#lethal weapon 4 spoilers

[prokopetz]

I grant that fandom puts a lot more emphasis on certain tropes than mainstream media ever does, but some of the tropes people are claiming only ever turn up in fanfic are pretty wild. "Oh, you like it when the villain's loved one dies and the villain goes off the deep end? Name one movie where that happens" buddy, that's literally the climax of Lethal Weapon 4. The villain in question is played by fucking Jet Li.

[iaure]

𝔦 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱 𝔪𝔶 𝔟𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔰 𝔬𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔫𝔢𝔠𝔨, 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔭

𝖞𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖎𝖌𝖚𝖊𝖑 𝖔❜𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆 𝖝 𝖋𝖊𝖒!𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗

𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 1: 𝔩𝔬𝔯𝔡 ℑ 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔶; 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔳𝔦𝔬𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 2: 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔶 𝔞𝔯𝔪𝔰, 𝔶𝔬𝔲'𝔯𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔨𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 4: 𝔰𝔞𝔡𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔰𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔱 𝔢𝔫𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔴𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴

CW: delusion, attempted kissing, chase sequence, snitchery, thoughts of reader being a mother, vivid fears of dying, reader is temporarily locked away, reader gets hurt, SpanishDict translated Spanish.

This part switches between Miguel's POV and the Reader's. ♱ stands for the translation being at the bottom of the post. please let me know immediately if there are any errors!

Severe spoilers for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ we making it out of nueva york with this one !!!! maybe. there's a poll at the end to determine fundamental plot! please vote after you read and share your thoughts!! i had the she's homeless x spider-man india mashup on loop and reached a higher place of ascension.

wc: 3.8k

𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Miles Morales had escaped, run amok to another world. Jess and Ben were trying to hunt him down, but with no back history on the Go Home Machine, they were stuck playing the waiting game. Margo was working on it, but Miguel had a hunch that her heart wasn't in on it. Traitors, everywhere. And the most painful traitor of all refused to meet his eye. Miguel sat on a chair in front the containment bubble, elbows on his knees with his hands laced together. Y/N had been sealed away, red filament twisting around her like a hamster ball, or a puffed up cocoon. The grapefruit glow bounced off her skin, casting an ominous light over the blooming bruises around her midsection, where her suit had torn from the glass, where Miguel had hurt her. He hated self-confliction. Y/N had betrayed him, the Spider-Society, the multiverse-willingly aided Miles in his escape. She probably was the reason he got away. Y/N had made the conscious choice to forsake the canon. She had known Miles for all of an hour, at most. Y/N threw away everything to help a teenager that (to Miguel, at least) had no idea the damage he was causing. She completely the deserved the situation she was in. It didn't matter what the reasoning was. And now she sat, curled up in a fetal position on the floor, trapped inside a containment bubble, her back to him. Y/N didn't meet his eye, but he knew it wasn't an act of shame or cowardice. It was the idea that he wasn't worthy of it; the idea that he didn't deserve to see her eyes. That she wouldn't even grace him with the idea that she was looking at him. She was being punished like a toddler with time out. Y/N had made a mistake.

But Miguel loved her.

He couldn't dance around the word anymore. There was a monster clutching his beating heart, and it haunted his immortal soul. It was love, as twisted and convoluted as it was. Love for a woman that had her back to him, pointedly refusing to speak. Miguel had seen her anger before. Being on the receiving end felt like a nightmare. Just silence, as thought the two of them were preschoolers and the silent treatment was the most lethal weapon in the schoolyard. He expected her vitriol to be loud, the kind that breeds screaming matches-not this.

"Y/N." Miguel was met with (shocker!) more silence. "Where did Miles go? This is important." Silence. "Why would you do this. You've potentially damned the multiverse." Y/N shuffled a bit, if only to wiggly further away. "You've helped disrupt the canon." Miguel sighs. "You're an adult. You should know better. Miles was a stupid kid-" "That you body-slammed into a train." Y/N finally spoke, biting like a viper and tilting her head a bit to look at Miguel out of the corner of her eye. "A 15-year-old that you saw fit to chase on all fours. His reaction was reasonable." Miguel's conflict swelled. Y/N was talking in that dulcet angel tone, so succulent despite her anger. But her insistence was irritating. She absolutely should've understood, better than any of the teenagers, her little acolytes. Miles was new. It was true that his reaction was...understandable, to a degree. Hobie always broke the rules anyway. Gwen was going through a rough time, and Pav was there to have a good time. But Y/N's brother died because of an anomaly. She of all people should know the threat they pose.

"We tried explaining it to him. It was his choice that he didn't listen. You, on the other hand, you knew the consequences." "I'd rather be a proper hero and fight for what's right, to help those that need help. That's a concept that's hard for you to understand, right?" "Oh, so trying to protect the multiverse is wrong. Okay, okay. Esto es ridículo.♱" Miguel rose from the chair, muttering under his breath and turning with his hands on his hips. His head was reeling. He knew Y/N was stubborn, but this was absurd. "I'm holding every Spider, every world, together!" "Says the guy who didn't even get bit!" Y/N counters, quick as lightning. "If your canon events are so true, then how is Nueva York standing? You answer me that!" "Canon events can differ-" "By so much that there's not even a spider? Get real, Miguel! The kid isn't doing the-the-the-!" Y/N tripped over her words, rising from her curl on the ground and talking with her hands, trying to get her thoughts in one row. "The devastation that you think he is! Canon isn't infallible!" Miguel whipped around, realising he'd come face to face with Y/N. She was panting like a dog, a scowl buried under a grimace buried under a glare. Her eyes were steely, finally meeting Miguel's eyes like rocks crashing with the sea. It was a clash of wills.

And Miguel hated how much he loved it.

What a woman, honestly. If she was this passionate about protecting a teenager she'd just met, what would she be like with her own kids? Miguel was sure that Y/N would be wonderful, always coming to the kid's defense, without question. That venomous tongue would be soft-spoken to a child, one that would have Y/N's eyes and Miguel's hair. Maybe a little girl, a Gabriella that would truly be Miguel's own. No switching places with the dead. No feigning love for a woman he didn't know. No technicolour nightmares. His own little girl, from his own wife. And god! Y/N as a wife! She'd be so sweet, waking Miguel up in the mornings with light kisses, whispering sweet nothings to him, letting his hands water as his slips out of groggy dreams. The rising sun on her skin would light her up like a holy statue, and the moment Miguel was conscious he'd be happy (honoured) to worship. From the second he woke up, to the second he fell asleep, he'd be worshipping, down to his dreams being dictated by Y/N. Holidays, weekends, family trips, saving the multiverse together...it would be-

"What, you going brain dead? Are you even listening?"

Y/N's biting words dragged Miguel back to reality, as hateful as the idea of reality was. His daydreams were so much kinder than this. She was still upset, still trapped behind that red barrier, and they were still enemies. But after the vision of what they could have, it was like a tease to just keep playing cat and mouse. It would be cruel and unusual punishment to torture himself like that. It'd take convincing. A lot of it. But Y/N wasn't unreasonable. She was noble at heart and maybe a bit naïve. But she was a Spider at the end of the day, always looking for the best solution to terrible problems. And that's where it's important. That's okay. Relationships were about compromise, after all. "Y/N." Miguel spoke softly. He really couldn't hide his affections for much longer. It was spilling out of him like a cup, pouring through the cracks and spilling over the sides. And he saw how Y/N shifted. He could tell that she was figuring it out. She could see how he moved. And she slowly backed to the other side of the containment bubble, moving further away until her back was against the wall. Did it break his heart? A little bit, but this was going to take time. All things would.

"Y/N," He repeated. "We...really shouldn't fight. We're-we're special, you and I." Miguel got close to the containment bubble, watching Y/N.

He didn't realise it, but sometime in the last fifteen minutes, the bubble's purpose had changed. It started out as capturing a prisoner, a traitor, someone who was dangerous and could be a threat to society as a whole. But it changed to a shield, protecting a prey animal from a predator. It was Y/N's last safeguard from Miguel doing anything unwise. The dynamic shifted. Y/N could tell it-every hair was on end, every sense was on fire. But Miguel was oblivious. "I'm gonna shut this off," He tapped on the filament, and Y/N swallowed. "Promise me you won't go running off. We can have an adult conversation. We can talk." And maybe Y/N should've protested. She could've asked to keep it on, but who'd admit they were scared in a situation like this? So she stayed silent. She kept in her corner, and irritation reared it's ugly head again. Miguel was trying to be cordial. Why wouldn't she just promise? He was offering her freedom.

(Somewhat. Details didn't matter, not here, not now.)

It's not like he was going to hurt her. It's two measly words. Two words in exchange for a lifetime and some of love, affection, devotion. Was that really too hard of a deal?

"Promise." Miguel growled.

Instantly, Y/N put her hands up in mock surrender. "Promise! I promise." Miguel's heart bloomed. She could be so charming when she wanted to be. So disciplined and playful, a good wife, a good lover. Listening was the first step, and she was listening. Miguel could only grin. "Okay." He put his hands to the barrier as his heart raced. He was so close. A step or two more, and he would have the love of his life in his arms. And Y/N was staying still. There was no tension that he could see. She didn't look like she was about to run. She was just nervous. The red barrier folded out of itself, and quiet suddenly, it was just Miguel and Y/N in a room. When was the last time they'd done this? Miguel couldn't remember the last time it was just them. It was always either in fleeting moments or with other Spiders around. It was impossible to get Y/N alone, no matter how hard he tried. But here she was, just him and her and them and an empty room where no one was going to stop them. She didn't move, watching him like he were a predator in the savannah. Miguel didn't like to say that he was excited, per se. But there wasn't really another word for it.

His eyes scanned over Y/N's pretty face, every inch memorised in Miguel's mind. Her sharp eyes. Her cute nose. Her pretty lips. Her pretty lips. What would they taste like? Did she use lip gloss? What would that taste like? How would it feel to have her lips linger on his? These were dire questions, and Miguel was done waiting. He walked up to Y/N, slow and purposeful. He had to seem as non-threatening as possible to pull this off. And quick, because chances were Y/N was going to do something harsh, like slap him. But it was a small price to pay. After all, he had his whole life with Y/N ahead of him. He just needed to get it started.

Y/N was by no means a stupid woman.

She grew up with the same precautions every other girl did. Don't talk to strangers, they don't have candy in their van, and know when men are about to jump your bones. And in this case, she could practically smell Miguel's thoughts, like the gears in his brain were making smoke from how hard they were churning. She trusted him as far as she could throw him, if she tried throwing him when she was 12 and before she got bitten. That is to say, she didn't trust Miguel at all. He was a stupid, stupid man, and she needed to bolt. So, that's exactly what she did. Promises, schromises. Y/N could say whatever it took for Miguel to let her go, but at the end of the day, she had a responsibility to herself. For all his talk about having an adult conversation, she knew what the look in his eyes was. And when he began reaching for her cheek, Y/N knew it was now or never. Miguel's body weight was enough that she could web him up and hurl him into the nearby wall. It was like watching a cannonball get launched a Mach speed, and his surprised yelp was far more satisfying than it should've been. But he'd done this to himself, and as Y/N booked it down the hallway, she knew she was on a divine clock. Either luck or skill was going to get her out alive, and luck was unreliable at best. She had her hands, her webs, and her brain. That was going to have to make do.

A vast majority of the Spider-People were out, either in their own worlds or helping hunt down Miles. Poor Miles. He just wanted to save his dad. Y/N did her best, did the most she could, but right now? Right now, she had to focus on getting out alive, preferably with her pride intact. And as she heard Miguel's thundering footsteps behind her, an anguished yell, she found it in herself to go impossibly faster. Maybe if she was an outside observer, it would've been funny-a woman booking it past someone standing, only to be followed by a massive, 6'9 blue and red bullet on all fours. Wow. Miguel really did like just running like a dog. Y/N dove down into the lobby of the Spider-Society, ducking and weaving under bridges and platforms. Miguel leapt like an animal, clawing his way onto a platform above and dropping down.

"Stop running!" He barked, getting up to two legs again and reaching out. Y/N could feel his claws miss by a hair, and she leapt off the edge, swinging around and swerving to a platform above, stumbling into the containment room. Rows and rows and rows of sunset orange, anomalies staring at her with wide-confused eyes. None of them were the ones she'd caught, and as she heard Miguel claw up the side of the wall, she knew running wouldn't work forever. She had to do what Miles did-hide, outlast, outplay. These kids were getting too damn smart. Y/N dove behind the anomalous Rhino, praying that it wouldn't elect to shuffle over. It was the biggest thing in the room, the most stationary-and now Y/N realised she was putting far too much stock in luck. If Miguel found her, she genuinely didn't know what he would do. Would he cage her again? Hurt her? Kill her? It all seemed to be a possibility, all at once.

Now, all she could was hope the anomalies didn't sell her out.

In all honesty, she wouldn't blame them. The Spiders didn't have the most ethical treatment of anomalies. She wasn't even sure if they got fed, or what. But maybe a shared hatred for one particular Spider-Man would get it across. Y/N shared a look with a Doc Ock, and he stared at her. She grit her teeth, praying that somehow, the silent prayer would get across. A twitch throbbed in her neck from sheer tension, before the Doc Ock gave a barely noticeable nod. He looked away. It's a cold day in hell when the villains understood Y/N better than the 'good guys' did. Miguel burst into the room, claws tearing up the metal floor. Y/N could see a handful of the anomalies jump, all eyes on him. She had her back to him, and part of her hated how she'd put herself in such a compromising position. Short of her spider-senses, she wouldn't have a clue if she needed to run, and right now, she was having a Spider-Woman check engine light with how much the sense was going off already. It was rendered useless, because thank you very much, she was aware she was in danger.

"Vamos. Prometo que seré gentil.♱" Miguel cooed, heavy steps reverberating throughout the room. Maybe he was muttering to himself, or he genuinely was trying to speak to Y/N, but she knew better than to just leap out and go 'I'm here! Come and get me!'. Spider-Man was funny, but he wasn't stupid. And the same went for his 7290 variant. The anomalies all went silent, and Y/N felt her mouth go dry. It'd been so long since she'd last felt this genuinely terrified. Last time, she was 14, sobbing in an alleyway as she watched her uncle die. This time, she was being hunted by an obsessed, genetically infused daddy longlegs. This was absolutely, totally, completely fine.

"Mi corazón es tuyo. ¿Qué más se puede pedir?♱" Miguel kept muttering to himself, low and quiet and enough that if Y/N didn't have superior hearing, she wouldn't have picked it up. "I need you, I need you, I need you...you need me."

Mm. Y/N wrinkled her nose at that. That just sounded stupid.

Y/N kept her breathing controlled, trying to tame the soreness in her lungs and the shuddering breaths. Bile pooled in her throat as she heard Miguel slowly walk past the rhino, a shake in her hands that she hated acknowledging. But Miguel was terrifying. He was the ultimate predator, trying to hunt Y/N down like prey. She was prey, for the first time in years. She figured that maybe, if they'd done a better job of convincing Miles, then it would make sense. But if this was what the boy was seeing, feeling, then no wonder. She would've jumped off the bullet highway, too. Abruptly, there was a sudden crash, and Y/N's head whipped around to see that Miguel had thrown one of the containment contraptions, hurling it to the wall opposite to her. She practically jumped out of her skin, the bile leaping to her tongue in a bitter, acidic taste. Miguel swore hard in Spanish, howling like an injured dog, damaging more equipment and clawing up anything that wasn't an anomaly. With every hit, every swipe, Y/N flinched, because holy shit that could be her. He could pop her head off with a single slightly hard hit, and it'd be over.

He stalked out of the room, leaping down to the Go Home Machine below. Y/N's sigh of relief felt like it was shared with the whole room, all the anomalies relaxing at once. It's like a thread had been pulled out of a fabric, letting it finally fall the way it was meant to. One anomaly, a fucked up Green Goblin, did a dramatic flop to the floor. Y/N shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. At this point, she'd just abandon ship-leap out the nearest window and web her way out of the city before Miguel could deactivate her watch. And even if he did, then she'd hide out. Nueva York was insane, a metal jungle. She could spend the rest of her life hiding out there, if she had to.

"Beep beep."

Y/N's eyes flew open, looking to her left. Her gut plummeted. Miguel's golden boy, his favourite, one of their best, stood next to her, exactly 4 centimetres high. LEGO Spider-Man, with his teeny little watch. Before, Y/N thought he was cute, like a dog or something. But as his watch flickered to life and the visage of Miguel appeared, she regretted every single instance of her almost stepping on him. "H-Hey, wait-!" She whispered, harsh. "Don't-!" "Miguel, I got eyes on Y/N!" LEGO Spider-Man moved in a way that only a LEGO minifigure could, his head rotating a little bit. The Miguel avatar slowly turned, locking eyes with Y/N, and her blood froze. "Thanks, Peter. You're one of our best for a reason." "Beep beep." LEGO Spider-Man shut off the watch, looking to Y/N. "Sorry. Nothing personal." There was silence for a second.

"Peter." Y/N said. "You fucking suck."

She picked up the LEGO and proceeded to chuck him as far as she possibly could, launching him into the lobby and watching him fall. Some of the anomalies groaned, and already Y/N could hear Miguel barreling his way back to the room. Why the hell could she not catch a break? She only had a handful of options, most of which weren't actually options she could do. There was turning herself in-a non-option. There was calling for help-another non-option. And then there was simply...jumping out the window. The same thing Miles did. Which...felt cliché. Would Miguel really fall for the same thing twice? Literally? Miguel ran into the room, sliding across the floor. There was a moment where he looked up to Y/N, eyes wide and wild. His grin was wide, panting hard with his fangs poking his bottom lip. A flush had bloomed on his face, his eyes blown out like he was on drugs. "There you are," He hissed.

Well. The window it was.

Y/N's sides still hurt from the last time she got tossed out a window. This time, she gave herself the courtesy of bracing herself with her arms, but the glass still hurt like hell. It cut into her arms as Miguel genuinely shrieked, running out after her. There was a moment where Y/N was just in a free-fall, taking a second to reflect on her situation. Did she wake up this morning expecting any of this? No. If she had, she would've texted her neighbour to keep an eye on her fish. But nooo. She just had to get herself mixed up in super-hero shenanigans. She crossed her arms, a petulant scowl on her face. Maybe she still could call to make sure her fish would be okay. Miguel hurtled out the window after her, a hand reaching out to catch the front of her suit. His claws were out, the extra inch and a half proving far more of a threat than Y/N liked. She spun down and webbed Miguel's foot, yanking him down and using him as velocity to shove herself up. He tried the same trick on her, but if there was one thing she had on the 'kilogram of steel vs kilogram of feathers' built Spider was that she was that much faster. She yanked her foot out of the way, webbing to the side of the Spider-Society and slamming into the glass of a floor she'd never even been on before. Miguel plummeted like a brick to the ground, webbing to a building that was that much lower. Y/N had a total of two minutes to decide what the hell she was going to do. So...what was she going to do?

♱ - This is ridiculous. - Come on out. I promise I'll be gentle. - My heart is yours. What more could you ask for?

╰･ 𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙘 ⸜❤︎⸝‍ 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙡 𝙤'𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖 ⨯・ ⨯・@ishqani ⸜❤︎⸝‍ @pix-stuff ⸜❤︎⸝‍ @localdepressedvampire ⸜❤︎⸝‍ @cantchoosejust1 ⸜❤︎⸝‍ @tired-writer04 ⸜❤︎⸝‍ @neteyamsbulletwound

[eeriecode-fgo]

FGO FanServant - Sora, the Key of Destiny

(artwork by repta, originally found here)

Might contain spoilers up to Kingdom Hearts III after the break

Ascension Stages

First Stage: Sora's Limit Form outfit from KH2, wielding the Kingdom Key.

Second Stage: Sora's Second Form outfit from KH3, wielding Oathkeeper.

Third Stage: Sora's standard outfit from KH3, with the addition of a small golden crown on his head, wielding the KH3 version of Ultima Weapon.

Ultimate Form: a special form accessed only with Sora's Skill, Sora's outfit, stance and moveset switch to his Ultimate Form from KH3.

Parameters

Class: Saber

Alternate Classes: Foreigner (Traveler)

Source: Kingdom Hearts

Region: Destiny Islands

Voice Actor: Miyu Irino

Rarity: SSR

Alignment: Lawful Good

Attribute: Earth

Deck: Buster/Arts (Buster: 3 hits; Quick: 4 hits; Arts: 3 hits; Extra: 5 hits)

Traits: Humanoid, Seven Class Servant, Male, Weak to Enuma Elish, Loved One, Keyblade Wielder, Sora, Light User

-- Ultimate Form: Levitating Servant

Passive Skills

Magic Resistance - Rank B

FGO Effect

Increase own Debuff resistance by 17.5%.

Riding - Rank B

FGO Effect

Increase own Quick performance by 8%.

Guardian of the In-Between - Rank A

A standard skill among Keybearers who travel in the Lanes Between. Mere possession of a Keyblade grants its wielder a constant supply of magical energy, while the act of travelling across worlds marks them as alien to Proper Human History.

FGO Effect

Charge own NP gauge by 4% each turn.

Gain 2 C.Stars each turn.

Append Skills

Extra Attack Boost

Increase own Extra Attack Card effectiveness (30~50%)

Load Magical Energy

Begin battle with NP gauge charged (10~20%)

Bond Gain Boost

Increase Bond gained after battle (10~20%)

Bond Skill

Increase all allies' Arts performance while on field (10% + 2.5% for each ally alive (including sub-members))

Active Skills

Connected Hearts - Rank EX

A skill that exemplifies Sora's uncanny ability to connect with others. While the ability to draw power from bonds isn't uncommon among Keybearers, Sora has demonstrated an incredible capacity for it, forging connections capable of transcending time and space. As a Servant, this skill manifests as a set of powerful buffs capable of empowering all his allies, including his Master.

FGO Effect

Cooldown: 8~6 turns

Increase all allies' Max HP for 3 turns (2000~3000)

Increase all allies' ATK for 3 turns depending on their Bond Level (10% at Level 5 or lower, 15% at Level 6 to 9, 20% at Level 10 or higher)

Increase all other allies' NP gain for 3 turns (10~20%)

Decrease all Master Skills' cooldown by 2

Second Chance - Rank C

A common skill among Keybearers, a magical protection prevents the user from taking fatal damage. Had this skill been at full power, its user would be virtually invincible so long as they weren't literally on the brink of death: as a Servant, however, the efficiency of the skill is lowered for balance purposes.

FGO Effect

Cooldown: 10~8 turns

Apply Guts to self (1 time, 5 turns, 2000~3000 HP)

Apply Lethal Damage Evade to self (1 time, 5 turns)

Apply [Once More] buff to self (1 time, 5 turns)

-- When Lethal Damage Evade is triggered: Apply Lethal Damage Evade to self (1 turn)

Ultimate Form - Rank B+

A unique ability granted to Sora by the Three Good Fairies, Sora can fuse with his allies to enter a Drive Form. While in this state, Sora regains the ability to wield two Keyblades, and all his parameters rise tremendously: additionally, all positive and negative effects are transferred from his allies to him as well. Truly, this is the power of friendship taken to its logical extreme.

The efficiency of this ability tends to fluctuate with time: while this transformation was overpowering during Sora's first fight with Organization XIII, its power was significantly lower by the time of the Keyblade War. As a Servant, Sora is able to perform a complete fusion with his allies only once: any following attempt will force Sora to rely on his own power alone, giving him a small boost akin to his Limit Form, but without an associated transformation.

FGO Effect

Cooldown: 7~5 turns

Requires 1 Drive Counter on self and at least one other active ally (Sora starts the battle with 1 Drive Counter)

Banish all other allies (banished units are removed from the field, but are still considered alive. Backline units cannot enter the field while there are banished units. Countdowns on banished units' buffs are frozen while they are banished.)

Apply [Ultimate Form] buff to self (Unremovable, 3 turns)

-- Switch user to "Ultimate Form" Spiritron Dress.

-- User cannot be switched out

-- Increase user's HP and base ATK by a percentage of all banished allies' base HP/ATK (15%~25% ATK boost, 25~35% HP boost. Stats increases from Fous are counted, boosts from equipped CEs are not)

-- Increase Extra Card effectiveness (50~100%). While in Ultimate Form, the Extra Attack deals AOE damage

-- Copy all active buffs from banished units to user (cooldowns on copied buffs remain the same, efficiency of those buffs is reduced to 50%. Does not apply on buffs from passive skills, CEs, or battle-specific effects)

-- When user is defeated or buff expires, return all banished allies to the field

Remove 1 Drive Counter from self (Demerit treated as a cost)

Limit Form - Rank B

FGO Effect

Cooldown: 7~5 turns

Replaces the previous skill if user has no Drive Counters or there are no other active allies

Recover own HP (2000~3000)

Increase own ATK for 3 turns (20~30%)

Increase own NP Gain for 3 turns (20~30%)

Noble Phantasm

Trinity Limit - Rank A

A Limit Break learned by Sora early on in his journey, that allows him to combine his friends' power in a single devastating attack. As a Noble Phantasm, Sora can gather strength from both his Master and allies on the battlefield, and his friends from across the worlds, with these connections letting him temporarily wield the χ-blade he once held in life, and in turn manifest Kingdom Hearts on the battlefield for an instant: multiple beams of pure light will then descend from the moon, striking down all enemies in sight.

FGO Effect

Arts Noble Phantasm, 5 hits

Increase own NP Strength for 3 turns (10~20% + 2.5% for each other ally still alive (including sub-members), scales with Overcharge)

Deal supereffective [Evil] damage to all enemies (damage scales with NP Level)

Writer Notes

For my first published fan-Servant, I decided to start with the protagonist of one of my favourite videogame series of all time. This is not going to be the only one, I have plans for at least a few of them (some more defined than others, in some cases I only have a class in mind at most, but I'll get there)

As a blanket statement for all Kingdom Hearts fan-Servants, yes, since all of them are from another world, in theory all of them qualify for the Foreigner class (and Aoko Aozaki's summoning line implying the existence of a Traveler class further cements this): however, since having them all be Foreigners would be boring, I'm keeping that class as the absolute last resort. Their status as foreign entities will still be reflected in their unique passive "Guardian of the In-Between", whose effect partially references the Foreigner Class Skill "Entity of the Outer Realm".

The main concept for his moveset came after seeing the reveal of the FGO Mahoyo collab: after seeing how the switch between Aoko and Super Aoko was implemented, I decided to add a similar mechanic to Sora in the form (heh) of his Drive Forms. I'm not 100% sure on how balanced it all turned out to be: I wanted to make him a strong but not overpowered Servant, hence why I significantly limited the boosts he gets from the skill. The halved effect on copied buffs was something I only considered late in development: at first it was a straight copy, fitting for him basically becoming a one-man army, but then I realized he'd have access to a 60% battery each turn with double Johanna and I thought "hmm, that might be a bit too much"...

I haven't gone too much into details on the numbers, properly researching and comparing them with all in-game Servants would take way too long, but I envision Sora as having very low stats for an SSR, closer to a high-tier SR, with his NP gain in particular being pretty bad. This is mostly to compensate for the buffs he can get from his Ultimate Form, but it also works in terms of lore: since a big part of his character is that his friends are his power, it's only fitting that his performance is severely impacted by how many allies he has by his side.

Speaking of that, the importance of friendship in the series is also reflected in many of his skills, from his Noble Phantasm and Bond Skill relying on keeping the team alive, to his first skill and third Append Skill encouraging high Bond levels.

Sora's Noble Phantasm is inspired directly by the ending of KH3, with him wielding the completed χ-blade while surrounded by his friends: I also picture his connections as beams of light from those keyhole-shaped portals seen in Re:Mind, for further references. I'm not 100% sure if Sora still has access to the χ-blade afterwards or if it was just in that moment (I guess we'll see when KH4 actually comes out), but worst case scenario we can chalk this up as artistic license for an iconic moment.

[sarnai4]

Island Attack

(Spoilers ahead) Theory time. In case you didn't see my (Dis)Agreeable post, I'll reiterate that I think the timeline in RTTE is flawed sometimes. In Oswald's letter, he implies that Heather was on Berserker Island when he left even though she was a little child and he had left around 3-4 years prior to that episode. So, the time doesn't always make sense. I think this happened with Heather's time given for her island's massacre too.

Heather said that she and Windshear were on their own for years, meaning the village had to have been destroyed back in DoB times before Dagur went to jail. This doesn't line up to me. The new chief had no reason to do that. I've heard characters act like Dagur just does things because he's deranged, but I've consistently seen reason behind his actions (even if it only makes sense to him). It makes no sense to obsess over getting revenge on Hiccup, but then go to a random island and kill everyone. Why? What possible reason could he have? Berserkers get tunnel vision when they obsess over something. Dagur himself has even admitted that they can get fixated on goals. I don't think his goal of making Hiccup pay would involve a bunch of people he didn't think either of them knew.

That said, it makes sense if Dagur killed them after prison. It also clears up a little detail from a missing time. We see Dagur go to the Reaper in rags, then see him in shiny new armor. I don't think that was on the Reaper. The Riders found hair, jewels, and scrolls. No armor. What could have happened is that Dagur then went to a nearby island (Heather's) to get supplies and they could tell that the Berserkers were escapees. If Dagur suspected this, he could have killed them to prevent going back to prison. Technically, this doesn't even need to be a conclusion they drew. Dagur makes it explicitly clear that he's not paying for weapons in "Have Dragon, Will Travel." He kills and takes what he wants when the original owners aren't around to complain. So, he might have gone there for armor and then killed everyone so that they could keep the gold.

I don't think it's in-character for younger Dagur to do that, though. He didn't automatically resort to lethal force back then. Smaller Dagur didn't go to Berk, raging war. He went there, suspicious and ready for a fight if his so-called allies had fire-breathing war machines. He didn't go to Outcast Island, planning to kill Alvin and take the Skrill. He went there to strike a fake deal and steal the dragon later. Surprisingly, Dagur wasn't as violent as you'd assume...yet. Later, killing was just his natural response to anything. So, it's absolutely in-character for bigger Dagur to kill an entire island of people and think nothing of it.

On a quick side note, it actually makes Heather look better too if she only had Windshear for some months vs all those years. So, she's seriously been searching for Dagur for THREE years??? Heather, he's in a prison. Do you just never talk to anyone? Do Vikings not gossip? I feel like information is going to spread about that new, deranged chief who wasn't in charge a year before he started a war and got arrested. Also, considering how she got outmaneuvered by Dagur and Shattermaster (who had been working together for 1 afternoon), it's way better if she didn't have the experience of multiple years with her dragon.

Therefore, to make both of them look a bit better, I have the headcanon that she misspoke and he killed everyone after prison.

[wondrousmay]

Yor Week Day 4: Weapon

*Manga spoilers*

While her golden stiletto are her signature weapons, I would argue that Yor, herself, is a weapon. There’s a misconception about her having only brutal strength but even when she was drunk, she was able to adapt to Loid’s defense and attack him relentlessly.

Despite Yor’s tendency to forget her own strength sometimes, we see that she is able to accurately control her body during tense situations. She choose to subdue the cow when she could easily killed it. I think this takes a lot of skill and practice.

In the Cruise Arc, we see Yor’s adaptability and her high battle IQ. She could detect bloodlust and then adapt to a situation where she can’t kill her enemies on sight. She was able to figure out a solution and knocked out her enemies in a crowd full of people.

Her fight with Barnaby also demonstrated her quick thinking and lethal skills. She managed to hold him off despite not having much experience against this type of weapon, went along with Anya’s comment about their fight being a show despite the shock at seeing her and managed to beat the guy without drawing suspicion. She’s a force to be reckoned with!

[mayashesfly]

Chapter 4 and 5 Spoilers

I can't help continue thinking about Chapter 4 and 5 Mystery Labyrinth's contrasts.

These two dungeons are the only ones where we have the actual character pose as an obstacle and Yuma had to actually fight them.

In Chapter 4, Vivia continuously fought for Chief Yakou. But he still helped Yuma as well.

When Chief Yakou's disguise as Yomi was falling, Vivia fought for him. When Chief Yakou fell down, unable to continue defending himself, Vivia fought for him. Protected him.

But not only that, but every time Yuma fails to defend himself and answer Vivia, Vivia just flings Yuma's Solution Blade away from him.

Not actually killing him.

We never see Yuma actually fall down or die during their duels.

Again and again, someone defended and protected Chief Yakou. Because, if noone does, who will? And Vivia kept choosing to defend Chief Yakou.

Until Yuma and Vivia finally came to an agreement through talking.

Something that's worth noting is that Yuma and Vivia's duels feels like a conversation. A complete back and forth between the two of them to reach at a silent agreement. And Vivia encourages it during that last duel. And Yuma wanted to understand Vivia.

Also, Vivia only fought Yuma with only a box cutter. A box cutter. To a sword fight. Which, no offense to Vivia, but a box cutter isn't really a terrifying weapon especially for a sword fight.

It's true that he could slit Yuma's throat with a box cutter but it's not really much of a lethal weapon otherwise. He can't easily slit Yuma's throat with a box cutter when Yuma has a fucking sword in a sword fight. Unless he wanted to continuously cut Yuma until he bleeds to death? But obviously that was not his intention, he didn't target Yuma's body at all, plus that would require too much effort for Vivia.

He kept retreating after Yuma defended himself, giving Yuma time to reply to him. And Yuma didn't actually target Vivia at all.

A duel with words. A conversation. But not a lethal one.

A culprit. A phantom defeated. A person. A person defended. Someone else, not the culprit.

Now let's contrast that to Chapter 5

In Chapter 5, it felt like less like someone else stepping up to defend another. And more like two allies consistently keeping each other's back safe.

And looking back at it, it makes sense. Makoto's ally is himself. So only they would protect each other.

Also, unlike Vivia, Makoto brought an actual sword to a sword fight. A sward against a sword. A Solution Blade against a Solution Blade. Unlike Yuma's fight with Vivia, Makoto posed an actual threat. This isn't a duel with words that's actually just a test of resolve. This is an actual duel, a duel of resolve that may lead to actual death.

And we do see that Yuma actually falls down, flashes red, and never stand up again when he fails to defend himself from Makoto.

He actually dies.

Unlike the Mystery Phantom of Chapter 4, noone else but Makoto himself protected his Mystery Phantom.

Because who else would protect him? Except himself?

A duel with words. A conversation. A lethal one.

A culprit. A phantom defeated. A person. A person defended. Noone else, just the culprit.

It's quite interesting isn't it?

[dwarvendiaries]

how in BLAZES do you play CDDA? i have no idea where to start and everywhere i try to go to loot inevitably has me overwhelmed by zombies

Didi's Guide to Cataclysm DDA

Summary

Get Water, food, shelter and security

Get a weapon

Expand your map

Find a vehicle

Improve your base

Avoid fights

Raid towns at night

The Beginning

I'm going to expect that you understand the basic controls here and that you're playing with the default world settings. Obviously, I'll be giving some mild spoilers here, so if you want to learn the game pretty much how I did by going in blind and learning most of this stuff by trial and error, this may not be the post for you. This will mainly be about basic survival and not about late-game secrets.

Ok start up a game. I usually hit play now [o], because I like the randomness, but since we're doing a beginner introduction I'll use the default scenario.

You have survived the initial wave of panic, and achieved (relative) safety in one of the many government evac centers.

Ok, take stock of your character and make friends with your companion if you can. Having a travelling partner can be quite useful as they can train you in skills you don't have and help you overwhelm enemies. This character is quite strong with firearms and has survival skills, however he's not good on rough terrain.

In addition my threat failed

Survival in cataclysm is like real life:

Water

Food

Warmth and Shelter

Security (from Zs)

Try and get these in this order and then you can start doing the fun stuff.

Starting in an evac center makes gives us water, food, shelter and a bit of security. Since we're planning on going outside we'll need to pickup 2 bottles of water and 4 protein rations. Having at least one flashlight and a jacket is also useful but not necessary.

I would usually pick up a first aid kit here, but I've got a flamethrower so that's not possible. First aid kits act as a backup plan for when you ever get hurt.

Next I survey my surroundings, I pull up the main map then go use any maps provided to maximise my range, in this case the road map to the refugee center.

As you can see there are two towns nearby. Towns are useful because they can provide valuable goods, but I wouldn't suggest going anywhere near one:

Without a weapon

Without a vehicle

During the day

This is because 1 zombie is an annoyance, many are lethal. If you have a weapon you stand a chance of beating any zombies that run after you when you are noticed

If you have a vehicle you create a barrier between you and the zombies. I wouldn't recommend leaving an unarmored vehicle in the town centre because Zs will smash through it to get to you.

Last, zombies can't see well at night. This means running away from zombies is much easier at night. This makes raiding the outskirts of town is useful strategy at night. However, you might want a watch to keep track of time to make sure you get back before sunrise.

Now to go outside:

Typically I'd head to gather supplies if I had obvious objectives but in this case I've got the refugee center nearby. So I'll go towards that an grab some stuff on the way.

Getting supplies:

Bodies - likely to have a few scraps. Can useful to fill out odd stuff and get some cards and clothes.

Underbrush- examine this to find random items can be useful in the early game.

Buildings - occasionally these have a few monsters but most the time they have useful supplies

Shelters- LMOE and evac shelters contain a lot of valuable supplies and can be used as bases

Watch out for monsters! Do not approach them unless you know you can win the fight without getting hurt. If you have a camera use it to catalogue various creatures.

We're here

The refugee center provides a community hub for survivors. It can be useful for trading miscellaneous items you find and getting quests. It also provides a safe place to sleep If you're too far from any other shelter. If you want the Free Merchants faction to get angry at you, you can steal a car from the front lot just make sure it doesn't have a working security system.

Remember to use C to chat. I go over to Smokes the shopkeeper to buy some goods.

Smokes has ammo, tools and clothes. Right now I need additional carrying capacity, some tools and some ammo.

Carry containers are very useful as they allow you to take more supplies with you. Getting a good backpack is pretty essential.

Tools help you with craft and construction allowing you to do things you couldn't before and upgrade your base.

Ammo is very useful if you have a gun, always have little more than you think you'll need. Beware gunshots will attract the attention of Zs!

At the moment I don't have enough stuff to trade but I'll come back later.

I go around ask for missions and open the missions menu (M):

At this stage basic fetch quests are a pretty good way of improving rapport with NPCs. I'd suggest doing them one at a time and if an opportunity come up completing one you hadn't planned for.

I head north. Loot some corpses of a drug deal outside the gates and find a lorry.

I guess this is a good time to break off I'll explain my thoughts on vehicle use.

Next post on the 20th

[soggyrainpuddles]

My Personal Favorite BSD Abilities

Got into an argument so I'm backing up here

!SPOILERS AHEAD!

here we go:

8. Another - Yukito Ayatsuji

"Once the criminal behind a murder is identified, the killer will face certain death in an 'accident'

Adding to that, this dude can be ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD and kill someone (a criminal).

Literally no matter how strong they are

(He can't control it, it's literally an accident)

7. Draconia - Tatsuhiko Shibusawa

"A multi-formed ability. Is able to create a mysterious mist capable of separating abilities from their users. If the ability kills its user then it will be added to Draconia's Room."

This was pretty damn cool when I saw this

But dangerous!!!!!!

Basically once separated, the ability and it's user fight each other

If the ability wins, then it turns into a crystal and gets but in the room

And if the user wins, they can reclaim their ability

+ user cannot use their ability when fighting it

Also when Shibusawa died, he had to get killed MULTIPLE TIMES because he was manifested in sans memory when he got killed the first time due to his ability

Then he turned into a dragon hybrid

(Also it was Fyodor's fault kinda)

6. Undefeated By The Rain - Miyazawa Kenji

"Unleashes untold strength and stoutness but only when he is hungry."

Very specific, but I like it!

His schedule can literally be: Yeet a car, kick some gangsters' ass, then eat lunch

He could not eat for a few hours and probably level a building (might be a little exagerrating)

HES SO CALM ABOUT IT TOO WTF????

When he does eat, he'll end up sleeping after (well deserved!)

5. Illuminations + Anne of Abyssal Red - Arthur Rimbaud and Lucy Maud Montgomery

Illuminations: "Allows him to create a hyperspace which he has full control over. Thanks to this he is able to create a nearly impenetrable defense that could not be broken by guns or explosives."

As we saw, he can pretty much do anything in the hyperspace

He basically put some life in a corpse in that space (not really)

And the only way you can get out is to nullify the ability

This ability has no limited range either, so he could cover large area with it

Anne of Abyssal Red: "Able to create an alternate dimension called Anne's Room. Anyone who loses a game of tag against the monstrous Anne, who dwells inside, is locked in the dimension forever."

Similar concept, not quite the same

In Anne's room, you can actually escape, but you will have no memories of the room once you leave

And then there is Anne, who will play a game of tag with you

If you get tagged, you join people with the same fate in a secret room

But Lucy can link the exit to somewhere of her choice, so the next thing you know, you could be in a moving vehicle

The only known way to escape with knowledge of the room is when Lucy deactivates her ability

4. Plum Blossoms in Snow - Tetchō Suehiro

"Allows him to manipulate the length and form of his saber."

Stretchy sword

It goes super long

THIS MF WENT YOINKITY SPOINKITY AND STABBED KENJI IN A HELICOPTER

He can totally use it more like a grappling hook

So it's perfect for evasion and attacking!

3. Light Snow - Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

"Able to project illusions into physical space, like a smokescreen."

He can make fake objects like in Anne's Room

But there's more

In his fight with John and Lovecraft, he changed what the truck driver saw

And we knew how that ended, the truck crashed into them

This can extend to things like cameras, making him perfect for infiltrations and spying

2. Priceless Tears - Saigiku Jōno

"Allows him to disintegrate his own body into atom-sized pieces."

With this, he can fit into small spaces in order to avoid attacks

Air conditioners, under doors, you name it

He can also disintegrate his body when in contact with a gun or lethal weapon like that, almost making him immune to physical objects

Though, he can get hurt in his form of particles

1. The Overcoat - Nikolai Gogol

"His overcoat serves as a portal connecting another point in space, up to thirty meters away"

You ever seen that scene where Josuke opens up a paper and a hand with a gun comes out?

Literally that, but limited range

30 meters doesn't seem a lot, but it's pretty good for a ranged ability

He put people through his coat

He put himself through his coat

He put a fucking telephone pole through his coat

Yeah that's it!

Sorry if I got some details wrong, I haven't read the manga in a while, so I scraped together what I know

[taoofshigeru]

2023 Game of the Year Post

Looking back, I was surprised to see how few "new" games I had played this year. But two of them were absolutely excellent so I'm going to talk about them a little.

In February, a game I was expecting to be good showed true greatness, and, in mid-November, a black-and-white indie touched my heart.

[Spoilers for In Stars and Time/Octopath Traveler II to follow.]

Let me start by talking about In Stars and Time/ISAT.

ISAT is a gay game about timeloops. The aloof but amiable rogue Siffrin sees their sanity stretched like a stick of used chewing gum as the fighter repeatedly chickens out on confessing his love for them and sincere heartfelt moments of human connection become rote scenes he must perform.

Throughout the process, Siffrin uses humor to deflect from serious emotional questions and eventually starts drifting away from the group during conversations. The specific character traits of 1) serial people-pleaser, 2) depressed person, and 3) funnyjokespun person who at times used humor to deflect from those issues was a little too specific in a way that hit in an emotionally relevant way.

Even more than that was the way it toyed with my patience as a player. I'm what I would describe as very good at games with repetitive tasks. Like, my tactics-loving friend and I have been doing a co-op playthrough of Tactics Ogre, and I was the enby who ultimately chose to be responsible for grinding Galgastani CF to recruit ultimate goth girl Cressida. It took hours of repeating the same battle and just babysitting the game for hours at a time. Sure I'd be willing to read through heart-to-heart events repeatedly to make the Siffrin's friends happy. I'd do it once, twice, even a fifth time. But my persistence is not bottomless.

In Stars and Time read me perfectly.

I did end up skipping or avoiding those events once the game stopped being a combat RPG and started being a visual novel/monkey island-style adventure in Act 4. I did start zoning through particular events once they happened more than 10 times. My patience did give way, though not to the extent of the protagonist Siffrin when they suffered a meltdown. And this happened right around the time when Siffrin started putting real distance between them and their friends. It took me to a dark place with the character in a way that made the catharsis at the end so worth it.

All of it went towards really effectively communicated the game's point of how it's worth it to talk to your friends about your problems.

~~~

The other game that moved me this year was also built around repeating and growing. It was about throwing yourself at the wall over and over again, with a little more force, a little more refined strategy, a little more panache and willingness to take risks. And about getting it just right, finally. This was my experience with Octopath Traveler 2

So, first of all, strategizing in OT2 kicks ass. Like the Bravely games of yore, this game nerfs the most broken tools (i.e. the Hunter's patience) from the first game, but gives the player new broken tools that synergize in new, exciting ways. And critically, it then throws enemies at you that can take it all and still be a challenge. (Sea of Stars did not do this last part.)

Got used to using someone's primary job for a lethal combo setup? Well guess what, primary jobs are now banned! Got a 6-attack strike with a killer legendary weapon that'll break any monster? Guess what, that weapon you used to get the break is now no longer the zombie dragon's weakness! Spent all your time building up your favorite 4 in an 8-character party? Guess who's gonna handle the superboss' second HP bar?

For a single-player game, it legitimately felt like I was experiencing a design that had been built to anticipate the player's combat choices on a meta level and would only let the door open for solutions that were suitably intricate and clever. Aside from superbosses, the game wasn't extraordinarily difficult, but it still left me constantly scrambling through my toolkit of HP, MP, turns, latent power, items, collectable monsters, and money mid-battle to find a solution to pick any given boss' lock. As a turn-based combat RPG, OT2 killed it.

And that wasn't even the strongest point.

The character stories in Octopath Traveler one were, on a basic level, enjoyable, and were engaging enough that the game's art, soundtrack, and deep turn-based combat could combine to make a great game. Octopath II ups the storytelling game significantly, offering nonlinear chapter order, story-focused chapters that end without a boss fight, and a cast that's generally very well written and played brilliantly by the English vocal cast. The positive impression I had of the game after the first ten hours gave way to a wowed one as characters started to interact, showcasing entertaining personal dynamics and tugging at the strings of a looming, bigger mystery. The climactic arc, Journey for the Dawn, ties all eight chapters together and presents an incredibly satisfying and at times emotionally wrenching finale.

I don't know if any side character in a game has ever hit me half as hard as Ori the Scrivener has

But also, mystery arc main plot removed, the world of OT2 has so much character. There's a whole questline where you sit through a court hearing and then have to investigate the mystery around town to show up and avoid a wrongful verdict with a key testimony or piece of evidence. Secret princess/gardener lesbian subplots and eldritch stuffed toys are just some of the things that exist in the background.

The story about getting it just right wasn't just a player experience. It was also the meta narrative - writing in the first game wasn't weak by any means, but the writing in the second game is just an inarguable improvement. Combat in the first game pitched juicy fastballs that were well-scaled to my play experience, but this baby kept tossing out monster curves and tricky sliders.

I think creative perfection is a myth, because it's always possible to improve. Octopath Traveler II shows how, and that's why it's my game of the year.

~Thanks for reading my selfish little blurb!~

[kudosmyhero]

Robin #4: The Destroying Angel

Read Date: February 18, 2023 Cover Date: April 1991 ● Writer: Chuck Dixon ● Penciler: Tom Lyle ● Inker: Bob Smith ● Colorist: Adrienne Roy ● Letterer: Tim Harkins ● Editor: Dennis O'Neil ◦ Dan Raspler ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● Shiva, Clyde, and Robin attack some of Lynx's gang near Hong Kong to get info on where King Snake's plane will be landing ● the moon is STILL full ● the crew find the field where Dorrance's plane has come in ● heheh, I love that Shiva keeps vanishing on Robin

● they follow the truck to a skyscraper in Hong Kong ● King Snake confronts Lynx with the fact that Robin, Shiva, and Clyde are still alive ● he's too much of a "gentleman" to kill her, so he passes her off to Bobbo ● woo, Shiva came through on lodging for the night

● Shiva wakes Tim up in the middle of the night for some martial art training ● and Tim gets his bo staff! ● heheh, Shiva kicks Tim's ass and he's left with the wind knocked out of him. ● King Snake wants to ruin Hong Kong before the Chinese take control of it in 6 years ● Tim's detective skills are top notch ● Round 2 with Shiva. Tim had cut into his staff so that it whistles when going through the air. the noise distracts Shiva and Robin is able to nail her. ● Dorrance is having the water clock rebuilt in his tower and will use it to activate the bioweapon ● 👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: Robin, Clyde Rawlins and Lady Shiva arrive at the port city of Kowloon in Hong Kong. They stalk the streets until they find members of King Snake's Ghost Dragons. Shiva is prepared to kill all of them, but Robin convinces her to allow him to interrogate one of the Dragons, asking him where Snake is having the plague weapon delivered. The gang member tells them about an airfield where the plague is being delivered.

They stake out the airfield and follow the trail back to King Snake's penthouse in the central district of Hong Kong, despite Robin's urging that the plague is more important than Clyde or Shiva's vendettas. After surveying the estate, they retreat for the evening to one of Lady Shiva's safe houses.

The following morning, Lady Shiva decides to give Robin some pointers on combat techniques. Robin thinks Shiva is a homicidal maniac, but respects her martial prowess. She offers him his choice of a weapon from her own private collection. He chooses a collapsible battle staff, despite Shiva's urging that he should choose a more lethal weapon.

The two spar, but Shiva easily beats him. Later, Robin carves notches into the tip of the staff enabling it to generate a whistling effect whenever he swings it. He uses it during their next sparring competition and the distinctive warbling distracts Shiva long enough for Robin to get the upper hand.

That evening, the mercenary, Henri Ducard, arrives in Hong Kong. He stakes out King Snake's operations by the shipyard and prepares to make his move. Ghost Dragons in disguise as police officers discover him and attack him inside of their car, but he fights back and succeeds in killing several of them.

Meanwhile, King Snake looks down upon the city from his penthouse suite. Using the newly reconstructed Moorish water-clock that he bought in Iberia, he plans to release the plague so that the city of Hong Kong will be a wreck before it falls into the hands of communists.

(https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Robin_Vol_1_4)

Fan Art: Dick Grayson - from boy to man by GarnetQuyenDinh

Accompanying Podcast: ● Robin: Everyone Loves the Drake - episode 14

[detective4blog]

I managed to write something slightly coherent and it's of course some angsty bullshit reunion moment that takes place sometime during season 4. Under the cut bc I feel bad making long posts. Also no spoilers bc I barely remember that season anyway.

Those deeply colored eyes were trained on his. The flecks of lighter blue seeming lighter with a slight joy, but drowning in the sea of rage induced navy blue fire. Those eyes were different, changed. Toughened from his past, toughened from his present; his eyes truly were like diamonds.

Still, they were Sebastian's eyes. Not the eyes of some sick criminal or twisted bastard...not to John, at least. At least he knew what happened after that pit. Sebastian hadn't died, and seemed to make a living for himself.

If clothes with dried blood stains counted as that.

"I want to make it clear that I don't care about the Holmes, either of them." He spoke, practically growling. "Keep them away from whatever fuck-all island the younger one wants to go to."

John was confused, vaguely remembering that there was some talk about someone, that Mycroft didn't want him involved since he wasn't family until Sherlock said something. "...why?"

Sebastian didn't look surprised by the question, but his silence proved he hadn't thought of a response to that question. "Spite, I suppose."

"No, I mean why warn me."

Longer silence.

"Mycroft would try to recruit me and Sherlock would just arrest me. Or talk too much and end up getting shot." The answer was said in a bored tone. As if either of those options would be an inconvenience.

John looked at the pockets of Sebastian's pants and jacket, looking for the faint shape of a firearm. That seemed to amuse the older, holding his arms out in a way that said "go on, frisk me".

Despite better judgement, John did so. Keeping far away as he could but feeling around for a weapon; gun, knife, or worse. He could feel how Sebastian's arms were larger with muscles. How he had another shirt underneath the plain button up he had on.

No weapon.

"I don't think you're a threat to me."

John raised a brow. Sebastian sighed, continuing to speak. "If it came to it, you'd hesitate to shoot me. And if you did manage to pull the trigger, it'd be somewhere that wouldn't kill me. You'd do the same if Stanford got involved in shit."

"I could break your arm." John pointed out. "Non lethal and would keep you from doing anything. Worst I could do there is make it a messy break."

Sebastian looked amused. "You'd have to grab me. If I had a gun," he made finger guns and aimed it towards John's midsection, "it'd be over. A knife, maybe you could get away with it. And you'd be betting on the fact that I can't use my other arm."

This wasn't how most people who went to school together and served together talked. Neither of them were normal anymore, it seemed. Too wrapped up in different worlds that intertwined sometimes.

"You said spite earlier. To who?"

The smile dropped from Sebastian's face at the question, eyes darkening. Not angry but mournful. "A dead man."

John crossed his arms at that answer, head tilting to the side. "You weren't always so closed about answers before."

That drew a bitter booming laugh. "You weren't always one for messy adventures."

Touché.

John stared at the man for a bit. He wanted to speak more, but what could he ask? What would Sebastian reveal? He sighed. "If you know Sherlock, you know I can't talk him out of anything."

The mention of the detective made Sebastian's face become sour with hatred. "You can try. Or not tag along. It's his loose ends to tie, not yours. You've got a kid to worry about."

John's throat went dry at the mention of Rosie. A slight moment of regret appeared in Sebastian's eyes but his face remained blank. "How did you hear about that? I haven't seen you since-"

"That dead bastard decided to keep getting updates even from the grave. Bit stupid if you ask me, since I certainly don't care what shape Sherlock's shot into the wall or your baby." Sebastian interrupted with a shrug. So casual about admitting that the man he knew spied into-

"Moriarty."

That got a reaction from Sebastian. His eyes flashed with every stage of grief, his body tensed, and his fists clenched. It all relaxed after a deep breath, eyes turning to the side. "You've gotten observant."

"Happens when you hang around observant the Holmes brothers."

Sebastian still stared at something towards his life. Likely nothing of importance, but something that was good enough to keep his mind off of the loss he still was recovering from. "I gave my warning. Don't get involved with all that. It's messy and it'll just ruin your day."

"What is 'it', exactly?"

"One of the many charming skeletons in Mycroft's closet." Sebastian finally looked at John again. His eyes were returning to the ones John knew; the ones that glimmered with playfulness and had a fire burning in the background. "Tell him I said 'hi'. It might make him a bit grumpy, though. I've been a bit of a problem for him, after all."

John was silent. Those rageful eyes from earlier were that of a criminal but the anger was not at him. Could it ever be at him? Curiosity would kill him, and heaven knew when he'd see Sebastian again. "Could you shoot if it was me?"

Sebastian stopped, his back turned and only ten steps away. "Pardon?"

"Could you shoot me?"

The man was silent. The longer it lasted, the more the possible answer started to scare John. What would he do if it was a 'yes, without hesitation'? Just walk away and pretend that finding out an old friend would shoot you if it came to it was normal?

"Probably not. You've got that kid to take care of, and I'd hate to take you away from them." Sebastian thought for a moment, a grin growing on his face. "'Sides, you've got too pretty of a body to shoot."

"Someone disagrees with you."

"Someone hasn't seen you naked, then."

John was about to comment that of course whoever shot him hadn't seen him naked before stopping. Sebastian's incident happened before he was shot. He didn't hear of that tidbit of news. He frowned, shaking his head a little. "You say that as if many people have." He instead said.

Sebastian shrugged. "I'm just happy to be one of 'em."

"I see you haven't changed."

Another booming laugh, this one with no traces of bitterness. John couldn't help but smile at it, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I don't even know who shot me."

Sebastian stopped, concern lacing his eyes. "Was it here or back then? Because if it was here, I can easily find who did it and-"

"It was during the war, Sebastian. Jesus, calm down." He forgot how scary his old friend could look when angry. Even more now that he bulked more muscles and was rather obviously a criminal.

The man just nodded at that, scratching the side of his neck. "Sorry to hear. Hope it doesn't bother you."

"Not anymore."

"Good."

Silence washed over the two again. It was obvious the conversation was being dragged on longer than it needed to be. John didn't want to let go but Sebastian was already drifting away like sand in the wind.

"See you around?" He called hopefully after the retreating blonde.

"...maybe. Probably not, though."

There was a sad bitterness in Sebastian's voice. It thickened his accent and made his already deep voice go lower.

He was still so readable after all these years. John watched him go until he couldn't make out which walking person was Sebastian, then went on his own way. He kept what was said in mind, hoping to bring it up whenever Sherlock was in a mood to accept ideas that contradicted what he wanted.

Even if keeping him away from wherever was just Sebastian being a spiteful bastard towards Moriarty one last time.

[nenyabusiness]

TOLKIEN TLDR: What the hell happened between Finrod and Sauron?

Wanna know how Galadriel’s brother Finrod actually died? Here, have a silly, simplified version of his death according to The Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin and Beren and Lúthien.

The story does, of course, start with Finrod, son of Finarfin, also known as Finrod Felagund. For a Noldorin Elf, he was a really good guy (that bar is pretty low though tbh). He befriended pretty much everyone he met, including Men and Dwarves. Solid dude, through and through.

Okay, time for some backstory. During the First Age, Morgoth was hiding in a northern fortress known as Angband, and for about 400 years, the Noldor had the place surrounded. They called it a siege, which is a bit of an exaggeration. They weren’t able to actually assault the place so they were mostly maintaining status quo, killing the occasional Orc here and there. Things were fine. They had things under control.

(Spoilers: No, they didn’t.)

After centuries of plotting and planning and preparing, Morgoth breaks through the “siege” and unleashes all the dark shit he’s been brewing in Angband. He burns down the entire area around his fortress and sends out myriads of Orcs, Balrogs, and a dragon. Lots of Elves and Men die that day, and even more become refugees. The peace that was never really a peace is over. This battle would forever be known as Dagor Bragollach, the Battle of Sudden Flame.

The House of Finarfin takes a heavy hit. Two of Finrod and Galadriel’s brothers die in the battle. Finrod would have been killed too, if it hadn’t been for a Man called Barahin. Barahin’s men manage to protect Finrod but suffer heavy losses because of it. Because of their bravery, Finrod decides to swear an oath, which is never, ever, a good idea in the Tolkien universe. He swears that if Barahir or any of his kin ever find themselves in need of aid, he will help them.

Alright, time skip. We’re now in the story of Beren and Lúthien, a couple of years later. Beren, Barahir’s son, comes to Finrod’s stronghold Nargothrond because he needs help with a quest. Lúthien, the love of his life, happens to be the daughter of a very overprotective king who won’t let Beren marry her unless he brings him a Silmaril (one of those three fancy stones that cause so much murder) from Morgoth’s crown.

Remember how I said that swearing an oath never ends well in the Tolkien universe? Well, things are about to go to shit here because there’s not only one oath at play here but four.

1. Lúthien’s father swore an oath not to kill Beren on the spot. Instead, he came up with the most lethal quest he could think of—retrieving a Silmaril.

2. Beren swore an oath to bring the king a Silmaril, because he really, really wants to marry Lúthien.

3. Finrod swore an oath to aid Barahir’s kin, no questions asked.

4. Fëanor and his sons (Finrod and Galadriel’s uncle and cousins) swore an oath to never let a Silmaril belong to anyone but them.

The two sons of Fëanor that happen to be in Norgothrond at the time throw a fit. The oath they swore is by far the most destructive one, but it had been lying fairly dormant during the “siege”. Morgoth has the Silmarils and they can’t really do anything about it. The oath accepts that. The idea of some random bloke retrieving it and then handing it off to some other king, though? The oath says no. They go on and on and on about how much they dislike the idea until Finrod, who has also sworn an oath, actually abdicates so he can follow Beren on his suicide mission.

Just… don’t swear oaths.  

Finrod and a handful of Elves join Beren on his quest. He disguises them as Orcs, and they travel safely until they reach Sauron’s domain. Sauron notices that the “Orcs” are acting weird, so he brings them to him. That’s when the famous battle between Sauron and Finrod Felagund begins. Their weapon of choice? Singing. Yeah. It’s a singing duel. Sauron ends up defeating Finrod (I mean, he used to be a part of the angelic Ainur choir so I guess that checks out), and then throws the company into a deep pit. He has no idea who they are or why they were trying to sneak through his territory, but he intends to find out. He tells them that until someone starts talking, he’s going to slowly kill them off one by one.

Yeaaaah, Sauron is not a good guy in The Silmarillion.

Since no one talks, he sends down one of his werewolves (beasts with dreadful spirits trapped inside them, not the man/wolf kind) who devours some poor, nameless dude from the company. This happens again, and again, and again, until it’s Beren’s turn. This is when Finrod performs his final act of heroism. He uses all the strength he has left to free himself from his bonds and kills the werewolf with his bare hands. He gets fatally wounded in the fight, though, and dies in that dark pit. Beren is later rescued by Lúthien (who is honestly a lot better at this Silmaril quest thing than Beren is), and Finrod is buried on the hilltop of Nargothrond.

TLDR of the TLDR: Finrod was a really good guy, oaths are bad, and Sauron can sing.  

Aaaanyway, there it is, the Silmarillion version of Finrod’s death. The Rings of Power has its own version, sort of insinuating that Finrod went after Sauron after the fall of Morgoth, but they did keep some elements. He was, indeed, killed by a servant of Sauron in a dark place.

[codydbuni-blog]

Bugsnax headcanon: If grumpuses are jet pilots

After playing Ace Combat series for a long time, I was thinking of a headcanon of which aircrafts the grumpuses would be manning. FYI Those who are absent wouldn’t be willing to be a a pilot due to several reasons. Endgame spoilers warning!

Filbo: He would be pretty much a YH equivalent to PJ (Crow 3) from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, as he’ll show up in a F-16C “Fighting Falcon” (multirole). However, despite the aircraft’s well-rounded capabilities, it doesn’t really help much considering Filbo would pass out from g-LOC. Or worse, feel nauseous while piloting. He’s better off as an WSO (weapon systems officer) while the Journalist does the job for him.

Wambus: F-4 Phantom II. Despite being an old multirole fighter (like the pilot as he’s hitting 50′s and his body is no longer able to withstand such high amount of g-force), it makes up for its payload and great range while performing well for air superiority and taking down ground targets. By any chance, Triffany would be his WSO (kinda like Monarch and Prez from Project Wingman).

Chandlo: For someone who want an attacker that withstands lots of punishment while causing the most damage as possible, he’ll look no further as the A-10 Thunderbolt II (albeit modified into a 2-seater) is ready to suppress ground forces while turning them into swiss cheese thanks to its gatling gun. The only downside, however, is the mobility at higher altitudes as it kinda handles like a boat with wings. Thankfully, it comes equipped with reinforced armor to compensate the shortcomings. As usual, Snorpy will be his WSO, especially due to the latter being prone to anxiety when piloting an aircraft even if he’s good at it.

Elizabert and Eggabell: SU-47 “Berkut” and SU-37 “Terminator”. Fittingly, they’ll be pretty much a dead ringer to AC6′s “Garuda Team” in addition to working together to take down targets: Either confusing the enemy by flying in synchronization or one of them acting as a bait while the other would pursue the target. Like “Gelb Team” from AC0, they’re equipped with specialized missiles that are fired backwards while sending them a lethal “No U”. Y’all may wonder how the hell did Liz got her paws on a prototype with forward-swept wings (presumably a fully-functional replica since only one real-life SU-47 was ever made before the actual project was cancelled). While Eggabell ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed, she’ll do the best to keep up with Liz as long the latter’s aircraft doesn’t let her down.

By the way, as a nod to the endgame, they’ll be known under the squadron name “Hydra Team”.

Alegander: Surprise, surprise! Considering his organization’s secrets were being revealed by the Journalist, the events have led him to snap to the point of becoming obsessed in taking down the latter (totally not a poor man’s equivalent of Project Wingman’s Crimson 1). In a similar vein to Anderi “Akula" Markov from AC: Assault Horizon (minus the game’s heavy scripting and plot armor), he’ll whip out a heavily refurbished SU-57 “Felon”. A cutting-edge stealth fighter which has excellent firepower, maneuverability, defense, speed and “quick maneuver air-to-air missiles” that will put a hell of a fight against any target. However, due to his age he can’t handle a such high amount of g-force while suffering from “greyout” when pushing his aircraft too hard.

“Yo Snorp-dawg, (you) still alive?”

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Dragged Across Concrete (Zahler, 2018)

This review contains mild spoilers.

I decided to give this a rewatch after being mixed on Brawl in Cell Block 99 to see how it held up. The thing that lingered heaviest in my memory was the scene where the cop protagonists played by Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn, having been suspended for being caught on camera brutalizing a suspect, sit across a table from their lieutenant played by Don Johnson as all three of them complain about political correctness. And that scene is as embarrassing as I remembered, the cinematic equivalent of your crazy uncle’s Facebook post. But it is followed shortly by Johnson gently pushing back against Gibson, positing that while he’s certainly sympathetic to Gibson for all his years of service, he did use much more force against the suspect than necessary and that all these years on the street have made him lose his compassion. (Johnson’s involvement may have been another factor in my decision to revisit this. He has limited screentime but is well used, as his presence is softer than Gibson’s and reads as less overtly reactionary. Plus you get old photos of Crockett and Riggs side by side, although the latter is sporting his suburban dad Lethal Weapon 4 haircut instead of the wild man mullet of the earlier, better movies.) On paper this isn’t unlike how the other movie hedges its bets by placing an overt racist character alongside the hero even while proving said character’s words true with its depiction of another set of Latino criminals. (This movie uses a similar trope, but its juxtaposition is less clumsy.) But here, the scene comes after seeing Gibson and Vaughn in the field, where on top of roughing up a suspect, they engage in racial taunting of the suspect’s girlfriend while she’s scared and vulnerable and after manipulating her into cooperating, promptly go back on their word. Put this against Vaughn’s unceasingly righteous hero in the other movie, and the gestures towards complexity here feel more sincere.

There is plenty of objectionable material in the movie along these lines, but you feel it trying to challenge its own views. There’s the cartoonish depiction of the black bullies who taunt Gibson’s daughter and the dialogue his wife is saddled with, and the demeaning fate one of the major black characters is subject to, but this is put up against the presence of a third protagonist, a low level black criminal played by Tory Kittles who sees his involvement with some more dangerous criminals as a way to alleviate the impoverished situation of his family. You could argue that the movie is pulling from stereotypes here too, but to me the depiction of this his family read as empathetic, drawing parallels to the economic difficulties faced by Gibson and Vaughn. And while Kittles is a lower key presence than the other actors, I do like how the movie lets his intelligence sneak up on you. The fact that it eventually shows him to be a more honourable man than Gibson, might read as provocation in the “fooled ya good, ya dumb liberals, stick that in your pipe and smoke it” strain in the context of S. Craig Zahler’s career, but I’d like to think Zahler has been nudged into expanding his outlook. I seem to be in the minority here, but compared to the other movie, it reads less cleanly to me as a reactionary text and more earnestly at war with its ideological shortcomings, not entirely unlike the heroes. Who knows, with a few more movies, we could turn Zahler into a Bernie Bro. For now, let’s just keep the conversation strictly on economic policy and not talk for more than two minutes. Yes, people are facing hardship. Polite nod. Handshake. And call it a day.

And on the whole, I think this is substantially better directed than the other movie. Zahler’s patience once again makes great use of his performers. The casting of Gibson seems in part like a stunt, but the darkness of the actor’s offscreen life hangs over the movie interestingly, making the extent to which he’s morally compromised a lot more convincing. And it goes without saying that he’s as intense and committed as ever. I think Vaughn struggles with his accent and catchphrase, but because Gibson is so damn good, he lifts up Vaughn as well, and I like the texture the movie applies to their camaraderie. The men communicate in a mixture of jargon and percentages, delivered tersely and sarcastically to mask any warmth or affection. During a rare moment of emotional vulnerability, one of them concedes that he’s at a loss for words, as if their masculinity presents something of a trap. And I liked the way Kittles’ subtle intelligence and instincts for self preservation compare to their more forceful presences, and the way the movie parallels his camaraderie with Michael Jai White with the relationship between Vaughn and Gibson. There’s also a rich cast of high impact supporting players, some of whom, like Udo Kier, Fred Melamed and Jennifer Carpenter, seem to be part of Zahler’s stock company.

I also think Zahler’s patience gives the movie a compelling structure. This runs even longer than Brawl, but while that movie seems to spin its wheels before we get to the prison scenes, here I appreciated the way the movie slowly metes out information. The villains’ heist plan and capacity for cruelty doesn’t come into focus until far too late, which has the morbid effect akin to watching two cars for the entirety of their trip up to the moment they crash into each other and then observing the gruesome aftermath in slow motion. The extreme violence doled out by the villains has a pulverizing effect, leaving no gesture of weakness, doubt or basic compassion unpunished. (As morbid as it sounds, one brazenly exploitative detour taken by the movie ends with an image that makes me think this would have had quite the impact in 3D.) The mean streak affords a few laughs too, like when one of the criminals shoots the merchandise and fixtures out of spite after killing a hapless convenience store clerk and a customer with bad timing, although the relentless racial provocations of one particularly ruthless character might be a bit too much to take. The climax plays out seemingly in real time, moments of unbearable stillness punctuated by bursts of horrific violence, captured in yellow filters that evoke the film’s bleak, jaundiced worldview and austere compositions strip the proceedings to down the strategic possibilities and probability of death that each character is faced with. This last stretch is so potent as pure suspense that it makes the movie worth seeing despite its shortcomings.

[flowersdaggersviolasandblood]

Flower Girl

Name: Pero Ophiin (She/Her)

Race: Wood Half-Elf

Class: Druid (Circle of the Land)

Background: Outlander

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!

It's side quest time bby! Because I'm too under leveled to handle the Paladins of Tyr for now, so that's the goal atm. So, let's go back to figuring out Kagha's secret.

So Pero and her ragtag gang went into the swamps and discovered Auntie Ethel being harassed by two men. Not knowing the full context of the situation and Pero only knowing the disguised Hag as a kindly old lady, she came to her defense. I switched on non-lethal for this, but one of them accidentally died because he got ensnared and took damage (oops).

As they were exploring the swamps, Pero was able to deduce that there was an illusionary veil that concealed the true visage of the swamps. It was here that they saw that the sheeps were actually Redcaps (didn't get a screenshot, sorry ;A;). She also met the monster hunter, Gandrel, and because Astarion is not in my party (and because Pero is a kind person who wouldn't harm him senselessly) my man got to walk away. Pero tried to get information on who it was he was hunting, but Gandrel opt to not tell her.

We'll get back to Auntie Ethel later, for now, Pero and the gang went to find the secret letter that called Kagha out on her bullshit. Returning back to Emerald Grove, unlike Torment, who used this evidence as a reason to kill Kagha, Pero instead tried to convince Kagha to see the error of her ways.

After dealing with the Shadow Druids, with the full help of Emerald Grove, Pero was deemed a Faithwarden, a Druid with enough high status to be listened to throughout all circles (so there's a possibility we might meet more Druidic NPCs or settlements :D). So now Pero is decked out with some new weapon drip!

Now that the grove is safe for the Tieflings to reside in, Pero will soon focus her attention on taking out the Goblin camp. But until then, I still wanted to handle the Paladin's before continue on, so more level grinding! Before we continue, some cute companion stuff. Starting with Gale, he taught Pero how to unlock the Weave and they both shared an intimate moment. I still intend to romance Halsin, but goddamn is it hard to do so when 2 easy options are right in front of you XD

As for Wyll, we got a special little dialogue moment between him and Zevlor upon discovering his new form. While at camp, Wyll asked Pero what was it he saw when she looked at him. In which Pero told him she still see the good ol' Wyll who is trying to do what is right.

Pero eventually told Astarion about Gandrel and learned further about Astarion's past and his relationship with Cazador. A little cute rp thing I think is cute is that Pero has taken up the role of "Rogue" in terms of lockpicking and disarming traps (her stealth & sleight of hand is a +4 and +2 respectfully), so I like to think that she learned how to do so (aside from the aid of magic and inspiration of course lol) from Astarion & Shadowheart. Speaking of Shadowheart, when I decided to ask her how Pero was holding up, she said this cute little dialogue. Being nice pays off :D

With that over with, back to the level grind. I decided to trigger the combat with the gnolls, and because Pero failed the Arcana check to identify them, she attempted to comfort the dying Hyena, only to discover something sinister. Because of this, we got surprised and I ended up fighting more Gnolls than intends. Successfully took them on tho.

Despite fighting more enemies than usual, didn't hit that 3rd level mark yet. So let's go to Waukeen's Rest and help them out!

[paperanddice]

We return to cataloguing the manifested nightmares of Dreamblade with the blight rat. Our first hellbred creature is the blight rat, a dream mixed with energy from the lower planes to create a pseudo fiend. Dream hunters who specialize in bringing down Hellbred will often work in collaboration with regular fiend hunters, pairing up with paladins and clerics to learn techniques that will best bring down the monsters.

The blight rat is a monstrous nightmare, born of dreams of disease and pestilence augmented by the fears of fiendish infection. It infiltrates communities and gathers up their rat population to surround and support it, using them as spies and agents, but while it is a creature of disease it does not play the long game. When it is ready, it attacks viciously and lethally, seeking to end its targets quickly. Only those who get lucky enought to escape the blight rat are afflicted by disease in the long term, which leaves them more vulnerable when the rat hunts them down again later.

Outside of Dreamblade, the blight rat is definitely a fiend (which means it doesn't need it's Hellbred trait anymore). Most likely a demon, it's too simple minded and straightforward to be a yugoloth or a devil. Though it could also be a generic one like the succubus, existing outside the structured forces and just a manifestation of how the lower planes view disease and rats. Originally from the Dreamblade base set. This post came out a week ago on my Patreon. If you want to get access to all my monster conversions early, as well as access to my premade adventures and other material I’m working on, consider backing me there!

5th Edition

Blight Rat Large aberration (hellbred), unaligned Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 133 (14d10 + 56) Speed 30 ft., burrow 10 ft., climb 15 ft. Str 19 (+4) Dex 15 (+2) Con 18 (+4) Int 5 (-3) Wis 12 (+1) Cha 8 (-1) Damage Immunities disease, poison Condition Immunities poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 11 Languages - Challenge 7 (2900 XP) Diseased Attacks. Any time the blight rat hits a creature with a weapon attack, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or contract a disease. The symptoms manifest 1 hour after the creature is infected. Until the disease is cured, the target can't regain hit points except by magical means, and the target's hit point maximum decreases by 7 (2d6) every 24 hours. If the target's hit point maximum drops to 0 as a result of this disease, the target dies. Hellbred. The blight rat is treated as a fiend as well as an aberration. Sympathy Of Rats. Rats will never attack the blight rat unless directed by an outside source. The blight rat can speak with rats. Actions Multiattack. The blight rat makes two attacks, only one of which can be with its Bite. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10+4) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) poison damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for one minute. While poisoned this way, the target can't regain hit points. The poisoned target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Blighted Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 14 (4d6) poison damage and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for one minute. The poisoned target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing damage or 15 (2d10+4) slashing damage if used with two hands, plus 3 (1d6) poison damage.

13th Age

Blight Rat  6th level spoiler [aberration]  Initiative: +10 Blighted Blade +11 vs. AC - 12 damage plus 5 ongoing poison damage. Natural 16+: The blight rat can make a diseased bite attack against the target as a free action. [Special Trigger] Diseased Bite +12 vs. AC - 5 damage plus 5 ongoing poison damage (hard save ends) and the target is exposed to hellbred blight (see below). Natural 16+: The target loses a recovery. Hellbred Blight: An enemy exposed to hellbred blight must make a save at the end of the battle. On a failure, the target is diseased. Until the disease is cured, the target gains half healing from spending recoveries, and its maximum recoveries is decreased by one. Each time the target takes a full heal-up, it must roll another save. On a success, its maximum recoveries increases by one, and on a failure its maximum recoveries decrease. If its maximum recoveries reach 0, the enemy dies, while if its maximum returns to its normal maximum it recovers from the disease. AC 22 PD 19 MD 16 HP 90