#Take my OC as my chosen target for this event

[thatruerealmwalker]

"Sometimes... When I look at the other kids playing around, unaware if what's happening here... My Stomach Hurts..."

"When one of those Toys is Near... My legs Scream at me to RUN..."

"When night comes... and the Workers look over me while I try and sleep... My eyes threaten to Cry..."

"BUT I CAN'T... I can't show that anything is wrong, That I know..."

"I'll change my chosen toy all the time, be average on every test they give me, speak nothing of what I know..."

"I'll stall for as long as I can, buy myself as much time as possible. I'll learn every weakness, every flaw, of both this factory and those horrible Toys. I'll get stronger, faster, smarter, as much as possible without anyone catching on. I'll prepare as much as I can, for every fight, every route, every danger..." "So when the time comes..."

"I'll GET OUT OF HERE"

Hello there! This is William, a young orphan within the walls of Playcare, a new OC I made for Poppy Playtime! Specifically William was inspired by and somewhat considered an OC of the blog @realizinau and their wonderful work over there! (Hello!)

William is a kid who knows far, FAR to much then he should. Aware of what the toys really are, aware of what their doing to children like him, and aware that he is not safe within Playcare.

If someone were to ask him about something in the factory, he would most likely know, but would never dare even entertain answering those questions. He knows that one wrong step, one target on his back is enough to get him selected next... so he stays as average as he can, shows himself to be not soon-to-be toy material. He has it down to a science at this point, and he won't risk his life, not yet, not for a damn question.

He considers every toy in the Factory to be both horrifying and the highest threat to his survival and chances at leaving one day. He avoids and dances around them when he can, and recites literal self made mantras of every weakness and every way to harm or escape the toy in question he knows about within his head while around them if he can't (due to not being able to write anything incriminating down). Several times in a panicked state because he doesn't have the tools and weapons on him to follow any plan he has.

He is afraid of the Smiling Critters the most for the fact that he sees them and interacts with them every day, thus being the highest risk to him. After every interaction there is a chance he may genuinely puke in the nearest bathroom from his fear getting hold of him. He silently prays that they never take notice of him, or god forbid take interest in him and spend more time then normal around him. He would wear the most perfect mask while interacting with them but be screaming his Mantras internally while mentally holding a cross, especially around Catnap (due to his red smoke) (not sure if the Realizing Au has Catnap with his red smoke still, so if not he would most likely consider Bubba the most dangerous of the critters).

William's core desire is to leave the factory and never look back. He, when he is at least 80% sure he can get away with it (it used to be higher but he's getting desperate) gathers as much information as he can, about the layout, systems, patrols, anything to give him an edge when the time of his escape comes. He has also been able to make very small stashes of makeshift tools, weapons, and items around Playcare, all either to help him escape or fight back against a Toy should he need to. The most dangerous is a Flare hand he smuggled off of a GrabPack once, which almost got him caught.

William is at the point where he genuinely does not value any life inside the Factory other then his own, and would not hesitate to kill a staff worker or Toy should he have to. Again, nothing matters to William other then getting out... but that could change depending on events to come.

I'll be throwing some more stuff of William up later, but I absolutely tore my hand up drawing all this today. Hope you enjoyed!

[skaruresonic]

Remember me? To start off: I'm sorry about triggering some terrible and mentally painful memories when I went off about how I felt about the state of Flynn criticism. I never intended that. I wasn't defending or, heck, even trying to invite discussion about Flynn's rabid fanatics anyway. I could've chosen my words better, but aside from the detractors' mentalities, I meant to focus on Flynn ONLY. And I have nothing against your or their fan fictions. I do fan fiction, too. I just noticed what seemed like extreme shilling surrounding their exposure. I don't aim (and never did) to change minds about the dude, but I find the constructiveness of the critical discourse has been long lost.

Fitting that I received your ask on the first-year anniversary of my visual novel.

And I have nothing against your or their fan fictions. I do fan fiction, too.

Then why bring it up? What does "and your fics aren't even that good" add to the conversation about another writer's work?

I just noticed what seemed like extreme shilling surrounding their exposure.

Ah. There it is.

Look, I'm going to be brutally honest with you. But before I do, I want you to know I'm not angry with you, just annoyed - and perhaps angry in general at the overall situation we're in.

Honestly, the current climate is reminding me of the time antis gentrified Half-Life and caused the old guard to disperse. Everyone in our mutual circle is drifting away from Sonic in some form or another because it's such a toxic cesspit, and what's worse, they blame us for it. Would you want to stay in a situation like that?

Anyway, I have no patience for "you keep shilling your work" anymore because that standard only seems to apply to us. If we held everyone else to that standard, this entire Chili's would be revealed as hypocrites in an instant.

The fic mocking is not an isolated event. I've seen it happen over and over again, for years. Folks mocked Crusher's fic and OCs on TV Tropes. Folks mocked Darklight's OCs on Twitter. Folks sneered that we were too stupid to comprehend storytelling, and once someone said "none of them can even draw."

They can never leave it at "their criticisms suck." No, they have to make things so much more personal than they need to be. In the absence of an actual argument, they call you names, say you deserve all kinds of punishment, including but not limited to death and rape. Crusher had to delete hundreds of threats from his inbox. So please forgive me if my patience has waned paper-thin.

Folks feel the need to knock us down a peg because they think it's "warranted" on the basis of "we have egos." Which is a riot when, again, everyone on social media shills their work. That's what fandom does. You cannot throw a rock in here without hitting someone who thinks their AU improves on the games. I don't know why IDW is so sacrosanct that saying "I could probably do better" is considered blasphemy.

Whether or not my friends shill their own work as being "better" than IDW or whatever else is irrelevant. IDW staff are professionals (or should be, anyway); what do they care if some rando thinks they can do better? Besides, have you heard Flynn's recent grumblings about how he's tired of having the same conversations about his work since he was in high school? Why does he keep answering questions he doesn't want to dignify with a response? Why does he sound so miserable for someone who essentially Won the Game(tm)?

People telling you your work sucks a couple of times, yeah, maybe you can chalk that up to trolling. But when damn near everyone takes the excuse to hit below the belt, you start to feel less like "don't feed the trolls" and more like you're deliberately being targeted as a punching bag.

And I'm sorry, but I have no patience for that stuff. Take whatever umbrage you want with the state of criticism these days, but leave the fic out of it. That's all I ask.

[meganechan05]

Sentai OC Design Update

Was talking about OCs with some people and I thought it wouldn't hurt to try drawing my 2011 team again after who knows how long and maybe give them a bit of an update.

More Info under the Cut

Three sisters born with special powers and connections to animals passed down in the family. They live in Tokyo with their grandparents sponsoring them from Kyoto after losing their parents. While they don't look or act like it, their family is one of the most influential in Japan. No one knows because the Family gave themselves a common name to blend in with the rest of society.

Akane

The Eldest Sister and Leader of the team. She controls Fire and her connection to wolves grants her abilities similar to them.

She's very protective of her sisters which can sometimes make her overbearing. This is mainly due to the fact the three lost their parents to the enemy during a botched sealing ritual and she couldn't risk losing what's left of her family.

The only person keeping her grounded is her girlfriend, Hotaru, who also acts as her voice of reason. Sometimes the girls' paternal uncle tries to help but he has to call Hotaru when he knows he can't do much.

Design Notes: She wears a lot of high collar shirts to hide a scar on her back that is visible when she wears crewnecks. She avoids having it seen because Tomoko doesn't remember the event that caused it. She prefers keeping it secret from her sister in fear it'd trigger a panic attack in the younger girl.

She also wears two earcuffs. One to represent herself and the purple represents her girlfriend, Hotaru.

Tomoko

The Second Sister and the Next Head of the Tanaka Family. She controls the element of water and has abilities similar to a mouse but most of her focus is on ice.

A very sensitive girl who wants to do her best so her family wouldn't worry about her. But due to the Family Secret, she has a huge target on her back and has to be on constant watch as she hasn't made much progress with her training to ward off the enemy and rival families.

It's later revealed she has an alternate personality that has more control of her powers. But considering her history with the family, her appearance makes everyone defensive even if her goals are to protect Tomoko and her family.

Design Notes: Her purple streak is her natural hair, but the change in color is due to an event she doesn't recall and her sisters refuse to answer about.

Her hairclips represents her two friends from middle school who she keeps in contact with. Her locket is the symbol of the one chosen to be the next Family Head and was given to her by their late mother. She has an idea on the truth of the locket, but only her sisters know the full truth to protect her.

Kiku

The Youngest Sister. She controls lightning and has abilities similar to that of rabbits including speed and high jumps.

A bit of a troublemaker but mostly because her family had put more focus on her sisters and their roles while wanting her to live a more normal life, something she doesn't take too kindly. She's not fond of the roles her family was given so she always does her best to prove herself so her sisters wouldn't have to carry the burden.

She often takes out her frustration in video games which led her to be one of the Top Gamers under the alias RapidRabbit. Her sisters tend to cheer for her but do screen the games she plays out of worry due to her age.

Design Notes: She has a lot of rabbit hairclips that she switches between. Those she treasures and wears the most are the ones she bought from Kyoto while visiting family or gifted to her.

She wears a lot of off-shoulder tops but can also lean into gyaru fashion sometimes. Though not often due to her family's status so she finds more appropriate options or else she'd get an earful from her grandparents. She does opt for loungewear to stay comfortable while gaming.

Not sure when I'll redesign the boys, but here's an old drawing of the whole team from a couple years back:

[authoralexharvey]

INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @daisywords

Who You Are:

Daisy || She/her

I'm a fantasy enjoyer about to graduate from university with a degree in editing. In addition to writing, I like to draw/paint and play the piano. Also interested in linguistics and bookbinding

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Young and New Adult, Adult.

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

I love specfic in general, fantasy in particular (but the line between fantasy and scifi is blurrier than one might think). I particularly like the potential of alternate worlds to set up situations and character dynamics that simply couldn't exist in a historical or contemporary novel

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

I don't read or write smut/erotica but other than that everything else is potentially on the table. I couldn't see myself doing straight historical fiction, either, honestly, just because I probably wouldn't be able to resist adding some specfic elements and/or unanchoring it from time (Fantasy is freedom to me, whereas historical accuracy is something extra to adhere to.)

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

You mean other than myself?? Ok but actually it's pretty broadly just people who like fantasy. I have one wip that's technically YA just based on the age of the characters, but it could definitely be enjoyed by adults. My other wip is adult/NA but could also definitely be enjoyed by teenagers.

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

hmmm….something about the juxtaposition of violence and tenderness? Guilt/responsibility and free will/predestination a la the Chosen One trope. Memory loss trope (so juicy)

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

I personally am not a fan of immortal love interests. sorry everyone.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

My current main wip is called Deep and Dark, Beautiful and Bright. I started it in November 2020. I also have a back burner project called Fear Me, which has been ship-of-Theseus-ing since I was like 10 lol. And I'm working on two short stories that are being more trouble than they're worth

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

I've been making up stories since I knew what stories were. Mostly started out playing elaborate pretend games with my sister. In second grade my best friend suggested we "write a book" together since our teacher would give out blank spiral-bound paper packets. (I think she was mostly interested in my illustration abilities tbh) Anyway we created a series centered around a character named Natalie (who was basically a ripoff of Ramona/Junie B. Jones.) But anyway I think around then is when I actually became interested in writing books as an outlet for making up stories. I didn't actually do a ton of writing as a kid, but I always collected story ideas and had a ton of ocs that I would draw in my secret sketchbook.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

Honestly I get inspiration from everywhere. My brain is a very productive idea factory (but not a productive draft finisher, sadly). Other media (for example taking one specific concept or plot point form a move and running in the opposite direction with it), dreams, songs, historical events, offhand comments from friends, etc. Sometimes justt out of nowhere I swear.

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

Not yet and yes eventually

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?

I want my projects to have a final form and I want other people to read them. I don't want anyone I know irl (or anyone else for that matter) to psychoanalyze me about them. I'm not looking forward to anything to do with marketing, writing to market, tight deadlines, adhering to standardized formats/lengths, etc. but so it goes…

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

I love coming up with ideas and characters and scenes. I love rambling in my notes doc. I love drafting in the rare moments when I actually do it. I really struggle with getting all the pieces of my plot to fit together. I like editing (I'm literally an editor). I cannot do project management to save my life.

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

Right now what's working fro me is to have three distinct documents. One goes strictly in order. Another is to put all of the scenes I want to write that don't fit into that order yet. The third one is for me to yell about it all (notes). When I'm lucky, scenes form the chaos doc (scene bank) eventually find their way into the order doc.

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

I joined tumblr predominantly for the writeblr community in 2018 (don't remember the specifics but I remember seeing writing posts on pinterest and was like hm well might as well go directly to the source)

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

in no particular order and not an exclusive list: @aohendo @mecharose @scarvenartist @woodhousejay @baroquesse @tracle0 @klywrites @garthcelyn @incandescent-creativity @zmwrites @ashen-crest @ambiguouspuzuma @ettawritesnstudies @megarywrites @magic-is-something-we-create @pinespittinink @isherwoodj just a few of the many excellent people here

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

I just love the community aspect of interacting with other writers, or even just seeing what everyone's working on and how it's going. Even if someone's wip isn't my exact cup of tea I still like seeing posts about their work and people encouraging each other.

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

A lot of people say that interaction is dead etc. but I don't really think that's true. I think focusing less on reblogs and more on comments/asks as a form of interaction would strengthen the feeling of community. Not everyone is obligated to reblog everything and comments and asks can be more personal anyway. I like knowing other people are seeing what I put out there, and I especially love getting comments on my work, but that doesn't mean I need everyone to share it. I'd rather have 5 followers that interact with me than 1000 who don't. Quality over quantity, you know?

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

Of course everyone could always be doing more. I like to read other's snippets when I'm in the headspace for it, but sometimes I'm just here to mindlessly scroll and that's okay too. If I read something and I think it's cool or interesting or well-written or anything I try to either leave a reply or reblog with something in the tags. If I can't think of anything to say just quoting a line that I liked will suffice (I like when people do that to me). I do want to try sending more asks to people—I try to always send one when I see someone's reblogged an ask game, but I think everyone would appreciate some out-of-the-blue asks as well :)

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

All kinds but I am most likely to interact with shorter posts about peoples' process or something about their characters. @klywrites will post about tiny interactions between her characters and I literally love them just from seeing tiny scenes on my dash every so often. I really like to read longer snippets and short stories too (there's some amazing writers here y'all) but I'm more likely to scroll past those if I can't spare the focus. Also I love seeing art! even from people who don't consider themselves artists like aww you drew your little guy and I love them now

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

idk I end up just vagueposting about my process most of the time. I love to infodump about my characters/worldbuilding but I don't do it too often. I also like to post about writing things in general, but I don't consider myself an expert or anything so I'm not putting out a ton of advice—just what works for me

[krisssssssy]

Hey, I'm Krissy. I'm a writer, and I currently write fanfiction for FFXV. I'm obsessed with all things Final Fantasy, and I adore 6, 7, 8, 10, 10-2, 14, 15, and 16.

My main fixation is Ardyn from FFXV. I make a lot of dumb memes using tumblr text posts and pictures of Ardyn, who lives forever in my head.

Other fandoms I enjoy: Resident Evil, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Wheel of Time, Lord of the Rings, Obey Me!, JJK, and MHA.

Please mind the tags in my AO3 fics. Most of my fics include some elements of toxic/abusive relationships, kink, non-con, etc.

My Ongoing Fics:

Precarious Games - Ardyn Izunia/Reader - Explicit

You are a royal diplomat from Igdrothim, a region within the Niflheim Empire, sent to Gralea to gather information regarding the Emperor's strange behavior. You catch the eye of the newly appointed Chancellor Izunia, and are swept into his strange world of manipulation and intrigue. Despite his unsettling demeanor, you find yourself helplessly drawn to him - and will do whatever it takes to discover his many mysteries.

In the Shadow of the Six - God!Ardyn/Reader - Explicit/Non-Con - AU

You grew up on the pious, small Isle of Angelgard, where you worshiped the Six, and feared the mythical Adagium. After a bad storm, you find a new pathway among the caves, and discover Adagium may not be so mythical, after all…

The Light She Brings - Ardyn Izunia/Aera Mirus Fleuret - Mature - AU

Aera Mirus Fleuret has been promised to Somnus Lucis Caelum since before she was born. After Somnus ascends as Chosen King, Aera moves to the Citadel in Lucis to begin preparations to become Queen. Thrust into a life she does not want, she meets a stranger who reveals himself to be Adagium, the Shadowbringer, one of the Seven, and she begins to doubt the path laid out before her. This is a prequel story that belongs to the In the Shadow of the Six AU, though it can be read as a standalone fic.

Covenant of the Wicked - Ardyn Izunia/OC - Explicit

A fic set after the Fall, when Hanna Foxall, a hunter from Meldacio HQ, investigates her sister's disappearance, and becomes the target of a cult, left for dead outside Insomnia. She teams up with Ardyn, and they investigate, Hanna hoping to find her sister, Ardyn to ensure the Darkness is still his to control.

Completed Fics/One-Shots:

The Devil I Know - Ardyn Izunia/Reader - Explicit/Non-Con

You work as an assistant to a political advisor in Gralea. While working late one night, you bump into Chancellor Ardyn Izunia, who accuses you of being a spy, and you attempt to convince him of your innocence.

She Who Moves Heaven and Earth - Teen and Up - Ardyn Izunia/Aera Mirus Fleuret

Ardyn wakes after the events of Dawn of the Future, reunited with his beloved.

Other:

All of my work is posted to AO3, and you can find me at Krissssssy.

Thanks! I appreciate the support.

[lucid-stories]

The dwinddling light in his dark world | Lilia x Malerie (OC)| A Twisted Wonderland AU

Warning/s: -Inaccuracy in roles and characters -Angst(?) -Multiple (2) POVs -slight(?) General Lilia x Fem! OC(Malerie) -Book 7 Chapter 4 events are implied here

-1st writing so bear with me

Characters: Lilia Vanrouge Child! Silver Baul Zigvolt Malleus Draconia (Mentioned) Mallenoa Draconia Revan Draconia (Mentioned) Knight of Dawn(Mentioned)

Princess Laiyer

Lilia POV

"Father" asked the young boy.

"Yes, silver"

"Can you tell me about the angels again"

"Fufufu, of course"

Angels, they are the guardians of this realm. Tasked to guide and direct the mortals with their lives… silently. Beings who have witnessed the creation and the destruction of all that has and will exist.

"Father, have you met one?" "… A long time ago", the bat fae replied with a melancholic smile. "I witnessed a birth of one"

Angels were not always born as angels. They are chosen. Those who have inspired many and lived for the sake of others in their lifetime are "gifted" those ethereal white wings and will no longer be bound to the constrains the world designed.

"💩" "General! you can go ahead to Wild Rose Castle, we will follow afterwards" "Baul, take command" Without waiting for the reply of his comrade, He flew towards the place where the Iron Men are targetting. "FASTER! FASTER! I hope I'm not too late…" And in that moment of desperation, he teleported.

"Bold of you to march straight into our territory."

The silver armoured man replied in a mocking tone, "With your precious prince consort, Duke Revan, dead. What do you think happened to your crowned princess."

"… Iron Men! You will pay for your sins! " Lilia, filled with intense rage and grief with the loss of 2 of his close friends, went into a killing spree in an attempt to reach the egg they left behind.

-Malerie POV-

"Sister! You can't, you mustn't" she pleaded.

"I will be back soon with Revan". Mallenoa reassures her little sister, "I am one of the best mages in the world, I won't be in critical danger"

"I know you are! However, we are in war and you are with a child!" She throws multiple reasons she can think of why Mallenoa must not leave the castle's premises.

"All the more reason to find him. In order to hatch our spawn" Mallenoa counters

"What if something happens! If they reach the castle or you…"

"If anything happens, you are here. I trust that you will keep everything under control while I'm not around. That also includes my child"

"WHAT"

"I TRUST YOU" She yells a second before she goes to the last known location her husband was seen"

"You should've joined Lilia and the others" She sighed as she looked at her soon to be niece or nephew.

"Your irresponsible mother left you with me" She complained. "However, she was right, I'll make sure no harm will come near you. Nice to meet you, eggie-chan. I am your mothers something degree cousin"

Shocked Malerie noticed it move a bit. "Are you greeting me back? Must be a gentleman then"

Malerie spent the next days caring for the egg, giving it enough love and magic power in substitute for the parents'.

In theory, it would take atleast 10x the amount of care for an unrelated fae to hatch another's spawn but since Malerie is related albiet distantly to both parents, it should work with doubled the effort.

However, as days passed, her dreams became more frequent. Being blessed or cursed with the ability to foresee the future, she could vaguely see that her clan's time is dwindling.

At first, she thought it must've been some kind of mistake however, no matter how much she tried to change the weaves of fate, it kept leading to the same outcome.

The sounds of the heavy artillery and the smell of iron only confirmed their fate as they start to surround the castle.

The family head, Queen Maleficia, has not been in the palace for several decades now which only means one thing.

If they already got the princess and prince consort, they must be coming for the 2nd and 3rd in line, the egg and myself.

"Baby, I promised to keep you safe and you will so just trust this aunt alright?"

'Although talking to an egg is weird, it is somewhat comforting but, I'm only 286 years old, did they really expect me to care for someone who could be my little brother along with the castle that would be under siege anytime soon'

"… Eggie-chan, I will cast more protection and stealth spells on you. Not even my aunt or sister will be able to undo it until you are completely safe." I'm scared "I will redirect their attention to me so, It was an honor to be able to meet you your egg-highness"

3rd POV

"Lilia- NO STOP!" Malerie positioned herself in the middle of the battlefield in an attempt to stop the bloodshed, keyword:attempted. A stupid move which caused her to be at the receiving end of the very Mysterium weapon wielded by her bethrothed.

"-Malerie!! " Lilia quickly regains his senses and stopped the rampage only after seeing the blood of his beloved.

"You will be okay" "Stay with me" Lilia cried as he tries to stop the bleeding. "Why did you enchant my weapon to the very thing that could kill you"

"… B..ause… I… lo.. you" She uttered what would be her last words as her breaths become shallow and her eyes losing their sparkle.

But that wasn't what hurt him the most. It was the fact that she left him with a smile as if forgiving him after what he had done.

"Malerie… " The princess of the opposing side lets out tears after loosing her best friend.

"Humans… Mark my words. You will pay for all the blood we've lost ten- no hundredfold" He vowed after slowly shutting his beloved's eyes and laying her somewhere she can be safe

"Do you really think that is what she would want"

"Shut up, Human" Lilia starts to lose the tiny bit of reason he got back from her death.

As he starts to rampage, once again, a sudden flash of light followed by a deafening sound came from the place where Malerie's body was supposed to be.

In her place, it looked like she was once again alive. Like in a deep slumber, still breathing but however, what once was the ebony colored hair now turned into a platinum blonde, the horns that stemed from her forehead, which were a symbol of the draconia family, has disappeared and what replaced it was a blinding halo atop her head and wings with feathers as white as snow.

In short, 'everything about her was ethereal.'

'I am unsure if it's because I loved her too much or because it is just her'

"You" The angel proclaimed, "destroyed the peace and lives of thousands. You, the princess and their so called "knight of dawn" shall be the ones to pay the price"

The final word of judgement she passed before she along with the ones she mentioned disappeared without a trace.

With events happening so fast, he was dumbfounded. Of course in normal circumstances he would be quick to act however this time it included the only person he loved, one he promised his life to, and the one who he is already married to (in paper w/o the ceremony yet because they're still considered teens), and the one who he already shared his body with.

In that moment, he felt distraut just before hearing a voice in his head.

'Please support Malleus in my stead and live for the both of us, alright?'

A surge of uncontrollable emotion filled the young general which caused him to cry for the first time in decades and fueled him to drive out the rest of the Iron Men, who lost their morale with the lost of their knight of dawn and princess, and the equipment they brought of which wrecked havoc on their land which brought back an era of peace and prosperity of the faes

To be continued(?)

[darsynia]

Trust Fall | Ch 21b

Story Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Summary: Tony/OC, ‘terrorists made us fall in love;’ IM1 timeline. In this chapter, Tony isn't going to let Emory head back into SHIELD's clutches without a fight--or some concessions.

Length: 2,743

Taglist: @starryeyes2000 @raith-way @arrthurpendragon @themaradaniels @starksbf @chickensarentcheap @tiny-anne

Excerpt:

“Not good enough. Get behind me, Em.” Tony steps toward Natasha, his gaze clearly on the doors and walls of the elevator, looking for the controls.

In a blur of speed, Natasha darts a hand forward to take Tony’s wrist and the next thing Emory sees is Tony pressed up against the wall. Natasha’s standing with one knee digging into his back, holding his twisted arm behind him, with her other leg positioned so that if Tony shoves back, they’ll both fall over. Emory’s rooted to the spot, just hoping they don’t hurt each other.

“If this is the kind of force your team uses to protect Emory, we’re good,” Tony says, his voice sounding slightly strained. “But now that you’re there, I’ve had a tight spot in my lower back for weeks, and if you just lift your knee one inch--”

Nat lets out a swear word in another language and steps back just as quickly as she’d stepped forward. Tony topples but corrects for it, turning the move into a swaggering motion that carries him back against the wall of the elevator, facing them this time. Tony winks at Emory, but Natasha’s looking at a device on her wrist with frustration.

Chapter Twenty-One: Mirage

Once she’s fully dressed except for the blonde wig, Emory gets a look at herself in the mirror over the sideboard and sees… Rory.

This is the kind of outfit that her friend performed in for years. Beyond that, Rory has worn something similar to hundreds of premieres, parties, and press events. Over the years, Emory had sometimes wondered what might have happened had the competition show chosen her as the winner instead of Rory.

Now, Emory has a glimpse of what that alternate life would look like on her, and s he doesn’t like it.

“You okay?” Agent Harris asks from across the room.

“Yeah. Kind of look like my boss, it’s freaking me out a little.” Emory admits, walking back toward her.

“Wow, you actually do. That could come in handy,” Harris says, her voice gentling a little. She pats the back of the chair and holds up the blonde wig. “Rory Fall has broadcast to our target that you two haven’t been in touch. If there’s a question about your proximity to Stark, you could explain it away, say she was posing as you.” 

Agent Harris’s ninety minutes come all too soon, and she starts asking where Tony is. Emory had been expecting him back, if not to ogle her, then to say goodbye, but she can’t find him. She can’t find anyone, meaning that she has to leave without saying goodbye. Emory keeps her head down when she walks out the front door, both because she’s trying to hide her face and because Tony Stark’s Slippery Stairs + DeathHeels = undoubtedly a recipe for tabloid coverage.

For two horrible minutes, Emory stands outside the back passenger door waiting for the driver to open it for her. Finally she flings it open and throws herself inside, channeling an inconvenienced Rory Fall for authenticity.

“Real fancy car service, thanks,” she grumbles to the closed panel that separates the passenger compartment from the driver’s cab. The driver says nothing as he expertly navigates the expensive car back out of the grounds, past a sea of paparazzi. All at once, her fury and frustration about being forced to leave without even saying goodbye to Tony floods out. “Where are we going? Hello? I swear, if that’s Clint, I will find a way to mess with your arrows, I’m literally shaking back here!” Then, her face flushing so hot she’s sure it’s beet red, Emory whispers to herself, “Oh, shit, of course that’s not Clint, you’re berating some random agent, good job!”

The panel between the two spaces starts lowering, but she can’t see anything but the black suit and pilot-style black hat the man is wearing.

“Just pretend I didn’t say anything, please?” she asks, hating the vulnerability she can hear in her voice.

“No can do, Miss,” the man says.

It’s TONY.

“Tony, oh my GOD.” Emory falls back against the seat and focuses on slowly dissipating the surge of power that her anger and adrenaline has generated.

“Not my favorite way of rendering you speechless, but it’ll do. To answer your very rudely phrased questions, the car has a built-in GPS that was pre-programmed for each location. We’re five minutes away,” Tony tells her. “Did you think I’d let you leave without saying goodbye?”

She opens her eyes and meets his in the rear view mirror. “Maybe.”

“Well, I wouldn’t. Especially not dressed like that.” The depths his voice reaches sends an entirely different awareness through her, especially when she can see him taking in what little of the outfit he can see from his vantage point.

“Eyes on the road.”

Tony chuckles. After a few minutes pass but before her heartbeat is back to normal, he says, “So, why do you hate that blonde agent they sent as a decoy?”

Emory sighs. She’d hoped he had managed to forget that. “She was the first SHIELD agent I saw, after Afghanistan. She’s--”

“Say no more,” Tony says knowingly.

Emory bites her lip. It’s more complicated than that, but she also doesn’t want to waste whatever last moments of alone time they have on Sharon Harris, so she lets it go.

“You shouldn’t have done this, but thank you,” she tells him, leaning forward to rest a hand on his shoulder through the gap.

Tony shrugs her hand up against his cheek before she pulls it back so they aren’t seen through the windshield. “Just wait,” he says. “I’m not done yet.”

If she could have swirled air around him in a power-driven hug, Emory would, but it’s not their car, and they’re not supposed to be seen together, so she hugs herself instead, grinning, grinning, grinning.

Their destination turns out to be a fancy apartment complex with an underground garage. Tony barely has to tap the brake before the scanner picks up whatever permission they’re displaying and opens up the gates.

“Here’s where it gets tricky-- or does it?” Tony says, pointing.

A figure is walking towards them, dressed in black. As they creep forward in the half-light, Emory recognizes who it is. Natasha Romanoff.

“They sent in the big guns to pick you up,” Tony observes.

“Yeah, I’m ninety percent sure she’s here for you.”

Following Nat’s hand signals, Tony parks in an even darker section of the mostly full lot, rolling down the window and shutting off the engine.

“Exactly how quickly will you kill me if I make a Rocky and Bullwinkle joke, Natasha?” he asks the SHIELD agent, emphasizing the villain’s name.

Natasha doesn’t even dignify this with a response. “I seem to recall listening in on one half of a conversation where my half told yours to stay put. Is it pathological, this need to be the center of attention? Wait, look who I’m asking!”

“Who gave SHIELD the monopoly on swapping outfits? Ooh, was it Boris?” Tony asks with mock enthusiasm.

“Get out of the car, both of you. We’re in a surveillance dead zone.”

Emory takes her shoes off before she steps out, tucking them into the black bag and holding the hem of her skirt as far down as she can. Natasha directs Tony to stand in front of the grey tiled wall as she punches a code into a hidden keypad. The tiles slide away revealing an elevator whose doors open immediately. 

Once they’re all inside and the doors close, Nat turns around to face them. She looks like she’s waiting for an explanation from Tony. Undaunted, he smiles and reaches up to poke his stolen driver’s cap into a jaunty angle. Emory appreciates his bravado, but she’s at her limit. Anything further and she’ll be looking to curl up in a corner somewhere in the fetal position.

“What’s your plan, Stark?” Natasha finally asks, angling her head as if intensely curious, her long curls falling sideways in their ponytail. She hasn’t commanded the elevator to move yet.

“Alone with two redheads in a tiny elevator? There’s no question,” Tony says, starting to unbutton his dress shirt. Emory knows this has to be a bluff, but Natasha doesn’t react. It’s only after the fifth button that Emory sees that he’s wearing something more than his typical black tank top underneath. Whatever it’s made of, the electric blue shirt doesn’t show the arc reactor through it. Tony takes off his suit jacket before he finishes with the shirt, deliberately pulling its sleeves inside out to reveal a silver metallic fabric she hadn’t even noticed.

“You already had a reversible jacket that looked like the driver’s?” Emory asks, incredulous.

“No one really looks at black suit jackets. Ask Sydney Bristow here, she knows,” Tony says, nodding at Natasha, who shakes her head. “As for your agents, Ms. Romanoff, they’ll be fine. My financial records are sealed for privacy, and as long as they leave together, they’ll be assumed to be employees. Besides, in about an hour, the paparazzi will be more interested in finding me. Problem solved, you’re welcome.” As he says this, Tony’s still undressing. Under the slightly baggy black trousers, he’s wearing a tight, shiny silver pair of pants that match the fabric of the jacket, which he puts back on. Emory has to admit, the outfit works somehow. He looks eccentric and handsome, definitely too rich to care.

“This is the opposite of what Fury asked you to do,” Natasha says testily, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, well. I have more experience in distracting the paparazzi. He’ll forgive me.” He digs a finger into the tight pocket of his pants and pulls out a small jar of something, opens it, and swipes some of it onto his middle finger. Tony closes the jar, balances it on Natasha’s crossed arm, and starts applying whatever it is to his hair with his fingertips.

Emory doesn’t know whether to laugh or die on the spot.

“Breathe, Emory,” Natasha says, without looking at her.

“Shouldn’t have stuck her in a corset then,” Tony says, taking back the jar. He holds it up with a little wiggle and nods his thanks before tucking it back away. Crossing his own arms, he leans (lounges, really) against the wall across from Natasha and fixes her with a steady look. “That corset should be the most confining thing she has to deal with from you people from this point on, and I will be making sure of that.” He pulls out his phone, taps it a few times, and then looks up, ready to type. “Where will she be staying?”

“Mr. Stark--”

“Before you answer, I should make clear: I have no stake in your mission. What I do have is footage of Miss Autumn arriving at my residence and spending several hours there. With me.”

Emory still can’t breathe, but now it’s his fault. “Tony?” she chokes out, utterly shocked.

“If I can use a pale copy of my current suit to escape from fifty terrorists attacking me with my own weapons, I can probably get my hands on that serum without leaving you in high tech government custody,” he snaps.

“Which part is the dealbreaker, Stark? Not seeing Emory? Or her confinement?” Natasha asks.

The very fact that Natasha is asking gives Emory some lung power, but she’s spending almost all of her effort on not power generating them all into an elevator accident at best and a high rise collapse at worst.

“¿Por qué no los dos?” Tony spreads out his arms in an extravagant shrug. “Truthfully? The latter. I need assurances.” He reaches down and picks up his discarded dress shirt and pants, keeping his eyes on Natasha as he tries to fold them with a serious expression on his face. His efforts fail repeatedly, and finally Emory reaches out and snatches both of them from him, balls them up, and crams them into the black leather bag she’s carrying. “Well?” he prompts the SHIELD agent.

“I was just waiting to see how that little business was going to end,” she admits, one corner of her mouth lifting in a smile. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Not good enough. Get behind me, Em.” Tony steps toward Natasha, his gaze clearly on the doors and walls of the elevator, looking for the controls.

In a blur of speed, Natasha darts a hand forward to take Tony’s wrist and the next thing Emory sees is Tony pressed up against the wall. Natasha’s standing with one knee digging into his back, holding his twisted arm behind him, with her other leg positioned so that if Tony shoves back, they’ll both fall over. Emory’s rooted to the spot, just hoping they don’t hurt each other.

“If this is the kind of force your team uses to protect Emory, we’re good,” Tony says, his voice sounding slightly strained. “But now that you’re there, I’ve had a tight spot in my lower back for weeks, and if you just lift your knee one inch--”

Nat lets out a swear word in another language and steps back just as quickly as she’d stepped forward. Tony topples but corrects for it, turning the move into a swaggering motion that carries him back against the wall of the elevator, facing them this time. Tony winks at Emory, but Natasha’s looking at a device on her wrist with frustration.

“We need to leave. Stark, can you give me five hours before you start blowing up two years of work?”

“Five hours,” Tony confirms. “And it won’t just be the mission, it’ll be the agency.”

Frowning, Nat commands the doors to open again. To Emory’s surprise, there’s a car idling in the single space beside the one that had brought her here, and Happy Hogan is clearly visible through the windshield.

“That’s my ride,” Tony says, grinning. “What’s wrong, Agent Romanoff? I thought you wanted me out of your hair?”

“Ten hours,” Natasha says harshly.

“Okay. But I get to send Em a phone to replace that ancient monstrosity you’ve given her.”

“Agreed.”

“I’ll call you as soon as I get it,” Emory says softly, feeling like she’s being pulled five ways at once. “We have to go.”

“Okay.” Tony takes one step off of the elevator, then swivels to meet her eyes, concern creasing his eyebrows. “Don’t believe anything you see written about me from here on out. Promise me.”

“I promise,” she whispers, pressing a hand to her chest-- not over her heart, but over where an arc reactor would be, if she had one. Tony does the same and steps out. The doors close before he can turn around again.

Natasha groans, pinching the bridge of her nose in extreme irritation. “Next time, get kidnapped with Justin Hammer, will you? The guy’s an idiot, it would be a lot easier on me.” 

“I’ll get right on that,” Emory says, slumping back against the wall of the elevator. The other woman silently taps her fingers against her thigh as the car lifts them to the roof, the doors opening on a helipad with a waiting helicopter, its blades already spinning. “Oh god, how many nightmares do I have to relive at once?” Emory blurts out. It’s not really her nightmare as much as Rory’s, but hearing the details of multiple ‘death by rotor blades’ dreams over the years has planted the fear pretty firmly.

“Did you forget how short you are? You’ll be fine, but if you’re still worried, lean over so far your boobs start to fall out,” Nat says, taking her hand and starting to drag her. Emory barely remembers to grab the leather bag with Tony’s clothes and her shoes in them. She does stumble on the way, cutting the top of her foot on the helipad asphalt, which she doesn't discover till their pilot gets them airborne.

“Great. You’re bleeding within ten minutes of Tony Stark threatening to unleash armageddon unless you’re kept safe,” Natasha sighs. “I’m great at my job.”

“If only we could get him to unleash armageddon on the bad guys SHIELD fights, with that flying armor of his,” Emory says, trying to change the subject away from watching Natasha Romanoff worry about doing something less than perfectly. “Though, I guess Stark Industries doesn’t do that now. No more weapons.”

“His dad helped start SHIELD, from what I was told,” Natasha says, holding up the first aid kit she’d been rummaging around to find. “All ties were cut off in the early 90’s, with his death. His buddy Stane wanted to keep the inventions lucrative and public. That’s when a lot of the in-house SHIELD tech development started up.” As she speaks, Nat expertly and gently cleans Emory’s wound, binding it up and offering her a loose white pill, which she declines. “Yeah, I wouldn’t take drugs from me either. You can get one when we get back to--”

Natasha cuts herself off and doesn’t continue speaking, seemingly lost in thought.

“Nat?” Emory says, when it’s been a couple of minutes.

“I know where to put you,” the agent says, turning and meeting Emory’s eyes with actual happiness for the first time that day. She pulls out her phone, taps at it, and swears under her breath in a different language than the other two times Emory had heard her swear today. “Dead, great. Can I borrow yours?”

“Uh, yes?” she says, handing it over. To her surprise, Natasha hits three buttons and puts the phone to her ear. There’s only one person she could be calling. Clint Barton.

Next chapter, Emory finds out some shitty things about Rory Fall, and Tony finds out some shitty things about SHIELD.

[blankdblank]

Argument Idea

Oc steaming mad storms into the living room from the open office where they and Nebula were in an argument over the proper way to handle a machine’s malfunction. Louder then they meant to do they would keep the motivation with their free hand in Vision’s pulling him along like a balloon behind them they pointed at Loki demanding, “Loki!” His eyes snapped to them and out of shock of having one of the only people he could trust to not turn on him raise their voice at him out of instinct the hilt to a dagger began to slide from his hidden sheath on his sleeve. “Do you know how long it takes to leech impurities from soil left from a seismic event of 500 tons of force to make it sustainable for life of more than one variety of plant life?!”

“Not,” he answered tentatively with curiously furrowed brows, “Particularly.”

“Damnit! Now I have to look it up!” They say whacking their arm on a steel beam in their turn to go back bending the beam making Stark squeak at the fourth time this week someone has bent the thing since the argument on why he left a beam there in the open just asking to be a target. “This is not over Nebula! I’m gonna be in the library so bask in your wrongness while it’s still unnamed!”

Off to the library she pulled Vision luring Loki after him where he saw them scowling in the slam of book after book onto the table to plop into the chair when a ridiculous amount were gathered alongside empty notepads and pens of varying colors. “What are you doing?”

“Proving my point!” They grumbled and his eyes shifted to Vision who stated, “I am here to recall perfectly what the argument entailed so that when the proof is found I might decide the victorious one.”

“Ah,” Loki said and took a seat to curiously join in on the research to get that scowl off their face.

“HA!” Oc said holding an open book in front of Nebula’s face reading the segment word for word.

“That does not support your argument, oc.” Vision said.

“Damnit,” they say closing the book to drop it on the table making Loki smirk and raise his hand to hide it behind curled fingers.

“Or yours Nebula,” he said making her smirk turn to a scowl.

“Ha!” Oc said sticking their tongue out at Nebula gaining a glare in return.

And after a moment Loki cleared his throat asking, “Do you know the answer, Vision?”

He offered up a book of his own stating, “Had you chosen this passage you would have proof to support what Bucky had theorized.”

“That’s a bible,” Oc muttered.

Loki, “What did Bucky theorize?”

“All Hell would break loose if that machine went off. The results can only be theorized as the end of life on this planet.”

“Oh that doesn’t count,” Oc and Nebula say together.

“You can’t hide behind religion.” Oc said.

Bucky in the doorway raised an arm, “I win! Vision said so!” He goes to spread the word and the ladies storm after him.

“You can’t hide behind Hell breaking loose! You could say that about a truck of exploding toasters on the highway, or an opening of a toy store on a 95% off sale day!”

“Still counts! Vision said so!”

He was heard and Loki looked to Vision who got to rapidly reading through all the books making the Prince smirk. “You forgot the argument didn’t you?”

“I got distracted near to the end researching the relevance of shovels and a comment of debate for a chance of the most useful for both bludgeoning and tilling of earth.”

[jennathearcher]

🖊

Send me a “🖊+an OC“ and I will talk about that OC! It can be a headcanon, a fun fact, a small paragraph of backstory- anything!

Alternatively, send in just a “🖊“ and I will talk about any one of my OCs at random!

OHOHO who to pick who to pick

who am I kidding it’s gotta be Niko :P my serial killer baby~

So his full name is Nikita Ivanovich Prostov, he’s Russian; as far as I can tell for sure in terms of his background (thus far), he was born to Russian immigrants who settled in America, he speaks both Russian and English fluently and dabbles in several other languages, and he’s maintained a Russian accent despite spending most of his life in America

I haven’t properly named any of his family members (aside from his father, obviously, named Ivan), but they are all important figures in his backstory. For most of Niko’s life, his household was run by his maternal grandmother, the overbearing and borderline tyrannical matriarch of the family. His mother enabled the abuse and often participated in it, meanwhile his more passive father simply stood by and allowed it to happen. His older brother also became a bully and an abuser, while his younger sister was too young to really fully understand the situation and tended to isolate herself as a result.

I’m still kind of working on what Niko’s “inciting incident” was, something must have happened in his family history that directly contributed to the events that followed, but he hasn’t revealed to me what that was yet :P All I know for sure is that when he was 16 years old, he got into an altercation with his grandmother that resulted in him “accidentally” pushing her down the stairs, resulting in her death.

This was the inevitably tipping point for Niko, as he had his first taste of being responsible for the death of another person, and he chose the path he would take throughout the rest of his life; especially once his mother seemingly effortlessly stepped into the role her own mother had left behind.

In the weeks and months following his grandmother’s death, Niko began to formulate a plan, one that he put into action one fateful night. He took advantage of the fact that his father, in his cowardice, planned on abandoning the family, and struck on the same night he had planned to leave.

Niko was still young, and experimenting with different methods of killing to figure out what worked best for him. He waited for his father down the road from their house, where he cornered him and killed him with a crossbow. Then, he made his way back to the house, where he dispatched the rest of his family -- his mother, whom he strangled, his little sister, whom he drowned in the bathtub (this is the only kill he still regrets to this day, knowing that she was innocent and he killed her out of fear and cowardice), and his older brother, whom he stabbed to death. The stabbing ended up becoming his go-to M.O., and he set the house on fire before disappearing into the wilderness.

Now, Niko is something of a nomadic grifter, travelling from state to state and keeping a low profile. He just WATCHES people, and selects his victims at random. He’ll observe his chosen target from afar and stalk them, until he catches them at their most vulnerable moments and strikes them down.

Because Niko is so starved for affection and touch, he often lays down beside his victims after killing them until their bodies are cold, at which point he disposes of them.

As you can probably tell, I drew a lot of inspiration from classic slashers for Niko, especially Michael Myers :P I actually started developing him and got the inspo for him after seeing the new Scream movie XD I’ve lowkey been wanting to talk about him, especially to my horror-loving mutuals (shoutout to @malhare and @artificialqueer in particular, as well as the lovely person who sent me this ask :P thank you so much my dear!!) because all things considered Niko is kind of “vanilla” as far as serial killer OCs go XD Because he is a sad, lonesome boy and ends up stalking, kidnapping, and eventually romancing a final girl, who is one of my boyfriend’s OCs 8D

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing (Aug 29 - Sept 11, 2021)

That’s right folks!  Because of the long weekend last weekend, you all get a two-for-one this round-up!  Lots of excellent stuff from the fandom the last two weeks, so take a look and show your fellow fans some love!

--Mod LAM

Fanfiction

Dirty Computer (CH 11/?) by @doctormegalomania​ 

Pairings: Heero x Duo, Wufei x OFC

Characters: 5 pilots

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: minor violence, espionage, unreliable narrator, post-war, reference to past injury, implied/referenced self-harm

Summary:  Years after the war, nothing is what anyone hoped for. Peace reigns supreme.

Man Lion Thing Dude (CH 14-16/?) by @anaranesindanarie​

Pairings: Trowa x Duo, Triton Bloom x Duo

Characters: full cast, original Trowa Barton, OCs

Rating: EXPLICIT

Tags / Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, whump, blood, alternate universe, supernatural, were-creatures, family problems, arranged marriage, mentions of torture, smut, magic

Summary:  Duo Maxwell is estranged from the last of his remaining family who are demanding that he return home for an important announcement. Meanwhile, Duo has been having strange encounters with 'wild' animals, all of whom seem to be hunting him.

The Life of the Immortal Jellyfish (CH 15-16/35) by @lemontrash​

Pairings: Duo x Wufei

Characters: 5 pilots + Relena, Hilde, Noin, Une

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: post-canon, post-Endless Waltz, UST, roommates, Preventers, slow burn, insomnia, friendship

Summary: Is it chance that lands Duo and Wufei in the same university dorm room? They’re not stupid enough to believe that but too tired to fight it. Duo’s dragged himself back from the brink of going too far and remains teetering on the edge while Wufei’s doggedly trying to prove himself to the ‘good guys’ in the aftermath of the Eve Wars. Sleep and normalcy eludes them both. As they become increasingly aware how damaged they are, they start to edge towards friendship, or something more, but all too soon the peace seems jeopardised by a new and manipulative threat.

Prompt Fic by @gemstonecircles​ for @bryony-rebb​ 

Pairings: Wufei x Sally

Characters: Wufei and Sally

Rating: PG

Tags / Warnings: flashbacks, future fic, tropical diseases, best partners evar

Summary:  “I’d come for you”, he said. “No matter what, when you need me, I will be there.”

Prompt Fic by @gemstonecircles​ for @boxofhatebrains​

Pairings: Duo x Quatre

Characters: Duo and Quatre

Rating: PG

Tags / Warnings:  music, friendships, concerts, foul language, complicated relationships with faith, cherry-picking manga

Summary: “You free Saturday night?”

Prompt Fic by @gemstonecircles​ for @heartensoul​

Pairings: Duo x Relena, Heero x Trowa

Characters: Heero, Duo, Trowa, Relena

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: REO Speedwagon, future fic, receptions, reunions, getting together, smoking, shotgun kisses, first kisses, cherry-picking manga, FT what FT, look at my life look at my choices

Summary:  The reception, at least, was a welcome reprieve from most of the events that she’d been forced to attend in the last half-dozen years.

Prompt Fic by @gemstonecircles​ for @noirangetrois​

Pairings: Duo x Relena

Characters: Duo and Relena

Rating: Teen and Up

Tags / Warnings: stargazing, criminal trespass, future fic, FT what FT, discussion of panic attacks and mentioned ptsd

Summary:  “Well, guess we’re here until the solar storm clears,” Relena sighed...

Prompt Fic by @gemstonecircles for @seitou

Pairings: Heero x Trowa

Characters: Heero, Trowa, Relena

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings:  1+R friendship, dates, home cooking, future fic, beers, fade-to-black sex, sweet dumb men in love, everyone ships it

Summary:  “I have good MREs that I was saving for a special occasion.”

Katahimikan by @ktsskb / katopiyoon AO3

Pairings: Duo x Quatre

Characters: Duo and Quatre

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: post-Blind Target, Pre-Endless Waltz, non-confessions, pre-relationship

Summary:  “I’m just taking a little rest,” Quatre smiles. He lets himself get slightly more comfortable, loosening his posture.

Orgel by @ktsskb / katopiyoon AO3

Pairings: Duo x Quatre

Characters: Duo and Quatre

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings:  alternate universe, fantasy elements, established relationship, injured character

Summary:  Duo comes home late with a gift.

Fanart

Doodle Prompts (1x3x5) by @seitou

Heero x Relena (elf AU) by @lokineko 

OZ Military Ball (13x11) by @keiko1183

Zechs and Duo Hairbraiding by @keiko1183

Several by @gundayum

Wedding Bells (3x4)

Snuggles (1x2) 

Trowa’s a Pathetic Clown

Duo as the Little Mermaid 

King of the Hill (Heero, Relena and Bobby/Mariemaia, and Trowa)

Kinbaku WIP (3x5) by @2pcbart

Relena as John Cena by @farshootingstar

Quatre learning to knit by @farshootingstar

On the Wing by @theboringbluecrayon

Snuggles (3x4) by @circusoftrash

GW Crack by @circusoftrash

Heero EW Redraw by @mei-jimenez-art

Relena FT Redraw by @mei-jimenez-art

GW Kiddo Doodles by @lemontrash

Jellyfish Fic Art (2x5) by @sparkchemy for @lemontrash

Summer (1xR) by @alphaikaros

Zechs and Relena by @alphaikaros

Belated MerMay Relena by @serenestorm

Sexy Trowas (Part I, Part II, Part III) by @serenestorm 

Summer Duo by @owlinpajamas

Relena and Heero by @darksharinganz

Other Fanwork

Gunpla and Cosplay

Duo Maxwell Cosplay (Part I and Part II) by @itsjesskage​

HGAC Wing Zero by @macks-mechas​

Headcanons and Discussion

The Accidental (?) Seduction of Trowa Barton (3x4) by @a-river-of-stars

GoL Thoughts with @kittykatz​

Dorothy and Treize, Cathy and Trowa

Treize and Zechs

Treize, Dorothy, Heero, and Epyon

Lieutenant Trant Clark

Other Fun Stuff

GW Sims 4 Portraits by @eslanes​

Power Stances, with Zechs and Treize by @the-reanimated-bhg​

Quick: look pensive with gloves by @the-reanimated-bhg​​

@incorrectgundamwingquotes​ still making us laugh (example)

Memes and Macros

This is my boyfriend’s boyfriend (Rx1x2 and Hx1x2) by @portrayalmuse​

Dad Jokes Zechs (Part I and Part II) by @bonmotfic

Heero’s Romance Novel by @the-reanimated-bhg​

Coffee Puns with Cathy by @the-reanimated-bhg​

Requesting Leave with HR by @the-reanimated-bhg​

Zechs, the master of pick-up lines by @the-reanimated-bhg​

Spaghetti Westerns by @the-reanimated-bhg

Calendar Events

@gwcocktailfriday​ is back with this week’s prompt!  Be sure to post your responses on Friday (September 17) between 3-5PM EST!

@gundamzine has opened up the mailing list, so be sure to register to get your FREE PDF on October 1!  In the mean time, be sure to follow the account so that you can learn about the stellar 2021 Zine Crew members. Also consider donating to the team’s chosen charity, World Literacy Foundation (donations are optional, but encouraged).  In the meantime, check out some of the previews, with more to follow.

September is National Prostate Awareness Month and @expewrites​ and @boxofhatebrains​ are hosting a GW Prostate Health Event at @prostatehealth-gundamwing​ beginning September 1.  More info is available on the Event AO3 Page but in brief, options are to (1) create something or (2) donate to your prostate health organization of choice.

Sign-ups are officially open for the 2021 Holiday Gift Exchange with @thisweekingundamevents​!  Sign-ups close September 30, and participants will get their assignments in October, followed by the creation period November-December and finally posting in early January 2022.

@/ficwip (Twitter) is hosting a “Rise of the Dead Fandoms” event. Contributor sign-ups end on September 30, so be sure to register soon! Creation period runs September-October; posting will be in November. More info at their FAQ.

The @weedgrandpacookbook is an homage to the fanon of Mike Howard as the Gundam Wing’s chillest Weed Grandpa. Check out the Zine Calendar and  FAQ for more info and be sure to complete the interest check before September 30.

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[hawkland]

Destiel fic recs (round #4) + commentary

Time for another (mostly) Destiel fic rec round-up post before my bookmarks get out of control! This one’s a mix of longer and some shorter fics (or series thereof), no particular theme except I guess a lot of angst, hurting Cas, and all the other things that tickle my Id. Several Season 9 human!Cas divergence fics, plus some later season angst-fests and rewrites.

In the Shadow of your Wings by Enochian Things (Salr323) (52k) The first of two fics by this author which I absolutely fell in love with! Canon-divergence from the end of Season 11. Cas finds himself blasted to Naples, Italy by the banishing sigil in the bunker and he stumbles — almost literally — into a sexy, delightful Italian Man of Letters, Luca. When he makes his way back to the bunker and finds Dean still alive, he tries to confess his feelings but Dean panics and shuts him down. Cas goes back in Italy soon thereafter and ends up beginning a relationship with Luca, much to Dean’s chagrin. Meanwhile Sam is still missing and it turns out there may be some dangerous individuals who are out for Cas more so than even the Winchesters. 

I loved everything about this fic so much - Luca is an amazing OC, the Naples and London locations are wonderfully evoked and took me straight back to places I’d been. The angst, the pacing, the plotting and the eventual Dean/Cas getting together are all amazing and this is definitely on my re-read in the future list.

The rest of my recs below the cut!

My heart is beating from me by Enochian Things (Salr323) (55k) The other fic by this author that I literally inhaled in one day! Season 9 Human!Cas canon divergence. It’s been months since Sam and Dean have heard from Cas, and when they do, it’s in the form of a wedding invitation. Cas is getting married to Daphne - the woman who “rescued” him and named him Emmanuel when he’d lost all his memories post-Leviathans. It seems Cas went back to her while on his own and they’ve rekindled their relationship...whatever it is. Dean just knows something isn’t right about her, so he sets out to investigate and try to figure out WTF Cas is doing before it’s too late. 

This story is so, so good! The case Dean gets Cas to come along on is unique and provides a neat investigation subplot, but what’s so especially wonderful is the explanation the author gives of who Daphne really is — and why she’d been so cool about just having a strange man with no memories move in to be her “husband” (and then want to marry him for real a couple years later, after he’d vanished from her life!) In fact it’s so brilliant I’m basically accepting it as my Daphne headcanon from now on and I don’t want to spoil it. The fic is also great in exploring Cas still struggling with understanding human emotions, customs and etiquette, Sam is A Very Good Friend, and Dean is, well, Dean. (I’m just sad this author hasn’t written more SPN fics because what they have is just brilliant.)

The wilderness. by orange_crushed (8k) Wonderful, shorter Season 9 canon divergence fic by an author who consistently makes me happy. Human!Cas leaves the bunker with a few things to get off the ground from Dean and directions to connect with Garth...but he ditches that plan to try to find his way on his own. It’s wonderfully detailed about the basic struggles of survival, finding work, making ends meet and trying to make some new friends...and why it’s important for him to prove he can make it on his own before he’s willing to welcome Dean (back) into his life.

I Through My Window See by deHavilland (26k) This is an interesting one, written well before we had canon human!Cas in Season 9. Canon-divergence in which Cas remains human after they avert the apocalypse in Season 5. Sam and Dean set him up in an apartment in Sioux Falls and then...just kind of abandon him there. He spends most of a year just barely existing before a visit from Sam finally stirs him out of his inertia and depression, to eventually get a job and also start hunting on his own. This is an interesting read, if just to see an author exploring the idea of human!Cas abandoned by Dean a few years before it actually...ended up becoming canon! I love how Cas is written in this (it’s a story much like the next one on my list that I thought does an amazing, realistic job of capturing what depression feels like), but I do have some issues with Dean. It’s never fully resolved or explained why Dean was being such an ass so I honestly wasn’t totally sold on the ending - I wanted some more out of Dean, some more explanation or apology or something. It’s a story that would have been great to have a sequel from Dean’s POV but after all this time, that will just have to exist in my brain, I suppose! Still worth a read because it’s excellently written, Cas becomes totally bad ass again by the end and it’s always fun to read early SPN fic speculating on future developments.

I Shall Not Want by domesticadventures (20k) I found myself inhaling a bunch of wonderful short ficlets by this author the other day, but this is the one I had to stop at to rec. It’s another Season 9 divergence fic, of a sort - Cas is newly human, for the sake of the story there’s no Abbadon to worry about, Sam is healed...and Sam wants to move out and get on with his own life. Cas and Dean are both struggling with adapting to their new lives and it’s a hauntingly rich and stark portrayal of depression, inertia, and the slow healing process of accepting and adapting to change. I also liked that this story gives us a Dean who is a little more aware of his feelings for Cas and they both struggle to reach out to each other - for once it’s not sexuality causing a crisis of identity but all the other shit they are coping with.

Don't Sing Love Songs by ireallydidthistomyself (17k). I’m not normally a big fan of baby/toddler!Jack fics - I like the angst that he was forced to grow up too quickly, and in general I’m not big on kid!fic in fandom. This author’s work is a big exception to that. They’ve written several stories along a similar theme: Cas raising Jack on his own/in secret for years, Dean only finding them or coming back into their lives later on. But this is the version of that idea that really packed the most punch for me and was incredibly emotionally satisfying. Dean finds Cas after 6 years, where he’s kept Jack mostly isolated and safe from the world. But with Dean allowed back into his life, Cas may be inviting grave danger upon Jack as well. This one ripped my heart out but managed to make it all better by the end.

Better Ways to Kill Our Time by always_a_birthday_girl (8k) I don’t know why I torture myself reading Dean-in-the-Ma’lak-box AUs, but I do. I think because it’s pretty much my biggest nightmare/horror and for some reason it’s cathartic while terrifying? Anyway here’s one where Dean goes through with his plan, Cas crashes and burns for most of a year, until Dean finally starts doing what he promised he wouldn’t: praying to him. Cas figures out a way to communicate back and over the distance, they manage to have certain conversations they should have years before. It’s painful but lovely and there is a happy ending, so it’s well worth the read!

Time Flows Like Water and We're Drowning by triedunture (7.9k) A little break from the later-seasons stuff I (mostly?) read, featuring a seriously hot (but angsty) Cas/Endverse!Cas/Dean threesome. When Zacariah’s plan to show Dean the future doesn’t change his mind about taking on his “responsibility”, he sends Endverse!Cas back in time to try to convince Cas instead, showing him what he’s to become. I don’t think Zac expected it to turn into a threesome, but it’s hot and beautiful and sad and wonderful all at once. 

hachikireru by vaudelin  (23k) At one point I went on a wallow-fest of reading a bunch of sad 14x20-15x03 divorce-arc fics. Just to hurt myself more, I guess. I know this fic’s been recced around a lot (at least on fail_fandomanon) and I can see why! After leaving the bunker, Cas ends up in Sioux Falls to visit Claire. She’s busy tracking down leads to find Kaia’s killer and he decides to go along with her on one such hunt. But what they find is an unexpected supernatural threat targeting those with broken hearts. Well. I think you know where that might be leading. This is a wonderful casefic with lots of character moments between Cas & Claire and then Cas & Dean, working through their pain and angst and just...it’s a very satisfying read.

Moriah Codas: A Trilogy by Toomanyfandoms99 (11k total) A series of 3 shorter fics spinning off the events of 14x20, developing a slightly divergent universe the author’s written where Cas does have his wings back and has helped resurrect a few of the angels (Balthazar, Gabriel, and Samandriel in particular). This series is absolutely heartbreaking — Cas is completely broken by Jack’s loss, has “fallen out of love” with Dean after he was ready to kill Jack, and sees no way back to what he’d had and felt before. He’s determined to just let the Empty take him...but not until he and his assembled squad of “avenging angels” clean up the mess Chuck has created, smiting zombies and taking out super-powered monsters across North America. 

Cas’s motorcycle gang/angel squad is so fucking awesome (I want a happy fic where they do this!) and this is BAMF!Cas at his finest. I just have to include a quote:

He set down the empty glass, and Gabriel said, “well, dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to kick some zombie ass. Since they have chosen to amass in Carthage, we are here to take out as many as we can without causing this town to flip the fuck out. Are we in agreement?”

“I expect,” Balthazar grinned, “a full-on bar brawl. Do not disappoint me.”

“Cassie, Driel,” Gabriel addressed the duo, “how are we with weapons?”

“I have enough machetes in a storage facility uptown to film a Jackie Chan movie,” Castiel said.

But it’s also utterly and completely heartbreaking, so don’t read this one if you need a happy ending. If you do read, check out the author’s other later-season coda fics and fic series as they are all really great.

to mend what is not broken by gothyringwald (2.6k) This last short one I’ve mentioned before, but I just have to rec it again! It was my gift for the 2021 Hurt Comfort Gift Exchange and it’s everything I wanted, and more. Sweet and caring Dean, wounded but still prideful Cas, and some lovely wing!kink/wing!care that pushes all of my button just right.

Anyway, that’s it for now as I think this is long enough. If you enjoy my recs, could you let me know? I try to not just list titles but give some commentary...as it helps me re-find stories I enjoyed the most, too!

[romanaisalive]

the way of the drow

Whumptober entry, chosen prompt: betrayal

OC dnd character backstory event from our Curse of Strahd campaign, from an (evil) NPC’s POV. Zel takes the father of her child to assassinate the matriarch, who is... surprisingly fine with that.

Warnings: murder, dnd-typical violence, interrupted suicide by poison

613 words, under the cut

No. 5 - I’VE GOT RED IN MY LEDGER

betrayal | misunderstanding | broken nose

Her House was gone.

It was rather expected, actually. She wouldn’t have risked her life for either of them, of course they wouldn’t either. She slowly turned the poison vial in her hand, the gleaming green liquid casted the room in an eerie light.

She could have been gone by now if she wanted to. She didn’t stay matriarch for as long as she did without a healthy dose of paranoia, she had about seven escape routes just in this room, three of which only she knew about. She could have been gone.

She just didn’t want to.

She saw the fall of strong Houses, powerful Houses all the time. It was just the way of the city, there was no shame in getting out-maneuvered by a player who had more luck or more foresight. It was a game and she was winning for so long, it was inevitable that sooner or later her luck would run out. She could have tried again in a different place, if she felt so inclined and if fallen matriarchs weren’t the most pathetic people in the whole Underdark. They were worse even than those pesky duergar because they were still clinging to the remnants of their power, acting like they had anything to lose.

She had the self-respect to avoid that fate. She was going to fall with her House, go out in a blaze of glory as the room burned around her and stand before the judgement of the Spider Queen with her head held high.

She pulled out the cork from the vial, the sharp smell of poison filled the room. Excellent, the mixers didn’t disappoint. She commissioned it for this exact purpose, to be strong and fast and clean, a death worthy of someone of her standing.

She raised the vial to her mouth when the door broke off its hinges.

Oh.

It was Torndar, staff shining with magic as she prepared her next spell and behind her was Zinnirit, his own staff in hand, looking at her with calculating, cold eyes.

Oh, this was priceless.

She dropped the vial and answered with a psychic attack that should have stopped Torndar but she just growled at her, her unblinking eyes filled with fury, and lightning ran through her staff. It bit into her skin and she grinned at the pain. She always assumed Torndar was too soft for something like murder, it was fun to be proven wrong.

Zinnirit sent an icy hand towards her, freezing her blood, stealing her breath, stopping her from healing. That was smart, even if she had no intention to spend precious seconds with healing when she could harm.

Her next attack found its target, Torndar stepped back from the force but then a phantom hound jumped in front of her, distracting enough for Zinnirit to get in a well-aimed spell. She was weakening but she still could act - assassination was a much better way to go than poison, but that didn’t mean she had to make it easy for them. Shadows lashed out from her rings and found their targets, Zinnirit barely stayed standing but it seemed Torndar was driven by some unknown strength she never saw from her before.

Lightning struck her again and she collapsed, her body alight with pain. Steps behind her head and a cold dagger on her throat, she blinked at Torndar once more. She was snarling at her but her staff was already drawing the sigils of a teleportation circle on the ground, she obviously had no desire to stick around until Zinnirit killed her too.

She grinned as the blade cut her throat.

Betrayal was the way of the drow.

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Desired Disobedience:  Chapter 1

He's taking his time.  He enjoys this so much.

Ryou hated Haou.  He hated the monster with every scrap of his dead heart - he didn't even want to use the term 'monster'.  He'd met plenty of monsters who were perfectly decent beings.  But Haou was something more.

Currently Haou lounged across his throne, his eyes half-closed as he listened to a report, one of his hands playing idly with Johan's hair.  Ryou stayed quietly to one side, not that he could do anything else right now.  Haou had ordered him to do that until he was told otherwise.  It had been hours, and he'd not been allowed to move from his position.  He'd already fed earlier, when he'd first awoken, so that wasn't going to be a problem.  At least not yet.  He did need to feed more than once in a night.

"That's enough,"  Haou declared at last, opening his golden eyes.  The one offering the report shut up at once, trembling in fear.  There had been plenty of times where Haou ended a report and disposed of the one who made it, sometimes for no other reason than because he wanted to.  Anyone who tried to protest generally ended up as Ryou's latest meal.

He'd forgotten how many people he'd fed from because Haou ordered it.  Mostly he could find his own meals, but he always had to be ready to feed at a moment's notice.  Haou kept him on that edge of hunger to keep him sharp, or so he said.

Ryou thought he did it just because Haou savored hurting him any way that he could.  Being undead hadn't exactly limited his options.  It only changed his methods from physical to mental and emotional.  Haou excelled at all of those.

But tonight Haou simply waved away the servant and shifted his attention over to Ryou.  The vampire stiffened at once, and at Haou's gesture moved to kneel in front of him. 

"I don't know if you remember this but your anniversary is very soon."  Haou announced.  "Strictly speaking, in one week is the third anniversary of you becoming a vampire."  Those eyes gleamed in the light of the enchanted jewels illuminating the throne room.  Rumor had it he didn't actually need the light to see by.  He was darkness incarnate, after all.  "I think we're going to have a little celebration."

Ryou hadn't even thought about it.  He'd never considered celebrating the day that he'd died and been brought back as Haou's undead slave.  He couldn't remember the last time that he'd wanted to celebrate anything.  But Haou didn't care - there wasn't any reason that he would.  If he could find any way to hurt Ryou, then he would.  Ryou expected it by now.

"Now, the question is, what kind of celebration should we have,"  Haou mused.  He wasn't asking Ryou that directly.  One of the Death Duelists - Skull Bishop - cleared his throat a little and Haou glanced in his direction, eyebrow raised.

"Haou-sama, perhaps we could arrange for a number of rebels to be captured and brought here for Hell Kaiser to feed upon tomorrow night?"  He smirked.  "We might even be able to find his brother."

If blood had still run in Ryou's veins, then it would have run cold. For all the years of the war, Shou had somehow avoided being captured.  Part of Ryou had wondered after his own capture if Shou would make an attempt to get him back.  It was just the kind of thing that Shou would do.  So far if it had ever occurred to his brother, then someone else must have talked him out of it.  He didn't want to see Shou here.  He didn't want to see anyone that he knew here.

"Good idea,"  Haou agreed, lips curving faintly.  "You five go collect some rebels.  Bring them back alive.  Make an effort to find my vampire's brother and bring him in as well.  If you do, treat him with care.  I don't want him harmed – until celebration night."

All five of the Death Duelists bowed at once and withdrew to speak among themselves, making plans for their new mission.  Ryou could hear them, though he doubted anyone else could.  He wished he couldn't.

"Now,"  Haou turned his attention back to Ryou, "as not all of us can survive off of blood, a feast will be prepared.  I quite look forward to the celebration."  His fingers brushed again through Johan's hair and Johan turned his face so he could stare adoringly at the man who'd broken and reshaped him.  "Aren't you?"

His question was addressed to Johan, who nodded quickly.  "I look forward to everything you do, Master,"  he replied, voice pitched low and submissive.  Ryou hated hearing him speak these days, and heard it far more than he would have ever wanted.

"I'll have to ensure Camula is here for this as well,"  Haou mused before he flicked his fingers at Ryou.  "Go keep yourself occupied until dawn.  Only feed enough not to lose yourself. Be ready when the celebration night arrives."  He tapped his fingers for a second.  "And when that time comes, have a present for me."

Ryou could feel his head bowing and he stared down at the floor before Haou. "Yes, Haou-sama.  As you command."  The words came without thought.  He didn't always have to think when he spoke to Haou - or rather, his orders from Camula meant that he couldn't think when Haou gave him a command.  All he could do was obey.

He withdrew from the throne room, pleased at least that he didn't have to watch whatever Haou had in mind to do with Johan.  Everyone knew.  He'd smelled it quite clearly.  Being a vampire enhanced his senses to a ridiculous point.  He didn't like it, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.  All he could do was avoid it to the best of his abilities.

For now that meant going out and getting something to feed on.  Someone, if he were going to be truly accurate about it.  He couldn't feed on any of Haou's forces unless he were told and he didn't want to take the chance on feeding on unknown rebels - most of which were pretty far from Haou's castle if they had the faintest bit of sense.  Which not all of them did.  He would have considered trying to stop the Death Duelists, since he hadn't specifically been ordered not to.  But he knew what would happen if he did, and that wasn't worth the effort. 

Haou only said they should try to bring Shou back.  If Ryou crossed him too much, the order would change to "bring Shou back alive".  And after that - well, he knew exactly what would happen.  At least this way there was the chance that he'd not see his brother before him. 

There were still those who weren't rebels and who didn't serve Haou and there were a few of those who took pleasure in harming others almost as much as Haou did.  It would be at least four hours until dawn, and in that time Ryou could get quite a lot done.  Vampires moved very quickly when the need called.  He kept a sharp eye on all of those people, for those times when he wanted to feed and had no one around the castle he was allowed to feed on.

So now he flitted out, traveling along the quickest route, watching for any signs of others near him.  There were a few, Haou's patrols, but he ignored them and they ignored him.  Everyone in Haou's army knew Haou's vampire on sight.  For years now - three of them in fact - those few who weren't cowed by Haou's habit of murdering people who weren't cowed by him were kept in line by the simple fact they would be Ryou's dinner otherwise.  A few had tried to kill Ryou before they were given to him as a meal.  Haou's standing orders were to drain anyone who attempted to kill him dry.  Those were some of the orders Ryou hated following the most.

Tonight he kept his focus on traveling instead, thinking over who might be the best one of his list of targets to deal with.  He'd had his thoughts on one in particular for a while, so that was where he headed.  This particular scrap of scum had run the realm of Zuspuile from the capital city of Knife's Edge for over two hundred years, and the last Ryou had heard, he possessed quite a few items that could make an adequate gift for Haou.  He didn't know why wanted a gift from him but he would do as he was ordered.

This particular scum knew that Ryou kept an eye on him.  Ryou made no secret of his distaste for all that the fool did, and only the fact he hadn't been ordered kept him at bay for now.  He didn't doubt for a second that his chosen prey knew exactly who and what he was and went out of his way to ensure that Ryou would have a very hard time getting to him.

The closer he got, the more Ryou thought that might be a very amusing way to spend a handful of hours.  He presumed that this one - a dark sorcerer who wasn't much better than Ryou himself, sucking the life out of those who served him - intended to distract him until the sun rose.  An amusing thought. 

The first hint that he received that the dark sorcerer Vail had set up defenses came to him on the wind, with the strong and clear scent of garlic.  Ryou wrinkled his nose.  He knew the traditional weaknesses of a vampire inside and out, and he knew which ones were true and which were false.  Garlic at best could be said to defend against those vampires who had sensitive noses.  Ryou's wasn't as sensitive as all that, so he simply forged onward. 

By now he could see the pale lights of Knife's Edge clear in the darkness.  There were other beings moving around in the shadows of the night.  A little checking showed that each of them carried talismans warded against the undead - which he could destroy easily enough - and sharp stakes - which might be more difficult to deal with but it wasn't impossible.  If this were the level of defense that Vail had, Ryou didn't think he'd have many problems dealing with this.

He avoided all of the guards as he made his way to Vail's stronghold.  Like in most places there were gemstones set that allowed a warm gentle glow of light.  They did make it difficult for him to work his way in since he favored the shadows for traveling. But he managed.  He knew exactly where Vail's personal quarters were, and as he drew closer, he could sense the presence of even more talismans, all of them strongly warded against undead. 

It was almost amusing.  All of this effort and it wouldn't mean anything in the end.  Ryou flitted around until he found what - or who - would serve his purposes.  He didn't like doing this by any means.  The need to feed and the need to follow Haou's orders allowed him few options.

He had already spent a good hour traveling here.  Now he spent another half hour searching until he spied a servant walking out of Vail's quarters with a load of laundry.  A quick sniff told him exactly what the dark sorcerer amused himself with tonight - exactly what Ryou expected. He wrinkled his nose, wishing he could get the stench of garlic out of it.  Had Vail planted an entire garden of it?  It seemed likely.

But that wasn't much to worry about.  Ryou moved onward.  He waited until the servant was far enough out of the building that no one would notice. Then he dropped down behind the servant and closed his fingers on their neck.  The servant stumbled to a halt, pile of clothes tumbling to the ground, and Ryou could hear their heart-rate pounding.

"Keep quiet,"  he murmured softly into the servant's ear.  "I'm not here to hurt you."  Ryou didn't blame servants for taking work where they could.  "Invite me inside.  That's all I want."

"You're here to kill Master Vail, aren't you?  You're - you're the Hell Kaiser.  Haou's vampire."  The servant whispered, fear lacing every word.  "You can't be here.  The garlic - the wards - they're to keep you out!"

Ryou chuckled, though he didn't think it had much amusement to it.  "I know."  He said nothing more than that right now.  "Now, invite me inside."

He hated a lot of things about being a vampire.  If it wasn't the fact of needing to feed on living blood, and being enslaved to Haou, it was that he needed to be invited inside human habitations.  He could toe the line, as he was now, being in the castle itself but in the open areas, those that the public were allowed to enter freely.  He couldn't enter the private areas - where Vail lived - without an invitation.  It was his luck, such as it was, that anyone inviting him in sufficed. 

At first he wasn't certain if the servant would listen.  He could control the minds of others, but he hated doing that to, and he wasn't gong to if he didn't have to.  Fear didn't make it any better, but at least he wasn't actively controlling their mind.  A tiny fraction of him wondered if he were being a hypocrite.  He suspected he might be but didn't worry himself about it.  It was either this or try something else even less ethical to get his necessary sustenance.

But then the servant bent his head quietly.  "Please wait here.  He'll kill me if I don't get his laundry done."

Ryou snorted softly.  He didn't hold good hopes for Vail being alive come dawn, but he could do this much at least.  He shadowed the servant as best he could as the other put the laundry where it needed to go and then started back.  A proper invitation needed to be done from the inside and by someone who did live in the location.  Anyone who lived there could do it, not just the owner of the structure.  Vampire restrictions could be strange and confusing, especially for the vampires.

The servant stepped inside and turned to look at Ryou, hovering there, arms crossed, making certain to keep his fangs visible.  He didn't want his unwilling ally to forget exactly what he was.  "You are welcome here,"  the servant said, stepping aside. "Come and go as you will."

The words varied, but this was enough to allow him inside.  Ryou entered, feeling the same shiver he always did whenever he crossed a new threshold.  The servant quickly departed, probably to spread the word that Vail would soon be deader than dead.  Ryou knew the outside of this place very well and quickly figured out where he needed to go.  The farther he went along, the more he could feel the presence of anti-undead wards and others meant to ward off evil.

I wonder how he can function with those around?  Ryou allowed himself a small smirk at the thought.  From everything he knew, Vail's deeds didn't equal Haou only because he'd never made the actual attempt to do so.  The massive bulk of his centuries had been spent draining the life force of others to sustain his own.  It wasn't much different from being a vampire, except Ryou took the liquid blood and Vail tore out insubstantial life.  Other than that, there wasn't much difference between them on that level.

Ryou wondered if Vail and Haou might even be allies, if Vail had ever approached him.  Probably not.  Haou didn't take kindly to anyone who didn't acknowledge his supremacy.  Vail might have tried, but it would end with his permanent death.  Ryou suspected Haou intended to kill him eventually anyway.  This was just taking care of it sooner.  If Haou didn't want Vail dead, he would have ordered Ryou not to bother him at all.

He found his way through several corridors and rooms - Vail's quarters were actually even larger with Haou's, and Ryou had always thought no one could match Haou for luxury and self-indulgence.  Rich carpets covered the floors and equally rich tapestries hung from the walls.  Wards, charms, and enchanted gems rested everywhere, and Ryou did have to force his way through some of them.  It wasn't as difficult as one might have thought.   Most of them were weak, which made them easier to bypass with only a mild twinge of annoyance.

The first one he encountered that wasn't that weak gave him a breath of pause.  It was set outside what had to be the main chamber of these quarters, most likely where Vail was at that moment.  It hung over the doorway, a circle of pure silver, gleaming bright with enchantments and shining in the moonlight.  Ryou wrinkled his nose at it.  The garlic scent here stung at his nose, covering up the usual scents in such a place, but by now he'd mostly put it out of his mind.  He regarded the ward carefully, nudging it until he had a feel for where the effects started and stopped.  It seemed fairly usual for one of these.  He thought he'd be able to take care of it.

He glanced around the corridor, looking for something that he could use.  No matter how weak, he didn't want to touch a ward, and this one wasn't weak.  He spied a spear in the hands of an ornamental suit of armor and wrenched it out, examining it and the distance up to the ward.  A normal human couldn't have done this.  That wasn't an issue for Ryou.

Carefully he rose up into the air and hovered in front of the ward, his lip curling up at the feel of it.  His stomach churned and he strained to focus his thoughts on what he was doing.  Then he drove the spear directly into the ward with all of his strength, shattering it.  The resistance he'd felt faded, to a degree.  Clearly there were other wards.  He'd have to deal with them before he could move on.  So he carefully moved forward, watching for more of those.  Wards could take any form, but their aura sang out to him regardless.

Wards of every kind appeared every few steps in this final corridors.  Most of them were crafted of silver and all of them were blessed by as many powers as Vail presumably could find.  He could even taste a small bit of the Light of Hope.  That fascinated him; as far as he knew, the avatars of Creation and Hope hadn't been seen in ages.  History said that the land of Hope, Norbu, had fallen in days of old, before Haou or even Ryou himself had been born.  What had been that land was now ruled over by Fallen Angel Desire.

Ryou had met many Fallen Angels by now.  They served as a vital part of Haou's court.  He did rather suspect Lucifer had guessed his true purpose from the moment he'd entered there.  Very little could be slipped by the old angel, who still looked as young as he'd been when he'd rained down destruction on the capital of Hope. 

He knew more about Desire than he would have really wanted if he had the option. Haou called him "uncle" and Desire's apparent standards for those to warm his bed seemed to be more or less "sentient" and most of the time with the basic human shape of two arms, two legs, a head, and a torso.  Wings and tail or possibly even extra heads or arms or legs were also allowed, as was fur.  Willingness didn't enter into it.  The fact he was one of the few to know what Desire looked like without his helmet on didn't make that situation any better. 

He shook his head to disperse the memories, focusing on what lay ahead of him.  Bit by bit he made his way through the corridor, disposing of every ward he could find.  His fangs itched a little; he was expending more energy than taking in, so he was getting a lot hungrier than he thought.  Breaking through the wards took more out of him than he'd thought they would at first.  He didn't =need to breathe for the air, but he did so now to focus himself.

With a mighty lunge he shattered the last of them and strode inside of the final chamber.  Frankly, he had no idea of why Vail set his mansion up like this when it would be so much easier to navigate in any number of other styles.  But that didn't matter now. 

The dark sorcerer lounged across a plush sofa, looking as elegant as he always did.  To anyone who didn't know any better, he looked like a normal human of perhaps thirty or so, with a deep cascade of golden blond hair, eyes as blue as sapphires, flawless skin, a slender figure that showed nothing of how he indulged himself on anything and everything.  He was arrayed in a robe of evening sky blue satin, bound by a golden sash around his waist, and with a ring on every finger.  Each ring shimmered with magic, mostly of the warding type. 

This wasn't what he'd originally looked like.  Vail had worked magic for quite some time to reshape himself into a shape many would ind attractive.  Ryou had seen images of what he looked like in the beginning, and didn't find this much more attractive than the original dark-haired saturnine model.  But there weren't many folk he'd ever seen as attractive in the first place.

"Welcome, Hell Kaiser,"  Vail purred, his voice as soft and dangerous as death.  "I've been expecting you for quite some time."

Ryou only snorted faintly.  "I noticed.  The garlic is growing quite well."

"Why, thank you.  I presume that your master still hasn't ordered you to kill me?"  Vail raised one slender golden eyebrow.  Ryou shook his head.

"I'm here because I chose to be."  A quick smirk crossed his lips.  "I need to bring him a present.  I think you have plenty that I would like to take him.  Starting with your head."

Vail chuckled.  "Come and get it if you want it so badly." 

Ryou didn't trust this.  Vail had never been what one might call sensible.  He'd noticed that while garlic aplenty grew here, as well as uncountable wards, there hadn't been any guards.  He'd killed several of Vail's guards on previous trips here.  Had the sorcerer learned that he couldn't keep Ryou out with them?  Or was this a trap of some kind? 

He breathed in, listening.  There weren't any other heartbeats aside from Vail's.  Not a single scent of anyone who was still there.  Soldiers had a distinctive scent, usually consisting of armor of some kind, and weaponry. There wasn't a sense of any spirits, either.  He did vaguely scent steel of some kind, but he'd seen enough decorative armor in the corridors not to think much of it.  Was Vail trying to cover the scent of whatever protected him?

"Oh, but before you do,"  Vail raised one hand, fingers spread wide, each one gleaming with gemstones and rippling with protective energies. "I would like to demonstrate something I'm sure you'll find fascinating.”

"I highly doubt that."  Ryou hadn't found anything fascinating since his death and rebirth.  It was a little difficult to get strong emotions going now, other than his unending hatred for Haou. That one survived quite nicely.

Vail smiled. The expression didn't look any better than Haou's.  "Even if you don't, I will."  He closed his hand and in that moment, everything changed.  The tapestries on the walls faded away, as did the rugs underneath Ryou's feet.  Where they'd all been there now glowed sigils, shining bright and strong in magic more powerful than almost anything Ryou had ever seen before.  Energy he had no name for wrapped around him, dragging him down to his knees.  If he'd needed to breath, he wouldn't have been able to.  He tried to push himself up but he couldn't move at all, save for the tiniest twitches of his fingers.

He heard footsteps coming towards him.  Vail's hand tucked under his chin and raised it so their eyes met.  The dark sorcerer smiled down at him.

"You never noticed.  You were so busy mocking my 'defenses' that you didn't see what was really there - sigils especially carved and created for you.  Sigils that have one purpose - to keep you trapped so I can do this."

With his free hand he held up a slender collar of beaten silver.  Etched into it were more sigils.  Ryou hadn't put any time in studying magic, but something about it sent chills down his spine. 

"I'm well aware that Camula commanded you to obey only Haou.  I've spent months researching how to overcome that.  This is the result of my work.  I am older than she is.  There's little she can do that I can't find a way around."  Slowly he traced one finger over Ryou's throat.  "You don't have to worry.  I'm going to be a much better master for you than Haou.  In fact, you're not going to object to my first true command to you at all."  Glee rippled through every word he spoke.  "You are going to kill Haou.  Drain every ounce of his blood.  Let him die knowing it's at my hand, with a weapon he forged himself. Then everything he has will be mine."

Ryou couldn't honestly say he wasn't tempted.  But he didn't want to do it like this, not being someone else's slave.  He tried to shake his head, not that he thought that would do any good with how little he could move.  Slowly, clearing savoring every moment, Vail fastened the collar around his neck and clicked the latch closed.

"You're not going to be able to take this off.  I had the sigils crafted so that only someone who has the power of Light in their veins can take it off.  Either Hope or Creation."  Vail chuckled.  "And we all know that neither of those lines exist anymore, don't we."

Ryou found his head bending forward.  The imprisoning sigils hadn't really lessened their hold on him, but the collar seemed to allow for some limited movement.  Not enough so he could snap Vail's neck, unfortunately.  Vail stepped back.

"I don't think I'll release you just yet.  I'm going to enjoy having you here for a little while first.  I want you nice and hungry when you go after Haou so you won't be fed."  He smirked.  "I am terribly sorry for being such a bad host."

One thing that hadn't change about the room was the luxurious couch.  Vail settled himself back on it, before he gestured again.  This time Ryou found himself slowly moving forward.  The sigils' power kept him very slow and unable to do much more than shift himself forward until he all but collapsed beside the couch.  Vail snickered.

"I could release you from the sigils, you know.  But I like seeing you like this."  He tapped his fingertips together and a few moments later, the servant that had let Ryou into the mansion entered.  He didn't so much as look at Ryou, but focused all of his attention on Vail.  "Bring me my celebratory dinner."

"Yes, master."  The servant bowed low then scurried out without a backward glance.  Ryou hadn't expected one, either.  Vail's servants were terrified of him.  They always had been. Vail lounged back, satisfied, and glanced at Ryou.

"You didn't guess.  I told him to let you in.  All of my servants had those orders.  You were mine from the moment you entered my realm"  Vail chuckled, fingers caressing across Ryou's face possessively.  Haou had done the same thing.  This was a sensation Ryou knew very well, and hated very well.  "The only way you could have not fallen into my trap was to not come here at all.  And you'd never do that, would you?"

If he'd had any idea - but he was very used to the ways people tried to protect themselves from vampires and he knew how to deal with most of them.  The garlic and the wards were exactly what he'd expected.  He'd seen them so many times they were almost cliche at this point.  He'd overestimated himself - the same reason he'd fallen prey to Haou once before. He should have learned.  He'd looked forward to draining Vail dry and not being very hungry for the next night's "feasting", just on the faint hope that he'd not have to feed off any rebels that he knew.  Now he'd return hungry and targeted for Haou's blood.

Being undead didn't offer a lot of opportunities to learn.  Ryou determined if he got out of this, he would make a point to try.  His body would never change.  That truly didn't mean his mind couldn't. 

Sigil magic.  It worked well against him; perhaps he could find a way to make it work for him.  And he could make an effort to speak to the spirits that inhabited his deck.  Haou didn't allow him to duel often, but he was allowed to keep the deck.  Perhaps as a mocking memory of what had once been.  Haou was like that. 

It won't work the way Vail thinks it will.  He's protected, even against me.  Not only was Haou powerful enough to defend himself in his own right, there were the Death Duelists, Dark General Freed, the Fallen Angels - especially their leader Lucifer.  Ryou had seen them all battle in many different forms since he'd first entered Haou's service in that failed attempt to free Johan.  He knew what they could do and what they would do.  Not to mention, despite what Vail said about who could remove the collar, Ryou wouldn't be surprised if Haou would tear it off him anyway.  He was the incarnation of Destruction, and he'd tipped the balance of power in the world from life to death.  There wasn't much that he couldn't do if he chose to do it.

What worried him far more was what Haou might do to him because of this.  Haou wasn't the type to make a fair and honest judgment.  But he knew he'd find out far too soon what Haou would do because of this.

To Be Continued

Notes: I thoroughly enjoyed writing this. I hope you enoyed reading it! Next chapter next week!

[sorabeebb]

After reading a lot of fics and imagines, I decided to write and post something about my Oc and Reno during the events of Before Crisis 😊

Hope you like it! And I’m sorry if Reno is out of character and if there’re mistakes, english isn’t my first language.

Pairing: Reno x Oc (Neila)

Warnings: swearing, blood,torture, mentions of dead.

Word count : 3024

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The deafening sound that was being made by the chopper’s propeller didn’t give a chance to strike up a conversation. The long ride to the proximities of Nibelheim was spent in complete silence between the two Turks and the SOLDIER. It wasn’t uncommon during war times that the brute-strength from SOLDIER and the slyly approach, a Turk’s trait, were paired up when required. Although the built-up rivalry between the two sections could be almost touched. 

Tseng ,on one of the two pilot seats, never took part in these meaningless arguments. He thought both divides had their purposes to benefit Shinra interests. The Turks were more suitable for works which didn’t need a straight strike like  SOLDIERs were. Of course they had to deal with more or less undesirable tasks but Turks were more refined than that. 

However Reno at his left, on the other pilot seat was everything a Turk shouldn’t be. He had got a big mouth, usually tried to pick up fights with SOLDIERs, with obnoxious ways of doing missions but he was good accomplishing them nevertheless. Tseng had to give that to him. 

On the other hand was Neila, a second-class SOLDIER,  at the back of the chopper. Tseng had scouted her some years prior in Junon, dragging her out of that fortified  town straight to the SOLDIER tests. He had seen potential into that teenage girl, which soon was proved. She had a way with magic and an extraordinary stamina. Perhaps she didn’t demonstrate a powerful brute force or strength as most SOLDIERs did, but in reality she had got it after all those mako baths and trainings. Neila had trained her ass to where she was standing.

The ride could have been worse if the airscrew hadn’t plunged the snarky remarks of Reno about the unnecessary presence of a SOLDIER around. 

Tseng just became lost into some mission reports or files just after Reno had taken the helicopter off, , whilst Neila had brought some book with her to read at the back seats calmly.  

After almost six hours of riding, Tseng took control of the chopper. “The last sighting of Hideki was of him heading to the mountains. Some trail must have been left behind. Find him and recover the files he has stolen. Then put them back into the Shinra Manor” He repeated the main parts of their mission.. 

“Gotcha.” Reno confirmed, stepping to the doors, while Neila gave just a nod as acknowledge.

“Don’t get yourselves into fights. Discretion, Reno!” Tseng called the red-haired Turk out.” is a must.” He still didn’t understand why Veld had chosen him for this mission. Other Turks would have been more suitable for this task, but Veld suspected Avalanche had something to do with it. Furthermore, the stolen goods were important classified op about secret experiments, which had been made years ago. He guessed the third in command Turk was the best option at his boss’ eyes. 

Tseng would retreat to Rocket Town, something about another mission of his, where he would wait till Reno notified him theirs was complete.

Jumping off, Reno and Neila fell over the rocky floor. Fresh and clean air filled their nostrils rapidly. They had landed far from the village, in the mountain chains surrounding it. 

Neila tensed up the same moment her feet touched the field. An odd grieving feeling started to overwhelm her, with a rhythmic pounding, beating softly at the sides of her head. She assumed the lack of rest was the reason behind it.    

A sour grimace appeared upon Reno’s face. He hated the countryside with all of his being. He had grown up in the slums, used to the mako steam filling the air, and although he was the first one to say the slums were garbage, Midgar felt like home, and all that rural areas with its nature and clean air sickened him. 

“ Let’s finish this fucking shit as soon as possible “ Reno said, pocketing out a cigarette, and lighting it up. Both of them strode up the hills, scouting the fields for any signs of Hideki. 

“You know smoking is bad for your health, right?” Neila spoke once she kneeled down before some footsteps. The headache fading away with each step they took farther.

“ And what?” He retorted after her irritated. She had seen him smoking several times before, often hanging out after a long day at work. What has gotten into her now?  

“ Nothing, just that is bad, I doubt Veld approves his Turks ruining their health. “ She turned her head to look at him. 

“ Lucky for you,  Veld doesn’t have a say about it.” He puffed on his cigar slowly, as a silent challenge. 

“ It’s a bad addiction. Just saying.” She wasn’t that fond of  his harsh attitude, which intimidated and annoyed her. 

“ There are worse addictions. I’ll die first working than from smoking, sweetheart. But your concern touched me.” Sarcasm in his voice, irritating Neila more. “Besides, you’re one to talk.” A SOLDIER trying to lecture him about bad addictions. He felt the urge of laughing at the occurrence. 

“ Suit yourself then.” She gave up about having a civilised conversation with the Turk. “ These footsteps… Hideki must have climbed up to the top. What do you think?” 

Reno kneeled besides her frame,invading her personal space and inspecting the trail. “ What a dimwit.” His cerulean eyes following the tracks ahead them. 

“ Excuse me?” Neila frowned at his words, and stood up on her feet again, glaring at him amazed.  The warmth his figure let off had felt so good against her bare arms.

Reno started to stride up the path, leaving her behind. “ If he’s gonna steal from Shinra, at least he could have tried not to let a sloppy trail of footsteps. Not that I’m complaining though.” He wasn’t, he rather wanted to be back in Midgar soon, but he also liked some type of challenge, not something this… simple. 

“ If you say so… Well,this way we’ll finish the mission in a record time.” 

“ Don’t get your hopes up, sweetheart. These mountains are full of monsters who have been living between mako residues for years. It will be a miracle if Hideki has not been devoured by those freaks yet. “ 

“ That’s why I’ve been deployed too? Because there are mako-contaminated monsters roaming around?” Neila guessed.

Reno didn’t answer her, and just keep on going up to the peak of the mountain, following Hideki’s clues. 

“ Now that I think about it. Does Hideki have anything to do with Wutai?” Neila asked again with curiosity. Brilliant mako eyes searching for the named man around the caves and boulders in their path. 

“ If I tell ya, I’ll have to kill ya.” A cocky smirk curled up his lips, shooting a side glare to the SOLDIER, while he threw the cigarette and stepped on it.  

“ You wouldn’t, not that you could anyway.” A loud laugh burst from him, who bent forward slightly, pulling a hand on his chest. “ What’s so funny?” 

“ Oh, sweetheart, I would, but not before enjoying other things first.” He sent a playful wink towards her, hidden intentions not that well hidden. The attraction between them wasn’t a secret though. 

“ In your dreams Reno.” Neila answered back, folding her arms and rolling her eyes. 

“ Have already done that yo.” Playfulness splattered upon all his features, and enjoying the blushing and embarrassment creeping Neila up. 

They were reaching the top without any unpleasant encounters, yet. Maybe Reno was right,and Hideki had already been eaten up. 

“ I know you’re joking, cut it off.” She ended the talk, ashamed. She would be lying if she said she didn’t think about it before. Even if Reno was insufferable most of the time, he still was attractive with his flashy red hair, blue eyes and those red marks, and without saying his strange selection of customized uniform. And his personality was tempting too, although it pushed her buttons too many times. 

“Oh? You are ashamed now? A strong SOLDIER like you? “ He carried his ironic remarks on, making her still more uncomfortable. 

“ I’m gonna make you swallow that rod of yours unless you shut up.” He was driving her up the wall. 

“ I would like to see ya trying to do it. “ The joking end up abruptly when a cry out for help crossed the air. Both of them ran up the last steps till the top, being welcomed by a hideous scene. 

There was their target, surrounded by a group of what looked like a four mutated praying mantis. Mako influence for sure. A leg and an arm had been ripped off from his body, blood gathering on the rocky land beside him. 

The bugs must have come across the man shortly before them. Unless they finished the monsters off, Hideki would be eaten and no options of getting information from him would be possible. 

Jumping out to action, Reno took his electric rod out, and Neila her sword. Although the mantis weren’t that many, the mako running through their organisms, made them stronger, and a  pain in the ass. 

If Neila remembered right from previous encounters, Mantis’ weak point was ice magic. “ Reno, back off!” She yelled out, while she gently caressed the green materia placed inside her left bracelet’s gauge.

The Turk was about to retort at her, but with his characteristic speed, he retreated back after noticing her intentions. 

The ice magic flew straight across the battlefield, hitting and freezing three of them. 

Now getting rid of the mantis should be a piece of cake.  With three frozen-up, the remaining  one didn’t stand a single chance. 

Lightning trails were drawn around the frozen monsters, followed by unpleasant cries in pain, which would have caused your ears to start bleeding.In the blink of an eye, Reno had wipe those things out with just one strike. 

“Man, I hate the bug-type monsters, I really do.” Neila murmured after taking care of the last one at Hideki’s foot. Her standard SOLDIER sword deeply impaled in its thorax, and some type of purplish blood splashed on her uniform.  

“ Well now, now… What do we have here?” Reno walked slowly, watching the almost limbless man laying down in agony. The facade he had showed previously around her, was replaced by a sadistic and cruel one, sending goosebumps down her spine. 

The SOLDIER wasn’t unaware of the inhuman things the Turks did, but she had never got the opportunity to witness one yet. 

Realization shone in the dark eyes of Hideki. “ A-a Turk!” stuttering, he dragged himself as far as he was able from Reno. “ Please! I didn’t do anything!” 

“ Of course you would say that, wouldn’t ya?”  Reno stepped onto Hideki’s stomach, pinning him down with force, not letting him more room to scape, or keep dragging on. “Now about the files you’ve stolen...Do you still have them on you or did you already give them away?

“ Reno, he’s lost too much blood. He won't…” Neila tried to say watching carefully the blood ponds. 

“ Please have mercy! I didn’t give nothing away! “ The man yelled, air leaving his lungs in short breaths. He didn’t have much time left. 

“Oh? So you still have them. “ Reno checked inside Hideki’s backpack, finding some type of old books and folders. “Who’s your contact?” 

Neila was speechless with the scene in front of her. Their target was crying and shouting due to an unbearable pain, his blood still blooming from his open cuts and lost limbs. And Reno was interrogating him not caring about his poor and bloody status. 

She had also done unnamed acts in her missions during the war time, but her work never consisted in torturing like this. 

“I don’t have a contact!” 

Reno chuckled before positioning his electric rod upon the man’s throat, as a silent threat. “ I’ll ask again idiot. Who’s your contact?” 

“Please!” an electric wave went across the injured body, more screams of pain could be heard, but soon were vanished amongst the rocky walls of the tallest mountains.

“Did ya change your mind? Or should I keep playing with you? Long time I don’t electrocute someone, I’ll be sure of making the most of it.” The Turk was smiling pleased with the sight of the man shouting. 

“Fujito! It’s Fujito!” Hideki answered. Fear could be read on his face. 

“Where?”  Reno pressed more the bar against his skin. 

“In the nearness of Wutai! Please I don’t know more, let me go!” 

A sigh escaped Reno’s mouth while he was dialing Tseng, who picked up instantly. He told Tseng all the information obtained, and after a brief minutes and a nod, Reno pocketed back his phone. 

Tseng must have given him directions.

“ Not that you would be able to reach that far… “ With a last look at Hideki, Reno stepped off of him, and walked back down the slope. “Come on sweetheart, we still have work to finish with. “ A gesture with his left hand told her it was the time to continue. 

Neila ran behind him, words caught in her throat, unable to bring them up. Some things couldn’t be approved, but work was work, and they had to do it. 

The flirtatious and cocky facade had been back on Reno’s face during the long rambling to Nibelheim. Several encounters with monsters slowed their descent.  Even though the mission had started rather earlier in the morning, when the sun hadn’t risen down yet, it was almost nightfall when they reached the village.

“ I guess we’ll have to leave things for today, don’t ya think?” 

“ Probably.” The headache had returned with every step they took. Not that it wouldn’t let her fight or keep with the mission, but it was getting tiresome now.

“I’ll notify Tseng, go ahead babe.” Reno stood outside the inn while Neila entered to ask for the room keys. The owner would be kinder to her in her second class SOLDIER uniform than to Reno with his characteristic and recognisable black suit.  

“ It was about time a SOLDIER was sent here to clean up the surroundings crawling with beasts.” The owner greeted her with a smile. 

“ Yeah, well… “ Shyness taking the best of her. She was awful at talking with strangers. 

“ Shinra booked two chambers, I guess those are yours. “ Veld must have taken care of it. The girl nodded, uncomfortable. “ Here you are. If you’re gonna clean the place, you’re gonna need a place to rest.” the keys were put on the wooden counter. 

“Thank you.” Taking the keys, she was ready to head up to the chambers, but Reno shuffled himself inside the inn, greeting the owner, whose face changed to a grimace of disgust.   

The Turks weren’t well welcomed here either. 

“ I’m exhausted sweetheart, we should go to bed. “ his arm over her shoulders, guiding her upstairs. 

“ Your key.” Neila offered the object to Reno. “ And please, hands off of me.” 

“ You’re hurting me.” A false expression of pain crossed Reno face, while he grab the key, but still refused to let her go. “ Acting all tough as if you don’t want it.” mockery present in his tone. 

“ That’s because…” 

“Don’t you dare lying to me. I’m not blind, nor I’m a fool. We’ve been toying with each other for a while.” He cut her off after a chuckle. Reno was starting to get tired of this shit. Fooling around was okay for a bit, but not for that long.  

“ And? You’ve got a problem with it?” swallowing the shyness, she was able to answer him. She wasn’t used to flirting , let alone a straightforward confrontation like this. For Bahamut, she had never had anything with anyone. When she was still a teenager Tseng had brought  her along to Midgar as a SOLDIER candidate. All of that romantic stuff was new for her. 

“ Don’t ya think it’s enough?” Reno had dragged her in front of him,holding her still with his hands on her shoulders, and leaned forward, blue eyes focused on hers. 

“ I doubt the corridor is the best place to discuss anything Reno.” tearing apart her gaze to the side.

“ You’re a tease.”  Reno might have been a sadistic, and might have done inexcusable things during his career, but forcing a woman was out of the question. There were some boundaries that couldn’t be crossed. 

“ It’s just that… I’ve never…” She whispered, ashamed. 

“ Ya know that I know, don’t ya?”  He had thought she wouldn’t have been that idiot to believe  that he hadn’t caught that she was inexperienced. He was a Turk for Bahamut's shake, he had been trained to pick up into people’s traits. Besides, her clumsy acts and nervous reactions at his flirting, demonstrated her innocence, anyone with two eyes would have caught it in a jiffy.    

The surprise in her features said otherwise. He let out an exasperated sigh, and released her shoulders, letting her free of his grip.It wasn’t that he was going to give up, but until she had made up her mind, he wouldn’t make a move “ It’s late and we still have a long day tomorrow. A comfy bed is waiting for us so… see ya tomorrow’s morning sweetheart. “ Giving her one of his signature smiles and shuffled to his assigned chamber.

Neila bit her lip, thoughts racing across her mind, but walked behind him and tugged his clothed arm, turning him to face her. 

His mouth slightly opened of surprise at the sudden movement she had done. This time Neila was the one leaning forward to him, her eyes sparkling with resolution.

Well, it looked like she had already made her mind up. In the blink of an eye, Reno shortened the distance till their lips meet into a sweet and naive kiss briefly.

 Once they broke apart, the smug smirk made its way back to Reno’s lips. “ See? It wasn’t that difficult.” 

“ You can’t have you mouth shut, can you?” blush drawing onto her cheeks, but her eyes were glittering more than normal. 

Reno let out a laugh, and bit his tongue to avoid saying a snarky remark before leaning down to meet her lips back again, this time into a more passionate and long kiss. After all, they’ve been playing around for weeks, it was about time.    

[gemraldkid]

Analysis and speculation on Bête Noire

Spoilers for Undertale and Glitchtale. Undertale by Toby Fox and Glitchtale by @camilaart​

You thought I was joking? Nope. Here it is: a mix of canon, headcanon, and speculation.

Of all the characters that people are obsessing over right now (Ronan, Jessica, Gaster, Rave, the prequel wizards), I choose to put all of my energy into making some sense of the one character that continuously reminds us that we should hate them. I could be thinking about the struggles of anyone else. I could be worried for Chara or Asriel or Asgore (he’s not dead until he starts turning to dust), but nooooo. This is what occupies my thoughts about this series.

This is basically most of my headcanon relating to Betty. I wanted to put these thoughts out there before the new episode since... well, anything could happen. 

Betty’s probably gonna mostly die from hate and stuff.

Imagine if we were actually supposed to end up feeling bad for this character? Right...

You shouldn’t take everything I say here as facts.’m pretty sure I made it clear enough which parts are speculation with the amazing power of verb tenses.

I’m open to corrections about currently available facts that I got wrong.

Glitchtale is a series that I’ve greatly enjoyed watching. I believe that it is one of the finest things to come out of the Undertale fandom. It is a testament to how good a fanfiction can be.

One thing that I find particularly praiseworthy is the way OCs are handled. They manage expand on the world without hogging the spotlight for too long. There’s a good balance between introducing new elements without ever forgetting about the old ones.

Of course, among many of the new characters, one in particular stands out: the current antagonist of Season 2, Bête Noire or “Betty”.

Betty is the character I have been the most fascinated with so far. She’s been a mystery to many ever since the punch to the gut that was the ending of “Dust”.

What follows is a look into the way that I perceive Bête Noire. I am not necessarily dead-set on a single possibility. While my views are backed up by certain facts, I acknowledge that they are also based on and influenced by my personal wishes for this character. Therefore, my words should be taken with a healthy amount of salt.

Betty was first introduced to us as an innocent 13 year-old girl, barely a year older than Frisk, physically. She was a shy, happy-go-lucky kid who became friends with Frisk after the latter saved her life from a fast-moving car.

Unfortunately, things were not as they seemed. The girl never was in any real danger as the car was an illusion created by powers. The scenario was merely a set-up to get her closer to Frisk and their family of monsters.

Illusions are likely a power granted to her by her trait: fear. With it, she is able to see the memories of others simply by looking them in the eyes. This grants her knowledge of their personality and, most importantly, their emotional weaknesses. Using that knowledge, she can create illusions to throw off her enemies. These illusions can serve a variety purposes even if they don’t directly involve fear. Examples include the aforementioned car and the illusion that caused Undyne to kill Alphys.

Bête Noire originally woke up when the barrier was broken, a month before the events of “My Sunshine”. This means that she spent a month doing “something” before starting her plan. She likely spent days and nights observing the humans and monsters. Through her observations and memory-reading abilities, she judged whether the monsters were truly as dangerous for human kind as she believed. This wasn’t all she observed, however. Betty also learned the ways and customs of this new time period. After all, the only memories in her possession belonged to someone who lived over 800 years ago...

-

Agate Lightvale was best known as the wizard of bravery who helped seal the monsters underground. She lived in a medieval time. While she was born into a common family , she didn’t live a common life. Her twin brother, Copper, was lucky enough to be born with a soul of determination, a trait so rare that only one person can possess it at a time. It elevated the Lightvale family to a noble status.

Growing up, Agate acted like a big sister to Copper even though they were the same age. However, this changed  as they grew older and trained to become wizards. Copper became more independent while his sister started to develop a few insecurities. 

Agate spent most of her time training in combat. She was always looking to improve, to get stronger, to surpass her limits. Unfortunately for her, being the twin of the soul of determination meant she was often overshadowed. 

Her brother was essentially a “chosen one” of sorts. As a result, he got most of the attention. Agate would execute a spell flawlessly while Copper stumbled at the same task. Yet, he would be the only one to receive praise.

In addition to being the rarest trait, determination is also the strongest. Agate was confronted with the reality that, no matter how hard she trained, she could never surpass her brother.

Still, it didn’t stop Agate from being a kind and respected individual. True to her trait, she was know for her bravery in the face of danger and resistance to physical pain. In addition, she and Copper both stayed strong for their younger sister, Amber, who’s birth resulted in the death of their mother. Agate and her siblings were extremely close.

After the war between humans and monsters ended, she, her brother, and five other wizards created the barrier, trapping the monsters underground.

After a certain amount of time, Copper proposed the idea of releasing the monsters from captivity. He believed that humans and monsters could still live together. Agate opted against this. She believed it would be better for both races if they lived separately. The discussion got extremely agitated to the point where Agate spontaneously challenged Copper to a duel that would decide the future.

-

If I may break the flow of information a little, this part seems a tad off to me. I find it notable, at the very least. In the official depiction of this moment, Agate looks smug, as if she knows she is going to win. Isn’t that odd considering what we know? I believe there was more riding on this duel than the fate of two races.

Recall that Agate had a bit of an inferiority complex with her brother. Isn’t it possible that she also challenged him to prove she was stronger, to finally break out of his shadow by defeating him in front of the entire kingdom? If this is the case, I believe that the “confidence” she showed might not have been entirely sincere. Surely, a part of her knew that she couldn’t win. Yet, she still instigated a fight.

I think it’s possible that challenging Copper was not an act of hubris on Agate’s part; it was an act of desperation made in the heat of the moment.

-

Ultimately,  she lost. Her brother was victorious. Agate was overwhelmed by her loss. While she had an abundance of physical bravery, she lacked it emotionally. Due to these factors, she lost her trait then and there. Completely humiliated, she fled to parts unknown. Still under the intensity of the battle, Copper didn’t think to go after her.

During this period of her life, Agate made many poor life choices. She searched for a way to break her limits more than ever before. She came across at least two forbidden spells. She used one of them to reverse her souls trait from the orange of bravery to the dark orange of fear. The process completely eradicated the last shred of sanity she had. After being absent for an unknown amount of time, Agate rejoined her family, who welcomed her back in spite of the changes she had gone through. 

Driven by her obsession for victory, Agate furiously demanded a rematch from Copper. He refused, knowing it wouldn’t bring about anything good. Seeing that he wouldn’t move on the issue, Agate threatened the life of Amber, her own sister. Copper attempted to protect her, but was ultimately forced to watch as Agate stabbed her through the chest. This horrible sight caused him to lose his trait, allowing Agate to easily finish him in the same manner. She relished the victory as all life left his eyes.

Unfortunately, she would soon be forced to join her siblings. Inverting one’s trait is immensely stressful on the soul. With her time running out, Agate performed another forbidden spell to ensure that her will lived on: the Bête Noire spell.

The Bête Noire spell consists of creating a powerful, nearly lifelike golem called a “bête noire”. While the golem itself is powerful, a bête noire’s true strength lies in its longevity and ability to form complex thoughts. 

Most spells typically act in very basic ways. For example, a simple fire spell will simply follow a chosen path or pattern before disappearing regardless of whether it hit its target or not.

Bêtes noires, on the other hand, can not only accomplish much more complicated tasks, but also think about how they will go about doing so. They are even be able to improvise if things don’t go their way. In addition, they can exist for several weeks before fading. However, if they have a way to replenish their magic (such as harvesting it from souls), they become virtually immortal. A bête noire is essentially a living spell. 

Of course, to craft such a being, the cost is extremely high. It requires the caster to use their own soul for the conjuring. Then, they must also have a vessel other than their own body that can be merged with the soul to create the golem.

Agate was willing to sacrifice the life she wouldn’t have for much longer and she had two perfectly good vessels. Still spiteful towards her brother, the wizard chose Amber’s body over Copper’s. Her soul turned pink as it absorbed Amber’s body. With the deed done, Agate lifeless body fell to the floor.

The soul remained sealed and hidden for over 800 years until the barrier was broken. At that moment, it awoke, transformed into the being that would be know as Bête Noire.

-

Bête Noire knew her purpose from the very start as she possessed some of Agate’s memories as she possessed some of Agate’s memories. Unfortunately, the goal her “mother” left her with was no longer as good-natured as it once was. In Agate’s twisted mental state, it had gone from “Keep humans and monsters separate for both their safeties.” to something akin to “Kill all monsters so that they will never live in peace with humans. Do so by any means necessary, even if it means killing humans who oppose you or using the power of hate.”

-

Gathering hate is stated to be the universal purpose of a bête noire. It’s fitting when considering the name. “Bête noire” is a french term that literally translates to “black beast”. Black is the color (or lack there of) of hate. In addition, the term “bête noire” is used to indicate a person or object that someone particularly dislikes.

I originally found it ironic that Bête struggled to keep her hate under control, but the solution is simple. She likely only struggled to keep it under control because she wasn’t in her complete form at the time.

Nonetheless, I can’t help thinking that maybe bêtes noires are supposed to succumb to the hate they collect. Perhaps they are meant to serve as vessels for the stuff. After all, Betty still requires a large surplus of magic to keep it at bay. One would think a creature made to collect hate would do more than just resist it a little better than others. 

Yet, if bêtes noires are supposed to succumb to hate, why has this one been shown fear it? Perhaps because, as a creature made purely of magic, it would be akin to death, something that she fears because fear is built into her nature.

-

In order to accomplish her mission, Bête had to gather information on both her enemies and the era she was in. She separated herself into two beings in order to hide her monstrous appearance and blend in with the humans. She dubbed the part she separated from herself “Akumu”, the Japanese word for “Nightmare”. Under the nickname “Betty”, she spent a month observing and planning. 

It should be noted that she must have done so 24/7. Bêtes noires don’t need to sleep. It could also be for this reason that she is so unfamiliar with the concept. Agate’s knowledge about sleep was mostly omitted because it had little relevance to the mission.

As previously stated, Betty used her power of fear to look into the memories of the monsters. From the information she gathered, she judged that monsters were in fact deserving of death. This may seem strange to many since, as seen in Undertale, most monsters are innocent and kind-hearted people. How could she possibly think so poorly of them even after seeing their past? Is she blind?

I believe so. Betty may, in fact, be blind to certain degree.

Any normal person would most likely have seen that monsters didn’t deserve what was coming to them. Why didn’t Betty? Because she isn’t a normal person. Highly advanced or not, Bête Noire remains a spell, and spells exist to carry out the will of their caster. They are tools.

If magic bullets could miss because they took pity on the opponent, few people  would use them.

Keep in mind that Betty isn’t just a bullet that uses up 0.001% of the caster’s magic. She’s a bête noire. People had to die for her creation. If a person poured all of their life force into a spell that would carry on their will, they would be pretty upset to learn that they failed because the spell didn’t want to do the one thing it was created for. 

All this to say that I believe that Betty is unable to go rogue either physically or mentally. She has no choice but to believe she is in the right. After all, if she realized that her only purpose for existing was objectively wrong, it could make her a less effective weapon.

When she looked into the souls of the monsters, it is likely that she was never going to come to any other conclusion than “They are dangerous.” 

She did see some of the good in them, but most of what she retained were parts that would prove her right. These included Asgore killing the 6 humans (even though it was the only way to save his kingdom), the horrors Asriel committed as Flowey (even though he was soulless at the time), and Frisk’s many resets (even though they aren’t even a monster). These actions were obviously horrible, but there were nuances that made them more understandable. Context was important.

Betty, who I believe was unable to pick up on such nuances, may have simply taken the most basic message from this. “These monsters did bad things, therefore they are evil and the same must apply to all of monsterkind.” She is blind to anything that doesn’t fit into the way she is supposed to see the world.

(Of course, this doesn’t mean she is unaware of Papyrus or Undyne’s heroic and selfless acts. It just means that can’t see them as proof that monsters are good people.)

As such, Bête may not be wholly responsible for her actions. Some of her malicious acts can be blamed on her creator. After all, her contradictory objective of killing humans to protect humanity was given to her by Agate, who’s mind was far from clear at the time.

However, other aspects are harder to justify. The pleasure she seems to take in her victims’ emotional suffering could have come from Agate as the wizard displayed something similar shortly before casting the spell.

The fact that Bête wouldn’t care if the world ended as long as it was by her hand definitely makes her seem incredibly hypocritical (which she is) and entitled, not to mention evil. I suppose that by annihilating everything she would technically accomplish her goal of killing all monsters. With her one purpose in life fulfilled, she would have no more reason to live. The idea of ruling humanity afterward is likely more of a bonus. Assuming this is the case, it’s a testament to how much important the mission is to her.

Finally, I would like to bring up the debate of whether Betty and Agate are the same person or not because, if they are, most of what has been written here will be completely pointless. There are two ways to look at this.

This post tells us that Agate is technically Betty, but it may only refer to them in the physical sense. Betty’s body is physically Agate’s soul. The debate is about whether they are mentally the same.

This comic is likely the largest piece of evidence to support this. To my knowledge, it is still canon. In it, Bête finds the remains of Agate’s body. Her reaction is quite interesting because she acts and talks as if the body was once hers. She also has to reassure herself that she “can’t die now”, implying that she was once mortal. She also mentions ensuring “our race’s survival” in reference to humanity. For that sentence, she includes herself with the human race. This implies that she was at least human at one point.

This evidence certainly appears conclusive, and it very well might be. However, it directly contradicts this conversation which, to my knowledge, is also still canon. Here, she refers to Agate as “mom”, indicating that she thinks her as a separate being. Why is this? Is one of these sources outdated? Possibly, but I have another proposal.

Betty’s mind appears to be all over the place. One moment, she laments the fact that she is meant to be hated and, at another, she takes joy in torturing her victims. She doesn’t want to die, yet she wouldn’t mind if the world ended at her own hand. She is hypocrite.  Sometimes, she believes she is Agate’s creation; at other times, she acts like she is Agate herself.

Bête Noire’s first memories came from Agate. Surely, It isn’t too far-fetched to say that her mind was likely derived from her creator’s. If that is indeed the case, the solution is clear; Betty might be insane just like Agate was before casting the spell. Agate’s insanity could have rubbed off on her creation. Thus, it’s possible that Bête’s thoughts are meant to be hypocritical and contradictory.

In the end, is Betty Agate? She may not even know herself. I believe she is more of an imperfect copy or a “simulacrum”. The things that make her “Agate” are the incomplete memories of the wizard’s life and the similar way of thinking. In my opinion, these don’t make an entirely different person, but they also aren’t enough for her to be considered Agate. She is merely a being in possession of her creator’s memories.

-

Also, these hints might still be relevant today.

“Steven Universe logic”? You mean the show where almost every problem is solved by talking and all the villains end up becoming good? Sure, that could just be referencing Sans and Asriel getting talked out their states, but you never know. Maybe Betty’ll regret her actions too before dying. Eh? EH?!

“Never assume things”? No kidding. Words to watch by.

[kita-lavellan]

OC’s Spell List - Kita Lavellan

In an attempt not to overpower my Inquisitor in battles and fights, (since it’s the easiest thing in the world to overpower a magic-user character), I spent several hours figuring out which spells she knew, pulling from all the games, making any small edits for my Inquisitor’s backstory, and deciding when and under which circumstances she learnt them. WIP but I wanted to show my friend what I had so far...[Edit: This is taking forever to work out and type up *sobs*]

Natural Inclinations/Starter Spells

A) Veilfire - Age 6

Kita learnt Veilfire as her first spell by conversing with Spirits in the Fade. She only stopped speaking to the Spirits when the Keeper of her Clan finally realised the girl had magic, and began warning her of the dangers of Demons, forbidding the girl from interacting with the creatures of the Fade if she wished to stay with Clan Lavellan and her family.

She knows how to write with Veilfire, a skill thought lost to the ancient elves, but after her Keeper’s reaction to finding out she even knew how to cast the comparatively simple Veilfire flames, Kita has kept that piece of information a secret from everyone except her mother, and later her sister.

1) Winter’s Grasp - Age 7

The caster locks their target in a thin sheet of frost and ice. Some targets can be frozen solid, the smaller the target the higher the chance of it being frozen. The target gives off waves of cold that can cause discomfort in other nearby enemies. A frozen target takes additional shattering damage from a melee blow.

This was the first spell Kita cast outside of the Fade. Her mother would tell stories of how, when her daughter’s porridge was too hot, a small shower of snowflakes and frost would settle across it’s surface.

2) Cone of Cold - Age 9

Cone of cold produces a blast of ice in a 90 degree angle, with the caster as the point of origin, reaching out 4 meters (13ft). Cone of Cold is more effective against larger targets than Winter’s Grasp, but similarly to Winter’s Grasp, Cone of Cold can freeze targets causing them to give off waves of cold that cause discomfort to nearby enemies, and take additional shattering damage from melee attacks. Cone of Cold can also be used to freeze environments such as stones, puddles or put out fires.

Kita used to use this spell to create paths across ponds, or to create small area’s covered in snow for her baby sister, Nel, to play in.

3) Chain Lightning - Age 11

A bolt of lightning hits a target of the caster’s choice within 2 meters (6ft). It then splits into two (2) bolts, each jumping to another target, within 2 meters (6ft) of the First Target, and doing half the original amount of damage. Each of those secondary bolts then splits into two (2) more bolts, jumping to different target, within 2 meters (6ft) of the Second Targets, and doing a quarter of the original damage. Overall, Chain Lightning can hit a maximum of seven (7) targets, and 300% of the base spell damage.

Kita learnt this spell instinctively after watching a bolt of lightning hit a tree in the Emerald Graves during a summer storm. The hot and muggy weather that followed the rainfall brought many biting insects to the clan’s camp, and after growing tired of batting the offending creatures away from herself and her sister, she sent small sparks of chain lightning at the insects.

4) Hand of Winter - Age 13

Hand of Winter sends of a blast of ice and snow in every direction for 7.5 meters (24ft), with the caster as the point of origin. Since this direction also includes up and down, this spell can be used to partially freeze lakes, or create a floating glacier-like structure. It is almost guaranteed to freeze any living target in it’s path, unless the target is a magic user of exceptional will themselves, able to resist and overcome the spells effects through sheer willpower.

When Kita was twelve (12) years old, she fell through the ice on a lake and drowned. Her five (5) year old sister, Nel, summoned spirits that lifted her sister from the icy lake, and resurrected her by guiding her departed spirit back to her body from beyond the veil. For almost a full year after the event, Kita practiced her ice based spells over and over. They grew stronger, but not enough that she felt safe enough to use them crossing lakes and ponds as she had as a child, until her mana exploded in a wave of ice cold. She learnt Hand of Winter through practice and determination, and with a stubborn desire to no longer be afraid of the water. While her spellcasting was a success, Kita still doesn’t love water above her waist, or swimming in water where her feet can’t reach the bottom.

5) Telekinetic Burst - Age 15

A simple defensive spell, Telekinetic Burst sends out a wave of magical energy, with the caster as the point of origin. Anyone within 1.5 meters (5ft) of the caster is either stunned and left staggering, or physically knocked back by up to 3 meters (10ft). The strength of the blast is determined by the spellcaster’s willpower, and the amount of mana thrown into the spell.

Kita and Nel often explored the area’s near where the Clan camped, running off alone in the Brecilian Forest or exploring the grasslands of the Exalted Plains. On one such occasion, they stumbled upon a group of hunters who didn’t take kindly to the teenage elf or her eight (8) year old sister, threatening to cut off their ears or send them to the nearest Alienage. Desperate to get the grown men, with weapons, away from herself and her sister, Kita’s will manifested in the form of a Telekinetic Burst, giving the two girls the chance to run and lose the hunters in the wilderness. She had to tell her grandmother, Keeper Deshana, about the encounter and the Clan moved on quickly, but it did bring about the Keeper’s decision to officially name Kita as her First.

Keeper Taught - Learned as the Clan's First

Chosen to be the Keeper’s First at Age 16, Kita spent a year learning how to use a Mage Staff correctly. The Keeper refused to teach her any new spells until she could manipulate a staff as a weapon in it’s own right as well as being able to pass her small repertoire of spells through the wood correctly. Kita shattered many training staves, before learning to regulate the flow of her mana.

B) Arcane Bolt

One of the first lessons Deshana gave Kita was how to use a staff to form an Arcane Bolt. An Arcane Bolt can be used even when a caster’s mana is near depleted because it relies less on the caster’s mana, and more on the power infused in whichever Rune is crafted into the Mage Staff. While it needs a mage to activate the Rune, it draws power from the energy infused in it’s crafted form, not the mages abilities. Because the spell doesn’t draw from the caster’s mana, it’’s ability to cause damage is weak, but it’s range is exceptional. Able to hit a target up to 30 meters (100ft) away, the Arcane Bolt is best used on either a retreating enemy, or as a way to redirect an enemies attention away from an injured companion. Arcane Bolt is also useful in teaching a young mage accurate aim, casting techniques and staff movements, because there is little chance of them causing damage with a miscast Arcane Bolt.

1) Spellbloom - Age 18

Spellbloom creates a sphere of revitalizing energy that can span up to 10 meters (32ft) in diameter, with the caster as the point of origin. When touched by this restorative energy, mages find their mana pool replenishing faster, and fighters find their stamina bolstered, while the weary traveller might find the strength to continue their trek for several more hours.

One of the first spells Keeper Deshana taught Kita, this spell is a staple of Dalish Clan life. Sometimes the Clan is not in a position to stop and make camp when the Halla are tired, or their warriors begin to flag, and the Spellbloom spell allows the Clan to continue on until they can find a safe place to spend the night.

2) Energy Barrage - Age 20

This spell sends a group of small orbs of magical energy at up to four (4) targets. Energy Barrage produces no less than eight balls of energy that attack either a single target, or up to a maximum of four random targets, depending on the caster’s intention. The maximum number of energy sphere’s created is determined by the strength of the caster, and the amount of mana poured into the spell making this a potentially draining cast. For a Circle Trained mage, the magical energy takes the form of whichever elemental type their staff is crafted to best attune to. In the case of a Dalish Elf or an Apostate Mage, whose (often makeshift) staves have no such elemental alignment, the energy takes it’s type from the power-type that the mage is most proficient in.

In Kita’s case, this spell takes the form of a mixture of lightning & ice blasts. This is unusual, and after spotting the puzzled expression on her grandmother’s face at the sight of the two elements mixing, Kita limits this particular spell to Lightning only. It uses more of her mana to limit it in this way, but to the teenager, it was worth the additional effort to avoid standing out.

3) Fist of the Maker aka Veilstrike - Age 22

This spell, known as the ‘Fist of the Maker’ among Circle Trained Mages, is taught primarily in the Circles located in the Free Marches. An elf who escaped the circle taught Deshana, and Kita, the spell in exchange for being allowed to stay with the Clan. Fist of the Maker draws energy from the veil, and uses the force to slam enemies against the ground. The spell can target a single enemy for massive damage, or span an area 4 meters (13ft) in diameter to stun all targets caught in the area of effect.

Kita first used this spell in battle when the Clan stumbled across a nest of corrupted spiders in the Brecilian Forest a couple of years after the end of the 5th blight. In an attempt to stop the spiders overwhelming the Clan’s warriors, and potentially infecting them with the blight, she used Fist of the Maker to crush the arachnids, the force of the spell shattering the creature’s legs and stopping their advancement. Once Kita begins discussing magic with Solas post-Conclave, she discovers that, among Apostates, and Rift Mages, this spell is also known as Veilstrike. Since Kita has no affiliation with the Andrastian faith, she begins referring to the spell by the much more neutral name.

4) Stinging Swarm - Age 24

Stinging Swarm summons a cloud of stinging insects that converge in an area of approximately 2 meters (6.5ft) in diameter, attacking any enemies within that space. If the mages will falters, the swarm will disperse harmlessly.

Another staple of Dalish Keeper’s, this spell is often used to fend off local wildlife, such as wolf packs or gurguts. Most animals will leave an area where a wasp nest resides for a few days before venturing back, and this often allows a Clan to camp safely without having to put the clans hunters at risk. Once Kita meets, and gets to know, Sera she often helps the young elf play pranks by summoning swarms of bee’s for Sera to bottle up. When Sera claims not to remember how she got bee’s inside of Commander Cullen’s training dummy, it was to keep Kita’s involvement in the prank a secret.

5) Fade Shroud - Age 26

Fade Shroud is an advanced version of the spell Arcane Shield. While the Arcane Shield uses mana to deflect incoming attacks, increasing a mages chances at avoiding weapon attacks and projectiles, Fade Shroud allows the mage to briefly become spirit-like and incorporeal.

Kita finds this easier than funnelling her magic into a physical barrier that deflects attacks, and when Deshana questions her about the unusual technique, Kita describes it as pressing up against the sail of a ship that is blown full with a strong breeze. You can press against it, and into it, but the veil is constantly pushing back to force you out again, which is why Fade Shroud can only be used in short bursts of up to five (5) minutes at a time. While active, however, the rush of energy from the Fade energizes the mage and replenishes their pool of mana.

6) Nature’s Blades - Age 29

Vines grow up from the ground, wrapping around the caster’s ankles and immobilizing them for the duration of the spell. Additionally, thorny vines then sprout from the ground for 4.5 meters (15ft) in all directions, with the caster as the point of Origin. Enemies caught within this field can be knocked back up to 10 meters (32ft). Any enemies not knocked away from the caster by this spell have to contend with reduced maneuverability, and the constant slicing attacks of the sharp thorns as the vines whip at and wrap around enemies within the spell’s range.

This is a spell that Kita created herself. It is a blend of the ‘One With Nature’ and ‘Thornblades’ spells that Keeper Deshana attempted to teach her. To this day the Keeper still believes that Kita simply casts the two spells in quick succession, and only Nel is aware that her sister crafted an entirely new spell to merge the two magical attacks.

7) Lightning Bolt - Age 31

A powerful lightning strike arcs down from the sky striking a single target, causing massive damage and paralysing the target for up to a minute. Up to four enemies within 2 meters (6.5ft) of the target can be blasted away from the target by up to 4 meters (13ft) from the force of the Lightning Strike.

When news reached the Clan about the Chantry of Kirkwall being blown up by an apostate mage, Keeper Deshana encourages Kita to study the Lightning Bolt spell. In addition to causing damage, and stunning an enemy, Lightning Spells also drain a warrior’s energy (stamina) and the Keeper wanted her First to be able to defend against potential attacks from Templars or Town Guards now on the lookout for Apostate Mages.

Learned Throughout Inquisition

1) Barrier - Age 32

3) Fireball/Flashfire - Age 32

4) Crushing Prison - Age 34

5) Lightning Cage - Age 34

Specialization Spells - Rift Mage & The Anchor

1) Stonefist/Fadefist - Age 32

2) Pull of the Abyss/Devouring Veil - Age 32

3) Mark of the Rift (Open Small Rifts in Inquisition/Parts the Veil post Trespasser) - Age 32, 34 & 36

4) Aegis of the Rift - Age 36

5) Magical Discharge (Weaker post Trespasser/Uses Mana not the Mark) - Age 36

Post Trespasser/Arbor Blessing

1) Blizzard - Age 36+

2) Tempest - Age 36+

3) Firestorm - Age 36+

4) Custom Spell - foci based magic TBD - Age 36+

5) Custom Spell - foci based magic TBD - Age 36+ Link to Kita’s Masterpost