? Am i crazy for feeling this or is this pride getting in the way?" He is confident in skills,he is not with other aspects more so he just doesn't want to disappoint. And Because he doesn't want to screw things up for the long run. But as trial and error happens,he gets more confident in his decisions.

He has his moments too and showing vulnerability and humanity in antagonists is very important. But not done in a backhanded slap to the character and audiences intelligence. Which unfortunately mk12/mk1 kinda does unfortunately.

And honestly,i felt bad for him. More than i ever did.

In conclusion,young shang tsung should be shown and given an opportunity to show with that an insight into shang's mind,heart,and things we actually don't see.

And some things in mk12/mk1 shang i absolutely am like "YES YES YES!" but because of everyone else,it's hard to enjoy because everyone else is insufferable.

Genuinely. Insufferable.

Like compared to shang tsung who gets something real,raw,human,believable,grounded,and interesting.

Nobody else in the story feels like characters,they feel like action figures playing along. And in a way that feels forced and fake to fit a boxed in trope. The script and writing feels ai generated.

Shang tsung seems to be the only one given some kinda agency and not even 100% either. It's not the greatest and it has flaws but by comparison it's great. Comparing that shang to every other shang tho? Kinda rushed and sloppy. And a disappointment. But it sucks because i want to really like that shang tsung.

So i jusy said fuck it. Im rewriting that shang.

Young shang tsung,mr. Alan lee. You deserve better. And honestly i think it's a wasted opportunity to have a shang centric game for once. It would be different,fun,and a change of pace.

*kisses forehead* lemme save you from shitty narrative and writing shang. Plz.