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bitsandbobsofwriting · 4 years

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Merlin and Arthur bond like never before, and war preparations are being made

Morgana sees something... worrying

Part 3 of Merlin’s angry outburst.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5

The next morning, everyone is up early. Merlin pays a quick trip to Gaius, to inform him of his and Arthur’s plan for that evening (earning a raised eyebrow and a concealed smirk) before meeting Morgana at the castle gates, and heading off.

Everyone is busy, and no one in the gang crosses paths for more than a few moments the whole day.

Merlin and Morgana spend almost the whole day at the Druid camp, learning what they can, and asking for healers. (Morgana gives her own raised eyebrow and smirk when Merlin requests the ingredients he’ll need to forge a mental link, but doesn’t say anything.)

Gaius is busy bustling around with the servants he was provided, instructing them on what herbs to collect, where they would be found, and how to harvest properly.

Leon has Elyan, Gwaine, and Lancelot, lead small groups of knights in opposite directions, tasked with heading to the outermost villages, and warning them of the potential danger. Leon himself and Percival stay behind, and continue to oversee training and organisation of extra patrols, and intelligence gathering.

Arthur has meetings throughout the day, mainly focused on the public announcement that would take place the next day, as well as letters to be sent to the lower town. News travelled fast in Camelot, but they wanted to make sure that everyone knew as soon as possible.

Gwen spent the day moving between the forgery, Arthur, and Gaius, making sure everyone had what they needed, and pointing out flaws or missed opportunities wherever she could.

The council may have hated her when Arthur was first crowned (”She’s just a serving girl, My Lord!”) but Arthur had shut that down quickly, and made sure everyone knew that Gwen was a trusted advisor, and was to be treated as such. And even if he hadn’t made that point, no one could deny that she was quick witted, and always made good suggestions.

The Gang gathers once again in the evening, dining together. A small hall off to the side of the throne room had become their sort of HQ, the place they congregated for meals and meetings for just the ten of them. There was only one door in, and they each had their own keys (the only ones made).

Each of them updates everyone on their progress, one by one.

Leon informs the group of when Elyan, Gwaine, and Lancelot are expected back (not for a while, it was a couple days ride to the furthest villages, and they had plenty of places to visit), and how the training is going.

Gaius happily reports that preparations for the infirmary were going quickly, even more so when he was joined by all the healers that M+M had brought back with them from the Druid camp.

Gwen tells that, whilst progress was slow at the moment, the forgery was expecting a large shipment of materials by the end of the week, and work would speed up drastically once it arrived.

Morgana reports that the Druids have only seen what she has, but they’ve promised to spread the word, and try to gather any extra information. They would be sending a few more healers once some more of the Clans had gathered together.

All in all, it’s been very successful. Despite the Kingdom only being one day into preparations for a full scale war, things are going smoothly, and none of them are feeling the pressure of panic in their skulls.

The meeting only lasts as long as dinner does, everyone still having important tasks to complete before it was time to sleep.

Other than Merlin and Arthur, Gaius is the last to leave the room, looking back and saying (with a raised eyebrow, of course):

“I’ve left everything you’ll need in The King’s chambers, do you wish for me to join you and oversee it, in case?”

Merlin replies first (not quite sure why he’s blushing):

“No, no it’s fine. Thank you Gaius. We can always send a guard for you if we need anything.” With that, Gaius heads off, and with a deep breath, Merlin stands, and gestures for Arthur to follow.

They make their way to Arthur’s chambers quickly, the silence just a little uncomfortable. Both of them wondering if they should ask the other if they’re sure one last time. Neither of them say anything.

They enter the rooms to see that Gaius has indeed placed everything neatly on the table, one of his old books lying open on a specific age, and two pain relief potions set to the side.

“Merlin are you-

“I’m fine with it, but are you-”

Both of them speak at the same time, before chuckling quietly and pausing. Merlin is the first to speak again:

“It’ll only take a few minutes to put everything together, but then there’s a spell to be said by both of us-”

Arthur widens his eyes in slight panic at that, but Merlin interrupts before he says anything:

“Don’t worry, you can just repeat after me. You’ll have to copy the symbol as well, I’ll need to paint something over your heart, and then you’ll have to paint the corresponding one over mine, you can copy from the book.”

Arthur takes a deep breath in an effort to calm his nerves (it doesn’t work) before replying to a now busy Merlin:

“I’m not magic and I... what if I get it wrong?”

Merlin looks up from the table, and smiles gently before responding:

“Nothing. I mean we’ll probably still get a headache, but other than that... we’d just have to try again tomorrow. No big deal.” He shrugs before looking back down at everything on the table.

Arthur watches him with interest and sits on the opposite side of the table, trying to get a peak at the words or symbols in the book.

After a few minutes, Merlin has a sweet smelling paste in a bowl and two paintbrushes in his hand. He walks round the side of the table, pulling the book towards him, still open. He grabs a stool and stands it in front of him, where he puts the bowl and paintbrushes.

He gestures for Arthur to stand opposite him, and unlaces the loose tunic he’s wearing. He pulls it to the side, exposing the space on his chest over his heart, indicating for Arthur to do the same.

“Right. Our left hands go on the back of each others head,-”

(Arthur struggles not to swallow at that, and nods, pushing the blush down)

“-and they need to stay there the whole time. Our right hands need to be holding a paintbrush each. They need to be over the bowl, crossed over one another, yours on top. I’ll say the spell, bit by bit, you repeat after me. When we speak we need to look at each other. Once the vocal spell has been cast, it’ll get a little glowy in here, but just ignore it, alright? After that, I’ll touch my brush to the paste. You don’t need lots, and the symbol needs to be painted in one motion, so don’t panic if you run out, it doesn’t matter, just keep going. I’ll paint the symbol at the top of the page on your chest, you need to hold still though, keep your hand in place over the bowl. Once I’ve done, I hold my paintbrush over the top of yours, you lower yours into the bowl, and then paint the symbol at the bottom of the page, onto my chest. We don’t have to hold eye contact for that, so you can look down as much as you need to, to copy it right. After it’s done, both paintbrushes can be put down, and we touch foreheads over the bowl. That’ll be the spell done, and we can move back, the pain will only start after all that has been done, and it’ll only last a few minutes, before it begins to lessen. Gaius left us some pain relief. We can practice actually talking to each other later on. Understand all of that?”

Arthur thinks for a just a second, before nodding. He’s very much grateful for all his knight and noble training at this point, he has a good memory for detailed instructions, good enough that not even his nerves could make him forget what to do.

Merlin seems completely unfazed, I suppose because A) in the grand scheme of things, it’s a very simple spell, and B) he’s focussing more on the magical aspect than the fact that basically every step of this spell, was increasingly intimate.

Arthur tries to force his mind to do the same, as Merlin receives his nod. The Sorcerer picks up his paintbrush, and cups the back of Arthur’s head, nodding at Arthur to do the same.

Arthur follows his instructions to the letter. He concentrates so much on repeating exactly what Merlin said, and painting the symbol exactly like it was drawn in the book, that he doesn’t notice Merlin’s fond smile on him.

Arthur has always pursed his lips slightly when focusing, and it’s one of the many small mannerisms that Merlin struggles to look away from.

It comes time for them to touch foreheads, and Arthur takes a deep breath as he feels Merlin pull him forward (and he does the same to Merlin).

They hold eye contact, and Arthur has to hold in a gasp at the feel of Merlin’s magic flowing through him from the moment their heads meet. Merlin holds them there for a few seconds, before letting go and stepping back, Arthur following suit.

Within seconds, both of them are doubled over and groaning, hands clutching their heads as the feeling of warm, gentle magic is replaced by a splitting headache.

Like Merlin had said, it only lasted for a couple minutes at that high intensity, but it feels like forever.

At long last, the stabbing agony turns into a dull ache. Still in a great deal of pain, but not so much that they can’t open their eyes and head over to the table to down their pain relief potions.

At Arthur’s vague gesture, the both of them head over to the two armchairs in front of the fire, and they collapse in their respective seat, each holding their heads in their hands.

(Arthur had the second comfy chair moved to his chambers after a year or so of Merlin always sitting in his, when he first stated working for him. Merlin noticed, but never mentioned it, and the new chair, though it was never said out loud, became his.)

Arthur speaks (more like groans) after a few minutes:

“I thought those potions were supposed to help?”

“Well, it’s magical pain. Curing it isn’t an exact science. Plus the pain is sort of part of the spell, it’ll have mostly faded by the morning. I can always put together something stronger if it stops us from sleeping.”

Arthur looks up at Merlin for the first time as he begins to speak again:

“So... did it work? I feel a little odd but I don’t know if that’s the headache, or whatever happened when we touched heads, or what?”

Merlin looks up, and raises his eyebrow, before saying, wordlessly:

“Yeah. It worked.”

Arthur widens his eyes at that, before scrunching his face up (Merlin just about manages to not laugh at him) in concentration, and staring at Merlin intensely:

“Am I doing it? Merlin can you hear thiiiiiiiis? Merliiiiiii-”

Merlin laughs, before actually saying:

“Yes. Gods shut up Arthur, yes you’re doing it. It’s not exactly difficult.”

Arthur joins in his laughter:

“Sorry sorry, I just wanted to make sure. What now, is that?”

“I mean, yeah, we should probably-” he huffs slightly:

“We should probably practice. You need to get used to doing it over longer distances, and whilst we’re concentrating on other things, so you don’t get caught off guard. We can just keep each other updated across the day tomorrow, that should be plenty of time for you to get used to it.”

Arthur puts his “concentration face” on again as:

“Yes you’re probably right. Just don’t say anything stupid whilst I’m in a meeting, can’t be distracted by your idiocy.”

Merlin smirks slightly, but Arthur sits up straighter, and interrupts him before he can say anything:

“Can we do the same with images? Like could we show each other what we were seeing? I imagine that would come in very handy.”

Merlin furrows his eyebrows slightly:

“It’s headache inducing, and takes a lot more energy and concentration, but we could, if it was an emergency. I’ve never done it before. We’ll have to practice at some point, if we get a quiet day.”

Arthur nods in thought, and waves around the room, focussing on the window and the laid, but cold, fireplace:

“Could you...?”

Merlin nods his head, his eyes flashing gold as the curtains draw themselves and the fireplace bursts in to roaring flames.

“Thank you.” is spoken is Merlin’s head as Arthur once again puts his head in his hands, grumbling as he rubs his temples. The conversation had helped distract for a moment, but both of them still had terrible headaches.

“Something tells me it won’t take long, you’re already using it like it’s second nature. Though you’ll have to keep an eye on that, remember we have to actually speak out loud to other people, still.”

Arthur hums, but doesn’t look up. Merlin takes that as a cue to end the conversation, and uses magic to wave over the book he was currently reading.

The Sorcerer pulls his feet up on the chair (his chair), and settles in to read another chapter, opposite from the King, who stares into the fire, deep in thought.

Arthur doesn’t take anything that the war declaration said to heart, he knows he’s done right by his people, and on good days, he’s even proud of his accomplishments, as opposed to feeling like he’s still atoning for his father’s evils.

But still. The fact that someone was this opposed to Camelot’s new found prosperity was disturbing, not only politically, but personally. What of the people under this neighbour-tyrant’s rule? Are they suffering? They will surely feel the fallout of this war more than Camelot’s people.

Arthur was caught between guilts. It would be far too dangerous to offer refuge from this tyrant’s rule, it would undoubtedly be taken advantage of by spies and usurpers. But could he, in good conscience, leave those people to suffer under whoever would replace him? When Camelot inevitably prevailed?

These thoughts plague Arthur for a while, and he’s only broken from his spiralling worries when a thump to his side, has him look up rapidly.

He lets out a quiet chuckle as he realises Merlin has fallen asleep in the other armchair (in Merlin’s chair), the heavy book dropping to the floor.

Arthur gets up quietly, stretching his back, and noting that while his head still hurts, it isn’t nearly as painful as it used to be.

He wonders over to his bed, dragging two blankets back to the chairs by the fire.

One, he drapes over Merlin.

Arthur stands over him, and gently strokes the hair back from his face, smiling fondly as his former-manservant shuffles slightly, leaning into his hand, and mumbles unintelligibly in his sleep.

The other, he wraps around himself before settling back into his own chair, resuming the contemplative staring into the fire. Though this time, he’s thinking on the gap between him and Merlin, and how small it had gotten over the years.

You’d think that such a train of thought would be focused on the big things: the battles, the near death experiences, the emotional speeches... the outburst in the woods. But no. They barely crossed his mind. Rather, Arthur was thinking on the small things: the small smile Merlin saved for hurt children when he called them brave, the fire in his eyes when he challenged an arsehole councilman, the pride on his face when Morgana succeeded in her lessons.

Knowing of Merlin’s magic had been an important stepping stone, but a stepping stone nonetheless. Since then, in the time that had passed, he had learnt all the seemingly unimportant things that made Merlin, Merlin.

His favourite colour was blue (blue like the sky and blue like Avalon and blue like the cover of his favourite book (blue like Arthur’s eyes, not that Arthur knew that)).

His favourite season was spring (spring with flowers and baby animals and the world breathing around you. Arthur could almost see Merlin vibrating in time with the world at spring, which didn’t surprise him, once he learnt how tied to nature his magic was).

His favourite holiday was Yuletide (Yuletide with family and dancing and singing and true freedom, all ending in a new beginning, the world getting to start again, in a small way).

His birthday was the first day of the new year (truly, a new year, and a new beginning).

His favourite food is blueberries (but really, he loves any sweet fruit. Never one for actual candy though, maybe he just wasn’t used to such luxuries. Arthur found himself wanting to provide Merlin with every luxury he could ever want).

His childhood was full of mischief and fear (running around pranking people with Will all day, and going home in the evening to find nightmares filled with red cloaks and smoke and a pyre just for him).

Arthur had spent the last nine months making sure that Merlin would never have such nightmares again. He came damn close to changing the Pendragon colours when Merlin told him of the Red Cloak detail.

Before long Arthur also finds himself nodding his head, but moving to his bed means waking Merlin up and sending him away, and honestly? Arthur would happily wake up with a crick in his neck, if it meant he could fall asleep to the sounds of Merlin, gently snoring through the night.

With that final thought, he finally drifts to sleep in his armchair, warmed by the fire, and Merlin’s presence.

The next morning, King Arthur, flanked by his Court Sorcerer, his Court Seer, and his First Knight, announces to a large crowd the news of the impending war.

The people are worried, but he speaks to them honestly, and they respect that. Arthur tells them of the preparations being made: the outer villages already being warned, the partnership with the Druids, the preparations of both medical supplies and the tools of war.

As they thought, word spreads quickly. The city is bustling with people. No matter the war declaration, work still has to be done, but the air is abuzz with gossip and chatter. Arthur is thankful, for the lack of panic, and sends a grateful smile to Merlin when:

“You did good. They respect, and trust you. Be proud.” echoes in his head.

Time passes

After a week or so, the first refugees from the outer villages start arriving, and a few days later, Elyan, Gwaine, and Lancelot make it back, having delivered the notice to all of the outlying settlements.

Like Gwen had said, work in the forgery greatly sped up, and the armoury was being stocked up.

With the help of all the Druid Healers, Gaius’ preparation of the infirmary was going quickly, and he was pleased with the progress.

Morgana was seeing bits and pieces of what The Magicians (M+M and the Druids, named by Gwaine) interpreted to be the big battle, but weren’t seeing how it would start, or how it would end.

It took the people of Camelot (including Arthur) a while to get used to it, but Merlin also had Kilgharrah and Aithusa doing daily fly overs of the whole kingdom.

Magic wasn’t illegal in the opposing kingdom, but was taken advantage of by the crown, and Merlin didn’t want to risk them sneaking up on Camelot somehow, without anyone noticing until it was too late.

Merlin did indeed check on the tunnels like he wanted. He made doubly sure that he knew where all the exits were, and the best ways to defend them. As far as he knew, no one outside the castle knew they were there, so they could be used as an emergency evacuation plan, hopefully with the opposition taking a while to catch on.

Though Arthur liked to remind Merlin that that sort of action probably wouldn’t be necessary. The fighting would hopefully take place no where near the actual city, and even if they did, Camelot was still stronger than their opponent.

Over this time, Merlin and Arthur continued to take advantage of their mental link. Unless in the presence of other people, they spoke almost exclusively in their heads.

Arthur’s poker face was getting much better as well. Merlin's constant snarky comments during council meetings was definitely the main source of practice.

It was during such a meeting, that Morgana burst in, and looked between Merlin and Arthur frantically, before saying:

“I’ve seen it. It’s coming!” Arthur reacts first, yelling at the council:

“Everyone out, right now!-”

He then turns his attention to one of the guards:

“Go fetch Sirs Gwaine, Elyan, Percival, and Lancelot. They should be on the training ground, hurry!” (luckily, this was a rare meeting that everyone else in The Gang was already attending)

With that the guard rushes out, and the remaining members of the council (Arthur, Gwen, Gaius, Merlin, Leon, and now Morgana) rush to their side room.

As they enter, Merlin’s eyes flash gold, and he waves his hand, pushing the table and all but one of the chairs to the side of the room.

The last chair he moves to sit right in the middle, and Morgana quickly settles on it, closing her eyes.

A few minutes later, the knights come rushing in, Gwen murmuring quietly:

“Morgana has seen something, I think her and Merlin want to try and show us.”

Merlin nods to Leon, and he locks the door behind him.

The Sorcerer thrusts his arm towards the floor, and mutters a spell under his breath. His eyes flash gold, and soon enough, the room is filled with steam so thick, no one can see even a foot in front of them. They hear Merlin speak through the fog:

“Alright Morgana, just like we practiced. Focus on what you saw, and push it out of your mind, and onto the steam. Keep your breathing slow, and try to keep things chronological, clear your mind and think of nothing else.”

Morgana hums, and the group hear her take a deep breath (certainly calmed by the fact that Gwen and made her way to her, and had placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, receiving a grateful smile from Merlin).

Within moments, everyone begins to see shapes moving in the fog, and hear sounds echoing around the room.

It takes a minute or two for things to come into focus, and the fog seems to sharpen. The Gang find themselves stood in the middle of a field, all in grey. Everything is slightly blurry, and if they squint, they can see the walls of the room around them through the illusion. Arthur speaks:

“This is where the battle happens?-”

A nod from Morgana, who still sits in a chair with closed eyes, prompts Arthur to continue:

“Does anyone recognise it?” Gwaine speaks first, snapping himself out of the shock at what was happening:

“Yeah, I do. I rode through it on the way back from handing out the notices. It’s a huge meadow maybe a three days ride to the North?”

Before anyone can reply, figures, also in grey, start to fade in around them, the first to come into focus being Merlin, closely followed by Arthur stood next to him. The real Arthur stares, obviously slightly disconcerted:

“Ok... that’s a bit weird...”

The fog!M+A look serious, glancing at each other quickly and nodding, before walking in opposite directions.

Fog!Arthur fades, the scene following fog!Merlin as he stalks across the field, before stopping suddenly. He frowns slightly, before seeming to look straight at real!Merlin, and saying:

“I’m sorry. But it’s coming. I can’t stop it, I tried. This is the only way. Just... relax... it’ll hurt less. Four days.”

Real!Merlin frowns, but gasps and takes step back as fog!Merlin looks at him meaningfully, before taking a deep breath and turns away, continuing to walk.

The weather changes, beginning to rain, and if everyone wasn’t so preoccupied by what had just happened, they would’ve laughed at fog(future?)!Merlin going “Oh for fucks sake, why am I always right?” under his breath.

Suddenly, the scene changes entirely.

On the floor lies a body, on his side, but face down, a sword through his back, poking out through his chest. Whoever it was had been attacked from behind. Rain still pours.

If anyone had looked up, they would’ve noticed the meadow completely free of other bodies. A battlefield that had apparently held only one fight.

The Gang jumps, as they hear a yell, and turn to see fog!Arthur race towards a figure no one had noticed.

Fog!Arthur cuts them down quickly, barely paying attention, before falling to his knees next to the body:

“No.... no no no, Come on Merls, don’t do this to me.”

Everyone apart from Merlin gasps at this, watching as fog!Arthur turns the body over.

A vacant fog!Merlin stares up at the sky, unmoving, eyes glassy, blood trickling from his mouth, as fog!Arthur continues to mutter to himself unintelligibly.

Before anyone can react, the scene fades again, completely this time.

The fog melts into the floor, the room around them revealed again, as Morgana slumps in her seat, breathing deeply.

No one looks away from the spot where Merlin’s body had been until Merlin interrupts the tense silence:

“That’s not... good.” He doesn’t look scared, despite finding out that he would apparently die at some point in the near future.

Everyone looks up at him in shock, tears in Arthur’s eyes, and fear and sadness in Morgana’s, but before anyone can say anything, he speaks again:

“There’s a storm brewing at the moment, it should start in about four days, that’ll be what he... what I meant earlier. No armies. That would explain why Morgana hasn’t seen the original Bloody Battle visions in a while... no battle? Hmm.” He seems to be muttering to himself, but looks up as Arthur grabs his shoulders:

“You won’t be going. You can stay back and help at the main infirmary.”

Everyone nods in agreement, but Morgana shakes her head, before saying (obviously tired):

“That’s not how it works. The more.... solid, my visions are, the more likely they are to happen. I’ve never had a vision that clear. And you heard what Merlin... or Future Merlin, said. This is happening.” She looks to Merlin with fear in her eyes:

“You’re going to die. In four days.”

The room once again looks to Merlin, all very confused at why he looks more thoughtful than anything. He shrugs off Arthur’s hands and paces slightly. He let’s out a thoughtful hum before looking at Morgana:

“I don’t suppose you can remember anything about that sword? Did it seem strange to you or... just a sword?” At Morgana’s confused expression, he points absentmindedly to his own chest.

Arthur interrupts:

“What does that matter? It was a sword, Merlin, through your chest. I don’t care what either of you say. We’re keeping you away from that meadow. I’ll lock you up if I have to, you’re not going.”

Merlin looks at him apologetically:

“Of course it matters. Depending on whether whoever that sword belongs to has done anything funky to it or not, I’ll just wake up again-”

He waves his hand casually:

“-and besides. You have nothing here that I couldn’t break out of, Arthur. There really are only one or two things that can tie me down properly, and I’m sure as shit not gonna tell you what they are now. Morgana? The sword?”

She looks shocked at his casual approach before replying:

“Uhh... it didn’t feel evil or anything. It just felt like a sword, but I wouldn’t bet on it. You’ve seen how my meditations have been going recently, not everything is in focus, I could have missed an enchantment easily. I would tell you not to risk it but.... I know you. And that vision was clear. Nothing is going to stop you from... that.”

Merlin nods thoughtfully, but Arthur seems to be getting more panicked, but before he can speak, Leon interrupts:

“Wait... backtrack a minute. What do you mean “wake up again”? Merlin there was a sword through your chest. That was very much a... killing, blow.”

Merlin sighs and looks around the room, finally seeming to notice how horrified everyone looked:

“You guys... remember that I’m immortal right? Unless someone stole one of my dragons without me realizing, and made another Excalibur type weapon, again, without me realising... then I should be fine.”

Arthur bursts, grabbing Merlin once again:

“Merlin that... that was not fine! The future me was freaking out, and you weren’t waking up! There has to be another way. I won’t risk it.”

Merlin ignores him, looking instead to Gwaine:

“You said it was a three days ride away? To the North?” Gwaine nods hesitantly, and Merlin looks towards Leon:

“Have the army gather outside the city gates, but tell them that they’re not going anywhere. It looks like me and Arthur are going to be able to sort this out without any... or... you know... without any permanent bloodshed. But they should be ready just in case. Morgana, take tonight to rest, and build your strength. You’re going to be staying here, the last line of defence, if it comes to it.-”

He’s interrupted by Elyan:

“NO. Look I saw it as well as anyone in this room. But we are not leaving you. We are a family, we hold Camelot in our hands, and we won’t leave you to do this alone. We’ll all be there. You want us to stand back and watch? Fine. But you and Arthur are not doing this without us. Not this time.”

Morgana forces herself to stand, with Gwen’s support. Everyone in the room gives a decisive nod as she speaks:

“He’s right. Nothing you can do, Lord Emrys, will stop us from following you to that meadow.” Merlin looks about to argue, but she narrows her eyes at him, and he deflates.

He looks around the room, at his family, and sees their faces. All set in stone. They had just seen his body, and they weren’t going to let him do it alone, not this time.

He nods slightly, pretending that his eyes aren’t filling with tears. He reaches up and squeezes Arthur’s hand, still on his shoulder, as he sadly smiles:

“...Ok. I... thank you. If we want to get there in time, we’ll need to leave today.”

“We need them all distracted so we can slip away.” echoes through Merlin’s head, but before he can respond, Gwen speaks up, her voice strong and determined:

“I’ll go tell the stables to get our horses ready immediately, and grab some supplies from the kitchen. Everyone meet in the courtyard in half an hour.”

Percival:

“I’ll go to the stables, you head straight for the kitchens and I’ll meet you there after and help.” Gwen gives a firm nod, and the two of them leave. Gaius speaks up next:

“I’ll gather some medical supplies, and fetch some things from my chambers, and then let the infirmary staff know what’s going on.” and he leaves without waiting for a response. Morgana speaks up next:

“I’m going to grab a change of clothes for everyone. You (gesturing to Arthur) need to grab your armour.”

She looks to Elyan questioningly:

“Yeah I’ll help. I’ll grab spares for the knights, you grab something for yourself, Merlin, The King, and Gwen.” The two of them leave, exiting the room and heading in different directions.

Arthur speaks next, but directs it to Leon:

“Have the armies gather around the city, the bulk of the force on the North side. Tell them what’s happening. Hopefully we won’t need them but... if we fail, they need to be ready.”

Leon says nothing, but gives a firm nod, and marches out of the room, heading to ring the emergency bell at the training grounds.

“Well that wasn’t too difficult. What about these two?” Is what manifests in Merlin’s head this time, and he replies quickly:

“I don’t know, but quickly. If you take too long, they’ll know you’re just coming up with excuses to get rid of them.”

Arthur looks to Lancelot and Gwaine, but before he can say anything, Gwaine laughs and interrupts him:

“Absolutely not, princess. There’s nothing left to be done, you two just want to sneak off without anyone noticing, and we won’t let you.”

Arthur huffs at that, and Merlin raises an eyebrow at him:

“I told you they wouldn’t fall for it.” Arthur gives his Sorcerer a withering glare:

“Shut up, Merlin.” Merlin just laughs in response, ignoring the confused looks on Gwaine and Lancelot’s faces.

Lancelot drops the look, and speaks:

“Ok I don’t know what that was, but Gwaine’s right. ALL of us, are going to your chambers so you can get your armour, and then ALL of us are heading down to the courtyard.”

Arthur huffs once again before marching from the room, his Sorcerer and two knights trailing closely behind him.

As agreed, 30 minutes later, all of them are gathered in the courtyard. Morgana and Elyan had packed each of the horses with spare clothes, and the food that Percival and Gwen had bought.

It wasn’t much, but it would do them for the first night, they would definitely have to hunt whilst they travelled, but that’s not unfamiliar to them.

With one last look at each other, they ride out towards the Northern City Gates, Arthur leading the way.

After Leon had informed the knights of what was going on, he had called an emergency council meeting, and informed them as well. They weren’t happy, but Leon put his “in-charge” voice on, and told them to deal with it.

They reached the gates, and Arthur nodded at a grave Gwaine to take the lead. Not a word has been spoken since they met up in the courtyard, and they ride out in silence.

Merlin glances at Arthur next to him:

“Everything is going to be ok, Arthur.”

He gets no response.

I feel kinda bad leaving it there, but just like I thought it would, it was getting a tad too long.

THIS IS COMPLETED!! Part 5 (final part) has been posted.

If y’all want my thoughts on anything specific, let me know :)

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attllhak · 3 years

Text

@lu-sky-lian Hey! Here’s more Sky fic, as promised. (Sorry it took so long I got busy today.)

This is for the merAU I can up with during the last week of May because MerMay. It was way easier to find this than the WingAU fic, it turns out. I’ll still find that and post it maybe tomorrow.

Regardless, a bit of background for the merAU first: I am of the firm opinion that merfolk should be less human and so everyone here has way more fins and scales. Because that’s way cooler. Also, the communicate using bioluminescence because I think glowy mermaids are cool. My best friend did draw Warriors for this AU, so if you need/want a better idea of how they look, lemme know and I’ll ask said artist best friend about posting that at some point. Oh! And also there are three types of merfolk here: Mer, which are like ‘standard’ mermaids, Merrow, which can freely switch between having a tail or legs, and Half-Mer, which I’ll go into more detail for when I finally get around to writing the fic introducing Hyrule and Legend to this AU. Also, Knight is what I nicknamed pre-Calamity/AoC Wild, so that’s who I’m referring to when that name comes up.

There’s more to the details than this, but they aren’t really relevant and this is getting ramble-y already. If you want to know more about my worldbuliding for this AU then shoot me an ask and I can elaborate more.

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

Sky frowned, watching a crab waddle around the reef.

The crab, which he’d named Crabbert about five minutes ago, had shown up a short while ago and had been just waddling around since then. Sky had decided to watch it.

He didn’t have much else to do, after all.

He knew that Artemis and General were busy trying to figure out how to deal with the recent poachings, but he wasn’t exactly helpful on that front.

Their pod had never been the safest, it’s why their matriarchs were so young, but even he knew that two poachings focused on their guard was bad.

He missed Warriors and Knight. The two other Links had trained with him to join the guard, and it just seemed, dull without them. He missed Knight coming up with a stupid idea and Warriors arguing about how to do it safely and without getting caught. He missed then doing the stupid thing with them and promptly getting caught, though only sometimes hurt.

He missed the excited way Knight would shoot up to the surface when he saw the marine research ship that came by now and then. He missed running after Warriors when one of the girls would decide to flirt with him, only to get mad when he decided to dissuade them by flirting back, but worse.

He missed his friends.

He couldn’t do anything to help though, so he just kept watching Crabbert amble around.

He turned when he saw the flashing of another mer, and smiled and waved at his girlfriend. She smiled back at him, floating just a bit above him.

‘So, what are you doing?’ She asked, floating down next to him.

‘Watching Crabbert,’ he replied, twisting to point at the crab in question.

Sun folded her arms on his shoulder and they both watched Crabbert for a while.

She tapped his shoulder after a while, and he twisted to look at her again.

‘There’s talk of moving the pod,’ she told him.

Sky frowned, thinking. On the one hand, he understood that choice. This reef wasn’t safe for them, so it made sense to move. But on the other, what if Warriors or Knight came looking for them and they weren’t here?

Sun, thankfully, didn’t say more than that, just swimming down to wrap her arms around one of his. He was so lucky to have her.

They floated there for a long while, absentmindedly watching Crabbert putter around and do it’s thing while they thought.

(---)

‘Sky, I have a mission for you,’

Sky gripped his spear tightly, drawing comfort from the soft hum of the trident in support. It was never a good sign when General called someone in to request a mission. Shield, the almost ancient former matriarch, floating behind her was an equally daunting sight.

‘Yes, Lady Impa?’ Sky said, swallowing. They may have given out nicknames to everyone who shared names in the pod, but you always addressed a matriarch with her real name.

Plus, Sky was a little bit scared of the lionfish mer.

‘Our pod cannot stay here,’ General pointed out to him, looking away.

‘I understand that,’ he said, once it was clear she wanted prompting.

General sighed. ‘Sky, you were good friends with Warriors and Knight, yes?’

Sky furrowed his brow, confused, but nodded.

‘We have asked the marine researchers that knew Knight to look for him, but we have no one we can send to find Warriors,’ General took a deep breath. ‘What I’m about to ask you is dangerous. It’s risky, and there is no guarantee of success. Not guarantee that you’ll even make it back to us,’

‘You want me to go after Warriors,’ Sky guessed, setting his jaw. ‘I’m in,’

General blinked at him. ‘I…’ she trailed off, then sharply shook her head. ‘I hadn’t expected you to agree so quickly,’

Sky straightened up, holding his trident tightly next to him. ‘With all due respect, my Lady, it was never even a question. I’d go after Knight too, if you asked me to,’

‘You might not come back,’

‘I know,’

‘It will be dangerous,’

‘Living here is dangerous,’

‘More dangerous,’

‘I’m not scared,’

General looked him up and down, and he swore he saw her smile.

‘Lady Impa the First will brief you on everything you need to know,’ she waved an arm and the old mer swam up, eying Sky herself.

She was very intimidating, harsh and unforgiving in her expectations, but Sky didn’t even twitch as she approached.

‘Come.’ Was all she said, and Sky followed.

(---)

The next day, Sky had a bag that contained a map to the new home they’d found and a few supplies, his trident on his back as he pressed his forehead to Sun’s, the closest form of intimacy between mer. He accepted a hug from Groose, and then he turned and swam in the direction the ship that had stolen Warriors went in.

He just hoped he found his friend in the water, and wouldn’t need to find a merrow to chase the poachers inland.

He was going to bring his friends home.

#linked universe #lu #lu sky #lu sun #impa #general #shield #shield is the nickname my friends and i gave sksw impa #mer au #groose #is here at the end #crabbert #crabbert deserves his own tag #i love him your honour #for reference i did pick real fish to base everyone on #general is a lionfish as mentioned #sun is a very specific goldfish. not just any goldfish but one is specific #groose was i think they're called flying fish?#they have big 'arm' fins and imagined those on groose's hips and decided it was perfect #and sky is a red killifish!#i don't have a fish for shield yet #oh but artemis and warriors are both betta fish #pretty but will kick your ass #i think that's everyone i mentioned here that has a fish picked out for them #also i have more fics for the mer au so let me know if you want more of this au #i have more of this au

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transmogrified-in-the-void · 3 years

Text

Powered Shorts: BI DND

the band plays some good old fashioned dnd

“The looming ruins of the Cathedral of Glaudem shadow over all of you. Part of the roof has caved in, vines cover most of the old brick that make up the cathedral, and the only standing structure, the front, is about 350 feet tall. As you get closer, a storm is brewing, wind whipping around you. Trees groan under the wind before torrents of rain start to pound on you. There’s no doubt, this is the cathedral that the elder was talking about.” Airael describes from behind their DM screen. “Before you enter, what do you do?”

“Myathethil takes out her quarterstaff and readies her darts.” Virtue says simply. It makes sense, Myathethil is a to-the-point character. If she thinks a fight is coming, she readies her weapons. If someone is trying to poison her, she punches them. Simple and easy.

Bug looks through their notes and character sheet. “Wena holds onto eir amulet from Tulai, whispering a prayer in Halfling. Ey have been in many battles, but a small part of them worries ey won’t make it out alive this time. Ey will need all the luck ey can get.”

Airael nods. “What is the prayer?”

“Uhh,” Bug thinks for a moment. “Tulai, wherever you are, please give me the strength to come home.”

Airael nods, writing something down from behind the screen. “Cato, Gemini, what are Hotaru and Tragedy doing?”

Gemini smiles. “Tradegy is tying the charm her mother gave her to the end of her mace. If this is where her journey ends, then she wants to do it knowing her mom is nearby. She wants her mom to know that her baby found people who care for her.”

Airael smiles, and looks at Cato. “And Horatu?”

“Horato is staring at the Cathedral, feeling a familiar sense of oppression in his soul. He is mentally preparing to have to betray everyone if it means finding his fiancee and family before he dies.” Cato says carefully. “He made a promise to himself in the Feywild, and he’s not going to break it today.”

“With that out of the way.” Airael gives a feral grin. “You all walk into the cathedral. Normal formation I’m assuming?”

Everyone nods.

“Good, good. Uh, Wena, what’s your passive perception again?”

“Um, 16.” Bug answers.

“Cool, cool, cool. Wena passes through the threshold. You see that the inside is just rubble. Anything that could have been destroyed was. As you look forwards to where the cave has collapsed, you see a fucking dragon.”

There’s cheers around the table as the band rejoices at fighting a dragon, before going quiet at having to fight a dragon.

“Can I see the color of the dragon?” Bug asks.

“Make a perception check.”

Bug rolls, looking at the dice then back at his sheet. “That’s an 18 plus . . . that’s 24.”

“There’s a flash of lighting, and you can see this is definitely a young blue dragon.”

Bug nods. “I’m going to whisper back to the group.” Xe turns to the players. “Hey, uh, be quiet, and has anyone picked up Draconic in the last 5 or so minutes?”

A chorus of ‘no’s, and Bug nods again. “So we can see the dragon, but it hasn’t noticed us. Should we make a plan?”

Everyone starts to discuss amongst themselves, Gemini throwing out the idea of all attacking one wing at once to disable its flying.

“I have animal handling, would I be able to know which part of the dragon needs to be hit the hardest from like, birds and shit?” Bug asks.

“Sure, make the check.”

Bug rolls again. “Haha, oh fuck, uhhh that’s an 8?”

“You need to hit the wing.”

“FUCK!”

Everyone laughs at that, taking a moment to get back together.

“Okay okay okay, so who has no throwing weapons?” Cato asks, and Bug and Gemini raise their hands. “Sweet so I can give you my daggers-”

“I can cast spiritual weapons to make a longbow instead. Give your daggers to Mya.” Gemini interrupts. “I can cast it as a bonus action too. It’s like, glowy and shit so it probably would be better if I cast it after the initial attack as a bonus sneak attack.”

The group nods in agreement. “So do we need to get closer?”

“Those who are using throwing weapons will need to.”

Bug and Virtue roll, getting an 11 and unnatural 20 in the process.

“So Wena barely gets close enough, almost tripping on some rubble. Mya, you’re having a great time. You’re basically dancing your way to this dragon.”

“I give the signal and attack.” Bug says. “I’m going to throw both of my hand axes at the same time.”

“Cool, roll to attack with advantage on both. Actually, everyone but Gemini roll with advantage. Gem, we’ll get to you.” Airael says, with the group nodding. Everyone rolls. “Uh, let’s go in order of Bug, Virtue, then Cato.”

“22 and 12.”

“19 and 18.”

“18.”

Airael looks at something behind the DM screen. “Sweet. So, Gem, make a perception check real quick?”

“Uh, 15.”

“Cool, you notice when everyone throws their weapons, and are able to time it just in time to make your spiritual weapon. Roll with advantage.”

“That’s a 24.”

Airael checks behind their DM screen again.

“All but Bug’s second attack hit. Go ahead and roll damage.” They do, and Airael scratches something on a paper behind the screen. “You all attack the dragon’s wing. Bug, your first handaxe snaps one of its outer bones. Gemini, your sacred arrow shoots right through its joint, rendering it completely useless. The dragon roars, lightning striking as the storm gets worse. Roll initiative.”

After writing some more things behind the screen, Airael looks at Cato. “Hotaru goes first. What’s your move?”

Cato thinks, looking over their sheet. “I’m going to use an action to Disengage. How bad do the pillars and supports look?”

“They’re pretty worn, but seem to be bolted together well. The wood looks to be starting to rot though.” Airael answers.

Cato nods. “Okay so idea one out. I’m gonna use my action to hide.”

“Roll stealth for me?”

“23?”

“You fucking melt into shadows and disappear. Not even Tragedy can see you.” Airael says, and Cato laughs. “Now, speaking of said tiefling, it’s your turn!”

Gemini laughs sinisterly, looking over her spell sheet. “How far away is the dragon at this point?”

“About 70 feet ish.”

Gemini nods. “I’m gonna cast Guiding Bolt as my spiritual longbow dissipates into nothingness.”

“Sounds good, roll to attack.”

“Does a 22 hit?”

“Yes it does, damage?”

Gemini rolls 4 six-sided dice. “That is . . . 25 radiant damage!”

Airael writes something down again. “As Hotaru disappears into the chaos of the storm, Tragedy’s shining bow disappears into a mist that swirls into a line of light that strikes the dragon. It roars in pain as the light is absorbed into its wet scales. Bug, your turn.”

“I’m taking out my longswords and attacking this bitch with them.” Ey roll the d20. “NAT 20 MOTHERFUCKERS!”

The group chants ‘20’ over and over again as Bug takes a celebratory walk around the table. They roll for their second attack. “Ahem, does a natural and an unnatural 20 hit?”

Airael rolls their eyes with a smile. “What do you think? Both of them hit. How does it happen.”

Bug grins. “Wena storms, haha storms, towards the land-bound dragon, unsheathing eir swords. Lighting flashes in the sky as eir amulet starts to glow, and ey shove the longswords into the belly of the beast. For . . . 23 damage.”

“23 damage.” Airael repeats, scratching more things behind the screen. “It is now Virtue’s turn.”

“Can I actually take my turn to run on top of the dragon?” Virtue asks.

“That’s gonna be a dex check.”

“That’s a 19 for the monk lady to run up a dragon.”

“The monk lady runs up the dragon.”

“Hell yeah.”

“It’s the dragon’s turn now.”

“Un-hell yeah.”

Airael smirks. “First the dragon is going to swipe at Wena, who is the closest to it.” They roll. “What’s your armor class again?”

Bug checks their sheet. “16.”

“So both attacks hit for . . .” more rolling, “20 slashing damage.”

Bug groans as they write their current hp down.

“Now it’s going to make a breath attack against you.” Airael points towards their girlfriend, who gasps. “Don’t you gasp, Tragedy did a lot of damage. Make a dex saving throw.”

Gemini rolls. “11?”

Airael doesn’t respond, and instead starts to roll die after die after die. “45 lightning damage.”

Gemini groans. “You’re mean.” She grumbles as she writes her new hp.

Airael shrugs, smiles, and turns to Cato. “Your turn, bucko.”

Cato grins. “I’m making a sneak attack with my bow.” They roll. “26 hit?”

“It sure does. Roll damage.”

Cato rolls their d6 six separate times. “That’s a 27 piercing damage for the blue dragon in the back. And I’m gonna hide again.”

Airael nods and looks up. “Gem, your turn.”

Gemini looks at her spell sheet. “I’m running up to this bitch and casting inflict wounds as a 5th level spell.”

Airael’s eyes light with interest. “And do tell how this looks.”

“Tragedy has a giant blast mark that’s burned off part of her armor. She’s tired, she’s pissed. She runs 30 feet towards the dragon, writes the words “pain” in glowing infernal letters, and screams as the letters become dark and twisted and strike the dragon in the face.”

Airael nods. “Roll to attack please.”

“I’m adding 10 as per my channel divinity.” She says once she rolls. “So that’s a 21 to hit the dragon with my overpowered spell.”

Airael sighs. “Roll your damage.”

Gemini rolls 7d10. “40 necrotic damage.”

“The dragon’s glowing blue eyes stare at you with anger and hatred as you scream. The letters strike the creature’s face, causing the flesh to rot and die away, the word ‘die’ clear on its forehead. With that, it’s Wena’s turn.”

“Nice. I’m just gonna hit again with my swords, that’s a 13 and a 12.” Bug reports.

“You wrench your swords out, and try to hit again but miss the angle. They clink off the scaly underbelly.” Airael says in response. “And now the monk lady who is on the dragon’s head has a go.”

“I’m gonna beat it on the head with my quarterstaff.” Virtue says.

Airael sighs again. “Roll to hit.”

Silence. “That’s a nat one I’m afraid.” Virtue says, and Airael smiles.

“You smack the dragon on the head, and your quarterstaff shatters. The staff given to you by Moss, your partner and beloved, the staff that you’ve had for all of your crazy journeys. Gone. Poof.” They say, a grim smile on their face.

“Oh God.” Virtue mutters, putting their face into their hands. “Oh fuck, my staff.”

The players are quiet in fear as the dragon starts its turn.

“First off, it’s going to shake its head to get rid of you. Make a dex check.” Airael starts.

“That’s a 27.”

“You stay on the dragon, grasping its scales and spine as it twists and turns. Next, it’s gonna try and slash Wena again.” Airael rolls some dice. “You manage to dodge the first one, but the second one comes from behind and gets you for 8 damage.”

Bug silently cheers at that, editing his current hp.

“And finally, it’s gonna try and bite Tragedy. What’s your ac?”

“14.”

“So it gets you pretty hard. You’re lucky you have armor, otherwise you would 100% be in half right now.”

Gemini curses silently.

“But now it’s Hotaru’s turn.” Airael looks at Cato. “Are you going to do what I think you’re going to do?”

“Oh totally.” Cato says. “Does a 27 hit?”

Airael nods.

“28 damage, my good sir.”

Airael smiles. “Hotaru comes out from behind Tragedy, seeming to have melted out of the shadows. He has his bow notched and drawn, and he stares the dragon down. The dragon roars at the human, trying to intimidate him, and Hotaru lets the arrow fly. The dragon’s roar is cut short as it stumbles around a little before collapsing down, dead. What is everyone’s current hp?”

“Full hp.” Cato says, with Virtue saying the same.

“Mine is 76.” Bug reports.

“2.” Gemini says, and Airael’s grin grows wider.

“Tragedy falls over, almost dead and bleeding out. You look up to see a glowing figure with a familiar smile. It’s your mother.”

Gemini smiles. “Mom?”

“Your mother floats next to you, crouching by your head. ‘Oh Sorath, my sweet baby look how much you’ve grown,’ she says, smiling at you like you didn’t kill hundreds in her name. ‘I know you hurt with my leaving, but let yourself grow with these people. They’re good folk, I know you can sense it too.’ She starts to fade away, her time here is short.” Airael describes the scene, tears coming to their eyes.

“No, mom, please! I need you!” Gemini says. “Don’t leave me again!”

Airael smiles. “She gives you one last sad look. ‘I’ve never left you, baby. And I never will’ And like that,” they snap, “she’s gone with the sun coming out of the clouds.”

“So did anyone else see that, or was that just a spirit thing?” Virtue asks.

“Hmm, make a perception check, everyone.” Airael decides.

Cato gets a 21, Bug a 18, and Virtue a 17.

“Hotaru is the only one who sees the apparition, and is the only one who hears it. And with that, our time is up!”

Everyone groans, standing up and organizing their papers and dice. Cato smiles to themselves. They’re so excited to see what’s next. They feel safe here, and so so happy. It’s nice for a change.

#the powered universe #powered shorts #cato character #bug character #airael #airael powered universe #gemini #gemini powered universe #bardic inspiration #bardic inspiration band #dnd #dungeons and dragons #this is why the band has its name fyi

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snkpolls · 4 years

Text

SnK Episode 61 Poll Results (for Anime Only Watchers)

The poll closed with 164 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Manga Readers’ poll, click here.

Anime only watchers, beware of spoilers if you venture over to the manga readers’ poll results.

---

RATE THE EPISODE 142 Responses

Episode 61 received even better reception than episode 60 did for anime only viewers, with all votes leaning 3-5 on the rating scale, none of our respondents seemed let down by the episode!

AMAZING!! not action heavy this time, but the information i gained was a big insight on what’s to come! lots of things are gonna go down and i’m s c a r e d. ready for next sunday 😈🔥

It was fire

I really loved this episode, better than the last episode. Animation quality was on par with movie quality. MAPPA is giving us their best, ALL HAIL MAPPA.

1 word. Awesome

I love the pacing on this episode and the small details in it.

Give me more!!!

bruh

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE/MOMENT? 142 Responses

Reiner monologuing about the 104th at the dinner table took front and center seat this week with 43% of viewers favoring this scene the most. Trailing behind, 16.9% enjoyed the scene where Reiner meets up with the Warrior Cadets, and 9.9% enjoyed seeing the human forms of the Cart and Jaw titans for the first time.

WE FORGOT TO ASK LAST WEEK D: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SCENES/MOMENTS FROM EPISODE 60 WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 142 Responses

Last week, the highest percentage of people (at 30.3%) enjoyed Reiner’s, “I’m sick and tired… of walls.” 19% favored the scene of Zeke’s scream turning Eldians into titans. 17.6% were most hyped up over Reiner and Galliard wrecking Fort Slava.

MAPPA WENT ALL OUT WITH THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IN THIS EPISODE. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE CINEMATIC PANS AND ROTOSCOPE ANIMATION? 142 Responses

Overall, 75.4% of the total vote went in favor of the animation this week, with 33.8% of viewers stating they felt as though they were watching a movie, 32.4% enjoying the fluidity, and 9.2% enjoying the upgrade from the stiffer animation in the previous season. 10.6% felt the rotoscoping and cinematic shots were a little too over the top for an anime, and 10.6% are indifferent. A small handful aren’t enjoying the cinematic animation at all.

Hated the rotoscope, loved everything else.

It was a bit off-putting at first but I've grown to really like it

it was different but i liked it! it was cool. reminded me of some anime movies i’ve seen, though unique in it own sense

Thought it was great and fluid just at some points like the scene with udo on the docks felt a bit choppy.

Beautiful work, it honestly felt like I was watching a movie. From cinematography to shot framing to the animation. A dialogue heavy episode felt exciting, which is amazing.

I really liked the animation

The animation is so glowy

NOW THAT WE’VE GOTTEN TO HEAR A LITTLE MORE OF THE NEW OST TRACKS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SOUNDTRACK SO FAR THIS SEASON? 142 Responses

People are overall enjoying the new music so far, with 41.5% feeling it really compliments the change in atmosphere and 35.9% REALLY enjoying the songs and finding their usage very good. 9.9% feel they’re just ok while 7.7% miss the music being composed solely by Sawano. A smaller handful aren’t enjoying the new music.

They DEFINITELY bring the right vibes lol. again, different, but i like it!

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CLOSEUP OF ZEKE’S MOUTH? 141 Responses

In our first of a series of unnecessary crack questions, 31.9% find Zeke’s mouth closeup to have been pretty cool animation. 24.8% are very concerned about Zeke’s treatment of his lungs (do shifters get lung damage?). 20.6% didn’t care about Zeke’s mouth at aoo, while 14.2% would welcome a smooch from him. A handful of people just think it’s gross, lol.

Fucking hate zeke smh 🙄

He smokin a spliffy 😂 not no ciggy

what chapstick using??lmao. it was a cool scene

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ABOUT ELDIAN ASSES? 140 Responses

Eldian asses didn’t turn out to be too controversial, with the majority (42.1%) just wanting to know the details of Zeke’s secret ass wiping technique. 10.7% just think Eldian asses are neat, and another 10% are more enthusiastic about some nice Eldian asses. 25.7% are confused about the question’s inclusion, and 11.4% don’t understand why this was asked at all.

DO YOU WANT REINER TO GIVE YOU A HEAD PAT? 140 Responses

In a close race, 42.1% of respondents would be thrilled to get a nice head pat from Reiner! 41.4% apparently don’t, and just wanna know what the heck the pollsters are smoking while writing up these questions. 11.4% do NOT want Reiner head pats. :(

ZEKE SEEMS TO BE KEEPING HIS ROYAL LINEAGE A SECRET FROM MARLEY DESPITE HIS LOYALTY TO THEM. ANY IDEAS WHY YOU THINK HE IS? 139 Responses

Zeke, the “wonderboy” (as General Calvi puts it) who sold out his own parents, has never been doubted by Marley in terms of his loyalty. Yet, for some reason he seems to be keeping his royal bloodline a secret from them. When we asked why that is, over half of respondents (56.1%) state that they are suspicious of Zeke and his real motives, believing that he is plotting something under Marley’s nose. 25.2% feel that he doesn’t want them to know he’s royal so that they can’t abuse his power, and 12.9% think he simply doesn’t let them know so that they won’t kill him.

I forgot he was royal

maybe they will force him to continue the bloodline through children, or maybe he will get used or killed

Well if they dont know hes got a hereditary advantage over both his predeccesors and succesors, he'll always be recognised as the best beast titan and heaps better than my boy Colt.

WE LEARNED IN THIS EPISODE THAT FALCO’S LAST NAME IS “GRICE.” DO YOU THINK THIS WILL HOLD ANY SIGNIFICANCE? 139 Responses

32.4% of respondents don’t remember anyone named Grice. To recap, “Grice” is the name of the person who recruited Grisha Yeager into the Restorationist group, and is the one who was kicked off the wall for the restorationist titans to chase after once they were transformed by Marley. For those that did remember this seemingly random person, 52.2% feel that this relation will be brought up again and have importance to the story, and 12.9% feel it doesn’t really mean anything other than being a neat little detail.

I feel like you asking this implies that there’s something to it

Not sure yet. But, Falco and Colt seem to be really caring and aware of how the Marlyeans treat Marly-Eldians (at least compared to the other warrior candidates). Also, when we saw their parents they seemed kind too, showing lots of concern for Colt. Maybe they learnt what the former restorationist/other Grice was doing and his cause of death and sent their kids to the warrior program for the same reason Grisha and Dina did Zeke? My bet is Colt & Falco are the restorationist Grice's nephews?

YOUR REACTION TO THE CART TITAN BEING A CUTE WOMAN? 140 Responses

Pieck deserves a colorful pie chart, and she got one! 25.7% say she’s best girl, 22.9% think she’s utterly adorable. 13.6% of viewers already knew about Pieck before getting to this point and were unsurprised. At a tie, 11.4% of voters think that it’s amazing, or they were shocked to find out that the quadrupedal nightmare titan is really just a short, cute woman.

I worked it out last episode since the armbands appeared to indicate the 'type/status' of Eldians, but I was a bit surprised last episode I thought from the trailer the red bands may be special lineages i.e. Ackerman, Oriental clan, and Riess/Fritz. Still think she may be from the oriental clan though since the only characters we've seen with a similar appearance to her are Mikasa and her mother.

she kinda shawty 👀 but she looks scary too

WE WERE FORMALLY INTRODUCED TO MORE CHARACTERS THIS WEEK, SO WE WILL ASK AGAIN… WHICH NEW CHARACTER IS YOUR FAVORITE SO FAR? 143 Responses

Last week, Falco was the most favored of the new cast with only 40% of the vote. This week, he shoots up over 10 percentage points, with 50.3% of viewers feeling the most positively toward him. Pieck comes in second with 17.5% of the vote, and Gabi is hanging on with just 12.6% of the vote. Colt and Galliard are trailing just a little bit more behind them.

Gabi best girl

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE FATE OF YMIR? 144 Responses

While we did get teased about Ymir’s fate in Season 3, seeing the scene in full can definitely have more of an impact. 37.5% of respondents have accepted the notion of Ymir dying, and feel that it was a decent end for her character, all things considered. 22.9% are in complete and total anguish over her fate, and 20.1% are simply just disappointed and had hoped to see more of her. A very small percentage think that this is actually a red herring, and that Ymir is somehow still alive somewhere.

Already saw this in season 3

Appropriately grim and realistic given what lengths Marley will go to in order to protect themselves

I am in so much pain please euthanize me that’s my wife

i didn’t really like her anyway so it’s fine(but it was still a bit sad)

Kinda hate crimey considering shes the only OUT (@jean) charcter. Nah jk. Like wasnt shocked tho coz we saw Galliard last ep

Let's fucking GOOOOOO

Galliard will NEVER replace Ymir, I already hate his bitch ass

So Galliard really is a replacement scrappy eh? I already hate him JUST for that.

TURNS OUT THAT GALLIARD IS MARCEL’S BROTHER. DO YOU THINK THIS WILL BE SIGNIFICANT? 143 Responses

Over half of respondents (52.4%) believe that Galliard’s relation to Marcel will have significance at some point. 32.9% think that it might, but don’t want to say either way. A small percentage feel it’s just a detail that won’t matter. 12.6% have completely forgotten who Marcel is (to refresh your memory, Ymir ate him before RBA attacked the walls).

DO YOU THINK THE MAN WEARING THE ARMBAND INCORRECTLY WILL BE IMPORTANT? 144 Responses

At 73.6%, the majority of viewers are eyeing the random amputee soldier who Falco briefly helped out, believing that he will be important in some manner moving forward. 13.9% believe that it’s just a random soldier, and the scene maybe meant more in terms of showing Falco’s kindness. 12.5% aren’t sure what to make of the amputee soldier at all.

LAST WEEK, WHEN ASKED WHO WILL INHERIT THE ARMORED TITAN, THE MAJORITY PICKED FALCO. AFTER THIS EPISODE, WHO DO YOU THINK WILL INHERIT THE ARMORED TITAN NOW? 143 Responses

Falco is still the most favored to inherit the Armored Titan from Reiner with the percentage of people believing he will jumping from 37.6% to 48.3%. 21.7% are still confident that Gabi will ultimately be the one who gets to eat Reiner. 28.7% believe that neither of them will inherit Reiner’s titan at all.

DO YOU THINK THAT REINER REALLY BELIEVES THE PARADISIANS ARE DEVILS? 143 Responses

The overwhelming majority of respondents don’t believe that Reiner really means what he says when he calls the Paradisians “savage, heartless devils.” Only a small percentage feel he does really means what he says, and a handful of others aren’t sure.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT REINER WITH WHAT WE’VE SEEN IN THIS ARC SO FAR? 143 Responses

The majority of viewers feel very positively about Reiner and are enjoying seeing more of him, with 46.2% stating that Reiner is really starting to grow on them, while 26.6% already liked Reiner from the start. 18.2% are beginning to feel more empathy for Reiner, although they still aren’t huge fans, and a smaller percentage don’t like him and haven’t been swayed by the narrative as of yet.

Always seemed like there was lots to him, enjoying the furthered development into his psyche :)

he’s so hot omg. i feel so terrible cause he’s clearly suffering from ptsd and his disorder too. he seems torn. i do like how he is playing a major role so far.

I’m in love with Reiner and always have been

Meh

Reiner became 1000% hotter after his life fell apart

REINER AND GABI ARE REVEALED TO BE COUSINS. THOUGHTS? 142 Responses

36.6% of respondents were genuinely shocked to learn that Gabi and Reiner are cousins. 21.8% feel more invested in Gabi’s character arc after knowing this information. 19% were already spoiled on this, and 15.5% don’t really care about it at all.

Kinda thought she wanted to fuck her cousin lmao

Makes me horrified how casually they talk abt eating Reiner

They had the same last name so I figured they must have had some relation.

Yee haw

GABI QUESTIONS REINER AFTER HE TALKED ABOUT THE 104TH, ASKING IF PEOPLE ON PARADIS WERE ALL BAD. DO YOU THINK SHE CAN OVERCOME HER BRAINWASHING TO SEE THAT PARADISIANS AREN’T EVIL? 143 Responses

The majority think that there is a possibility for Gabi to see things from a new perspective over time. 40.6% aren’t completely sold on it yet, but also believe that it’s within the realm of possibility. 32.9% are very confident that this is the direction her story arc is going to take, and 26.6% think that nothing will be able to undo years of brainwashing for her.

THE TYBURS ARE SAID TO BE AN AFFLUENT FAMILY THAT HOLDS THE WARHAMMER TITAN, BUT HAVE NEVER BEEN INVOLVED IN ANY CONFLICT. WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO GET INVOLVED NOW? 139 Responses

While we still don’t know much about the Tybur family, we thought we’d check in and see what preconceived notions viewers may already have about them. 27.3% believe the Tybur family feel the same as Marley and see Paradis as a threat. 30.2% think that the only reason they’d want to get involved in the conflict is if they get something about it. 41.7% think that the Tyburs are super sus and ultimately will have their own agenda for attacking Paradis.

They got the good life already, why battle?

WITH AN ATTACK ON PARADIS BEING IMMINENT, HOW DO YOU THINK REINER WILL REACT WHEN HE RETURNS TO THE ISLAND? 139 Responses

We’ve seen Reiner struggle over the weight of his sins in previous seasons, with Ymir even pointing out that he has developed a type of “split personality” to cope with the horror he forced onto the people of Paradis. With the prospect of returning to the island, we asked how you think Reiner will handle the situation. With the highest percentage, 32.4% of respondents feel that Reiner’s mental state will make him completely ineffective if he returns to Paradis. 28.8% think he may even completely switch back to his “soldier persona” once he faces his former comrades again. 26.6% believe that he will keep himself together and stay focused on the mission handed to him. 9.4% think he will find a way to avoid going back altogether.

Honestly, don't know.

I wouldnt say ineffective, probably just ina daze of sorts. Like hes not fully in the moment.

Idk if he is even gonna go

Not Sure

I hope my boi Reiner makes it through!

REINER FLASHBACKS NEXT WEEK! ARE YOU EXCITED TO FINALLY GET THE WARRIORS’ BACKSTORY? 142 Responses

The vast majority are happy to be finally getting the Warriors�� backstory in the next episode, with 69% feeling overwhelmed with excitement about it, and 19.7% just happy to finally be getting to this point. A smaller percentage don’t really care about learning their backstory and a handful of people are actually dreading it.

I loved the baby warrior flashback and can’t wait for next week.

ON A SCALE OF REINER TO ZEKE, HOW EAGER ARE YOU TO GET BACK TO PARADIS? 141 Responses

While there is a handful of people who are enjoying the new perspective and getting to know these new characters in Marley, the majority of viewers are (unsurprisingly) eager to see what’s going on with the original cast after the 4 year time skip and the cliffhanger at the ocean in season 3. A message from manga readers: we know your pain, just hang in there!

This arc isn't really doing it for me. The story is only interesting when it focused on the 104th.

If their goal is to make me sympathize with the Warriors it ain't working, I frankly don't give a crap about their sob stories and want to see Eren and friends wreck shit for them

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

Animation and graphics quality is amazing. The sea was CGI too which feels a bit too detailed compared to other things. The plot and vibe is amazing. I like the WW2 style of things. There are so many interactions coming just the thought makes me hyped up. I can easily rewatch it and notice new details and i enjoy it too. Feels really packed and intense.

Solid, loved the animation props to MAPPA, cant wait to see Reiner's character development.

Kinda just people walking around with HELLA ptsd. Overall kinda vibey Very reminiscent of seas 3 part 1. I will say kinda tgf about these knew kids accept Colt, just wanna see the ogs and Jeans side part. I also HATE Reiner but.........dare I say.....he's growing in me???? Not gabi tho

Great episode, the trailer's beginning to make a lot more sense now. I didn't expect that guy with the long blonde hair declaring Eren as the enemy (from the trailer) to be part of the Tybur family (maybe I'm wrong here but he looked identical to one of the Tybur family members in the photo Zeke showed.) I assumed he was maybe the Marley leader haha. I think he may be the warhammer titan but it's hard to tell at this point. Regarding the Tybur family, another curious thing is how they are celebrated internationally not just domestically for their help during the great titan war. I am curious whether Marley only treat the Tybur family well because if they didn't that would create issues globally? It seems like the Tybur's have lots of power. But, I wonder if the war hammer titan will be a letdown... I thought it would be the 'big boss' of the titans but after learning that titan doesn't go through training like the other titan shifters and never fought I feel like it's a 50/50 on whether the shifter will be strong or not... I also feel like the guy Falco spoke to was Eren, and this could hint at Eren noticing and possibly trying to indoctrinate Falco? and he was possibly watching Reiner talk to the kids? That was probably Pieck though. Curious how Pieck's father was shown but not mother, he also didn't look like he was from the oriental clan maybe we have another Mikasa on our hands (half Ackerman/Oriental clan) that would be cool, maybe a little bit fanservicey tho.

I like that the focus is on world building right now

I’m just so excited to see what’s coming next

It was friggin awesome but I’m curious on who fell off the roof 🤔

Who is the guy who jumped and died ? :(

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 138 Responses

Thank you again for participating! We’ll see you again next week!

#snk poll #snk polls #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #snk #aot #snk s4 #snk spoilers

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cruddyborderlandstheories · 4 years

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this DLC has me FUCKED UP and i keep screaming

spoilers for Bounty of Blood under the cut, keep reading at ur own peril. Also some Guardian Takedown spoilers for anyone who hasn’t beat it yet

tl;dr: a comparison between something taken from BL2 and a thing taken from Bounty of Blood. more spoilery tl;dr below the cut.

also the siren thing is not spoilers so i’ll share it here for anyone curious, it’s just this: siren tattoos are blue but when lily absorbs eridium in 2, they turn pinkish/purple. just like how vaults do from bl1 to bl2. they’re white/blue in bl1, then purple-pink in bl2 (and tps), y’know, after Eridium begins erupting from the ground. just a neat little detail i noticed that im not entirely sure was intentional but im gonna believe it is.

tl;dr: Gythian Blood = Core and the Ruiner is of Eridian Origin even tho everyone in the DLC likes to say it was created with Jakobs’ bioengineering. disclaimer: idk if I’ve found every hidden ECHO so I may be missing a few things but I have done every side quest and took ample screenshots of all important dialogue in the DLC : )

“man i just sat here for like 15 minutes staring at my keyboard mentally comparing core and eridium like the dumb bitch i am.

it's not like we can do an actual comparison because we have no idea what the natural fauna of gehenna was like before jakobs came and mutated everything with core unlike pandora where we know what skags and rakk and shit were like BEFORE the eridium crust erupted.

altho!!! there's a neat comparison between joey ultraviolet and rose. like obviously he wasn't getting tattoos and was just doing lines of crushed up eridium but the point stands they both have glowy eyes and unique powers so i don't necessarily think this means rose is a siren just because she has magic powers especially when we know she got the whistling passed down to her from her grandmother.

especially because we've never seen a siren interact with core before. altho that leaves the question we have seen core tattoos now what are eridium tattoos like? actually rose's tattoos were on her right arm obviously she isn't a siren as we know them right now (I saw a post on reddit where people thought rose was a siren)

of course that brings up the point perhaps siren tattoos ARE eridium tattoos. but then we hear the general's log about how the devil riders were tattooing a man with core and blood so obviously they're not ‘naturally’ occurring unlike siren tattoos. so odds are they're probably not equivalents but something interesting i thought of while thinking about this is how well siren tattoos compare to the Vaults from borderlands 1 and borderlands 2″

anyway. this is all ive been thinking about. yes yes i know guardian takedown post but! >:( im still salty even tho this update has been lovely (outside of Blane not getting his correct damage scaling ‘till today......). so i’ll do that at my own damn pace. now let me elaborate so i can sleep at night lmao

Eridium

refinement produces slag, which weakens people and can mutate things

has mutating properties, mostly with imbuing elements into shit- possibly causes insanity

seems to be connected to another dimension, likely the one the Eridians are from

Core

has a secondary form of Infused Core

has mutating properties, mostly regarding a thing’s body and mind

apparently radioactive

there are some things i wanna note

1) People throughout the DLC say the Ruiner was created by the Jakobs corp (the company) thru bio-engineering but I’m 99% sure that’s not true. The paperwork seems to me like they found the egg somewhere on Gehenna and decided to roll and experiment with it like all corporations do when they find weird alien shit. so maybe they experimented with whatever was inside the egg, but I don’t think they actually created it entirely

“Excavated from [REDACTED] ... Local legends speaks of a [REDACTED]. This theory is not endorsed by our research personnel.

2) The Ruiner’s design reminds me a lot of the Warrior.

3) Core immediately reminded me of Gythian Blood from Guns Love and Tentacles and I don’t think that’s coincidence to have 2 back-to-back DLCs where the big bad is focused on green death juice. I think Gythian Blood and Core are of the same stuffs.

4) Therefore, I think the Ruiner is (mostly) of Eridian origin (if you haven’t already guessed).

This gives us an amazing look into how the Eridians actually create their beasts!!! And I’m so happy they showed us this.

(side note, Interitus Regina (the long name for Ruiner) literally means Destruction Queen and I think that’s beautiful <3)

i mean the idea that they plunge them from orbit to create an explosion similar to a nuke is fucking horrifying (but holy shit I love it so much ahhh it’s so cool!!!!)

the one side line from Oletta about how the company couldn’t control the Ruiner deffo makes me double down on this theory. I’m not entirely sure how Rose’s grandma knew about the whistling (I don’t think I’ve found every echo log in that area YET), but I would bet it was part of the testing given how many fuckin’ tape players they have throughout the facility. The Warrior was controlled by verbal commands via Jack, so it’s possible that the Ruiner was intended to be controlled similarly, but Jakobs intervention (or something like the way Rose hatched it) fucked it up.

now we know the Warrior was created to protect the Vault of the Destroyer (hmm.) so what the heck was the Ruiner created for? Ruiner is a name given to it by Jakobs/the people of Gehenna so we can’t really assume, but then again the monster names are pretty apt in this series even tho they probably technically shouldn’t be.

it was only an egg, so maybe it was another test of Core? A Vault Monster incubating until it was ready to protecc and attacc but was never hatched because the Eridians ‘sacrificed’ themselves before it could? (I’m still not convinced the Eridians are the good guys. Listen. LISTEN. The guardian takedown is something to think about, BUT it doesn’t disprove that theory and I’ll stand by it because I 100% trust the Overseer more than bitchpants mcgee over here who thinks he’s soooo special for no reason fuck you and your dumb ‘I did what the Watcher could not’ bull you haven’t done shit.) ok sorry im done he just angers me. stupid guardian man. your whip is stupid and you should feel bad. oh also I totally called us actually being Guardians thru Guardian Rank before the game came out aha yeah.

I definitely think Gythian was a test/use of Core from the Eridians. We see in Bounty of Blood that core seems to mutate more the physical (and occasionally mental) parts of people, like with the crew challenges u do for Juno with all the weird hybrid people and whatnot. Gythian had the whole ‘the heart still beats’ thing going on (which is definitely a physical mutation if i’ve ever seen one), plus the whole, you know, mind control and shit. Which is p similar to what the menta gnats can do when charged with Infused Core. And keep in mind in BLaT we see DAHL notes on what happens to test subjects when injected with Gythian Blood. They mutated physically and went insane.

What im saying is Sirens and Eridium and Elements are connected, so what does Core equal? body/mind sure but are there unique creatures for core (yes holy shit I’m not talking about h2o au for once and FINALLY they gave us a canon name for the green stuff!!!). If not, I’d love to see a Siren interact with Core to see what it does to them. seriously why hasn’t tannis interrupted us yet. horrible excuse for a science lover (kidding kidding, I love her). I’d also really love a fuller rundown on what the hell Rose’s powers were. Because the whistling thing seemed to just be her grandma’s thingie passed down to her from her mom

but the core stuff

her gun seems to be infused with it. So did her sword thing. I didn’t really get a good look at it i was too busy trying to see thru my blurry tears of LOVE for this DLC.

Strangely while her tattoos are (mostly) green I actually don’t know if they’re core infused bc look at this

n look back at hers. hers aren’t very lime.

anyway

her eyes

I’d love to know if the core gives her immediate future sight or just increased perception or reaction times. there’s a huge difference but she seemed to be able to shoot the gun outta the sheriff’s hand near immediately and it seems kinda implied its because of the core (or at least because her eyes are glowing green)

there’s a possibility she has some unique core powers/possibly implants because of her relations to the project in the first place, or as leader of the devil riders after looting the facility. it’s really hard to say without more info and like i said im not sure if i missed an ECHO or two or not regarding her backstory :(

Her hair is also green which I just noticed. Maybe she has core powers bc her grandmother got suuuuuuuuper irradiated/influenced working on project horizons and it passed down thru her n Rose’s mom, to Rose. Tannis does have a line about Sirens having unique hair colors and, if Sirens are linked to Eridium, perhaps those linked to Core also have unique hair color. Could also explain why only Rose seems to have those whistling powers. That said we don’t really see anyone else trying that whistling thing out afaik and idk if it was, like, a special ability or a certain tone/ditty or w h a t.

i know being vague with everything gives them more creative freedom to create amazing characters and scenarios, but dammit I want A N S W E R S.

All THAT said man I’m so glad magic is real in the borderlands universe. oh, sorry, “magic”. It’s magic. Science it, tannis, I dare you. either way, I win. Either it’s magic and H2O AU is canon, or it’s science and I finally get my goddamn answers. Hey gearbox can you make a book just explaining all the science and eridian stuff. please. I’d love you forever. please. pleaheheheheaaasseee it’s all i’ve ever wanted.

oh also can i just say, suuuper disappointed we didn’t learn anything about anshin. Really wish non-fan favorite corporations would get the spotlight/lore for once. Like, I like Jakobs as much as the next guy, and I get WHY they did it (can’t have a corporation looking too good!!!) but they now have 3 DLCs (Jakobs Cove, GLaT, and Bounty of Blood) and also a hefty chunk of the main game. Like... we all know Jakobs fuckin sucks, look at what they did on Pandora. I really just want info on a medical corporation 😭 I have to do everything my damn s e l f. but SERIOUSLY IMAGINE the possibilities that could come from a medical corp getting its hands on eridian tech. like, yeah obviously the weapons corps are gonna use it for weaponry and stuff BUT WOULDN’T THE MEDICAL CORPS MUTATING PEOPLE MAKE MORE SENSE??? ldfhgldfshg I have to do everything my damn self...

anyway all that aside, this is definitely by favorite borderlands dlc by a LONG shot. Nothing comes close. Ahhh the lore, the nuclear aspect, the a e s t h e t i c (seriously, have I mentioned how much I adore Trigun???), the art, the music, the cryoslinger, the fact I can bust out going beeEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAans like Ray Chase at any time and it will MAKE SENSE. I love all of it.

oh, also, Rose is totally not dead. C’mon, they couldn’t find her body. She pulled a Lilith. “Are you sure she didn’t just suffer a wound that LOOKS fatal, only for her to come back in a blockbuster sequel...?” is a line from mr Jones himself (the movie guy)

I just hope when she comes back she gets to meet Captain Scarlett. I’d love to watch their interactions plus pirates and or ninjas. That’s 2 DLC villains now that have vanished without a trace. And I like Captain Scarlett way more than Rose (seriously I spent the entire beginning of the DLC complaining about how her voice bothered me- I was so happy she was a villain, I was hoping that was the case).

oh yeah, reminder, the people of vestige were living next to highly radioactive egg for likely years. i feel really bad for them :(

also!!!

this made me smile

#im tired #good night #bl3 #borderlands #borderlands spoilers #spoilers #bl3 spoilers #borderlands 3 spoilers #bounty of blood #bounty of blood spoilers #dlc3 #dlc3 spoilers #dlc 3 #dlc 3 spoilers #i don't want to spoil anybody please lemme know if there's any tags i missed!!!!

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angstchim · 5 years

Text

Higher Maintenance | jjk

Maintenance Spin-Off

Hybrid reader x Jungkook

➻ smut, praise, degradation, jealousy, angst, more to add, dirty sex,

➻ Rating: M

➻ Words: 5131

I. Her Doe Eyes

At the hybrid center, they didn't play much. Soft instrumentals drowned out by the chatter of the dogs, the groaning of the cats, and the gnawing of the rodents. Your ear twitched. Out of all the songs they played, All of Me was your favorite. Maybe it's because your shy soul was lonely. The longing voice of a woman from the 1920s resonated with your soul as your sunken twinkly eyes peered through the glass of the hybrid center.

Nose twitching as people entered. Would they take all of you? A high maintenance bunny girl who needs almost constant attention?

"Hey, there sexy!" Howled Wonho the rowdy buck. Your stomach dropped. He was the worst heat partner. Namjoon was so oblivious to the incompatibilities but he still paired you with the boner buck.

You're ears dropped. Your face hiding between your knees as people walked right past you. Not caring. You were used to the stain of being a less desired hybrid. Yet Wonho chose today of all the days to taunt you.

"Oh shut it Wonwhore!" Yoongi shot back. His eyes slits and the scales on his face glistening in the yellow lights of the center. Everyone feared the snake hybrids. This one clung to you. Yoongi, why couldn't he have been a buck? If he was...if he was. You could only imagine him as a mate. He would have the blackest of ears and a maybe a spot of white on his cottontail. Your fantasy crushed as he lets out a hiss. Unconsciously reminding you of his reptilian resemblance.

However, your ears were listening to Yoongi while your eyes landed on the doors to the center. The bells chimes as they were pushed open by the most ...daunting man you have ever laid eyes on. Your tail wiggling, a little ball of cotton trembling as he walked his way around the hybrids. The bitches whimpering for him. The pussies mewling for him. And the does, especially you thumping the floor for him. Your toes and tail trembling as he walked passed the does.

His eyes black holes as they steal the breath from your lungs, along with your breath they stole your sense of shame as your eyes became moons for him. Your knees pressing into the pillow under you, your hands sitting between your thighs as the rug indented into your palms. He stood over you, his dark hair, his black suit, his shined shoes, his black tie, and his silver watch.

"What's your name deary?" He looked down at you, his eyes looking at nothing else but you. The way your knees pressed into the carpet under the weight of his gaze. You could feel the envy from those around you. The growling from Wohno across the room not even registering for you.

"Y-Y/n." Your eyes never leaving him. His pink lips most intriguing thing. His large hands reaching out to you. Your tail just about to tremble off of you. His hot touch against your jaw and cheek. "You're such a pretty girl." He hummed. "Tell me Deary. Do you like it here?" He bends over sharply, not even a bend in his knee.

Your cheeks flamed. "I-I..."

He chuckles as he watches you trip over your words. "Such a shy girl. So quiet. I suppose that's good though..." He thinks out loud. His head turning to call over Namjoon. Yoongi's hiss lingering in the air. "Sir! How much is this doe?"

"Are you sure you want her?" Your head lowered hearing Namjoon ask that. A pang of embarrassment looming in your heart.

"Is there a reason I wouldn't?" He questioned. As he checked his watch. The watch had a screen that lit up, your eyes standing seeing the expensive contraption. You tried your best to drown out the conversation with the glowiness of the 'watch'.

"There isn't a reason why you shouldn't. Just more of a caution that rabbit hybrids are higher maintenance than other breeds. She has more heats, feels lonely more often, and is frailer than the others. She isn't as lean and flexible as a cat. She isn't as energetic or outlandish as a dog. Shes pretty timid and any loud or crowded area can make her uncomfortable. " Namjoon informed the man in front of you.

Your cheeks blossoming a dark red with guilt and disappointment. The pad of your thumb against the screen of his watch. This nice man was going to leave you. He looked too important to have time for a bunny girl.

"I'll take her." He stated.

Your ears stood tall. Did you hear correctly? This man said he would take you? Your hands gripping his arm with what little force your body could muster. His dark browns landing on you. "Go get your things Deary. I'm taking you home."

Home. A real home. You gave a nod. You didn't wait. You wouldn't wait. You wouldn't give him time to change his mind. Quickly you ran to your shared living space, packing what little items you owned. Yoongi's slits staring at you.

"I'm gonna miss having my little bun around." He slipped his tongue out to taste your scent one last time. "Hope the man treats you well."

You would miss Yoongi. Everyone feared him. Even you at times, but he was a true friend. Someone you would always remember fondly. "Me too. M-Me too. I'll miss you Yoongi. I hope you find an owner soon." You timidly walked over to the cold-blooded man and pressed a small peck against his cheek. For a second, you swore his cheek was warm.

Waving your final goodbye to Yoongi, you walked back over to the tall, ebony-haired hunk. "W-What's your name?"

"How rude of me Deary. Jeon Jungkook. You can call me Guk." He smiled as he held up a pastel pink lace collar. "Chin up for me." He hummed as he leaned closer to you. He smelled amazing. His cologne, it made your stomach jump and your heart twirl. You could taste it on your lips from simply smelling it. You raised your chin for him. His hands were hot as they brushed your neck. You couldn't help but tremble. You felt like melting into him.

"Perfect fit. Such a pretty girl for such a pretty collar. Too bad when we get home it's coming off." He winked and gave your head a playful tap being mindful of your ears. A blush ran like a wildfire across your cheeks.

With timid legs, you followed the male to the luxurious car in which he came. Your eyes glued to the back of his suit. His suit fit him well. Almost too well. He opened the passenger side door for you. The veins on his hands sticking out. They stuck out too well. You felt your fuzzball of a tail twitch at the sight of his veins. "Come on Deary." He hummed checking his watch to tease you.

Your timid legs hastened into the car. He took his spot in the driver's seat. "So tell me Deary what's life like at the shelter?"

Your thighs stuck to the leather seats, your fingertips ran over the smooth seat buckles. "It's alright, I have one friend there. It's a little sad watching everyone find homes."

"I see." His tongue swabbed his jaw as he put the car in gear and began to speed off. Its tires so smooth on the road you felt like the car just slid on the road like butter. "Everything in that backpack..." He nodded toward the pink bag on your lap as he made a turn. "Is everything there all your belongings?"

"Yes." You squeaked feeling suddenly aware of how little you owned.

"Might I ask what is in there? I don't want to seem nosy but I do want to know if you have everything you need to care for yourself. If not we can stop somewhere and pick up a few things before we head home and I show you the condo."

You opened your bag. "My undergarments, toothbrush, and blanket." You looked over at the ebony haired male. He bit his lip.

"We should stop somewhere." He said as he pulled off the highway and pulled into a shopping center. "We need toiletries, suppressants, and a few extras. I got clothes your size at the condo. I had a designer friend of mine tailor them for you, I also decorated a room for you." He smiles. "I just need you to pick a few things for yourself."

You stared at awe at the man next to you as he walked you up to mall. You clung to his arm. "T-Thank you."

"Anything for you deary." He smiled and patted your head. You could burrow into his touch. You craved more. More pats. Handholds. Caresses. He led you into a luxurious perfume shop. "Get me the best shampoo, conditioner and hair treatments for her. Ones that are safe for her ears. Any perfumes and body washes that don't irritate her skin or nose and aren't too harsh. Also, any creams and lotions that won't irritate her skin, or taste odd if she licks her arms. Bunnies tend to nibble on their hands and arms when nervous." He smiled at the clerk as his hand swam in your locks.

"Yes Sir." The clerk quickly looked you over, testing a few products on your skin to test the quality and your reaction to them. Asking for your opinion every so often which you took a few seconds to ponder.

"How does this cream feel to you miss?" You gave it a light whiff, the smell pleasant to your nose. A smell of strawberry and lemon.

"I quite like that." You chimed.

"How many bottles do you want? They also have it in a mist and face wash if you'd like mist." The clerk smiled as she held out a shopping tote for you. "I'd like them all..." You chimed without thinking as you looked up as Guk.

His hand ran through your hair. You loved the feeling. His hand swam in your locks as he gave the okay for you get them all. "Anything else deary?" He hummed, his hand swam from your hair to your cheeks. His forefinger and thumb pinching your gums lightly. His thumb brushing your lips just barely. You wished they hadn't missed.

Once the shopping escapade was over, you got in the car with perfumes, lotions, skincare, and an assortment of clothes and personals. "Let's head home and I can cook us dinner."

Your mouth-watering at the thought of his cooking. You could only imagine his food tasting like paradise. The car came to a halt outside a modern style condo. It's steps made out of the nicest granite. Your eyes rivaling a bug's as Jungkook hauled your bags to the steps. "Y-You live here alone?"

He laughs. "With the exception of my bunny Cooky, it's just me here. Well, now it's you and me." He smiles and unlocks the door. "Make yourself at home Deary." He continues to carry the bags into the condo. Your timid steps in pursuit. Your small backpack tossed onto a black bean bag as your eyes became moons. They glanced over his minimal but neat home. A small bundle of black fur hopping up to your feet.

Your lips pulling into a coo. "Oh my." Knees on the ground you were eye to eye with the little bun. His black collar similar to your pink one. His beady eyes and rosy nose twinkling at you. With a small headbutt, the buck greeted you.

"He's such a gentleman." You giggled. Your tail thumping at the little tuff of fur.

"Is that so?" Jungkook chuckled. Humored by your interaction. "You and him in cahoots already?"

"Very much so." The hello from Cooky easing your nerves. Your shyness starting to fade.

"I feel left out." Jungkook chuckled. "Follow me Deary. I want to show you, your room."

You gave a nod and rose to your feet. Cooky hopping behind you as Jungkook led you to your room. Behind a pretty white door, Jungkook gifted you with a room you'd never once thought you deserved. Pastel pink walls, clothes hanging in a closet, shelves of stuffed animals, game consoles, and books. Fluffy blankets, plush pillows, and canopies. Many spots to burrow. 'T-This is all for me?"

His tender hands tracing your jaw as he lifted your head. His dark browns gazing into yours. "Of course." His large hands carefully unbuckling the collar from your neck. "You don't need to wear this here Deary. Only when we leave." You nestled into his touch. It was so warm. So hot. Too hot. He chuckled and leaned close to you. Your heart in your throat, your lips tingling with anticipation, only for his lips to press against your forehead.

You loved it but it left something desired. You trusted Jungkook. You wanted to be in his embrace. You wanted to touch him. You wanted him to touch you. But there was something there. Some barrier your delicate hands couldn't break. He was untouchable. Your eyes lidded with light arousal as you looked up at him.

"I'm going to change and then I will make dinner. Make yourself at home deary." You gave a curt nod. Slightly embarrassed. Ears flattened and tail drooped you found a nightgown and some panties and clambered your way to your personal bathroom. Using the soaps Jungkook purchased for you today, you gave yourself a good scrub.

Hands in your hair to your face to your breasts, to your thighs and to your core. Your ears tucked, the running water drowning out the noise, cheeks flushed, and eyes watery your fingers entered your core. With gentle pumps, and tugging of your nipples. Thumb padding your sensitive bud. A heat stirring in your lower half. Pumps gaining momentum and fingers increasing. "J-Jungkook!" Your ragged whimpers lost in the sound of running water, one leg lifted, hips bouncing on your fingers.

You wished they belong to him. You wanted it. You wanted it so much. It felt so dirty. It felt so wrong. It felt so good. Your toes curling, and tail twitching as you earned your release. Cheeks cherry, and legs weak you quickly drained the bath and dried off. "I-I can't believe I just did that."

Getting dressed you made a quick exit to the kitchen. Jungkook stood in a tight white tee shirt. His build even more noticeable now compared to the suit from earlier. His ebony hair was slightly disheveled. He must've been running his hand through it. His lower half in black sweatpants and black socks. His watch on his wrist. However, it wasn't the wrist that decorated his arm, but the veins winding up his arm that caught his eye. Nothing looked better. His large hands stirred the pasta. You licked your lips.

"Hungry?"

"Yes." You whimpered. Not able to face him after what you had just done. You felt ashamed. You lusted after him so much.

"That's good... Deary we forgot to get suppressants earlier." He kept stirring.

"That's alright, I'm not that fond of suppressants." You looked at him, tail twitching. "I'd rather deal with my heats naturally." You bit your lip, your eyes looking up at him. He stayed silent. You wanted him to volunteer.

"Alright. I'll find you a heat partner. Do you mind?" He asks as he starts to sprinkle in ingredients.

Your ears lightly flattened. "I suppose. Depends on who." You tried to drag it out.

"Well, my brother owns a buck who is the sweetest. Should I schedule a play date?" He turns around letting the stove continue to cook. The smell tickling your nose.

"That's okay." Cheeks puffed. Tail stiffed. Jungkook flashes you a smile and grabs his phone yo send a text.

"Dinner is ready Deary. Could you set the table?" He nods off to where the placemats and table wear sat on the shelf.

"Yes." Your drooped ears and feet moving as you set the mat. Jungkook serving each plate. He pours tea in your glass as well as his. Taking your seat you studied him. "Guk what do you do?"

"Like for work?"

"Yes." You take a bite. Your little nub of tail tingling with happiness. The tender pasta and savory flavors mixed and melted perfectly in your mouth.

"I manage a modeling agency."

"Modeling?"

"Yes, models. I run the shoots and manage the girls."

"Just girls?"

"Yes, my business partner Jimin handles the men's management."

"I see. Can I see some of the models?" Your fork led another bite into your mouth.

"I suppose I can show you a few of my favorite pictures. I have somewhere I'm modeling."

"You?"

"Yes, me." He chuckled. His food finished. Your food finished. The two of you sat sipping what was left of the tea. "Would you like to view them?"

Your head began to nod before you realized your own eagerness. "Well follow me honey bun." He cooed as he leads the way to his bedroom. His room a sleek grey and black palette. The decorations were minimal with the exceptions of a few marvel hero chrome figures. They appeared to be custom made.

He took a seat on his bed. His large hand patting the empty space to his side which you more than gladly ran to. He pulled a book from above the headboard. Behind a matte black cover lay an array of photos. He sat on the hood of a car, suited up with one leg propped on the car. His graze dark and lips ensnared between his teeth. Your tail twitched. It was a cologne ad. Next was a photo of his bare wet back pressed against a wall with a very attractive female pressed to his neck. In her teeth, she tugged on a matching necklace to the one lacing her neck. Your ears flattened.

She was gorgeous. Her hair a luscious dark brown flowing beyond her shoulders. Her cat eyes lidded as her manicured hands dug into Jungkook's skin. The same skin you wished you could touch. "She's so..." You gazed at the photo you fingers tracing the necklaces. "She's unreal."

"Evelyn? You think so?" He hummed as he looked at the photo unaffected by its tremendous sex appeal. "She's a bit dramatic, a good model but she's very much a diva."

You hummed and closed the book. Eyes drooping with the weight of today. Jungkook's bed quicksand as it pulled you into its sheets. Soon you drifted off. Soft kisses pressed into your forehead as you ended today. Now you twirled in the stars and dreamt.

Morning came and night left. Your body felt as if it was drifting on the clouds. However, it wasn't fluffy clouds but none other than Jungkook's bed. Alarm filled your being as the very man you craved slept peacefully centimeters away from you. The soft lulls of his breathing, his disheveled hair, and peaceful aura too tempting. Your thighs rubbed together and your ears perked.

Your hands itching to touch. Your lips quivered as they planted themselves against his cheeks. You couldn't help it. You planted another on his other cheek. "Thank you." Your whisper was barely audible.

"Mhm for what?" He hummed as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. Your heart dropped and the blood ran to your cheeks.

"Y-You were awake?"

"I was."

"Why didn't you say something?" You quickly rid yourself from his bed.

"I just wanted to see what my little bun was up to." He smirked. "What were the kisses for baby girl?"

"Not telling." You retorted feeling very called out and attacked. Ears pinned back.

"Keeping secrets are we?" He chuckled as he sat up. His face closing in on yours. His eyes eyeing your lips. Your tail tightening. His hand searching for his phone. "Oh perfect."

Your ears pricked. "Get dressed baby I'll get breakfast started and after you eat, your playmate will coming over for a visit."

"The buck you told me about?"

"Yes." He jumped from the bed, hand running through his hair as he gave a quick stretch. His muscles flexed as he did so.

Slight disappointment ran through your being. You wished his phone hadn't been close by. You wished that he gave some slight interest in you. You gave a nod and hopped off to your room. Picking out a simple pink skirt and playboy tanktop. Hair brushed out. Pink ankle socks on your feet. Face and mouth washed.

"Come down for breakfast!" A call rang up the stairs. Your feet thumping against the floor as you made your way to the kitchen. An omelet sat on a plate for you. Jungkook already eating as he scrolled through his phone. "Later on tonight I'll have a friend come over."

"Really?"

"We might go out for drinks." He hummed as he continued to scroll.

"Okay. I'll be here."

"Of course." He chuckled. "Are you nervous for today?"

"No, well a little."

"Why's that?"

"Is the buck...mean?" You hated yourself that wasn't the right way to phrase what you wanted to say.

"Mean?"

"Not mean but... has he ever been used for heats?"

Jungkook swallowed what was in his mouth. Taking a sip of milk before answering. "I believe this would be the first time he's been seriously considering it. Before there wasn't really any need, I believe you may be his first if you'd take him."

Your ears pinned themselves back. You were even more nervous now. There was no telling what your heat would do to the virgin male. A knock at the door tore your attention away from your food.

"Jungkook you gonna open the door for us or what?" A voice called through the door.

"I'm going!" Jungkook jumped from his seat. He opened the door to reveal a tall man with round glasses and blonde hair. His lips were full as we wore a simple baggy tee and jeans.

"She's such a pretty thing!" He smiled at you. "The name is Seokjin and you are?"

"I-I'm _____"

'"Such a pretty name don't you think Hoseok?"

Hoseok the buck in front of you gave a nod. His curly brown hair spilling over onto his ears. "Nice to meet you y/n." He hummed and gave you a toothy smile. His eyes crescents. His tail twitching. You could smell the virginity reeking from him. The inexperience. Purity.

Your cheeks flushed. He was the cutest buck. "Hoseok if you want you and y/n can get to know each other. I'll put on a movie."

Jungkook gave a toothy smile. He seemed unbothered by this. He grabbed the remote and put on a movie. Pan's Labyrinth. Seokjin followed Jungkook into the kitchen. The two of them busy talking. Their voices were a bit muffled.

"So have you had heat partners before?" Hoseok timidly asked. His thumbs twiddled as he kept his eyes on the tv screen.

"Y-Yes... if I'm correct you haven't?"

"Yes. Y-You don't mind being my first do you?"

You eyed him up and down. He was slimmer and lanky but fit regardless. He was so sweet. "I-I...I'll give it a try."

His cheeks cherry. "R-Really?!" He hummed. His ears perked and his tail trembling with excitement.

"Sure." He seemed sweeter than all the other rough and tough bucks you had been paired with at the hybrid shelter.

He shyly inched closer to you. His nose twitching as he inhaled your sweet peachy scent. His own scent of orange mixing with yours. Jungkook poked his head out from the kitchen. 'Getting along so well already?" He hummed teasingly.

You pulled back and ducked your head. Shy and embarrassed. A bit disappointed that he seemed so okay with it. Hoseok beaming with happiness as he called back. "Of Course!"

Jungkook just chuckled and returned to the kitchen. Hoseok let out a small purr. You felt a little angry. You felt frustrated. A short growl escaping you as you grabbed the collar of Hoseok's shirt and slam your lips into his. You could feel his innocence slipping through your hands. You felt horrible, you felt dirty. Hoseok thinking with cock quickly reciprocated, his lips were shaky and his chest was tight. His lips just as virgin as he was.

Your hand gently pulling at his tail. You wanted this frustration to go away. Triggering Hoseok's rut he let out a low moan. A short growl following after. The sounds just loud enough to alert Jungkook and Seokjin to pop their heads from the kitchen. Your eyes avoiding Jungkook's narrowed gaze and Seokjin's wide eyes.

Hoseok let out a whine. 'R-Room Please?" He pleaded at Jungkook and Seokjin.

Jungkook's voice deep, and his eyes narrowed. "Down the hall to right."

Hoseok whimpered and gently tugged your arm. You were ashamed to follow but you did. You wanted his attention. His touch. Yet, your emotions got the better of you. You brought Hoseok into this and you weren't going to let this vulnerable buck leave your bed without enjoying himself.

Feeling a bit determined you straightened your walk and proudly let the buck to your room. Door locked you dropped your skirt and shred your top. "Sit down on the bed Hobi, I'll show you a few things..."

The eager buck hopping on the bed quickly stripping his shirt and sweats, his boxers tight as he eyed your form. "F-Fuck please..I-I can't wait anymore."

"Of course." You giggled and crawled onto him, your hand clasping his, leading them to your breasts. A gentle moan escaping you as he quickly squeezed and latched his mouth to your buds. His licks and sucks greedy as he rammed his length boxer clad cock into your thigh. 'F-fuck you taste so sweet. A-ahh so fucking sweet." He whined. Your back arched as you hand pulled his cock from his boxers. His length curing up and leaking the more he slammed his cock into your thighs.

His precum painting your thighs a glossy sheen and he moaned your name. He was close. His purity leaving his body as his lips began to stutter. "Shh." You hummed gently pulling away from him. The smell of your heat heavy in the air as you gently pushed his tip between your fold. Ending his cock with the feeling of your cunt. "P-Please... Oh god just put it in. I-I'm begging you."

"Of course." You giggled and slid your wet cunt along his shaft. You could feel him trembling inside you. His thighs shaking and his resolve crumbling as he entered you. You gave a shiver as you still continued to take him. His tip kissing you with its upward curve. Hitting you in a place a cock has yet to. "All in?" You mused.

"Y-Yes ah ... fuck" He groaned.

"Use me then. Don't worry about being gentle. Fuck me all you want..." You blushed. Feeling slightly odd, you wished it was Jungkook's cock penetrating you but you weren't going to ruin it for Hoseok.

Large hands gripped your hips and teeth dug into the mounds of your breasts. A deep needy cry escaped him as he rammed his hips into you. His eyes clouded with lust. He shreds the last bit of his innocence in your folds. Your lewd mewls escaping with each time his cock kissed your cervix. "Ah fuck fuck fuck, you feel so fucking great!" He bites and pulls at your breasts your mind clouded.

"Ahh, faster!"

He lets out a whine and a buries his head between his tits and pushes you down into the bed. His hands gripping the sheets. His tongue ravaging your tits. His head shaking between the two mounds as his dick tornados into your folds. "So fucking tight.. so sweet. I-I need it." His hips stutter as he pounds the bedframe into the wall via your cunt.

Your breasts covered in his glistening saliva, his mind lost. His buck taking over. "Fuck my cock so deep into you. Such a pretty doe. Ahhhh!!" He groans his voice unrestrained.

The sounds echoing throughout the household. Your mewls following in pursuit.

Jungkook gripped his glass as he played music to drown out the sounds he heard. 'Fuck I need a drink.." His phone lighting up. 'Are we still heading out tonight?' He gave a low grunt as he remembered his plans. Slipping on casual clothes left. "Seokjin once they are done take Hoseok home. Tell y/n I'll be home around midnight."

"Sure..." Seokjin twitched uncomfortably as the echos continue.

Hoseok throws his head back as he slides out from your folds. He paints your thigh white, his chest heaving. "I was missing out all along.." He chuckled.

You gave a giggle. "I suppose so." You got dressed. "Shower quickly and go to the living room." Your stomach sank as you exited the room. With no pride to face Jungkook, you headed to your room to shower. Hearing the door to Hoseok's room shut you felt like it was time to head out and face Jungkook. "J-Jungkook?" You called out to the living room.

Seokjin sat on the couch. "Jungkook had plans with someone tonight so he left earlier... He said he'd back around midnight or so.." Seokjin avoided your gaze.

"O-oh... I'll wait up for him."

"If that's what you want." Seokjin smiled as he nodded to Hoseok. "We will get going."

You gave a nod and waved. Your ears dropping as soon as they left you. Putting on a movie once more you sat, alone and feeling regretful. Did you drive Jungkook away? Does he hate you? Is he upset? Will he take you back to the shelter? Was fucking Hoseok too much? Your stomach brewed with the worst thoughts and feelings. The stress too much it knocked the energy out of you. Your eyelids the heaviest of weights as you sat on that couch contemplating your actions today.

A jingling of keys makes your ear awaken before you do. Hands rubbing your eyes as you peered at the door from the dark living room, the dim tv light your only way of getting a look at the door. A hiccup can be heard from the door as it opens. Jungkook flushed pink as he leaned over the back of the most beautiful female. The one from the pictures. Your heart sank as he lay drunk his arms around her neck, his face in her shoulder.

"Geez, why did you drink so much?!" She groaned at him. Her eyes narrowing in on you. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

#jungkook x reader #smut #bunny hybrid #bts writings

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incorrect-hs-quotes · 5 years

Photo

oohohoho you just opened the deepest can of worms on the planet

-mod dave, who wrote a fucking ten mile essay

first off, addressing the second anon, no theyre all humans. h., half humans at least. cause yall know me i fucking love my humanstuck aus off my ASS

(that would be funny as hell though. a troll from space walking into a camp on earth going “I AM THE SON OF ONE OF YOUR EARTH GODS. BITCH” like... holy shit)

so first things first their parents. im gonna lay this out, the beta kids and trolls are all greek (EXCEPT sollux hes roman cause his parent has no greek equivalent), and all the alpha kids and trolls are those gods roman equivalents (,,EXCEPT dirk cause he kinda balances sollux being roman out). i havent figured out how thatd happen like 16+ times yet cause in the percy jackson books theres only ever been one instance of two siblings of the same godly descent being greek and roman respectively in HISTORY so like.. i guess th. i guess thats just not a problem in this au

anyway this gets really long so im gonna talk about the beta kids and trolls cause i havent elaborated on the alphas at all ((peep the tags if you wanna see their parents though))

johns the son of zeus, rose is the daughter of athena, dave is the son of apollo, and jade is the daughter of demeter. they were all raised in their respective states, all had to come to new york for various reasons. jades been there the longest, shes been there 9 years and shes been on a couple quests. her biggest accomplishment so far is how she protected the camp from this big vicious angry hellhound that got past the barrier. naturally the girls fluent in Dog Training, so she steps up and instead of trying to kill this thing, she reaches out and tames it as fast as she can. it ends up actually working, and ever since that day she, her cabin, and the camp have a whole bodyguard sleeping right outside the demeter cabin! hes her steed in battle and hes a Very Good Boy. and his name is becquerel

johns the newest kid at camp, he has no idea who he is or why the fuck his school got attacked or why in the hell those anemoi thuellai were so fixated on him or HOW in the hell he absorbed the lightning one threw at him and ended up fine,,, hes just a big mess right now. a big enough mess that when he got claimed by literally zeus, no one else was around, he shrugged it off as some basic magical happening, and he stayed in the hermes cabin far longer than he should have cause no one! fucking knew he got claimed! by zeus of all people! dumbass. he ends up figuring it out though. like an off-hand mention about how this “weird lightning thing appeared above my head a couple weeks ago, haha weird right?” once he figures it out he realizes “hey i might be able to fly” so he sneaks off into the woods to try it. he succeeds fairly quickly but god almighty everyones face the one day the dude just yote himself off a small cliff without warning,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

dave and rose are really tight, theyve been there roughly the same time length, and since their cabins are across from each other they just bother each other all the time. daves the resident Doctor even though he really doesnt look it cause hes got the apollo powers. apollo is the medicine god. so if you wound your stupid ass in battle daves in the ER room patching you up with his glowy hands. rose on the other hand is a very good strategist. shes one of the only athena kids ever recorded to actually have a power - telekinesis. she has no idea how she developed it, she thinks its from birth, but it freaks her out. shes training it though.

so the beta trolls, are also all human(ish). aradias hades kid. but i pulled a pjo trope on her based on one of my favorite characters (im not saying for spoilers, but if you recognize the situation, You Probably Know Who Its Based Off) and aradia died. her mom, the handmaid, had been pulling some Shady Ass Shit and ended up getting herself killed, but aradia tried saving her and ended up going down with her.

so handmaid gets sentenced to the fields of punishment in the underworld, and aradia gets sentenced to elysium, heroes paradise. shes like “no i want my mom to be okay” so they take that away from aradia and they put them both in the fields of asphodel, the neverending grey space for Not So Good But Not So Bad people. her mom becomes a shade (shadow spirit, no human resemblance), as all people do, but aradia. doesnt? and she gets dunked in the fucking river lethe and if you dont know what that does it erases your memory. so she just. comes out of the river like “hello? wgat tae fukc goin on??” but she still remembers one thing. there was an “a” in her name.

tavros is the son of hermes, hes just kinda taken on the role of backup counselor for when the actual cabin counselor is out. hes in a wheelchair, but he also has prosthetic legs for when he needs to actually stand up and fight. hes really good at it too. also catch him in winged converse cause he Owns Those and Uses Them To His Advantage. hes trying his best to keep focused on the camp, cause aradia was his childhood friend, he misses her a whole lot, she never got to camp in the first place. and to his knowledge, shes still dead.

sollux is a janus kid. thats a problem cause janus is roman, and this is a greek camp. he grew up with dave, he showed up with dave, hes been at camp as long as dave. but hes been unclaimed since he showed up so he thinks hes unwanted by whatever parent he has. he knows hes a demigod, he got through the camp barriers, so what the fuck is wrong with him? he also feels shitty cause hes shit at the greek lessons, he cant read a lick of it which literally every demigod without exception should be able to do, he cant name any gods- well, he can, but.. he gets their names mixed up. why does he keep calling poseidon “neptune”? and he has a much, much different way of natural fighting than other kids. they slice, he jabs. he wasnt taught to jab.

karkat is an aphrodite kid with vitiligo, and to make matters worse, hes ace and on the aro spectrum. to make matters WORSE, the aphrodite kids are kinda notorious for being really shallow, really materialistic, and really mean. karkats been dubbed the “runt” of the cabin, he gets made fun of for his spots to the point where he uses make up and magic to conceal them. worst of all? hes the kid of the goddess of love, for fucks sake. being reminded that “loveless people shouldnt be able to stay in this cabin, mom must have made a mistake claiming you” is kind of.. a blow to the self esteem. long story short he hates aphrodite for claiming him, and would have rather stayed in the hermes cabin. but he eventually goes on this big quest thats vague as fuck right now but Its The Main Plot, he ends up proving to himself that hes worth something and that his siblings are wrong, and my FAVORITE LINE IN THE WHOLE THING i came up with is HIS when he deals a final blow to some big monster: “REMEMBER MY FACE THE NEXT TIME YOU REINCARNATE. MY NAME IS KARKAT VANTAS, I’M THE SON OF APHRODITE, AND LOOKS CAN KILL.”

nepeta isnt anywhere near developed as others are unfortunately, shes a daughter of ares and shes really really good at hand to hand combat. shes small but she leads groups of people in things ranging from camp volleyball games to actual literal wars. shes a tough little shit

kanaya isnt really developed either, i have yet to figure out most of her powers too actually, shes a daughter of iris, the rainbow goddess though. (blatant reference to both kanayas vampirism and. h. her. sh. es ga. gay) ONE THING SHE CAN DO THOUGH is iris message at will without water or drachmas so really shes just everyones go to cell phone and its fucking hilarious cause people just come into the cabin like “KANAYA I NEED TO TALK TO [X]” and shes like “You Better Fucking Pay Me I Am Not Your Personal Cell Phone”

terezi is the daughter of nemesis and she has this really peculiar power she hasnt really gotten the hang of yet. she has synesthesia, so while she cant see she can smell and taste the colors of her surroundings and its really helpful. sometimes though she gets messages from her mom. they dont even come as dreams half the time, they come as almost a different plane altogether. tez has the power to literally tip the scales, pretty much. and when she gets like that, she can see. shes not on earth though, shit on earth stops when shes like that. shes just kinda In Her Own Head, i guess? and in her head she holds the two scales in her hands. she is the arms of the scale. and depending on which one she lifts up, she can literally alter the fate of the battle or happening thats going on By Herself. once she chooses she just whooshes back to real life though and nothing has changed. the only downside? it takes a LOT of energy and cant be exploited for little things. her one thing on her bucket list is to tap into said powers while getting something from a vending machine so like three things will fall out but it hasnt happened yet and shes upset

vriskas a daughter of tyche, the luck goddess, come the fuck on you knew i was gonna, i havent really elaborated on her either and im upset about that. but hey now you get a break from all those fucking paragraphs

equius is a hephaestus kid, and he kinda stays in the background. hes a range fighter, he spends a lot of time in the forge, and even though its been a project looooong since forgotten, hes been excavating the tunnels under cabin nine for years. by himself. he has no idea where they lead, but dammit hes gonna find out where. he has no idea about a certain bunker in the woods though...

gamzees just there for a fucking laugh tbh hes a son of dionysus and i love that cause hes the god of wine and parties and insanity. usually gamzees just zoning out somewhere hes Not supposed to be, and hes not affected by the maenads FUCKED UP BULLSHIT that goes down the forest sometimes. also hes so fucking scared of tavroses wing shoes he tried them on once while he was high and JESUS CHRIST

eridan is the son of kymopoleia, a SUPER obscure goddess. lets just say dont fuck with eridan cause his mom is the goddess of violent sea storms,

and naturally, feferi is the daughter of poseidon. cause who the FUCK else would she be the daughter of. WHO. NAME ONE GOD

OH AND JUST CAUSE I FORGOT CALLIE AND CALIBORN ARE SATYRS IN THIS AU. CALLIE HAS PAN PIPES. and caliborn still has a gun

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darkpoisonouslove · 4 years

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So we've established Griffin is a curious siren. What are some of her favorite things she's discovered in her time in the water and out of it? (Not counting the flowers in her tail and the stars.)

Children are one of her most favorite things. She finds them so adorable. Tiny little humans born from the strangest magic of all. It truly seems like a miracle how something so amazing can come of a process that isn’t magical in its core. Not literally at least, even though everything she knows about the development of a human child fascinates her. It takes so much care to raise a little human from a baby. And carrying the child for nine months in the mother’s vomb? That sounds so much better than creating creatures from your hair even if she’s heard it is quite hard to do. So many women seem to do it and to her it seems totally worth it. She is absolutely delighted when a bunch of children see her on the beach and rush to her, the only desire in their hearts to touch themselves to her magic because their curiosity is so powerful they aren’t even the slightest bit scared or wary. She’s even given little girls some of the flowers growing on her tail. They were all absolutely ecstatic when the flowers just hopped off her scales and into their palms. Even some boys have enjoyed the flowers. Not all of them but some were considerate enough to bring one to their moms as a present from the nice fish lady. And of course, she has yet to meet a child that wasn't squealing happíly when she made a big splash with her tail. She’s even thought of having a child herself. You know, the whole “magical hair creates living beings” thing? But she didn’t think it a good idea. She wasn’t sure other sirens could be made by anything other than Water Stars stardust and she couldn’t take a human child with her in the ocean. Plus, she wasn’t sure her magic would be strong enough to create anything so complex and any of her creations sort of ended up without a will of their own. So that did sound like the worst idea, in fact, and she left it alone. Even if her heart ached when she needed to leave the laughter carrying over a sun bathed bathed beach behind.

Seashell necklaces are something she really liked when she first saw them. Seashells were so ordinary to her as she was seeing them by the ton all the time that she couldn’t have thought they could look special. She really liked the idea when she saw some kids gathering the shells on a beach and making necklaces from them. She made herself one but a woman she was dragging down in the sea almost manged to stuff it into her gills and suffocate her with it so she left it on a beach where someone could find it and take it as she didn’t want to just throw it at the bottom of the ocean to be forgotten as it was special to her. She’d learned something you are used to can still be valuable if it brings happy memories which was quite the feat for a siren as their curiosity was mostly the only thing close to interest they had in anything but once they were acquianted enough with the thing that it wasn’t new and/or exciting, it lost all meaning to them.

Books were totally something she fell in love with immediately. Even more so when she became acquainted with poetry and novels. She’d only seen ship’s logs before that and the magic of the words weaving a story around her was the biggest treasure her curious soul had ever found. It remained one of the most valuable things in her life and she was always sad when she had to tear herself away from it and go back into the ocean. There were whole worlds in books that she could only explore if there was someone to read them to her. It was one of the few things that managed to make her want to be something other than a siren. She did weave her own stories and the water carried them away but there were only fish around to hear them. And maybe a few lucky girls daydreaming on a beach that didn’t immediately ran for their lives when they heard a voice from the water and listened to the magical sound and the incredible tales (all inspired by real expiriences) that it told of.

Glow worms are totally another favorite of hers. She found them when she emerged in a lake in the middle of a cave once and was almost entranced by their glow. It was beautiful and she was immediately drawn to it. There was sunlight captured in her very essence so glowy things always drew her attention. She’s loved glow worms ever since and the only reason she didn’t make some in her own cave was that she didn’t want the light coming from them to help any intruder find their way in her cave.

Some favorites she found in a shipwreck were a mirror that had somehow survived and a comb. She’d already stollen a small bag from another sunken ship and she used it to carry them around with her. She kinda had a narcisstic phase when she first saw herself in the mirror. But it was the comb that she loved more. It helped with tangles in her hair which did happen more often than she’d like it to. She lost them in a strong current, though, when the starp of her bag snapped free and the water carried it away. She realized too late that it was missing and just decided to find herself a new set as it seemed easier than chasing the other one. All other mirrors she could find were broken with mostly just the frame left from them and combs seemed to be the rarest thing you could find on a sunken ship. She didn’t dare ask for either mirror or comb in a trade with people as she was afraid they could try to place a spell on them to draw the magic from her hair or do something to her reflection so that it would transfer on her. She hadn’t exactly taken a course on protecting herself from ill-intentioned spells and she already had enough to worry about.

Cooked meals are so weird to her. But a good weird. She loved them. She first had some at the very beginning of her interactions with humans when she still wasn’t so wary of everything around her. She was the most powerful creature she knew of and she was a bit naive still as she hadn’t learned a lot about the dry landers. She was lucky the first few times but there was an accident that is one of the few memories she would’ve loved to have stayed erased. Zarathustra saved her as she was nearby and she felt her distress (neither of them is quite sure how that happened but it could have been the part fish thing that sort of made her an animal and had her appear on the other siren’s pain radar; it was a lucky save anyway). It did taint cooked meals for her a little. She’s eaten them after that but she was always careful. Even more so once she learned there were those who were trying to imprison her and the other sirens.

This one looked like fun. It really did. She was very enthusiastic about finding a whole colony of big crabs under the sand at the bottom. Was she wrong. It was definitely not fun. She almost ended up crab food. Another memory she wished to erase.

#winx club #winx griffin #siren!griffin #siren au #winx headcanons #ask #trashcankitty12 #mermay #mermay 2020

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thebibliomancer · 4 years

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Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Tactics liveblog pt 11

The plot splits three-ways but only one way is really an option, to my bafflement.

I have to do a training montage because I’m somehow badly underleveled for this part of the game.

I just really want to beat up a Skeksis, anyone will do.

And Gurjin is the MVP but we all already knew that.

Based on nothing except wanting to see what best boy Kylan is up to, I'm going to tackle the Spriton branch of this branching narrative first.

So I go to the little glowy dot on the map over Sami Thicket annnnd Kylan tells me no, don't go there.

Kylan: "It will be difficult to convince the Spriton to join our cause. They have always been the clan most loyal to the Skeksis."

He tells me to avoid the main village and check villages on the outskirts. Why did you put a shiny dot on the main village at all then!

But what can you do.

Mission: Podling Rush - Spriton Village

"A Spriton village is in trouble. Something has driven the neighboring Podlings mad! Help hold off their attacks."

This better have some fantasy explanation because I'm going to get real pissed if I'm being tricked into breaking a strike or if these are just more Podlings that don't want to be bathed against their will.

Just real pissed.

LEVEL 33???! I don't even have anyone in the 20s yet! Whats the point of branching the plots if I'm going to be level-gated into a specified branch anyway?

Lets see the other Spriton mission...

Mission: Cause of Death - Suns-kissed Plains

"The heroes cross paths with a group of Spriton Gelfling who don't seem too friendly."

LVL 30!? These beefy gelfling better show up and join the resistance! They're way stronger than my guys and I've been actively trying to do a resistance this whole time!

Lets try this logic instead. Alyadon piped up first, about the Sifan. So the Sifan quest chains are probably more level appropriate for me.

So selecting The Sifan Coast and Alyadon exposits that the Sifan have been hard hit by the Darkening and the Skeksis tithes. The elders are loyal to the Skeksis but the rest of the Sifan are prime targets for recruitment. Heck yeah.

Alyadon has a lead on a missing scholar. If we find him, he could prove useful. And Kylan, having marched back from the Spriton realizing I'm not going to be there for a while, has a lead on a missing fishing vessel.

Okay, the two available Sifan missions are level 25. That's more around my level. But I'm going to check the Vapran missions really fast.

... The Vapran mission is level 20.

The game just really wants me to go here first. In fairness, its the only one of the three plot threads that's prominent in the show.

Sigh.

Okay.

Mission: The New All-Maudra - Road to Ha'rar

"The heroes return to Ha'rar and learn of a troublesome shift in power."

Lets go see what Seladon is up to.

I cannot imagine that this easily leads to uniting the Vapran clan with the age of resistance but lets see.

Party: Brea and Breg because they're Vapran so they have stake in whatever is about to happen. Hup because he wanted to be a Paladin before I forced him down a different career path. Annnnnnd Naia. Because I'm reading Shadows of the Dark Crystal and she's on her way to Ha'rar in the part I'm up to.

Oof, the level starts with my party surrounded by a lot of enemy units who all have the high ground. Not great.

Aw dangit, Seladon has issued an order for my arrest. Rude.

Annnnnd I died.

It just went super poorly. They start with seven guys to my four.

Hup died almost instantly.

Guess I'm going to try again. With Rian, Naia, Gurjin, and Kylan. Three beefy fighters and a Kylan.

Nope, still lost. Wound up with three of their guys left BECAUSE THEY START WITH THREE MORE GUYS THAN I HAVE

I REALLY don't want to have to grind at bar fights.

Trying again again with Naia, Rian, Kylan, and Deet. Two beefs, two heals.

And that time I died when they had four guys left =|

Lets try Hup, Naia, Rian, and Deet.

And four left again >=|

So I guess grinding for levels is what its going to have to be then.

Great. Fantastic.

Guess I'll go prove my mettle over and over and over and over and over and over.

---

Did one of the desert encounter proves my mettle. Levels up, woo.

Gurjin learned Pursue (take next turn faster when dealt attack damage), Kylan learned Healing Touch (presumably a stronger heal but you need to be adjacent), Naia learned Heroic Leap (jump to an area and deal AOE damage), and Rian learned Tempered Stone (attack up if hit by critical). I also got a Stone Slicer.

Did an encounter in the swamp. Levelled up Naia and Gurjin with no new moves. Leveled up Rian and learned Hold Position. Got a Javelin and a Soup Spoon. Bought Rian a new, cooler sword to make him feel better about the Dual Glaive being stuck behind all these quests that are too high level for me.

Back to the Podling Tavern.

Wukki leveled up. Woo. Also earned a Shimmering Scale. Giving it to Rian because he's the hero guy. Which means I'm putting the Hunter's Cloak on Naia which means she's rocking two bits of Skeksis garb.

Chamberlain's abandoned speedster encounter grinding mission.

Level ups all around! Naia, Gurjin, and Kylan level up and earn nothing. Rian levels up and learns Tangle Up.

Oops, leveled Rian two more levels in Stone Warden than I needed to. Time to switch him to Mender so he can get Bramble Sage so he can get Strategist. So all that cool gear I just gave him is going to Gurjin. Congrats Gurjin!

So I bought Rian the coolest Mender stuff I could afford. Back to the grind. Gotta get everyone AT LEAST 20.

Back to the desert. Levels up!

Rek'yr learned Aimed Shot, Boggi learned Express Aid (heal an ally after moving four tiles, cool), Hup learned Command (friendly beat takes it next turn immediately), and Breg learned Steal MP.

Back to the swamp. Gosh, I sure love this gameplay rut.

Levels up. Deet learned Guardian's Blessing (can put a rez status on someone), Brea learned Firemoss Bundle (AOE fireball), Hup unlocked Potion Master! But I think I'll try Cook instead. And I found a Sturdy Halberd. I'd put that on Naia but the Cooking Spit gives her some additional HP.

More swamp leveling. Woo, Kylan learned Convalesce. Rek'yr and Deet leveled without learning anything. I found a Potion Stirrer. That's going right on Hup.

Back to the desert. Leveled up Hup, Boggi, and Brea but no new abilities.

Back to the gobbles. Back to leveling up. Boggi learned Get 'Em!, Deet learned Aughra's Ire, Rek'yr learned Thra's Light, Alyadon leveled and learned nothing from it.

Thats been a lot of leveling so might as well see how the Road to Ha'rar will go. And then I'm going to bed because eesh.

---

Mission: The New All-Maudra - Road to Ha'rar

"The heroes return to Ha'rar and learn of a troublesome shift in power."

Deet, Gurjin, Naia, and Hup.

And this works out well. Switching Hup to Cook during my leveling frenzy gave him the ability to sling a mean spoon. A couple levels had Naia and Gurin dealing more damage. Deet died though. But she poisoned everyone before she did.

Hopefully I won't have to go on another leveling journey because it really feels like it slows things down.

Speaking of leveling. Naia learned Double Strike 2, Gurjin learned Taunt 2, Hup learned Tenderize (triple strike a Spiced enemy, yes Cooks spice enemies) and Bitter Recipe (attack a Spiced enemy to inflict Blind and Silence).

So the Vapra quest chain splits here. One to go and beat up the General. One to go free some political prisoners that Seladon imprisoned. But I'm sleep now.

---

I'm wake now.

Me complaining about grinding and the game poorly signposting what to do next doesn't make a good post. I'm still going to try to do all the Vapran missions.

And yet, I'm still going to do some grinding before that because Boggi, Brea, Rek'yr, Alyadon and especially Breg still need to hit 20.

You know, for all he's my lowest level guy, he was MVP in the cave encounter. Moving so much, stabbing so much.

Anyway, Brea leveled and learned nothing as did Breg. Alyadon learned Awaken (basically the raise spell).

Theres another swamp encounter that I'm actually really enjoying. Its against four Arathim devourers but you start on the hill and can kind of snipe at them as they move across the map from you. Breg and Rek'yr are getting good use out of Daring Strike and Aimed Strike because I had time to mark them. But I have to say that Daring Strike just is way too much setup. They have to be poisoned AND marked. It does decent damage but you need to devote three moves to it.

Rek'yr learns Form Up, Breg learns Steal Life (steals life, 35% of the damage done by the attack, this is going right on Breg).

Did the road to Ha'rar but as an encounter mission. Boggi leveled and didn't learn anything. Alyadon leveled and unlocked Adept and Bramble Sage. Also I picked up a Tuned Guitar! Hopefully Song-Tellers use instruments so I can give this to Kylan later.

Cave encounter. Breg leveled up, nothing learned. But I found a Sharpened Dirk! Thats going right on Breg.

Also, the encounter grinding actually net me some pearls so I splurged and got teeth or fur for everyone who didn't already have a trinket and got some better armor for Breg and Rek'yr.

Back to the swamp. Alyadon leveled and learned Aughra's Ire. Oh, right. I turned her into a Bramble Sage so I could get some Firemoss on her to replace the rock throw. But I'm switching her back to mender so I can work on getting the SUPER healing moves.

Now just Breg is still lvl 19. But I'll get him up. Back to the road. Woo. Levels ups. Rian leveled and learned nothing as did Rek'yr. Brea learned Firemoss 2 (firemoss' cooler older brother) and Breg learned Adrenaline.

And I can get back to the plot.

---

Mission: Citadel Sneak -- Citadel Tunnels

"The cruel Skeksis General is in Ha'rar, conscripting Vapran Gelfling. The hereos must sneak into the Citadel to stop him."

This sounds like its going to have a wacky success condition.

Bringing Rian (because I really want to get him through these Mender levels so I can get him to Strategist), Deet (because she's not gotten to do anything recently) and Boggi and Wukki because shouty dogs is definitely who you want to bring on a stealth mission.

Hm, potion bottles on the map that grant you haste if attacked. Neat.

Ok so win condition is to get all four heroes to the exit, nobody can die. I only see two venom spitter arathim on the map. There's probably going to be more jumping in to mess with me. The jerks.

Ok wow thats a lot of spawn-ins.

More and more arathim and even some nurlocs. Thankfully, you can hit a boulder to roll and block the nurlocs way. And even though I was hilariously unprepared, I got through first try. Thanks to the good ol' doggos.

Everyone leveled! Deet and Boggi learned nothing! Rian learned Convalesce and Wukki learned to Munch (attack a marked target 5 times with reduced accuracy)! He also knows Fuzzy Meteor, which is a delightful move name.

---

Mission: General Upheaval -- Citadel Barracks

“The heroes confront the General. They must drive him out of Ha’rar to free the Vapran Clan.”

That’s a great mission name. 10/10, TDC: AOR: T. Top-notch.

Just going to make a guess here, based on nothing. The General mission will get the Vapran to join the resistance. The Seladon mission chain will get her to join the party. Either way, I really want to kick the General's butt.

I see two Paladins, an Adept, and the General. There's some open doors so I just bet that more units will spawn in.

The General has 2000 HP. Has Crushing Blow (probably massive damage to Stunned enemy), Intimidate (inflicts Attack DOwn, Defense Down, and Silence to enemies adjacent to SkekVar when he, I dunno, flexes or something), and Prod (shove and stun). Hopefully he's less annoying than the Chamberlain but thats a low bar. Zing.

Party: Rian (hero), Naia and Gurjin (my good fighters), Brea (this is her home darnit), and Breg (oh right, he's a Vapra too? Huh)

General: "So the heretics have returned!"

Rian: "You aren't taking these Paladins anywhere, drainer!"

General: "Take? The Paladins come freely. They are loyal. Not like that mother of yours."

Geez, General. Low blow.

Brea: "Murderer! You'll pay for killing her!"

So things are going ok. Making some missteps. But when I kill one of the Paladins, another one appears. So, yes. This is another level with new spawns.

Hah, but you can use levers to close the doors so no new spawns can spawn and if you do, SkekVar complains, asking where his minions went.

Well, as usual with fighting Skeksis, it was a bloodbath. He killed all my dudes but Gurjin. He shouldn't have overlooked Gurjin.

Since everyone died nobody leveled but Gurjin and he didn't learn anything new. BUUUUT I did get the Royal Scepter and the General's Hand Axe. And Brea just unilaterally declared the Vapran were joining the Resistance. Seladon is All-Maudra of nothing, I suppose.

In fairness, in this game, there was already a Vapran resistance that Seladon had arrested. So she had already lost the unity of her people by the time I showed up.

The General's Hand Axe is a big boost over the Dredged Axe I had already equipped to Rek'yr. Comes with a lot more stats and a little more slowness. I wish axes didn't slow down turns so much. In any case, this is going right on Rek'yr.

Comes with a quote too, as special weapons sometimes do. "No such thing as an honest skeksis. SkekVar gets the closest, but that's no compliment" - Maudra Fara.

Nice dunk, Fara.

Royal Scepter is the Vapra Clan Staff. Did... did we steal this from Seladon? 30% chance to Wound, 20% MP gain on hit. Feels appropriate to give this to Brea. Or Seladon if I unlock her.

OH, its the iconic crescent moon with crystal shaped staff. Nice.

And since Deet is still using a simple club, I'll give her the Drenchen Legends.

So a frustrating pair of play sessions but I got some good loots in the end.

#dark crystal #the dark crystal #dark crystal age of resistance #dark crystal age of resistance tactics #THE GAME #liveblog

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moonlightreal · 4 years

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Winx Club season 8/26

In which we get one last surprise retcon.

26 Written in the Stars

Recap says the last prime star is the “star of brotherly love.” Were the other stars “of” things? I totally missed that.

Valtor’s asteroid! ...wait, what’s this? Valtor is having a chat with a bunch of unforeshadowed Shadowy Figures he calls “my brothers of the darkness dimension.” Valtor gathered the prime stars to free them and they’re getting impatient.

Gee, this series already dropped one big fat surprise motive, I was not expecting another one in the very last episode!

So Valtor wants to be a powerful sorcerer so he can unseal the darkness dimension and free his buddies. Whaaaaaat even is this? Valtor’s not from some weird dimension, he was created by the Three Ancestors! His backstory is what made him cool, and “buddies in the dark dimension’ is so uninspired!

Season 8, whaddaya doing to me? -_-

Alfea at sunrise! they’re squeezing the best gorgeous Alfea shots out of their software for this last episode and I am here for it. Upgraded Alfea is just the greatest.

Kiko rocks on with headphones. The Trix walk in behind him. How did they get iiiiiin?! Into the Winx common room, past the school barrier and all the students and teachers.

Kiko sees the Trix and freaks out. Icy knows the bunny’s name, which is kinda sweet. Knowing your enemies’ pets! Kiko pelts the Trix with apples from an apparently infinite fruit bowl. The Winx wake up and find witches dodging apples.

Badass Bloom: “I don’t know how you got here, but I know how you’re gonna leave!”

The Trix turn out to be Stella, Flora and Aisha transformed. Not bad, writers. Professor Wizgiz made the spell for them for Bloom’s plan to get into Valtor’s asteroid. Flora says it’ll be dangerous and Aisha sounds kind of fed up when she says, ‘Ok, Flora, but don’t worry too much.”

Bloom’s phone rings, it’s Sky with a be-careful call.

The star box poofs in. “The goal of your venture will not slip away, but listen carefully to what I’m going to say...” I assume she’s telling them where Valtor’s asteroid is. The Wishing Star would know, and I don’t see how else the Winx would.

We cut to the real Trix walking down a dark blue and purple corridor. Icy is keen to challenge Valtor, she thinks their prime star will give them enough of an advantage. Darcy and Stormy are not so confidant. Stormy sensibly suggests they just take their freedom and clear out.

Icy: ‘because right now we’re standing on the needle of a scale. A scale that will tip in our favor when we take Valtor’s three stars. We’ll have the power of the wishing star all to ourselves.” Icy wants to break the spell on Sapphire. Stormy wants them to be undisputed queens of the magic universe. Darcy’s dream is to “overturn the law of nature itself. A world of illusion, can you imagine?” Ok, they’ll try attacking Valtor with Icy.

Wow, and Icy says, ‘If things go bad, run, and leave me to my fate.” so Icy is putting it on the line not just for Sapphire but for Darcy and Stormy, which is remarkably honorable, for Icy. They hug, and it’s sweet. Then they enter the throne room!

Valtor’s just done chatting with his shadow buddies I guess. Icy starts to say something, I think she’s going to bluff that they couldn’t get the star, when the room shakes and rocks fall from the ceiling. Thunder.

Stormy: ‘don’t look at me, I didn’t do it.” Heh. Valtor orders the Trix outside to check it out.

Outside, it’s Bloom, Tec and Musa who’s hitting the building with “sonic shake” I think meant to draw their enemies out. And it worked!

The Trix are happy to have a fight, even though this would be the perfect time for Icy to do a little “enemy of my enemy” stuff. But the Trix just like fighting the Winx I guess. It’s their hobby.

Inside, fake-Trix walk along the corridor and Aisha-as-darcy nearly falls over because her shoes are too tight. it’s an illusion spell, why are you wearing Trix shoes? Flora suggests they fly instead.

Fake-trix sneak into the throne room. Valtor is back to taking to his shadow buddies and he explains his whole plan before turning and seeing the fake-Trix. Stella is kinda hilarious doing the whole, ‘prime star? Oh, um, didn’t you have it?” thing as Icy. She says it might be in her pocket and Valtor reminds them they have no pockets. Pffffft. Seriously, Valtor is dumb as a doorknob not to realize.

The real Trix and Bloom bust in through the roof and Valtor is momentarily confused before the Winx all turn back into themselves.

Valtor demands the star from Icy. Stella says, ‘don’t give it to him!” and spills Valtor’s plan to release his shadow buddies. Valtor tries activating his mark on the Trix but surprise, it’s gone!

Bloom does a little speech about “if you give it to Valtor it will be the end of everything, the magic universe will cease to exist, is that really whet you want?” and “On Dyamond I realized there is love in you.” Bloom doesn’t know about Sapphire, remember, she just knows Icy likes cute baby animals.

Valtor blasts Bloom and reminds Icy that the Winx are their worst enemies and that they’ll be rich and powerful beyond imagining if they help him out! Then he blasts Bloom again, but she shields herself, lights up, and says, “In your heart you know there’s only one thing to do.”

But Valtor evil-lights up.

The Winx and Trix know a bad thing when they see it and fly away.

The whole castle busts open and there’s a gargoyle with Valtor’s mark across its chest. It doesn’t look or sound like Valtor at all, but I guess that’s him. Giant gargoyle goes after the Winx. It throws blast after blast of dark magic at them and the girls raise their shields. Rainbow put in a little detail, Tec’s is green and techy, Aisha’s is morphix. But they can’t hold out for too long.

Here come the Specialists in their ship! It flies back and forth distracting the gargoyle.

Back on the asteroid, Darcy and Stormy want to skip town, leave the Winx to deal with the giant monster. But Icy does not want the magic universe destroyed! Darcy and stormy plead with her, Let’s just save ourselves!”

Flashback to Princess Icy on the overlook, vowing to save her sister. Young Icy raises glowing hands to her hair, smoothing the yellow frizz into sleek silver, and conjuring the tall thingy Icy uses to hold up her ponytail. “So, sis… Icy.” Like she’s embracing the darker possibilities of her name.

Present time Icy: ‘I watched a world crumble before. I won’t let it happen again. we’ll face this threat!” The other two go with her.

Valtor at first thinks they’re on his side, but then Icy gives the star to Bloom! She puts it in the star case and the other three fly out of the castle and go into the case as well. We fade into magc-space and the Wishing Star gets herself back together!

“Yes Winx, you’ve achieved your goal, and I am free. To make your greatest dream a reality.”

Stella’s stoked. Wishes! But the others realize they have to ask for something that’s good for everybody. Bloom knows what they should wish for!

Bloom: “Our wish is to be able to protect the magic universe. We want to preserve it in harmony, now and forever.”

The star: ‘so be it, Winx. My brave and generous fairies of light.”

The star sends her light to the Winx and they all glow golden.

Valtor gargoyle tells the Trix this is all their fault.

But before he can bring the violence the glowy Winx all blast him and he is swallowed up in light. The asteroid disappears, leaving empty space. In the spaceship, Sky cheers.

The Trix realize there’s nothing else for them here, and head off to their next scheme. Before she does, Icy and Bloom look at each other and share a moment of understanding.

Ok, I think that was a dumb wish. The Winx protect the magic dimension already! If you get a wish, you should save it for something you can’t accomplish with the powers you already have! Maybe they couldn’t have defeated Valtor without lighting up, but they defeated him last time without star power. I would’ve liked it better if the Winx had been zapping and then the Trix had to join in to defeat Valtor, or some other use of having three sides in this fight.

I’m also so sure that Bloom would have used the wish to save Dyamond if she’d heard the story about Icy’s sister. Bloom’s a softie anyway, and she literally suffered the same thing herself. They could’ve used the wish without powering Icy up further… sigh. it’s such a weird skipping of such an obvious plot.

The Wishing star flies off, and we see her pass the star ship Purripla. The nautical lumens are happy. The star visits the cave lumens, unilumens, surf lumens, and then we see Twinkle fly into the throne room on Lumenia. ‘The Winx have won, my queen! The Wishing Star is back!” Time for a party on Lumenia, but Twinkle is more interested in the one at Alfea.

Where they’re having a concert, of course. This song’s a bit livelier than some. The minor fairies, the boys, teachers and Knut, a couple of lumens, and Twinkle and Lumilla are there. They are my OTP! I scan the crowd for Orion, but he doesn’t seem to have made it.

In the sky the Wishing Star zooms past, drawing a W between six stars. It’s the Winx constellation!

And that’s season 8!

But you’re not getting out of here without more ponderings!

It occurs to me that the Winx know—or at least Bloom thinks she knows—that Icy is capable of love, but they know nothing about what the white fox really is. In the real world where things don’t end after 26 episodes the next thing Bloom would want to do is go back to Dyamond and figure everything out. Making Icy stop being a threat to the magic dimension would be a huge win. Although… Icy has spent ten-ish years doing really awful things, she’s not a good person. She’s a terrible person who loves her sister, and if Sapphire regained human form Icy would be… still a terrible person, just one with a human sister. it’s hard to imagine Icy just returning to being princess of Dyamond and doing a good job. Or even enjoying it.

I do wonder if we’ll see Sapphire again. I guessed this is setup for movie 4, it could also be setup for season 9 or it could just disappear like the fairy animals from season 7 just disappeared.

Some thoughts:

The art bugged me less than I thought it would, I honestly stopped noticing after a few episodes. Even the boys… still looked weird, but my brain didn’t remind me loudly just how weird they look.

Musa/Riven, why must you be so bad as to force me to take a side in a fandom I don’t want to take sides in? -_-

Liked seeing Knut and the Alfea teachers again, and I’m glad they took the time to bring the minor fairies along to the new art style. Of course it was all made very confusing since some parts of the world seem to have gone back in time and others don’t. Mielle looked much younger but was described as being still a teenager.

All in all, I liked this season! I will have at least one more post of afterthoughts, and maybe a deep-dive into Icy’s past. The official Winx youtube channel has a video about it that I haven’t watched since I didn’t want to spoil myself. We’ll see. Depending on just how unemployed I turn out to be and how hard I’m working on my fanfics, I may have plenty of time to write about Winx!

#winx season 8 #winx club

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twitchesandstitches · 5 years

Text

Miscella Vs the Fleet: old wounds

Spinel was something of an outsider to the Fleet, and walking through the rubble that had been a street market only a few hours ago, she felt that she was missing out on a lot of context.

Robots, humanoids, chimeric mash-ups and the periodic holographic manifestation of digitally encoded mind-states sat against the wall, nursing their wounds, wincing as medic-clerics carefully extracted acids specifically designed to counter the most common methods of regeneration against the Fleet. People who had chitinous bodies or alterations had watched their armor melt and then screamed as the acid had bitten at flesh and blone; those with powers centered around manipulating energy had been hit by anti-magic devices that disrupted the delicate flow, causing their bodies to break apart and explode on the spot, surviving only through sheer bloody-mindedness.

Gems weren’t immune. Spinel vaguely recalled agonizing pain before she poofed, and whatever it did had set the delicate balance of mutagenic forces plaguing her into overdrive; even now, the corruption raced through her, her projection slowly warping and turning acidic, spiritual pain sliding inward. And her Gem, mounted between breasts so large they made up a massive chunk of her entire mass, was a mass of jagged mineral, her rosey-red tinting into a dark and horrible shade of purple...

She heard it. The call of, of the thing from beyond the stars. The slow whisper, sliding into the back of her mind, drowned out just barely by the voices of other people.

But there were warm hands, kneading into her projections weak points where she got too rubbery to even move, pumping enough magic to stabilize it. It was a magic like fire, warm and, and kindly.

“Can you move?” Said a deep, rumbling voice that almost all solid baritone.

Spinel nodded, painfully standing up. She looked up into a tall and imposingly massive figure that could have been an ogre, or perhaps a goat, depending on how you looked at it. Perhaps even a nicer variety of demon.

The massive and exceptionally masculine figure sighed in relief; muscles individually larger than Spinel herself shifted beneath shaggy white fur, and a long face crowned by huge horns smiled softly. “That’s good. Please move carefully; I’m not sure how your magic might have been compromised.”

Asgore, she’d heard him called. The King of the Monsters, and a whole lot of other titles that made it sound like he’d seen a lot of extremely nasty things, and it was strangely appealing that he’d taken a bit of a shine to her.

Spinel frowned at the soldiers being led away; they weren’t local. None of them looked particularly modified on a biological or cybernetic level, though their fancy uniforms (very sleek, with a bit of an angular vibe to them) were definitely performance-enhancing exoskeletons. Power armor, she supposed, though not as clanky and ritualistically maintained as the sort you saw in her new group. The soldiers were a mixed group, of all manner of species, but whether it was a primate’s face or an avian turian’s mandibles or a glowy energy monster, they all had the same shut-down look of someone who was just doing a job and considered your presence to be beneath them; small time bullies who used what power they had to humiliate anyone they felt like.

They all had the same logo on them, which looked a bit like an infinity symbol surrounded by a spiral branching off into arrows pointing in multiple directions. “Who ARE those guys?”

“Miscella Incorporated soldiers, I believe,” said Asgore. “They have many private armies, of mercenaries and other such ruffians, but I suspect these are one of the in-house special forces they employ for touchy situations.”

Spinel blinked slowly. It had been a long day, not helped by a war rapidly escalating from a minor argument all at once. As best as she could tell, there HAD been a ship arrivng earlier, apparently to discus some trading rights.

And then there’d been yelling. And some of the Fleet members got way more intense about it than she’s ever seen, and they’d thrown punches after someone called them ‘disgusting mutants’, and then things really got out of hand.

At one point, a two-mile long ship had crashed right onto a city.

“So what the hell happened!?” she asked. “It was just a business thing; why’d they make it personal?”

Asgore sighed, looking very tired. “You should know... I’ve been with this group for a long time. Ever since we were nomads, roaming from world to world and fleeing our many enemies.”

Spinel glanced at him. Now did not seem the time for a history lesson. “Sure. You weren’t really the Fleet yet, right? You and your monsters joined up early on, then I guess Gems started finding you, and lots of other people... but it wasn’t like the way it was today. Things were a lot more fractious, you were always in danger, and the guys who’d form the Cobalt Stinger pirate empire were still with you.”

“Yes. Back then, we hadn’t run into those brutish sorts of the Imperial Commonwealth either. Our main enemy was... well. Miscella Incorporated.”

“...Why?”

“We passed near their worlds, and they took offense to us. You see, we didn’t use any of their currencies, we weren’t interested in buying any of their stuff save supplies or interesting gear, and most of all, we didn’t want to settle down in their lands and submit to their restrictive policies.” Asgore frowned. “Mega corporations, like Miscella, institutes some very harsh restrictions for their people. Depending on how the local branch implements it, they can often be little better than legal slavery. People are legally the property of whatever sub-corporation that has them employed, and they cannot move to other planets, change careers, or gain additional income without approval. Sometimes, they are even forced to have surgery and monitoring devices installed so they cannot think thoughts that Miscella would disapprove of.”

“That’s horrible.”

“Yes, that’s what we thought. We told them no. We said, on many ocassions, that our pride wasn’t worth whatever profit they offered. So things got much worse from there; Miscella is a bit of a control freak, as a whole, and since we would not comply, they tried to force us into either compliance, or to wipe us out and indoctrinate us.” He shook his head. “I honestly don’t know if this kind of policy is company-wide, or if we were simply unfortunate enough to be in the crosshairs of a particular branch that hated people who were from social margins... but they killed us, hounded us, chased us across hundreds of worlds. We fought back, and killed lots of them. At times, we were a roaming horde, destroying their towns and claiming the ruins as loot, just to survive. Revenge, and so on. And it wasn’t the Stingers alone that did such a thing, I can tell you.

“So blood for blood, and then both sides wanted revenge for the revenge we’d already taken, and so on. And so forth. It went on for a long time.” He sighed. “And so, now, there is a lot of bad blood.”

“Ain’t you guys ever tried to make peace, or at least force a cease fire?” Spinel asked. “We’re one of the biggest, baddest societies around; a single one of our heroines could clobber a whole army of theirs, I’m thinking.”

“True enough, but force alone is not a terribly attractive notion to all the clans, and given the scale of Miscella’s holdings, such total war would require absolute agreement among all the clans... and you know we argue far too much for that!” Asgore laughed, and then grew serious again. “But, miss Spinel, it’s not just revenge. Even if we didn’t have generations telling us, with bloody stories, not to trust them or give them an inch, our philosophies are wholly incompatible. You know, I think, that we in the Fleet believe that life, absolutely all forms of sapient existence, has the right to be free and become whatever it chooses, and to help all others prosper and live in contentment?”

Spinel nodded. “Yeah. I suppose that’s a reason I’m still here.”

“Indeed. Well, Miscella, I’m sorry to say, largely regards all people as resources. Sometimes... literally. Sometimes simply as markets to tap, or employees to use. But inevitably, they see people as tools and assets, fit only to serve their interests. Almost like a divine right of kings, but based on their own existing wealth and power; they consider themselves to be the rightful rulers of all existence, and all us must fall into line with how they think the world ought to be. They treat deviance from their cosmic agenda - which is an actual thing they have, some sort of flow chart of ultimate heirarchy and organization - as a personal affront. And we are nothing but deviants, you know!”

Spinel laughed. “I know!”

“So, our ideals and views are... too different. We see people and want them to be free. They see resources, and want to bring them to heel. Even if not for our mutual resentment, that would breed other problems. But ultimately, they are our oldest enemies.” He sighed. “And sooner or later, there will be war.”

“...We’d win that one. Right.”

Asgore looked troubled. “That’s the problem, though. I’m sure we’d win. The question is, how can we decisively win a war against such a powerful group, with our honor intact?”

#my writing #fics #crossthicc AU #twitchy!spinel #twitchy!asgore #twitchy!su #twitchy!undertale

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