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#also it is QUITE difficult to get used to going from a creature with 6/7 main limbs to 4 and vice versa it takes physical therapy for most
wyrmoftheweb · 8 months
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btw in my dragon aliens world magic is a big thing and so if you're human you don't necessarily have to stay that way. shapechanger magic is difficult so it's usually only performed by experts but they can and will turn humans into dragons and vice versa!! and also everything in-between, so people can just get dragon traits they want and vice versa. humans generally love horns, tails, wings, and dragons tend to have an affinity for human hair and eyelashes and omnivorous digestive systems
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Choose your obey me brother to help save you from some evil monster!
Obey me boy character stats. Sorry for not uploading. Thank you so much for the past support ❤️.
Intro
You’re a princess/ prince locked in a tower, oh no! Choose your prince charming to save you! He must conquer many quests and go through many hardships to save you. All of them have special strengths and abilities to help you, but also- weaknesses. Who do you choose?
Basic stats
Powers can go from 1-10. 1 being the weakest to 10 being the strongest. Character Bonuses are very useful!
Speed
IQ
Charm
Cleverness
Physical strength
Creativity
Resilience
Agility
Lucifer
Speed: 8
IQ: 9
Charm: 6
Cleverness: 4
Physical strength: 9
Creativity: 3
Resiliance: 10
Agility: 8
Bonus: Hardheaded Demon
You pick Luci? Great choice!
His strength, Resilience and general Physical attributes are amazing, and make defeating monsters like Dragons or other beastly creatures a tease.
Since he’s a smart cookie, he’ll be able to make decisions that require common sense easily, and lead him to the right path!
Buttttt there are a few issues that arise with this demon: you‘ll loose him if it comes to any challenges that require thinking outside of the box
Creativity? Not his strong suite
Neither is his charm (comparatively), which makes convincing villagers for ressources difficult.
Good thing his Bonus is hardheadedness! He‘ll talk to them long enough for them to do anything he asks them to (;
Mammon
Speed: 10
IQ: 1
Charm: 8
Cleverness: 3
Physical strength: 6
Creativity: 10
Resiliance: 6
Agility: 3
Bonus: Relentless idiot
Mammon? He‘ll take this job very seriously.
Sure he might not be the strongest.. physically
Nor will he be the most intelligent..
But he will never give up!
Saving you is the most important thing, and no matter how many times he fails.. he will never give up on you!
Is dumbness is quite lovable! And a bit pitying
Thats why villagers usually help him with the things he might require
He‘s also very creative! Will think of 1000 different solutions (even though it would be easy to solve with some common sense) until he gets the one that‘ll help him!
Sure his idiocy might make him take a little bit longer to find you but he will save you nonetheless.
Leviathan
Speed: 4
IQ: 7
Charm: 2
Cleverness: 5
Physical strength: 3
Creativity: 8
Resilience: 2
Agility: 8
Bonus: passionate fool
Alright so he‘s not the strongest (physically) nor is he the smartest cookie in the bunch or the most charming..
But you know what he is? Passionate!
His passion for you, will make him face any challenge with the utter most confidence!
Sure he might not seem that charismatic to the villagers, but his speech about his love for you blows their mind (it’s very anime protagonist like)
He‘s also very creative and agile, and a combination of that makes the perfect outmanoeuvring of the enemy
And since he has quite the avarage IQ he‘ll be able to make logical decisions 😉
Satan
Speed: 5
IQ: 10
Charm: 7
Cleverness: 8
Physical strength: 5
Resilience: 4
Agility: 7
Creativity: 9
Bonus: recourceful bookworm
You pick Satan? Brilliant!
No seriously, brilliant!
Even though he might be completely average when it comes to physical aspects, his brain preformance is very remarkable
He solves problems not only quickly but also very recoursefully!
This gives him brownie points from the villagers who not only find him incredibly charming, but also love the way he solves all their issues!
He now has a lot of recourses that he (thanks to his bonus) applies incredibly well to his problems, and finds a way to save you!
Asmodeus
Speed: 2
IQ: 5
Charm: 10
Cleverness: 8
Physical strength: 1
Resilience: 3
Creativity: 10
Agility: 5
Bonus: Loveable darling
Hm. Asmodeus is not the brightest bulb, and he’s definitely not the strongest.
His average IQ lets him solve problems in a well, average matter. But he doesn’t require his physical strength to save you, so what does he have?
Well he’s the most sociable person in the whole set!
Very charming and can talk his way into someone or somethings heart 😏
His extra bonus makes him even more likable! It gives him the ability to woo even the toughest monsters (or people)
Beelzebub
Speed: 9
IQ: 5
Charm: 7
Agility: 8
Creativity: 2
Cleverness: 2
Physical strength: 10
Resilience: 10
Bonus: Hangry Warrior
The best in physical combat, hands down.
His physique: intimidating
His strength: godlike
Plus his added bonus that gets activated when hungry: angry rampage that destroys everything
Probably just destroys the tower you’re in instead of climbing it
His intelligence is average and he’s not that clever
But his charm and his strength are enough to win this battle with ease.
Belphegor
Physical strength: 1
Cleverness: 10
Creativity: 9
IQ: 10
Speed: 1
Agility: 1
Charm: 8
Resilience: 5
Bonus: Sly fox
This guy is the most 50/50 character/ player you can find
On the one hand his physical attributes are completely useless. Literally 1s across the board
On the other hand (the right one *wink wink*) he’s the smartest (and most cunning) of the group.
His charm (that comes from no where I swear) makes villagers do his dirty work
And if that doesn’t work he‘ll manipulate his way through
Very smart: outsmarts the dragons, the puzzles and literally everything else
His special skill only improves his already crazy good manipulation skills
Only problem is if he gets caught by a dragon he’s practically toast
Thank you again for all the love on my previous posts! I appreciate all of you so much ❤️
Feel free to request something in my ask box!
I hope you enjoyed this small read, it’s a bit smaller than my usual ones but I hope you liled it nonetheless.
Proofread!
All credits go to @belphieslavenderscentedpillow
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heedra · 2 years
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I'm trying to get into caves of qud after seeing you post about it but i'm finding it so hard! Do you have any tips for a new player pls? ty
oh man, yeah, the starting curve can be really really difficult! here's my tips for how i get a run off the ground! 1. Avoid min-maxing on a build while you're still getting a feel for what different stats can do for you. Even if you have a very specific idea in mind, it's way more important to have a strong core than idealized stats at game start. Dipping very low on any stat will be punishing in different ways so plan carefully 2. Start in Joppa if you're new to the game. Even a procgen village that's still in the marshes is a way less controlled starting environment.
3. The chests in Joppa that are in rooms with closeable doors can be opened as long as you are in the room, alone, with the door closed. You can often find enough artifacts in there to complete Argyve's first two initial fetchquests right away, which brings you up to level 2 immediately. Even if you don't, you will find stuff to help round out your starting gear! I don’t always do this, and it’s not like, a necessary step, but its good to know about. 4. The chests in Argyve's hut can also be safely opened in his presence as soon as you complete these first two quests and get made his apprentice, if you're looking for more gear with less theft involved. 5. OBTAIN A MISSILE WEAPON AND AMMO FOR IT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. Cannot stress how many runs I've lost very early because I think to myself 'maybe this time I'll be fine leaving town without a ranged weapon'. There are a lot of enemies that are easy later who you really do not want to touch you at low levels. Even if it's just a shortbow, you want something you can kite and run with. If I start with a bow, I generally pick up all the ammo the merchant has, so that if I pick up a better missile weapon with different ammo requirements later, I'm prepared. 6. Don't do the starting quests straight away! I generally try to spend my first levels exploring the salt marshes and hunting crocs and then only try hitting up Red Rock around level 5 unless I'm really confident I've got a tough build for close-range melee going. There are some valuable things in the marshes that you can stumble across to make your starting game easier, such as a very high-tier merchant and a set of mechanical wings that you can repair post-Red Rock to get in and out of the Rustwells fast. Plus, exploring is fun! 7. If you do just want a big glob of xp that you can obtain relatively safely you can also get the zealot's quest and high-tail it to the Six-Day-Stilt immediately. The desert is pretty safe to traverse if you only do so during daylight, bc you can see the whole tile at once and avoid tiles with enemies. (And if you are traveling to the Stilt at a low level you will want to avoid every hostile creature you see). Completing this quest awards you a big packet of xp, and the Stilt has further opportunities to get xp. (You should honestly always go get this quest first thing even if you don’t intend to complete it for a while, because the zealot doesn’t stick around forever).
8. If you're playing a truekin, you can find at least one guaranteed Becoming Nook and credits to use it at the Rusted Archway, but be warned that this is definitely something you want to do after your starting stuff, it's a little tougher than Red Rock. If you haven't found any cybernetics stuff before this point tho its a really good resource.
9. There is nothing wrong with cutting and running from situations. In fact, even at higher levels, the biggest tool in your arsenal is knowing when you need to bail on a situation and having the means to do so.
10. Do still be prepared to die. A lot. Starting out in Caves of Qud means learning through your own death quite often. I'm still occasionally finding novel new ways the world around me can kill me! It's part of the experience!
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marinerainbow · 1 year
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Alright, I need to make a post that isn't Disney... So let's talk about horror! Specifically one of my favorite genres:
Two Sentence Horror Stories.
Writing a story, any story, is exceedingly difficult for many ways. But to make a whole story with just two sentences? A story that enraptured the reader and makes them shake but also want to know more? Now that is talent. And I never get tired of reading them.
So, even though nobody asked, here is my top 10 favorite two sentence horror stories and why I like them so much.
TW: Horror and creepy gifs, along with very unsettling topics. You have been warned. All credit goes to the original authors.
Number 10:
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I never go to sleep.
But I always wake up.
It doesn't seem like much honestly. But when you really think about it, that's when it starts to get more creepy. Why is this person constantly awake? Why do they keep waking up? What do they awaken to?
But at the same time, to me, this feels like one of those horror stories where it's more unsettling with imagery rather than on its own. I first heard it in an animated top 10 list and the imagery with it is definitely freaky, but when you take that away I don't feel so scared anymore. Chilled yes, but not scared.
Number 9:
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"Now be careful, that line of rock salt is the only thing keeping them out," the man said, welcoming my group into his refuge.
"Sea salt," I clarified, "sea salt keeps us out."
I do believe in the supernatural. I'm not the kind of person who will cover my whole house in salt cause I'm so paranoid about evil spirits, but I do believe that there are some creatures out there.
I am also anxious about the thought that if I ever do encounter a dangerous spirit or creature, I will not be prepared to face it or have the wrong information, just like the poor man in this story.
Number 8:
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A girl heard her mother call her by name, and started to head downstairs.
Just before she did, her mother pulled her into her room and said, "I heard it too."
If you're a fan of two sentence horror stories, you've no doubt heard this one, or a variation of it.
Like the one above, it's probably been heard a dozen times. Though it's still one of my favorites. It didn't quite help that the video I first heard this story used the name Sarah for the girl, which just so happens to be my own name. So it kinda spooked me on a personal level too.
Number 7:
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I always thought my cat had a staring problem, since she always seemed to be transfixed on my face.
I never realized until now, that she was always staring right behind me.
I've lived with cats for nearly my whole life. Literally. And I believe that animals can sense things that we can't, whether it be supernatural or otherwise.
So this story makes me shiver to think about, imagining this scenario with me and my own cat. And with my own fear, the thought of anything- or anyone- being behind me without my knowledge, it just makes it even worse for me.
Number 6:
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I begin tucking him into bed and he tells me, "Daddy, check for monsters under my bed."
I look underneath for his amusement and see him, another him, under the bed, staring back at me, quivering and whispering, "Daddy, there's somebody on my bed."
Every child's worst fear comes to life in the most terrifying way possible. Now the father has to make the decision, which one is his real son? And if he makes the wrong choice, or doesn't act fast enough, who knows what the consequences will be?
Number 5:
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I told her there was no monster in her closet as I picked her up, and told her she could sleep with us tonight.
I figured that was the safest way off getting her out of the house without him realizing I saw him.
One of the many fears a parent would have. This is just so bone-chilling to read, I can only imagine how the narrator must have felt seeing a stranger in his daughter's closet.
Not to mention that, from the looks of things, it was a normal human intruder, nothing supernatural. To me, that just makes it even scarier. If it was a ghost or a demon, that would have been easier to deduce that the daughter is simply haunted. But a more real horror? Why was the man hiding in the girl's closet? What was he planning?
It's questions like that that are best left remained unanswered.
Number 4:
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You get home, tired after a long days work and ready for a relaxing night alone.
You reach for the light switch, but another hand is already there.
I grew up in a household where at least one person was awake no matter what. And it wasn't like they had different schedules, my parents expressly told me and my siblings that it was to make sure that no one broke into the house or anything.
They relaxed on that over the years, I think, but it still stuck with me. I'm genuinely terrified of the thought of living alone now, and this story is one of the ways that perfectly captures my fear. I know someday I'll have to live by myself for some time until I start a family of my own. And this story always comes to mind when I think that.
Number 3:
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The last thing I saw was my alarm clock flashing 12:07 before she pushed her long, rotting finger nails through my chest, her other hand muffling my screams.
I sat bolt upright, relieved it was only a dream, but as my clock read 12:06, I could hear my closet door creaking open.
I have lost count of how many times I've woken up in the middle of the night and thought I saw something creeping toward me. But then I would turn on the light, and nothing was there. I even have a memory from my childhood that I'm 65% sure is a genuine sleep paralysis story. Not to mention the kind of crazy or fucked up dreams I'll sometimes get before I wake up.
So when I read this story, it got to me on a personal level as well. Let me just say I'm grateful that my closet has no doors or else I'd probably try to barricade the doors every night just to reassure my subconscious.
Yeah, any supernatural creature in there may easily break through it, but at least I'll be able to get a few more minutes of peaceful sleep before I die.
Number 2:
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When the kidnapper made me guess where he kept my daughter, I pointed to the basement and he said, "Correct!" And allowed me to see her.
But when I found her severed head in there, I realized every other choice would have been correct too.
Holy shit, do I even need to explain this one? A parent who was clinging onto the hope that they finally found their child, and their hope is squashed in the worst way imaginable.
It's mental, emotional, and in a way physical torture. And you can practically feel the sick, twisted smile on the kidnapper's face as you read this horror story.
And the worst part? This isn't even number one on this list.
Number 1:
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After working a hard day I came home to see my girlfriend cradling our child.
I didn't know which was more frightening; seeing my dead girlfriend and stillborn child, or knowing that someone broke into my apartment to place them there.
This... Holy shit I actually had to reread this a couple of times when I first found it.
Someone breaks into my girlfriend and child's graves, takes them all the way from their burial sites to my home, breaks into my home, proceeds to purposefully place them in such a way that would have looked heartwarming if they were alive, and then (supposedly) leaves for me to find the scene all on my own with no explanation. It's like #2 but on steroids.
This isn't just a simple hatred for the victim. It's an obsession. Whether it be a love for this twisted game, or a crazy ex-lover who decides to torture their victim for leaving them, this is an obsession with mentally breaking the narrator of this story.
And that's my list. Do you guys agree? What would you pick for your own list?
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mareastrorum · 9 months
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TF&TS Meta: Level 6 Ghostslayer
Since I am posting another chapter on Friday, no WIP Wednesday excerpt today! However, I usually throw out a meta post 2 days before each chapter to tide people over.
This post goes over Molly’s Level 6 progress.
See the directory for other meta posts.
As my chapter commentary noted, I am actively tracking each character’s class abilities in combat, and that means I needed to account for level updates. That’s not too difficult with CritRoleStats putting together all of that on their website, but Molly died at level 5. Thus, I had to plan out each of his level upgrades!
First was hit points. Molly has a d10, and I rolled a 6. His CON modifier is +2 and he gets another +2 for Tough, so he gained 10 HP for a total of 69 (nice).
At level 6, blood hunters gain Brand of Castigation and an additional blood curse. They can also inflict one more curse per rest, for a total of 3 (Ghostslayers get 1 extra). That was most of what Molly had been studying at the Cobalt Soul Archive in Zadash, when the Nein leveled up. He was also taking notes on Aether Walk, but he doesn’t get that until level 7.
Brand of Castigation:
At 6th level, when you damage a creature with a weapon for which you have an active crimson rite, you can channel hemocraft magic to sear an arcane brand into that creature (no action required). You always know the direction to the branded creature as long as it’s on the same plane as you. Further, each time the branded creature deals damage to you or a creature you can see within 5 feet of you, the branded creature takes psychic damage equal to your Hemocraft modifier (minimum of 1).
We’ve only had the fight with Lucien since the level up, but Molly didn’t use the brand on him. Taliesin had a bad habit of forgetting how his abilities worked, so I decided to interpret that as Molly not quite understanding his powers and/or panicking in the moment. He’s an anxious tiefling and only covers that up most of the time. Thus, in the first fight against Lucien, I figured he’d be more focused on trying to use Aether Walk to get away than remembering to inflict the brand.
Next, I had to sort out which curse Molly would take. He already has Eyeless (reaction) and Purgation (bonus action). As a note, Molly had one extra blood curse. Purgation had been removed from the class, and the current rules only provide a second blood curse by level 6, not a third. I account for this discrepancy later on in the story.
I had considered Exposure, which is a reaction, because most of the other options were bonus actions or actions. Molly’s action economy is kind of fucked because Misty Step (from Summer’s Dance) is a bonus action, as is activating a rite on each weapon. Matt’s also been consistent with the rule that players can’t do a bonus action as an action, so that would require several rounds before Molly could do full damage unless he got both rites going before combat began. Exposure could make up for that by doubling damage of a specific type. In addition, Molly’s opportunity attacks aren’t a vital source of damage or control, so losing that reaction probably wouldn’t make or break an opponent’s choice to flee.
However, narratively, it made more sense that Molly would choose Bloated Agony:
As a bonus action, you curse a creature that you can see within 30 feet of you, causing its body to swell until the end of your next turn. For the duration, the creature has disadvantage on Strength checks and Dexterity checks, and takes 1d8 necrotic damage if it makes more than one attack during its turn. Amplify. This curse lasts for 1 minute. The cursed creature can make a Constitution saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the curse on itself on a success.
Chetney’s got this one, so we’ve seen it in action in the stream. It’s great for punishing opponents that have multiattacks—like Lorenzo and Lucien’s guard hosts. Although it would cost a bonus action attack or buff, the disadvantage and damage would help a ton with taking those opponents down, especially if he amplified (which Molly loves to do). Considering his recent close calls, I figured Molly would care more about a control curse than one to increase vulnerability to one type of damage.
Why didn’t Molly use the new curse in the fight against Lucien? Well, he had been attempting to focus his attacks on Lucien instead of the hosts, which meant he’d needed to hold his actions as reactions and didn’t have the chance to use a bonus action on Lucien anyway. His turn came after Lucien and before the clerics, so Lucien had movement to possess a new host before Molly got to do much. Thus, I inserted a bit that Molly was still trying to understand the curses to give some plausible reason (other than D&D mechanics) to explain why he hadn’t done something fancy. Of course, there’s some panic involved, but Molly fights under pressure all the time. That only explains so much.
Even with all that, Molly’s still trying to work out how to do other crimson rites on his swords, plus Aether Walk. Those don’t come into play until Level 7, but he doesn’t know that. :D
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sexstories-101 · 2 years
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13 Facts About Doggy-Style Sex You Didn't Know
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Doggy-style . You are already aware of what it is. There is no need for clarification. The terms "missionary" and "cowgirl" can also apply to other things. However, not "doggy-style." It's a well-known sex position. Everyone is aware of it, yet there are some facts about it that you may not be aware of.
1. For whatever reason, it's really popular in Dallas. Millennials have been accused of destroying many things (see: diamonds, the restaurant industry, and department stores). And it appears that they are also undermining missionary as the "normal" sex position. According to Skyn's 2018 millennial sex survey, "people in Dallas were more likely to do doggy-style than any other city." The more you learn!
2. There is no truth to the belief that dressing like a dog helps you get pregnant. Some feel that because the posture allows for deeper penetration, the sperm begin their journey closer to the cervix. Dr. Scott Roseff of Boca Raton's IVFMD, a Florida-based fertility specialist, affirms that "there is no evidence that rear-entry sex positions optimize fertility."
3. Doggy-style is likewise ineffective if you're trying for a male. The old wives' tale that having sex with the guy on top results in male offspring is likewise false. According to Roseff, updated technology has revealed that X and Y sperm migrate at the same rate and that "different sexual positions have absolutely no effect on the resulting gender of a baby." So, if you were hoping for a boy, keep your fingers crossed. It works just as well.
4. Whoa, Americans are looking for "doggy style." According to an AskMen study, doggy-style was Googled more than any other sex position in America. It could be because it is so popular, or it could just be that some people find it logistically difficult and require assistance. It is not our place to pass judgment.
5. It is the second riskiest position. Woman-on-top wins, yet doggy-style accounts for more than a quarter of penile fractures. According to a study conducted at the University of Campinas in Brazil, 28 percent of men referred to the ER with a penile fracture received it doggy-style (woman-on-top took credit for 50 percent). Don't worry, the chances of "breaking" a penis during sex are still extremely minimal, so don't let this deter you.
6. It is a member of the "rear entry" sex position family. Doggy-style isn't the only way to have sex from behind; it's part of a series of sex positions known as "rear entrance," which includes everything from the downward dog (yep, like the yoga pose) and froggy to reverse cowgirl. If the "traditional" doggy style is too uncomfortable for you, you can place a pillow under your tummy or even support yourself against a chair.
7. It's quite old. Do you believe Snoop Dogg was the first to mention the sex position in 1992? No way. The sex position was mentioned in artwork and literature by the ancient Greeks and Romans; Roman philosopher Lucretius even suggested it for couples seeking to conceive (please note that this has no actual scientific basis).
8. Many songs make reference to the sex position. Lots. According to Genius, almost 1,600 songs mention the issue, at least in passing. "PIMP" by 50 Cent, "The Bad Touch" by The Bloodhound Gang, and "Back That Thing Up" by Justin Moore (a country song about doggy-style sex in a barn that's as amazing as it sounds).
9. If doggy-style sex is painful for you, you have options. Because this position allows for extremely deep penetration, some women may experience their partners bumping up against their cervix. Slow down the tempo of penetration and experiment with hip angle. Try going down on your forearms or up on your palms to see if the depth affects your level of comfort.
10. It's called "doggy-style," but many other animals mate in this manner... Horses, camels, giraffes, and elephants are among the animals.
11... and many creatures do not. Whales, dolphins, and spiders abandon their post. And primates such as chimps do not use it primarily.
12. It is not limited to vaginal sex. While you're back there, feel free to indulge in anal sex and cunnilingus. "Doggy-style" can apply to any of these things, not simply behind-the-back intercourse.
13. It's a favorite among many men. According to a Women's Health poll, it is men's preferred sex position, eclipsing traditional favorites like a missionary.
  If you are looking for motivation to enhance your sexual drive.
Kindly visit https://porno19.com/ a Vietnam porn website about doggy-style sex movies
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revengeraven · 2 years
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What do you look like? (Hair, eye, skin color. Face shape. Other descriptions you think are important. You can send a picture if you're comfortable, but I'm just asking for descriptions)
What is your favorite colors? Would you wear them all the time?
What is your favorite animal?
What is your favorite fictional creature?
If you worked at a Fazbear location, where would you work? (FNAF 1 location? FNAF 2? Fazbear Frights? Circus Baby Pizza World? The Rockstar location?)
Who is your favorite animatronic from the place you'd work?
If you got stuffed in a suit, but got an option to change after death, would you pick a suit of your favorite animal, your favorite fictional creature, or would you still wear the suit you're giving?
Preferred pronouns?
Would you wear a dress or pants?
Ok this is the ask I assume the prior anon was asking about— if you sent a different one I didn’t get it, feel free to resend, I’ll answer in order under a read more!
1) I’m not 100% comfortable describing how I look but I can tell you I have a rounder face, My eyes are blue, and my hair is dyed a bright obnoxious color most of the time, I’m white and pretty damn pale, I wear glasses, I suppose that’s a face detail too?
2) my favorite colors are black, green, and purple, but honestly I also really like most colors that you could associate with Halloween (orange, red, stuff like that)— also just the general concept of neons— sorry you’re asking for definites from the most indecisive man alive. Anyway yeah given the opportunity I would wear my favorite colors all the time
3) favorite animal… another tough one— I could say jerboas, because they’re funky little guys, i could say any member of the corvid family because look at my blog name, I could say bugs because They’re so under appreciated, I could say reptiles because people think they’re bad but I know better, I could say cats because they’re soft and wonderful, I could say foxes because they’re fun to watch, it’s really hard to say.
4) oh boy, asking for more favorites is just gonna make this more difficult— well I suppose it depends on what frame you’re asking in— in terms of partly humanoid mythological creatures I suppose I could say Satyrs are cool, but if you’re asking for beasts I could go with the classic dragon or with a cockatrice, gryphons are also very cool, but if you’re flat out looking for any fictional creatures, well you know I love Pokémon, but I have a 41 page long document of me going back and forth on which one to use as a persona for a side blog of mine, if you want my favorite cryptid well I like the flatwoods monster and the mothman is pretty cool too. Sorry again, I’m indecisive
5) if I could work at any FNAF location it would probably be the FNAF 2 location, the hectic gameplay seems to suit the kind of thing I’d end up doing also my favorite character Phone Guy was alive at that point
6) favorite animatronic is a tough choice again, I like the Bonnie’s of FNAF 2, both toy and withered versions are two of my favorite animatronics to draw along side Mangle who I also like quite a bit (fun fact you didn’t ask for- of the three times FNAF has appeared in my nightmares, a version of Bonnie has been in two of them, also a custom version of nightmare Bonnie made an appearance in a nightmare I had before FNAF 3 came out— so I suppose that also makes FNAF 4 a likely candidate for where I would be)
7) honestly I would probably want to change suit if I could, not that I don’t like the original animatronic designs, I just feel bad copying pre-existing animatronics, not sure if I’d be cool with sharing a vessel with a dead kid either
8) I’ll be real I don’t really have preferred pronouns, I’m cool with whatever honestly, haven’t found any that feel quite right yet.
9) honestly I’d prefer shorts, but I suppose if it fit well I’d take a dress over pants.
Hope this answers your questions, my asks and messages are always open if you want to chat, I love talking with people in any capacity I can!
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variousqueerthings · 3 years
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Daniel LaRusso: A Queer Feminine Fairytale Analysis Part Two of Three
Part 1
Part 3
6. Sexual Awakenings part 1: Love, Obsession, & Size Differences
[Insert that post talking about the creators making sure that Daniel’s antagonists were much bigger than him so that the audience would sympathise, spawning 10000 size kink fics]
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I’m sure this won’t awaken anything in Daniel
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Corporate wants you to find the difference between these two pictures
The hallmark of feminine fairytales tends to be growing into womanhood, with all those symbolic sexual under/overtones, searching for a prince, encountering monsters (or evil stepmothers), on the surface tending to be quite passive/reactive, but actually being about young girls and women getting out of their environment and choosing to tussle with those deep, dark desires – monsters. They’ve got to function within the limitations of power that they have – escaping an abusive situation through marriage, chasing forbidden desires under the guise of duress, asking questions about sexuality through things like symbolic plucking (flowers) or consumption (fruit) or pricking (needles), etc.
Daniel isn’t striking out to find his fortune or win a girl or a kingdom Like A Man, he’s not a threat to Silver, who – like Jareth in Labyrinth – is in control for almost the whole of the narrative, he’s not actually able to do much more than react until he makes the decision to stop training, and even then he’s immediately ganged up on and assaulted, needing to be saved by Miyagi while he stands and watches, bloodied and bruised. 
Daniel’s journey in the third movie is to be forced into an impossible situation, seduced by Silver, and then prove that whatever violence Silver did to him isn’t enough to destroy him. It is incredibly similar to Sarah’s in Labyrinth, who by the end declares: “you have no power over me,” and that’s her winning moment. Not strength, not wits, not a direct fight, (although Daniel does fight Barnes and gets beat up again – only winning in in the end by taking him by surprise, unlike in TKK1 or TKK2 where you could argue that he proves himself to be a capable physical opponent to Johnny and Chozen), but by declaring that whatever power was held over her is now void.
Daniel’s narrative isn’t satisfying in the same way, because the dynamic of Silver and Daniel only accidentally emulates this - it’s not an intention on the side of the film-makers.
When Miyagi tells Daniel that he has strong roots, when he tells him not to lose to fear and Daniel wins over Barnes (in an almost fairytale-esque set of events), on paper he’s defeated whatever hold Terry Silver has over him. In the film itself though, Daniel never defeats Silver (which will likely be confirmed once he returns in Season Four). Daniel cannot simply say “you have no power over me,” and see Silver shattered into glass shards. 
The film is a contradiction: It wants to be a masculine sports film, but it exists in the same realm as Goblin Kings seducing young girls with the promise of: “Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave.” Unlike Sarah, Daniel doesn’t claim the power that’s been promised to him on his own terms. His subtextually sexual awakening is so corrupted that all he can do is pretend it never happened.
Still, Daniel proves in the film that his strength is not in his fists. It’s in his praying to the bonsai tree that’s healed despite a violent boy brutally tearing it in two.
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These looks on Daniel and Silver though?
So why does Silver become obsessed with him? What’s up with all those red outfits (that he doesn’t wear in Cobra Kai)? What does the temptation reveal about Daniel? How does it recontextualise TKK1 and TKK2? Is Daniel bisexual? (yes).
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Ah, beach-Daniel, in your red hoodie and your cut-off jorts. Iconic hot-girl summer vibes. 
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If you didn’t want me over-analysing this, you shouldn’t have put him in so many red outfits and then have this man leering at him like he wants to eat him alive.
Surface-level it’s not hard to read into a Dude Story: Masculine power fantasies are about strength in a very direct way. Fighting, control, suaveness – and if you’re not the most traditionally masculine of guys, asserting dominance through being a good lover or intelligent or overcoming that unmanliness in some way through beating the bully or convincing the hot girl to go out with you, levelling up in coolness. Being A Man. It’s not too dissimilar from Daniel’s arc in the first movie, if you watch it without taking later events into account, although Daniel is never interested in proving himself as a man, and more in making Miyagi proud. Still, he does win and gain respect, and arguably “get the girl,” although Ali’s interest in him was never dependent on the fight.
7. Sexual Awakenings Part 2: Sexual Assault, Liberation, and Queerness
Feminine power fantasies are often about sex. Metaphorically. More accurately it’s “owning sexuality.” Even more accurately: “Freedom.” They also inhabit a fluid space in which empowerment through monstrous desires and non-consent can happen at the same time. And on top of that, many of these “fantasies” are actually being written by men, so whose fantasy is it really? A lot of them are based in oral traditions so presumably they were originally from the mouths of women, even if modern iterations (starting with Grimm’s collections) are filtered through cis men’s perspectives.
All of that being acknowledged: In Angela Carter’s “The Company Of Wolves,” Red Riding Hood unambiguously sleeps with the wolf. Belle discovers her freedom from expectations and unsuitable suitors (and in some versions, evil stepsisters) by falling in love with a Beast (the original novel was written by a woman, the 18th century Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve). Jareth informs Sarah of his obsessive devotion to her in Labyrinth. To lean into horror for a moment – Buffy is stalked and eventually has relationships with both Angel and Spike, Lucy in Coppola’s Dracula (which I have mixed feelings about) is raped by the werewolf and Mina is stalked by Dracula, The Creature Of The Black Lagoon kidnaps Kay (the lead’s girlfriend) – subverted in both The Shape Of Water in which Eliza forms a consensual relationship with the amphibious sea-god and in the short-lived horror series Swamp Thing, in which the connection is purposefully framed as seductive…
and in The Karate Kid Part Three Daniel LaRusso punches a board until his hands bleed because an attractive, older man tells him to and in this moment he gives in to what he (thinks he) wants.
Not all of those examples are equal. Some are consensual, some are hinted as abusive and/or stalkery, all of them have large age gaps, and a few are outright non-consensual.
But they’re all fantasies.
They’re all power-fantasies.
Except for Daniel, because he’s a man and the idea that being obsessed (lusted) over by an older man who keeps you in his thrall, specifically because you tickle his fancy for whatever reason, because you’re beautiful, breakable, different – could in any way be considered empowering is a difficult concept to wrap your head around. It doesn’t contain that “but I’m a good girl, I’d never go off the path and pluck flowers if a bad wolf told me to, honest,” societal context or the social context of rape culture. It’s closest comparison is closeted (perhaps even unknown until that point) queer identity.
There have recently been some comparisons of Daniel LaRusso to Bruce Bechdel in Funhome (and everyone who says that Ralph Macchio ought to play him in the upcoming movie: you’re right and I’m just not going to enjoy it as much without him). I’ve written a post about Sam being the heir to his legacy and trauma, specifically as a queercoded man. It’s not dissimilar to the plot of Funhome in a lot of ways.
The other interesting source that’s been going around in connection with Daniel is the essay “The Rape of James Bond,” which discusses the use of sexual assault as a plot device for women and not for men: “About one in every 33 men [in the US] is raped. … [your statistically average, real life man] … doesn’t have a horde of enemies explicitly dedicated to destroying him. He doesn’t routinely get abducted, and tied up. Facing a megalomaniac psychopath gloating over causing him pain […] is not the average man’s average day at the office.” That last bit is just a descriptor of Terry Silver, (although I take issue at the blasé use of psychopath).
The two part youtube essay  Sexual Assault of Men Played for Laughs posits that there is nothing more de-masculinising than the threat of sexual assault and therefore any narrative that features this “rightfully” must mock any man who has been a victim or who fears being a victim of sexual assault. It is feminising. There is nothing more humiliating – and therefore unheroic – than a man dealing with sexual assault.
So what do we feel when we see an attractive young man being put into a vulnerable position by an older man? A trope associated with female characters, a trope that is considered unpalatable for men (see reactions that happened when the hint of sexual assault was introduced in Skyfall).
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Was it the fact that he was being threatened, or the fact that James’ next line is: “what makes you think this is my first time?”
Some thoughts added by @mimsyaf​ are around the idea of safety in how a lot of cis women might relate to this narrative through Daniel’s eyes. He’s not a woman, he has – societally – more power than a girl or woman would have, which makes this a different watch to, say, if Danielle were to go through the same narrative. Daniel doesn’t carry that baggage of rape culture, or of the male gaze that you might find in a similar scenario of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Christine in Phantom of the Opera (and once more the age differences between these characters and the men who love/lust over them are substantial), which makes the narrative “safer” to engage with.
I agree with that, although as a transmasc person I also come at it differently. I specifically like to headcanon Daniel as a trans guy and find his fraught interactions with masculinity through his own non-toxic lens relatable, as well as the way other boys and men react to it – also I think Terry Silver is hot. I know there are people who write Terry Silver with female OCs, which is also a form of empowerment.
On the flipside putting Daniel in this space runs a risk of fetishising him as a queer youth who is either Innocent and Pure, or a bisexual stereotype that deserves to be assaulted for not being a real man. After all, Real Straight Men don’t run the risk of sexual assault.
 Alas, the road to empowerment never did run smooth. 
The comparisons between the way Daniel is treated by the text and how female characters are often treated in texts are undoubtedly there. Through Ralph Macchio and TIG’s casting and the direction and acting, but also within the text itself. 
It might not be with the same purpose as Neo’s symbolically trans journey, but it puts the whole narrative that Daniel’s going through from TKK1 under a different light than if there had only been one movie that ended on a triumphant sports win and a girlfriend.
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Johnny’s masculinity and the use of tears as liberation, now that’s a whole other analysis….
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grailfinders · 3 years
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Fate and Phantasms #184
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Oh shit we’re a day late. Sorry. Now that Summer’s over, Fate and Phantasms is heading out to Shimousa, starting with the Archer of Inferno! You know the deal by this point; true name spoilers and build breakdown below the cut, character sheet over here, but still expect a little bit of spoilage because you can’t spread out a character over 20 levels and not spoil a bit about them.
Next up: I thought the ghost of an occultist driving a car made by a talking lion would be the most convoluted character design for a while. I was wrong.
Tomoe Gozen is a Battle Master Fighter to talk with her fists and throw people around as well as a Hunter Ranger to get her fiery arrows and to specialize in fighting massive crowds.
Race and Background
Tomoe is kind of halfway between an oni and a human, never quite at home in either world. Thankfully that’s exactly what Tieflings are as well, so getting her race is pretty easy. As a Mephistopheles Tiefling she gets +1 Dexterity and +2 Wisdom, Darkvision for night raids, Hellish Resistance to fire damage (it would be awkward if you died to your own inferno), and the Legacy of Cania. This gives you the Mage Hand cantrip immediately, with one casting of Burning Hands and Flame Blade with your Charisma per long rest at third and fifth level respectively.
As the wife of a Lord, you’re the definition of a Noble, giving you proficiency with History and Persuasion. People just like you, y’know?
Ability Scores
Step one; Dexterity. You’re an archer, this shouldn’t come as a surprise that this is pretty high. (I mean I say that, but there’s ton of archers that don’t use bows, so...) Anyways, second is Strength. You throw people around like sacks of potatoes, so you gotta be pretty good at lifting them. Go with Wisdom as your third highest ability. Large scale battles are hectic, you’ve got to have a sharp eye to do your best work in them.  Your Constitution isn’t half bad, oni tend to be able to take a beating. Your Intelligence isn’t that high purely because we need other stuff more, so we’re dumping Charisma. You’re a bit awkward no matter which side of the family you’re talking to.
Class Levels
Ranger 1: Starting off as a ranger gives you plenty of goodies, including plenty of proficiencies, like Strength and Dexterity saves, plus three skills; Insight and Perception to read your enemies and Athletics to make it easier to haul them around. First level rangers also become Deft Explorers, which makes you Canny with athletics. That doubles your proficiency bonus for extra oni strength when you push and pull objects. You can also set a Favored Foe as a bonus action, dealing an extra d4 of damage once per turn after hitting them with an attack. You can do this proficiency times per long rest, and the damage grows as you level up.
Ranger 2: At second level, you gain the Archery fighting style for an extra +2 to your ranged attack rolls. The archer class is really made up of archers, huh? You also learn how to cast Spells using your Wisdom to cast them. Theoretically. You don’t actually have any spells that bother with that. At first level you can use Longstrider to move around the battlefield easier and Absorb Elements to add a little bit of fire to your arrows immediately. That helps less than the other elements since you’re already resistant to fire damage, but we suffer for our art here. Well, you do.
Ranger 3: Making it all the way to third level without burning out grants you entrance to a shiny new conclave, and the Hunter conclave turns you into a Horde Breaker when you take the subclass, specializing you towards dealing with large groups. Once per turn you can make an extra attack, as long as your second target is within 5′ of the first. You also gain Primal Awareness, letting you Speak with Animals. I don’t think anything in canon says you can do this, but your event is one of the only times we hear the servant animals talk, so I’m counting it. You also learn how to cast Zephyr Strike, speeding yourself up and possibly dealing extra damage at the same time. Controlling your spacing is vital when it comes to dealing with tons of enemies.
Ranger 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Strength for stronger punches. They’ll get even stronger in a second, don’t worry.
Fighter 1: Bounce over to fighter for the Unarmed Fighting fighting style. Now your punches deal 1d6 damage (or 1d8 if you have both free) and you can deal damage to grappled creatures at the start of your turn. You also get a Second Wind, which will heal you as a bonus action.
Ranger 5: We’re done multiclassing for a while, since heading back over to ranger will net you an Extra Attack each action. Now you’ve got two attacks against one target, or three if you can use horde breaker. You also learn second level spells, like Beast Sense and Enhance Ability. I don’t think you’re strong enough yet, so that latter spell will give you advantage on strength checks for the duration. (Or a target creature advantage on any one kind of checks, that’s just the most in-character option.)
Ranger 6: At sixth level Favored Foe grows to a d6, and you also become Roving, which increases your speed and lets you climb and swim without slowing down.
Ranger 7: Seventh level rangers will find it a lot easier to Escape the Horde, forcing disadvantage on all opportunity attacks against you. Right now you’ve still got to keep your distance from your enemies to use your bow and arrow, so this will help. You can also cast Aid to increase your maximum HP along with that of a couple of friends for something that will really excitate your whole lineage.
Fighter 2: Bouncing back to fighter gets you an Action Surge for two actions per turn once per short rest. Now you get up to five attacks in a turn thanks to Horde Breaker and your extra attack.
Fighter 3: If we keep on trucking we’ll hit third level, which is where things get really spicy. As a Battle Master, you get four Combat Superiority d8s per short rest, and you can add one per attack to attack you make, dealing extra damage and adding effects to the blow. Technically. Only one of your maneuvers actually deals with attacks, but that’s Pushing Attack, which will do a lot of work for you. When you hit a creature you deal extra damage, and if they’re smaller than Huge and fail a strength save, they get pushed 15 feet away. Your other maneuvers are Evasive Footwork, adding the d8 to your AC while you move to make fighting you even harder, and Tactical Assessment, adding the die to an Investigation, History, or Insight check. We might not have been able to make you smart, but this should cover whatever tactics you need. You’re also a Student of War, giving you proficiency in any one artisan’s tools. Pick your fave, you’re not exactly Hokusai.
Fighter 4: Our last level in fighter grabs the Crusher feat for +1 Strength and once per turn you can push someone an extra 5 feet as long as they’re large or smaller. Also, critical bludgeoning hits give all attacks against their target advantage until you start your next turn. Now you can fling someone 20′ away, and while that technically doesn’t let you throw them in the air I’d allow it. Honestly, if someone’s moving that far away their feet have got to be leaving the ground at some point.
Ranger 8: Going back to Ranger for good now gets another ASI right away, and Gunner is a weird feat to pick, but hear me out. It’s basically the crossbow expert feat, but it trades that bonus action attack for a +1 to Dexterity, which is way more useful since you don’t use a hand crossbow. You also get proficiency with and can ignore loading on firearms, but most D&D games don’t have those anyway, so it’s fine to be a bit out of character. The real good reason we’re here is to ignore disadvantage on your ranged attacks if people are near you. Archery and brawling don’t normally go together, now they do. You also get Land’s Stride so you can move through difficult terrain easier and have advantage on saves against magical terrain. You leave a lot of corpses around in Shimousa, but this’ll help you keep your footing in that demiplane of skulls you do your boss fight in.
Ranger 9: Ninth level rangers get third level spells, like your Primal Awareness spell Speak with Plants. That might sound totally out of character, but it turns out there’s a legit reason for it: Hey look over there, it’s Flame Arrows! Finally, you can dip 12 arrows into fiery goodness, and each one deals an extra 1d6 fire damage on a hit. You’ve got up to an hour to use all of them, but it also takes concentration so don’t get too attached.
Ranger 10: Tenth level rangers are Tireless, letting you heal yourself with temporary HP as an action Proficiency times per day, and you heal exhaustion on short rests. Some people call that inhuman, I call it efficient. Gilgamesh wishes he had what you do. You can also use Nature’s Veil to turn invisible for a round as a bonus action Proficiency times per long rest. Think of it like a smoke bomb. Or a wildfire bomb. Just set things on fire, hide in the fire, done.
Ranger 11: At eleventh level, hunters can let out a Volley of ranged attacks, letting you attack every creature within a 10′ radius of a point you can see. Technically, this means you can pump out up to 50 attacks per round thanks to Action Surge, assuming a lot of creatures are dumb enough to clump up next to each other. 51, sorry, Horde breaker’s still there. To make getting into position easier you also learn the UA spell Flame Stride, negating opportunity attacks, bumping your speed up by 20 feet, and dealing fire damage to nearby creatures when you run by them. It also explicitly sets items on fire, so now we know how you caused so much damage in Shimousa.
Ranger 12: Use this ASI to round up your Strength and Dexterity for stronger punches, tougher punch saves, better arrows, and a higher AC. A banner level for you.
Ranger 13: Your new fourth level spell from Primal Awareness, Locate Creature is way easier to justify than the last one. You just know where the enemy general is located, even in the thick of battle. We’re basically building a Dynasty Warriors character at this point, aren’t we? You also get Freedom of Movement, just in case you need to speed around the battlefield without setting stuff on fire. I know, it’s boring without the fire. You just have to make due for two more levels.
Ranger 14: Your Favored Foe grows again, and you can Vanish as a bonus action, hiding yourself without any way to track you, bar magic.
Ranger 15: Your final spell of the build will turn you into a mighty inferno that can burn down all of Shimousa! Well, not really, but if you Summon Elemental then Vanish away, it’s almost like you turned into a fire elemental, right? You can also Stand Against the Tide, using your reaction to redirect a missed melee attack at another creature. It’s really hard to hit you when you run away, so I suggest fishing for attacks of opportunity for extra damage.
Ranger 16: Use your final ASI to grab the Tough feat for an extra 40 HP. Onis, man. They’re hard to kill.
Pros:
You specialize in dealing with large groups of enemies, with plenty of ways to move through them and attack over large areas at once.
Working with your bow and fists means you’re never in a bad position in a fight. Hah hah, you ambushed the archer, I guess you’re just getting your skulls bashed in instead.
Your range and speed, combined with your punches’ pushing power, means you are great at choosing your fights. For the most part you can determine where and when you fight an enemy, giving you a pretty solid advantage. As long as your DM doesn’t make all the fights take place in a vacant plain somewhere.
Cons:
Your charisma is pretty dismal, so even if you have a plan in mind good luck getting people to follow it.
You’re also pretty unfocused, and I mean that in every sense of the word. You’d be a lot more consistent with damage if you only focused on punching or arrows, and since you’re specialized for bunches of weak enemies single bosses can be tricky.
Most of your magic damage is Fire, which is easy to resist. If you’re up against a demon or devil, you might just have a bad time.
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joonkorre · 3 years
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Rules for Night Guards at Golden Locket Ent.
@drarrymicrofic prompt: sunrise/sunset. ao3
Hello to the new hire,
I know you must be confused. Why are you finding this raggedy piece of paper in your brand new office? Well, first of all, there’s a reason why they keep this office shiny and clean. If it’s not spotless by sunrise, would anyone take the job?
Either way, I’m the one making sure this paper is found by new hires (perks of being a janitor with all the keys). The higher-ups don’t know this building like I do; they know that people can’t work here for even a week, and that’s it. They don’t know enough to solve the problem, they’re too scared to, and no one bothers to ask an ancient janitor.
After your first night here, though, you’ll have a lot to ask. The janitorial staff is not allowed to speak to any employee, including you, so read this document carefully. I’d say take pictures of it front and back, but taking out your phone to access them on the job might not be a good idea, especially as the night progresses.
Again, read this until the rules are tattooed in your head. Many have not heeded me. They’ve either quit or lost more than a job.
Pay attention.
Rules for Night Guards at Golden Locket Ent.
[DO NOT DEFACE THIS DOCUMENT IN ANY MANNER]
Always arrive at your office before sundown. That’s why you’re called here early. The door doesn’t have to be locked, but stay in your office.
8 PM is when your shift starts. Begin by doing your routine check, two rounds for each floor. Finish the 1st floor in no more than 25 minutes.
If you see trespassers, don’t bother chasing them out if you see upturned rubbish bins (see Rule #8).
There will be another night guard who also has a document of their own. Greet them, remember their face. Don’t be surprised if you see a different person the next day, you know how it is around here.
You might meet another person as you walk up the stairs to the 2nd floor. They look the same as the other night guard, but there are slight differences. It doesn’t work here. Do not respond to any and all of its attempts at getting your attention.
After 9 PM, don’t look out the floor-to-ceiling window on the 3rd floor. It will be difficult and the noise will only get louder, but it is strongly recommended that you do not look. Be patient, it will be gone.
Leave the opened file cabinets be.
Be mindful of upturned rubbish bins. If you see one, hide in an office and lock it. It’s some of the building’s inhabitants’ feeding time. Wait until the second set of footsteps passes, then you can come out.
On the 4th floor, there will be a man with glasses. Sometimes you’ll see a boy or a teenager instead, but the glasses are the same. Engage in conversation with him. Deny that you work here.
If the man finds you interesting, he will walk with you as you continue your routine check, and will eventually ask you to let him out. There is no telling how he’d react, but the best response is a polite rejection as you “don’t work here and don’t have the right.” He might use other means of persuasion, in which case defend yourself and/or negotiate with him as best as you can. This is where many people have failed the test.
Between the hours of 10:21 PM and 11:09 PM, it is imperative that you return to your office and monitor the building using the security camera system. Do not go out to the courtyard before your shift is over. Only the other security guard knows the rules to navigate it.
Camera #3 has to be off. If it turns on, cover it entirely.
At 1 AM, there will be two knocks on your door. You will open it and find no one outside. Remark on it aloud, then lock your door, both bolts. Sit with your back facing it.
The paper shredder near the right of your work desk might move when you are not looking. It is always unplugged. If it turns on and alerts you of jammed paper, don’t fix it. Fingers aren’t easy for us to scrub out.
You are to stay out of your office from 2:16 AM to 3:26 AM. No source of light other than your company-issued flashlight is permitted when you are in the halls at this time, including phones and other smart devices. They will deceive you.
Camera #11 will show a being running just off-screen. When it does, check your door three times to ensure that it’s locked. You will have to re-lock it.
The man with glasses will stand in front of the 4th floor's fire exit and look directly at Camera #7. There will be a banging on your door, which will increase in intensity. No matter how tempting it is, do not open the door under any circumstances.
The man will start to talk about how you look very similar to his best friends—a man with ginger hair who can "eat anything" and a curly-haired woman who is "smarter than Einstein" are described—and will plead with you to help him escape. If you are a man with blonde hair, it’s reported that instead of comparing you to his friends, he’ll threaten to “throw you into [redacted] to rot with your fucking father when [he] gets [his] hands on you," and grows extremely hostile. Do what you can to keep him from breaking the door down.
When a camera moves, turn off all the lights in your office. Hiding under the desk for at least five minutes is encouraged if you want to lessen the chances of the creature seeing you.
Remain in your office when you’re done with your tasks until dawn. After sunrise, you’re allowed to walk around inside the building. Leave using the front entrance when your shift ends at 6 AM.
I admit this doesn't sound fun at all. But as someone who’s worked here for longer than she can remember, once you’re used to all the quirks of this place, it’s worth it. High wages, no nosy bosses hovering over your shoulders, great benefits. You can do whatever you want in your office, as long as you follow the rules. Trust me, you’ll like this job.
Just keep an eye on the monitor and the clock, will you?
P.S: If you're able to read this postscript, I know you have a wand. Call me Muggle, No-Maj, whatever, but I’ve seen it all. Here’s a final piece of advice for people like you—your neat little sticks are useless here. Feel free to try, but it’s better to leave it at home than have a broken wand, no?
[crackling noise]
“Hello, uh, Jaclynn, is it?”
-Hey, Drake. And yeah! Ha, wow, this is kinda weird. I’ve never used a walkie-talkie before.-
“Me too. Um, question, do you have a… an old-looking… letter? On your desk? Maybe in a cabinet?”
-Oh, um.-
“Jaclynn?”
-You… received that document, too? With all the rules?-
“Yes, actually. Reckon it's some sort of idiotic prank by the last night guard, right.”
-I, I don’t know, to be honest. I mean… I thought it was, but it’s. It’s starting. Whatever’s going on, it’s right there in the rules.-
[pause]
“Shite.”
-Yeah, I get that. Fuck, I’m scared, haha, fuck. Is it starting for you, also?-
“Not for another, ah, 10 minutes. I can’t leave my office until then.”
-Okay. Okay. I’m not supposed to come into the building.-
“And I’m not supposed to come out to the courtyard.”
-Fuck.-
[pause]
[distant whistling]
-Fuck, fuck, it’s here. It’s here.-
“Okay, alright, stay calm. Stay alive. We both stay alive our first night, and I’ll, I’ll get us kebabs.”
-Not sounding too confident there, mister.-
“I promise. We adapt, we survive, we get our paycheck, and we eat good food. By 6 in the morning, we’ll meet by the front gate.”
-Goodness, Drake, that sounds so nice.-
“Mhmm. I’ll have this thing turned off the whole night, you should do the same. Read your rules, okay?”
-Same goes for you. You owe me kebabs and Indian, too.-
“Noted. Good luck, Jaclynn.”
-Don’t die, Drake.-
[crackling sound]
[silence]
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nerdythebard · 3 years
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#8: Adrian 'Alucard' Tepes [Castlevania]
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Surprise!
Told you I can do any fictional character. Feel free to send me your suggestions!
By the time I'm writing this, season 4 of Netflix's Castlevania shall hit our screens in two days. Because of that, I decided to do something special and build the main trio in D&D. We'll start with everybody's bundle of daddy issues - Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes aka Alucard. This half-vampire swordsman uses his charm and nimbleness to overpower his foes.
Next Time: Never tell this woman beer is better than sex with her, my man... see what happens.
Now, let's see what we need to bring Alucard into our D&D game.
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Errr... besides that.
Half-Blood Prince: Alucard is a half-vampire son of Dracula. He's quite an accomplished scholar, orator, and all-around high-class fella. His strength, speed, and intelligence are obviously above that of any mortal, but I'm afraid this is D&D, not anime. We have to balance it out.
Floaty Sword: Alucard's weapon of choice is a longsword he controls telekinetically. We don't see him doing much in terms of magic and spellcasting (besides occasional quick stride akin to teleportation), so we shall focus on this one weapon.
Tough: I mean... my dude fights either shirtless or in a trenchcoat and he still can take more Punchables™ than Mama said. What I mean is, we need some good AC on him.
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The issue of Alucard's race is pretty much non-existing; he's a half-vampire, there is a half-vampire option in D&D that is about to become official with the upcoming release of Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft.
Alucard is a Dhampir. We get to pick a +2 and +1 to two different stats of our choice, let's get +2 Dexterity and +1 Constitution. We get both walking AND climbing speed of 35 feet, 60 feet of Darkvision, and we get to speak Common and one other language of our choice. Most importantly, we get Vampiric Bite, which lets us use our teeth as natural weapons. We can add our Constitution modifier to both attack and damage rolls of our fangs, and the bite deals 1d4 piercing damage. If we're below 50% health, we have an advantage on the attack roll. We're not ourselves when we're hungry. If the creature we bite is not a construct or an undead, we can choose one of the following benefits:
regain Hit Points equal to the damage of our bite;
gain a bonus to the next ability check or attack roll we make (bonus equals the damage of our bite)
We can use those bite benefits the number of times equal to our proficiency bonus, and we regain all bites after finishing a long rest.
For Alucard's background, I feel like going with Noble is most fitting. We get proficiency with History and Persuasion, proficiency in one gaming set, we learn one language of our choice, and we gain the Position of Privilege feature; much like Shelter of the Faithful or Military Rank from previous builds, this one grants us ability to secure an audience with a noble, or use our status to gain entrance to more secured locations. Nobody tells the son of Dracula what he can or can't do!
ABILITY SCORES
If you ever seen Alucard, you know he's scoring 18 in every single thing right away. That makes him almost anime protagonist-level of awesome. However, once again, this is D&D. We must be fair and adhere to the rules:
We start with Constitution, as we're pretty difficult to hurt (our only weakness seems to be attractive Japanese hunters). Dexterity is next, it is our primary fighting ability, and we need it to be able to go shirtless into battle. We follow that up with Strength, we are nimble but we can still punch a full-on vampire in the face hard enough to make him feel it.
Intelligence is next, we've had Dracula's entire library to kill time, and we're pretty educated. Wisdom is a bit lower than we need it to be, but we did get outsmarted by two Belmont wannabes. We'll work on that. Unfortunately, we have to dump Charisma.
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H-hey! For my defence, he's been described as a teenager in an adult's body! He is educated and eloquent, but apart from that, his charm comes from how inept and awkward he is... err... it doesn't work, eh?
YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!
CLASS
Level 1 - Fighter: No big surprise there, we're not a caster or a tank, this is a damage-dealer build. As a Fighter, we get a d10 for our Hit Dice, [10 + Constitution modifier] starting Hit Points, proficiency with light armour, medium armour, heavy armour, shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons. We don't need armour for this build (we've seen Alucard using a shield in S4 trailer), and I think his sword is long and thin enough to count as a rapier. Our saving throws are Strength and Constitution, and we get to pick two class skills: Athletics and Acrobatics seems stereotypical, but they're really useful in this build.
Fighters at 1st level get to pick their Fighting Style, and if you remember Alucard's fight with Trevor, you know we're going with Duelling. This gives us a +2 to damage rolls with our weapon, as long as it's the only one we have in our hands, so we're dropping the shield. We also get Second Wind, letting us heal [1d10 + our Fighter level] once per short or long rest.
Level 2 - Fighter: At this level we get Action Surge, which lets us take one additional Action once per short or long rest.
Level 3 - Fighter: This is the level where we get to pick our subclass, our Martial Archetype. Now, if this build was done earlier, I would've picked Eldritch Knight (as Weapon Bond is especially tempting feature), but thanks once again to Tasha's Cauldron of Everything we have something that fits Alucard much better.
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Alucard is a Psi Warrior. He uses much less magic than Sypha, and his main tactic is to use his sword telekinetically. This subclass has everything we need. We start with Psionic Power, which gives us a [our proficiency bonus x2]d6 of Psionic Energy Dice, which can be used to perform special effects. We regain all Psionic Dice after finishing a long rest, but once per short or long rest we can also regain one dice as a bonus action, which is useful in a pinch. We begin with the following psychic effects:
Protective Field: when a creature within 30 feet of us takes damage, we can spend 1 Psionic Die as a reaction to reduce the damage by [the result + our Intelligence modifier].
Psionic Strike: Once on our turn, when we successfully deal damage to a target within 30 feet of us, we can spend 1 Psionic Die to add extra [the result + our Intelligence modifier] force damage.
Telekinetic Movement: As an action, we can select a loose object that is Large or smaller (or one willing creature other than ourselves), and move it up to 30 feet into an unoccupied space. Alternatively, we can summon a Tiny object directly to or from our hand. Our rapier is definitely not Tiny, but moving it as close as 1 foot and using a free action to pick it up is absolutely possible. Once we use this effect, we have to wait a short or long rest, or use a Psionic Die to use it again.
Level 4 - Fighter: It's time for our first Ability Score Improvement! Instead, however, we will pick a feat. Mobile feat along with a Dexterity-based character is truly a DM's bane. Our walking (and climbing) speed increases by 10 feet; when we use the Dash action, we are not affected by difficult terrain; when we make a melee attack against a creature, we do not provoke attacks of opportunity for the rest of the turn, regardless if we hit our target or not.
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Level 5 - Fighter: At this level we get Extra Attack. During our turn, as we take our Action, we can now attack twice instead of once. Combining that with Action Surge lets us attack four times on our turn.
It is also here that our Psionic Dice increases from d6 into d8.
Level 6 - Fighter: We get another ASI. Let's raise our Wisdom by 2 points. We need it to multiclass later.
Level 7 - Fighter: Our subclass gets upgraded with Telekinetic Adept. We now get two additional effects to pick for our Psionic Dice:
Psi-Powered Leap: As a bonus action, we gain flying speed of [our walking speed x2] feet until the end of our current turn. Once we take this effect, we cannot do it again until we finish a short or long rest, or spend a Psionic Die to do it again.
Telekinetic Thrust: When we use our Psionic Strike, we can force a Strength saving throw on our target (DC: 8 + our proficiency bonus + our Intelligence modifier). On a failed save, we can either knock the target prone, or move them 10 feet in any horizontal direction.
Level 8 - Fighter: Time for another ASI. Once again, we need to raise our Wisdom, but this time only by a single point. We'll put the other point into Strength, and let's get ready to multiclass into...
Level 9 - Monk: We shall now address Alucard's questionable choice of body protection... and by that I mean lack thereof. As a 1st-level Monk, we get Unarmoured Defence; when we're not wearing any armour, our AC equals [10 + our Dexterity modifier + our Wisdom modifier].
We also get our hand-to-hand combat upgraded with Martial Arts, which is going to be useful if we're somehow separated from our sword. While we're unarmed (or wielding monk weapons) and unarmoured (and with no shield), we gain the following benefits:
We can use Dexterity instead of Strength for attack and damage rolls of our unarmed strikes and monk weapons;
We can now roll a d4 for attack and damage rolls of our unarmed strikes (instead of our Strength or Dexterity modifier) and monk weapons;
When we Attack using unarmed strikes or monk weapons, we can spend a bonus action to do additional unarmed strike.
Level 10 - Monk: Halfway through the build, and we're getting access to the Monk's most important resource, the Ki energy. We start with 2 Ki Points, which we can spend to fuel some extra Monk abilities. Right from the start, we know three of those:
Flurry of Blows: Immediately after we Attack, we can spend 1 Ki Point to deal two extra unarmed strikes.
Patient Defence: We can burn 1 Ki Point to take a Dodge action as a bonus action.
Step of the Wind: For 1 Ki Point, we can take a Dash or Disengage action as a bonus action. Our jump distance also doubles for the turn.
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We also get extra speedy here with Unarmoured Movement. While not wearing armour or a shield, our walking speed increases by 10 feet.
Level 11 - Monk: At this level, we shall learn how to Deflect Missiles. Whenever we're hit by a ranged projectile, we can use our reaction to reduce the damage dealt by [1d10 + our Dexterity modifier + our Monk level]. If we manage to reduce the damage to 0, we can catch the projectile with a free hand and, using the same reaction, make a ranged attack (20/60) with the same projectile.
This is also the time to pick our second subclass, our Monastic Tradition. Now, originally I wanted to do Way of the Shadow to get some more of that vampiric sneak, but then I realize it's not exactly what Alucard does. Instead, we'll go Way of the Open Hand, to enhance our unarmed combat. With the Open Hand Technique feature, we gain a boost to our Flurry of Blows. Every time on of our Flurry strikes hits, we can apply one of the following effects:
Target must make a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone;
Target must make a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet;
Target cannot take reactions until the end of our next turn.
We also get Wholeness of Body to double-down on our vampiric regeneration. Once per long rest, we can use an action to regain Hit Points equal to [our Monk level x3].
It is also at this level that our Psionic Dice get upgraded to a d10.
Level 12 - Fighter: We return to our Jedi Psi Warrior, just in time to get the Indomitable feature. Once per long rest, we can reroll a saving throw we fail, but we must use the new result.
Level 13 - Fighter: Our subclass gets upgraded with Guarded Mind. We are now resistant to psychic damage. Additionally, we can spend a Psionic Die to shake off the charmed or frightened effects if we start our turn under influence of those.
Level 14 - Fighter: Here, our Extra Attack gets improved; now, we can attack three times when taking the Attack action.
Level 15 - Fighter: We get another ASI. Let's raise our Charisma by 2 point, to get rid of the negative modifier.
Level 16 - Fighter: We now get an improvement to our Indomitable feature. We can use it twice per long rest.
Level 17 - Fighter: For another ASI, we shall raise our Dexterity by 2 points.
Level 18 - Fighter: We get the final upgrade for our subclass in this build. By using Bulwark of Force, we can protect ourselves and others. As a bonus action, we can choose a number of creatures within 30 feet that we can see (ourselves included), equal to our Intelligence modifier. The chosen creatures gain the benefit of half-cover for 1 minute, or until we're incapacitated. Once again, we can use it once per long rest, unless we spend a Psionic Die to use it again.
Level 19 - Fighter: For our final ASI we shall raise our Wisdom and Intelligence.
Level 20 - Fighter: Our capstone is Fighter 17. We get three uses of Indomitable per long rest, and two uses of Action Surge, which effectively gives us ability to perform nine attacks on a single target.
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And that is my take on Alucard from Castlevania. Let's see how he presents himself:
First of all, we're a very speedy boi, with basic speed of 55 feet, with Step of the Wind giving us ability to double that movement. We also have a solid Hit Point base, 181 on average. We can make multiple attacks with Action Surge and Extra Attack, and even if we get disarmed, we can handle ourselves with bare hands.
On the other hand, our Charisma makes those particular saving throws a bit difficult. Same thing with our Intelligence, which modifier fuels some of our subclass abilities. We also have a relatively low AC (16 unarmoured), but we do have several skills attributing to avoiding getting hit (the Mobile feat, Patient Defence, etc.)
---
Anyhoo, that's it for Alucard. Next time, it's everybody's favourite tomboy wizard!
- Nerdy out!
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chilly-me-softly · 3 years
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Every Little Thing's Gonna Be Alright • Chapter 23
Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19 - Chapter 20 - Chapter 21 - Chapter 22
A few months later the situation between Evelyn and Jack was quite stable, both of them very happy with their relationship and always doing their best to see each other as much as possible. Not everything had always been rosy, of course, sometimes distance or small misunderstandings turning into big ones had contributed to create bumps along the way. But the two of them always found a way to fix things, either in person or from a distance.
Cece continued to grow pampered by everyone, giving smiles and babbles here and there. It was impressive how much she had achieved in that time, how she could keep everyone trapped around her little finger. How much love Evelyn felt for that little creature who every day added a brick to her personal growth and development.
Another football season was coming to an end and Jack had made her a proposal she'd had a lot to think about recently. Villa's last game would be at home and not only had Jack asked her to go to the game, but also to take part in the traditional lap of honour to thank all the fans for their support during the season.
Needless to say, she had taken a few days to think about it. Taking part in the event would certainly have meant first of all making their relationship public, exposing not only her but also Cece and giving the green light to various gossips and unwanted free opinions. On the other hand, however, there was being able to spend time with him, in his world. Taking the relationship a step further.
It was in those moments that she realised that her good intention to think less and act more would be more difficult to carry out. If she could let herself loose on some things, well, there was still something of her old self that surfaced from time to time. It was always like that, she knew from the start that she would eventually go but until that day she wouldn't stop worrying about this and that, about what might happen....
As she sits on the bed keeping an eye on Cece who is playing with the puppet given to her by Ben, Jack phones her. A smile automatically forms on her face as she runs her finger across the screen to accept the call. It's time to give him an answer.
"Hey you"
"Hi. Where are you? Doesn't look like your room to me or am I wrong"
"We're in Ben's room. Apparently this girl here got bored of hers" Evelyn shifts her phone slightly to also frame Cece who continues to chew on that bear's ear she holds in her hands undisturbed.
"Who is he? Who is he? Is he Jack?" she coos as the little girl pays attention to that familiar figure she now sees regularly, waving her little legs and babbling something making Jack smile.
"Hi sweety! Hi! I miss you so much"
"So I have news for you"
"Really?"
"Don't act like you didn't call just for that" he chuckles throwing a quick glance at the calendar where the date is marked a thousand times with a black marker.
"So what did you decide?"
"Well me and my girl have been consulting a lot"
"Oh yeah?" he interrupts her smiling cheekily as he closes one hand in a fist and uses it to hold up his head.
"Yeah" she teases him sticking her tongue out at him as Cece starts opening and closing her hand to greet him.
"Ha ha she doesn't like it when you're a smartass. Tell him we're not going anymore"
"That's not true!" his voice almost covers the last part of what she's saying but in reality he's understood all too well that in a few days he'll be able to hold them both again, and the smile on his face cancels out the poor attempt to claim he's offended.
"Say bye bye to Jack"
"Nah she likes me"
"To sleep, sure. I'm a little jealous to be honest she has the blanket with your scent on it though"
"You have me" he promptly replies as she bites her lip moving her gaze out of the camera frame.
And they continue to talk as they always do, the confirmation took a load off both of them, with Jack most of the time just watching the two girls while Evelyn plays with Cece wishing time could move faster. Until they are forced to interrupt the conversation due to a nappy change and the little one has already hit her with the puppet a couple of times.
-
Evelyn and Cece arrived at Jack's a few days before the last game of the season. He has promised that sooner or later they will also be able to get out of that house and maybe take a walk in the park taking advantage of the beautiful days the weather is offering, but the first few days are for him and no one else.
He comes home after the last training session of the season a little later than usual because he stopped for a little extra with some teammates and finds no one downstairs. As he goes upstairs, however, Evelyn's voice and Cece's little cries become more and more indistinct enough to take him to his room, and when he opens that door he can't help but smile. The two of them are playing tenderly with Evelyn leaning over to kiss the little one's tummy and the baby laughing moving her tiny hands, closing her fists around her mommy's hair.
He can't help himself when Cece won't let go of a lock of Evelyn's hair causing her to moan, laughing and blowing his cover. Evelyn looks up at him immediately lighting up and signalling for him to come closer.
"We have a surprise for you" she tells him and his curiosity immediately ignites so much that he almost runs making those few steps that separate him from the bed.
"What is it?" Evelyn simply shifts her gaze between him and the girl wanting to point at something and he after a moment gets the message by lowering his gaze, his eyes immediately falling on the Villa crest and wandering over the small kit trying to find differences from the usual. But it's only when Cece rolls onto her side, showing part of the Grealish name on her back, that he swears his heart has stopped beating for a few moments.
Cece's kit had always been plain, no name no number on the back. Evelyn had always felt on the edge for a choice that was so simple on the outside but actually brought up so many questions. Should she have had 'Daddy' written on it? No it was too soon. What did Jack think, was it too much? And again, does using his surname mean forcing him to take responsibility? What are we? Geez, the fight with her madness was really open.
And it was Jack who had then put an end to her paranoia, as always, and bought a small plain kit, giving her further time to clear her head and be satisfied with the fact that for the time being she would still wear the kit while supporting the team he played for.
"Since we're only going to see each other tomorrow when the game is over, we made a preview just for you" Evelyn pulled him back into the room and he reached out to the little girl taking her in his arms.
"Probably for the best or Jack would have cried in front of the whole stadium. Don't you think so too?" he murmurs cuddling the little girl, who seems to just want to reach up his nose, under Evelyn's tender gaze.
"I can't wait for tomorrow now. I mean look at this!" Jack lifts her up in the air like in the Lion King scene so he can look at that name once more and Evelyn can't help but laugh at the boy's excitement, happy it was the right choice after months.
The atmosphere in the stadium is something sensational, but she wouldn't have expected less to be honest. That's how it is when someone cares about a team, you stick together through thick and thin. It's a mutual kind of love. It doesn't matter if the previous week went well or badly, every time you try to do your best on one side and show all the support on the other. And that season for Villa had not gone badly at all, no one's fate depended on that game but it was still an opportunity and should be taken as such.
That hour and a half passed between watching something of the game, entertaining Cece, chatting with some of the girls she had already met in the previous months until the final whistle blew and little by little everyone began to prepare to take the field. Having fulfilled their duties more or less, even the players can finally allow themselves to relax. Jack is quick to find them and take Cece in his arms leaving her a loud kiss on the cheek, happy for the win and the moment.
"Ready?" Evelyn just nods, following Jack around the field but still remaining a little on the sidelines allowing him to do what he needs to do, greet the fans and enjoy the moment. More than ever she can understand when both he and her brother referred to those people as a second family, seeing them all gathered there happy and smiling joking with each other or playing with their kids. Everyone seems to know everyone, everyone is nice to everyone and she really has a good time getting to know this new family.
Once home and having put Cece to bed, who had fallen asleep in the midst of all the commotion, the two of them enjoy a moment alone snuggled up on the sofa.
"Today was nice"
"Evelyn" Jack sighs and she waits for him to continue, but when that doesn't happen she lifts her head from his chest meeting his eyes, "Move in here"
"What? Are you sure? Just know it's different from having us here only once in a while"
"I want everything. I want you here every day when I wake up or when I go to sleep. I want you here to cheer me up or have fun together. I want to live both of you every day, I want to be part of your lives fully, make this our home and I don't want to worry anymore that you might leave. I want to give you everything I'm capable of and build something strong with you" Jack strokes her cheek softly.
"So what do you say?"
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I just want to let you know that there won't be a chapter next week, I need to focus on something else but I'll be back for the last chapters normally then. In the meantime I hope you enjoyed this one x
Tag: @alexajanecollins @emwritesfootball @rosie7703
Chapter 24
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sonicasura · 3 years
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Balan Wonderworld Review: Favorite Costumes Part 2
Before we get started, I like to say something. I ABSOLUTELY DESPISE TIM TRAPS. If you don't know, there is a specific plant that tends to appear in certain levels called Tim Traps. A carnivorous orange flower that's favorite meal is TIMS. If you kick the plants, you can free your Trapped Tim or prevent one from getting trapped for a short period of time. Problem is if the Tim is trapped for too long, your baby is gone for good. Chapter 3 and Chapter 5's Act 3 are loaded with these annoying plants. To the point if I can't find the trapped Tims, I exit out of the game just to save my poor fluffballs. Ain't sacrificing my little birds for Drops and Trophies! Mini rant over.
Rules are the same as before. I'd be ranking both a Common Costume and Rare Costume. Common Costumes are easily to find whether it be in multiple levels and Rare Costumes are those that rarely appear or are difficult to get.
I'll be doing my favorite Secret Costume after playing all Act 3s for each chapter. Now let's begin.
Chapter 7
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Common Costume- Floaty Flower
The Flower Fairy and greatest glider found in the main story. Floaty Flower is a costume that can be found in the Act 1, 2 and the Boss Act, it offers a slower descent but faster movement than the hover for Soaring Sheep.
I love this costume not for its aesthetic but a cute Easter Egg I found in Chapter 7 Act 1. On rare occasions, this costume is an NPC that actually flirts with you! Some NPCs in certain chapters act differently from their standard counterpart. They often try to disguise themselves or runaway. Catching them grants you a free costume of the one you caught.
Floaty Flower will appear and follow you, similar to a shy school girl with a crush. If you go to her, she will run which is a similar action to any shy person getting approached by their crush. Also... I think there is some lore hidden in this one that might be quite sad if it's directly linked to Cal, the human whose heart created this particular world. If so then... OOF.
Rare Costume - Paladin Puncher
A knight fights with his fists than a sword. This costume can be found in Act 2 and is a stronger version of the Pumpkin Puncher that can break iron or ice blocks. He's a bit slower than his Chapter 6 counterpart but perfect breaking the more blocks and defeating spiky enemies.
I also love the fact this costume goes against the traditional tools of a knight. Knights often fight using swords, shields, lances and rare occasions bows or axes. If you give me one who PUNCHES or straight uses martial arts to fight then you got my vote in seconds.
Chapter 8
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Common Costume - Snow Fairy
Elegant dancer of ice and snow. The Snow Fairy costume allows the wearer to walk on air for a short period of time and can in found in Act 1 and Act 2. This costume does have a shorter usage time than Air Cat but makes up for it with the added elevation.
I absolutely adore how elegant and beautiful this particular costume is. You can compare the Snow Fairy to myths often related to fae or hidden in the freezing mountains. An otherworldly beauty that makes any hardship worth seeing just a being before your eyes. Being a reindeer type Faun just adds to the mystique and creating snowflakes to walk on is a perfect extra touch.
Rare Costume - Amadeus
Sophisticated pianist. A costume that can only be found in Act 1 and is a performing costume. Now I am a big fan of piano covers, whether it be covers of game osts or actual songs, there is rarely any piano music I don't like.
I love the fact he's wearing piano keys as a collar and even has a tutu made out of those very keys. A very creative take to a normally grounded instrument. And the big white wig is a nice touch since it's often portrayed with pianists in various media.
Chapter 9
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Common Costume- Iron Panda
Adorable crusher. Iron Panda is a costume found in Act 1 and Act 2 with the ability to break iron blocks using both its jump and weight. This costume is surprisingly fast for a rather large and heavy form, perfect for fast stomps on enemies or quick getaways if you have rare costumes you don't want to lose.
This costume reminds of a rolling Russian Doll with a panda theme. Very adorable, the bluish purple color suits the white very nicely and I love that sleepy look on its face. The large blue dots on its sides are actually the arms too, they mimic panels! Only thing that unnerves me is when the costume turns their head by a 90 degree angle. Super creepy when using it.
Rare Costume- Merry Ghost
Cute and Spooky! The Merry Ghost is a costume that can be found in Act 2 and gives the ability to constantly float. It's main purpose is to avoid ground hazards like poison swamps and has a larger slightly floaty jump. The only downside is that you can't harm enemies with this, it's only for quick mobility.
Very adorable especially with the stitched rag cloak covering the body. It has this Mimikyu sort of vibe but also a Casper the Friendly Ghost aura too. Friendly spirits are often tossed aside for more vicious or antagonistic ones in a lot of media. Getting an adorable friendly one just adds points in my book and a good pal for Casper.
Chapter 10
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Common Costume - Inky Blaster
Yuji Naka's take on a squid kid. This costume can be found in Act 1, Act 2 and the Boss Act. She allows the wearer to throw fast globs of rainbow paint at opponents or targets and is decently agile.
Love that her hands are paintbrushes and is based on the octopus. Tentacles mimicking the frills of a dress and used for hair and feet? A very creative take and splattering rainbow paint on the annoying types of Negati (looking at you ya divebomb happy Pelican and destroyer of most of my good costumes) is very therapeutic.
Rare Costume- Air Unicorn
The first unicorn I like?! This costume can only be found in Act 1 and allows the user to walk on air farther than Air Cat. The practical godfather of mobility, and recovery. You won't believe how many times this costume has gotten me to very difficult areas and saved me from death via falling into the abyss.
It is a very tricky costume to find but if you turn around, there's a large paintbrush on the wall. You need the Double Jumper to get on top but you'll be able to see a hidden mirror. That is where the Air Unicorn is located.
I won't lie that unicorns are not my preferred mythological creature. I live in America where unicorns tend to be oversaturated to oblivion and don't get me started on My Little Pony. The show isn't my cup of tea but I do have some followers and friends who are fans. People have their own opinions and it's rude to question them about it.
I honestly love the elegant but cute design, the purple, pale pink and cyan just fit well with the white, I also love that the mane mimics a paintbrush tip and the large light purple collar of fur is a perfect touch to this fine design.
Chapter 11
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Common Costume - Bulldozer
A man's punny best friend! This costume can be in Act 1, Act 2 (?), and the Boss Act. It lets you push special construction blocks and you can boost the push speed by button mashing.
They definitely took a lot of creative for costumes in Chapter 11 amongst the other ones in my opinion. Fire Stations tend to have some animal companions with dogs being the most common but instead of a Dalmatian for the design they used a Bulldog! 😍
Like the aforementioned machine, this good boy is bulky, has the appropriate color scheme and even the hands turn into bulldozer's shovel when using the ability! I love the fact his tail is wagging when you push a block and it wags faster if ya button mash!
Also the name is a pun!
Rare Costume - Fiery Blaster
Pyromancer of Lions. The Fiery Blaster costume can only be found in Act 2. It gives the wearer that ability to throw large fireballs alongside fire and lava immunity. If you hate lava levels or have difficulty with this Chapter's boss then I recommend getting this Costume.
First thing I like to say about this particular design is how they use the colors. Looking at the mane, you can see how the red and darker red are patterned in a way to mimic flames. The dark red fur on the feet are even in fire like a pattern. The outfit such as the yellow and brownish kilt alongside the gloves spewing fire around the wrists just reminds me of a fire dancer.
I can see this fella wielding one of the torches a fire dancer uses and just put on a spectacular show.
Chapter 12
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Another loveable version of a beloved icon. The Invisible Man costume can be found in Act 1, Act 2 and the Boss Act. It has the power to turn the wearer invisible for a period of time and become undetected to enemies that aren't bosses.
Agile and perfect to deal with enemies who are very annoying or are difficult snipers. You don't know how satisfying it is to give the more aggravating Negati an invisible middle finger by sneak attacking them. I have lost many costumes whenever enemies got the drop on me so it's fair to dish out payback.
I love how this design takes aspect from the popular icon but also have it relate to their human counterpart. Bandages were used by the original Invisible Man to cover skin his normal clothing couldn't cover in public and made it easier for him to disappear when needed.
The shoes and arms being covered in bandages and some of the bandages being used as bangs for the hair is a nice touch.
Rare Costume - Jolt Tiger
Immovable Taser. This costume can only be found in Act 2. It grants electricity immunity and create a barrier when you stand still. One of the better costumes for baiting particular enemies. You do have to be careful because a single itch will stop the barrier.
If you don't know, the Tiger is my Chinese Zodiac and electricity is one of my favorite elements. Love the yellow lightning bolt flairs and even the black stripes mimic lightning too! I also like the will o' wisp pattern on the stomach and the large tuft of grayish fur around the chest. The design puts it above the Sun Walker.
And that is it! The next thing I will cover is the level design and it's music. The bosses will be done last since it's good to save the best for last!
Until next time folks, see you back in Wonderworld.
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baoshan-sanren · 4 years
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Chapter 27
of the wwx emperor au I’m thinking of calling Lan QiRen’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week oh god it’s only gonna get worse
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 Part 1 | Chapter 8 Part 2 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 Part 1 | Chapter 15 Part 2 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 Part 1 | Chapter 22 Part 2 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Chapter 25 | Chapter 26
WangJi is not familiar with YiLing.
His first sight of the town had been marred by the stress of the six day travel, and all the unpleasantness that the trip had encompassed.  Their inability to find any accommodations for the Lan Sect escort had also contributed to the unfavorable impression. Overall, YiLing is not much smaller than Gusu, but significantly older, its streets and canals having sprouted wherever they were needed.
There is symmetry and regularity to Gusu that has always appealed to WangJi’s need for clearly discernible orderliness; it had been designed with care, roads proportionally wide to the demand, the street market restricted to specific areas built to accommodate the resulting foot traffic.
In contrast, YiLing had formed itself around a popular trade route both by land and by water, and had grown as the fame of the Immortal Mountain had grown, without any order or forethought. Some alleys are wider than the main roads, some are cobblestones and the others dirt, and in some, stubborn weeds and vines have taken root, choking the nearby walls and hedges. Some canals have so many bridges, that one could cross half of YiLing just hopping across them; some only have single, narrow bridge, and those are perpetually clogged by carts and carriages. Handsome mansions sit next to houses of ill repute, next to tanneries and farriers, the stench mixing heavily in the day’s heat. The street markets have taken root wherever there is space, and in many places where they clearly should not have, their stands and awnings blocking the thoroughfare. The result is haphazard at best, an overwhelming chaos made worse by the seven-day festival in honor of the Emperor’s birthday.
Wei WuXian loves it.
WangJi can hardly keep up with him. It is a relief to know that Nie MingJue has stationed multiple members of the Nie Sect throughout the town, because Wei WuXian seems to have entirely forgotten to worry about his own safety. Everything is fascinating to him; everything is new, and exciting, and worthy of exclaiming over. Not a single piece of cloth, or an ornament, or a children’s toy has been overlooked. Wei WuXian has to touch everything, ask about everything, haggle over everything. His smile is so wide and bright that WangJi is finding it hard to focus on anything else. Multiple times, he has found Wei WuXian’s hand wrapped around his wrist, tugging on his sleeve, pressing on his shoulder. He is like a child who needs to see everything, but also needs WangJi to see it as well, even if Wangji hardly has time to offer an opinion, before being tugged to the next stand, the next alley, the next bridge.
Wei WuXian has dressed to blend in. His robes are dark gray, lined in red, sleeves tightly tied off at the wrists. It is a uniform more suited to a rogue cultivator, or perhaps a second or third young master of a middling clan. But WangJi is certain that no set of dark, unadorned robes would ever prevent Wei WuXian from standing out. His smile is infectious; people smile back without meaning to, as if compelled by some invisible force. Those that do not, are still left looking dazed, blinking into the space where his smile had been moments ago. The red ribbon in Wei WuXian’s hair is perhaps the most conspicuous part of his outfit, fluttering as he darts from one corner of the street to another, a bright splash of color WangJi can easily follow even when left behind.
“Did you know you look an awful lot like the Emperor?” an old lady says to him, and Wei WuXian laughs loudly, turning to WangJi.
“Did you hear that Lan Zhan? What do you think? Am I as handsome as the Emperor?”
WangJi feels his face heat, but Wei WuXian is already skipping away, exclaiming over a row of grass butterflies. He buys three of them for A-Yuan, then dashes to the next colorful thing, a row of bright scarves embroidered with lotus flowers.
They have long lost sight of Nie MingJue and XiChen; WangJi knows they had not intended to stick closely to one another throughout the evening, as the sight of two Lan Sect members together may raise suspicion. They do not know if the assassin or their accomplices have eyes and ears in YiLing; the rumors in the Immortal Mountain City have placed the Young Masters of the Lan Sect in the Imperial Gardens, along with the Emperor, and Jiang WanYin had been quite insistent that they do nothing to compromise the plans set in motion. Both WangJi and XiChen had dressed simply enough to be mistaken for the Lan Sect escort still residing outside the YiLing proper, but once they are standing side by side, their resemblance is difficult to ignore. Still, WangJi knows his brother will worry, and wishes he could at least catch a glimpse of him in the crowded streets.
“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! Look at this!”
Wei WuXian had stumbled upon rows of paper lanterns, each one delicately painted with a different woodland creature in careful strokes. These are, by no means, the first paper lanterns they have seen on their trek across the market. Later in the evening, when the darkness fully sets, thousands of them will be released to the sky, as is tradition on every fifth day of the Emperor’s birthday festival. But these are the first lanterns WangJi has not found visually overwhelming, and he watches Wei WuXian haggle with the merchant for a little while, before simply stuffing the amount the man had wanted into his hands.
“Lan Zhan! He was going to sell it for less!”
The man shoots Wei WuXian a look that clearly says he was not going to do any such thing, but WangJi does not care either way.
“Which one?” he asks, and that is all it takes for Wei WuXian to become distracted again, exclaiming over hedgehogs and deer, until he settles on a lantern depicting a white rabbit.
“Do you like rabbits, Lan Zhan?”
WangJi nods. He has never before considered his feelings about rabbits in any detail, but now, he finds himself quite fond of them.
“Hm, I think we should eat. What do you think? After, we can find a peaceful spot to watch the lantern festival.”
Anything with a word peaceful in it is more than satisfactory to WangJi, and he nods again, letting Wei WuXian pull him to the nearest winehouse.
The common room is crowded and loud, the stench of alcohol mixing with the sharp scent of spices. Majority of the patrons seem to be merchants, but WangJi sees a few cultivator swords leaning against the table edges, despite the fact that their owners lack discernible sect uniforms. YiLing has always been a popular town for rogue cultivators. The Immortal Empress herself had belonged to no sect or clan, and each year, even the largest Sects see a number of disciples leave to strike out on their own, the idea of being anchorless and sectless doubtlessly more romantic in theory than it turns out being in truth. Still, WangJi is more focused on ascertaining if any of them are Sect members in disguise, than he is on Wei WuXian’s conversation with the serving girl.
Once the proprietor approaches however, he finally recognizes that there is an issue.
A single glance at the man’s face explains the situation fully, and WangJi steps closer to Wei WuXian, who is still visibly confused.
“We should leave,” WangJi says softly.
Wei WuXian does not listen. The common room is crowded, but there are clearly at least two unoccupied tables, and Wei WuXian does not understand why the serving girl would pretend otherwise.
The proprietor, unlike the serving girl, has no qualms about speaking plainly, “The Lan sect is not welcome here.”
WangJi had remained a few steps behind Wei WuXian, and cannot see the expression on his face, but he can perceive the telltale stiffening of his shoulders, the tightening of his grip on the sword. WangJi feels a moment of pity for XiChen, having to deal with his own eerily similar reaction in MoLing.
“Excuse me?” Wei WuXian says, his voice cold.
The exchange has drawn notice of the few nearby tables, most of them occupied by men who clearly know how to use their swords, and WangJi can see this situation escalating past the point where it can be managed peacefully.
He grabs Wei WuXian by the elbow and pulls him backwards, stepping in front of him.
“Forgive my friend,” he says, bowing to the proprietor, “he meant no offense. We are leaving.”
He has to physically push Wei WuXian outside. The line of his back is iron hard under WangJi’s hand, and his grip on the sword has not loosened.
“How dare he?” he bursts out, before they are even fully in the street, and WangJi pushes him harder, hoping to put some distance between them and the common room as quickly as possible.
“Do not be angry,” he says softly.
“Do not be angry?” Wei WuXian spits out, fury making his voice vibrate, “By the time I am done, he will be lucky to run a QiShan whorehouse!”
WangJi steers him down an empty alley, afraid that someone might decide to follow, “We are in disguise. The proprietor mistook you for a rogue cultivator. He did not know that he was insulting the Emperor.”
“He knew he was insulting you!” Wei WuXian whirls to face him, his expression outraged.
This is the second time WangJi has seen him angry in response to the mistreatment of the Lan Sect. It is just as overwhelming as the last time, and he is equally as incapable of formulating the correct response.
“This is YiLing,” he says, “the home of the Empress. The Lan Sect has never been welcome here.”
“Are you saying that they are all like this?” Wei WuXian’s voice is dangerous now, and WangJi does not know how to answer that question in a way that will deescalate the situation.
He should have known that this would happen. He should have steered Wei WuXian away from the places that he knows are likely to refuse to serve him.
It was stupid and thoughtless of him to forget. The evening had been going so well. Wei WuXian had been genuinely happy, and now he is furious, and WangJi does not know how to fix what he had broken.
Feeling agitated and unsure, he reaches for Wei WuXian’s hand, “Do not be angry. The street merchants will not care what sect I am from. We can buy food from them.”
He watches Wei WuXian’s anger bleed away in a rush, but it is replaced by frustration and grief, both nearly as crushing as the anger had been.
His fingers press into the back of WangJi’s hand, “Is it like that everywhere?”
“Sometimes,” WangJi says, “but it does not matter right now. You wanted to eat. We should do so before the festival starts, and the streets become crowded. Come on.”
He tugs Wei WuXian slightly, desperate that the subject be dropped, desperate for the return of the happy, smiling Wei WuXian, who seemed to not have a care in the world.  
Wei WuXian lets himself be led, but it is a long time before he smiles again.
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petri808 · 3 years
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Bakudeku canon divergent, vampire quirk AU
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24
When Bakugou finally woke up in the Ena City Hospital, his head was splitting worse than a punch from Kirishima in full quirk, and ears rang with the force of all 108 New Year’s bell tolls. If he’d had no memory of the night before, Bakugou swore he’d just survived the worst hangover in history. Even his eyes hurt from the bright, piercing fluorescent lights and they weren’t even open! He turned his head to the side, noticing how much effort it took just to shift in such a small manner. It was as if his body was drained of... “Ugh, that bastard,” he groaned. ‘Fucker bit me.’ And as if to add insult to injury, a pin-prick pain in his neck revealed itself in that revelation.
His arm flopped up, hand straining with jerky strokes, reaching to touch the fresh bite wound located at the junction of his neck and shoulder. He flinched at the tender, bruising pain that sent a shock down his spine. Son-of— This just in! Pro Hero Dynamite cast in one of those cliché vampire movies that went straight to video. Definitely not the career start he’d envisioned.
“Oh, good you’re finally awake Mr. Bakugou.”
“Who the fuck are you?” he spat at the male voice. “And can someone turn the fucking lights off?!”
“I am Doctor Ishihira, and my apologies,” the doctor flicked off the overhead light. “Is that better?”
“Yeah,” he grumped.
“Mr. Bakugou, you were found yesterday morning and brought in suffering from hypovolemic shock due to severe blood loss and dehydration. We’ve treated you with 3 liters of IV fluids and blood plasma to bring your numbers back up, however you’ll still be groggy until your body replenishes the nutrients you were stripped of.”
Over a day had passed! At hearing he’d been out cold for so long, Bakugou immediately clenched his fists, swearing up and down about being released until they threatened to sedate him for longer. Longer?! He begrudgingly relented and settled down, but damn it! That meant Midoriya had another head start on him again! And now that the man knew he was on his trail, finding him would be a lot more difficult!
“What the hell is hypo-whatever shock?” Bakugou questioned.
“When you were found, you were in and out of consciousness and rambling incoherently, all signs of severe blood loss. The fatigue you’re still feeling is also due to the effects of it. Luckily the amount of loss wasn’t enough to start shutting down your organs.”
The doctor continued explaining a few more details regardless of the tantrum like a robot. Minor injuries he’d been treated for. The obvious puncture wounds in his neck, questioning Bakugou about any description he could provide of his attacker. He wasn’t about to tell this doctor or any authority figure who the true culprit was, so he feigned a temporary retrograde amnesia. Based on a raised brow, peering over his glass’s expression, the doctor didn’t look very convinced. Oh well, Bakugou really didn’t care about the man’s opinion.
“Mr. Bakugou, we also called you parents…”
“You what?!” Bakugou tried to jump off the bed, but his body absolutely refused to respond and ended up flopping like a dying fish. Ugh! He really was worse off than he’d thought.
“I’m sorry, but you are a minor, so we were obligated to do so. However, they did give us permission to treat and release you on your own recognizance once we felt you were better.”
Well, that was good news. ‘Sounds like mom actually listened to my letter.’ Or the authorities surely would have shown up by now. “Ugh! So, how much longer am I stuck here?”
“If you continue to recover well, tomorrow morning.”
Fuck! Now a three-day head start! Just great, he groaned. Midoriya could get far away with that kind of a jump start. “Fine, whatever! Now go the fuck away.”
The doctor left the room after explaining how nurses will be monitoring his progress, but to also let them know if anything started to feel worse. They needed to know if he developed any lasting effects from organ damage. Once he was alone again, Bakugou rolled gingerly onto his side as his mind processed the new information. Whatever Midoriya had been hit with must be the cause of this weird blood thirst that resembled a goddamn vampire plot line. Perhaps the significance of the blood coloring in his eyes was a sign of that thirst taking hold? That’ll be a handy tell, too bad it seemed to appear within seconds of the next step.
But if Midoriya had just fed on a victim, and history showed at times, a span of days before the next incident, what had caused his friend to attack him so fast? Was this thirst like a hunger? And what happens when you exercise or exert yourself? You use up energy. ‘Duh, Katsuki.’ Fighting and expending all that energy must have triggered the attack. ‘Wow, it burns fast.’ That meant Midoriya probably struggled to control this thirst, and that’s why he was pleading for him to leave him alone. But sorry, he couldn’t do that. ‘Fucker shouldn’t have run!’ One way or another he is getting his friend back home where he belonged. In fact, this only made his drive to find Midoriya stronger because he felt like he was partially to blame for the predicament his friend was in. The guy had to be scared, freaked out, and lonely. Bakugou’s heart clenched at the thought. He knew his friend was a social person by nature who loved being around friends and family. To be stuck out here all by himself and too frightened because of whatever this new quirk was had to be horrible… and utterly not fair. Of course, he did have a tendency to isolate himself when he feared…
Bakugou groaned. “Kami, not again with this shit!” When was Midoriya gonna learn to stop running away!
As his eyes relented to the fatigue and his mind slipped back into unconsciousness, Bakugou could only pray he’ll get a lead as soon as he got out of this hospital. This strange new quirk, if that’s really what it was, posed a serious danger not only to Midoriya, but the public. The reputation of pro hero’s had taken a major hit already because of AFO and the league, so if the public found out about a blood drinking hero attacking people… ‘I gotta get you out of here…’
After his encounter with Bakugou, Midoriya had rushed out of town as quickly as possible. Tears poured down his cheeks as he took off into the sky from having given in to the lust of this uncontrollable quirk. But he couldn’t stop it even if he’d wanted to. He’d learned the hard way right at the beginning that once it took hold of his mind, the only thing he could do was give-in or succumb to an even worse ravenous state that literally hurt. The pain of holding out on the hunger made him feel like a starved predatory animal that tore at his insides until he relented. In this state, the blood of any creature that came too close became a meal. But it was never enough. Animal blood didn’t satiate him in the same way that human blood did. Plus, he worried that if he let it get completely out of control, he might just end up killing someone. So far, he’d been lucky to leave them all unconscious but alive.
It was obvious that the light AFO had hit him with contained this strange quirk. How ironic, to take down a villain, only to be turned into one. That’s how Midoriya felt. How else could he feel? A hero wouldn’t hurt other people, so by taking the blood of others for sustenance, that made him a villain. Therefore, he couldn’t be a hero anymore. It must have been AFO’s plan all along once he’d realized he was losing. The villains end goal was to ruin hero society and this was definitely one way to do it. Take out his primary rival. The man poised to carry on a torch of safety and security, and snuff out any who chose to do harm… The whole situation with Bakugou really turned this into a nightmare out of body experience. To see his friend’s eyes suddenly show fear, then fade away the more he drank… his mouth clamped to the man’s neck… it was a horrible imagine that was sure to haunt him. He could still smell the burnt cinnamon from such a close encounter. If only he had clothes to change into or even a pond to bathe in, because that lingering scent was gonna drive him mad!
Midoriya curled up and clenched his eyes shut tight in an abandoned and overgrown castle he’d found outside of Ena. It didn’t look like it’s been maintained for a very long time, so the likelihood of a human showing up seemed low. He knew he should have travelled farther away, but he was too tired, too upset and just wanted to quit. All the years of growing up quirkless, to gain OFA and become the very thing he’d dreamt of, only for those dreams to be dashed again. It was as if life just didn’t want him to be a real hero. Maybe he should just put himself out of his misery, and yet— he couldn’t do it. To die out here alone where no one knew where he was or what had become of him, that wasn’t fair to his family and friends…
They must be so worried about him right now. His poor mother didn’t deserve any of this. Would his friends look down on him now? And All Might, his idol, who’d taken him under his wing, was he disappointed? And that just left Bakugou. He’d said the truth in answering the man’s question. No, Midoriya never would have expected him to come looking. Katsuki Bakugou giving a damn about him? Yeah, right. Bakugou wasn’t doing this because he cared. There was always a selfish reason behind his madness. Fear. Anger. Jealousy. Shouldn’t big bad Dynamight be thrilled that his biggest rival was gone?
Okay that was a big, fat white lie he’d been telling himself for the last two years. He knew Bakugou had moved past those pettier behaviors, but it was simply easier to believe and keep their relationship as rivals than to hope his childhood friend would ever see him as something else. And yet… ‘Kacchan was genuinely surprised by my answer. Did he really come looking for me because he cared that much?’ Yet in what way? Why was the man trying so hard? Did he… ‘miss me?’
Midoriya shook his head violently of those thoughts. No, no, he didn’t want to believe that because it would make this situation even more unbearable than it already was! He’d already given up everything he’d ever loved. His hopes and dreams, a future and losing an affection he’d craved for years would just simply be too much.
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shadowdianne · 3 years
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A friend who is actually starting to write her own book sent me a little thing back at instagram which was a cute version of inktober. For each day of august a prompt of word. She asked me to do it with her, as a way of making her write even a short paragraph each day and motivate her. I said yes, but since I'm quite the overachiever I did all previous days plus today and my plan is to do them all now that I'm up to date with the ones I was "supposed" to have done. Anyway, the rules we set for this were no tailoring afterward, no editing, and a max of 15 lines. It's not fanfic but if anyone wants to read them...
1.- Circle
The grass was dry beneath their feet as they moved, the nighttime air filled with the chants of those who hold the candles as they moved, shadows undulating, changing, as they rose their arms. However, If anyone would have dared to peek from beyond the trees that surrounded the clearing, they would have only seen the blue formations of the will-o-wisps as they moved and created the never-ending circle and yet, however, if any bystander clever enough, magical enough, interested enough, would have kept on watching, battling against the feeling of being watched that would have crept out on their back, they would have seen the figures, the lights, form and change and transform until the will-o-wisps were gone and, on their wake, the circle would have led to the wings of those departed, waiting for their time to come so they could traverse to the place beyond.
2.- Changeling
Their eyes are never the right color, their mouths form words no-one should speak outload, they teach us to never share our meals, our names with them, for they do not belong to us anymore that they do belong to what lies beyond the veil that permeates magic and secrets. Their souls were sold, way beyond they were formed, even if they wear lead and silver like any mortal would. They can touch salt, and eat it as well, but their redemption lies beyond the crosses and symbols of the religion that they were brought up into. You can make deals with them, they teach us, you can peer into those eyes and try not to lose yourself if you are willing, but remember that their bodies are borrowings, copies of imperfect molds. They exist and they can bring gifts, for they can step into said veil, but there’s nothing that will make them human, or mortal, even if they think of themselves as such.
3.-Lottery
The numbers bled ink onto her palm as she brought it closer to her eyes, the rain around her turning ice-cold as she tried to peer beyond it. The air freezing as she rose her free hand and moved a few stray hairs out of her eyes. She could feel the chill on her back and neck, the razor sting of the water turning to hail. “Is someone there?” She wanted to ask, the silhouette she had seen -she had thought she had seen- walking down the road now nowhere to be found. The lottery ticket kept flapping against the wind, the numbers beginning to smear as she brought it closer to her chest. Numbers, she would soon find out when she entered into one of the few shops down her street that would take it, that changed with notable pace. There was never a wrong one, she would realize, for each number would always be the correct one, would always give the answer that would need to be given in order to win. Then, she would ask, why the ticket was also stained with blood?
4.-Officiate
The bold man rose his arms and looked at us with a grave look, the shadows within the chapel seeming to grow and wreathe as we all stood, waiting. There was very little to do, beyond keeping up with his stare as he repeated the old mantra I’ve known by heart for longer than my years would have said. I let my mind wander when he didn’t stare at me, trying to catch the sins off our memories, the reason why we have been brought up here. I looked at the stained glass at his back, at the stories that were told with jaded crystals that our memories had conjured. With each night, the stained glass seemed brighter, our souls, according to him, purer. And yet, I felt light-headed, weak, as my eyes were captured once more, distant screams scurrying through the floor as we fell, knees first. Again, and again, and again.
5.-Enchant
He eyed the pendant that hung from between their intertwined fingers, the jewel encased in the middle of the brass and silver lines glinting under the electric light that hung above them. He was still able to taste the wine he had consumed a few minutes prior, the tanginess of it, the way it had stained his teeth. The light within the pendant glowed stronger as it beckoned them, their breath halting and then speeding up as their feet rose from carpeted floors, the wood panels that covered the room’s walls seemingly to throb as they kept on grabbing the pendant, the magic, scribbled beyond the details the artisan had created for them both. “A promise trapped in glass” The old man has whispered as he had given it to him. “A secret written within it.” He had replied, the words strange but expected, such was the way of the saying. He now was able to fear the heat radiating from the pendant, the magic, and he knew he had been lied to.
6.-Science
Beakers tinkled as she looked around the room, the papers, scattered around the body, the last strength of the dead man’s hand thrown over one small portion of white paper that was now marred with words she wasn’t able to understand. The inspector knelt next to the body, not bothering to check the man’s pulse as she knew him dead; the trail of blood pooling on his back enough proof of that, alongside with the scalpel, the broken pieces, of what could have been his latest experiment. Outside, beyond the sea of voices so normal in an investigation site, she could almost listen to the crows she had seen upon entering the building, their beaks open in a sempiternal smirk. She frowned and stood, fingers ironing her clothing reflexively as she took into the laboratory, the slight stench of fluids that had been spilled. And then she winced as her finger opened, sliced by one of the speckles of glass that covered her pants. Stupid, noob, she could listen to the scornful remarks others would tell her, if only the heat that now seemed to burn from her insides would end.
7.- Basket
It was sturdy, the old woman would often say when trying to sell the ones she made in front of her home, the porch worn and slanted but still giving her enough shade for her hands to work without breaking a sweat. It was sturdy and practical and all new-commers should buy one. What would you do, she would say with eyes so clouded they looked like the sky in a stormy day, with the things one was supposed to carry for long travels? What would you do with your food and waterskins? Where would you carry them? She would scoff at the words of those who politely told her that they had their backpacks. “They are not as reliable” She would reply, but she would shoo them away nevertheless, her interest depleted the moment they told her that they were supposed to go for the distant mountains, the ones that seemed blue from where they stood. She would insist more, sometimes, if they seemed hesitant to say not to her, toothless smile and quick tongue quickly lifting a few coins from their purses. It was sturdy, she would say to them, as she gave them the promised basket, the sigils woven into it blinking once, twice, beyond their eyes. She would smile then, promising them good travels, safe travels. She was rarely wrong.
8.- Ensnare
The gardener looked at yet another vine, sweat rolling down his brow, he could feel the dirt slowly resettling itself as he watched, the steps of the poor unfortunate who had ended up being trapped, ensnared, by the vines already beginning to disappear. There was very little he was able to do now, the body mangled beyond recognition, and so he brought a clean cloth and his sears and began the process of recollecting what little he was able to get, at least for the ones who had lost another family member, for the dead to be tolled, he didn’t quite hate his job, it paid well, as long as he himself kept away from the vines covering the mausoleum’s door. But there were days like this one, days in where the heat bothered and the vines were more playful than usual and their teeth nipped at his fingers, that he wondered about taking that final step, devoid of the protections the pendant around his neck gave him. If only to see if there was actually a way of getting lose from them all.
9.-Sky
Their wings fluttered, moved by the breeze that only they could see, and as the night covered everything in velvety black, the wings of the creatures grew in size, changing the sun with the moon, their eyes black holes that blossomed into galaxies only those keen eyed, where able to distinguish on the earth below. They danced around each other, the aurora borealis a stamp of colors their tails created their flight erratic for every night is different and every sky varies, even with the matted imperfections of their plumage -the constellations, those mortals would call them- The planets aligned as the sun disappeared, one last bite of fire hanging low on the horizon, and they kept on dancing, on transforming day to night, and then back and back again.
10.-Box
The box was engraved, numbers of family members so old it was difficult to remember them any longer. It was also covered in dirt, from the grave they had dug it up, their secrets locked away with a lock as well crafted as it was gorgeous; rust not seeming able to corrode the details of the metal parts that surrounded the names. Cold to the touch, permanently, it seemed to leave a thin layer of frost no matter what object it touched, and she bit down her bottom lip as she tried to remember the old nursery rhymes her grandmother used to sing to her, about the secrets she was supposed to inherit, the clues she was supposed to recall. Nothing, however, came forth, her own fingers felt cold and detached and her vision blurred and gone, the will-o-wisp lights that had seemed to grow stronger the last time she checked into the forest that surrounded the home coming closer and closer to her now, asking for a permission they didn’t need as her own soul had granted such.
11.- Catapult
He run, almost slipping over a pool of oil as the noise of the fighters and soldiers below reached him, the sweat on his brow getting heavier with every passing second. He had been tasked with one thing and one thing only: being a novice there was only so much he could do with a sword after all. And so, he run, run towards the catapults waiting outside the castle, beyond the riverbank. All the careful planning had been for naught as they had found a way into the place using the old catacombs, the ones in where numbers appeared written in blood, passages of a bible so cursed there were only a few that could remember the name of the book itself. He hadn’t dared to ask how the enemies had found a way in; the eyes full of fear of his sergeant had been telling enough. And so, he willed his legs to carry him further as he kept on descending the stairs, moving between bodies, and propelling himself in-between those who fought. He had one job and one job only and he needed to reach the riverbank. Or else.
12.-Ladder
The wood of the ladder splintered beneath her fingertips, but she didn’t pay any mind to the pain on her flesh. There was no point to it, after all, for everything she had tried lied dead at her feet, the eyes of the multitude stuck on her as she felt stricken by fear. She had been propped up the unlit bonfire, read her sins, what she had been accused off, and called forth a blessing from the mute skies. She had looked up then, narrowing her eyes as she searched for the birds that changed as the seasons did; she had been taught, instructed, to find those in the case she was found. Yet, nothing came forth on that starless night, not even when she began to feel the stench of fog and fire about to reach her feet. For that, for fear, she transported herself as far as her powers allowed her; to the silo next to the old road; the one in where Old Granny used to sell her baskets to those stupid enough to transverse to the mountains. The silo was closed now, rot settling in of what had been a small hut back when she had been a child, and so she had waited and waited for the screams outside to disappear, her legs around the end of the ladder, her arms, and hands clutching the top of it. A mere second longer, she thought, she prayed, and she would be able to escape, to flee, to those blue mountains she still could see on her mind’s eye.
13.-Carnivorous
The wolf is not evil, despite its large smile and piercing teeth, its tongue as red as the blood it consumes. The wolf is not evil but a warning, one created by the path that moves and curls around the forest, a way of keeping you focused and not dead. The wolf is not evil, it eats what you eat, it grows from what you learn. The wolf is not evil but a companion, one to listen to when you are traveling, hoping for the next curve of the trail to show the shadows of a town nearby. The wolf is not evil, but a guide, a mortal one, that can travel between what you know and what you definitely shouldn’t pry about. The wolf is not evil. Merely carnivorous.
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