#their abilities almost literally tell you to kill enemy creatures

[dravidious]

Phase 1: "Oh this looks like a neat commander with a cool yet versatile build-around ability!"

Phase 2: "Ah this removal spell synergizes with the commander's ability, how nice to have synergetic cards that also contribute to a well-rounded deck!"

Phase 3: "Well this commander is pretty slow, so stalling for time with removal is pretty useful, and they're all synergetic, so..."

Phase 4: I've made the most obnoxious control deck ever.

[sleepyghostuwu]

Can u request h/c's for Chuuya, Akutagawa and whoever else you feel like writing for and an s/o who's ability is to copy other people's abilities and prefers to use their partner's over others when possible

Ooo this sounds interesting o_o I'll write about Akutagawa, Chuuya and Dazai ;) Enjoy~

BSD Headcanons: You can copy abilities 

Akutagawa: 

- Scary ability #3 

- The first time you tried to copy Rashomon, it was terrifying. That creature literally cuts through anything. 

- But for Akutagawa’s sake, you try to copy Rashomon as much as possible. It makes him feel that at least somebody thinks that his ability is cool enough to be copied ;D 

- It’s really powerful too. 

- Since Akutagawa is more experienced with Rashomon than you, he’ll teach you how to use it. (Might be harsh if you mess up really badly, but otherwise he’ll be nice towards you.) 

- He feels a bit jealous that you started off with Rashomon better than he did. Otherwise, he’s really proud of your progress.

- Now whenever Rashomon #1 is down, there’s almost always a Rashomon #2 to back him up. Almost. 

Chuuya:

- Scary ability #2 

- When it’s just gravity manipulation, you copy his ability very often. It makes fighting extra easy and it’s just satisfying to watch your enemies suffer in the ever-changing gravitational forces.

- Corruption, however, is another thing. Unless you really, really don’t have a choice, you’ll use it as well.

- As much as he feels honoured that someone likes to use his ability very much, Chuuya doesn’t like it when you have to use Corruption, so he tells you to copy someone else’s ability in such situations. 

- The last time you tried to use Corruption, it didn’t go well, and Chuuya had a hard time taking it in, so he pretty much banned you from using Corruption. 

- Whenever Chuuya randomly defies gravity on the ceiling, he sometimes ends up falling back on the ground because of that ability of yours. Otherwise, both of you would defy gravity together. 

Dazai:

- Scary ability #1. Change my mind.

- You copy No Longer Human not only because it makes Dazai feel good about himself, but also because it’s really useful in battle and you don’t really trust Dazai with his life

- This is an OP ability you’re copying over here. 

- Some rat could try killing you with his touch and you’d still have the energy to tell him to back off.

- Whenever Dazai is busy holding off ability users, you help him out as well. Now your enemies are faced against two ability-cancelling people.

- There was a time when you wondered how it’d be like if you used No Longer Human against Dazai, so you asked Atsushi if he could go into his half-tiger form and ask Dazai to nullify his ability.

- Dazai did cancel Atsushi’s half-tiger form until you came and gripped his shoulder, much to his shock. 

- Later he kinda realised what was going on and just smirked at you playfully. 

- “Using my ability against me, (y/n)? That’s really smart of you.”

[meatcrimes]

so i finally finished The Frontier. here’s my final thoughts:

new vegas runs so much faster and smoother since uninstalling the frontier and all related hotfixes

i will say one positive thing about this mod and it’s the sheer variety of different items in the world. not just the guns, but the consumables, workbench & campfire recipes, combining consumables to make healing items that are on par with the wasteland omelette or fiend stew.

i know this mod was being developed before fallout 4 was released but this would have been so much better, from a technical standpoint and from a story standpoint, if this were a fallout 4 mod. if this was essentially a Where Are They Now mod that explored what the ncr/legion/bos did following the second battle of hoover dam, this would have been a better story. for example, legate valerius becoming the next Caesar after the deaths of Edward Sallow and Legate Lanius and how the changes he implemented made the legion almost unrecognizable

speaking of legion, i played the legion quest line and most of the crusaders quest line so these are all opinions from that perspective

the de-fanging of the legion was disappointing. i wanted to play with the villain faction, or at least a morally gray faction who is no better than the other choices. the legion could still be evil even with the “liberal” valerius in charge. the ending where the northern legion abolished slavery, gave women equal rights and power, and allowed modern technology was disappointing because they were clearly trying to remove a lot of what made the legion evil in the first place. a “liberal” legion that, for example, uses slavery as a punishment for crimes that you’re freed from when your sentence is up, is still evil and still villainous

or a legion that allowed women to have limited roles as priestesses, doctors and frumentaria (which i hc that the mainland legion is already doing but wtvr). that could have been what the “liberal” new caesar has done while still maintaining the legion’s misogyny

SPEAKING OF WHICH. legate valerius had an epiphany and supported women’s equality when his daughters were born which is unintentionally hilarious because that’s how a lot of real life men start caring about women’s issues

the mission where you have to kill a slaver and when you get to her you find she’s already been captured by other slavers. and how that was the end of the quest. and you lost karma for killing her or setting her free. there’s a lot to unpack here but let’s just set the whole suitcase on fire

also the indigenous coded tribe that was wiped out by an STD. yeah. not over that

and the Followers doctor who knowingly gave the courier a blood transfusion from someone with syphilis

the other followers doctor, Welick, who blamed all of his problems in life on arcade gannon

(from subtext we can gather that Arcade exposed illegal/unethical things Welick was doing and the reason everyone “had arcade fever” was just them acknowledging that Welick was wrong. and the reason he “left” the followers is that he was actually kicked out. welick is an unreliable narrator but i’m willing to bet 35 bottle caps and a wrinkly $5 NCR bill that most of the players did not pick up on that)

scrapz my beloved ❤️

seriously scrapz was the highlight of this mod. you know that post that’s like “when you know you can do a canon character better so you just steal them and make them your oc”? that’s what i wanna do with scrapz. he deserved a better mod

also… the fact that we can flirt with scrapz with a black widow check (and i think confirmed bachelor too but i am not replaying this mod in order to see) and he openly admits to being horny on main for humans (paraphrased, but honestly tell me that doesn’t sound like a real line from this mod) and yet we can’t have sex with him!??

he clearly has advanced enough AI to give him the ability to consent, since he leaves the player if you get too far in the crusaders quest line (and i assume ncr too but once again. not replaying to check). we can fuck the chem-obsessed Argonian queen. we can fuck a deathclaw. but we can’t fuck a robot despite being able to have sex with FISTO in the base game

the entire Dr Voss quest. i’m still not sure what that was. it’s just a blur of blood sewers, finding keys, and increasingly incomprehensible notes

when callidus revealed AJ was his sister and he didn’t want you to kill her but capture her and reunite them. and then i killed her anyway because it’s what she would have wanted, between death and the legion

“you prevented silus from being interrogated” x103

the weird romance-but-not between legate valerius and the courier. like he lets you sleep in his bed for a well rested bonus, his personal quest is called I Was Made For Loving You, his weird protectiveness of the courier, and of course that unintentionally erotic interrogation scene. and near the beginning i swear there was dialogue with him that was like “you were out cold for days, but I never left your side. it looked like you weren’t going to pull through, but I ordered my men to spare no expense to ensure you recovered. i tended to most of your wounds myself, working late into the night to set your broken bones and repair your torn ligaments” etc etc you get the point

the NCR commander named Tiberius Rancor who no one suspected was a legion plant

the radioactive super mutants that had a melee weapon called Kitchen Sink and it literally was a whole entire kitchen sink ripped from a building. and the courier couldn’t use it

the repair tool for the cars in the game but when you used it, it kept giving you the achievement for knocking down enemies so it was basically a source of infinite xp

the fucking space enclave. the enclave, in space. they never were defeated by the chosen one or the lone wanderer, they just fled to outer fucking space for some reason

the cannibal ice ghouls with 3500 hit points. you know what i mean. the fact that this mod was set way too far south to be seeing them, and basically did nothing accurate to the mythology at all except that they were cannibals, and didn’t even pluralize the word correctly. i understand this was probably inspired by fallout 76 but 76 should not have had those creatures either

in conclusion: i was determined to finish this mod and i’m glad i can say i did, but was it worth it? was it really worth it? no

[peach-the-owl]

Hello! Can I request a Vox machina and Mighty Nein child reader where the reader gets killed and revived? Thank you!!

Hi! Thank you so so much for the suggestion, not gonna lie it was a bit tricky to write because it’s a tough subject to nail… also I may have cried a little making this, but after looking through the tears at the results I’d say it turned out pretty good 😁

No, I will not apologize for the length… Enjoy!

Dancing with Death

Vox Machina, Mighty Nein & Child!Reader

Warnings: Death (I mean it’s in the ask and title so it should be obvious, I guess), may get a slight bit graphic

Vox Machina

Go in, investigate, kill some demons, get out. That’s what you were supposed to do, sure you knew it wasn’t going to be the easiest task but you didn’t expect to see Vecna himself make an appearance. The twisted archlich taunted the party as you all fight off the demons as best as possible while simultaneously thinking of a way to escape. Too focused on not getting hit you didn’t see the devious look that crossed his features when his sights set on you. You fight off enemies as best as your abilities would let you until you find yourself face to face with Vecna, a icy chill running through you as he stared you down. That icy chill becomes more literal when he grabs you by the neck and lifts you into the air, you gasp in shock as you dangle helplessly, still struggling to free yourself, his grip only getting tighter, slowly cutting off your air intake. Everything was going hazing from your lack of oxygen, you felt the cold touch of his hand around your neck, the pain increasing from said cold, you heard what sounded like distant screams or maybe cries of your name, you weren’t entirely sure, there was a sudden pop in your neck alongside a brief second of sharp pain then… nothing.

You find yourself sitting somewhere dark, legs brought up to your chest as you hug them closer to you. Looking around this darkness stretched on and on, with no end in sight. Where were you? What just happened? You felt very confused until you saw the only other figure with you in this dark void. A tall, slender feminine figure stands before you, a dark cloak flowing down her shoulders and a simple porcelain mask covering her face, a hauntingly beautiful sight to say the least. You tilt your head to the side as you stare up at her, trying to wrap your head around what was going on and why she seemed familiar. To your surprise she copies you and tilts her own head to the side, although hers was more subtle, you then tilt your head to the other side and again she copies you, earning a small giggle out of you.

"Wow, you’re really pretty." You, finally finding words, say without much thought, you mind still not fully grasping the situation at hand. She lets out a soft hum of acknowledgment and gives a small bow to you before straightening herself upright again. At this point it’s starting to click why she was familiar, your eyes widening in realization at just who you were talking to. "Wait… you’re the Raven Queen. Does-does that mean I’m dead?" You stare up at her for some sort of confirmation, but the porcelain mask she wore didn’t really help give you any clues.

"Life can be so short and unfair, never caring if they be young, old, good or evil when facing the reality that is death." You blink at her words, it felt like there was some meaning to them but you couldn’t place your finger on what.

"Is-is that a yes?" You ask hoping for a more straightforward answer. She lets out another hum and reaches down to pick you up in a fluid motion, shifting to help smooth back some of your hair the second you were secure in her arms. Her touch was cold yet oddly calming to you as she begins to glide her way across the empty landscape that surrounded you both, you wonder if she was taking you to the afterlife, then she stops. You look at her confused but something else quickly captures your attention, a bright light cutting through the darkness. You couldn’t make direct eye contact but you tried your best to, hearing faint voices emitting through it, you couldn’t make out any words but the voices sounded desperate, pleading. You look up at the Raven Queen and, even through the mask, you could feel her own gaze set on you. You stare at her with curious eyes and once again tilt your head to the side in an almost silent question, as before she copies your action and traces the side of your face, tucking back any loose hair you may have had.

"Sweet little bird," she starts making you perk up, that was what Vax and Keyleth would call you as a nickname. "It is not your time quite yet, you have much more to accomplish in this life and foes whose souls shall be brought to me by your hand." You couldn’t tell if she was trying to be uplifting or something, but you did find some encouragement in her words. She leans closer to you and the cool feeling of her mask presses against your forehead as if in a gentle kiss before your vision turns white…

You open your eyes staring up at the ceiling of your room in Greyskull Keep, you just sit there staring into space for a while until you adjust yourself to sit up. Strangely enough you feel something wrapped in one of your hands, slowly opening it to find a single ravens feather resting in your palm, you examine it a moment before breaking into a cough, a strange sensation in your neck like there was a hand still around it. The sound of your door opening makes you look over to see Pike enter the room and hurry over to you, she helps steady you to your feet, giving a little extra healing to make the feeling in your neck go away and hugs you tightly, you happily return the hug, stashing the feather into your pocket. The two of you make your way around the keep to the dining room where the others were waiting, the instant they all see you you're swept up into hugs and apologies from all of them.

"(Y/n)! You’re awake!" "How are you feeling?" "I’m so sorry we couldn’t get to you in time." "We were so scared, we thought we might not be able to save you." These alongside many other comments were sent your way as you just happily snuggle into each one of their individual embraces. Keyleth and Vex both clung to you tightly doing very little to hold back their tears of joy. Grog easily scooped you up into his arms, being careful not to crush you and just happy to see that you were back on your feet, even if he protested to being worried. Percy and Scanlan both played it neutral, giving you pats on the shoulder or back, Scanlan making a comment that he knew everything would be alright because Pike was amazing at her job, but you could see the relief in their eyes for your well being. Then there was Vax, like the others he was very much happy and relieved that you were alright, wrapping you up in a tight embrace but there was also this faint look of knowing in his eyes when he stared at you. You offer all of them a bright smile before looking back up at the rouge, pulling out the feather to show him. He looks at it a moment, his expression softening a little more as gently weaves it into your hair. You’re about to say something when Percy speaks up, suggesting everyone goes out for the evening to finally unwind and celebrate your recovery. Quick and happy to agree you all head out to Emon, because there was only one thing on your mind now… you were absolutely famished.

Mighty Nein

Being in a group of adventurers was a risky bet to take, one you took with a smile. It would be fun they said, you’ll get to see new places they said, nothing could possibly go wrong you thought. For the most part it was true, but facing off against a coven of sea hags wasn’t proving to be the most fun to you. Well in fashion for the Nein, it would seem, things only got worse before they’d get better, one of the hags activating an orb-like object summoning a water elemental to the battle. The water elemental lunges at you, sweeping you up in its torrent to keep you from escaping, you only had enough time to take in a quick gasp of air before you’re trapped in the creature. You try to flail your arms to break free of the creatures hold to no avail, it’s not long before you start to have a hard time holding your breath. In a desperate last attempt you try reaching out to grab hold of anything nearby that you could use to pull yourself free, it was a futile attempt, your arms not even breaking past the creatures watery body. Your lungs begged for air and without meaning to you release your breath and take in a water, it burned your throat and lungs when you tried to cough it out only taking more in. Everything around you started to fade away, it was like the elemental itself didn’t exist either, only you and this moment, you couldn't escape and you didn’t know where everyone else was. It was lonely and you were terrified… then the pain disappeared, your vision was still dark but it didn’t hurt to breathe anymore.

You weren’t too sure what was going on, you couldn’t move or at very least you chose not to move and looked every which direction to see if there was anything or anyone else with you. Finding nothing you shakily rise to your feet and slowly move forward in this dark abyss.

"Hello! Is anyone there? Caduceus? Jester? Anyone?" You call out into the darkness hoping for an answer… no response. You keep calling for anyone from the Nein in hopes that someone would answer you, though it felt as though your voice was just swallowed up and reaching nowhere. "Is anyone there?" You repeat feebly. "Please, I don’t wanna be alone." You sniffle and tremble a little, tears pricking the corners of your eyes. A soft light breaks the darkness around you and a feminine figure appears before you. Her hair long and wild, cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall well complimented by the vines and flowers growing among it, a warm motherly smile upon her face.

A comforting breeze, feeling like that of a warm hug, blows around you and words, unspoken aloud but still heard form in your mind. "My sweet child, do not fear, you have never been alone." The words were soft and gentle, easing away your fear and bringing a sense of comfort to you as you stare up at the woman. She gently lifts you into her arms, moving so fluidly you almost don’t realize it until you’re face to face with the deity. Curiously you reach a hand out and touch the various flowers in her hair, a small giggle coming from you at the feeling.

"Your hair's really soft and the flowers a very pretty." You compliment, she hums in response, taking one of the flowers out of her hair and tucking it behind your ear. You carefully place a hand on the flower and smile at her, all the fear you held earlier finally disappearing.

"It is not quite yet your time to rejoin the earth," once again you don’t quite see her lips move but hear a voice carried in the soft breeze she emits. "Your family still needs you, my child. Go. Learn. Grow." Her words brought comfort but you had no idea what she was saying, honestly you still weren’t quite sure what had happened or who she was. She parts her lips and blows air into you, your vision turning white for a moment before you find yourself coughing up some water, feeling some pain in your chest as a result.

"Easy, easy. It’s alright, you’re gonna be okay." You rub your eyes before peeking them open to see Caduceus staring down at you with a relived smile. That’s when it clicked into your head what happened, but before you can make a comment another voice jumps in.

"Oh my gosh, (y/n)! We were so scared when we saw you in that nasty water guy." Jester effortlessly scoops you up into her arms and twirls around, a few tears having fallen at her relief.

"I wouldn’t say I was scared, just… worried." Beau comments, though her voice wavered slightly. Jester places you down and you’re immediately tackled into another hug by Nott. No comment from her, just being held in a tight embrace only a mother could give. When she finally lets go Fjord kneels down to your height and gently rubs your back, having been in a similar experience before he knows how you felt and almost looked guilty for it. You place a hand on his cheek and offer him a closed eye smile, he returns the smile before standing up again. Yasha now kneeling down and taking her turn to wrap you in her arms. You could feel the slight tremble in her body as she held you close, whispering something so quiet you wondered if she was even speaking at all.

Something soft butting at your leg pulled you from your thoughts, looking down at Frumpkin the cat gently butts it’s head against your leg again before rubbing his body against it with a soft purr. You pick up the cat, cuddling him a bit before looking around for his owner, spotting Caleb leaning against the wall his hands covering his face as he draws in deep breaths. You walk over to him and tug at his coat until he looks at you, you then hold up Frumpkin for him. He bends down and takes the cat from you, letting the fey rest on his shoulders then reaches over and gives you a pat on the head. It wasn’t much but you gave him A for effort.

"Alright, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m done standing around in here." Beau speaks up again, making you realize you were still in the creepy sea cave where the coven once resided.

"I second that!" You say, it coming out more hoarse then you’d like. A few more voices of agreement later and your all making your way back out of the cave and towards your ship.

[cousinwingding97]

Silver Memories

Chapter Five: Corvus

Warnings: Description of killing someone. This one is a long one as well, so the next chapter will be shorter since this took a lot out of my brain. Enjoy!

Mando listens as you describe the nightmare, or possible vision for lack of a better word, with rapt attention. Every detail is seared into your brain much like the memory of being whipped that keeps playing over and over; this one feels different, though, like an out of reach dream rather than a bone deep memory. You don’t know which is worse and you wouldn’t mind some happy memories to play in the darkness of your mind while drifting to sleep.

He shrugs it off saying it’s just a nightmare or memory before turning back to the flashing lights of hyperspace. You want to argue considering the details seem more recent and there was no sign of pain and destruction while you two were on Pollis Massa, but he cuts you off with a, “We’ll find out from my friend what it is. For now, try not to let it bother you.”

Yes, brilliant idea. Can’t believe I didn’t think about not letting it bother me, you think to yourself. Even with his words, you can’t help but notice that Mando seems much more tense in the shoulders. You’re wondering if he is just trying to make you feel better in his own way.

“Do I have enemies?”

“W-what? Why do you ask?”

“Well, I mean the dream made it seem like that guy wants to kill me or capture me at least, I was found in a cell; I can’t help but feel like people don’t want me around.”

“Everyone has enemies. Yours probably grew in number just from hanging out with me.”

“Why? Do people not like you?”

Mando lets out a small sound like a disbelieving laugh, “Most people aren’t too excited about a bounty hunter sullying their place of business In case we end up causing a mess or chasing after them. I’m not welcome to most places.”

Something twists in your heart. It feels like pity or just discomfort with the idea of people judging based off the armor and job Mando performs. “Don’t you get lonely?”

Mando shifts in his seat, “I’ve never really thought about it,” he says, but you can’t help but feel a wave of sadness wash over you. A desire to fit in and be loved, but only ever being held at arms length or feared. The emotions don’t feel like your own; in fact, you know they aren’t since you can’t place any experience to that feeling. It feels more like Mando’s due to the tinge of anger underneath it all. Why wouldn’t a child be loved unconditionally and why should anyone be untouched by the love and kindness of others?

“You have,” you breathe out more to yourself. The realization hitting you like a punch to the gut, slamming all of your emotions out to be filled with his. “You’re lonely. No one gave you what you really wanted.”

You can almost see the faceless warriors demanding excellence, violence, pure fight from every child instead of the love a child needs. A desire for every child to perform perfectly without any thought or care towards what actually children need to develop and thrive. It hurts. You don’t know why, but your heart feels like there are claws hollowing it out from the inside. Your breath starts to burn in your lungs.

“Stop it.”

“You just want the gentleness and love, you want to be loved, yet you can’t have it now.” The words flow out of your mouth, unwelcome.

“I said stop.”

“Everyone is too scared of you. Mandalorians are warriors first. Nothing else.”

“Snap out of it!” Mando literally snaps his fingers in front of your eyes and just like that, the spell is broken. You can breathe again and once you can, all you feel is numb, as if all of Mando’s emotions took your own, leaving you with nothing. Your eyes focus on Mando again. He’s staring at you. The T Visor reflects the stars of hyperspace making it look like there’s a mini galaxy in his visor instead of the black void you had grown used to. You know he’s angry by his tone and the stiffness of his body language, but you aren’t scared of him now. He won’t hurt you because he’s not angry at you, just exposed from your earlier invasion into his mind. His walls are up even higher now, you can’t help but feel like you’ve backtracked in his trust of you.

“Sorry, I just... felt you. I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t mean to invade your privacy.”

He tilts his helmet subtly. Something has changed between you two and he senses it now. Less fear and mistrust on your side and more on his side now with more questions for each of you.

“The sooner we find my friend, the better. Maybe she can help you control whatever this is.”

The rest of the flight is spent in awkward silence.

———————————————————————

Corvus looked absolutely dreadful from the viewport of the Vanguard. A foggy, barren dead planet. Dead trees, fog that clouded everything like a cloak of death. Your mood was already sour from the flight with your emotions plus Mando’s silent brooding now adding to the ever growing list of negative emotions about the current state of affairs. You absolutely hated everything about this place already. The dark gloom ate into your soul.

Mando was quiet as ever. The rest of the flight he remained silent and didn’t even look at you. You figured it was probably the invasion of privacy, but you couldn’t help it. You couldn’t help any of this! He had a right to be angry, but it still pissed you off that he seemed to be taking it out on you when you couldn’t even control what was going on.

Only when the ramp lowered and you were standing on this new planet did he finally speak to you, “Last I saw, Ahsoka was this way.” He hadn’t even stopped walking to say that, so you had no choice except to follow. Begrudgingly, you did. Like I have a choice in which way.

As if this planet couldn’t get worse, there was a silence weighing heavily around you, broken only by animalistic grunts and growls every so often. You jumped each time, scouring the area for any threat. The thought of holding on to Mando’s arm entered your mind once or twice, but his lack of reactions gave you an ounce of courage. Even if he still didn’t speak to break the heavy spell of this planet.

“Are we in danger?” You whispered into the fog.

“No.” Was the short reply.

“Then why are you not speaking?”

“Because I don’t have anything to say.”

“Even back on the ship? We are about to see a friend of yours, I’m apparently able to feel emotions through unknown powers that may be growing, I have creepy visions or dreams and you have nothing to say?” You abandoned the whispering for full volume talking, but still keeping it from yelling just in case.

“Until we know more, there’s nothing I can say.”

“More like won’t.”

The Mandalorian turns to you with a sigh, “We’ve been over this once. I’m not going to trigger you if I can help it and there’s not much to say. I hate to say it, but I’m just clueless as you are and I’m taking a shot in the dark hoping that she can help us. I’m sorry, but this is the best I’ve got right now.”

It hits you like a laser shot. Mando doesn’t know and that terrifies you. This whole time you had been following his lead thinking he knew what to do in order to bring back your memories, but he’s just as lost as you. You had been blindly trusting this man to help you and he doesn’t even have the answers. Sure, he knows more about you than you do, but the visions and emotional tune-ins are new to him as well.

“Did I not have these abilities before?”

“I don’t know.”

Mando leads you through the dead forest. Over logs, around boulders and deeper into the fog. This planet may have flourished at one time, but it looked like a graveyard now to you. There were shapes in the distance of creatures, but the lack of light coming through the fog didn’t show much detail, letting your imagination draw up horrible images of what may lie beyond the fog.

“Why does your friend live on a creepy, haunted planet?”

“It’s not haunted, just damaged. When I met her, she was freeing the locals from a tyrant who tortured those within her walls.”

“Do you think she’s still here then?”

“Maybe. The locals should be able to tell us more. If not, we can at least stock up on supplies.” The idea of people living on this planet is a tad bit surprising to you.

After hours of walking, the forest seems to give way to a grey wall. There are people posted along it, and upon seeing the silver armor, there’s a sudden rush of noise and clamor. A gate housed in the middle of the wall opens revealing an elderly man making his way towards both of you.

“Mandalorian! Welcome back! Come in, come in! Night is falling. You can rest within our walls.”

Mando doesn’t say anything, but does reach up and clasp forearms with the man who now notices you. “Oh, miss! We hadn’t expected you to be back as well. Glad you both could join us.”

You immediately looked to Mando in surprise. You had been here with him too. You must’ve have met this friend while she was here. It made sense, but you were starting to wonder how long and for what reason you stuck around.

Mando kept walking without even noticing you. The village within the walls was lively. Houses lined the main street and bustling with activity. Vendors shouting their wares, children playing in the street and racing off down the winding streets veering off to the rest of the village. Even with the plain grey and brown neutral tones of the buildings, there was life within these walls that made you smile. It was a complete night and day difference compared to outside the walls.

People were happy here and happy to see you and Mando. Villagers would point at you two and wave. Some even clapped Mando on the back or hugged you. It was starting to overwhelm you. Did you know these people? Were you from here?

Mando noticed your growing concern and cut off the old man’s ramblings, “I’m sorry, but I need to find Ahsoka Tano. Is she here? My friend here lost her memories and needs her help.”

The old man looks to you in surprise and sorrow, “Oh, you should have said something earlier! My apologies, miss. Unfortunately, Ahsoka is not here at the moment. She’s taken up a new adventure outside of our walls. She said she would be back in a few days though.”

“And when was this?” You blurt out in despair.

“Two days ago. She will most likely be back very soon if you can wait.”

“Did she say where she was going? Maybe we can find her quicker.” Mando asks.

“No, I’m afraid not. To be honest, I can’t even say if she’s on this planet with absolute certainty.”

It takes all the strength in your body to hold your mouth shut to keep from screaming.

“You and your friend are more than welcome to stay with my family in the meantime, if you wish. After everything you did for us, it’s the least we can do in return.”

Mando accepts the offer for both of you. The man leaves to go tell his wife and family in order to prepare the house for you two. When he’s left, Mando turns to you.

“I’d rather not wait if we don’t have to. Are you alright staying here while I scout out the area and see if I can track her down myself?”

“Mando, I don’t know these people despite their knowing of me! Do you trust them? And what if this Ahsoka lady comes back and you’re not here?”

He holds a hand out as if to calm you, “I won’t leave tonight. That will give me time to see if these people are fully trustworthy and let you get comfortable with them. Is that better?”

You roll your eyes in annoyance. It was, but still not fully satisfying. “Again though, what if she shows up? I won’t know her. What if we miss her?”

Mando tilts his helmet in thought. His hands settle on the belt on his hips. As if the answer came to him from touching his belt, he suddenly reaches in a pouch and grabs something. Gingerly, he reaches out his fist to you. You lift your palm and he drops a black device into your hand. It’s small and round with an oval end and a piece that juts out from the bottom. There’s a blinking blue light on the oval end.

“Here. It’s a communicator that connects directly to my helmet. It may look small, but as long as it’s on and in your ear, it will connect to me. I’ll tell the old man to let everyone know that if Ahsoka shows up, to come to you. If she does, you just press the oval end and tell me. Does that help?”

You look at the device again and gently put it in your ear. The fit is perfect and light. You press the button to test it and Mando nods in confirmation that it worked.

“Okay. That’s fine. Just don’t be gone too long. If I have another episode, I’d rather it be by someone who is already used to my weirdness.”

If you hadn’t turned on the device to test it, you never would have heard the very small breath that passed through your ear. It was a laugh. A gentle huff, but a laugh that you could hear due to the connection to Mando’s helmet. You smiled fully in pride knowing you secretly made him laugh.

———————————————————————

The old man returned to find you and Mando shopping for new supplies. Both of your arms were full by the time he came back and showed you to his house that was within eyeshot of another gated larger house in the middle of the street. You didn’t get a good look at it, but you felt like that place held a lot of sorrow and pain within its walls.

The old man, whose name you learned was Ko, introduced you to his family. His wife, Leeda and their eldest son with his wife and a young grandson. They were extremely polite to you and Mando, catering to anything and everything. They took your bags and set them on the table by their laundry room and ushered you into the kitchen for dinner. The food smelled delicious, permeating the whole house with spice, meat and melted butter. You had no idea what it was, but sitting down to eat the seared meat and baked vegetables brought you to the most light-hearted you had felt since waking up. You ate with vigor and listened to the family speak of anything and everything. 

The grandson brought up something you had forgotten until he piped up, “Mr. Mando, why aren’t you eating? Mom says that we have to eat if we are to stay strong!”

You had been distracted with the food and hadn’t even noticed the hunk of metal sitting next to you not saying a word or eating. His creed not even allowing a meal in the presence of others, but there he sat in silence, forgoing any part of impoliteness to even mention that he couldn’t eat. Everyone’s eyes were now on Mando as he sat in awkward silence. You set the silverware down in shame. How could you forget something like that? The poor guy hadn’t had food in who knew how long? He’d been with you this whole time.

“Jax, hush! That is impolite to ask of a Mandalorian.” His mother piped up.

“No, it’s okay. I ate recently. If I can, I’d like to take some to my room for later.” You knew it was a lie. He hadn’t had food recently. There was no way unless he had hidden tubes beneath that armor, but the family seemed to buy his lie. 

You suddenly stood up announcing, “We are actually really tired from traveling so much and shopping, I am afraid we must retire. Can we see our rooms?”

Ko looks up startled, but laughs it off, “Oh yes! Of course! I should’ve known you two would be so tired. Come, come. I will show you to your room.” 

You smile at him as he stands to show you to the rooms. You were just relieved that Mando would eat soon. He must have been starving! It was astonishing you that he was still standing without a hint of exhaustion or shaking.

Following Ko out of the dining room, you were led down the hall full of family photos, to a door at the end. One door. “Here’s where you two will be staying. I’m sure you will find it comfortable.” The two of you. He meant both of you. He meant for you to stay in the same room as Mando. Oh, please have two beds. You opened the door hesitantly and lo and behold, one large bed. It was so cliché you couldn’t help the small giggle that tickled out of your throat. Before you could protest, Mando chimed in that it was perfect and thanked Ko for his hospitality while gently pushing you further into the room to close the door. 

You immediately went on the defense, “Why did you tell him this is fine! You need your privacy to eat! I can’t stay here.”

Mando had been holding up one hand while balancing the food in his other, preparing for a fight. He seemed to pause at your words. “You want to leave?”

“Yes! If it means you get to eat, then yes, I will leave or hide in the bathroom, whatever you need. I know you haven’t eaten for at least a day.”

He sets the food on one of the side tables next to the left side of the bed. He shuffles on his feet thinking about his next move. You move to leave thinking he was trying to come up with a nice way of telling you to get out. Before you can, “You can stay. If you want. Just as long as we sit on the floor facing the opposite way. Only if you’re comfortable, though.”

You can’t tell if it’s a plea or just him trying to make it seem like all of this is no big deal. You have no idea, you can’t really deny the fact that you want to stay. The idea of being out there with people who act like they know you makes you far more uncomfortable. “Alright.”

You cross the room to the right side of the room, pretending to notice all the details of the room instead of thinking about his heavy gaze. He watches you the whole time. You try not to fidget or trip over yourself in the midst of his watchful gaze. You turn your back to him and slide down the side of the bed until your legs are in front of you straight out and your butt hits the cold floor. You awkwardly give him a thumbs up over the side of the bed, “Anytime you’re ready.”

You hear a hiss and a clank of armor onto the wood table. You freeze. Your body immediately wanted to turn towards the noise. The curiosity alone makes you want to look. Maybe you had seen his face before all of this had happened and it would help trigger your memories. The thought leaves as soon as it enters. You weren’t about to betray his trust with something this monumental to him.

The quiet sounds of him sliding down to the floor and then starting to eat greet your ears. It’s so quiet and you can’t help but fill the tormenting silence with anything to distract yourself from what’s right across the room from you. It would be so easy to take a peek and the temptation leads you to studying everything around you. The room is large compared to the small compartments of Boba’s ship and the Vanguard, not large enough to distract you though. The view of the wall and its single picture of Ko’s family isn’t entertaining after a few seconds. The only window is right above the bed so you can’t look out of it without risking seeing Mando.

Boredom finally reaches its peak within your brain so you call out to the other side of the room, “How do they know me? They keep treating us like we are gods. What did we do?”

There was no way to prepare for the voice that greets your ears. You hadn’t thought about how Mando’s voice would sound and even if you had, it would never compare to reality. A warm rumble of whispered honey caresses your ears and slides down your body in a comforting bass, “This planet was under the control of the Empire. The ones that ripped your memories from you. We helped free them.”

“We?”

“Ahsoka, you and me.”

“How’d I do anything?”

There’s a pause for faint chewing. You felt kinda bad for insisting that he eat and then not letting him have that luxury by constantly asking questions.

“You think that trick you did to catch that little guy on the flying lizard was an accident? Luck? You helped a lot in that fight.”

As if hearing your next question forming, he interjected, “That’s all I will say. Why did you care so much about me eating?”

The change in topic throws you. All bubbling questions leave your mind as you try to focus on the answer.

“You still don’t seem to fully trust me, you haven’t shown any concern earlier, so why now?” He asks as if to clarify his question.

“I don’t know. I’m still struggling with it. These people act like decent people, the Empire must be the bad guys here for what they did to me and this town. I guess you are the closest thing I know to be good. You are trying to help me as far as I can tell, putting in more effort than Boba or anyone else so far, but here I am not offering any sort of help back. I get that I don’t know what I can and can’t do; however, that shouldn’t stop me from making sure my pilot is in fit condition. Maybe I hate your guts with my memories, maybe we were best friends. I’ll try to stay more in the moment and trust you until you prove otherwise, as long as you are more open with me about yourself. And not about your personal stuff, just tell me if you need rest or food, okay? It won’t ruin your scary image, I promise.”

He’s quiet as you hear him finish his food and set the plate back on the table. When you hear his voice again, it’s the blasted coder instead of sweet honey, much to your disappointment.

“Alright. Only if you do the same.”

You take that as permission to look at him again, so you stand and turn to him. His thighs are pressed to the bed as if trying to be close to you without crossing to your side of the room.

“We are pretty much on our own. I’m not used to counting on others, but you are too selfless and caring to be a burden. If I ask you something, I want you to be honest. I can’t help you if you end up passing out, having an episode, or worst of all: dying. I’ll do what I can to earn your trust.”

Your cheeks warm unwillingly. It sounded like Mando cared about you, so maybe you could trust him fully after all.

“Alright. Two-way street. Neither of us breaks these rules.”

“Fine. First question, is it alright if I sleep in here? Just as a precaution. I'll sleep in the chair, so you can have the bed."

The question catches you off guard. You honestly didn't know. The idea of him just watching you while you tried to sleep didn't sound like a lot of fun.

"Uh, are you actually going to sleep or just watch me the whole time?"

He seems to realize the way that sounded stutters a little, "I-no, uh, I meant, stay in here and sleep so I can be here in case something happens. Which it shouldn't, but just in case."

"As long as you promise to actually sleep. You need rest just like anyone else, you know that right? As far as I know, you aren't an android or anything. Are you a species that doesn't require a lot of sleep?"

He sighs and makes his way to the refresher off to the side of the bedroom, "Just get some rest."

Rectuantly, you lay down to get some sleep. The bed is cold from lack of use along with the night temperatures. You can hear water running as you lay there staring at the ceiling along with soft clanging as you imagine Mando removing his armor. You couldn't sleep with that kind of stuff going on. The mental image of what Mando might look like under the armor paired with that voice had your thoughts racing.

Once the door opens again, you catch a glimpse of Mando in just sleep clothes and his helmet before he turns off the light. It's a startling sight. Casual clothes and only his helmet? You never expected this. It was like seeing a rare creature out mythology in comparison to this. Almost intimate. You could see some tan skin barely peeking out of his tunic. He was still broad and large, yet more human. The skin looked human at least.

This was going to be a long night.

Sure enough, the next morning had left you waking up exhausted. Even knowing you were safe with Mando, the thought of a strange man at the foot of you bed still left you feeling restless, almost exposed. You had tossed and turned all night only catching bits and pieces of sleep every so often. When you awoke, Mando was already gone from the room. His weapons and armor were gone as well.

Leaving the room and entering the kitchen brought you back to a life outside of Mando and traveling with possible threats following you everywhere. Ko's family was already up and fixing breakfast together. The grandson, Jax, looked up to see you enter the kitchen. He grabbed your hand and dragged you over to help fix food with them. They were nice people that went to lengths to make you feel safe and at home with them.

You tried to make efforts to get to know them. It felt awkward with the almost hero worship they treated you with though. You had no idea how you had helped these people and if you even deserved it. What if Mando had just made it sound like you had helped so you wouldn't feel worthless?

They all had their own things to do after breakfast. Jax went to school, Ko's wife went out back to tend to her garden, and Jax’s parents, Lillian and Idris, went to visit another family. Ko at least invited you to drink tea on the back porch while watching his wife work in the garden. You gladly accepted.

"It is nice to have you and the Mandalorian back in our city. It's a good reminder that we are not easily forgotten. Mando did tell us you have been forced to forget everything, including yourself.”

You hum into your tea mug, noncommitedly, "Some Empire jerks took my memories. All of them. I don't remember ever being here."

"Well, I'm sure a part of it would be gladly forgotten. We were not a happy place until you and Mando came along. Ahsoka as well. Of course, it's not hard to expect from a Jedi. That is what they do."

"A Jedi?"

"Yes, the guardians of peace in the galaxy. You really have forgotten everything." His gaze of pity just makes your stomach turn. You didn't want pity. You didn't blame anyone but the people who did this to you.

"Is there anything you can tell me about myself? What was I like?"

Ko laughs in response, a genuine belly laugh, "You were a spit fire. You saw the injustice that was going on and you personally wanted to take on every guard and mercenary yourself. Mando had to hold you back. If it hadn't been for the need to find Ahsoka, you would've killed anyone in your way."

You couldn't help your eyes bulging our of your head. You? Killing people? Fighting in general? It was a crazy idea. You wanted to think this old man was crazy, but there was plenty of lucidity in the old man's eyes. He was telling the truth.

"What did I do? How'd I fight?"

"In any and every way. You didn't hold any punches. You used anything within your range. Blasters, staffs, even your fists. You were a sight to behold. You were kind to everyone in the city that was being held hostage here. You did whatever it took to free us. We are extremely grateful. We will do what we can to help you."

Once you had finished your tea, you left Ko to his own devices in order for you to think over everything he told you. You retreated to the solitude of the room you were sharing with Mando to rummage through the thoughts flying through your brain. The fear of accidentally triggering another violent memory had you curled up on the bed. Nothing happened though. You had taken a hot shower to calm down and changed into the clean clothes Leeda provided, yet now here you were with the spear you had stolen from Utapau. Mando had let you keep that at least. You were holding it trying to see if it felt familiar in your hands like a hidden instinct or muscle memory. Nothing was coming to you though.

You waited until night to check in with Mando. Perhaps a tad bit reluctantly, but you did worry about him being out there by himself.

"Mando, you there?"

The crackle in the communicator filled your ear and then his voice filled your head, "I'm here. Is everything okay?"

"That's what I was going to ask. Everything's fine. Just a little boring. It's almost strange to be living a quiet life after the past few days."

He chuckles lightly into the communicator, "I'm sure we will be on our way into trouble eventually. It's typical for me."

You smile tightly. You could wait on the trouble. "Any sign of Ahsoka?"

The answering sigh tells you enough, but still he answers, "None yet. I'm just trying to pick up any sort of trail. I'm found her camp from last time I met her and it looks abandoned. The only clue I found so far. It looks like she dismantled her camp fairly recently so that’s a sign she’s been here at least.”

"Hopefully she's okay and this isn't a wild bantha chase."

"I'm sure she is. She's a powerful warrior."

"Yeah, Ko said she's a Jedi. Apparently that means she's some sort of warrior."

"What else has Ko been telling you?"

"Just that apparently I know how to fight expertly as well." Your tone turns accusatory.

"Yes, you do. Don't ask though, I don't know where you learned or even all the things you can do."

Your pettiness still gets to you a little as wish him a quick goodnight and cut the line. It still frustrated the amount of information everyone knew. You really needed to stop taking it out on Mando. You felt a little guilty as you went to bed that night.

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

The next morning brought your regrets to the surface again as you awoke to a sudden boom and shaking of the house. Screams followed the explosion as the reverberations faded away. You practically fell out of bed running towards the door to find where you hoped the others would be.

You call out for Ko and the others but there’s no response. You look throughout the house and finally find them all gathered by a door offset from the kitchen. Ko had gathered his family and was leading them down through the door down a set of steps leading to what you assumed was a basement when you cried out to them, "What's going on? What was that sound?"

Ko turns to you and grabs your arm leading you to the basement, "The Empire is back. It's a small party, but they are bombing the city!"

Your heart freezes. Is this because of your vision? Is this all happening because of you? Guilt flares in your heart. If you caused all of this pain and suffering, kriff, probably some deaths, all because of your presence, you didn’t know how you would forgive yourself. You reach up to the communicator in your ear only to find it missing. In your confusion and haste to find the others you had left it behind in the bedroom. You left it on the table like a mindless wamp rat.

You turn to run back to the bedroom all the while Ko tries to yell at you to come back to the safety of the basement. You hear more explosions outside, but you have to let Mando know. The basement won’t be safe for long if the house falls down around them. Mando may not be able to do much, but you have to warn him so he won't walk into a trap and possibly find Ko and his trapped family should the worst happen.

You reach your room and pratically fling yourself onto the table to grab the communicator. Stuffing it into your ear, you immediately open the channel. "Mando!"

"What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"The Empire's here!"

[florbelles]

13~17 for Lyra and John?

thank you legend, i am once again sorry for my response time on this rip

xiii. what is their go-to for making a partner feel loved?

— this is something that's actually incredibly difficult for her; the enormity of it is something that nothing feels adequate to express. while she's very physically demonstrative, one of her greatest fears — particularly after he's gone — is that she never expressed it the right way, that he never understood, not really. she desperately hopes he does. she tells him, a thousand times, she is sorry for the way she is, even knowing that he loves her for it, even knowing that he knows what he chose. ( he did, of course, he tells her as much, but it still haunts her ).

she tries to makes him feel loved by what makes her feel loved; making sure he knows she sees him, understands him, accepts him completely and unconditionally. he doesn't need to be anyone else for her; he doesn't need to prove anything to her. she shows him she loves him by letting him simply be, by proving with time that she isn’t going anywhere, that she’s all in.

she shows him love the only ways she knows how. she's most comfortable expressing herself with her body, that she can give him, that she can do and do well ( sexually, yes, of course, but perhaps more pertinently — neither of them have an uncomplicated relationship or history with sex, elaborated on below under xv — with nonsexual signs of affection — running her thumb over his, nuzzling him when she comes up behind him, pressing her lips to his neck ). she’s always touching him if she’s near him. she’s extremely affectionate, both physically and verbally, especially in the mornings and at night when they’re lying limbs-twined.

the simplest answer is, however, synonymous with the answer to xv below; she expresses her love through her trust and willingness to render herself wholly vulnerable. she expresses it through quiet, subtle intimacies that might not be immediately evident to anyone who doesn’t know her ( it’s been stated many times before, but to lyra, the use of a first name and familiar language is the greatest sign of intimacy she can verbally give — her enemies are darling, her husband is john ). “hi, john” is her “i love you;” “i’m so glad it’s you” is her “i love you.”

xiv. what makes them feel loved? would they build up the courage to ask for it?

— the small efforts he makes to meet her at her level. when he says “you love me.” when he manages to drag his ass out of bed for her in the morning to watch the sunrise even though they’re on two hours and he needs his beauty sleep. she doesn't expect accommodation. she doesn't expect anything. one of her most prevailing thoughts early in their relationship is that it would have been enough for him to simply see and understand her; she would not have asked him not to hate her, she does not ask him not to forsake her, but he chose not to. he gave her acceptance. he gave her love. she would never in a thousand years ask for it.

for john, it’s that she lights up when she's around him — is truly simply that happy just to see him and be near him without needing or expecting anything from him, which isn’t something he’s necessarily had in his life from figures who aren’t obligated either by familial bonds or being his subordinates. she could not disguise it even if she wished. he will always make her flush. he will always make her stomach drop and her teeth flash and her eyes gleam. it is simply the way it is: it is incredibly fortunate they are not seen together by anyone outside of the project, because they would have known immediately. ( they do know immediately, when the time comes, before the end of everything ).

xv. what, for them, constitutes a level of intimacy that they would only rarely share with someone? this can be physical, emotional, etc.

— vulnerability, both emotional and physical.* quite literally, he is the only partner she's ever had that she has slept with, excepting some of her earliest girlfriends, generally bunkmates at school ( “i have never slept with a man in all my life!” is a favored gag of hers ). he is also the only partner with whom she hasn't kept her shoes or knives or some means of defense on her person ( john would argue the post-coital teeth and scratch marks he permanently wears make her true defenselessness sat any given time debatable, but it's the thought that counts! ).

( * for the sake of simplicity, this excludes all intimacy in relation to the project; while it’s obviously a major part of their relationship and a shared cause/belief system that deepens their bond, it’s complicated by the fact she would have joined the project and undergone those processes with or without him, whether or not they were lovers )

physical intimacy is, at first glance, something that is decisively not something only rarely shared, given that they both have hundreds of past sexual partners; they both have a complicated past with sex and their own respective baggage. john obviously has a history of self-medication and addiction that’s bound up with his demons and self-loathing; for lyra it's never been a particular vice — she has absolutely also used it to self-medicate in the past, usually as a way to blow off steam when her blood is running hot in a potentially more lethal direction, but it’s never been an instrument of self-destruction — an d is instead primarily is burdened with the fact that she used her sexuality to seduce targets; it's something she weaponized and exploited, so there are always going to be certain situations or circumstances she dislikes seeing john in ( she's reluctant to the prospect of restraining or binding him, for example, since she would use restraints on men she seduced with the intention of intimidating or killing them ). they both have associations they don't want to spill over onto the other.

having said that, the fact of that allows them a type of intimacy that might not be immediately evident to anyone else; she makes sure he knows he doesn't have to fuck her to hold her, he doesn't need to use his body to have that familiarity with her ( given that this is previously unexplored territory for the both of them, her saying so goes over about as well as can be expected — pardon him, he didn’t realize sex with him was such a fucking chore, sorry he is so sexually revolting, don’t do him any favors! — but they get there ).

sex is obviously still a big part of their relationship, and not one that john particularly feels the need to repent, since they’re married in all but name almost immediately and are married in fact within six weeks and otherwise has little difficulty john-justifying ( johnstifying, if you will ) it to himself ( she’s been entrusted to me, i’m bringing her closer to the project, she’s meant for me anyway, god brought her to me, this isn’t lust, she said so herself, this is a sanctioned union ), and she immediately casts off any notions of seducing or manipulating him as means of insinuating herself into the project’s protection ( it’s for this reason she stalls joining; she intends to right away, she believes joseph and desperately wants to believe that this is the reason and purpose for everything in her life up to this point, done both by and to her, but she flatly refuses until she can prove her complete commitment and good faith upfront, an opportunity afforded to her by the camera crew’s fortuitous arrival ) — this is also why she cuts off their first encounter and flees the ranch. she will never use her sexuality against him. in that sense, sex as a form of intimacy is reserved for each other.

( this is, in fact, how she knows she loves him; for all of her extensive sexual history, she has never actually wanted someone — not just release with them, not just a physical attraction to them — she is in fact unsettled on whether or not she is attracted to john physically; he's the most beautiful creature alive to her, but that's because he's him, she loves his nose because it's his nose, she loves his eyes because they're his eyes, his skin because it’s his skin — but actually him. she knew she had to have him. )

xvi. if they had the ability to just spend free time with their partner, what would they do? would they go out or stay inside?

— stay in ( not necessarily literally within the confines of their home, but within their own space ). lyra will probably coax him outside at some point because she doesn't feel right if she's indoors all day, regardless of the weather — no, the first seven years of the collapse are not looking well for her, thank you — but they won't necessarily stray from each other's companionship. if it's a day off, joseph is probably giving them space ( this is also his day off from their shared existence, how wonderful to be able to attend to the rest of the flock without worrying about what problems they're causing on purpose ), so while they'll occasionally have the company of one of their family members, it's more likely to simply be the two of them, possibly with the company of some of their closest inner-circle ( shaggy, holly, shaggy’s brother matthew, a few of their select chosen who are assigned to the ranch ) in the evening if lyra decides she wants a bonfire. otherwise, they take full advantage of their ability to absolutely nothing but laze around and talk and make love.

xvii. under what circumstances would they want to be left alone by their partner?

— this almost never happens, since they’re more inclined towards separation anxiety than a need for space, but lyra is the most likely to want it when she needs to sort out her mental state or let her fuse burn down ( like the time she locked herself in the shower to cry for an hour because he loved her or if they’re in an especially heated argument and she needs to clear her head before she says or does something she’ll regret). she rarely does so, however; she’s aware that from his perspective her walking out on him, no matter how temporary or how rationally he knows she’s coming back, exacerbates his angst and triggers his insecurities.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #110.1: Hassan of the Hundred Personas #1: Asako

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’ll begin our exhaustive look into the various lives of the Hundred Personas, and how best to represent them in D&D 5e. If we hurry we should be able to squeeze 3 Hassans in each week, meaning we’ll be done in time for Halloween!

We’re just messing with you- we’ll get all 100 Hassans into a 20 level build if it kills us.

Check out the Hundred Personas’ build breakdown below the cut, or their character sheet over here!

Next up: You have chosen...wisely.

Race and Background

The body that housed the Hundred Personas in life was almost certainly human, but we’re not limited by spritework like FGO is- that means we can account for all 100 personalities taking the reigns instead of just having one main character talking. To make this a bit easier, you’re going to be a Changeling. This gives you +1 Dexterity and +2 Charisma, as well as Changeling Instincts. This would normally give you two skills we’re getting anyway, but thanks to Tasha’s we can swap it out for Any two skills. As one hundred people, you have some leeway in what skills you pick, but I’d suggest focusing on intelligence and wisdom based ones- you’ll be good enough at the other skills to make up for it.

Of course the big selling point of the Changeling is its ability to Change Appearance. As an action, you can change your appearance and voice, as well as gender, race, height, and weight (as long as you stay the same size). You can’t turn into creatures you haven’t seen, and you can’t add or remove limbs (sorry if you were hoping for centaur Hassans). You stay in this new form until you change appearance again or die. Sure, in FGO all the Hassans are human, but why would that be the case in D&D? Toss some extra races in there for flavor, why not?

Similarly, you could probably pick any background you want, but for the sake of consistency we’ll get Acolyte again to match Cursed Arm. This gives you Insight and Religion proficiencies.

Ability Scores

We’re using point buy again, but for the exact opposite reason most people normally do- we’re not minmaxing, we’re maxminning for optimal coverage. When your specialty is Literally Everything, you can’t afford a negative modifier. Make Strength, Dexterity, and Charisma 13, and Constitution, Intelligence, and Wisdom 12. You’re not the strongest servants out there, but you are the most well-rounded.

Class Levels

1. Rogue 1: Technically there’s better classes for you to start than rogue, but they get a lot of skills, and skills are your bag. You get proficiency in Dexterity and Intelligence saving throws, as well as four rogue skills. Again, any skill are technically fine, but I highly recommend at least picking up Stealth and Deception. You’re all assassins, and if you can keep the fact that all 100 Hassans share a body a secret you’ll be a lot more intimidating.

To make your skill domination even more complete, first level rogues get Expertise, doubling the proficiency bonus of two skills. Again, I highly recommend Stealth and Deception for this. You can also make a Sneak Attack against creatures you have advantage over or are otherwise occupied as long as you’re using a finesse weapon, adding 1d6 damage to the attack.

You also get Thieves’ Cant, and unlike every other rogue we’ve made you can actually use it, since you’ve got 99 accomplices built in with you. Communication’s important in any relationship, especially when you can’t leave.

2. Fighter 1: You probably have some idea where we’re going with this. For now, you get a fighting style. Gozul the Strong isn’t that delicate, so grab Unarmed Fighting to get him some solid damage. It’s not synergistic, but these kinds of disagreements are inevitable in group projects. 

The good news is while one of you is out fighting, the rest of you can spend your bonus action on a Second Wind for a bit of healing once per short rest.

3. Fighter 2: Another benefit to being multiple people is ganging up on idiots who think they’re in a one on one fight. Thanks to Action Surge, you can take two actions in a single turn once per short rest. That’s almost like being two people, right?

4. Fighter 3: I can see that wasn’t enough for you. I get it, you’re a discerning customer. That’s fine though; feast your eyes on the Echo Knight! This subclass lets you Manifest Echo as a bonus action, creating a copy of yourself that you can attack through. I’d argue that as a changeling any one of your forms could still count as a copy of you, but that’s a fight you’ll have to wage with your DM. You can also Unleash Incarnation a number of times per long rest equal to your Constitution Modifier, adding an extra attack from your echo when you take the attack action. ...Don’t expect to use that too often.

Echos have an AC of 14 plus your proficiency bonus and 1 hit point, making them slightly harder to kill than you were in Zero. They use your saves, and you can swap places with them as a bonus action plus 15′ of movement.

5. Rogue 2: We got the obligatory subclass out of the way, so now we can focus back on your main class. Your fighter levels just gave you a great reason to use your bonus action, but your new Cunning Action gives you even more flexibility, letting you dash, disengage, or hide as a bonus action.

6. Rogue 3: We have one subclass, what’s the harm of another? As a Phantom rogue, your Dissociative Identity Disorder comes to the forefront. You hear Whispers in your Head, giving you one skill or tool proficiency that can be changed at the end of a short rest, giving you incredible flexibility. You can also use Wails from the Grave, which I couldn’t think of a good renaming for, to deal half your sneak attack dice in necrotic damage to another creature after using your sneak attack on someone. Imagine this as another you popping out to make the most of the opportunity. You can use this a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus.

You also get Steady Aim, exchanging your movement for advantage on your next attack. This uses your bonus action, but it basically gives you free advantage with your Echo. Remember, it only shuts down your movement. You’ve got 99 other bodies ready to go.

Also, your sneak attack reaches 2d6.

7. Bard 1: I don’t really have a flavor justification for this one. I guess you could get philosophical and point out how the self is just a story we tell ourselves to make sense of what we do, but that’s reaching. 

Anyway, you get proficiency in any one skill, Bardic Inspiration, some d6 you can pass to allies as a bonus action to give them a bonus on attacks, checks, and saves, and Spells that are cast with Charisma. 

Grab Minor Illusion for another way to make a copy of yourself, Message to keep things quiet on missions, Comprehend Languages because let’s be honest at least one of you probably has heard of Duolingo by now, Feather Fall and Longstrider to keep up with Cursed Arm, and Healing Word. Medicine is a skill in this game, so you’ve got to have a bit of healing.

8. Fighter 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to round up your Strength, and put the other point into Dexterity for later.

9. Bard 2: Second level bards get one of the three reasons we came here: Jack of All Trades. This feature adds half your proficiency to nonproficient skill checks, so the few things you’re not good at, you’re still good at. You also get a Song of Rest, adding 1d6 to healing done at short rests while you’re in the party. Not... totally in character, but it was free. Your friends can also add your Magical Inspiration to their healing and damaging spells now.

Speaking of spells- it doesn’t matter what you get this level, we’re swapping it out next level anyway.

10. Bard 3: Your last subclass is Lore Bard for three more skill proficiencies as well as Cutting Words, letting you spend a use of inspiration as a reaction to reduce an incoming attack by 1d6, possibly making it miss you. You also get another round of Expertise for two skills of your choice.

Your last spells are Enhance Ability to make your skills even more powerful, giving the target advantage on one kind of skill check for the duration. If your DM allows UA, you can also grab Mirror Image to make three copies of yourself that will take damage for you.

11. Fighter 5: Fifth level fighters get an Extra Attack with each attack action. There’s two of you fighting- two attacks should be the minimum.

12. Fighter 6: Use this ASI to become a Skill Expert. This feat rounds out your Dexterity, and gives you one skill proficiency and expertise with one skill.

13. Fighter 7: Our last stop in the fighter class gives you an Echo Avatar, letting you see and hear through your echo for up to 10 minutes. While this is effective, your echo has a range of 1000 feet. The Hundred Hassans made for an effective spy network in Fate Zero, and now they do in D&D as well.

14. Rogue 4: Use your next ASI to gain some more Strength so you and Gozul can tag-team enemies effectively.

15. Rogue 5: At fifth level your sneak attack grows to 3d6, and you can make an Uncanny Dodge as a reaction to halve the damage of a single incoming attack.

16. Rogue 6: You gain Expertise in two more skills, pick whichever are the most effective by this point.

17. Rogue 7: Your sneak attack is now 4d6, and you get a big bonus to your echo’s (and your) survivability thanks to your Evasion. When you make a dexterity saving throw to avoid damage, failures deal half damage and successes deal no damage at all.

18. Rogue 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Constitution for more health and another unleashed incarnation per long rest.

19. Rogue 9: Ninth level phantoms can make Tokens of the Departed as a reaction when a creature dies near you. While holding one of these trinkets, you have advantage on death and constitution saves, and you can destroy a soul trinket to gain one of two effects- either a free use of Wails from the Grave, or you can ask the spirit trapped within a question. I really don’t have a good way to flavor the latter option though-maybe a temporary form of introjection, but that’s really stretching. You should probably just use it to stab people more.

20. Rogue 10: Your capstone level is another ASI. Bump up your Dexterity for a higher AC and better knife skills.

Pros:

You have one of the strongest skill checks so far- if you pick your proficiencies the way I did in the character sheet, you’ll only have one skill with a modifier below a +5, and with Enhance Ability and planning, you’ll have advantage on any important checks. You can also use your phantom proficiency to pick up niche skills that other builds wouldn’t bother to have. Laugh all you want, but the one time you need chef’s tools proficiencies, you’ll be ready.

You are great at being a spy. You have an amazing stealth score, and can use your Echo Avatar to sneak into places and teleport a thousand feet at a time. You can also squeeze info out of the dead, and could probably disguise yourself as any random occupation you could think of.

Rogues and Echo Knights mix together very well. Your echos have a lot more survivability than regular fighters, and they help you get off your sneak attacks much easier, and the extra attacks don’t hurt either. You also get plenty of HP from your fighter levels, and can mix that together with a rogue’s evasion techniques. (Also, your echo has good AC, so your cutting words can be very effective to keep it around) 

Cons:

We’re one level short of Reliable Talent, which is a must-have for a skill focused build. I would almost recommend getting rid of the last fighter level to grab it.

Your spells are pretty useful, but you don’t have many spell slots, so you’ll have to be careful.

The game’s got way too many tools for one swappable proficiency to cover them all, so even with your best attempts, sometimes you’ll just be bad at something. The horror.

[kokotti]

Mesh!Sans from BinaryTale aka BinaryMeshTale

New member of Nightmare’s gang. 

Liar and non-virgin. Strategist, manipulator of the bodies of other monsters, energy vampire (feeds on magic of other creatures). He rarely fights himself, although he is extremely strong. If he attacks, then, as a rule, quickly or surreptitiously, but he does not kill directly, but so that the enemy critically runs into some physical obstacle in the environment. That is, for example, it bends a wall so that thorns form on it, and removes magic, so that then to throw the enemy at them. In this case, the game mechanics does not count EXP for him, since the opponent was killed by a foreign object. He does this in order not to spoil his statistics with increased LV and thereby be able to drive into the trust of potential victims, making himself a good guy. (For the same reason, he fights by capturing the bodies of other creatures.)

Before joining the gang, he was a really good guy, but events in his own, now dying timeline (not AU in general, but in timeline) extinguished the last spark of hope for a happy ending in him, so he spends the remaining time (since depends on t timeline) in search of food (there are no creatures in his timeline whose magic can be eaten), entertainment, communication, new discoveries and, possibly, a way to interrupt the loop of repetitions in other universes once and for all, even if it kills them everyone.

Horror hates him and tries to kill him every time he gets the chance. With Dust, on the contrary, he is on friendly terms, since both love to be sophisticated in murder. He follows the work of Cross with interest, since he has a difficult dream and unusual abilities.

Cohabits in Anti-Void with Error (against the will of the latter, of course), since he himself cannot (yet) travel across the multiverse and needs someone who can open portals.

Mesh's blasters are called Cluster Blasters.

Depending on the state and mood, the number in his eye is 1 or 0 (where “0″ is peace, tranquility, indifference, and "1″ is discontent, excitement, the use of special magic, activation of communication with copies or victims).

In the gang he is "on the spot", since his main function is to get negative emotions for Nightmare. He seeks victims, seizing them under his control and forcing them to harm others. Since the victims are in a sober mind and bright memory, but cannot control their own bodies, they show mental and moral resistance, which makes the Nightmare inexpressibly happy. And since at this moment Mesh also "eats" them...

- Rarely is angry, more often than not, he only experiences dissatisfaction or irritation, and even those expressing with a smile. Not vindictive, but principled - "as you treated me, so I will be with you." - Smart and observant, like all Sanses. - Almost always smiles condescendingly or indifferently, except in really serious situations. - In the conflict pretends to be peaceful and weak. In fact, he is playing for time, at this moment preparing special magic and carrying out the seizure of the aggressor under his control. - He hates contact with water and its derivatives (snowfall, rain, fog, steam), as it is, literally, a stream of useless information that only calluses his eyes and clogs his digital essence. - At the same time, he adores Waterfall, listening to echo-flowers for days on end, or rather, the voices of monsters who tell about their innermost dreams. He embodies some of them into reality, despite his indifference to everything that is not related to his timeline and loved ones. After all, he's still Sans, it's just that his life didn't work out. - Can clone himself or create his own prototypes that operate autonomously and independently of him. - In addition to the above, Mesh can teleport. But his teleport is directly dependent on the "networks" that he spreads across the worlds during his visit. Only while standing on the net can he teleport somewhere else. Without a network, he is vulnerable and moves on foot. - Mesh can become invulnerable for some time or even go into intracode mode. Sees all hidden living characters like Chara in Frisk or X!Chara in Cross, but does not see Dust!Papyrus, since he is just a hallucination of Dust and is not a real character. - Mesh can change his height from giant ("Giga" mode) to crumbs ("Bit" mode). The level of magic consumption changes depending on the mode.

[transsexualbloodlust]

Shrek and SPN an analysis

okay i said i would do a shrek and dean arch analysis and i’m here to deliver

before we ~get into it~ i’d like to say that this started out as being based on my head canon that dean likes the first shrek movie and the musical (secretly) but instead it just became it’s own analysis of the parallels, I will be doing a very short explanation of why i think that after this.

okay let’s do the obvious parts: the both have layers, and they r both bisexual and homophobic (i will not take criticism on this i’m right and u know it)

in regards to the layers:

In the shrek musical we get to see shrek’s childhood and back story. The basic summary is that on his 10th birthday his family abandons him and tells him he has to raise himself, that society will never accept him so he needs to “build a wall” (emotional) and find somewhere no one can get to him (emotional and literal). Shrek grows up knowing he is hated by society and although he doesn’t try to outright conform his choice of being the monster everyone wants him to be and living alone was conforming in itself, we learn later in the movie that shrek is lonely and wants friends but is afraid of vulnerability and how people view him. Now I’m sure we’ve all read a million and one essays on Dean’s personality but you’ll be reading one more. Dean also gets metaphorically thrown out, especially emotionally, by his father and is forced to fend for himself, except (and this is why shrek and dean’s personalities r so different) dean has sam and is forced to raise him. (dean is the woman coded version of this arch and shrek is the man coded version, once again i take no criticism). Dean is forced to live on the outskirts of society, constantly hopping schools, knowing about monsters and hunting, and he embraces that role as a form of protection for himself. This of course mixes with the way J*hn villanises dean to himself, he’s verbally abusive (and almost definitely physically) and holds dean to such a high standard he can never see himself as good enough. Not to mention how his bisexuality is likely seen as something disgusting. So in order to save himself he embraces that roll that his father has layed out for him, to the point where (like shrek and his roar) is very much a performance.

okay so how are the plots similar/something dean can relate to??

well dean and shrek both exist within the outskirts of society, never really wanting to enter and seemingly content with the performance they give. However (in very different ways) their ability to uphold the performance is tested and they embark and a journey to be able to go back to normal life. Shrek has to deal with the fairy tale creatures, and Dean has to save his father. (I genuinly think a lot of deans dependency on j*hn had to do with how much he based his identity on the man, and even though he does care about him and wanted to save him, his dependence on john and inability to recognize the abuse was a part of the performance he had to uphold). They then both get side characters , both Sam (no he’s not the main character stfu) and Cas for dean, and donkey for shrek. Who push them emotionally and force them to explore the possibility of life outside of that performance. They then both assume the roll of heros, something that their self image never truly allowed for. And when they get back to their old lives/rolls they realize it’s not something they truly want anymore, and that maybe it never was. Deans is much more subtle because he always feels the obligation to continue being a hunter wich is so heavily tied to the imagine J*hn projected on to him that he couldn’t move away as quickly as shrek did. But we start to see it in season 10. Then we ofc get to see the parallels between the love confessions. 😀😐

Okay so there’s the obvious “oh no they hate me what will i do” nature to both shrek/fiona and deancas but there’s literally so much more holy shit.

Cas/Fiona parallels:

The way Cas and Fiona r similar has a lot less to do with backstories and more to do with the essence of their arch’s, how they’re used, and how they’re coded. Cas and Fiona have Very different lives, however they where both agencies of the status quo. Fiona wants to be this maiden in her tower and be saved, and she actively reinforces that by following the ideas of a fairy tale even though she truly doesn’t understand the purpose of what she’s going through. Cas on the other hand is an actual soldier of god, he actively fights to uphold the bible and bring about heaven winning, he works to reinforce heavens power. However both he and fiona don’t fit the model of their stories perfectly and in doing so r rebelling against the story. Fiona is Quircky TM, and a whole ogre, she doesn’t fit into the basic model of her story and the fact that she’s different is what causes her to rebel against the story. Her very existence is what caused her to question the narrative. Cas’s very existence defies the narrative because he, unlike most angels, cares about humanity (dean, like humans but mainly dean). He is supposed to be an unfeeling soldier of the lord but instead he ends up being gay for a repressed kansas boy which throws a cog in the narrative he’s supposed to play out and causes him to question it. And on top of that their personality is what pushes their love interest to confront the parts of themselves they aren’t really willing to embarrass. Dean being bi and Shrek being an ogre. 

Okay so the actual confession parallels:

Obviously they are different, for one shrek is canon reciprocated in all countries (that i know of). But thematically?? what the characters r saying to eachother?? girl i’m loosing it.

Shrek is about accepting ones self as who u truly are and recognizing that that doesn’t need to be changed for u to be lovable. And Cas’ speech does exactly that, it tells dean that even though he views himself as a monster who’s driven by hate, even though he see’s him as his enemies do (think shrek seeing himself through the townsfolks eyes) he is actually driven by love and that he, without changing, is lovable in every sense of the word. More than that he’s lovable by what common society would consider to be the Ideal (angels being like 🤩 and princesses being 🤩). In this confession of love Dean/Shrek r moved to accept themselves as they are, Shrek in the moment and Dean later when he doesn’t kill chuck. And their loved one has their final closure to their story. Fiona is forced to accept herself as an ogre as well and Cas shows that he’s, like Dean, fundamentally driven by love even though he was told he shouldn’t be.

This is where we once again see the whole “dean and shrek have the same arch but dean’s is woman coded” thing which I will be getting into in a separate essay. But the basic idea is that Shrek comes to the realization partially on his own and gets final validation from Fiona where as Dean gets confessed to. 

Then after the initial confession both lovers are pulled apart, deancas have the empty, and shrek/fiona are briefly pulled apart by lord farquad. In both instances the characters are punished for the fact that they’re in love. HOWEVER shrek understands good story telling and has the lovers come back together.

And then ofc both Fiona and Cas get enveloped :D (Cas in goop and Fiona in light)

But this where we get into the exploring where Supernatural’s narrative SHOULD have gone, (as shown in shrek):

After the love confession we finally get to see Shrek realize that he isn’t the monster society painted him as and that that requires absolutely no change on shreks part, he’s accepted himself and realized that he can tear his walls down. Dean goes through the tearing down of walls much slower throughout the seasons, because Dean has the woman coded version of this narrative he already understands found family but he doesn’t understand that he is worthy of his family’s love in return. 

So in Shrek we see shrek live out his life with his found family, he’s had his arch he understands his worth and he realizes that he doesn’t want to be alone. Now as a finale denialist I will not be talking about what happens in the finale but we’ve all seen it and you know how supernatural doesn’t follow through.

This was so much fun i will be doing more later but I hope y’all enjoyed this <3

[fluffy-boops]

Case Study 1: Once Upon a Tower

Introduction

Once Upon a Tower is a 2D platformer mobile game. However, unlike most platformers where you go from left to right, this one makes you go from top to bottom. Your controls are restricted to only going left and right. To go down you need to find holes in the ground or break the blocks beneath you. You can swing your hammer to break wooden blocks and get rid of hazards. There are also fireflies that you can collect which can then be exchanged for power-ups at the end of each level. To beat the game you need to reach level twelve where you can fight the dragon guarding the tower you are trying to escape.

Meaningful Play

Once Upon a Tower is both discernable and integrated, giving this game a meaningful play. Every interaction whether it is breaking blocks, getting rid of hazards, or collecting fireflies give an audible and visual cue. The game uses fireflies as its currency which you can obtain by either collecting them throughout the levels or by getting rid of hazards. At the end of each level you can use your fireflies to purchase power-ups. By collecting fireflies and purchasing power-ups, I was able to increase my chances of survival. This was especially useful later on as the levels became harder.

Core Loop

The core loop in this game involves moving, swinging, and avoiding hazards. To progress to the next level you need to move and swing your hammer at the blocks around you. Throughout the game there are also many dangerous creatures and traps that can kill you. To get around this I had to either kill the creatures/break the traps or avoid them entirely.

Mechanics + Dynamics

Core Mechanics:

The core mechanics of this game are moving and swinging. You literally will not get anywhere if you don’t move and almost always there will be blocks in your way so you need to swing your hammer to break them. Swinging to get rid of hazards is also very common.

Non-core mechanics:

Space mechanics:

Top-down Platform: You are in an environment where you need to move downwards to reach the next level.

Stone Blocks: These blocks cannot be broken and make up the walls of the tower. They are also be found inside creating a maze-like environment.

Barred Windows: The sides of the tower may be a barred window which allows the dragon to shoot fire through it (more on the dragon below).

Object mechanics:

Fireflies: Found throughout the map and can also be obtained by killing creatures/breaking traps. They are used as in-game currency to purchase power-ups.

Power-ups: These can give you special abilities to increase your chances of survival or help you get rid of hazards.

Wooden Blocks: These can be broken by your hammer and are usually in your way when going downwards. There are also wooden blocks that will automatically break after a couple seconds as soon as you land on them.

Carts: When hit, they will move away from the player, killing enemies in its path, and eventually stop at a dead-end (they can also fall down). Note that a cart moving towards you will also kill you. If you hit a cart and it has nowhere to go then it will break.

Nested Birds: These birds are seen outside of the tower resting on a nest. There is a stone block between them and the inside of the tower. By hitting said stone block, the bird will fly away. As far as I can tell, these birds do not affect the gameplay.

Hazards: There are many different creatures and traps in this game that can kill you, each other, and/or consume fireflies.

The Dragon: The dragon is also a hazard, however I placed it in a different category because it is the only one that cannot be interacted with until the last level. Additionally, every now and then this dragon will come and shoot fire taking up an entire row. I also noticed that this dragon is more likely to appear if you do not move as much (most likely to force you to continue moving downwards).

Photo Credits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWwzQbopx94&t=511s

Dynamics:

Timing: Depending on what hazards are around you, you need to time your movement properly. Every creature has their own unique way of moving and interacting with their environment. There are also traps that shoot based on a time interval. When you move (especially going downwards), you need to make sure that you don't get killed along the way and land in a safe location.

Spatial Reasoning: Oftentimes there is more than one way to move downwards. There could be more fireflies or hazards on one side of the map. There are times where if you want to collect fireflies you need to put yourself in more danger. Knowing which blocks to break and which direction to go as you fight your way through the tower can maximize your efficiency in collecting fireflies and/or alter your chances of survival. The hazards above or below you is also vital for survival. There are creatures that can fall on you or traps that shoot downwards. When moving/falling downwards, it is also useful to know what you may encounter along the way and where you end up landing. There are placed where it is relatively safe to land and also places where you can be easily overwhelmed by hazards. Moreover, you cannot jump or move up in this game, so once you make the decision to move downwards, you are stuck with it. Example (picture below): In this case, going to the right side (green arrow) instead of going straight down (red arrow) would give an extra firefly and make it easier to get the middle firefly (blue square).

Photo Credits: https://youtu.be/EqgPW_nrCmA?t=111

Collecting: Collecting in-game currency is helpful because you can buy power-ups with them. The only issue I have with their power-ups is that it isn’t always so obvious when you lose them. There have been many times where I thought I still had a power-up but died because I didn’t have them. The only one that was obvious to me was its “armor” power-up, where you get a shield that prevents you from dying once. The description for this power-up made it clear that it only works once. Also there is a clear golden circle around your character so you know that you still have that power-up. The game places your power-ups at the top of the screen with small icons, so I was constantly looking there to be safe. Personally this took me out of the game, especially since my phone has a relatively small screen.

Watching Ads: The first time you die, you can watch an ad to revive yourself. Occasionally, you can also watch an ad to get a random power-up. While almost everyone would agree that ads are annoying, I think this is a fair compromise between the creators of this free game and its players.

"Pay to win": While I personally did not do this, you can pay to purchase rubies and extra lives. The rubies can be used to purchase power-ups.

Challenges: To complete a challenge you need to finish three tasks. These tasks can be anything such as killing a certain amount of creatures or complete a level without getting any fireflies. While completing challenges won't help you survive or win the game, it will give you more points. Every time you complete a challenge your points multiplier will go up by one (so completing your first challenge will give you a 2x multiplier, completing the next one will increment it to 3x, and so on). This points multiplier is applied at the end of every game.

Are these mechanics and dynamics enough for meaningful play?

I believe these mechanics and dynamics give rise to meaningful play. I had very minor issues with the gameplay’s feedback and overall experience despite primarily being an FPS player. My actions, outcomes, and environment were very recognizable. By collecting in-game currency and purchasing power-ups, I was increasing my chances of survival. This gave me an incentive to plan my route accordingly to obtain as many fireflies as possible. Even when I had a defensive power-up (such as one that protected me from death or spikes), I was still very careful because they were rare. I did not want to waste a power-up over some careless mistake.

Aesthetics

I believe the aesthetics of this game are fantasy, discovery, and challenge. This game places you as a typical “damsel in distress”, but in this scenario you are the one that has to break yourself out. No one is coming to save you and all you have is a hammer to break blocks and get rid of hazards. There are fantastical elements in this game such as dragons and other fictional creatures. Not to mention that this game is based off of a popular fairy tale, Rapunzel. Playing this game also felt like something out of Indiana Jones, trying to make your way through some dangerous mystical temple. As you progress through these levels, you will also discover new creatures with their own unique characteristics and abilities. This game also poses a challenge as you need to strategize your way through different obstacles with each level getting harder.

Video Credits: Indiana Jones: Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that Once Upon a Tower provides meaningful play. The actions I did as a character provided noticeable feedback. I felt the need to collect their in-game currency to purchase power-ups to increase my chances of survival. Every new level became harder with different unique hazards to overcome. I was constantly trying to strategize my way through the map and collect as many fireflies as I could. Furthermore, at the end of every level I felt a great sense of accomplishment as if I just beat a challenging obstacle.

[rowanthestrange]

Big Doctor Who Meta time.

It’s no wonder The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos was a weird episode - hard to follow, too much information for the story it was telling, bit all over the place. Because it wasn’t trying to tell just one story. It’s telling three. One past, one present, one future.

It contains meta for every plot point so far, and what look like considerable signposts for what’s to come next.

If you wondered why it seemed so shallow on the surface - to the point where it is titled for The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos, which we get almost no information on, and yet the people in the text are the ones who keep asking about that - then stick around.

The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos is the codebreaker for Thirteen’s era.

We’re going to go along at a fair clip, but hopefully because it involves so much of the episode, there’s enough context in to jog your memories of the episode if they were as ropey as mine were. I’m assuming knowledge/fair understanding of media analysis, and hopefully links to other relevant metas where they’d be too long to get into will cover the rest.

We meet Tzim-Sha determined to rise in the ranks, and stealing a person. Ends up in control of a planet and the remains of a limited-in-number race who do his work for him and see him as the Creator. (Tzim-Sha is a Rassilon mirror - this is important throughout)

Tzim-Sha using Sniperbots. Just robots. Boring. (The Lone Cyberman and the Cyberium AI. Tecteun=Rassilon=Ashad meta. )

((When we first met him, he had his own independently acting data collector and conveyer, that he eventually initiated a data transfer with and caused it to put everything it had learned, into him. His plan involves taking people, who are left on the cusp between life and death, put in machines. (The Lone Cyberman and the Cyberium AI))

Paltraki, separated from his three crewmates, memories gone. Doesn’t even remember his real name. He could’ve left any time, but didn’t. (Paltraki is a Doctor mirror).

“What did you take?” “Not take. Recover.” Paltraki doesn’t know/remember what’s in the special thing that he and others worked so hard to get. He knows he’s not supposed to let it fall into enemy hands...but his crew, his friends, are being threatened. (The Lone Cyberman and Cyberium AI plot)

The Planet gives off psychotropic waves to keep people away, but the element seems under-utilised in the story. (We’ll come back to that).

Everyone else passed by the cries for help. (The Timeless Child(ren))

The Doctor attaches two grenades to the cube. (Mirrors the Master and the TCE’d Lone Cyberman with the dark twist that someone did blow it up and effectively destroy the remains of a planet that time)

Tzim-Sha got blown up but survived after a fashion. (future Tectuen=Rassilon=Ashad meta - no-one thinks the Lone Cyberman is actually dead)

“The Ux? As in the duo-species, only ever two of you? Lifespans of millennia?” (The Timeless Children, plural) “Only found on three planets in the whole universe?” (Now isn’t that a weird and unnecessary addition. A lot of meta possibilities in that. Starting with: The Timeless Child and the boy on the cliff, Martin!Doctor and ??? The Doctor and the Master.)

One is following the will of the Creator. The other is being tortured. (The Timeless Child(ren))

“Wait. Is this yours, this building? Is it true about the Ux? Faith-driven dimensional engineers. Is that why the building feels alive?” (What Are TARDISes meta)

Yaz: Do you have a home [on your planet]? Paltraki: Beautiful home. Some land, and animals. Too many facts coming back. It's like a flood. I don't know what's important, or... We were the last fleet. When the others didn't come back, they sent for us. (Feels like how the Doctor will regain bits of memories)

Paltraki was sent by The Congress of the Nine Planets in response to the atrocities. (The Alliance)

The Doctor: Why do you call him the Creator? Andinio: Our faith is handed down. The Creator is the cornerstone. (The Legends of Rassilon)

“But I've got so many questions, Andinio. Because there's a battlefield outside where many people died, but you're no warrior. And your words are certain, but your eyes are full of doubt.” (The Timeless Child(ren))

There are literal codebreakers. (Like Steganography and The Ireland Metaphor, the text is telling you to meta this)

They only came to rescue two people, but there are dozens of bodies in the pods. Thirty. (The Timeless Child - more bodies than imagined)

It’s been three thousand four hundred and seven years since Tzim-Sha saw the Doctor  “banishing me across the universe to this desolate rock for the rest of my existence”. Later in the episode: “Even in exile, I shall lead.” (Meta 1: The last thing the Doctor linearly did with Rassilon was banish him. Meta 2: The Master or Matrix says Tecteun was adventuring but her story and other meta fits much better with someone trying to find a way to save her dwindling race - perhaps previous experiments got her banished, because the next lines are: )

The Doctor: “But you got more than you could possibly have wished for. The Ux.” Tzim-Sha: “The universe provides.” The Doctor: “You wanted to be a leader. Now you're worshipped as a false god. Why all the ships outside? What have you made them do?” (The Timeless Child(ren))

Tzim-Sha: “I carry the entire hive knowledge of the Stenza civilisation within me.” (The Lone Cyberman and the Cyberium AI. Tecteun=Rassilon=Ashad)

The Doctor: “When you say revenge, revenge on who?” Tzim-Sha: “You, Doctor.” The Doctor: “Oh, no. Don't put this on me.” Tzim-Sha: “If you had not interfered, I would have become leader. First of the Stenza. And yet, I should thank you.” The Doctor: “Thank me? Why?” Tzim-Sha: “You have made me a god.” The Doctor: “You are nothing of the sort.”  (Tzim-Sha can do double duty as a Master meta in a lot of places too - three stories, past, present, and future.)

Tzim-Sha: “It has taken thousands of years. Every fragment of scientific understanding the Stenza ever possessed, allied to the impossible power of the Ux. You will see, Doctor. I must be a god. I have the powers of one.” (The Time Lords/Shobogans and the Timeless Children)

The Doctor: “Let me guess. They built you a weapon. That's what your sort like to do. Is that why all those ships came? You made a weapon, and they came to stop you.” (The Alliance. The Lone Cyberman and the Cyberium AI. The Timeless Children)

((An inscription scored in the floor of a dead Stenza-controlled planet, where the only thing imitating life are robots and remnants: “We are scientists. Abducted, tortured and made to work, while our families are held hostage. We are forced to find new ways of destruction. Poisons, weapons, creatures. We gave them our minds and they made us the creators of death. This planet has been left scorched and barren from our work. The atmosphere and water are toxic. Killing machines and creatures inhabit every corner. We had no choice but to obey... The Stenza. We are trying to destroy all of our work before they use it against others. There's two words below that. They're coming.”  (The Timeless Children))

The building is weird - treated weirdly in the text. The Shrine. They refer to the building as pulling them in - not the people in it. This shrine is the weapon. The TARDIS directly referenced as Ghost Monument (What Are TARDISes) ((the planet itself is screaming))

Paltraki: “I remember what they did. Five objects. Five planets. One weapon. They stole five planets.” The Doctor: “That's not possible.” Paltraki: “It's what happened. Entire planets removed from their spatial orbit.” The Doctor: “It would've destroyed all life. Planetary genocide.” (The Lone Cyberman and the Cyberium AI: The Death Particle | Backups of species - currently two, Cybermen and Time Lords)

The Doctor: “All these planetary masses cannot exist in the same place at the same time. The technology isn't stable. You bring another through, it could destroy everything.” (Rassilon with Gallifrey in The End Of Time)

Graham - everyone’s Grandpa, and Ryan, trap Tzim-Sha - mirror of the Doctor’s abusive parental figure. (Era theme: The concept of family and chosen Fam)

The Doctor: “Can't disconnect them, it might kill them.” Yaz: “But if we don't, what happens to Earth? Their life versus seven billion others.” (A Crisis of Utilitarianism meta feat. The Astronaut, Percy Shelley, The Timeless Child)

The Doctor and Yaz make themselves vulnerable to the Planet being able to affect their mind. (No current meta besides it just feels TARDISy and Kasaaviny, and it goes nowhere in the actual story to the point where it feels certain this is meta for the future.)

“There's too many things to do! One thing at a time. It's fine. All good. Well, almost.” (The desperate cry of the Writer creating meta. I know it well.)

The Doctor and Yaz block the Ux’s powers. (The narrative likelihood that this set of Doctors are not actually immortal, or if they are they cannot keep it)

The Doctor: “Universe provide for me.” - the TARDIS arrives. Is referred to as a Ghost Monument. Tzim-Sha: “The Universe provides” - the Ux. As Rassilon mirror - the Timeless Child. (What are TARDISes?)

The Doctor: “Their knowledge, their abilities, Tim Shaw's tech, our blue box.” (What look like the best guesses for each of the plot points of the era in meta form. The Doctor and Master’s memories. The Timeless Child(ren)’s abilities. The Cyberium AI, TARDISes).

Tzim-Sha has an electric hand/power gauntlet thing. (In case you weren’t sure on the Rassilon mirror. + The Lone Cyberman)

The Doctor: “I know this will be painful. I wouldn't put you through this if I could think of any other way right now.” Delph: “It's okay.” The Doctor: “It's not, but thank you.” (The Timeless Child(ren) (and that distinct sensation that this is all going to be very direct mirroring in the future))

Graham: “You brought us all together. You ain't going to tear us apart. You ain't worth killing. But you can have a taste of your own medicine.” Ryan: “We're not weak, we're strong, and we sentence you to life.” Graham: “So, as you're contemplating eternity, keep one name on your mind.” Both together: “Grace.” (This feels like the slightly nicer sounding version of what personally I’m hoping the Master is going to say and do to Rassilon at the end of all this)

The Doctor decides on “Fam”. Yaz likes it. (Era theme: The concept of family and chosen Fam)

[ask-the-crimson-king]

Tales from D&D: Skin to Bone

[Hello. Have not done a Tales from D&D in a hot minute. Thought I’d do one now.

This one is from the Icewind Dale campaign that I am playing, and because of it, there may be SPOILERS FOR ICEWIND DALE below the cut. 

I am also going to be tagging @luwupercal because I think they may enjoy hearing about the fate of Barnaby and the fucking feels train this campaign has become. 

Before I get into it, this is the cast:

LYDIA - Vampire spawn warlock. Chill as fuck. Just wants to be able to either cure herself or stop having to run from her new self.

RHOZAL - Hobgoblin Artificer with a lot of emotional baggage. Blacksmith and feelsy baby. Protect him. Has a crush on Lydia. [The feelings are mutual on both ends, however the characters are being COWARDS-]

BARNABY BUSSELTON - Anarcho-capitalist gnome wizard. No longer a PC. Relevant to the beginning of this tale. Will explain.

CHARLES NOLAND - Halfling druid. Was vibing in the snow for 2 months. New to the gang. 

AND FINALLY, MY DUMB ASS AS-

Hakkerskaldyr Strigr, but known as FREYR - Goliath Paladin who worships the Allfather. Lost an eye. And a character that I’ve lost interest in playing. We’ll get into that.

We begin our tale with a TPK in some caverns.  Note: The party is Level 3.

The enemies were a frost giant skeleton, a hag, and a wil-o-wisp. 

Lydia makes it to the hag first. Rhozal and I, Freyr, try to follow her to provide assistance while Barnaby tries to kite the skeleton away from us. 

We get to the room with the hag. Lydia isn’t doing too good. 

The giant stops following Barnaby and comes for us.

Rhozal is put down in one blow from the giant’s axe. Freyr is able to use the final spell slot and put down a smite on the hag, killing it. Lydia, who had been grappled by it, is now free.

Freyr was at 5 hp. The giant needed to do 35 damage for Freyr to be killed instantaneously.

The DM rolled a 7, an 8, and an 11. The giant had a +6 to the attack.

The giant had done 34 damage. One more and I would have been out. BUT THAT WASN’T THE END! Because on the next turn, the wisp used its ability where a creature put down to 0 needs to make a DC 10 con save or die instantly. 

Made the save.

Lydia flees, and now the giant skeleton is fighting this wisp. Barnaby is hanging back, letting them fight it out. Lydia does her Form of Dread and finds Barnaby, takes out a shadowblade, and kills him. Freyr’s axebeak, Ishe, is on her way to try and retrieve Freyr. Lydia tries to mount her, but is bucked off. 

Barnaby’s turn is next and he gets a NAT 20 TO THE SAVE, POPS UP, SAYS “SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER” AND DOWNS LYDIA WITH A LEVEL 2 MAGIC MISSILE.

Ishe then pecks his ass and puts him back on death saves. Which he got another nat 20 to in two turns. 

SO, TPK. Wonderful. Rhozal then releases a snake called Xipecoatl unto the world in exchange for his life. The snake kills the skeleton, and Ishe comes in to grab Freyr and run. Barnaby gets up and makes a deal with the snake.

Freyr goes to the nearest city with Ishe, once he comes to, for help from the guard. With a nat 20 to persuasion, he gets it.

Barnaby starts making traps around the caves, including alchemist’s fire and rockfall traps. I am sent into secrets corner, alone, FOR 45 FUCKING MINUTES while Barnaby talks. 

Finally, I’m able to get back into the main call, and Freyr takes up his weapons, and the guards, and he makes his way into the caverns. Man checked for traps all the while, but they were disarmed. Barnaby left a note. Rhozal is fucking worried and wants to pursue him now. Barnaby has captured Lydia. 

We resolve to fucking kill him.

Thanks to Lydia being a fucking madlad, we’re able to locate him hiding out in the snow. He hears the sled dogs that are with us. Rhozal is given a scroll of fireball (reward for the quest we were on), and he uses it to cast fireball on Barnaby. Takes 11 fire damage.

I go, and I try to Vow of Emnity his ass. Can’t. Fucking illusion. GREAT. 

Turns progress and the guards can’t hit him because of this illusion. Lydia is not doing well on death saves. She needs to be saved now.

On Barnaby’s turn, he takes out a fang, and teleports away.

“Let this be known as the day you almost caught Barnaby Busselton!”

He also ignites the oil he had planted around Lydia. Due to a Secret, Freyr has fire resistance, so he was literally thrown into the fires to help her. After cutting himself so Lydia could be stable/healed, he hauls her up and out of the flames.

Barnaby is now a DMPC, and will eventually be hunted.

We all leave and get a room in the nearby city of Easthaven. We spent the night there, we had some very nice heart to heart moments. Rhozal now feels empty. But we all cement our bonds with each other, and Rhozal and Lydia become very cute and adorable. I don’t want this post to be a million miles long, so I’ll leave it at that.

I will try to summarize the next few sessions. Essentially, we found a magic cauldron in those caves (its a Cauldron of Plenty) and the Speaker (mayor) of Easthaven was willing to pay 3500gp for it. So we planned to give it to him, but it was stolen in the time period the speaker had told us it would take for us to be paid. We find Charles in the Speaker’s town hall, and we ask him if he knew anything. The answer was ‘no’. So we head downstairs and we find the Speaker beat to shit, along with his guards. 

It is at this point we find out who stole the cauldron, a dwarf woman named Torgga, and we head out as soon as possible. The Speaker offers 1000 more gp for its retrieval.

So we head off to Targos, the last town that we knew Torgga frequented. We go to Luskan Arms, a Tavern, and we find her sleds. But the cauldron is gone. We head inside and we see her heading up to speak with someone. Lydia turns invisible and leaves her familiar, a pseudodragon named Signum (who is also constantly pointing in the direction Lydia is in), with us. When Signum squeaks, it means she’s in danger. 

Lydia is able to eavesdrop on a situation. The Speaker of Targos plans to starve out Easthaven. GREAT. POLITICS. Makes Torgga fear him. He is a corrupted cunt, essentially. 

Torgga is let out, and Lydia remains in the room with the Speaker. 

She then decides to attack. Signum starts squeaking. Me and Rhozal’s player are aggressively signing (because we had been muted for this entire altercation) that we are FUCKIN GONE, we are DASHING AWAY-

But Lydia CRITS ON THE BITE. C R I T. NATURAL. T W E N T Y.

Combat ensues. It takes Freyr and Rhozal forever to try and get to her. Rhozal is able to just yeet his ass upstairs, but then there’s a locked door in the way. Freyr is being pulled back by a tiefling (one of the Speaker’s lot), and even with a FUCKING 21 TO ATHLETICS, I couldn’t break free. FOR LIKE FIVE FUCKING ROUNDS. NO, I did not hit this person, BECAUSE MY PALLY BOY WAS JUST THINKING “don’t hurt more people than you have to, that’s just going to cause more trouble”. 

But anyway he gets upstairs but Lydia is unconscious. Rhozal cannot pick the door. So we start breaking it down.

We break it down.

The Speaker ties up Lydia with manacles. We break into his room (after Rhozal gets poisoned by a Cone Snail doorknob), see Lydia is awake (nat 20 to death saves baBY), and that the Speaker is missing.

He escaped through a hidden door. Freyr watched him do it. So he tries to find the exit, but fails. 

His next turn, this motherfucker opens the door and says “Hello!”. Makes 3 attacks.

Misses 2.

CRITS. ON THE THIRD. FOR FUCK SAKE-

Freyr is down. AND. AND. HE HAS THREE SPELL SLOTS THAT HE CAN USE. AND ALL OF HIS LAY ON HANDS POINTS. BUT HE IS DOWN. FUCK.

Rhozal is also downed, but Signum arrives to save the day! Signum stings him. Speaker rolls a nat 1 to his con save, so he is now unconscious for an hour. Freyr gets healing potion’d, then he res’s Rhozal, and then Rhozal starts tying up the Speaker. Charles had been kinda holding back the tide downstairs (Dire Wolf wild shaping is fucking insane at level 3), so he hauls ass to come help us. 

However, about 5 other people are following. FUCK.

We try to find a way to escape. We also need proof the Speaker is a corrupt fuckhead. Which we THOUGHT we had, because the Speaker wrote a letter that essentially said “Ah yes, I am Evil and Corrupt, muah ha ha.” However. The DM then proceeded to reveal that he didn’t have the letter on him, when he told Lydia that she saw him take it.

Fucking. Damn. It.

We headed into his secret hallway and we try to find a way out. 

The hallway is trapped, however, and nearly takes us out because of those traps. How fucking LOVELY. 

We hear the guards calling for someone, who finds the oTHER END OF THIS HALLWAY AND THEN SNIPES FREYR. Down. AGAIN. 

Then Rhozal is put down. 

Charles and Lydia are able to flee. 

Rhozal and Freyr are taken captive. 

We awake to find ourselves imprisoned. Manacled, in nothing but ragged clothing. The Speaker wants to make a deal. He literally says “Ah yes, I am corrupt and power hungry. Work for me.”

Look. Freyr is not about that life. It’s complicated but it has ties to his backstory.

Rhozal wants to say yes. Freyr is a vehement no. This guy thinks of him, Rhozal, and Lydia as precious pieces on his board. Weapons he can turn against the people of Targos and Ten Towns. Things for his own gain. Freyr would rather choose death before dishonor.

The Speaker then says that Freyr would be imprisoned, and let out once he became more useful. 

Rhozal fears he will be killed. 

It is at this point that I and Rhozal’s player go into the Secrets chat so Rhozal and Freyr can argue their points. 

Meanwhile, Charles and Lydia go to find some acquaintances the party made in Targos. Marianne, a Changeling healer, and Mimosa Halfglass, the chief healer in Targos. They start planning a prison break.

In our bickering and imprisonment, Marianne comes to us. We tell her to sneak out our things. She’s disguising herself as a guard. She then leaves. 

Rhozal’s player and I are then brought into the general vc and muted. 

Lydia ends up speaking with the Speaker alone, offers a counter-offer, and also offers to try and convince Rhozal and Freyr to take his deal. He allows her to try and do so. Lydia is shackled and put into the same cell we are. 

The session ends here. However, in the background, Lydia, Rhozal, and Freyr all end up talking. 

I will say this now. I am feeling... stuck with my boy. I love Freyr. I really do. However, I don’t feel... inspired to play him anymore. So the DM has told us we need to make a decision -- take the Speaker’s offer, or don’t. And in this decision, I have a second one, that being; do I continue playing Freyr, or do I introduce a new character. 

I feel like, while the others have ideas and plans, Freyr doesn’t have many. Not many plot things that he feels relevant to or connected by, outside of this prophecy he was given to by Odin in the session he lost his eye. However, that feels like a very late game thing, and I feel like I’m kinda... twiddling my thumbs while the others have things to do. 

My next character I have basically planned out. I know how he talks, how he thinks, his mannerisms, everything. And I really like him. Haven’t quite decided on a name yet, but I incorporated that aspect itself into his character. 

I already know that Freyr is a vehement ‘no’. Lydia and Rhozal tried to convince him otherwise, but my boy is stubborn. But the DM told me that things do not have to end there. 

So my decision by Wednesday is now -- who’s story do I play? Freyr’s, or this new character?

I’m still torn. But I am leaning more and more towards this new character. He feels dynamic, and the character is a class I’ve never played before. Plus I think he’ll get along well with Lydia, Rhozal, and Charles. 

It’ll be a heartfelt goodbye if he leaves. But I feel like his chapter has come to a close. Besides, I feel like he’s a bit too... third wheel-y for what Rhozal and Lydia have going on. He feels too awkward. I don’t like his dynamic too much anymore. 

But who knows, maybe I’ll regret the decision either way. However, I do believe it’s time for my paladin to say goodbye. At least at the time of writing. I’ll provide updates when the fateful day comes.]

[justabatter]

“ Okay you motherfuckers. . . “

“ I don’t know what I did to you to warrant this but you’ve got me pissed the F U C K off. You called and cried out for the B E A S T you claimed I was, now you’ve FUCKING G O T him, b a s t a r d s. “

Uh oh. What the fuck did YOU do? He always said he HATED the this form, although he never said he was fully incapable of transforming into him. Now you’ve pushed him into this and he’s not gonna change until he’s stopped. Good luck with that, he’s probably gonna wipe the floor with your sorry ass.

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

“ You wouldn’t stop, you COULDN’T STOP pissing me off. NOW HERE YOU GO. I A҉̵͢M ̴̴͝A͏͢ M̧͡ON̷͝͡U̧͝͡MȨ̴Ń͞T̀ ̀͝O͡F̡ ̀H̷A̸͏͝T͜E͠͠ ͠T̕O̶͘͢ ̀͏̀M͡Y̶ ͟E̢N͞E͟M̧͝IE̶S.̸̕ “

Jesus Christ why would you keep on pressing that button? WHY? Now you’ve put so much anger and stress on the poor Crocidile-lizardman that he’s B R O K E N. Broken to a point of him SMOLDERING in place. Whatever wounds you’ve inflicted poor a thick, molten black ichor that smolders and burns anything that touches it, the alabaster, scales hide replacing his pale skin from before burns and creates more wounds. Clothing gives off smoke as it is very slowly burned. The area has risen several degrees, and the space around him feels like a furnace. Everything stinks; not even of molten, carbonized sugar. It smells like one has heavily burnt ROTTEN sugar, an absolutely disgusting aura clings to his presence.

There is nothing but anger in thos eyes. And not that mindless, feral anger either. It’s almost like sentience is retained, if only fueled on eternal rage and HATE. A creature that has no redeeming qualities left; one fit only to DESTROY and BREAK.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Oh hi. This is the more interesting thing. It’ll never happen under normal circumstances but Bats can and WILL break when put under enough pressure (people strong enough to pose a threat, extraordinary levels of stress and anger, people provoking him, etc.) Under these circumstances he will repent into what I would call Bad!Bats syndrome. When he reverts to this, it’s... well it’s like a normal bad batter, the only real differences is the outfit change, and that his right hand is much smaller than his left (still larger than his normal hand) and is more human like, allowing for the ability to grip his weapon and swing it with some accuracy. His Addons DO merge with him, and during this they are manifested as chains you see around his arms and neck (as if the man was keeping this thing in check.) He has some rational thinking but his anger is unchecked, and he’s always in a state of FRENZY.

Now... during Bad!Bats, the man is incredibly prone to snapping. Easily pushed further into his condition. Continual provoking or further physical injury will cause the man to BURN. This is what we would call Burned!Bad-Bats. (Or BBB for short) In this form he has reached a point where his anger literally boils his blood, and becomes a rancid oil-like substance that further burns his flesh and smolders him. smoke POURS from his figure, and creates a aura of horrible-smelling air. He gains more sentience in this form although he lacks any sort of mercy and compassion or anything that makes him normal. Just a desire to CRUSH, KILL and DESTROY.

In both form he gains access to at least a few new attacks. In BB (bad bats) form his “Run with” skills inflict status effects if they hit, and his “Save” skills become “Steal”, in which he strikes enemies and heals the damage he inflicts. (With save 4th base being a chance to insta-KO his enemies) (Save secret base also increases his DEF on successful strike and heal for a few rounds) BBB gains access to “Run with Madness”, which is an area attack that strikes with the SUGAR element (and inflicts poison on successful strike), while both forms gain corrupted forms of [UTLIMATE HOMERUN), one that does area damage in a cone in front of him and the other does a strike that hits all around him in a large area.

... Oh yeah. Power scales with forms, with BB becoming a boss on its own, and BBB being something akin to a MMO raid boss. Good luck trying to defeat him, you’ll need it.

Also some bonus images:

The awesome @voltangr-fanstuffs did an earlier design of BBB and a picture with BB and bad forms of his Batter and a friends batter. You should go and tell him that he does good work, please.

[rhysand-vs-fenrys]

What if I try asking it differently? I am just curious to why he becomes evil. Is that easier to answer?

So much easier to answer~!!!

There are 2 reasons Wei Wuxian becomes the Yiling Patriarch (his formal title that the fandom usually uses as shorthand for Dark!Wuxian)

Below a cut, I know a couple of you are watching the show...

Reason 1: Power

Others site traditional cultivation as the only true path (use swords, kill monsters), but Wuxian uses Dark Cultivation- instead of suppressing monsters and ghosts, he harnesses the dark energy that fuels them and uses it to fight them directly. This is seen as sacrilegious, but it is really just an excuse. 

In reality, they want his power. Specifically, a device he created called the Stygian Tiger Seal, which makes him untouchable, almost a god among cultivators. He’s never used it for anything but good- to end a war they were all fighting, but no one trusts him to be the one to hold it (even though he created it and is the only one who can control it).

He is therefore branded “evil” because he won’t give this power over to someone who cannot control it and who already has indicated they will abuse it for their own ends.

But don’t mistake Wuxian for an innocent party- he is deeply impacted by the dark energy he’s harnessed and is losing the ability to control himself. He tries everything, but cannot ask for help from his best friend because in truth the reason he turned to Dark Cultivation is that the traiditonal form is now impossible for him- to save his little brother (and unknown to said little brother), Wuxian crippled himself. Essentially turning himself mortal. He has the rage of a dying man, drinks heavily, and cannot confide in anyone because he doesn’t want his brother to know the truth and feel guilty.

Wei Wuxian is swiftly losing the ability to control his own resentment, which means that when he taps into his power (which he does more and more frequently as he feels increasingly powerless in his own life), he is unable to control what happens. His power is based on instinct and emotion, and he increasingly isolates himself and alienates those around him (who are unable to empathize and understand that he is suffering).

Reason 2: Opposing Genocide

The war that Wei Wuxian ended was against the evil and cruel Wen Clan... but- it kind of wasn’t. It was against Wen Ruohan and his children, who subjugated the other clans and killed for sport.

After the war, the other clans decide to wage a genocide against all Wen, rounding up even children to slaughter. 

Specifically, what sends Wei Wuxian over the edge is the Dafan-Wen, a small village he had previous ties to. Wen Qing, the most powerful healer among the Dafan-Wen, was forced to serve Wen Ruohan, though she did everything in her power to help Wei Wuxian. it is Wen Qing who cripples Wei Wuxian to save his brother, so he holds a life debt to her. She is also one of only two who knows what happened- the other being her little brother Wen Ning.

Wen Qing is a good woman, and she risks her life to find Wei Wuxian and beg him to save her brother, who has even taken beatings in the past to help Wuxian. When Wei Wuxian confronts the other cultivators about the fate of Wen Ning, they essentially say “no one cares”. He has to force them, very publicly, to tell him where they are.

The Dafan-Wen have been taken as slaves. Even the youngest among them, Wen Yuan- only about 3 years old- has been forced to work in a labor camp where they are beaten and killed to be used for experiments. The leader of the Jin is trying to make his own Stygian Tiger Seal, since Wei Wuxian won’t hand his over.

Among them, Wuxian finds the kind and simple Wen Ning’s body, dumped among a field of corpses.

Wuxian snaps.

He fills Wen Ning’s body with resentful energy, turning him into a Living Dead-

Except Wen Ning wasn’t dead yet. Turning him into a Living Dead binds Wen Ning to a dying body and turns him into an ultra-powerful zombie-like creature, except fully capable of independent thought (though he is virtually impossible to defeat, his undead personality is 50% confusion and 50% lost puppy, earning him the fandom nickname The Soft Bulldozer).

Wuxian flees with the Dafan-Wen into the Burial Mounds, knowing no one would dare enter the cursed land. Wuxian alone can subdue the evil spirits that rip apart cultivators who venture inside, and because it is literally filled with mountains made of corpses, there is more resentful energy for Wuxian to control than anywhere else in the world.

He is utterly untouchable.

Until he isn’t.

Another person has been learning Wuxian’s dark path in secret. Even when he dies, Wei Wuxian has no idea they exist. Yet the enemy manages to temporarily gain control of Wen Ning and forces him to murder Wei Wuxian’s brother-in-law, framing Wuxian himself for the murder.

The Dafan-Wen, who have been living under Wuxian’s protection for over a year at this point, feel guilty towards him. He has lost his home and his family because of them, and they know he will continue to sacrifice whatever he needs to in order to keep them safe.

So Wen Qing knocks Wuxian out, and she, Wen Ning, and the Dafan-Wen he fought so hard to save all leave the Burial Mounds and turn themselves in, hoping it gives him back his life. Wen Ning, Wen Qing, and now-5-year-old A-Yuan, all gone.

((Lookit him, he’s stinkin’ cute. Wuxian considers him a son as much as anything, as A-Yuan’s parents are long dead. He is technically a cousin of Wen Ning and Wen Qing’s))

Instead of simply accepting the Dafan-Wen’s sacrifice, Wei Wuxian goes insane. 

He tries to race to save the Dafan-Wen, who he considers his family, and instead finds their corpses strung up across the gates of the Nightless City, while inside the Cultivators congratulate themselves and talk about how they will march into the Burial Mounds and kill him next (to steal that powerful object he has). They’re all clapping themselves on the back about their successful genocide, and pretending Wen Qing and the Dafan-Wen were so dark and evil when really they were the kindest people Wuxian ever met in his life.

Wuxian goes feral.

So why did he massacre 5,000 cultivators on the cliffs of Nightless?

For Wen Ning, Wen Qing, A-Yuan, and the Dafan Wen he gave up everything to protect, and the breathtaking hypocrisy of the “honorable” clans.

Since you asked this I figure you don’t care about spoilers, but Wangji shows up late to the battle and cannot save Wei Wuxian from himself. Wangji was late because he first tried to find Wuxian in the Burial Mounds and found something else instead---

An extremely ill A-Yuan, who was left behind for Wei Wuxian to raise as his own, but who Wuxian didn’t see as he ran to try and save the others. A-Yuan was sleeping behind a rock when Wuxian fled the cave, and the other man never knew the child was with him. By the time Wangji finds him several days have passed, and the child is near death.

After Wuxian dies on the cliffs of Nightless, Lan Wangji raises A-Yuan (who  has no memory of his childhood after recovering from his illness) as if he were his own son, in tribute to Wei Wuxian and the life with him that Wangji always wished to lead. 

It is A-Yuan, now fully grown, who first finds the resurrected Wei Wuxian 16 years later, even if Lan Sizhui (as he is now called) cannot understand why his heart tells him that as long as the strange man with the flute is around, he is perfectly safe from any harm.

and then Wangji forgets to tell Wuxian that is A-Yuan until the last episode..

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #93: Amakusa Shirou

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making everyone’s favorite priest, Kotomine Shi- sorry, Amakusa Shirou. Shirou is a perfectly nice guy with absolutely no dark side who’s working for the salvation of humanity. What a great guy.

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

Next up: The first half of Chaldea’s newest power couple.

Race and Background

Amakusa is a Human, but we need a lot of feats, so we’re going with the old standby Variant Human for +1 to Wisdom and Charisma, persuasion proficiency, and the Weapon Master feat so you can actually use a short-sword without embarrassing yourself. You also get proficiency with three other weapons, but we’re just here for the sword. And also the +1 to Dexterity.

You may not be a bard, but I’d say Grinner is still a pretty good fit- you’re familiar with fighting people in power, and you’re not above putting on an act to get your way. This gives you Deception and Performance proficiency, to help people buy your false identity, and make Semiramis a very happy woman.

Ability Scores

You’re a priest, so it’s not that surprising that Wisdom is your highest stat. You have to know what people want to manipulate them-that’s insight, and insight’s a wisdom skill. Speaking of manipulating people, you’re really good at that, so make Charisma your second highest stat. Third highest is Dexterity- men of the cloth don’t go around wearing plate mail, so you’ll have to keep your dexterity up if you want to not die again. Your Intelligence isn’t bad; you’re a good tactician, we just needed other stats more. Your Constitution isn’t that high, but we’re dumping Strength because we just don’t need it.

Class Levels

1. You’re a man of God, so we’re sticking with a 100% Cleric build this time around. Don’t worry, I’m almost totally sure there will be at least one ruler that isn’t a cleric eventually. Probably.

God gave you some fancy arms that let you tap into any kind of magecraft you want, so the Arcana domain is a good place to pick up some spells. You become an Arcane Initiate, gaining two extra cantrips from the wizard list. You can also cast and prepare Spells using your Wisdom to determine their strength and the amount you can prepare per long rest. You’re also proficient in Wisdom and Charisma saves, as well as Religion and Insight, for reasons explained in the ability scores section.

For spells, grab Guidance and Resistance to give yourself flashes of insight when you need it, as well as Toll the Dead for a ranged spell option and Booming Blade and Sword Burst to make your decision to pick up a sword less of a bad idea by empowering your weapon attacks and making it a bad idea to hang out in your melee range, respectively.

You also pick up Detect Magic and Magic Missile as domain spells, meaning they’re always prepared for you and don’t count towards the number of spells you have prepared. The former lets you root out any brewing issues in a grail war, while the latter lets you make three caster balls to lob at up to three targets without having to aim. Sometimes the dice just hate you, but this will help you pull off a miracle.

You’ll also be able to prepare spells that aren’t in your domain; I’d suggest checking out Command; it’s literally a command spell; Cure Wounds and Bless to convince your party that you’re a totally normal healer cleric, and Inflict Wounds for the people who insist on snooping around further.

2. Second level clerics can Channel Divinity once per short rest. You can use this feature in one of two ways; Turn Undead forces undead near you to make a wisdom saving throw (with a DC of 8 plus your wisdom modifier plus your proficiency modifier) or be forced to run away from you for up to a minute or until they take damage. Arcane Abjuration has a similar effect, but it targets a single Celestial, Elemental, Fey, or Fiend for the effect instead. If you find yourself facing more pedestrian enemies, you can also Harness Divine Power to recharge one spell slot with a level of half your proficiency bonus or lower as a bonus action. This feature uses one of your uses of Channel Divinity, and can only be used a number of times per long rest equal to the number of Channel Divinity uses you get per short rest.

3. Third level clerics get second level spells; Magic Weapon makes your short-sword more deadly, giving you a +1 on attack and damage rolls for up to an hour with concentration. Nystul’s Magic Aura makes it so much easier to hide what you’re doing from those pesky diviners, making a nonmagical item appear magical, a magical item appear nonmagical, or switching an item’s apparent school of magic. You can also mask creatures, changing their type or alignment as far as magical detection methods are concerned. These effects last 24 hours, but if you cast the same effect every day for a month, the illusion becomes permanent until dispelled. Make those paladins really respect you by showing up looking like a celestial- great fun at parties.

For outside-domain spells, Augury gives you visions from god, kind of; Spiritual Weapon gives you a sword that doesn’t require you be on the front lines, which really suits your squishiness; and Zone of Truth so that other people have to tell you the truth. Make sure you stay outside of it though: that would be awkward.

4. Use your first Ability Score Improvement to become an Eldritch Adept. Your noble phantasms unlock every kind of magic, and squid magic is no exception. This feat lets you pick up the eldritch invocation Armor of Shadows, letting you cast Mage Armor at will without using a spell slot. We’re not in FGO anymore, you can’t rely on your class advantage to save you.

You also get the Thaumaturgy cantrip. It has a variety of uses, including making distractions for when you don’t want to be noticed or making your voice three times louder for when you do.

5. At fifth level your Turn Undead becomes Destroy Undead, instantly killing undead of CR 1/2 or lower who fail their wisdom save. Similarly, your Arcane Abjuration becomes Arcane Banishment, banishing extraplanar creatures affected by your Arcane Abjuration for a minute if they’re CR 1/2 or lower. Both effects grow at the same time, so if I mention Destroy Undead later, know it applies to Arcane Abjuration as well.

You also get third level spells, like Dispel Magic to make sure your fancy magic effects are the only ones on the battlefield and Magic Circle to further ruin the day of Celestials, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, and Undead, blocking them from entering the circle, imposing disadvantage on attacks against creatures in the circle, and preventing them from charming, possessing, or frightening creatures in the circle.

Outside of your domain, take a look at Spirit Shroud if you’re dead-set on using your sword, Beacon of Hope to maximize your healing and minimize how often you have to heal, and Motivational Speech from Acquisitions Incorporated to turn your awesome manipulation skills into more tangible benefits for the party. Up to five creatures that hear you gain 5 temporary HP and have advantage on wisdom saves. If the creature is hit by an attack, they have advantage on the next attack roll they make. The spell ends for each creature after an hour, or once their temporary hit points are used up.

6. Sixth level clerics can Channel Divinity twice per short rest, and Arcana clerics become a Spell Breaker; healing an ally can also end a spell’s effect on them if the spell slot used for healing is higher than the spell you’re breaking. You’re a man of action. Spending one turn healing someone and another turn dispelling something on them is way too slow.

7. Seventh level clerics get fourth level spells, like Arcane Eye for visions from god in real time and Leomund’s Secret Chest for when you absolutely need to hide something. Turns out, very few people check the astral plane. Just be aware that there’s a chance of the chest staying on the astral plane forever, so don’t leave anything too vital in it.

Also consider getting Banishment for realisies, or Aura of Life to continue pretending to be a normal cleric.

8. Use this ASI to become an Inspiring Leader; spending 10 minutes to give creatures temporary HP equal to your level plus your charisma modifier once per short rest. Destroy Undead and Arcane Banishment both increase to effect CR 1 creatures now, and you learn Potent Spellcasting, adding your wisdom modifier to your cantrips’ damage.

9. Ninth level clerics get fifth level spells, like Planar Binding to force a Celestial, Fiend, or Fey to work for you for 24 hours. It’s a good way to practice your wording before you wish on the grail, because those slippery bastards will use every loophole they can find. You also learn how to make Teleportation Circles, which will make your party very happy that they no longer have to travel the long way.

10. At tenth level, God is willing to do you a solid with some Divine Intervention. Once per day you can ask your god to help you in some way that the DM agrees with. The likelihood of success increases as you level up, and succeeding with this means you have to wait a week before you do it again.

You also pick up Word of Radiance, because honestly why not at this point.

11. With this level, your Destroy Undead can effect creatures of CR 2 or lower. You also get sixth level spells, like Forbiddance. It locks down an area to planar travel, and Celestials, Fiends, and Fey who enter the area take radiant or necrotic damage if they show up without the password. Eventually you’ll put your scheme into action, and the last thing you need is your other party members teleporting in on you.

12. Use your next ASI to become a Skill Expert, giving you +1 Charisma, proficiency with Arcana, and Expertise in Deception. You might not be a rogue, but you’re pretty good at getting people to do what you want regardless.

13. Now you can use 7th level spells like Temple of the Gods, a quick and easy way to start your own villainous lair. Heroic lair, sorry. Only creatures you designate can open the door to the temple you make, and you can make the temple itself oppose Celestials, Elementals, Fiends, Fey, or the Undead, barring them from entrance with a Charisma save or weakening their movements in the temple. The temple blocks ethereal travel and scrying, and it empowers any healing done within it. The spell lasts 24 hours, but casting it every day for a year makes the temple permanent.

14. Fourteenth level clerics see their Destroy Undead effect creatures of CR 3 or lower. Not that exciting, but you’re probably busy building temples by this point.

15. At fifteenth level you get 8th level spells like Holy Aura, giving creatures of your choice around you advantage on all saves and imposing disadvantage on attacks against them. They also blind attacking fiends or undead if they fail a constitution save, because you haven’t been ruining the fiends’ day enough already.

16. Good news: We can finally use an ASI to improve our ability scores. Bump up your Dexterity so you can use your sword more efficiently and get hit less.

17. Seventeenth level is a big one. Your Destroy Undead effects CR 4 creatures, and you get ninth level spells. More importantly, you finally have enough power to use your big Noble Phantasm, Big Crunch. This is thanks to your Arcane Mastery, which lets you add a sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth level wizard spell to your domain spell list, meaning they’re always prepared and don’t add to your prepared spell amount. To make things simple, we’ll go from lowest level to highest here.

Gravity Fissure creates a line of energy that sucks in creatures around it, stretching out your dark matter for some extra utility. Prismatic Spray gives you some much-needed damage type versatility; burning, melting, shocking, poisoning, freezing, petrifying, or banishing up to eight creatures you target. Dark Star is much closer to what you’d expect from Big Crunch, creating a miniature black hole, creating a silent, darkened area of difficult terrain. While inside the area, creatures take large amounts of force damage, and any creature that reaches 0 HP in the star is disintegrated. For your ninth level spell, pick up Wish. Congratulations, you finally won the grail war. Just be careful what you wish for; any wish greater than copying a normal spell comes with a 33% chance of never being able to cast wish again.

18. You can use Channel Divinity three times per short rest but let’s be honest, it’s kind of a downgrade from getting wish last level.

19. Use your last ASI to improve your Wisdom for stronger and more prepared spells. 

20. Your capstone level is almost as good as wish, and comes with much less chance of bodily harm. At twentieth level, your Divine Intervention Improvement means your calls to God are always answered. I’m sure this won’t go to your head at all.

Pros:

Your selection of wizard spells makes you a very sneaky utility caster, opening up the ability to use magic as part of an information war by spying with arcane eyes and hiding powerful artifacts with Nystul’s Magic Aura and Leomund’s Secret Chest.

You’re strong against extraplanar incursions, with plenty of spells to shut down travel from other planes or shut down the travelers if they arrive. Block them with forbiddance, trap them with a magic circle, or bend them to your will with planar binding.

People don’t usually expect the cleric to be the sneaky one. Use this to your advantage to further your schemes while dropping all the blame on your local rogue. For the greater good, of course.

Cons:

We spent a lot of resources on giving you the option to use a sword. If you’re willing to give that up for extra magic, you’d be able to max out your wisdom, and you’d have a lot less difficulty early on.

Compounding that, you have a pretty low constitution, meaning your concentration spells are likely to fail, and you’re always at risk of being destroyed by Power Word Kill at higher levels. Or an appropriately angry barbarian, whichever comes first.

It takes a while for your kit to build up to its full strength. You took a lot of feats, which means it’s a while before you’re able to improve any ability scores. It could get a bit dicey in the midgame if you’re not careful. Your Arcana features aren’t particularly useful either if you’re not in a game about multiplanar events, at least not until level 17. Wishes are always pretty useful.

[kmseokjins]

Mellifluous (Chapter 2)

Fandom: BTS Pairing: BTS x Reader /  Poly!OT7 x Reader Warnings: n/a in this chapter Summary: You're scared and stuck in a house full of werewolves, but...you could be persuaded..

Notes: Annnd that's Chapter 2! I tell you, it's hard working trying to write 2 different chapters for 2 different stories! I've been bouncing back and forth between this and Thunderlight. Anyway, a little bit of insight to the supernatural workings of this world, annnd you've come to the conclusion that you're stuck, literally, in this tiny body for now. Rap line boys will show up next chapter! Until then, see y'all on the flip side!

PS: Happy 4th to my American readers! <3 Thanks for the likes and reblogs <3

Archive Of Our Own || Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

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

“Did you find her, Hyung?” The voice makes you jump, jerking your head sideways to look towards the door.

Great.

Now the other three are blocking the doorway, effectively blocking your exit from the room. You barely spare a glance at the three sets of feet standing at the doorway, before you’re snapping your attention back to the one closest to you. You feel slightly alarmed when he slowly gets back to his feet, and once he approaches the doorway, they move of his way.

“Stay there, I’m going to find her some food,” He calls over his shoulder as he disappears towards the kitchen.

You watch as one of the boys, the blond werewolf from the bed, lays on the floor by the doorway, squinting slightly as he peers under the bed, “I see her,” he announces, “She’s shaking like a leaf.” He frowns, tilting his head slightly.

“Well, you did scare her,” The dark haired werewolf from the bed joins the blond a few seconds later on the floor.

“I didn’t mean to,” A whine escapes the blond as he rests his chin on his forearms with a sigh.

“I don’t think it takes much to scare her right now, Jiminie,” This time, the third boy in the room speaks as he sits cross legged beside the other two. Your eyes widen slightly when you note his blue hair as he leans sideways to catch a glimpse of you under the bed.

“You three..” The older boy has returned, carefully stepping over the blond and dark-haired boys, and slowly lowering himself back to the side of the bed he was looking at you from earlier. He sets a container down, popping the lid off and reaching inside.

Your nose twitches at the smell of food, ears and eyes focused solely on him. Your tiny belly rumbles at the prospect of food. You hadn’t eaten for days.

You watch as he reaches out with a piece of meat, setting it down on the floor under the bed as far as he can reach, causing you to bunch yourself up slightly at his closeness. He withdraws his hand slowly, the piece of meat sitting a few inches away from you.

Flicking a glance between him and food, you only take a few seconds to decide. You stretch out slightly, snatching the piece of meat up before he can change his mind about giving it to you. You chew quickly, noting that the meat tastes much like chicken, before swallowing and waiting patiently.

Food Giver chuckles, before slowly offering out another piece on the floor. You don’t pay much attention to the fact that you have to reach for it each time, and that you’re slowly coming closer to him. At the edge of the bed, he holds out his hands, “All gone.”

You blink several times at him before curiously stepping over to stick your head in the container, nose twitching as you sniff. Damn. Nothing. Turning your head to look up at him again, you squeak in protest.

Food Giver offers out his hands towards you, and you sniff at them cautiously. You can smell the meat, but he’s obviously not hiding any from you. His right hand reaches up slowly, brushing against one of your ears. You tense and jerk at the feeling, but you don’t scramble away from him. When he reaches forwards again, you tense again when his hand brushes the tip of your ear once more. His hand moves to scratch gently at the fur at the base of your ear, and you turn your head slightly at the sensation.

For a werewolf, he has gentle hands. You decide. You can’t stop the purr that rumbles from your throat.

“...is she purring?”

“That’s so cute.”

“Can we keep her, Hyung?”

+++++++

“I don’t think management would like that very much.” Jin sighs at the collective whine from the three youngest members, “Aside from that, I’m pretty sure she belongs to someone.”

“They’re obviously not a good owner if she’s almost killed!” Jin frowns as the outburst from Jungkook has you darting back under the bed. He smiles when you peek up at him from the edge of the bed. Were you warming up to him?

“Do you know how to take care of a fox?” Jin suddenly asks the three, twisting slightly to look at them. He’s looking back down at you seconds later when he feels something cold brush against his hand. You’ve moved closer again, sniffing at his hands once more.

“Well...no..”

“We can learn!”

“She likes you already, Jin-Hyung.” Taehyung has inched closer to sit beside Jin, leaning into his eldest packmate. He grins when you turn your attention to him, head tilted before stretching out to sniff at him.

“Do you think she knows we’re not human?” Jungkook asks, watching you with rapt attention over Jin’s shoulder.

“Probably why she was scared,” Jin answers, carefully trying his luck at petting you again, which you allow.

++++++++++

You’ve tentatively decided that these four aren’t going to eat you.

It’s a gut feeling of safety, now that your initial terror at the fact that they’re werewolves has subsided. Despite the fact that you can’t understand what they are saying, you have a nagging feeling that these four are unaware you are anything but a fennec fox.

They are definitely discussing you, and you wish you could understand what they’re saying. At least then, you wouldn’t be in the dark about what exactly their discussing about you. You also wanted to know their names: Food Giver, Blue, Sleepy, and Blond weren't going to cut it for long. Plus, you were pretty sure there were three more werewolves missing from this group.

Seven werewolves. The number was low, at least it was if they were an official pack themselves. It wasn't uncommon for over a hundred werewolves to be apart of a pack, although big packs did tend to be broken down into subunits. Perhaps this pack was a subunit of a pack. Your knowledge on werewolves was rusty; the most prominent lesson about them was to give them a wide berth.

Werewolves and shifters didn’t tend to get along. To be honest, werewolves didn’t care for any shapeshifting creatures that weren’t werewolves. Werewolves and werecoyotes were especially known for being notorious enemies. You guessed you could lump fox shifters in with that, although you didn’t really count yourself as a fox shifter.

You were part of a handful of shifters who could essentially take on several different animal forms. As long as you could visualize the animal, you could take its form. Of course, if said animal was much larger it could be taxing on your ability to hold the form or even change into your human appearance.

You hadn’t been human for months. It was a deep seated instinct to not reveal yourself in human form. If you did, your captors could find you. Since you’d escaped their clutches without revealing yourself, you could breathe a little easier. Part of you wanted to change into your human form, but you couldn’t bring yourself to, or rather, you hadn’t been able to.

No matter how hard you tried to grasp the familiar feeling, you couldn’t. You knew you could change animal forms, but you didn’t dare put it to the test in front of the werewolves; they would definitely know you weren’t actually a fennec fox.

You were stuck in the fennec fox body. For how long? Days? Weeks? Months?

Stuck. Far away from home. At the mercy of werewolves.