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cts-games · 3 months

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Breakheart: Dev Diary 2

Fortune Prime SRD and the issue with 'Fused System' games.

Breakheart is a fusion of two different games, Anima: Prime and the Fortune System used in Last Stand, both of which I've provided rundowns of in the past, here and here.

I am by no means breaking new ground with this. Games that just take two existing games and duct tape them together have existed for decades. ICON is perhaps one of the better known examples, and also serves as a great example of my issue with these 'fused system' games.

The biggest issue with fused system games is... they are made up of two games.

Well, yes, obviously. But why is that an issue?

ICON is made up of two portions: a DnD4e like game for combat and a FitD system for everything outside of combat. ICON prides itself on the flexibility of both of these subsystems and how any option you take in one system will not restrict your decisions in the other. The way you act in combat and the way you act out of combat are not bound together.

The way ICON accomplishes this is... by just not having the systems interact at all. As you play through ICON, you are essentially just flipping back and forth between two entirely different games. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but it does very much FEEL like switching between two games, and lacks a cohesive element to really bind the two together. Indeed, most fan made character sheets for ICON just have two entirely different character sheets for in combat and out of combat.

Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy ICON. I wish I was able to play it more often, it's rather delightful. I have a soft spot in my heart for 4e-likes and FitD both, so ICON scratches a nice itch. But the two just don't meld together well.

I'd go so far as to say you would be better served by using Strike! RPG as the combat portion of ICON because at least then you would maintain the element of the game only using d6's, instead of swapping dice entirely between the two subsystems. As it stands now, the game lacks a cohesive element.

Without synergy between its systems, ICON will never really be able to become more than the sum of its parts. The systems won't flow into each other in elegant ways that make for a delight of game design.

The game is still in pre-release and subject to change. Maybe this issue will be fixed before release! However, it does not seem to be a priority for Massif Press, the game is close to feature complete, and the community certainly is nowhere near as bothered about it as I am.

So... if im the only one who has this problem... does it really need to be fixed? I'm not sure it does. I dont think it was a mistake to glue those two games together. The game is designed to use the ease of play that FitD brings and make the out of combat experience more enjoyable, while keeping the feel of its combat the same as the sources it draws from. And the game accomplishes this!

If the game DID use Strike! RPG as a base, sure, if would have more consistency and open more potential for synergy, but it would lose that feeling of rolling that d20 in combat, and seeing it land on that critical success. No amount of synergy and elegance between the two subsystems will allow a d6 to roll a natural 20.

Sure, there are ways you could approximately replicate the probability of a natural 20 on a handful of d6, but that's not the same. The feel at the table is different, and that feel is important.

So often in game design, we design a rather solid system as a first draft. Something beautiful and elegant that looks fantastic. And then you bring it to the table and... you have to scrape major parts of it. Beautiful parts of it. Because at the end of the day, as nice as they are, they just don't replicate the FEEL of the game you want. The tone is off. The rule is hard to remember. It's too confusing for first time players.

A first draft of a game will rarely survive playtesting. Fused system or not.

So, it's important to note that this is the first draft of my game. It can be hard to tell what will survive and what won't. I dont think i can even begin to comprehend what the finished game will actually look like. And so for now... I am focusing on the innate synergy between the two systems.

I mentioned consistency of dice up above, so let's start there. Last Stand uses only d10's, meanwhile Anima: Prime uses only d6. So, if we want to maintain consistency of dice, we are left with 3 options: Change Anima: Prime to use d10's, change Last Stand to use d6's, or change both of them to use something else entirely.

Well, changing them all to d6's sounds great! I love d6's! They are the easiest one to buy in bulk, and most people own a board game or two they can scrounge up a few d6's from. Problem solved!

Except the actual changes aren't that easy. The Fortune System that Last Stand uses is very reliant on probability. Being able to gamble your resources for a chance to get more, as well as how additional effects are triggered, is absolutely vital to the game. I prototyped a few different concepts like using specific combinations of values or using dice of multiple colors to trigger specific results... but in the end it just ended up adding more complexity without much more design space. So, d6's are out.

I could alter both systems to allow their dice probabilities to line up a bit nicer, but in the end, it ran into the same issues. There is just too much to manage for too little benefit.

So, that leaves us with converting Anima to using a d10. It maps decently enough. Manuever dice have a 50% chance of becoming Strike dice, same as the original. With Charge Dice we have to make a decision. Originally a Manuever Die had a ~16% chance of becoming a Charge Die. We can either keep it to only 1 result on the d10 producing a Charge Die (10% chance), or two results (20% chance). I'm opting for the latter.

Being 4 percentage points more likely to gain a Charge Dice, and thus 4 percentage points less likely to roll a failure, is not that big of a change. The overall wider range for results does make it a tad more cumbersome, but I think it should work well enough. Remembering the thresholds of 1-3, 4-8, and 9-10 isn't that much more difficult (hopefully) than the original of 1-2, 3-5, and 6.

And with that, we now have a throughline connecting both of the games core systems. We have achieved perfect synergy!

... okay, no, not really. We have just made a game that has a consistent type of dice it uses. It doesn't even use the same checks across the two systems. Having a single die type does provide a stable foundation to build more synergistic elements off of, but if that was all it took to make a system, the game would already be released.

But I didn't choose Anima: Prime and Last Stand just because they are two of my favorite TTRPGs of all time. There is FAR more synergy between the two than just that. Enough to fill an entire extra Dev Diary on it! So I'll be posting more about that next week. Assuming I'm not too distracted with moving to my new apartment, that is.

#breakheart #dev diary #ttrpg #ttrpg dev #to clarify: Fused System is not an industry term #i made it up because i couldnt find another term to describe 'a game where its two other games mashed together'#which surprised me because its really become a growing genre lately

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freyayuki · 2 years

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Final Fantasy Record Keeper End of Service Announcement News

Just logged on to the Final Fantasy Record Keeper (FFRK) mobile game to be greeted by the sight of this.

An in-game message just showed up announcing the end of service for Final Fantasy Record Keeper. Apparently, the game will discontinue its service on September 29, 2022.

Actually, I first heard about this news elsewhere, and I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. It seemed like some kind of joke. I mean, this couldn't possibly be happening, right?

So I logged on to the game to check, and there it was. The end of service announcement message.

There was no way to miss it because even if you don't bother looking at the news section or notifications list, the aforementioned message will show up before you can do anything else in the game.

The end of service announcement was staring me right in the face but I still couldn't believe this was actually happening. It feels like this came out of nowhere.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper Festival Event

Because we’re about to celebrate a festival event in Final Fantasy Record Keeper. Multiple Luck of the Realms banners have already shown up.

These banners count down to the day when FFRK’s fest will finally begin. I was really looking forward to the free draws we'll be getting with the start of this fest.

I was looking forward to the fest banners too although I hadn't fully decided yet if I was going to pull on all the banners or not.

The banner I was most looking forward to was fest banner 3 because it features new relics for Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII (#ad).

Sephiroth is a physical DPS for both the dark and fire elements. Currently, I have most of his relics.

I’m only missing 6 of his Soul Breaks. I can get 5 of those from the Lab using Anima Lenses. The only one I can’t get is his Awakened Arcane Soul Break 2 (AASB2).

I was also looking forward to fest banner 5 because it features relics for Quina Quen from Final Fantasy IX. Quina's a really good support, especially for physical DPS.

If I spend 500 mythril on this fest, I can get a "free" Synchro Arcane Soul Break (SASB) from a select list.

But I hadn't made up my mind yet on whether to spend 500 mythril for this fest or not. Because I was already thinking about the next fest, the one that would come after this one.

Off the top of my head, what I remember most about that upcoming fest was that one of the banners there will feature new relics for Sephiroth again.

The Seph relics on this fest are for the dark element while the ones in the upcoming fest are for the fire element.

Sephi's on both my physical dark and physical fire teams as well as my Final Fantasy VII realm team. He's better as a dark DPS, but I'm more interested in his fire tech since my physical fire team is the one that I'm almost always using.

So I was really looking forward to the next fest, the one that would feature Sephiroth’s fire relics. But now it seems that fest isn't coming anymore.

Genesis Rhapsodos from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

Speaking of banners that will probably not come anymore, there's 1 banner that just showed up in the Japanese version of Final Fantasy Record Keeper, and that's the one that I'm really, really looking forward to the most.

That banner contains several new relics for Genesis Rhapsodos from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Currently, Genesis is my absolute, most favorite Final Fantasy char. He's the reason why I'm playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper.

Genesis is a physical fire elemental DPS in this game which is why fire's my favorite element here and why I use my fire team all the time.

Have all of his relics, and I’m always waiting and looking forward to whenever he’ll get more so I can pull for those Soul Breaks.

FFRK ending means I won't be able to play as Genesis anymore, and that's what really saddens me and why I wish this game didn't have to end.

I don't want Final Fantasy Record Keeper to end because I don't want to say goodbye to Genesis. I want to keep playing as him. I want to pull for his new relics. I want him to get even more new relics.

Thoughts About Final Fantasy Record Keeper

To be honest, I'm not playing FFRK much right now. These days, I just log in, auto the new events that show up, and do the dailies and whatever else needs to be done so I can get all the mythril and rewards and such then I log out. I just keep on collecting mythril so I can pull on banners that interest me.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper isn't perfect. There's no doubt about that. I have many complaints about this game, but I do love it and still keep playing it because Genesis is here.

But now the game is ending. I wish this didn’t have to happen. I don’t want to lose my account. I don’t want to lose Genesis. But what can I do? What can anyone do?

There’s actually so much stuff in this game that I have yet to do. A lot of the content here is permanent so I thought I’d always have time to take on these quests later on.

I wanted to wait until I can get more and better relics that can help make these difficult fights easier to deal with.

That’s why I haven’t been doing much in the game lately. Because even if I wanted to, there are lots of battles that I still can’t clear.

Trying to tackle these quests with the relics I have now was just frustrating me so I opted to just wait until I can get better Soul Breaks.

I also still haven't finished all the available Realm Dungeons and Record Dungeons. These quests give mythril. I've only done some of these way back when I was new to the game.

But these quests are so boring and annoying to do even on auto that I decided to hold off on doing them for now. It was for the best anyway.

That way, in case I need more mythril, I can always do these quests. And if the mythril isn't in my inventory, then I won't be tempted to spend them. But now there’s no more point in saving mythril because the game is ending.

I guess I should try and see what content I can finish before the game ends. A lot of the quests here can be really boring though. If a fight isn’t so hard that it’s bordering on nearly impossible to beat, then it’s so easy that even using auto is boring.

There’s a lot of grindy stuff here too. I tried to do some of it before, but it got too boring that I couldn’t be bothered anymore and just stopped.

I did it for Genesis though. I took the time to farm for his Hero Artifacts even if it was such a pain to do so. But after farming for him, I guess I got a bit- okay, a lot burned out so I stopped bothering to farm for other chars.

Genesis Rhapsodos New Soul Breaks

Sigh. I still can't get over this news that FFRK is ending. I can't believe this is real. I wish it wasn't.

I keep thinking back to Genesis and that new banner that just showed up in the Japanese version of the game that features new relics for him.

You know, he hasn't gotten anything new in FFRK in what feels like forever. IIRC, the last new relic he got was his True Arcane Soul Break (TASB) or Arcane Dyad Soul Break (ADSB), LOVELESS.

This has already shown up in the English or Global version of the game so I've just been saving and waiting for the day when Genesis will finally get something new again.

After what felt like forever, I heard the news that Genesis just got several new Soul Breaks in the Japanese version of Final Fantasy Record Keeper.

He got a Dual Awakening Soul Break (DASB), a Limit Chain Soul Break or Limit Break Chain, a second Synchro Arcane Soul Break (SASB2), and a second Awakened Arcane Soul Break (AASB2).

For so long, I’ve been hoping for Genesis to get a second Sync and Awakening since plenty of chars have even more than that.

So imagine how happy and hyped I was to find out that Genesis got so many new relics at once. I was so excited and couldn’t wait for these new stuff to get to the Global version of FFRK. Was really looking forward to being able to pull for all of these new Soul Breaks.

But now I guess that will never happen because the English version of FFRK is ending. Why’d this have to happen? And why now of all times? If only Final Fantasy Record Keeper wasn’t ending.

Japanese version of Final Fantasy Record Keeper

Well, actually, only the Global version of FFRK is ending. For all intents and purposes, the Japanese version of Final Fantasy Record Keeper is still going strong.

This was why the end of service announcement came as such an unexpected surprise.

I have a Japanese FFRK account but I stopped playing it a while back. Because it’s hard to play if you can’t read Japanese. I only tried because and for Genesis.

Then, a bit later on, I opted to just stick with the Global version of the game and try to just patiently wait for the Japanese content to be translated to English.

However, although I stopped playing the Japanese version of Final Fantasy Record Keeper, I still kept up with all the news about it. I was always looking at the content of the banners that would show up there, always hoping that one of these banners will contain relics for chars that I like.

Anyway, the Japanese version of FFRK seems to be going really well. In fact, they just announced a new tier of relics for their upcoming fest.

They also have a lot of new content and hard dungeons and such so it doesn’t seem like the game is about to end anytime soon. But, well, you can never really know, right?

After all, it didn’t seem like the English version was gonna end anytime soon either and yet here we are.

We had to get such depressing, disheartening news just before the festival event was about to start. Now there’s nothing festive about that event.

It’s hard to feel joyous about the free draws and resources and such we’re getting knowing that everything is gonna end soon, that all of this is just gonna disappear in a few months.

Anyway, when I heard that the English version of Final Fantasy Record Keeper was ending, I thought about going back to the Japanese version.

But it’s too late for that now. The banner with Genesis’s new relics is long gone by now. I don’t want to go back to the Japanese version of FFRK if I can’t pull for Genesis’s new Soul Breaks.

I guess I could try going back if they ever rerun that banner, or if Genesis gets new relics again.

Honestly, a part of me is still hoping that we'll get that banner with Genesis's new relics, but considering I don’t even know if we'll get the fest that features Sephi’s fire relics, this is just wistful thinking at this point.

I guess at this point, all I can really hope for is that Genesis will soon be added as a playable char to any of the remaining Final Fantasy mobile games like Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (DFFOO).

Also heard about the upcoming Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis mobile game so here’s to hoping that Genesis will show up there right away.

In the meanwhile, I guess I’ll try to do as much as I can on my FFRK account. Also want to take more screenshots of Genesis and maybe some of my other relics and such here.

Conclusion

So what about you? What do you think about this news? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging or replying to this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Final Fantasy Record Keeper game account

#final fantasy record keeper #genesis rhapsodos #sephiroth #final fantasy 7 #crisis core: final fantasy vii #ffrk news #gacha games #mobile games #ffrk #games

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rosedmuse · 9 months

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to grow close to thee; perciowe debut

The jester has forgetten when exactly they met first, nor how old he actually is by now, but one thing's for certainーhe's gotten his mind involved with someone very interesting. This fact, he's known for the longest of times.

It's late. Quiet. Pretty dark too; save for the eerieness of the moonlight sneaking in through the window's slightly parted curtains.

The <Great Calamity> rules high up the starless night, emmitting an unsettling glow that could arguably make even Northern wizards restless. Well, not for Owen, of course. (Or so he claims.) Nights like these are precisely within the range of his peculiar preferences. He could go on and on about how he finds himself slumbering most soundly with the atmosphere this way.

Which should have likewise been the case tonight...

If only a certain creep kept his distance away from him, that is.

"Fufu~"

Roughly discarding his blanket to the ground, Owen groans, sitting back up on his bed as he discerns any attempt to sleep right now is futile. He fixes his gaze upon the window with a grunt. A cool breeze blows the curtain to sway, just enough to part a way to indeed reveal a single eye staring right back at him from the outside.

He clicks his tongue. "I knew it. Show yourself, you stupid clown."

"My, my! Quite the energy you still have in there, no?" Percival, the notorious Northern Jester, eagerly summons himself to appear before the sleep-deprived Owen in an instant.

"And here I thought you were just about to sleep~," his voice lowers in register, barely audible as well to pass even as a whisper.

"Yeah, and it's all your fault that I can't," Owen hisses, quite aggressively ruffling at his already tousled hair, "this is the absolute worst."

"Non-sense!" Percival flails an exaggerated arm above his forehead as he leans back, his other opened hand outstretched to implicitly stop Owen from saying anything more.

A gesture proven to be rather effective.

"Can't you just... leave?" Owen's losing his patience. (Not like, he had much of it at all to begin with.)

"No," Percival nonchalantly replies, sounding not the slightest bit bothered, "in fact, I came here to help a friend in need!"

"...What?"

"Hm, I heard Mithy's having trouble sleeping too. I think I could doー"

A sudden surge of powerful energy cuts Percival off. With both of his arms raised to protect his face from the impact, merely from his periphery, he notices the familiar form of Owen's ferociously beloved pet.

"Ohoho?" The jester lets out a little chuckle. He also catches a growl; Cerberus is but a moment's call from pouncing at, and devouring him entirely. "Long time no see, little puppy."

"If you don't get out of my room, I won't hesitate letting this guy off with your head," Owen's tone is sharp, he ought to make sure it stings, for he isn't allowing a total weirdo to ruin another one of his precious nights for him.

But here comes the tricky part.

Instead of intimidation, Percival smiles. Owen recognizes that one. It's the crooked, one-sided grin he always wears when he's amused. The clown's looking down on him, again.

"You're not getting away with this, anymore."

"Oh, you think so?"

Percival lifts the top hat sitting comfortably upon his head. He leisurely approaches Cerberus, whilst fumbling with the edges of his magic tool. And when the rabid dog(s) is but several inches away from looming over him, he tosses his hat onto the head in the middle.

"What a cute, little puppy you have in your stead,

allow me to make them do part of my deed~"

A chant. Owen knows this tactic better than most. And it's one of, if not, the most annoying ritual he had ever encountered in his life.

<< Solus Anima >>

With a mere snap of his fingers, Cerberus collapses to the ground, thrashing around and whimpering like an innocent housedog. They crawl desperately, playfully even, towards the clown, as if they had finally been reunited with its real owner after a very, very long time.

"Again with that shitty mind-controlling specialty of yours?" Owen rolls his eyes, as he grabs his trunk and feebly yanks it open. Somehow, he already anticipated this happening. "You truly are useless without it, aren't you?"

"Fufu~ Such vulgar descriptions merely flatter me," Percival says, petting and stroking each of Cerberus's three heads in equal turns; it's actual size an absolute mismatch of all it's current conduct.

"You should know me full well by now, Wennie."

That's it.

Owen's had enough. From being watched, having his personal space trespassed, and using his own Cerberus against him. He is done.

Chanting his own spell, the mind-controlled Cerberus gets forcibly sucked back into confinement inside his trunk. Owen has to bite his tongue to suppress the internal remorse he feels as his dear pet lets out a high-pitched yelp that symbolically longs for Percival's loving touch.

And while he still has his trunkーnow closedーin his hand, he uses it in his defense to finally shove the intruder out the window once and for all.

"Get out, get out, get out, GET OUT. I don't want you coming anywhere near me ever again, you disgusting fool!"

"OUCH! That hurt, not too hard on me now please, Wennieー"

The window shuts, along with Owen's favor.

He needs more than just cake to recover from such an unforgivable humiliation.

Through gritted teeth, he angrily storms out of his room, wanting in turn to harrass a knight into treating him to the Capital first thing in the morning the following day.

ーーーーーーーーーー

"Ow..." Percival rubs at a sore spot just above his hip. That trunk sure has its properties. Thanks to it, he might not be having any sweet dreams tonight. A sigh of defeat comes through his lips, moments later.

"Wennie's just as stingy as he was the first time I met him," he says to no one in particular, perhaps only trying to reminisce as well a memory of the distant past.

"Oh well," Percival perks up, crossing his leg above the other as he shifts himself to properly ride on his broom, "I failed my mission but at least I have news to bring to Paris."

Until our next, my dear Wennie.

With one, last tip of his hat (that he managed to retrieve before the window closed completely, thank goodness), the silly clown heads back onto the path leading towards daybreak.

#perciowe #mhyk yume #mhyk oc

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adr1025 · 1 year

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You know, I would have loved Anima and Garlemald to have been an expac of its own with an excursion to Thavnair and Sharlayan to plant the seeds of the final days. Garlemald was such a major threat and it did feel like a speedrun of saving them and working towards making amends. Things like the side quests with Nerva and the remaining Galvuses expanded into the main story then growing to have allies in Garlemald would have been more emotive in the end. I loved the Towers in that inberween time between 5.55 and 6.0 ominously on the skyline for a few months. The idea of the final days between 6.0 and the proposed 7.0 would have been terrifying and amazing. And yeah I'd have loved more time in Elpis, hell, more time in the ancient world! They could have chucked a filter on Amaurot and given us the real thing unsundered and I would have been happy. So agreed it would have needed a rewrite to work to split them into expacs but the speedruns of the Unsundered World and Garlemald to tie up ends asap was an opportunity missed for sure.

you, you get it. they could have explained zenos' dreams about the final days, The Resonant Project, developed The Populares (bless maxima but how come he's the only one left? do they really want us to believe everyone else is dead??) and elpis!!! leave small clues about the existence of the dynamis in garlemald, develop them later in elpis… getting to really know venat and the convocation, so hermes isn't painted as "the guy that needs therapy" by the fanbase… tbh i did like how they introduced hythlodaeus and hades, wouldn't change a thing about it.

the thing that bothers me the most is that they keep doing this, set up really interesting stories only to ignore them later! come on!

#oh and spend less time with the loporrits #typing long answers is hard bc twitter fried my brain #just know that i'm /cheerjumping at your asks

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stayarmytinyzenmoa-l · 2 years

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In addition to the ANiMA tour post.

If they were to go on tour they’ll have at least one performance that make NCTzens lose their marbles i.e. Johnny’s solo performance, 127’s love on the floor, dream’s quiet down and etc.

Then the fandom starts joking again about how the neos should open a strip club

One fan probably threw their bra on stage or personally handed it to one of the girls like in actual strip clubs and that encourages other people to do it too (but only if they notice that none of the girls aren’t uncomfortable about it because consent is attractive). Then by the end of the show the four girls have accumulated enough bras to open a Victoria Secrets while all the staff backstage is worried about what to do with the bras

ANiMA probably started a competition along the way to see who can get the most bras in each show and loser has to pay for dinner

Just imagining it gets me 🥵💦

My bisexuality is QUAKING!!!

YES SO TRUE Let's be honest... it'd be resident panty dropper Jihyun 😭 Saeron was so quick in grabbing that fine ass woman before any one else could grab her, Jihyun is literally the definition of "I can be a better boyfriend than him"

Honestly Jihyun would probably do a good job at managing the Neo Strip Club AHAHAHA

And you know what? That's a good question. How (Y/N) is characterized (and from the last post) she's pretty wild so she'd probably be bold enough to catch it and be like "Guys... we've officially completed the concert milestone!" or lowkey like "omg how'd you guys know my size... no wait seriously how'd you know my size-" Jihyun would be bold enough to pick it up and even bolder enough to wink (b/f Saeron gives her the sneaky side glance and she responds with the confident smirk), speaking of our queen, I think she'd be pretty flustered but not enough to voice concern. Then... Yeseul, oh, honey, please, this is just bringing her back to her wild rave days. Realistically, though, Saeron would probably say during one of the ments that they're going to put all the bras in a box and leave them at lost and found AHAHA

VICTORIA'S SECRET I'M DEADDDD I need to find it but I swear I had a crys talks post that was basically "what if (Y/N) gets signed on as a Victoria's Secret model" that basically ended in Yangyang asking if she found out what Victoria's Secret was LMAO

WAIT NO CUZ YOU KNOW IT WAS (Y/N)'S IDEA AHAHAHA their manager is just shaking his head backstage panic texting the NCThree manager who's just "bro chill that's not even (Y/N) at her worst."

The ANiMA girls always get me a lil hot and bothered so I don't blame you LMAOOOO Like I said before, each of the three are based off of certain types and people I've been attracted to muahaha (Jihyun, specifically, is based off of my dream girl LMFAOOO yes mommy-)

The first [post]

#asks #anon #prominence

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theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin · 3 years

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Hi! I’m a big fan of your work!! I am looking for more but unfortunately I feel like I have read all yhe good Harry Potter docs on Ao3. Do you have any recs?

Sorry for the delay, I just know that whenever I make rec list it usually ends up taking a while.

With that, Harry Potter fics are a big genre. Just saying Harry Potter in general really isn’t that specific to me so this is across genres/character focuses/you name it.

Also, as usual, I’ve been on fanfiction longer and have amassed more favorites there. Some of these are cross posted to Ao3. Similarly, a lot are unfinished, this personally doesn’t bother me but if it bothers you take heed.

Also, you’ll see my embarrassing obsession with Tom Riddle. So, heads up for that.

Stepbrother (Tom Riddle/Hermione Granger, period piece, in which the two remind me a lot of Nabokov)

Cat Among the Pigeons (Tom Riddle/Lily Evans, Psycho-Pass Detective AU, in which I am a beta actually so my promoting this goes without saying)

Til Death Do Us Part (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Voldemort wins AU, which for me does very well with the concept of immortality and what exactly Tom is supposed to do after he wins)

This Tangle of Thorns (Tom Riddle/Hermione Granger, modern AH AU, a full on Nabokov inspired fic which I enjoy because Lolita)

Delusional (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, sort of. Harry wins the war, goes crazy, checks into a mental hospital. Or he’s not crazy and Voldemort is as unkillable as Palpatine.)

Harry Potter and the Natural 20 (OC insert, D&D inspired, shameless crack. I mostly enjoy the beginning of this but it makes me laugh enough to recommend.)

A Hairy Business (AU, Harry is a deer, he is literally a deer, that’s it. It’s funny.)

Animus, Anima (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Harry travels back in time, gets stuck in Tom Riddle’s brain, and it turns out Harry’s responsible for every terrible thing that ever happened. This one was squicky even for me, very well done, but strap in.)

Addendum, He is Also a Liar (Tom Riddle/Hermione Granger, Tom has an inexplicable ability to travel to the future, but only to this random little girl Hermione Granger)

Framed & Fractured (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Harry gets stuck in an evil painting back in time. Tom is creepy as usual.)

Trying for Eden (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Harry travels back in time to lecture Tom into morality. It doesn’t work.)

Magical Mirrors (Luna Lovegood and Severus Snape, Luna and Snape stumble on the Mirror of Erised at the same time and strike up a conversation)

Aphelion (Hermione Granger/Loki, MCU crossover, Hermione and Loki strike up the world’s weirdest toxic friendship when Hermione’s young and attending Hogwarts, this leads terrible places as Loki slides into madness and despair)

Wandering Souls (Luna Lovegood and The Undertaker, Black Butler crossover, Luna meets and strikes up a conversation with the Undertaker)

Of Lies Most Beautiful (Tom Riddle, Hunger Games crossover, Tom wins the Hunger Games becaues that’s what he does bitch)

In Wonderland (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Harry ends up back in the past and decides to raise Tom Riddle. This goes so poorly that the pair almost get eaten by eldritch gods multiple times.)

Rumpelstiltskin, Guess My Name (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Female Harry travels back in time and offers to save Merope’s life/get her Tom Riddle Sr. the non rapey way in return for her firstborn son. Merope thought Harry was joking. She wasn’t joking. In the sequel, also linked, Harry kills Morfin.)

The Eyes (Harry Potter, AU, turns out “the power he knows not” is the power humanity knows not, Harry’s ability to see eldritch abominations and cosmic gods and thus bring them far enough into our reality that they eat everything. And I mean everything.)

Mirror Mirror (Harry Potter, MCU crossover, Harry makes a huge mistake and stops Hulk in the middle of a rampage. This gets him abducted by octopus nazis.)

I See the Moon (Harry Potter and Bruce Banner, MCU crossover, Harry got brain damage from the war and wanders around the middle of nowhere. He runs into Bruce. He’s now Bruce’s only friend.)

You Will Be the Death of Me (Harry Potter and Tom Riddle, Despicable Me inspired, through a series of convoluted events Tom as the world’s worst father figure ends up raising Harry the sad adorable orphan.)

In Death, Standby (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter (sort of, the authro claims), Tom raises Harry, the only Tom raises Harry that I’ve seen done well because Tom is the world’s worst father. Harry thinks he’s a deformed snake until the age of three.)

Little Harry’s Mirkwood Adventure (Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley, Hobbit Crossover, one of the most Tolkien style crossovers I’ve actually seen and is very good)

A (Self-Imposed) Trap for a Fool (Ginny Weasley, turns out Harry Potter never existed, as in he’s a collective hallucination made up by the entire wizarding world)

McLaggen and From McLaggen with Love (McLaggen, a detective AU then a James Bond style adventure starring McLaggen, the greatest wizard who ever wizarded)

Tom Riddle’s Diary: on keeping devils in the summer (Tom Riddle, Tom Riddle’s antichrist orphan adventures involving exorcism and burning people alive)

and the fates sing (hold on, son) (Harry Potter, MCU crossover, Harry is the son of Loki and like all children of Loki he is a wretched and cursed thing)

A Faulty Master (Harry Potter and Itachi Uchiha, Naruto crossover, Itachi after the massacre of his family has a run in with a master of death Harry, who is a creepy creepy man)

Eye of Reason (Harry Potter/Jack Frost, Rise of the Guardians crossover, due to the mythos surrounding his life Harry ceases to be a man and becomes akin to a god)

Flowers for a Ghost (Luna Lovegood and Itachi Uchiha, Naruto Crossover, Luna befriends a blind ghost)

Third Time’s the Charm (Harry Potter, MCU crossover, Bruce Banner keeps trying to kill himself and MoD Harry is there to have himself a real good day)

Blind Faith (Bellatrix LeStrange/Tom Riddle, canon compliant, an in depth look at Bellatrix from the escape of Azkaban onward)

Cocktail Time (Rita Skeeter and Gilderoy Lockhart, Rita does an expose and autobiography detailing the descent of Gilderoy Lockhart and how he became what he became)

Fantastic Elves and Where to Find Them (Harry Potter, canon divergent AU, Harry thinks he’s an elf. That’s it.)

The Twine Bracelet (Colin Creevy, a look at Colin’s death)

Legal Alien (Harry Potter, MCU crossover, Harry visits New York and an alien invasion breaks out. Culminates with the best, dumb, joke.)

The Root of Desire (Tom Riddle/Hermione Granger, Hermione travels back in time and tries to influence Tom. All this does is inspire his sexual awakening.)

Deadheads (Harry Potter/Godric Gryffindor, a romantic comedy of a kind, culminating in the best dumbest joke)

Give and Take (Tom Riddle/Hermione Granger, Hermione tries to outwit Tom, it ends in despair)

The Road to Somewhere (Harry Potter, Spirited Away crossover, Harry as MoD is in the realm of the spirits)

Absolute (Harry Potter, Harry picks up a death note, he kills everyone)

Fortunate Son (Dudley Dursleys, years afterwards Dudley looks back and writes a memoir and expose about the abuse inflicted on his cousin)

Elective Affinities (Severus Snape/Harry Potter, Harry travels back in time to discover his parents are assholes and things are more complicated than he imagined)

Juxtaposed (Bod, Graveyard Book crossover, Bod attends Hogwarts)

The Fire Omens (Tom Riddle and a look at WWII)

Broken Toys (Tom Riddle and his useless broken toys)

The Fine Art of Poisoning (Madame Zabini)

A Marriage of Convenience (Pansy and Theo get married)

Reparabilis (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Tom becomes a professor, he still destroys Harry Potter)

The Unforgivable Curses (Draco Malfoy, a look at the 4th year unforgivable lecture with Moody and the Slytherins)

Ugly (Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy one sided Dudley/Harry Potter, Dudley’s fat, ugly, and creeps on his cousin)

Three Can Keep a Secret (Harry Potter, on secrets and secret keeping)

Caveat Incimici (Hermione Granger, on Hermione and her terrifying wrath)

Babylon (Harry Potter and Tom Riddle, Harry never gets rid of Tom)

Wonderful Tragic Mysterious (Luna Lovegood and Albus Dumbledore, Luna Lovegood time travels and becomes a young Albus’ neighbor)

In the Clockface, Weighted and Weary (Harry Potter/Ariana Dumbledore, Harry after DH ends up back in time in Dumbledore’s childhood and witnesses the beautiful Dumbledore family dysfunction)

Eternal Return (Harry Potter and Tom Riddle, Harry is reincarnated as Tom Riddle and as a result becomes Voldemort so that a Voldemort exists)

Like Pale Fire (Harry Potter/Godric Gryffindor, the Founders are resurrected and it turns out Harry had travelled to the past and become Salazar Slytherin, turns out the Founders were more complicated than people expected.)

12 Moves Sideways (Harry Potter and Light Yagami, Death Note crossover, Light becomes the Defense Professor, for once Harry does not figure out the mystery.)

A Very Young Girl’s Record of Her Own Impressions (Ariana Dumbledore’s diary)

Night Comes Early (Moody on war)

Little Witches (The Black family women and how it all falls apart)

Paved with Good Intentions (Petunia on finding a baby on her doorstep)

Emerald Serpent for Vanity (Draco and Nagini introspective)

Blue (Tom Riddle/Bellatrix LeStrange, Voldemort wins dystopia, Tom visits Bellatrix’s grave and is very crazy)

Eighteen (Hermione Granger, on Hermione’s betrayal of her parents)

Ouroboros (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, on what they’ve made of each other)

Not so Different (Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird Crossover, Scout reflects on the wizarding world’s raicsm)

Traitor (Hermione Granger, Hermione is captured by the Death Eaters and commits unspeakable acts to free herself)

Smashing Mirrors (Tom Riddle, introspective)

Twelve Dark Moons (Luna Lovegood/Tom Riddle, Luna becomes a captive of the dark lord)

Full Circle (Harry Potter, Harry wins and is miserable)

The Web of a Thousand Spiders (Luna Lovegood on the diary)

The Metronome (The fall of Lucius’ entire generation)

Understand (Hermione Granger and her betrayal of her parents)

Tea with the Headmaster (Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore, the pair have tea)

This Grief Feeling (Hermione Granger and Severus Snape after the end)

After Innocence (The trio after the end)

Of Great Turmoil and Excess Stupidity (Sesshomaru and Hagrid, Inuyasha crossover, Hagrid decides to capture a demon for class)

What’s Left of Hope (Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore, on preserving hope)

In His Keep (Severus Snape and Luna Lovegood, Snape informs Luna her father has died)

Wednesday (Petunia Evans, introspective)

In the Presence of Angels (Moody in WWII)

What He Grows to Be (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Harry Potter raises Tom Riddle in the past and it goes horribly wrong)

Being Cassandra (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Tom, and their strange AU friendship)

The Girl (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, a fem Harry Potter keeps accidentally appearing in Tom’s childhood)

Corruption (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Tom wins AU and female Harry slowly becomes corrupted)

One Night Stand (Tom Riddle/Lily Evans, a wonderful look on the first war, Tom Riddle, Lily Evans, the Order of the Phoenix, and terrorism)

The Voldemort Principle (Severus Snape, turns out Snape was Voldemort the whole time and Harry is a lying liar who lies)

Harry Potter and the mountain of pure diamond (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Harry has become an ageless god who travels worlds and decides to raise Tom Riddle. He’s disturbed when he realizes Tom is more of a person than he is)

A Road Less Travelled By (Harry Potter/Lucius Malfoy, Harry’s a veela, just read it, it’s amazing, I know I sound crazy but it is)

Transformation (Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy, Draco gets eaten by the Forbidden Forest and then Harry gets eaten too)

Rock Bottom (Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Tom gets trapped being defense professor and has a miserable time)

#ask #anon #harry potter #recommendations

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solara-bean · 4 years

Text

Shirou's Secret :

Shirou Ogami x Human Reader

( reader might be slightly oc )

For as long as you can remember you've been fascinated by beastmen. This was most likely due to your love of animals and curious nature. It became a habit of you annoying adults with all of your questions.

" Teacher, why don't we learn about beastmen?"

" Mr. Zookeeper, do elephants and elephant beastmen eat the same kind of food?"

" Ms. Librarian, why are all the books about beastmen so mean?"

You were normally met with a prejudice and ignorance that you didn't understand. Your mother was the only one who ever bothered to give you an unbiased answer. But even she didn't know everything.

Then you met Izumi. A snow leopard beastmen. You were both only eight at the time when you found her hiding under a playground set. Izumi was understandably afraid of you while you were the exact opposite. Soon you two became the best of friends.

Until the incident happened.

The same event that was playing over and over again in your mind as Shirou's body covered yours. His fur stained with blood from the multiple bullet wounds in his chest.

" S-shioru..." you whispered.

" Izumi!! "

" ..s-shirou..." your trembling hands clutched his shoulders, too afraid to nudge him off of you.

" Izumi!!!!! "

It all came back to you at once. The screams. The smell of blood. The pain. You couldn't feel anything but the pain in your head and the fabric of Shirou's coat.

" ..I...."

You heard a familiar deep voice, snapping you back to the present.

" I'm ok Y/n. "

Your vision focused on Shirou and your eyes widened. He was....he was healed! How?!

Before you could question it any further Michiru appeared to check on you both. That's right. Now you remembered. You were helping Shirou with a case when you were ambushed. It was suppose to be safe. At least safe enough to bring you along but apparently it wasn't.

" Y/n?" asked Koichi from the front seat of the mayor's car.

You came out of your daze once again. It seemed like it had been mere seconds since the mayor arrived with the police, questioned Shirou and Michiru then offered to escort you all home. The only thing you didn't vaguely recall was Shirou telling her " They know. " Except you weren't exactly sure what you knew or what happened at all.

" Yes Mr. Ishizaki?"

" I asked if you wanted us to take you home."

You were in front of Shirou and Michiru's place. They were already out of the car, watching you.

" No I'm not far from here. I can walk. "

As the car drove off you turned to Shirou and Michiru. You were all silent. They looked like they wanted to tell you something but you couldn't bare it. You had to get home now before your emotions fully took over. So you waved goodbye and started in the direction to your apartment.

" Y/n."

You stopped.

" Please we need to talk."

You stuffed your hands in your pockets so that they wouldn't see your shaking fists.

" If it's about what I saw don't worry. I'll forget it ever happened."

You began to leave again but Shirou grabbed your wrist.

" Y/n just let me explain."

" You don't have to explain anything! Just-" Your stopped before your voice cracked, tears threatening to fall. " Just please let me go home. We can talk about this tomorrow if it's so important."

He sighed as if to calm himself down. His hand slid from your wrist into your palm.

" It is important," his voice was low, almost a whisper. " That's why I have to tell you now."

You still didn't face him. You did your best to focus on anything to distract you from crying. His warm hand gently squeezing yours almost did the trick. Then you felt another hand on your shoulder. It was Michiru.

" Hey everything's gonna be alright. If you come inside I'll make you some tea. Would you like that?"

You wiped a few strands of tears.

" Y-yeah...yeah I'd like that."

-----

Before long you were sitting on the edge of Shirou's bed. Tea half drunk and now room temperature but still soothing all the same. Shirou sat on a chair that he moved in front of you. He made sure to still keep enough space between you so that you could breathe.

He wasn't always this considerate of your feelings. Your relationship started off rocky because of his hatred for humans, even though it had been lessened thanks to Michiru. But over time he saw how genuine you were about helping beastmen as an avid activist for beastmen rights.

Not only that but you were overjoyed by every new thing you saw, heard, ate, learned and even smelled in Anima City. You somehow made friends with just about every new beastmen you came across. You had this talent of lifting their spirits and making them feel comfortable around you as a human. Sure there were those who tried to harm or kill you but you held up a pretty good fight against them without his or Michiru's help.

A moment that nearly brought him to tears was when you reunited with your old friend Izumi, who was now a man. He could only imagine his hardships as a beastmen and as a transgender man. But he was happily engaged and utterly ecstatic to see you again after all this time.

So he let a few barriers down around you. You hung out a lot more without Michiru or Nazuna. It got to the point where some moments seemed much more than platonic. But he couldn't go that far with you. Not without telling you the truth. And now might be his best chance.

" Ok I'm ready. You can talk now." you set the teacup aside and faced him with a determined look.

He pondered on where to start. In the middle of his thinking his hand traveled to yours. Your knuckles were bandaged from the previous fight.

" Is your hand feeling better? Lizard beastmen have very tough skin."

" I'm fine Shirou," you placed your hand over his. " Just please explain to me what I saw. How .....how did you heal so fast?"

" I guess there's no avoiding now," he sighed then locked onto your gaze. " For starters I'm the Silver Wolf..."

He told his story to you as best as he could. When he was done he took a minute to analyze your reaction. Except it wasn't what he was expecting.

" You don't seem surprised."

" Oh I am. I just....uh..wow your not what I imagined at all. Not that it's a bad thing. And you're that old?!"

" Yes."

" You must've seen a lot of shit."

" Trust me. I've seen more than anyone needs to."

You laughed at his dry humor. He smiled from seeing you happy for the first time that night since the attack. But he knew it wouldn't last long with his next question.

" Why did you react that way when I got hurt?"

Your face instantly faltered.

" What do you mean?"

" You looked terrified."

" Of course I was! You were covered in blood and bullets."

" Y/n," he took your hand again. " I know trauma when I see it. Please...talk to me."

You didn't speak for awhile. When you did your voice was low.

" You know my friend Izumi?"

" Yes."

" Do you remember what I told you about him?"

" You were childhood friends, correct? Then he had to move away."

" Yeah but I never told you why he left," you took a deep breath. " We would always meet up at the park before sundown. No one was there that late so we could play without getting stared at but then-" your body shook. " I was late one day and some kid told their dad that Izumi scratched them a-and-" your voice hitched. " they were hitting him and kicking him and one of the guys pulled out a bat so I tried to help but I got hit in the head and blacked out-" your gasped in a breath and continued to ramble on. " then I woke up in the hospital. My mom was arguing with the doctor because he refused to help Izumi. Eventually they did but Izumi's family saw how in danger they were around humans so once he got better they left town for good."

You took a moment to catch your breath again and wipe the tears you didn't know had fallen.

" I know it was years ago but everytime I see a beastmen get attacked or hear about one getting killed at a protest or something I just-" you sniffed. " My mind goes back to that night. And I can hear screaming for his family again. And smell the blood. And I.....he was just a kid Shirou. He was just a kid! He'd never hurt anyone. Hell! Snow leopards don't even attack humans in the wild! It wasn't fair!-"

Before you could continue Shirou pulled you into his chest.

" It's alright Y/n. He's ok now. You did your best. In fact you probably saved his life."

" I could've done better. If I wasn't late none of that would've happened." you sobbed.

" You can't know that for sure. Izumi is ok now. Even better he's happy. All thanks to you and your kindness."

That was your final breaking point. You cried into Shirou's chest for what felt like hours. When you calmed down he let go of you and stood up. As you wiped your nose on your sleeve you noticed him moving some of the furniture around then closing his window's curtains.

" What are you doing?"

Instead of answering you he knelt down in front of you and morphed.

" Could you take off my collar?"

" Uhh..." ok this was getting weird really fast. " Sure?" you gently reached through his fur and undid the collar.

You were quick to notice the large scar underneath. Without thinking you reached out to touch it but stopped before you could. Shirou however took your hand and guided your fingers to it. You were about to ask how he got it when a bright blue light poured out of it. Within seconds he was a large wolf beast with glowing fur and blades on his shoulders.

He had to kneel down so he wouldn't hit the ceiling, which positioned his head over your lap. He looked up at you with shining eyes that left you speechless.

" So," he spoke although his voice was slightly echoey. " Is this what you pictured the Silver Wolf would be like?"

An old memory played in your head. You went to visit Izumi at the hospital. It was actually the last day you saw him.

" You know I bet it was the Silver Wolf that saved us." he said while laying the hospital bed with his face still bandaged.

" Who's the Silver Wolf?"

" They're this really cool god that protects all beastmen."

" Wow! That's so cool. Are they fluffy?"

" Yep! They're the fluffiest biggest wolf that ever existed!"

" I hope we get to meet them someday. I wanna thank them for saving us."

Another tear slid down your face. This time out of joy. You hugged Shirou's face and petted his flowing fur.

" Thank you Shirou. And no. You're even more beautiful than I imagined."

#bna #brand new animal #shirou ogami #shirou ogami x reader #angst #fluff #i dont know how to cut posts so this is really long sorry😅

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zacs-of-rwby · 3 years

Text

STRQ Backstory

Mostly focused on how the Branwen Twins grew up and grew apart

If CRWBY won’t give it to us I’ll fucking do it myself

Let’s start from the beginning.

When they were kids, Raven and Qrow had two very different experiences in the tribe.

Raven was seen as the golden child, the prodigy, the obvious choice to become the next leader of the Branwen Tribe.

Qrow, on the other hand, was an outcast, a burden, something that had to be dragged along rather than someone they actually wanted on their team

A curse

Qrow could only endure so much teasing and harassment. The nicknames were the worst part:

Broken Mirror

Bad Omen

Black Cat

They weren’t real creative, but they stung all the same

So Qrow would wander off, get lost, isolate himself, spend time alone where no one could reach him or bother him or remind him of his true nature: just bad luck.

“That boy’s gonna get us all killed one day” he remembers hearing a leader say. He thought he had whispered it so the kid couldn’t hear. Now it was seared into Qrow’s mind, like a brand

When the tribe decides to send the twins to Beacon, Raven is thrilled, and Qrow is excited for different reasons

“They’ll learn how to kill and we’ll get rid of the little bad luck charm for four years.”

That one wasn’t even whispered, that was said right to his face at the gathering where it was announced - and it got a big laugh from the crowd

Good riddance, Qrow thought

But Beacon presented him with new challenges

Growing up in the isolated forests of Anima didn’t exactly make socializing easy

There were basic cultural concepts, hidden rules, and high expectations placed on the twins that they were not prepared for

Their teammates were a bit of a culture shock themselves

Two balls of sunshine they were, and neither Qrow nor Raven knew how to respond to it at first

But the thing that threw Qrow off the most was that they were nice. No reason. No motive. They were just nice.

Qrow was so used to being told that if he didn’t stay in line he’d be left behind. That he owed his sister and other members of the tribe everything because they had saved his life once or twice

Summer saved Qrow’s ass on their first mission and her only response was a cheery “you can thank me later.”

He tried to avoid her for weeks after that, worried that she’d “cash in” a favor just like everyone else in his life tried to

When she confronted him about it she was so confused

“Owe me something? Qrow, we’re teammates… I’m your leader. You don’t owe me anything. It’s my job to keep you alive.”

Her job?

Oh, great, now he’s her burden, too

Tai was just as weirdly nice

Always smiling, always one bad pun away from Qrow wanting to punch him in the mouth, but also always considerate and friendly

Despite Qrow’s objections, Tai did everything he could to make sure that Qrow didn’t feel left out. Inviting him to hang out, asking to study together, inviting him to join in on pranks and jokes

Fuck

It was like they wanted Qrow around

Meanwhile, Raven was like a bug in his ear: What are you doing??? We can’t be friends with them. We are here to learn how to do one thing. Don’t lose your focus, Brother.

And then there was the headmaster

Who the fuck did this guy think he was?

Some twenty year old punk, what the fuck did he know?

Qrow and Tai became very familiar with Ozpin as they were called to his office after every stupid prank, no matter how small

But they never got in trouble

Qrow couldn’t fathom why, until one day Oz told him

“You’re a self-fulfilling prophecy. People think that trouble follows you because of your semblance. So instead, you create the trouble. Because why bother trying to convince people otherwise, right?”

The headmaster was always patient with Qrow, never lashing out or harshly punishing him, even when Qrow himself thought it was justified. He helped him learn how to control his bad luck as best he could and encouraged him over and over again

“You have the potential to be an excellent huntsman, Mr. Branwen. You just have to work for it.”

And after graduation, Ozpin handed Qrow the one thing he had been searching for since he left the tribe: a new purpose.

For him, the fight against Salem, the clandestine war was a chance to put his skills- his ability to kill- to good use

But Raven didn’t see it that way. She was scared. Of the unknown, of the lack of control, of the new responsibility.

And the possibility that she would have a kid was the last straw, too much to bear, so she fled

But Qrow stayed, because while at Beacon, he became something he was always trying to be

No longer a burden.

No longer a curse.

He became a hero.

#rwby #team strq #qrow branwen #raven branwen #summer rose #taiyang xiao long #ozpin #long post #did i do this write?

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freyayuki · 9 months

Text

Final Fantasy Record Keeper Tifa Lockhart Updated Relics and Stats List

In the Final Fantasy Record Keeper (FFRK) mobile game, Final Fantasy VII is the realm where I have the most relics. That’s because FF7 is my fave realm in this game.

If there’s a Final Fantasy VII banner or if a Final Fantasy VII char is featured on a banner, I almost always pull on said banner.

This post is all about Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII and all the Soul Breaks I currently have for her as well as her current stats and such.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper End of Service Announcement

Unfortunately, Final Fantasy Record Keeper just recently announced that it was gonna end its service on September 29, 2022. I talk more about that in another post.

I really wish this didn’t have to happen. I don’t want FFRK to end, at least not anytime soon.

Anyway, I’m hoping to be able to finish as much of FFRK’s content as I can before everything ends on September 29, 2022. I talk more about that in another post.

I also want to take screenshots of a couple of stuff in the game before the end.

Tifa Lockhart Relics List

Here’s a list of all the relics that I have for Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII (#ad):

Dual Awakening Soul Break (DASB), Awoken Meteor Arts

Synchro Arcane Soul Break 1 (SASB1), Zangan's Infinitude

SASB2, Limit Combo

Awakened Arcane Soul Break 1 (AASB1), Meteor Arts

AASB2, Chain Somersault

Arcane Overstrike Soul Break (AOSB), Platinum Strike

Ultra Soul Break 1 (USB1), Meteodrive

Overstrike Soul Break (OSB), Meteor Strike

Glint+ Soul Break 2 (G+2), Rockcrusher Grasp

Burst Soul Break 1 (BSB1), Meteor Crusher

Default Soul Break, Beat Rush

Legend Materia 1, Heroic Devotion

Legend Materia 2, Fighter's Instinct

Legend Materia Relic 1 (LMR1), Brawling Barkeep

LMR3, First-Class Fighter

Missing 11 or 12 of Tifa’s Soul Breaks:

Limit Break Overstrike (LBO), Crushing Palm

True Arcane Soul Break (TASB) or Arcane Dyad Soul Break (ADSB), Final Heaven

USB2, Meteor Combo

G+1, Eruption Garb

Glint Soul Break 1 (G1), Zangan Awakening

G2, Rock Render

BSB2, Rolling Blaze

Super Soul Break (SSB), Dolphin Blow

Unique Soul Break, Burning Arrow

Unique Soul Break, Waterkick

Unique Soul Break, Sommersault

LMR2, Friendly Fighter

Unfortunately, FFRK ended before I had the chance to take more screenshots of Tifa’s relics, stats, character profiles, and such.

Wasn’t able to take a screenshot of the Materia tab of her relics list, and now I can’t remember for sure if I have all of her Legend Materia Relics or not.

I know for sure that I have Tifa’s LMR1. Got it from a daily free draw a long, long time ago. I talk more about that in another post.

Tifa’s LMR3 gives her a chance to dualcast Monk-type abilities. I also know for sure that I have this. Even have it currently equipped to her based on the above screenshot.

Just can’t remember if I got this from a draw, or if I used Anima Lenses to buy it from the The Record Lab.

Also can’t remember if I have Tifa’s LMR2. This one temporarily infuses her with the power of earth on battle start. This isn’t really a good LMR since it only lasts for 25 seconds so I’m pretty sure I didn’t bother Lensing this.

I remember getting Tifa’s Dual from the Final Fantasy VII Summer Sun Festival 2022 Luck of the Realms banner. I talk more about that in this post, but this was a very pleasant surprise.

I remember getting Tifa’s AASB2 from one of the Final Fantasy VII Labyrinth Dungeon banners.

When I got my first copy of this Soul Break, I was super pleased because this gives me another BDL relic for Tifa.

But I got annoyed and even mad when I kept on getting dupes of this Awakening. I talk more about that in this post.

Looks like I got Tifa’s Sync 1 from a free draw. I talk more about that in another post.

Was really pleased when I got my first copy of Tifa’s Sync 1. But then, much, much later, I ended up getting a dupe of this from a Final Fantasy VII Luck of the Realms banner. Was really annoyed when that happened. I talk more about that in another post.

I got Tifa’s Sync 2 via the Final Fantasy VII Crystal Dungeons Stamp Sheet Select Relic List B pick. I talk more about that in another post.

Anyway, of the relics that I know for sure that I’m missing for Tifa, the only ones I can’t Lens are her LBO and TASB.

Although I could have Lensed the other Soul Breaks that I’m missing for Tifa, I unfortunately didn’t get the chance to do so before the game ended.

Tifa Lockhart Info

In Final Fantasy Record Keeper, Tifa Lockhart is a really good physical earth elemental DPS.

Ever since I got Tifa’s Sync 1 and AASB1, she became part of my physical earth elemental team as my main DPS.

Tifa was part of my team when I took on Ramuh, the 6-star physical and earth-weak Magicite boss. This is quest level 550. I talk more about this fight in this post.

Tifa was also part of my team when I took on the physical and earth-weak version of the Argent Odin Magicite fight. This is quest level 600. I talk more about this fight in this post.

Glad I was able to use Tifa for a lot of fights but I still wish I’d been able to use her more.

I only just recently got her Sync 2 which is way better than her Sync 1 so I wish that I got the chance to use this Soul Break more.

Actually, now that I’m thinking about this some more, can’t remember for sure now if I was able to try out this relic. By the time I acquired Tifa’s Sync 2, the game was super close to ending already.

Can’t remember for sure now if I'd gotten the chance to bring Tifa to another physical and earth-weak fight to try out her Sync 2.

I also only just recently got her DASB but pretty sure I was able to use this a few times since I got this before her Sync 2. Can’t remember the exact dates anymore though.

Tifa Lockhart Hero Artifacts and Hero Ability

My Tifa is currently equipped with her Hero Artifacts:

Level 99 of 99 Premium Heart (VII)

Level 99 of 99 Tifa’s Gloves (VII)

Level 1 of 1 Tifa’s Earrings (VII)

Unfortunately, wasn’t able to double-check if I’d been able to get the best passives for all of Tifa’s Hero Artifacts.

I did try to farm for Tifa but didn’t get to spend that much time on it so I don’t think I was able to get the perfect passives for all of her Artifacts.

IIRC, Tifa’s Artifacts did return to the Labyrinth Dungeons once or twice after their initial appearance so I got to try farming for them again.

I think I was able to get the perfect passives for Tifa’s accessory and armor. Can’t remember for sure anymore though. And now I can’t check the game since FFRK’s all over now. Sigh.

Anyway, Tifa has 2 Hero Abilities - a Monk-type ability called Beat Rush and a Monk-type ability called Somersault. Created and fully maxed out both so they each have 10 uses per fight.

Tifa Lockhart Stats

Tifa currently has the following stats:

ATK - 1104

MAG - 149

ACC - 120

DEF - 439

RES - 404

EVA - 135

MND - 149

SPD - 189

Tifa Lockhart Magia Crystals

Currently, Tifa has 135 Magia points. Unfortunately, wasn’t able to take a screenshot of her Magia Crystals list before the game ended.

But I’m positive that I gave my Tifa’s Attack Magia Crystal 100 points since that’s always what I do for physical DPS the moment I get 100 points for them.

Then Tifa must have 35 points in the attack section of her Earth Magia Crystal.

Tifa Lockhart Crystal Water Points

Wasn’t able to take a screenshot but I’m pretty sure that my Tifa has max Crystal Waters for the following stats: ATK, HP, DEF, and RES.

Tifa Lockhart Character Profile

Each char in Final Fantasy Record Keeper has a Character Profile. This has 2 tabs - Overview and Hero Record.

Unfortunately, wasn’t able to take screenshots of Tifa’s Overview and Hero Record.

But here’s some of what is listed under the Overview tab of Tifa’s Character Profile:

Tifa’s Role is listed as Physical Attack.

Under the Special Traits heading is the following text:

Wields daggers and fist weapons. Can use rare combat abilities, buffing her Attack to deal heavy damage.

The Hero Record tab of Tifa’s Character Profile has the following text:

A member of AVALANCHE and Cloud's childhood friend, Tifa is a skilled martial artist. Though shy, she harbors feelings for Cloud.

Below that is information about Tifa’s Wardrobe Records. She has 2 costumes. Unfortunately, wasn’t able to take screenshots of any of these either. But at least I was able to find some info about these.

Tifa’s first costume is called Leather Suit. This is the leather outfit that she wore in the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie. IIRC, we got this costume for free just by doing some easy quest or other.

The info page about Tifa’s Leather Suit Wardrobe Record has the following text:

The outfit worn by Tifa in Advent Children. She oversaw the new Seventh Heaven, looking after Marlene and Denzel on her own after Cloud disappeared.

Tifa’s second costume is called Glamorous Tifa. This is the purple dress that Tifa wore in Final Fantasy VII.

This costume is one of the rewards that players will get upon beating the Final Fantasy VII Dreambreaker Dungeon quest in the Cardia Dungeons. This fight is quest level 580.

The info page about Tifa’s Glamorous Tifa Wardrobe Record has the following text:

The dress Tifa wore during the infiltration of Corneo Hall.

Ever since I got Tifa’s Leather Suit costume, I have her wearing it.

As for her Glamorous Tifa Wardrobe Record, I was able to get this costume since I was able to clear the Final Fantasy VII Dreambreaker fight. I talk more about that fight in this post.

Had Tifa equipped with this purple dress a few times and even her default outfit but I found that I prefer her Leather Suit so went back to having her wear said costume.

Anyway, I’m really annoyed that I wasn’t able to take more Tifa-related screenshots before Final Fantasy Record Keeper ended. Wish I’d been able to take more notes and info and such about all of this. Sigh.

It really sucks that the game is all over now. I really wish we could have gotten more time to play FFRK.

Conclusion

So what about you? What do you think about Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII? Do you have a lot of Soul Breaks for her? What do you think about the fact that Final Fantasy Record Keeper is all over now? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging or replying to this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Final Fantasy Record Keeper game account

#final fantasy record keeper #final fantasy 7 #tifa lockhart #ffrk #gacha games #mobile games #games #ffrk relics list

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kyndaris · 3 years

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Who Else Will I Have Da-Chao Beans With?

With a brand-new PlayStation 5, lovingly dubbed Seto Kaiba, now in my grasp I was excited to try out Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade. In particular, the downloadable content (DLC) featuring everyone’s favourite materia hunter: Yuffie Kisaragi. Yes, you heard it right. I suffered through disappointment and numerous attempts of trying to put my name down on a PlayStation 5 waitlist just so that I could play a $30 add-on. I mean, it’s not the first time that I’ve willingly put down money to enjoy more of the story, but it’s a rare occurrence.

With that out of the way, please know that this impression of INTERmission will be filled with spoilers. I know this post won’t go up until August but considering how hard it is to still get consoles, well…you’ve been warned.

In contrast to Cloud’s stoic and no-nonsense attitude, Yuffie is a breath of fresh air. Right from the gates, her narration in a bid to impress the members of Avalanche that aren’t even present is a joy and delight. True, she’s younger than our main character, but she has seen a lot of things. The conflict between Wutai and Shinra back in the good old days of Crisis Core are very much part of the lore in the expanded Final Fantasy 7 universe.

In fact, our favourite puppy of the series, Zack Fair, also got to meet the rising ninja star of Wutai during the conflict.

But I’m getting off-topic. Back to INTERmission.

After traversing the wastelands around Sector 7, Yuffie finally reaches the slums before the plate has fallen. Once she has arrived, she meets up with the members of AVALANCHE. Except, of course, they’re not the ones that we know and love. Enter Zhijie, Nayo, Polk and Billy Bob.

As for Jessie, Biggs and Wedge? All three were located around the slums. Jessie was seated in front of Seventh Heaven (which Yuffie could not enter), Wedge enjoyed the company of many cats and Biggs was idling by not too far from the others. All of them were interactable but their dialogue essentially boiled down to: stop bothering me. I did like, however, being able to play the board game: Fort Condor with at least two of them. AND UTTERLY DESTROYED THEM WHILE I WAS AT IT.

Chadley too, made an appearance – this time offering a battle with Ramuh and also being the GRANDMASTER of the Fort Condor board games.

By the by, the Fort Condor minigame is probably quite reminiscent of the auto-battles that have gained popularity. Three towers to be defended, summonable units…

I’ve never played any of the auto-battles but it does seem fun. For a short while at least. And as a minigame within a game.

Once I had explored the slums to my heart’s content, it was back to the story missions. Enter Sonon. As soon as he appeared, I knew that things would not end well. After all, Yuffie did not have a companion when you met her as an optional side character. And in every other iteration: from Advent Children to Dirge of Cerberus, he was never present.

But though I knew his time would be limited, he brought excellent banter to the adventure and served as an excellent support to Yuffie. Even if the brother-sister connection was a little ham-fisted with Yuffie reminding the warrior of his own sister: Melphi. Still, despite the way the developers bungled the immediate connection, I didn’t mind. Yuffie, after all, was on a mission to nab the greatest and ultimate materia right from under Shinra’s nose.

It is important to know that while not much changes in the way of combat, Yuffie does play quite a bit different from the other main characters. In fact, she can fight both close-up and at range with her ninjutsu arts. Another change to the formula is that you cannot change to Sonon. Only Yuffie can be controlled – though you can give commands to Sonon and have him perform abilities and spells.

Then, of course, there’s also the synergy aspect wherein Sonon and Yuffie would combine their attacks to deal additional damage. It was fun experimenting with the system and showed how versatile the combat system could be.

Once they enjoyed a trip chasing Zhijie to obtain High-D cards that would allow them to slip into Shinra Headquarters, it was back to the slums to see Tifa and Barret return without SOLDIER-boy Cloud Strife. What I loved about this moment was that we also got to see a private conversation between Tifa and Barret that did not feature in the first game or in the Remake run. Seeing the aftermath of Cloud falling down into the slums below and how it had impacted both Tifa and Barret was a great character moment. And it also helped serve to explain the reason why Tifa ended up in Wall Market in the first place.

With that moment out of the way, our heroes Yuffie and Sonon head to Shinra headquarters. As they slip into the elevator, they are joined by Scarlet: Head of Weapons Development. From there, the game becomes a gauntlet of battles. It’s not the most thrilling chapter to experience but it does showcase how well the Wutaians fight and the innate teamwork between Yuffie and Sonon.

This new piece of downloadable content, however, is not satisfied to simply end matters here, however. When Scarlet is defeated (and even in defeat she’s assessing how best to finetune her machines of war), she activates DEEPGROUND. For the first time in a long while, I got to see Weiss the Immaculate and Nero the Sable.

While I may not have played Dirge of Cerberus, I did watch ALL the walkthroughs that I could find on YouTube back in my younger years. I watched Vincent Valentine grapple with his past and finally learn to control the power within.

That aside, the new threat that Nero presented was a challenge. With his arms strapped to his chest in a straitjacket, he reminded me of Anima Aeon from Final Fantasy X. But it was his darkness powerset that gave me all the Kingdom Hearts vibes. If I have to hear ‘Darkness’ again in anything, I think I might have to scream.

Beyond these few nitpick moments, I felt that Sonon’s death was a little overdone. Particularly for a character that had only been fighting beside us for only a few short moments. Don’t get me wrong, the developers tried their best to sell it: the swell in the orchestra, the use of copious flashbacks…

Still, the pain expressed by Yuffie (which was then followed by the Sector 7 plate falling) was enough to sell a bit of the horror.

My only question though is: WHAT IS NERO GOING TO DO WITH SONON’S BODY?

From there, the credits rolled and we caught a glimpse of Yuffie out in the wilds, on a chocobo and humming. As a side note, does everyone know the chocobo theme song? Is it a piece of canonical music within the game universe that is associated with chocobos? Like, is it used in advertisement for chocobos? I NEED TO KNOW!

We also get to see Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Cloud traipsing along on the road to Kalm. Better than that, we see Zack in his alternate dimension reaching the church in the Sector 5 slums, debating how best to reintroduce himself to his fair flower lady. Where is his version of Cloud in all this? Why are there so many people in the church? How does this whole dimension/ alternate timeline thing work?

Once again, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake left me with more questions than answers. Though I never played the original, over the years, I had scoured the wiki sites to learn as much as I could. And though I knew the plot beats, the creative directors and script writer have kept things close to the vest – tantalising me with the prospect of what is to come.

I still need a slap fight between Scarlet and Tifa, okay! It had better be in there!

#yuffie kisaragi #final fantasy 7 Remake #Intermission #who else will i have ice cream with?#sonon is xion #final fantasy vii

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beneaththetangles · 3 years

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Reader’s Corner: SAO Project Alicization, Evangelion ANIMA, and Cooking with Fluffy Friends

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 2, Vol. 3

Recently, I introduced my sister to the Ascendance series, and she’s hooked. As she gobbles her way through the novels from Part 2, I’ve been rereading them to keep up with her questions and comments. And I have to say, I really like this volume in particular. In some ways, it’s a filler novel, sandwiched between the rising tensions of volume two and the approaching climax in volume four. Myne sells off rights to the paper ink, completes the first printing press (finally!), finishes sets of playing cards for the orphanage, and cooks up some new sweets recipes in the interim. Nothing incredibly unique, but it’s the small details about Myne’s life that I love—including her banter with Benno and Ferdinand, of which there is much in this volume. Of course, it’s not all easy reading. Now that nobles know about Myne’s wealth of mana, she’s in more danger than ever before; and the arrival of a *certain* blue priest sends the whole temple into a panic. But whether you’re reading for the tension or the sweetness, you’ll definitely find something to love in this volume. At least, I did—even on my second read. ~ sleepminusminus

Ascendance of a Bookworm is published by J-Novel Club, which offers a free preview.

Sword Art Online: Project Alicization, Vol. 2

Volume two of Project Alicization picks up right where the initial one left off, with Kirito waking up in a digital world and meeting his new friend, Eugeo. He discovers that Alice has been taken by the Integrity Knight, but the next day, he and Eugen also can’t find Selka, the latter’s friend and sister to Alice. Elsewhere, Asuna and the OG gang try to figure out where Kirito’s body is after he went unconscious. It seems foul play and deception are afoot with Rath, the company who created this new game. Volume two keeps the action going at a frenetic pace, but it struggles with the same issues as the previous one. There is too much dialogue about how souls work in the game, in addition to other non-essential details. Some will enjoy the heavy focus on detail in this volume as with the previous, but this reviewer finds that SAO tries a little too hard to explain itself instead of moving the story along. I am, however, enjoying the new characters and plot as well as basking in Kirito’s bravery, so I continue to look forward to the next part of the series to see what happens next! ~ Samuru

Sword Art Online: Project Alicization is published by Yen Press.*

Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends, Vol. 1 (light novel)

After her engagement to a pathetic prince is dissolved because of a malicious plot, Laeticia regains memories of her past life as a Japanese woman who loves animals and cooking. From there, she accepts an offer to become a figurehead queen in a neighboring country, and not wanting to bother the king—who has become distrustful of women—she lives apart from him in a villa with various servants and, of course, fluffy animals. There’s actually quite a lot more than just slice-of-life cooking here, as volume one presents nefarious noble plots Laetitia has to deal with, which adds drama to the story. Also, there is a bit of a fun element to the romance aspect, because while the king doesn’t quite want to meet his wife-in-name-only in person…well, he is the King of Wolfvarte, so maybe he can approach her incognito in a, let’s say, fluffier form? There are other neat fantastical elements here, and, of course, plenty of cooking and petting animals, making this was a fun story that I would love to read more of. ~ stardf29

Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends, Vol. 1 is published by Cross Infinite World.

Neon Genesis Evangelion ANIMA, Vol. 1

The Evangelion franchise has birthed several alternate universe (AU) series since its initial inception—two of which we’ve covered in this column in recent months—but ANIMA, originally serialized in Japan between 2008 and 2013, is distinctive both for being a light novel entry and in its ambition, functioning as a direct line from the original series if it has gone the direction of Shinji avoiding Human Instrumentality and now, three years later, dealing with a new threat, while bringing along most of the remaining characters from the series as well. Little time is spent exploring school life, as noted by the author himself in the volume’s extensive extras, with the action begining almost immediately and continuing in an unrelenting manner. Much like the final stretch of the anime, challenges occur one after another, barely leaving readers time to breathe. At once, the novel is a thrill because of this structure, as well as in how KHARA and Ikuto Yamashita reenvision NERV and the world it protects in light of the changes that come with Shinji’s altered decision and three years of maturation, while keeping tone and characterization consistent with its predecessor, and also disappointing because it doesn’t allow room for much growth for its characters. That’s not to say that Shinji, Rei, especially Asuka, and all the rest, haven’t developed greatly in the preceding three years, and readers are invited to witness these changes throughout volume one, but little growth occurs throughout the course of these some-300 pages. There is a much heavier focus on the sci-fi elements of the story, which will delight many fans, especially those who are interested in how technology in this universe works and how it’s progressed, but which will also serve to confuse others. ~ Twwk

Neon Genesis Evangelion ANIMA is published by Seven Seas.

Your Lie in April, Vol. 6

Continuing my re-read during the month of April, I completed volume six, which continues the story of Kousei as he’s told that he will be accompany Kaori to a recital event. Unbeknownst to her, she selects a song that screams Kousei’s Mom, leading to a volume that forces Kousei to confront his unresolved feelings with his late mother, for whom he never allowed himself to. He just bottled his emotions deep inside. Other events occurs as well, including a deeper dive which the volume takes into his mother’s friend Hiroko Seto, and Kaori all but admitting to Watari that she likes Kousei; yet at the core of these chapters, as with the entire series, this is Kousei’s story. And let’s be real—it’s not a happy-go-lucky tale, filled with highs and almost as many lows as this teenager grapples with heavy emotional baggage from his late, abusive mother. Re-reading Your Lie in April has been a good exercise, helping me see different things I may have missed before. I posted more extensive thoughts on this volume on Twitter, if you’d like to explore this weighty selection in more detail. ~ MDMRN

Your Lie in April is published by Kodansha.

Skip Beat, Vol. 18

This, this is what I follow Skip Beat for. Following the “Dark Moon” and “Suddenly, a Love Story” segments, which were long and mediocre, volume 18 features a short arc focusing on a new character and his interactions with Kyoko, who isn’t relegated to a damsel in distress as she had been previously. Returning to her Love Me section job, Kyoko is given a special assignment to assist Kuu Hizuri, a Hollywood star returning to Japan, and who has some connection to Ren beyond having played the same role in the Dark Moon drama. Coming off as a brash, arrogant type, Kuu soon appears to be very intentional in how and why he’s picking on Kyoko, and turns out to be quite an engaging character. Kuu’s actions bring out treasured qualities in both Kyoko and Ren, the latter of whom has been near-insufferable in his insecurity. A brisk read, volume 18 advances the narrative, continues to have fun with the idea of celebrity, and deepens the backgrounds that connect the series leads as it gets Skip Beat back on track—a most welcome volume, indeed. ~ Twwk

Skip Beat is published by Viz.*

=====

Reader’s Corner is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works their reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works and older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

#Manga #Light Novels #Ascendance of a Bookworm #Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen #Sword Art Online: Project Alicization #Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends #Tenseisaki de Suterareta no de Mofumofutachi to Oryouri Shimasu: Okazari Ouhi wa My Pace ni Saikyou desu #Neon Genesis Evangelion ANIMA #Evangelion: ANIMA #Your Lie in April #Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso #Skip Beat!#Reader's Corner #Articles #Author: sleepminusminus #Author: Samuru #Author: stardf29 #Author: TWWK #Author: MDMRN

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chemartsblog · 4 years

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I Need a Hero

Zuko put his life of stalking and blowing things up behind. He loves baking for the Jasmine Dragon, and the most stressful thing in his life is Jin’s nosiness.

Until he’s caught in a villain attack is saved by the most gorgeous hero...and throw coupons at him.

Ao3 Link

Quirks are mutations in the human genome that cause a person to exhibit non-human traits and abilities. The earliest quirks date back to 6,000 years ago with the appearance of elemental quirks. Those with the quirks were called ‘benders’, due to their ability to seemingly bend the elements. In modern times, quirks have evolved to more complex traits…

—History of Quirks by Kya Mallik

“Excuse me why is this tea so bitter?” a shrill woman in an atrocious floral blouse asks. Zuko counts to ten and answers, “You asked for 0% sugar. Tea is naturally bitter. Hence your tea is bitter.”

“Well change it!”

“Okay how much sugar do you want?”

“I told you earlier I didn’t want any sugar.”

Count to ten Zuko. Just like the therapist said.

“Ma’am.” Zuko says slowly trying to keep himself from steaming, “If you don’t add any sugar it’ll still be bitter. If you want an artificial sweetener we have some Splenda over there.”

“I don’t want artificial sweeteners. They cause cancer.”

Oh Agni. What did he ever do to deserve this? Zuko winces. Actually, forget I said that.

“Okay, we’ll fix it.” Zuko grumbles. The woman huffs and nods. Zuko goes to the station and places the cup under the syrup bottle. I hope you gain five pounds Karen. He thinks viciously as he pumps the syrup.

He shakes the drink and then returns it to her. The woman eyes it suspiciously and takes a slow sip. Then she smiles condescendingly and says, “See that wasn’t so hard.” And flounces off.

Good riddance. He thinks as he wipes down the counter.

“Wow bossman, I thought for sure you would have punched her.” Jin chirps. Song chuckles beside her and nods. “You showed great restraint, boss.”

“Can’t punch customers. Might get arrested.” He grumbles. “Also Uncle would be…disappointed.”

“And there’s the real reason why.” Jin teases. “You’re truly your Uncle’s boy.”

“Shut up Jin or I’ll fire you.”

“Said that before, bossman~” Jin sing-songs. “And you’ve never done it.”

“I’ll do it someday.” Zuko grumbles.

Song seems to take pity and says, “Why don’t you go to the kitchen, Zuko? It’s pretty much slowing down here. We can take care of any orders.”

Zuko looks at Song gratefully. She’s truly an angel. “Okay. I want to experiment on some new bread anyway.”

“Or you can take a lunch break.” Jin says. “It’s already 11, and I know you’ve been here since 4am baking.”

“Oh yes, Jin’s right. Take a lunch break. Lee’ll be here soon.”

Zuko pouts, “I’m not hungry.”

“Yes you are.” Jin retorts. “Now go. And I want to see a receipt of your lunch.”

“Please, Boss?”

Zuko looks at both the girls and sighs heavily. “Fine. Fine.” He grumbles and takes off the hat and apron. He takes his hair out of the bun and lets it tumble down to his mid-back. “I thought I was supposed to be the boss?” he mutters.

“You are! We’re just looking out for you. Uncle’s orders.” Jin sasses.

“Have a good lunch.” Song says waving at him. Zuko returns it half-heartedly and trudges out.

----

The streets are crowded with students and workers all heading to lunch. Zuko does his best to weave around the crowds, but even he’s pushed around in the crowded streets. Fortunately, Kuzon’s Diner is just ahead, and he breathes a sigh of relief when he gets in. The smell of familiar Fire Nation spices eases his nerves, and he goes up to the counter. On Ji smiles and asks, “You’re usual?”

“Please.” He says tiredly. He just wants to stuff his face with some hand-cut Fire Noodles. Extra spicy.

“Haha did Jin force you to take a break?”

“Jin doesn’t force me to do anything.” Zuko denies petulantly.

On Ji rolls her eyes, “Suuure Zuko.”

He tries to pay but she stops him. “On the house.” She says.

Zuko narrows his eyes, “On Ji.” He tries to say.

“Nope, you made my sister’s birthday cake.”

“It was just a cake.”

“It was a four-tiered cake to make it look like the scene from the movie Love Amongst Dragons. It was a masterpiece. Mom still cries thinking about it. You’re not paying.”

He sighs, but relents. What is with all the strong-willed women in his life?

“Thanks.” He says taking the packed noodles.

On Ji smiles and shoos him playfully, “Go on. I know I can’t make you stay to eat here. But I texted Jin, so I’ll know if you don’t eat it immediately.”

“I never should have introduced you guys.” He grumbles half-heartedly.

“Please, you love us mothering you.”

“Goodbye On Ji.” Zuko grits out.

“Mom says she better see you next week for our monthly potluck!”

“Yes, I know.” He says fondly and waves goodbye at the excitable girl.

---

He’s walking leisurely and thinking about new bread flavors when an explosion rocks the area. His body goes on autopilot and he crouches behind a mailbox. He frantically looks around and sees a group of people in combat uniforms. Villains. Great.

There are three in total. The biggest one is carrying a bulky case, probably filled with whatever loot they stole. He looks to be an anima-based mutant. Kamodo-rhino perhaps? The other two seem to be energy-propulsion mutants. One is shooting beams out of his forehead and the other is shooting from her hands. There’s a familiar rush of adrenaline coursing through Zuko as he thinks of the ways they could escape. Getaway vehicle, temporal portal, smokescreen.

Still it’s pretty ballsy of them to attack a major hub in daylight. Maybe they didn’t have a choice? He wonders what’s in the bag, and his fingers start to itch.

No.

He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths and tries to calm his beating heart. No.

There are more explosions. People are running around him. Screaming, panicking. He belatedly hears the Civilian Safety Force giving order, and he sees the bright neon green uniforms start to direct the crowd into orderly lines. Zuko stands and starts to go with them, but then he hears On Ji.

Without thinking he starts running towards her, weaving through the officers who are yelling at him to stop. But he can’t. He sees On Ji. Trapped next to a wall by debris from the ruined building. She’s desperately trying to get out, but she’s not strong enough to move the fallen chunks.

Zuko moves.

He doesn’t practice as much as before, but his body still remembers. Still remembers how to weave and dodge and climb smoothly over the debris, over the flying projectiles and screaming people. He reaches On Ji and frees her.

“Zuko.” She whispers with awe.

“No time. Let’s go.” Zuko says slinging her over his shoulders. Even through all this, his heart is calm and steady. He seems to fly through the street. In the back of his mind, he can acknowledge that he misses this. Misses the danger. The adrenaline. But he’s rusty. Maybe he would have seen it five years ago, but he barely notices it now.

He doesn’t even think. He tosses On Ji to a group of neon-green officers and faces the truck flying towards him.

Time slows.

His hands curl and he brings them up in a protective stance. Fire rushes through his veins and—blue.

Zuko blinks and coughs as dust tickle his lungs. He’s on the ground, but there’s a looming shadow over him. He looks up and his eyes widen.

It’s like a scene out of a movie; there’s a tall dark-skinned man in front of him. He’s in a dark blue hero suit with a sword on his hip. His brown hair is tied in a wolfstail with the sides shaved. And most impressively, he’s holding up the truck like it weighs nothing.

Oh Spirits, those are some big biceps.

The hero puts down the truck gently, and Zuko tries not to ogle at the thicc thighs that flex as he squats down. It’s getting really hot here. Why is it getting so hot here?

Then the hero turns and smiles. It’s. Blinding.

Zuko doesn’t even realize that the hero has walked close to him until he’s face to face with him. The dark googles mask his eyes, but Zuko thinks he probably has really striking eyes under them.

“Don’t worry. I’m here.” He says in a soothing deep timber. Then he wraps his arms around Zuko and lifts him. Princess style.

Zuko can only squeak and cling onto his very muscular shoulders.

Don’t get a boner. Don’t get a boner. Don’t get a boner.

Suddenly he’s put down and people are swarming him. Someone puts an ugly orange blanket over him and another is flashing a really bright light in his eye. He flinches and bats the light away from his eye. Someone chuckles next to him and he turns to see the Hero, still smiling and saying, “I gotta go kick some ass, but I’ll be back to check on you.”

Zuko likes to think that he says okay or nods or anything really, but in reality, he just continues to stare at the Hero. Red-faced and wide-eyed.

The hero is still there, and it looks like he wants to laugh. “So…maybe you can let go now?”

Ah he’s still clutching his shoulders. Nice Zuko. Good job.

He peels his fingers off the uniform and puts them tightly on his side. With one last wave, the Hero goes to face the three mutants.

There are more people surrounding him and asking him questions, but Zuko’s head is in a buzz. He belatedly hears On Ji’s voice near him and feels a protective hand over him. He clutches the hand and closes his eyes.

Focus Zuko. Calm yourself and breathe.

When he opens them, On Ji is beside him. Teary and dusty but otherwise alright. The orange shock blanket is still on him, and he pulls it tightly across him.

“You okay?” Zuko croaks.

On Ji scoffs and hugs him tight. “Of course. Thanks to you.”

“I owed you for the free noodles.” He tries to joke, but by the glare On Ji sends him it probably didn’t land.

“Zuko Hira’a, you are not allowed to pay for anything in Kuzon’s diner for as long as you live.” She says sternly. “And don’t bother trying to hide this from Song and Jin. I already texted them.”

Ugh he knew he shouldn’t have introduced them.

He sighs and says, “Okay. I’m sorry for worrying you, but I—I just saw you there and—and I couldn’t just leave you.”

She smiles tearily. “I know. Because you’re a stupid brave reckless idiot.”

“I know.”

A paramedic comes over to him and gives a reassuring smile. “Zuko Hira’a?”

“Yes?”

“It seems you’re alright. Just a bit of shock and a small cut on your right cheek.”

Zuko immediately puts his hands to his face and feels the rough bandage. On Ji groans and swats his hand away. “Don’t touch it.”

“Sorry.” he mutters, shaking the sting on his hand off.

The paramedic looks amused and hands him a form. “Well, it’s not deep. You didn’t even need stiches, just fill out this form and you’ll be set.”

“Thank you.” Zuko says taking the paper. The paramedic smiles again and leaves.

“So…now that you’re officially cleared...” On Ji has a devious look on her face.

Oh no.

“How’d it feel to be saved by a big handsome hero?”

He should have let the truck squash him.

Instead, he has to be here. With On Ji, who has the biggest shit-eating grin on her face. Can he fake a heart attack?

“You can’t fake a heart attack.”

“…how did you know?” Did she have a mind-reading quirk?

“Because that was your ‘can I fake a heart attack’ face.”

“I didn’t know I had one.” He mumbles.

On Ji clucks her tongue, “You still haven’t answered my question.”

Please Spirits give me something. Anything.

“Hey, I’m glad I found you!”

ANYTHING BUT THAT!

Zuko freezes and turns around stiltedly. Blue Hero’s face is a little dirty, but it just makes him look rugged, and his googles are pushed up to reveal striking blue eyes. Now that Zuko has a closer look, his arms are much bigger than he originally thought. They’re just tight corded muscles with beautiful brown skin stretched over them. His hero suit also helps show off the defined lines of his body. The dark blue really goes will with his brown skin—and Blue Hero is talking. And he’s waiting for a response.

Good job Zuko. Way to pay attention. Just nod; that’s usually the answer to everything right?

Zuko nods and the Hero beams. On Ji is biting her lips on the side, and he wishes he could just swat her away. Or rather if Zuko could swat Zuko away. That would be the most ideal.

“I’m glad you’re okay. I was really worried for a second because you were kinda out of it.” The hero says.

Yes yes. He was. No need to make him relive the shame of his encounter.

“Um…sorry. About that.”

“Haha, it’s no problem. You were probably in shock and all. Oh I’m Pro-Hero Boomerang by the way!” Boomerang stretches his hand out, and Zuko stares at it before On Ji takes pity on him and elbows his back discretely. Zuko takes it and says, “Uh…Zuko here.”

Zuko here? ZUKO HERE? Agni just strike him down now.

Boomerang just takes it in stride and smiles, “You were pretty brave, but maybe next time you can leave it to the heroes?”

Fire flares in his gut. His eyes narrow and he squeezes the hand tight, “I wasn’t going to stand by and watch her get hurt. Not if I could help. And I won’t apologize for it.”

Boomerang blinks, and his grin seems to change into something more real. “You’re right, but maybe…just be a little more careful next time huh? I can’t always swoop in to rescue you.” His eyes are smoldering and Zuko feels his palms start to heat up. He retracts his hands quickly and turns to hide his blush.

“Right right.” He mumbles.

Boomerang looks amused, but he turns to On Ji and says, “You’re lucky to have him as a boyfriend.”

On Ji sticks out her tongue, “Ugh no way. He’s more like my socially awkward older brother. Besides he’s super gay.”

“On Ji!” Zuko hisses, but Boomerang doesn’t seem to have heard him. His eyes widen and his brows lift. He glances at Zuko who’s desperately trying to will the red off his face.

“I see.” He says contemplatively. “Well, it’s nice to see that you guys are okay. I have to go help with clean-up.”

“Of course.” On Ji says genially. “Thank you for all your help, Boomerang.” Then she elbows Zuko who looks dumbly at Boomerang.

He should say something. Thank you or can I lick your biceps? No, that last one was not good. Thank you. Just say ‘thank you’…

But the sun just hit him at the just the right angle to make the shadows grace his strong jaw. The cut lines of his body. The piercing blue of his eyes. And he freaks.

He takes something out of his pocket and shoves it in the hero’s chest. Boomerang looks confused (rightfully so) and barely takes the slip of paper.

“HERE’S A COUPON FOR MY TEASHOP. OKAYBYE!” And he grabs On Ji and the blanket and books it.

He must look like a maniac because people are parting for him and On Ji is cackling like a witch, but he doesn’t really care right now. He just needs to get out of there to prevent anymore word vomit from coming out of him. He runs until he’s back at the Jasmine Dragon, and he throws the door open.

Multiple eyes widen in shock at his appearance, but Zuko just puts On Ji down on an empty chair where she proceeds to laugh herself silly, and Zuko goes into the kitchen, ignoring all the wide-eye looks from his employees. He reaches the refrigerator and goes inside. Finally, he pulls up a stool and sinks down, head to his knees, and heaves a loud guttural groan.

#sokka x zuko #superhero au #zukka #avatar the last airbender #atla #zuko #sokka #aang #katara #toph #jin #i need a hero

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when-they-write-stuff · 4 years

Note

50 and 35 please ? I love your writing btw

“I think I might be falling in love with you.” & “Please, shut up so I can kiss you.”

- -

Stiles had been spending a lot of time at the loft.

Of course, he hadn’t actually paused to think about that. Not until his father mentioned it offhand two days ago and Stiles stopped to rethink all of his life choices. Because his entire summer, he had been spending a lot of time at the loft.

It had just never crossed his mind like that.

Sure, Stiles had his reasons. He was starting to not dislike Derek’s pack so much and he could eat pizza over there without his dad’s pitiful looks. Stiles enjoyed making fun of Isaac’s scarves and liked doing all that he could to get underneath Peter’s skin.

So yeah, Stiles had been spending a lot of time at the loft. Like, most of his summer at the loft. It just hadn’t occurred to him like that until now.

Because there might be other reasons for all of that. Other reasons that Stiles really didn’t want to stop and address right now.

Turns out, he didn’t have much of a choice in that.

Because the moment Stiles started pulling his ‘loft vacation days’ back to a normal amount, Beacon Hills’s resident Alpha werewolf came swinging through his window. And to say Stiles was unprepared for that would be an understatement. Because he really should have been prepared. Derek was an enigma. He should have been prepared.

But he wasn’t.

The moment Derek shoved his window up and came ducking through, Stiles startled so hard he slipped out of his desk chair and went sprawling through the floor. Derek froze, a surprised and slightly guilty expression crossing his face before it was replaced with the growly brows once more.

Stiles groaned. “Geez, Derek, it’s nice to see you too. Care to try knocking next time, okay? Or maybe using the front door? This house does have it for a reason, you know.”

“What’s wrong with you.”

Stiles blinked at him. Of all the things he’d expected Derek to come in and say, that had not been it. He’d expected maybe some gruff ‘research this’ or possibly a much nicer ‘may you research this’ although that second one didn’t happen very often.

But Stiles hadn’t expected what actually came. He stared at Derek and then pushed himself up, glaring at the man.

“Me? What’s wrong with me? Dude, what’s wrong with you? You’re the one that just came in busting out of nowhere like Stalker Batman on steroids!”

Derek rolled his eyes. “You’ve stopped coming by the loft.”

“Uh, so?”

“So, what’s wrong with you?”

Stiles blinked a few times. He really didn’t know how to start answering that question. Derek looked irritated at his silence and shifted his feet, giving Stiles the double murder brows.

“Stiles, are you dying?”

“Dude! Why the hell would you think I’m dying?”

“Because you’ve stopped coming to the loft.”

“Oh my god,” Stiles said, rubbing a hand over his face. He dropped back into his desk chair and crossed his arms, glaring at the man. “Sourwolf, I’m allowed to have a life outside of hanging around your betas. They do get on my nerves sometimes, you know.”

Derek’s angry brows ebbed a little. Stiles raised one of his own.

“You do realize that, right?”

“... So nothing’s wrong with you?”

“No, Derek, I am dying.”

The man went rigid and Stiles clapped a hand over his face, just barely withholding a groan. He pushed himself back up and nudged Derek toward the window but the man wouldn’t budge. Stiles put some more of his back into it and really shoved, but Derek only looked at him incredulously.

“Dude, I’m fine! I’ve just… I’ve been there a lot.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

Stiles stopped trying to manhandle the werewolf and blinked at him. That thought had never actually crossed his mind. He’d only listened to his dad mention he was ‘clearly starting to enjoy being around Derek’s pack’ and Stiles’s mind decided to go into hyperdrive.

Was it a bad thing? Stiles didn’t really think so.

“Uh,” he said. “I guess not.”

“Then you’ll be by tomorrow?”

Stiles snapped back to his senses and peered at the man. “Derek, are you missing me?”

The man’s face turned bright red and he growled. A small smirk started to tug at the edges of Stiles’s mouth before Derek shot him down. “Of course not.”

“Really? Not even a little bit?”

“The betas are getting antsy.”

“So take them on a walk or something. That’s what owners usually do with their pets, right?”

“I’m their Alpha,” Derek growled. “Not their owner.”

Stiles only shrugged. “Sounds like the same thing to me. I mean, it’s not like I do anything other than annoy the occasional shit out of Isaac and sometimes threatened Peter. Oh! And Erica and I have a bet going that Boyd will ask her out before the end of the month. He’s so totally head over heels, I can’t believe he hasn’t—”

“Stiles,” Derek said, cutting him off. Stiles snapped his mouth closed and the man sighed. “Just… don’t disappear.”

Stiles’s smile softened and Derek’s face turned red. Before Stiles could say anything else, the man was pulling himself back out the window and vanishing into the night like Stalker Batman on steroids.

Stiles gazed at the empty spot where he’d been. Then he shook his head and turned back toward his desk. So yeah, Stiles had been spending a lot of time at the loft.

He didn’t think Derek minded though.

“Okay!” Stiles shouted, kicking the loft door open and waltzing in. “I have two pepperoni pizzas, two cheese, and one meat lovers because you’re all a bunch of wild anima—”

Stiles cut off as he realized no one was actually in the loft. No one except for Derek, that was, who looked startled from his spot on the couch. The man had a book in hand, a mug on the table, and he looked like he’d been having a nice evening in.

Stiles blinked a few times before glancing around. “Uh, is this mandatory ‘don’t bother the Alpha night’? Cause I didn’t get the memo.”

“The betas are out,” Derek said, rolling his eyes. “Seeing a movie.”

“And I didn’t get invited?”

“Guess not.”

“Furry little assholes,” Stiles grumbled, stalking into the room and dropping the pizzas onto the coffee table. He peered into Derek’s cup and then smothered a laugh. “Dude, is that tea?”

Derek’s face turned red. “Shut up.”

“Are you seriously drinking tea and reading… Jane Austen on a Friday?”

Derek was full-on glowering now, but the expression was kind of made moot by the color of his face. Stiles cackled.

“Dude, you’re such a cat lady!”

“Stiles, I’m going to kick you out.”

“You can’t do that,” Stiles said, plopping down beside him and flipping one of the pizza boxes open. “Because you asked me here in the first place. I’m just being a good pack member and showing up. Unlike the others, clearly.”

Derek rolled his eyes and closed his book. Stiles beamed at him and shoved a slice of meat lovers into the man’s hand. Derek glowered a little but took it.

“So,” Stiles said, lounging back. “Are we going to watch a movie? Since the pack ditched us and all.”

“They didn’t ditch me.”

“Oh, right,” Stiles said with a snort. “You wanted to stay at home and be a cat lady.”

“Shut up, Stiles.”

“Huh,” Stiles said, grabbing one of Derek’s pillows and pulling it onto his lap. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“You could go home, you know.”

“And leave you to eat five whole pizzas by yourself? Oh no, Sourwolf, I’m not doing that to your poor little werewolfy muscles. Not to mention, the betas are going to be so sad when they see what they’ve missed. I want to see it.”

“Oh yeah,” Derek said dryly. “Missing books and tea, what a shame.”

“Dude!” Stiles said, punching him in the shoulder. When Derek gave him an offended look, Stiles shook his head. “You’re not allowed to be sarcastic! It makes you seem like a pod person or something.”

“Stiles, get out of my loft.”

“Make me.”

The man’s eyes glowed for a moment and that really shouldn’t have made Stiles shiver. He offered his best ‘non-turned on’ smirk and burrowed deeper into the couch, grabbing another slice of pizza and the remote.

“We’re watching the Avengers. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

“My loft, Stiles.”

“My point still stands.”

Derek scoffed, but didn’t voice any complaints. Stiles tried not to snuggle in close as the man reached for a piece of pizza and moved a little closer. The Avengers continued to play, five boxes of pizza became three, and by the time the betas came back, they were watching the movie for the third time and only sitting inches apart.

Boyd raised a brow from the doorway. Stiles quickly squirmed away and Erica smirked, moving across the room and picking up the last box of pizza. She glanced into it before frowning.

“What, no meat lovers?”

Stiles looked at her, then over at Derek. The man rolled his eyes but Stiles couldn’t suppress a grin. He glanced at Erica and shrugged.

“Sorry, pup, you missed the party.”

“Thank god,” Isaac said, moving by. Stiles just rolled his eyes.

“I hate you betas sometimes. Next time, I’m getting invited to the pack movie night, yeah?”

Boyd actually looked confused. He glanced from Stiles, to Derek, and then back, opening his mouth before Erica elbowed him in the side. Stiles narrowed his eyes but Erica only grinned.

“Sure, Stilinski, we’ll try to keep you in the loop.”

Stiles continued to gaze at her. But she just grinned all sharp teeth and vanished into the kitchen with the entire pizza. Stiles scoffed, deciding he didn’t understand Derek’s betas at all, and shoved himself up.

“Alright, well I’m pizzaed out and pretty sure Tony Stark is going to visit me in my dreams tonight. So goodnight, Derek’s pups, I hate you all. And uh,” Stiles glanced over and then ducked his head, glancing at the floor. “Derek.”

The man rolled his eyes. Stiles grinned and turned toward the door.

He could’ve sworn he heard Erica cackling behind him. But she was annoying, so he didn’t really notice. Or care.

Derek’s betas were a mess.

So, Stiles continued to swing by the loft for the rest of the summer. He tried not to think about how he was doing it even when Derek’s betas weren’t there or even when he didn’t have a good reason to.

He and Derek steadily worked through Stiles’s favorite movies. Then they worked through Derek’s (Stiles cracked up when the man admitted to liking Princess Bride). Stiles was pretty sure when he wasn’t at the loft, Derek was climbing through his window, and he did his best not to dwell on that.

Not like it was a bad thing. It was just… odd.

Wasn’t it?

Stiles wasn’t so sure anymore.

By the time the summer was ending and Stiles’s first year of college was approaching, he felt it like a strange punch to the gut. Stiles was going off to MIT and while he knew he’d have Lydia, he didn’t know how he felt about leaving the rest of the pack.

A year ago, he might’ve happily left the supernatural. But now it was a part of his life. It was a part of him.

Derek’s pack, Scott, and Allison were staying in Beacon Hills for college. Stiles and Lydia were making a break for it. Stiles’s dad had made him promise to come back for holidays, but he’d promised to come back more often than that.

Derek hadn’t spoken about the subject all summer. But he was acting different around Stiles now.

He was quieter; not angry. But silent. Broody.

It was raining the night Stiles swung by the loft, two weeks before he had to leave Beacon Hills. He was surprised to find the loft empty other than Peter, who sat on the couch, smirked at him, and wordlessly pointed toward the stairs leading to the roof.

Stiles flipped him the bird as he passed.

He found Derek sitting in the rain and looking like a literal wet dog. Stiles gazed at him for a long moment before tugging up his hood and plodding over, sinking down beside the man.

“Okay, Sourwolf, why are you acting so glum?”

“I’m not.”

“You are,” Stiles said, nudging his arm with his elbow. He crooked an eyebrow at the man, but he was pretty sure Derek couldn’t see it in the falling rain. “Dude, you’re literally sitting in the rain right now. That’s such a grey movie move.”

“You don’t have to be out here too, you know.”

“Yeah, but what kind of friend would I be to leave you alone?”

Derek’s eyebrows seemed to furrow more at that. Stiles tilted his head and studied the man’s face, before dropping a hand over his knee.

“Derek?”

“You should go inside, Stiles,” the man said quietly. Stiles squeezed his knee instead.

“Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Derek, you idiot, don’t give me that. Talk to me, Sourwolf. Why are you sitting in the rain like a literal grey movie?”

Derek turned to give him a flat look. It didn’t have his normal impact, with Derek looking like a drowned Grumpy Cat and all. Stiles raised a pointed eyebrow and waited but when the man didn’t say anything, he sighed.

“Derek… is this about college?”

The man’s face tensed. “No.”

“I’m not leaving Beacon Hills forever, you know.”

Derek’s face tightened even more. Stiles chuckled softly and traced his fingers over the back of the man’s hand. To his surprise, Derek turned his hand upward and caught Stiles’s fingers. The man looked both angry and sad when Stiles looked at him in confusion.

“Derek?”

“You should.”

“... Should what?”

“Leave Beacon Hills forever.”

That was not what Stiles had expected. He stared at the man for a moment and then tugged his hand away, shaking his head. “Dude the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Derek glared at his now empty hand. Stiles swallowed the sudden knot that had formed in his throat and continued to stare.

“Derek, what is that supposed to mean?”

“It means once you leave, you shouldn’t come back,” Derek said, his voice barely above a growl. It was soft too, though. And nearly drowned out in the sound of the rain. Stiles shivered and couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Why?”

Derek didn’t answer. Stiles clenched his jaw.

“Derek, why? Is it something I did? Is it because I’m leaving in the first place? What, is this some sort of pack thing? I leave and suddenly I’m not allowed back?”

“No, Stiles.”

“Then what the hell is it?”

“I think I might be falling in love with you!”

Stiles froze and stared at the man. Derek had shoved himself to his feet and his eyes blazed bright red in the falling rain. Stiles’s thoughts were moving slowly and it took a second for his brain to catch up. Then he blinked. “What?”

“Nothing,” Derek said, starting to shoulder past. But Stiles caught his arm and the man whirled around, eyes flashing again. Stiles lifted his jaw and held his gaze.

“No, Derek, no! You’re not allowed to tell me something like that and then just leave.”

“Let go, Stiles.”

“No, Derek, because you can’t do that! You can’t do that!”

“Then what the hell can I do, Stiles?”

Stiles froze. Then he cursed and moved forward, shoving his lips against Derek’s and carding his hands through the man’s hair. Derek made a noise of surprise and nearly stumbled, and Stiles clung on like it was all he could do. Because he was pretty sure it was.

And he was pretty sure Derek would either kiss him back or toss him off the roof at this point. But he figured it was worth the risk.

Derek kissed him back.

Stiles froze for a moment. Then he all but melted into the man and just felt, tasting raindrops on Derek’s lips and feeling water drip into his eyes. Derek growled lowly at the back of his throat and Stiles shivered; this time it wasn’t because of the cold.

Derek’s fingers cupped the back of his neck. Stiles drew back only for a second, gasping for breath, and the man’s grip tightened.

“I’ll come back,” Stiles said against his lips. “I swear to god, Derek, you’re not getting rid of me that easy—”

“Stiles, please shut up so I can kiss you.”

Stiles grinned and the man moved forward again, catching his lips once more. He was pretty sure this was a total cliche; kissing in the rain after a declaration of love. But Stiles wouldn’t have it any other way. Not here. Not with Derek.

Because yeah, he was pretty sure he was falling in love with the man too. He was pretty sure he spent the entire summer falling in love with him.

What a total cliche.

Stiles loved every second of it.

- -

This prompt was so fun, thank you so much for sending the numbers! I swear, I could write these idiots falling in love a million times and still want to write more.

(if you enjoy my writing, consider supporting your underpaid student writer? You can also request a prompt if you’d like!). https://ko-fi.com/rh27writer

#sterek #teen wolf #stiles stilinski #derek hale #all the fluff and humor #prompts #flamingbisexual08

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captaintrio · 3 years

Note

*Bothers you* Tell me about your husbando and his lore owo

-stands up on the desk in t-pose- CHIBS!!! Bud u activated my trap card here we GOOOOO

SO. The Shadowlands are like the afterlives for all of reality, and the ones that you can interact with in the current expansion are Bastion, Ardenweald, Revendreth and Maldraxxus. Each of them was either started by or lead by one of the eternal ones. Revendreth is the afterlife for people who were like. Not Very Nice but could definitely be redeemed and don’t deserve to get slam dunked into the Maw (turbo hell). The leader for Revendreth was Sire Denathrius, who was basically a death god (maybe possibly related to some demony folks but I don’t think that’s been confirmed??) and the beings that do the redeeming of souls are called Venthyr. Now, MOST of the Venthyr were created when mortal souls who had gone through the redemption process decided that instead of going on to some other afterlife, wanted to stay in Revendreth and help redeem other mortal souls. So they were themselves once living beings on other world.

EXCEPT the first, oldest Venthyr, which Denathrius made essentially by crafting their consciousness out of the ether. Little pieces of divinity made manifest in his image. Renathal--that’s him that’s my boy--was Denathrius’ first born (first sired...whatever, they’re vampires), and a little later came the Stonewright and the Curator, all three of whom were never mortal.

Right, so. Eventually, when there were enough Venthyr and enough soul traffic to require delegation, Denathrius made medallions, which all contained little pieces of his own essence, to empower certain Venthyr above their peers and allow them to take care of certain sections of Revendreth’s governance and functioning in his stead (its not exactly canon but listen Denny had bubble baths to attend to and treasons to plot he was Busy). These were called the Harvesters, and the medallions allowed them jurisdiction over certain types of vices and certain areas of the realm. (ex. the Harvester of Avarice or the Harvester of Wrath). Our boy Renathal, tho, was given the medallion that made him Harvester of Dominion--which meant that rather than having jurisdiction over a certain set of mortal souls or a piece of the realm, he was given jurisdiction over all of the Venthyr, and it was his job to ensure that the redeemers themselves stayed in line. He was first born, head boy, and second only in authority to Denathrius himself. (Apparently his medallion allows him to control other Venthyr to a degree, and can warp and shape reality if given enough energy, its wild)

Everything was going fine, ya know? (also its important to note and I should have said it earlier but there’s this stuff called anima, and it’s basically the energy that souls give off and it runs...everything in the shadowlands) Anima was flowing, souls were going where they needed to go...until they weren’t. There was an attack on the being that sent souls to their various afterlives, after which no new souls ended up in ANY of the realms, and so they had to rely on Denathrius and the Venthyr and their special ability to extract anima from souls directly...but then even that seemed to dry up, too. There was a drought, and many parts of the shadowlands began to die.

Denathrius began demanding “tithes” from the people of Revendreth, to keep everyone stocked up “in these troubled times” but Renathal noticed that no matter how dire and dry and horrible things got everywhere else, the aristocracy--and the Harvesters especially--never seemed to want for anima ever. The stores kept getting bigger, despite the drought.

Eventually, though I think at the time he didn’t fully realize what was happening, Renathal came to the conclusion that Denathrius was keeping hidden stores of anima for himself and his buddies and starving his people and the shadowlands to do so, and led a rebellion to try to depose him for it. It failed. He tried to use the medallion Denathrius had given him during the fight, and it allowed Denathrius to see and know all of their movements. He imprisoned Renathal’s rebellion leaders, and cast the prince himself into the Maw for his efforts, and there he stayed for...I’m not honestly sure how long the gap was between the first rebellion and us finding him. But we DO find him, and get him and the Curator out of the Maw, at which point the quest objectives become to help him put the rebellion back together and Stop Dad From Being Bad.

Except it turns out that Denathrius wasn’t just hiding reserved anima away for his friends, he CAUSED the drought, and had a truly incalculable quantity hidden away, which he promptly dumps INTO THE MAW as soon as we catch up to him again, bc it turns out that he was in league with the expansion’s Big Bad the whole time, and wants to wash oblivion all over everything because...of course he does.

He beats Renathal nearly to death and then disappears, and where we’re at now is trying to put Revendreth back together after Denathrius’ betrayal was exposed, and convince people that Renathal is a good leader they can trust. He is a good boy and he’s pretty obviously like. Badly hurt over the whole thing, since Denathrius was basically god and father and still left them all to rot.

So yeah. I love he.

#long post #text post #oh Chibs I am so sorry this is very long and incoherent #I hope it made at least a little sense lmfao #thank you so much for your question bud ILY <3333 #ask #answered #chibikuroneko13

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fire-the-headcanons · 4 years

Text

Follow the Beacon Taiyang—Fair Grounds

[Link to Masterpost]

[Oof, Tai’s chapters are long.]

"Okay, that's enough," Tai said, standing up and stretching.

"Huh?" Qrow glanced up from his notes for half a moment. "...Oh. Thanks for your help."

"What? No. I'm not bailing, I'm saying we need a break." He lifted the book out of his hands and snapped it shut. "Aren't you hungry? We've been working for hours."

"Uh… yeah."

Qrow had fallen pretty far behind during his bout of "flu", but at least he was eating and talking again. Since… well, since then, they'd been careful not to leave either of the twins alone too much. Which meant spending a lot more time holed up in their room.

Not that that's a bad thing, he thought irritably as his scroll buzzed in his pocket again. What part of taking some time off made Dan think he wanted to text with him all day?

He glanced over at the girls, also bent over their desks. Raven was still unusually withdrawn—which, for her, meant that her average words-per-day had gone from fourteen to about six. And Summer…

It was like losing Sterling all over again, finding out he was murdered. At least—that's how Tai felt, and it wasn't even his dad.

That really had been the worst winter vacation ever, hadn't it.

"Let's go check out the fairgrounds," Tai said to the room at large. "They're supposed to be setting up for the Vytal Festival today."

Qrow paused, one hand still reaching for the book in his fist. "I thought Professor Mikado said that was next year."

"The Tournament happens on a bi-annual basis, but people celebrate every year." He grinned. "And it also means that our first official missions as Huntsmen-and-Huntresses-in-training are coming up too."

"Oh yeah." Qrow scratched the back of his neck. "I forgot."

"What kind of job should we pick?" Tai asked, setting the book on Qrow's shelf before opening the door and holding it for everyone else. Slowly, they got up and gathered their things. "Search and destroy? Wall patrol? ...Migration tracking?"

"Ha, ha," Summer rolled her eyes as they followed him into the hall.

"We are gonna have to pick."

"...What about a bounty mission?" Summer asked absently.

Tai stared. She'd never talked about doing that kind of work before—was she thinking about revenge? He glanced back at the twins and found a dual reflection of his own shock. When had she told them?

She glanced back at the three of them and scowled. "It's just practice—godssakes, Tai, it's our first mission. I'm not saying we should fly to Anima!"

"...I…" he scrambled for a way to tell her that no, this is a terrible idea and also I think we should talk about this, maybe with your mom, but all he managed to say was "I don't think they let first years take bounty missions."

"Oh, yeah," she muttered, pushing out of the exit. "I forgot."

The door clanged shut behind her, everyone else still stuck in place. "She told you about her dad?"

"N-no?" Qrow stammered. "Is… is she okay…?"

Summer probably wouldn't mind them knowing—and he could really use help talking her down. "We thought he died on a mission, but we found out over break that he was…" It was still so hard to say. "Murdered. I guess she's taking it harder than I thought."

"I'm sorry. That's awful."

"Come on, we'd better catch up."

Summer was only a few paces ahead, and they hurried after her. "So, should we stay in Vale or head out into the wilds?" she asked, as if nothing happened.

Raven folded her arms against the chill. "Why don't we just go with Professor Mesánychta?"

"Because you're the only one she likes."

"She likes me," Qrow protested.

Tai grabbed her hand. "Summer. Don't you think we should talk about this?"

"Aren't we?" she asked, barely glancing at him before pulling away. "I'd like to get out of the Kingdom. It'd be good experience, even if you two laugh at our outdoor skills the whole time—"

"Summer!"

She stopped, finally turning to face him directly. "What?"

"Are you planning on going after them?"

"I don't know who they are," she said evenly. "But we'll run into them when we start working for Ozpin. Fighting people is different from Grimm, that's why it's a separate career track. The earlier we start, the better prepared—"

"Is that what you want to do? After we graduate?"

"Of course. Don't you?"

Tai rubbed his arm, eyes dropping to the sidewalk. "I… I haven't thought about it, to be honest."

Summer shrugged, turning back down the path toward the fairgrounds. "Are you going to the dance with Dan?"

Oh. Forgot about that. "No." Probably why he keeps calling me.

"Want to go as a team then?" she turned, smiling as she turned to walk backwards and gauge their reactions.

"Sounds good to me." Dan might leave him alone if he was with his team the whole time.

Raven almost flinched as the attention turned to her. "I can't meet the dress code."

"Well, you've been eyeing my sewing machine since I brought it back from break," Summer said. "Let's alter something from Ramparts and I'll teach you how to use it!"

"O-okay."

"Maybe we should go now, then," Tai said, checking the time. "You'll probably want tomorrow to work on it. The dance is Friday and who knows how much homework we'll have this week."

"Who's 'we'? Summer demanded, taking Raven's arm. "Dress shopping is strictly Girl Time."

Tai leaned toward Qrow and fake-whispered behind his hand, "Except when it isn't."

"Huh?"

"Anyway, you two have fun. We're going to see if any of the food stalls are open yet," he continued aloud, carefully putting his arm around Qrow.

"But—"

"My treat. I want to eat outside."

"Great! See you at dinner!" Summer shouted, pulling Raven toward the docks. Tai didn't want to risk jostling Qrow's bad shoulder wrong so he let him go before continuing on toward the fairgrounds.

"...Think I can get away with just wearing the uniform?" Qrow muttered.

"Well I'm not renting a tux. We'll make some bow ties out of scrap fabric and change it up, how about that?"

"You mean I'll make some bow ties," he teased, quietly. "You can't sew."

"If the three of you are going to keep making fun of me, I'll have to learn." They rounded the forge, and the rows of tents finally came into view. Three or four were fully set up and a couple dozen were nearly finished—Tai hadn't expected it to go so fast.

"They're still not done?" Qrow asked.

...But not fast enough, apparently. "Okay, well, not all of us are intrepid hunters-slash-wilderness explorers," Tai joked, "and only put up tents once or twice a year at most." That got a laugh out of him. "Camping is just too in-tents for us city-dwellers." That got him a laugh and a light punch on the arm. "Hey, I thought you liked my puns."

"Yeah, but Summer's not here so I thought I'd fill in."

They walked around the outer edge, trying to stay out of the crew's way as they looked around. Most were food stands from restaurants in Vale, popped up to serve the tourists from outlying settlements that always flocked to Beacon this time of year.

Qrow shuffled oddly on his feet for a step, pulling Tai's attention from the activity around one of the largest stalls back to his teammate. He walked normally for a few more steps, and then limped again. A few more paces and Tai realized he was stepping on the tent stakes as they walked past them, trying to push them deeper into the ground before moving on.

"Oh come on, we're not that bad with tents," he said the next time Qrow's pace faltered.

He froze. "Uh—"

CRASH.

They both jumped about a foot—the largest tent, that most people were working on, had collapsed on a truck full of lights. Even several paces away, and buried under torn fabric and snapped poles, he could see a whole lot of scratched paint and broken glass.

"Ouch. I stand corrected."

Qrow stepped back, horrified gaze fixed on the accident. Hands shaking.

"H-hey, man, what's wrong?" Tai asked, and his eyes snapped toward him, stretched wide in fear. So this is why panic is the first thing we learn about in first aid, he thought in a detached way as he slowly stepped forward to put his arm around Qrow, holding his elbow instead of his shoulder. "It's okay. Take deep breaths with me." It only took about a minute for the shaking to stop. "…You want to get out of here?"

He nodded.

"Sounds good." Tai started back toward the castle, guiding Qrow along with him. "We can just grab some to-go boxes from the cafeteria. I don't think any of the food stalls are even open." Ugh, that was just typical of his luck lately. It had upset Qrow and it would have been pointless to boot. "Do you want to talk about it?"

To his surprise, Qrow slowed to a stop.

"…Qrow?"

"They…" he swallowed, eyes fixed on the grass, choosing each word. "They hurt me when I messed up the tents."

Tai's stomach churned. Gods, what was he supposed to say to that? What could possibly make that any better? "I'm sorry." The words tasted flat. "They were shitheads. You deserved better." He shook his head. "Man, they can't be bothered to deal with their own tents and then they hurt you for making a mistake? People are worse than Grimm."

Qrow blinked. "I never thought of that."

"Oh. It's, uh, something our parents said a lot."

"They…" Qrow didn't seem to hear him. "If they'd taken six fucking seconds to check their own damn stakes they would have been fine."

Had he helped? Gods, he hoped that helped. "Can… can I ask you something?"

"…What?"

"Why didn't you leave? Sooner, I mean."

He fumbled with his thoughts for a moment. When he spoke he couldn't meet Tai's eye. "I was scared."

"Of being on your own?"

His eyes stayed fixed on the ground as he picked through his words like walking through a field of Creep burrows, and the answer was barely above a whisper. "They kill people who run away."

Tai's whole body seized with a chill like he'd been dropped in ice water. Instinctively, he grabbed at Qrow's hand. "Are—are they looking for you?"

"N-no. We—" he swallowed again, and Tai squeezed his hand. "We convinced them to send us here. So we could protect them."

Who in their right minds would send someone they'd treated so badly to a Huntsman Academy? Then again, Dan had proved that Qrow didn't have a malicious bone in his body. "Don't go back."

Qrow shook his head. "Never." The word rang with lethal certainty.

"…What happens when they realize?"

"If I can earn Valian citizenship, I won't have to go back to Anima, at least. …I didn't really think I'd make it this far," his voice petered out and Tai's stomach twisted. From what Summer said, he almost hadn't. "P-please don't tell Raven I said any of this. It's supposed to be secret."

"I won't," Tai promised with a pang of guilt. So far he had a great track record with Qrow's secrets. "…What about Summer?"

After a moment, he nodded. "As long as Raven doesn't find out."

Should he push his luck? "…What's been going on between you and her?"

This time, Qrow really did whisper, and he almost missed it. "She wants to go home."

"What?" Tai breathed. "Why? After what they did to you?"

"She—" he picked through the words again, selecting them one by one, "—they didn't hate her. She felt safer there."

"But why?" Tai cried. "What did we do wrong? How—how could she be more afraid of us?"

"It…" He had to think. "…It was easier to tell what people wanted."

"We want to be your friends. Qrow. You—you know we would never hurt you."

After a moment, he nodded. "You're…you're nothing like them." The next words had to fight their way out if his mouth. "W-we—I—"

"It's okay. It's okay." He pulled him into a loose hug, throat tightening at the way he shivered. As much as Tai was desperate to know more, he'd probably pushed Qrow far enough for one day. "Come on, we should get something to eat."

He nodded gratefully. "Y-yeah."

[Oh look more accidental Taiqrow. And next week's chapter with the girls ended up about 80% more Rosebird than intended]

Next Chapter: Raven—Strictly Girl Time

#rwby #taiyang xiao long #qrow branwen #taiqrow #summer rose #raven branwen #strq #team strq #tw panic attack #rwby fanfiction #follow the beacon

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