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monstersdownthepath · 6 years ago

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Spiritual Spotlight: Valmallos, the Answering Rite

Lawful Neutral Primal Inevitable of Ceremonies, Magic, and Preparation

Domains: Law, Magic, Rune, Water Subdomains*: Inevitable, Rites, Legislation, Ice

Concordance of Rivals, pg. 19

Obedience: Spend 1 hour refining existing prayers, rituals, and spells by adding additional movements, verses, and diagrams. Benefit: Gain a +4 sacred or profane bonus on skill checks to cast a ritual.

(*IMPORTANT NOTE: The Subdomains are my best guess; Subdomains are not listed in Concordance of Rivals. Anywhere! ... Also, Water??? Really? This is like the third deity that has nothing to do with water getting the Water Domain. I would replace it with the Knowledge Domain, Education Subdomain.)

Easy enough to do! You can focus on one at a time or do multiple alterations in one go, and you don’t even have to really carry anything with you, given how it doesn’t say you have to actually write down your... “Refinements.”

If there’s one problem I have with this Obedience, it’s that adding things to an existing work is not “refining” it, Valmallos. The word you’re looking for is “complicating,” especially if the work in question already works fine. Now, if you were shaving them down and making them less complex, THAT would be refining! And it’s especially glaring if your character doesn’t really know that many rituals, prayers, spells, etc etc etc because you’d just be very thoroughly scrombling up a perfectly good and operational hymn.

Since this Obedience is so simple to do (based on how it’s written, the alterations you make don’t even have to be particularly good), how about talking a bit on how well it fits Vallamalla here? You see, Val is the reason so many spells--especially higher-level ones--have restrictive component requirements. All those wild gestures and inane babbling you have to do to cast spells? Many of them were developed by the Answering Rite as a method of keeping them out of the hands of people ‘unworthy’ to wield such power. Valhalla dislikes it when people use magic as a toy or for trivial matters (the killjoy probably despises Prestidigitation) and believes it should only be used in accordance with one’s needs or goals, not just for willy-nilly inconveniences. Thus, spell components block off any but the most dedicated.

It hasn’t really stopped Wizards from using magic for trivial pursuits anyway, but y’know.

The benefit is... low-tier. Rituals by design are often far too slow and clunky for use in anything but player downtime (click the link to see all rituals currently available!), and their effects can usually be replicated with regular spellwork anyway. They’re mostly made so non-magical NPCs can still pull off magic and that cults can be a legitimate threat even when made of rank-and-file grunts with knives and robes. For a player to use ritual casting the ritual has got to be something special and unique... meaning it’ll probably be used once, for the sake of the plot. Plus, then there’s the annoyance of finding them in the first place, since they can’t be learned like a normal spell can. At the very least, a +4 to every single skill check you use to cast the ritual is a good benefit if you DO end up regularly casting them.

Boons are gained slowly, gained at levels 12, 16, and 20. Servants of the Monitors, though, can enter the Proctor Prestige Class as early as level 8. If entered as early as possible, you can earn your Boons at levels 10, 14, and 16. You MUST take the Monitor Obedience feat, NOT Deific Obedience. Monitors grant only a single set of Boons.

Boon 1: Enduring Magic. Gain Protection From Chaos 3/day, False Life 2/day, or Arcane Concordance 1/day.

False Life is a spell that I would never prepare, but would be happy to just have. It grants 1d10+Level (max +10) temporary HP that lasts for 1 hour/level, plenty of HP to survive one powerful attack or a lot of smaller ones... If you roll lucky. If you don’t, you may just end up with 11 extra HP.

It’s not worth if if you consider the power that Protection From Chaos and Arcane Concordance supply. ProFroCho stops Chaotic creatures in their tracks and protects the enchanted victim from even being touched, halting not only Proteans, but Demons and Azata. Arcane Concordance is also a VERY powerful spell, granting +1 DC to the saves of ALL spells cast within its area and allowing anything within its effect to automatically apply Enlarge Spell, Extend Spell, Silent Spell, or Still Spell Metamagic for free, though it’s painfully limited in two ways; one, its area of effect is a meager 10ft bubble around you. Two, the material component is a spent wand; wands are expensive!

However, as a spell-like, Arcane Concordance requires no components! And since the Proctor is a caster, you can benefit from your own power! AND forming a Hug Zone around yourself for all ally casters. With sufficient protection from enemies that would take advantage of such tightly-clustered treats, you can turn yourself into a powerful artillery platform... Plus there’s also the beautiful little detail about being able to use Arcane Concordance to give nearby allies Still or Silent Spell (but not both!) so they can cast even if you’re all tied up and being escorted to prison!

Boon 2: Overwhelming Intricacy. When you cast a spell or spell-like ability whose casting time is at least 10 minutes, you increase the DC of saving throws to resist that spell by 1. If the spell's casting time is at least 1 hour, you instead increase the DC by 2.

Strokes my chin thoughtfully... Alright, alright, I see you. Power up your Nightmares and your various Symbol spells. Make it harder for called creatures to resist your Planar Bindings, and make your Glyphs of Warding harder to avoid. This is a decent bonus if you’re planning on setting traps for your enemies... Which is the opposite of what the players are usually doing, making this Boon powerful in the hands of NPCs but unattractive for players. +1 DC may not seem like a lot, and in truth it’s not, but it’s an untyped bonus that stacks with everything else you do, which counts for something.

The second portion of this Boon is much harder to take advantage of than the first, as spells which take an hour to cast that ALSO require a saving throw are rare... However, the biggest primary example of such a spell just so happens to be SCRYING, one of the most powerful tools a player can get their hands on, to the point that a side who doesn’t have it and takes no steps to protect themselves from it is the side destined to lose. Slapping an extra +2 to its DC, for free, is a big enough deal to make my opinion of this ability turn from a thumb-to-the-side to a thumbs up. What REALLY buffers this power, though, is the final Boon...

Boon 3: Sophisticated Symbols. 1/day you can cast a Symbol spell (such as Symbol of Persuasion) of 7th level or lower as a spell-like ability without needing material components, but the casting time is increased to 1 hour. Alternatively, you can use this ability 1/day to eliminate any Symbol spell's material component by increase its casting time to 1 hour. You can maintain only a single Symbol spell created with this ability, and using this ability again causes the first Symbol to dissipate.

hhOOOOOOHHHHHH MAN

Alright even the most mobile of players will want to take a seat for an hour to scribe out the Symbol spells. Even with the level 7 restriction, that still means you can use the niche Symbols of Mirroring, Healing, Revelation, Scrying, Sleep, Striking, Persuasion, Sealing, as well as the heavier-hitting Symbols of Debauchery, Laughter, Slowing, Pain, Fear, Stunning, and Weakness. Carrying the thing around on a slat of wood covered by a tarp is a viable tactic, by the by, just don’t go throwing the thing like a frisbee since it’s debatable if Symbols can be used offensively like that. Depending on your DM’s answer, this ability could be anything from “outstanding” to “game-breaking,” though I’m sure allowing you to throw a single bouncy ball engraved with a Symbol of Laughter is something the DM will only allow once.

The biggest limiting factor for Symbols is often their incredibly costly material components, going anywhere from 500 to 15,000gp, a hefty order for the average player character to fill out day after day. But Sophisticated Symbols removes the draining of your bank account, and though you can only sustain one Symbol at a time, carrying Symbol of Slowing, Weakness, or Stunning into a fight with you, or using it to guard a location while you’re away, is still fantastic.

And if you can already cast Symbol spells, such as the higher-level Symbols of Death, Dispelling, Insanity (engrave that on a bouncy ball for extra fun), Vulnerability, and ESPECIALLY Symbol of Strife, this ability turns them from ‘use once in a great while’ to ‘exploit every day.’ And guess what? Extending the casting time to 1 hour means Overwhelming Intricacy kicks in, giving them a +2 DC to their saving throws. Nice! It’s almost good enough to help you ignore the fact that Vanhalen is kind of a jerk.

You can read more about him here.

#Spiritual Spotlight #Neutrality Notes #Pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons

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quicksilversquared · 6 years ago

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Lost Heart: Chapter 3

Gabriel: Part 1

Magic can be a dangerous thing to play around with, particularly when that magic is tangled up in a curse. When Nathalie Sancoeur experiments with magic that she doesn’t fully understand, it sends her on a path to become Paris’ most dangerous supervillain and tips the balance between superheroes and supervillain.

But which way will the balance fall?

links in the reblog

–0-0-0-0–0–

Gabriel couldn't help but feel pleased about how things seemed to be going recently on his side of the akuma attacks. Unexpectedly, Nathalie seemed to be progressively less affected by the Peacock's curse, no longer at the brink of collapse after each transformation. It suggested that either she had somehow developed a strong enough will to miraculously shake the effects off, or (more likely) the curse was finally wearing off, who knew how many years after being cast. She was becoming a stronger strategist as well, figuring out where Ladybug and Chat Noir's weaknesses might be and how they could be exploited.

They hadn't won, not yet. But Gabriel was sure that it was only a matter of time. Eventually he would get an akuma that was strong enough that, combined with the Peacock's boost, would be able to take Ladybug and Chat Noir down.

And they would need a very strong akuma now. Ladybug and Chat Noir had somehow worked out how to do several (thankfully lower-level) power-ups and they sometimes- more and more frequently now- called on additional users for backup during fights.

(And wasn't that infuriating? The superheroes were clearly making frequent trips to the Guardian's home- during the akuma attacks-and somehow he was missing it. So many opportunities to find the Guardian and pull more kwamis into his employ, just missed.)

Still, he was optimistic. If the curse wore off fully, perhaps Nathalie could use some of the Peacock power-ups on top of the basic power and turn the tide of a fight fully. With the two of them out there with the akuma- if they could contain the two superheroes before they went running for their three back-ups- they could win.

In the meantime, Gabriel continued his routine of akumatizing whatever citizens were available. After all, all he had to do was have one lucky break, one time where Ladybug and Chat Noir were tired or sick or distracted and could be defeated.

"Sir, I have taken the liberty of telling Adrien that you won't be available to see his fencing match." Nathalie's voice cut through his thoughts. "Shall I schedule a Skype meeting in that time slot?"

"If you could." Gabriel gave himself a shake and turned back to his work. He had a stack of designs from the streetwear design team to review, and there was no reason to slack off on it. "The last time I left the mansion, I missed a prime akuma target and had to settle for a second-rate one. There will be time after when I can attend the matches."

After Emilie is back went unsaid. It was obvious.

Nathalie nodded and went back to her desk. Gabriel turned back to his work, making a couple small alterations and suggestions in the margins of the designs. A couple designs he knew that he would have to watch to make sure that his suggestions were followed- Madam Laurie was a talented designer when it came to shapes and patterns, but had no eye for color- but most were ready to go to production.

He and Nathalie worked in silence for nearly three hours before his brooch started warming up, becoming hot to the touch. Gabriel reached for it, gauging the suitability of the target before nodding decisively.

Yes, this would be a strong one.

The elevator whirred as it brought him down to the basement, over, and up. Gabriel stepped off at the top, in case Nathalie decided to join him and needed to use it. It didn't take long at all for Gabriel to transform and send an akuma off, fluttering over the rooftops. While he waited for it to reach its target, he kept one finger on the brooch.

It was blazing. Someone in Paris was raging against something, probably protesting an injustice or furious at a bully. Their rage would fuel their powers, making them strong.

He waited. Then, just as the akuma was drawing closer to its target, the brooch dimmed and cooled. The (former) target was still irritated, but no longer akumatizeable.

Hawkmoth gritted his teeth. This had been happening too often as of late. He had found a perfect target, only to have the butterfly diverted or rebuffed at last minute. If he could figure out who was doing it and how he could get to them before they calmed themselves down…

If it was the same person (or the same people, even), they would make a formidable opponent.

Still, Hawkmoth waited. His butterfly was out there, and there was no point in recalling it. It would find another target soon enough, and even if they weren't ideal, anything to pull Ladybug and Chat Noir out was good.

...well. Almost anything. Hawkmoth groaned as the akuma found a sobbing baby and transformed it into...well, a sleeping superpowered baby.

Unless the baby had some sort of amazing power that he didn't know about, that was a complete waste of an akuma.

After several minutes of nothing happening, Hawkmoth detransformed and headed right back downstairs. There was no point in wasting his time watching a baby sleep.

He had done quite enough of that when Adrien was young. It wasn't that interesting.

"Back already?" Nathalie inquired as Gabriel reappeared. "That was fast."

"Yes, well, my target vanished and a baby appeared." Gabriel flopped down at his desk. "It wasn't worth spending my time on, so I cut my losses."

Nathalie frowned. "It would have been more efficient to recall the akuma and re-use it."

"I wasn't feeling any decent targets."

"Anything would have been better than letting it stay with a baby." Nathalie didn't look pleased. "Ladybug and Chat Noir have become accomplished at taking down those akumas quickly, and then Nooroo has to recharge before he can go again at full strength."

"If I had felt a decent target, I would have recalled my akuma and sent it elsewhere." Gabriel frowned at Nathalie. It wasn't like her to be so argumentative. Perhaps there were some still-lingering effects from the Peacock Miraculous that were flaring up today and that was why she was so snappy. Perhaps they should reinstate the once-a-week transformation limit, even though Nathalie had been transforming twice a week for the past two weeks, seemingly without a problem. "If nothing else, the baby will force Ladybug and Chat Noir to use their powers and it could wear them down a little."

"Which will only make a difference if you send out another akuma as soon as they defeat this one."

"I'll keep one ear to the ground for any possible candidates."

Nathalie nodded, but she looked displeased as she went back to her work. Gabriel woke his computer back up and pulled up a news feed to play in one corner of his screen while he returned his attention to his designs. As predicted, it didn't take long for Ladybug and Chat Noir to defeat the akuma, and then they were returning the baby to her mother and vanishing over the skyline.

His brooch remained cold, so Gabriel shrugged and wrote the akuma off as yet another lost cause. Frustrating, yes- once he won against Ladybug and Chat Noir he was going to rub his victory in their faces to make up for all the times when they had won against him and celebrated- but not nearly as rare of an occurrence as he would have liked.

"Are you going to akumatize another person now?" Nathalie wanted to know, almost as soon as Gabriel had fully returned his attention to his work. "Or are you going to let yet another opportunity slip by?"

"There aren't enough options," Gabriel protested. "Or, rather, there aren't any. There's not a single viable candidate in range right now."

"Send out another butterfly anyway and create another weak akuma, then. Wear them down."

Gabriel blinked, taken aback. "Nathalie-"

"Are you trying to win or not?"

He frowned at her, letting his voice turn icy as he responded. "What are you suggesting, Nathalie?" Gabriel watched as she shrunk back. "I am doing my best. But the baby was a lost cause from the start. I need to be ready for any actual prospects that come up. We both know that Ladybug and Chat Noir will not be worn down by a parade of sleeping akumas, but Nooroo will be."

This time, Nathalie didn't respond. Gabriel spared her a look before returning his attention to his work, putting the incident out of his mind almost immediately. It was a one-off, a fluke caused by exhaustion.

Except then it wasn't. Nathalie was more snappish on a regular basis, getting irritated whenever Gabriel did anything that wasn't up to her standards. An underwhelming akuma? She was mad. Designs taking too long to finalize? She was annoyed. Ladybug and Chat Noir taking down an akuma that had potential way too quickly thanks to a dumb error? She was seething.

An angry Nathalie was not a Nathalie that Gabriel wanted to spend his time around.

And then after several weeks of increasingly snappish behavior, during one of their weekly Planning Meetings, Gabriel could no longer deny that something was very, very wrong.

"If we hit the Eiffel Tower at mid-day during a holiday with no warning and your most destructive akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir will be too distracted by evacuating people to deal with the akuma," Nathalie told him. She had somehow taken over the meeting, directing it instead of simply contributing information and then sitting back to let him lead. "Then the akuma can move in and take them by surprise-"

"I would rather use an akuma with mind-control powers or something similar- one that turns people to ice or stone, perhaps," Gabriel said at once. "Ladybug and Chat Noir would still want to get people evacuated, and people scream and panic just as much as when there's an akuma that could, ah, cause deaths." He hated it when that happened, but sometimes it just wasn't avoidable and he didn't want to hold back or compromise promising akumas. It would all get erased in the end.

He wouldn't deliberately cause deaths, though. That- that was crossing a line that he just wasn't willing to cross. It was something that Nathalie wasn't willing to cross, either, so maybe she just hadn't considered her idea all the way through-

"It won't be as effective without the more serious consequences, but I suppose it could work," Nathalie said, and suddenly Gabriel's rock-solid belief that the two of them shared the same supervillain boundaries was shaken. Her expression was cold and calculating, and Gabriel hastily repressed the urge to move away from her and the dark aura that seemed to suddenly appear around her. "Or instead of ice and stone, we could turn people into monsters- then they would run from both the monsters and the akumas. It would be panic. Chaos. Ladybug and Chat Noir torn between being annoyingly heroic and saving civilians or going after the akuma-"

"Okay, I think we've made a good bit of progress for today," Gabriel said before she could say anything else and before her expression could get any more unsettling. "And we- well, you- came up with some very good ideas for me to incorporate in our next few akuma fights. So I suggest that we end this meeting and get back to work. We're falling behind on the business, and we need to catch up before we can spend an entire day trying to make progress with the Miraculous."

"We can hire more people to do that for us-"

"That's a good idea, if you can write up a job description then you can send it to me to review later. For now, uh." Gabriel let one hand drift up to his Miraculous. It was hardly warm at all, so there was no using it as an excuse. "I need to use the bathroom. If you can look over the proposals from Manufacturing, that would be great."

And then he escaped.

"What- what was that?" Gabriel asked once he had locked himself away in the master bedroom's bathroom. He was feeling unsettled, more than he thought was entirely warranted from just Nathalie's words and expression. "Nooroo, you can sense feelings. What's going on with Nathalie? She wasn't herself today. Her behavior hasn't been normal both during our meeting and just in general recently, and then today she suggested, uh…" Gabriel struggled to find the words. He didn't think that he was reading Nathalie wrong. "Unethical supervillainry via too-dangerous akuma battles?"

Nooroo didn't look impressed by that. Gabriel…. Well, Gabriel couldn't blame him, exactly.

It was hard to put it into words, properly, but he couldn't deliberately cause deaths. That would make him a real supervillain.

"Anyway, she's always been concerned about the potential for people to get seriously injured or killed before," Gabriel continued. "And all of a sudden she's actually suggesting it."

Nooroo nodded. "Yes, there's been a definite decline in emotion in her as of late. There's still annoyance there, but it's very muted. Almost as thought something was… missing."

"As of late…" Gabriel mused. Then he frowned. "What constitutes as of late?"

Nooroo thought about it. "A few weeks?"

"Since she started transforming more?"

"Yes!" Nooroo exclaimed. "Since she's started transforming more, it seems like she's lost her empathy and her feelings- oh! She's lost her heart! That's what it is! She's stopped using Body and has been using Heart instead!"

"What do you-" Gabriel started, then he froze as Nooroo's words sunk in. Of course! How hadn't he seen it before? He of all people should have recognized the symptoms, considering that he used Heart when he tried transforming with the Peacock in an attempt to revive Emilie, right after she fell into a coma. He hadn't dared to use Body, not after what it had done to Emilie, and he had figured that one use couldn't possibly do that much damage.

Except it hadn't just been one use. He might not have used the Peacock's power- he wasn't going to push that far- he had still transformed several times, trying to see if doing so would help him gain some insight on what he might do to break the spell. It hadn't helped at all- which he perhaps should have expected, since Emilie had certainly tried to figure out how to break the curse before- but he had needed to try something.

(And yes, sure, he had tried again a few times since then, to see if he could pick out a difference while actually transforming now that he was used to what it was supposed to feel like with Nooroo, but that- he hadn't transformed much, and he had never done it for long. He knew what he was doing and he knew the risks, and Nathalie- Nathalie did not.)

"But how would she have figured out that she could do that?" Gabriel wondered out loud. "I didn't tell her because I saw what it was doing to me and I could tell that it was dangerous, so I made sure to limit it. And I made sure to never mention it anywhere where she could have heard."

"You have ears all over the mansion, Gabriel," Nooroo reminded him, gesturing to the intercom installed on the wall. "And Nathalie is a smart woman. Surely she could have rigged one to listen in if she really wanted to. Or perhaps she followed you but you didn't realize it. There are many options."

Gabriel frowned. He didn't like the idea of being eavesdropped on in his own house. Perhaps he should order Nooroo to do a search later on, so that he knew what was wired and what wasn't. But that was a problem for later, so he decided to focus on something else. "If she's so smart, then why would she think that heart was a good choice?"

"Well, no one is going to do mind. The thought of losing your mind knowingly turns everyone off." Nooroo swirled around his head before coming to a stop in a midair hover. "And she had experience with what body feels like, and it was unpleasant. She saw the dangers of continuing like that. So she decided to explore the third option."

"She should have noticed the effects. I did."

"You didn't use the Peacock's power. She has, every time. The effects would have appeared faster, perhaps fast enough for her to notice but not care. Using Heart is very dangerous."

Gabriel frowned, turning away from his kwami as he started to pace up and down the length of the bathroom. He could hear the judgment in Nooroo's voice. After all, he himself had known that it was dangerous and had transformed anyway. But that had been different. He knew to limit his transformations, and Nathalie had increased hers. He had been careful.

Maybe it would have been considered more careful for him to use Body instead, but he had known even then that Emilie had been doing something to alleviate the effects of the curse and he didn't know what. He hadn't wanted to collapse as well and leave Adrien without any parents. Gabriel had never been a particularly cuddly person to start out with, so he had figured that there wouldn't be too much of a change from using Heart.

He hadn't known then that there would be lingering effects just from those few transformations, or that the effects would periodically flare up again.

"So what do we do now?" Gabriel asked after a few minutes of pacing. He turned on his heel and finally stilled, looking at Nooroo. "How do we stop her and reverse the effects? I can't see things improving if she continues like this."

Nooroo looked nervous. "Master, I don't know if-"

"There must be something that we can do!" Gabriel insisted, face twisting into a scowl. "I have superpowers! I will not be helpless!"

"But she has superpowers as well," Nooroo pointed out, flying back out of his reach. "And looking back at how far things have progressed… Master, she's probably keeping the Peacock Miraculous on her all the time, instead of taking it off and storing it somewhere where you could take it. You could try sending her on vacation for a week or two so that she is away from the city and has no reason to transform, but I would bet that Nathalie would take the Miraculous with her. And she would be very suspicious of that as well, I would think."

"She would absolutely pick up on what I was doing right away," Gabriel agreed. "And she would push back even harder. She might try to get me out of the city, or take my Miraculous. And I can already tell that it wouldn't be a good idea."

Nooroo nodded and tilted his head, clearly thinking. "You… could transform less, perhaps? Then she wouldn't have as many opportunities to transform."

Gabriel scowled at that, the ever-present irritation rising up as he realized that Nooroo was trying to take advantage of the situation. "And what good would that do? If I don't use my Miraculous, then I will have no chance of beating Ladybug and Chat Noir! And Nathalie only transforms for the strongest akumas anyway, so being more picky about how often I akumatize someone would make no difference. No, that's not the best way," he decided, slamming a hand down on his bathroom counter. Nooroo flinched. Good. That was what he had deserved for trying to take advantage of the situation. It was serious and the kwami had to treat it as such instead of trying to rebel. "I need to bring this fight to an end, and it's more important than ever to get it done quickly. I should push harder than ever to wrap this whole thing up."

"Master, are you sure-"

"This is an unforeseen snag in my plan, but I can use it, I'm sure," Gabriel decided, nodding at his reflection in the mirror. There was a lot more grey in his hair than there used to be- a side effect of all of the stress that he had been under in the past year- but it just made him look more distinguished. "If I can persuade Nathalie that I'll go along with her plan, then I can direct her again. I just have to adapt."

He could handle this. Perhaps it would take a few days, but Gabriel could get the situation under control and take advantage of the whole thing. Then he would win, get the Miraculous, and return his whole life to normal, no problem at all.

It was alarming, but everything would be fine.

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #Lost Heart #Gabriel Agreste #nathalie sancoeur

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jojo-lity · 7 years ago

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Heartlight

thank you for commissioning! a reminder that commissions are still open and don’t have to be halloween-themed, but exams are coming up so they may be slower or closed in the near future

pairing: jotaro kujo/oc word count: 2124 rating: sfw

ao3 link

It was midnight in Dio’s mansion. That wasn’t something Shiloh could tell solely from the stars or the exact shade of the sky- she hadn’t seen the sky in days. Her time was kept by a horrifically garish cuckoo clock that had been placed just out of her reach, emerging every half hour to taunt her with its grating shrieks. Not for the first time, she wanted to smash the thing to pieces, but she would take a hundred of them with her if it guaranteed she and Jotaro could get home safely.

Though her situation may have appeared more dire, having been shoved into a cage (why the hell did Dio have something like that?) in a vampire’s basement, she knew she was surprisingly safe. As long as she lived, and remained within Dio’s clutches, he could torture Jotaro with no effort at all. It was such an abhorrent, cruel, devious thing for him to do… she was almost impressed.

It didn’t seem wise to fall asleep, but there was very little in the way of entertainment to be found, besides plotting yet another escape attempt. She had gotten close once, unlocking the cage’s door with nothing but a hairpin, but the moment she had stepped out, she was back inside. Whatever Dio was doing to keep her there, it was too mysterious to find any exploitable weakness. She could only hope Jotaro would have better luck.

Hours passed, and she heard nothing but that infernal clock. Strange, usually one of Dio’s servants would have brought a meal by now. Had the worst happened? If Jotaro was to be defeated, she had expected Dio to finish her off himself, but maybe he really would just leave her to die. Well, that wasn’t happening. No matter how useless it was, she had to assume that escape was still an option.

Dio had taken her makeshift lock-pick, and anything else he could find that might have been used the same way, but he hadn’t checked everywhere. After another careful look around, she slipped off a shoe, delicately sliding out the hairpin hidden inside. She wasn’t worried about using up her last one- after pulling off this trick so many times, it was almost impossible to mess up.

Unlocking the door was easy. Unfortunately, there was little she could do about it creaking as it swung open. By the time she could silence it by grabbing it, there had been plenty of time for anyone nearby to hear it. Her heart raced when she heard footsteps almost instantly afterward, already heavy and only getting louder as they approached. If it wasn’t Dio, maybe she could convince them to help her. Just in case, she messed her hair up a little, putting on her best frightened expression.

As it turned out, there was no need. She instantly recognised the tall, broad-shouldered figure in the doorway, and it was someone who would never hurt her. Before she could run to him, he was already in front of her, staring her down with an intensity she had learned not to fear.

“You’re here.” That was all Jotaro said, and even those few words were strained. It was dark, so it was hard to see for sure, but he was clenching his fists with what looked like incredible force. “This is where he put you.”

“Sure, but I’m fine! See, not a scratch on me!” A quick scan over her arm revealed a rather long scratch, probably from her first escape attempt. “Except for that one. But that was an accident, let me tell you-“

“We’re leaving.” He turned back to the door, walking out much faster than he had walked in. She couldn’t really blame him, it was one creepy basement. “That bastard Dio won’t be a problem anymore.”

She didn’t hesitate to follow. “So you got rid of him? Because, good. What a jerk.”

“A jerk.” Just barely outside the door, he stopped and turned back around. “Do you not remember what he did to you?”

“What I remember is that I was with you guys, then somehow he got me and stuffed me in here. Oh yeah, and this clock wouldn’t shut the hell up.” With one hand, she pushed it over, smiling at the clattering sound of wooden casing and metal gears.

“…Right.” Maybe there was no point in telling her. Even just knowing she had been under Dio’s spell at all would crush her pride, let alone finding out what she had said and done. He was just grateful he had gotten the flesh bud out just before he disappeared, since Dio apparently hadn’t bothered with a second one. Maybe it only worked once?

“Hey, I’m…” She seemed to want Jotaro to look at her, but as soon as he did, her gaze dropped to the floor. “I’m sorry I got my dumb ass caught like that. Must have been a pain for you.”

He shrugged. “Whatever. You’re here now. Come on, the old man’s waiting.” Shiloh let him walk ahead, taking one last look at the room that had been her prison. Her fingers drifted up her face, until they stroked at a tiny, circular scar in the middle of her forehead.

Everything from that time was hazy, not because the memories had faded, but from the comforting, obscuring smog the vampire’s flesh had drowned her mind in. Feeling that way, it had been easy to let her body move in ways that she didn’t have to think about, use words that weren’t quite right for her mouth. One dissonant sensation at a time, like watching a movie frame-by-frame, it came back. She had attacked Jotaro. He hadn’t fought back, only defended himself, until that sharp pain in her head. Then he was gone, and she was hidden away in the basement, a secret until Jotaro had come and found her.

“Are you coming or not?” If the sharpness of his question was dulled by the slightest trembling in his voice, neither of them acknowledged it. They would probably have to go back to that place, to sort Dio’s belongings and try to make some sense of him, but they were happy to leave it behind for the first time.

—

It had been good to meet up with Joseph and Polnareff again, but seeing them alive and safe only seemed to remind her of those who weren’t. They were both so naturally exuberant, and they were trying that much harder to relieve any tension before it could develop. She needed a break from it. “Hey… could Jotaro and I talk privately for a moment?”

They hadn’t told anyone about their relationship, fully aware that it could distract from their mission, but both Joseph’s and Polnareff’s eyes flickered with understanding. “Go ahead, we’ll be right here when you’re done.” She didn’t need to be told twice. Grabbing Jotaro’s sleeve, she led him just barely out of sight and earshot.

“So.” She clasped her hands together, the gesture slightly nervous. “I’m not very good at this, but… are you okay? Like, for real?”

She watched Jotaro blink, keeping an intense watch on his face as she waited for him to answer. Even after enough time had passed for his lack of response to be noteworthy, he remained silent, the smallest shifts in his body language being the only hints that he felt anything at all.

“Okay… you’re not talking. That’s fine. I guess you don’t have to.” Not far in front of them, a group of people got up and left, leaving their table empty. She wasted no time in making that her new destination, even if the chairs were a little small for Jotaro. “But I really do want to help you, and anything you can tell me would be a great start.”

He still wasn’t saying a word. She held the silence for as long as she could before it became unbearable. “I know… I know it’s hard. To think about it. To think about any of it, really.” She laughed, hoping it didn’t sound too carefree or too bitter. She was pretty sure she failed on both counts. “It was all just a screwed-up ride from the start, wasn’t it? And if not for you, then…” What was wrong with her? Her eyes were burning, the tension in her shoulders was forcing its way out in little vibrations, and neither of them stopped when she wanted them to.

She almost jumped out of her skin at the large hand cupping her shoulder. Jotaro’s face never showed much emotion at first glance, but she knew him well enough to recognise sympathy. “No, no, this is all wrong. I was meant to be making you feel better!” She laid her hand on top of his, intending to shove it away. His quiet sigh stopped her.

“Fine. I want them to come back. Is that what you want me to say?” He raised a hand to stop her mid-nod. “No. I keep thinking that they are back. That I’m gonna get home and they’ll just be there, or maybe this is a dream and we’re really still in India or wherever.” He had managed to maintain eye contact up until then, but at that point he looked downwards, using his hat’s shadow to hide his eyes. “It’s not like I knew them that well. But whatever they were doing with their lives, before this, it wasn’t over.” More and more of his huge body slumped over the table, the chain on his coat jingling softly as it was dragged across the marble-patterned surface. “It wasn’t supposed to be over.”

“I know…” There wasn’t much more she could think of to say. The reality of their friends’ deaths hadn’t fully registered for her, and much like Jotaro, it was too easy for her to believe that they were waiting with the rest of the group, just outside of her field of vision. “But we’re still here, aren’t we?”

It sounded weak coming from her mouth, and she wished she could take it back, but it brought Jotaro to lift his head just a little. “Yeah. We are.” He let it fall back to the table, producing a disturbing thud. “I was scared.” The words came out in a rush, slurred at the edges in what seemed like an attempt to make them sound like anything but what they were. “When you… disappeared. It scared me a lot. I thought I was going to have to k… come home without you.”

“Hey, hey, come on.” As soon as his head hit the table, her arms were searching for a viable hugging position, managing to partially lift his torso up and bring it a bit closer. His head came down to rest on her shoulder, a much softer and more welcoming place for it. “Once I was there, that loser couldn’t do anything to me. I mean, you saw me, right? I was already on my way out when you found me.” With some careful manoeuvring, she brought him up to face her directly. “Besides, if he couldn’t beat you, he wouldn’t have stood a chance against me.”

At that, a laugh broke out of his throat, too choked and fragmented to remotely resemble any of the few times he had actually reacted to something funny. But it was a laugh. “Yeah, there you go! Already staying positive, good on you!” She gave him another hug, simply because there was no reason not to.

In a move that was rare for him, but not completely unheard of, he pulled her even closer, until the pressure of their chests squeezed together teetered just on the edge of being painful. “So… now we just go home, I guess. Try to have normal lives.”

“Don’t count on that.” Her eyes sparkled as she tilted her head back, an expression that was instantly recognisable as her scheming look. “I should hope this’ll be way better than normal.”

Before he could ask what she meant, she threw herself forward across their already-minimal distance, bringing their lips together into a kiss that was gentle despite the enthusiasm behind it. The tingling in her nose told her when she might have held it for long enough, but who needed breathing? The hint of purple she spotted under the table suggested that Jotaro might have been breathing through his Stand, just to keep kissing her for as long as possible, and that only made her want to kiss him even more.

Whether it was the growing need to breathe, or an aching neck from staying in the same position for too long, or just pure circumstance that made them break apart, that didn’t matter to her. It also didn’t seem to affect the slightly starstruck look on Jotaro’s face. “Hey, everything okay there?” Her laugh felt much more natural that time.

“Actually, you were right.” He leaned closer, lips still puckered just a bit. “Much better than okay.”

#jotaro kujo #stardust crusaders #commission #sfw

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waynekelton · 6 years ago

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Pokemon Masters Tier List - The Best Sync Pairs

Pokemon Masters, like many other popular mobile games at this point, feature dozens of units players can collect - with some being noticeably better than others. Weakness and resistance values can make identifying the best difficult at times, as each and every unit can be better or worse than another depending on the situation.

As the game lives and breathes with the introduction of new units over time, tier lists like this one are always subject to change. This Pokemon Masters tier list should be used as a guideline only, alerting you to some of the more versatile and sought-after units in the game with a brief explanation of how to get the most out of those pulls.

Pokemon Masters splits units into different roles, so we've highlighted the three current S-Tier sync pairs:

The Best Pokemon Masters Physical Strike Sync Pairs

The "sweeper" style of play has long been popular in competitive mainstream Pokemon titles, so we're starting things off with the strongest physical attackers in the game.

Olivia & Lycanroc

Olivia's Lycanroc takes the crown here thanks to its incredible raw attack and easy access to a 100% Crit Chance move. It's a single target spammer, so it's best to bring Lycanroc out for boss fights rather than easier trainer battles where AoE moves will speed things up. With plenty of access to self-buff techniques, Lycanroc can take care of itself so long as you take care of any Special Strikers before they can exploit the Sp. Def Lycanroc sacrifices while buffing up.

To get Lycanroc up to its full potential, you'll need to unlock both Stone Edge and it's Hard as Diamonds! buff to patch up Stone Edge's middling accuracy and reach that 100% crit cap. If you have the extra items, unlocking the Amped Up! passive will let Lycanroc boost its Speed with each crit - a dangerous combination indeed. Rolling in with Support units can help buff its stats even further.

Noland & Mega Pinser

With similar power and buff potential, the only reason Mega Pinser isn't above Lycanroc is the necessity to Mega Evolve in each match to reach its full potential. With the right set-up, this can be sped up considerably; but Noland & Mega Pinser still require a little time to get going. Once they do, they're a force to be reckoned with.

As it takes some time to set up, pairing Mega Pinser with bulky support units it almost mandatory. Phoebe & Dusclops or Hilbert & Oshawott are fine choices due to their ability to further boost Pinser's attack on the way there and can quickly replenish the move gauge to keep Pinser on the offensive.. You only really need to unlock Bring it On! for Pinser to shine, but X-Scissor will obviously have its benefits.

Brendan & Treeko

Despite confirming the odd decision for only female main protagonists to have starter evolutions, Brendan & Treeko have managed to climb to the top of the Physical Striker tier list. Treeko can burn through three chunks of the move gauge to boost its offensive stats to the max, with Leaf Storm, it's choice move, eating up just as much. It's a greedy creature, but one easily capable of taking down multiple targets and exploiting both Physical and Special defence gaps thanks to its moveset.

Getting the most out of Brendan & Treeko will depend on really committing to its growth through the move gauge, which requires unlocking No Turning Back! and Leaf Storm. Having Rosa & Serperior or Phoebe & Dusclops on your side can help keep things flowing. Buffing its Accuracy can help avoid wasting a large chunk of the move gauge on a bad Leaf Storm.

The Best Pokemon Masters Special Striker Sync Pairs

Much like the Physical Striker, Special Strikers excel in dealing large amounts of damage - usually at the cost of personal bulk.

Blue & Mega Pidgeot

The introduction of Blue & Mega Pidgeot has shaken things up a tad since the beta release in August, earning the pair a top slot with ease. Mega Pidgeot isn't entirely dependant on its mega evolution thanks to some powerful AoE strikes, but it certainly helps boost the creature above the competition. One AoE can inflict Confuse, while the other has a high natural crit rate.

Mega Pidgeon's set-up lends to longer fights over shorter ones. Unlocking both Smell Ya Later! and Hurricane are essential. You can patch the latter's low Accuracy by bringing a unit capable of making it rain if you're unable to unlock the former.

Karen & Mega Houndoom

According to GamePress, Mega Houndoom can be bested by even some promoted 3-star units at times, but even normal Houndoom is all you'll need to have a unit ready to take on the big leagues. This makes Houndoom a bit of a hybrid in terms of its role. As it can lower a target's stats and potentially cause Flinch, it's a powerful asset for stopping an opponent's main Pokemon in its tracks.

You'll want to unlock both Dark Pulse and Entertain Me! to allow Houndoom quick access to its mega evolution and interrupt targets with powerful strikes. Don't worry about unlocking its passives.

Hau & Alolan Raichu

This decision might not be reflected on other tier lists, but Hau & Alolan Raichu were quite the powerhouse duo in early access. Alolan Raichu was frequently seen clearing the highest level content available at the time - its powerful AoE moves catapulting it up the usability list.

Maximizing Alolan Raichu depends on keeping your resident tank on the field. What Raichu lacks in HP it more than makes up for with Speed and overall DPS. Discharge is the main unlock here, but Feel the Alolan Breeze! can keep it fast on its feet and award the the evasiveness it'll need to dodge death once a tank goes down. The earlier you pull this unit, the easier a vast majority of the content will be.

The Best Pokemon Masters Tech Sync Pairs

Tech units specialize in punishing their targets with a barrage of status ailments. It isn't unusual for them to then carve out extra damage with their sync moves against inflicted foes, but paired with a matching Striker, Tech units can pin strong targets in place while another knocks them out of the field.

Crasher Wake & Floatzel

By no means the single greatest Tech unit in the game, the exciting thing about Crasher Wake & Floatzel is their 3-star base potential. You'll have to juice the pair up to push the envelope here, but having such easy access to a versatile tech unit can't be ignored.

Floatzel can inflict a dizzying amount of ailments, with passives that can up the chance of these, too. After unlocking Water Pulse, Floatzel can inflict both Flinch and Confuse, with Aggravation 1 boosting those odds. If you really need to use its Flinch-punishing sync move on a target, its Crit and Attack buffs can allow for a devastating blow.

Koga & Crobat

Crobat isn't the most exciting unit in the game, but semi-rare typing and access to the "Badly Poisoned" affliction opens up a few interesting strategies.

Having something be Badly Poisoned can break away large portions of a health pool once it gets going, making it great for melting through tougher targets like boss units. The evasiveness afforded with Move like a Shadow! and Speed boost of X Speed should allow Crobat to hang around as toss Poison at multiple targets. It can then take advantage of this with Venoshock or its sync move, but this shouldn't be necessary unless you're looking at a type advantage.

Agatha & Mega Gengar

Gengar shines even without its mega evolution due to the usefulness of its numerous applications. It can inflict Paralysis with Lick and Sleep with Hypnosis even before triggering a mega evolution, potentially saving a sync move for a more powerful unit on your team.

But Mega Gengar's stat boosts make it a viable Tech/Striker able to rival even dedicated top-tier strikers. At 4-star base potential, it's an uncommon pull that can fill in for any eventual 5-star once you unlock Shadow Ball.

Alt Pick: Sophocles & Togedemaru

These guys can be an excellent crowd control pair as they have a move called "Nuzzle" that inflicts paralysis on its target 100% of the time. This is especially useful if you're fighting an opponent who's stronger than you. “The Power of Science!” drastically raises Togedemaru’s Attack and Speed, making them a good Offensive Sync Pair. There's also a chance to inflict 'Flinch', but it's less consistent.

The Best Pokemon Masters Support Sync Pairs

Support units specialize in keeping the rest of the team fighting fit, not through healing traditionally, but tanking hits with their high bulk and buffing allies to hold their own.

Phoebe & Dusclops

Phoebe & Dusclops really shine in co-op, but they're incredibly capable solo units, too. Access to Dire Hit All boosts the team's crit rate, while Shadow Punch's "Sure Hit" bonus can help get rid of any Pokemon that has been allowed to stockpile evasiness.

Dusclops really begins to shine once Unbreakable Bonds! is unlocked, gifting a bigger team Attack buff and move gauge replenish as its HP drops. Given its a natural tank, firing this off before Dusclops bows out can really turn the tables. If going co-op, be sure to unlock the Pass It On passive, which allows Dusclops to give half its buffs to whichever Pokemon replaces it in battle.

Rosa & Serperior

A unit everyone unlocks through the story, Rosa & Serperior simply need some love and attention to carry you to victory. You'll need to evolve the base Snivy to reach peak performance, but it's always worth the effort.

Serperior pairs well with Special Strike units due to its invaluable Sp. Atk. boosts, which are unlocked from the start. You'll absolutely want to unlock "Time to Energize!" for the massive three move gauge replenishment, which will allow any team to rattle off powerful attacks or build up a sync move more easily. If you struggle to find an alternative tank, consider unlocking Giga Drain to keep it on the field a little longer.

Hilbert & Oshawott

While not actually available at the time of writing, Oshawott can be considered the Attack variant of Serperior. High bulk, Attack buffs based on lost HP, and X Speed All can push Physical Strikers beyond their base stats with ease.

Unlike Serperior, Oshawott has no way of healing itself, creating a time limit of sorts on the match. Where this helps is that Oshawott only needs a single unlock on In This Together to become a viable team asset. X Speed All should ramp up the time to victory, but you'll need suitable physical attackers to make this most of this tiny sea creature.

So there you have it; a handy list of some of Pokemon Masters' best units. As we mentioned above, each and every unit in the game has its uses, but we feel these are the Pokemon you'll want to hunt down for the smoothest in-game experience. Some will need a spot of luck, whereas others will join you on the story, proving that no matter where they come from, every unit serves a distinct purpose with the right strategy.

Alt Pick: Lyra & Meganium

As an alternative to the above, newcomers Lyra & Chikorita (you will need to evolve to Meganium) might be worth consideration as an alternative to Rose/Serperior. Chikorita has a support skill to boost all of Sp Atk, Stk and speed which can apply to the whole team, making her an excellent anchor to build a team around. Also, when the weather is sunny, Sunny Side Up! is more effective. Further to that this team has one of the highest HP amongst all the sync pairs, making her an surprisingly effective Tank. Light Screen can reduce damage from Sp. Atk and she is strong against Sp. Strikers.

Do you have any sync pair recommendations? Let us know in the comments!

Pokemon Masters Tier List - The Best Sync Pairs published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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waynekelton · 6 years ago

Text

Pokemon Masters Tier List - The Best Sync Pairs

For general Pokemon Masters tips, check out this guide. We've also looked at some advice for making the most of your early game gems.

As Pokemon Masters splits units into different roles, we'll highlight the three current "best" units of each.

Physical Strike Sync Pairs

The "sweeper" style of play has long been popular in competitive mainstream Pokemon titles, so we're starting things off with the strongest physical attackers in the game.

Olivia & Lycanroc

Noland & Mega Pinser

Brendan & Treeko

Special Striker Sync Pairs

Much like the Physical Striker, Special Strikers excel in dealing large amounts of damage - usually at the cost of personal bulk.

Blue & Mega Pidgeot

Karen & Mega Houndoom

You'll want to unlock both Dark Pulse and Entertain Me! to allow Houndoom quick access to its mega evolution and interrupt targets with powerful strikes. Don't worry about unlocking its passives.

Hau & Alolan Raichu

Tech Sync Pairs

Crasher Wake & Floatzel

Koga & Crobat

Crobat isn't the most exciting unit in the game, but semi-rare typing and access to the "Badly Poisoned" affliction opens up a few interesting strategies.

Agatha & Mega Gengar

Alt Pick: Sophocles & Togedemaru

Support Sync Pairs

Support units specialize in keeping the rest of the team fighting fit, not through healing traditionally, but tanking hits with their high bulk and buffing allies to hold their own.

Phoebe & Dusclops

Rosa & Serperior

Hilbert & Oshawott

Alt Pick: Lyra & Meganium

Do you have any sync pair recommendations? Let us know in the comments!

Pokemon Masters Tier List - The Best Sync Pairs published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

0 notes

waynekelton · 6 years ago

Text

Pokemon Masters Tier List - Who Are the Best Sync Pairs?

For general Pokemon Masters tips, check out this guide. We've also looked at some advice for making the most of your early game gems.

As Pokemon Masters splits units into different roles, we'll highlight the three current "best" units of each.

Physical Strike Sync Pairs

The "sweeper" style of play has long been popular in competitive mainstream Pokemon titles, so we're starting things off with the strongest physical attackers in the game.

Olivia & Lycanroc

Noland & Mega Pinser

Brendan & Treeko

Special Striker Sync Pairs

Much like the Physical Striker, Special Strikers excel in dealing large amounts of damage - usually at the cost of personal bulk.

Blue & Mega Pidgeot

Karen & Mega Houndoom

You'll want to unlock both Dark Pulse and Entertain Me! to allow Houndoom quick access to its mega evolution and interrupt targets with powerful strikes. Don't worry about unlocking its passives.

Hau & Alolan Raichu

Tech Sync Pairs

Crasher Wake & Floatzel

Koga & Crobat

Crobat isn't the most exciting unit in the game, but semi-rare typing and access to the "Badly Poisoned" affliction opens up a few interesting strategies.

Agatha & Mega Gengar

Support Sync Pairs

Support units specialize in keeping the rest of the team fighting fit, not through healing traditionally, but tanking hits with their high bulk and buffing allies to hold their own.

Phoebe & Dusclops

Rosa & Serperior

Hilbert & Oshawott

Do you have any sync pair recommendations? Let us know in the comments!

Pokemon Masters Tier List - Who Are the Best Sync Pairs? published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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