Tumgik
#except you know that one child is objectively better performing than the other child
gemini-care-barr · 5 months
Note
Barry Allen or Hal Jordan comics for the rest of ur life who would u choose?
This is actually so hard, why would you do this to me hahaha 😭😭😭
It’s hard because, like, I LOVE Barry, he is my WORLD, everything I do REVOLVES around him. He’s truly my moon and stars. Just all the cliches you can think of and that’s only a minuscule representation of how I feel about him… BUT Hal’s stories and the entire Green Lantern mythos are so amazing and inspiring and have gotten me through SO MUCH. Plus his friendship with Barry and the ways that Barry plays into his stories are so important and huge and UGH 😭
And that’s not even getting into the super pragmatic response that delves into who has the better runs overall, the longer runs, the least amount of bad editorial decisions sullying their good name, and the better supporting cast…
Can I refuse to answer this?? Of course I can but that feels like such a cop out 😮‍💨
I’m having a mental breakdown AND THIS IS JUST THE FIRST QUESTION 😭
…Okay, so… full disclosure… I have no qualms saying that Hal’s Green Lantern comics (ESPECIALLY the entire Geoff Johns run) is far and away my FAVORITE superhero comic series of all time BUT that does NOT change the fact that Barry is ABSOLUTELY my favorite fictional character of ALL TIME.
So, with that being said… if the question is asking PURELY about past/current comics… I *may* have to say my answer is Hal Jordan comics 🥹 IF the question is including and/or focused on future comics (and let’s just say future comics at their absolute best, like maximum potential has been reached) then my answer is Barry Allen comics 😌
My cop out answer is a shared Barry Allen and Hal Jordan comic OR either of them with plenty of appearances from the other 😜
13 notes · View notes
deerydear · 5 months
Text
I get pussy about putting my face to the worldwide web, now...
At least, to this blog...
There's so much opinionated ranting that I've done over the years, trying to figure out the personalities of colors and the meaning behind shapes.
...I am really pretty, though. I had become rather vain about this, in high school. It made me neurotic.
To the point I only wanted to look at myself.
The real me in me says: Isn't it more fun to be yourself, than to look at yourself?
Isn't it more fun to be beautiful?
God is the only one whose opinion matters, truly. I had lost sight of this. I had allowed myself to be fooled into forsaking His Name.
Sounds funny? My mortal parents were atheists, but there is a Parent above them...
The interesting thing about allowing myself to accept my nature, is that it really frees up one's worldview...
Is it funny to be fooled by symbols?
You can only direct your gaze in one way at a time. Either you're trying to look at yourself from outside, or you're looking outside from inside.
"but is there an objective viewpoint? What do I look like, from outside?"
Well, there is no pure viewpoint, except God's. That should be enough.
Each other person is themselves. They see your form through their own portal into this world.
"Isn't it funny how much that my teenage years were frustrated in trying to gain back something that I knew as obviously as I saw the sky was blue in the day."
"Aha! Isn't that it?
What about the colorblind? They don't have the same vision of the world."
Will this be a lecture on how I don't deserve to see the world my way?
'Instead of multi-cultural, it was no-cultural.'
"No.
I think you have an emotional reaction that blossomed inside of you because you were a child in a divided society. You had been delayed in learning how to connect with other human beings fully and genuinely.."
Can you ever connect with anyone fully?
Aren't there hidden rooms ever being built, too many to ever explore? A person does not belong to me.
"Okay, fine. When I say fully, I imagine going fully-in on one subject.
In your metaphor, like allowing someone to enter one of your rooms, instead of your old habit of briefly opening the door for a flash, and slamming it shut to prying eyes....
Only performing to show that the room exists at all, for propriety's sake."
There is so much that I didn't realize people could see.
You know that in the deep, deep depths of the sea... there are animals which make themselves red.
Red sunlight doesn't reach down into the black depths, so the animals may appear hard to see, if there is no red light to illuminate their red receptors.
Tumblr media
So, imagine that you take this animal out of its black environment, and bring it to the surface sun, where red is obvious. I feel like this squid.
I feel like there are some people better at seeing red, than some others. I feel like there were some people I fooled and persuaded into not seeing red, into lying to their own eyes....
...and the world paid me right back, in full... You fool others, we fool you. You turkey, me turkey. Gobble-gobble?
0 notes
longislanddivorce1 · 1 year
Text
Contested Vs Uncontested Divorce In Nj Schultz & Associates
If the property were owned by a celebration previous to the wedding, the professional figures out what portion of the fairness is marital or nonmarital. Professionals are also involved in figuring out what portion of retirement assets and other funding accounts is marital and what quantity is nonmarital. The skilled performs a marital tracing to discover out these values. An uncontested divorce simply implies that each spouses agree on each concern at stake. Even with the best of intentions, one or both spouses usually discover themselves eventually disagreeing on one or more issues so uncontested divorces are the exception. However, an uncontested divorce costs less than a contested divorce.
You can still negotiate and hammer out the small print without going through the expense and energy of a contested divorce. When one spouse files for divorce, the other spouse has the proper to contest something that was requested in the petition for divorce. When spouses disagree considerably contested vs uncontested divorce on elements of kid custody, youngster help, spousal support or property division and take these points to courtroom, the divorce is contested. I am an attorney, colleague and pal who has recognized Robert for over 10 years.
Conversely, mediation may permit the two of you to negotiate your assets extra seamlessly in a means that works better for each of you. Many occasions, when we first meet potential clients, their first question is, “Do we've to go to court? Divorces, like marriages, are all completely different and everyone appears to be handled in a unique method due to the totally different personalities and objectives of the spouses. At the Law Offices of Lisa R. McCall, our staff desires to offer you the knowledge you should make informed selections about your divorce case and authorized illustration.
If you would possibly be getting ready to file a divorce petition, you want to talk to anexperienced divorce attorneyat Colburn Hintze Maletta. We can help you to evaluate your state of affairs and put you in one of the best position to achieve a good consequence under contested vs uncontested divorce the circumstances of your case.. This kind of process involves attorneys for each partner and different professionals who may help to work collectively to resolve the excellent points. If an settlement is reached, it goes to be ready and submitted to the court docket.
Very competent, compassionate lawyers in all elements of family law. Right Lawyers has given me nice recommendation while dealing with a divorce case involving children. The paperwork has been drawn up according to my preferences and we are simply getting ready to file.
If a divorcing couple can work collectively and compromise in order to agree on all of their divorce-related issues, an uncontested divorce, is a less complicated, sooner, and far less expensive approach to end your marriage. I'm going to be actual transient right now because I know everyone seems to be busy out there attempting to remain protected. One of the primary questions I ask is “how long have you been married’, and for any marriage over five years I'm really skeptical about an uncontested divorce.
These out-of-court processes usually save money and time, reduce stress, and even improve relationships between dad and mom and their kids after divorce. These processes may not be appropriate in instances involving home violence or child abuse. A contested divorce is a extra difficult and costly course of, nonetheless generally it is unavoidable. As the decisions involved are very personal, this could be an emotional state of affairs. With feelings high, this will result in rash selections and cause extra complications in an already difficult state of affairs.
These could additionally be monetary advisors or appraisers, who will give their professional opinion on the financial issues of the divorce. During the divorce both spouses have to tell the choose about their revenue and any debts they owe. When the court docket grants a divorce, property shall be divided equitably between the spouses. New York law says that kids are entitled to share within the income and lifestyle contested vs uncontested divorce of both mother and father. Child assist is the money that the non-custodial mother or father pays to the custodial parent if the kid is under 21. The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the one courtroom that handles divorce circumstances, and a Supreme Court decide is the one one who can legally grant a divorce.
0 notes
britishassistant · 3 years
Note
When Villain!Yuu manages to return to their dimension and finds out their minions did, it’s one of the few times that the Supervisor has lived up to their title as heir. The next day the head of the minions of the attempted murder squad was found battered, covered in bird poo, and tied in front of RSA. If Crowley asks, Yuu makes the excuse that they are simply following one of the rules of villainy. If a minion steps out of line, don’t correct, make an example out of them.
Thank you for the ask, dear anon!
Warning for dark under the cut.
There are three items on the desk.
One is a cellphone. It’s a compact, black brick of a thing, the sort that could survive a drop from a window a story up. Its screen is currently dark and silent. It has not buzzed or vibrated, or given any indication that it’s even on.
The second is a glass of clear liquid. The glass looks pretty standard, no fancy plane designs or rectangular shapes. Just a squat round cup with a round lip and clear liquid an inch or so from the top. There are small bubbles forming in the bottom, the longer it remains undisturbed. It doesn’t seem like those are the results of carbonation, or some other nefarious properties.
No. If anything, the cup is there for the third object on the table.
A pair of two pills are sitting innocently by the cup’s side. One is larger, pale pink, and lozenge shaped. The other is smaller, a capsule that’s colored dark green and blue.
The minion swallows. The phlegm feels like it’s lodged in his throat.
There’s a sigh from the other side of the table.
The Supervisor leans forward. The supervillain’s features are slightly drawn, like they’re preparing to undertake an unpleasant chore.
The minion has the insane urge to giggle at the sight.
“So…” The Supervisor splays their hands. “Unfortunately, following reviews of your recent performance, we have found that you are…not a good fit for this business. It’s been determined that it’s in everyone’s best interests for you to be terminated from your current position effective immediately.”
The minion—or rather, ex-minion—gives a shaky nod.
The Supervisor tilts the brim of their top hat up, so they can better make eye contact with him. “You have two choices for your…ah, severance package.”
One hand gestures to the glass and pills. “Option one: you take these. The pink one is a sedative, and it’s up to you whether you take it before or after the other. It’s pretty fast acting, so it shouldn’t matter so much either way. All you’ll know is just falling asleep.”
The other gestures to the phone. “Option two: I make a call to Dr. Crewel. You’ll be transferred to his department. But in the, ah…volunteer capacity. Instead of the minion one. Do you have any questions?”
There’s a moment of stunned silence.
“W-what?” The ex-minion stutters. “B-but…I, I don’t understand?”
“What don’t you understand?” The Supervisor asks, patience in every line of their posture. Like they were an adult helping to explain something complicated to a small child.
This, in spite of the fact that the ex-minon was a decade the supervillain’s senior.
That helps the ex-minion order his thoughts somewhat. “I-I thought the rules for g-getting fired were that the min-minion in question would be turned over to the police for arrest. Or to the local sup-superheroes.”
The Supervisor nods. “That is what happens in most cases, yes. However, in those cases, the termination is contingent more on minion incompetence or betrayal. You and your…friends, regrettably, fall outside that purview.”
The ex-minion’s mouth moves soundlessly. “But…I don’t understand. Isn’t this for betrayal? That I betrayed you?”
The Supervisor’s mouth tightens, even as the rest of their face remains impassive. “That…is another crime you committed, and one that was taken into account when making this decision. But it is far from the main motivating factor behind all this.”
The ex-minion wracks his brain. “But, what…?”
“You attempted to murder a child.” The supervillain exhales, some dark, wounded emotion entering their eyes for the first time. “Another version of myself, true, but an injured, defenseless child. One who had never done anything to you, or anyone else in this world. Who had no involvement in whatever quarrel you have with me. Who nearly bled to death on my roof due to the injuries sustained as a direct result of your attempted murder.”
The Supervisor shakes their head. “And that would be bad enough, especially as I was under the impression that they would at least be cared for in my absence. Except this? This was not an isolated incident, was it? Looking over the behavior of the perpetrators, it’s become clear this is only the culmination of a dangerous trend I should’ve seen and put a stop to ages ago.”
The ex-minion doesn’t think he can breathe.
“The first endangerment of Miss Elena Blackwood back at the bank. The repeated suggestions of attacking elementary, middle or high schools or public playgrounds to divert heroic attention during heists or schemes. The inclination to ignore my orders when I specified that children were to be released immediately if caught up in a hostage situation we organized. The attempted hostage taking of Mr. Cheka Kingscholar while he was my guest.”
The ex-minion tries swallowing again. When he speaks, his voice is hoarse. “I thought you didn’t know about that.”
He winces at the mindless admission.
The Supervisor’s eyes narrow at him, and fury rolls off them in almost visible waves. There is no doubting the Night Raven’s genetics were used to make them like this.
“I have my ways.”
The ex-minion quails under their glare.
The Supervisor sighs, scrubbing a hand over their eyes. “Do you understand now? You are not being fired for betrayal. You and your cohorts are being terminated for repeated and willful perpetuation of un-villainous crimes of one of the highest orders, in accordance with League Statute A55. So, what’ll it be?”
“Sh-shouldn’t there be a hear-hearing, or, or an appeal, or something?!” The ex-minion begs desperately.
“If you wanted forgiveness, you should have applied to the Royal Sword Association.” The Supervisor rattles off blandly. “We here at Night Raven Corporation specialize in putting the super back into supervillainy.”
The ex-minion slumps. “…I always hated that slogan.”
The Supervisor pulls a commiserating face. “Not some of Dad’s best work, I’ll admit.”
He stares at the pills and at the phone.
“…Which did Miette pick?”
The supervillain pointedly glances towards the glass and its companions.
He snorts. “Naturally. She’d rather be dead rather than be something monstrous like you.”
The Supervisor inclines their head but doesn’t deny his words.
He considers it some more. “…Would I still receive a paycheck? As a volunteer?”
The Supervisor shrugs. “One that’s considerably reduced from what you currently earn, but yes. You would be compensated for your services. And your current life insurance will still be maintained and paid out to those you specify in the event of an accident under Dr. Crewel’s care. Or, indeed, if you take the other option.”
Like he has anyone he wants that money to go to.
His eyes dart between them.
The choice is easy in the end. Miette can call him a coward all she wants beyond the grave, but he’s not letting this thing be the last sight he sees.
“Make the call.”
The supervillain nods, and picks up the phone.
It’s screen lights up as they lift it towards their ear, pressing a button. “Dr. Crewel? Mr. Aston Michaels has expressed his consent to be transferred to the volunteer department. When can we expect pickup? Five minutes? Yes. Yes, this is the last one. Well, thank you for your help. Have a nice day.”
They hang up, and set the phone back down on the table.
Something flickers across their face— distaste? Weariness? Regret? Whatever it is, he hopes it haunts this thing’s nightmares for the rest of its miserable existence. It’s the least it deserves.
The two of them sit there in silence. Then there’s a knocking behind him, and light spills over him as the door is opened.
A pair of minions in impeccable suits step through, nodding to the supervillain, who nods back. Each one of them takes one of his arms and gently pulls him up from his seat.
“I’d say you’re going to be dammed to Hell for this.” He says, almost cheerfully, before they can turn him away. “But I’m pretty sure you need a soul to go down there, and things like you don’t have those.”
There’s a subtle intake of breath from the suited minions on either side of him. He ignores them, his glare fixated on his now ex-boss.
The Supervisor smiles grimly back at him. For some reason, that kind of pisses him off.
“Oh, believe me, Mr. Michaels. I know.”
146 notes · View notes
robininthelabyrinth · 3 years
Text
Spilled Pearls
- Chapter 8 - ao3 -
Lan Qiren’s brother did not outwardly react when Wen Ruohan announced what happened.
He merely stared, face as impassive as a stone washed clean by the river, his posture and position impeccable from the little glimpses Lan Qiren kept stealing of him – he was trying to keep his head ducked and his gaze firmly on the ground, trying to demonstrate penitence, but he couldn’t quite resist looking. He assumed that his brother’s seeming indifference was a mask for the rage he undoubtedly felt, seeing his little brother screw up what would have otherwise been a perfect discussion conference for the Lan sect.
It seemed like a reasonable conclusion, given that Lao Nie was taking up all the slack of reacting with rage without any such mask whatsoever.
“He’s little more than a child!” Lao Nie shouted.
“Little more, perhaps,” Wen Ruohan said smoothly. He was enjoying himself, Lan Qiren thought. “But regardless of how close or how far he is, he is adult enough.”
“He can’t marry or inherit –”
“He shed blood in a night-hunt, and that means he can swear oaths, which is all that’s relevant here. It isn’t as if I married him.”
“He’s sixteen! If someone removed sixteen years out of your life, Hanhan, you wouldn’t even notice the absence!”
“True, but irrelevant,” Wen Ruohan said. “And don’t call me that, Sect Leader Nie.”
“I’ll call you whatever I damn well please, you little –”
“You are unharmed?” Lan Qiren’s brother asked Lan Qiren.
Lan Qiren, who’d been spectating the increasingly fraught back and forth between the two sect leaders, turned to look at him, surprised to be addressed.
“I’m fine,” he said quickly. “I only had a headache, and Sect Leader Wen took care of that.”
“You call me da-ge now,” Wen Ruohan reminded him, turning briefly away from his argument to do so. “Your oath, remember.”
“Does he even remember swearing the oaths?” Lao Nie hissed. “You know how these Lan drink – you and your damned need for control! Just because you can’t get it one way, you have to try another, is that it, Hanhan?”
“Sect Leader Nie, if you really find it impossible to be civil -” 
“If you are unharmed, then we can return to the Cloud Recesses,” Lan Qiren’s brother said, ignoring them both. His voice was as distant and cold as a winter breeze, piercing and lifeless; it reminded Lan Qiren a little of his father, and he shivered. “We will determine the remainder at that time.”
“See?” Wen Ruohan said goadingly to Lao Nie, whose scowl only deepened. “If even his own sect doesn’t object to it –”
“They didn’t not object, they’re refraining from making a statement; it’s not the same thing. ‘Even ten years isn’t too late for a gentleman to get revenge’ – !”
“I should like to see them try.”
Lan Qiren felt a sudden sense of relief, heralded by a bright and abrupt clarity: of course Wen Ruohan hadn’t sworn brotherhood with him on his behalf! He’d only done it because he’d seen Lan Qiren together with Lao Nie, found that the sight offended his vision, and immediately decided to disrupt it. Never mind that Lao Nie didn’t have any intentions beyond the casual mentorship of any older cultivator to a junior – Wen Ruohan was well known for his paranoia, his irritability, his tendency to seize on crazy ideas. And, of course, there was his jealousy, a trait to which he had himself admitted…
A treasure sword used to prop up a table, indeed. It wasn’t about Lan Qiren's merits or the Lan sect’s supposed failings at all. The only table Wen Ruohan was concerned with was Lao Nie’s!
(And that certainly did explain the whole bizarre ‘Hanhan’ thing better than any other hypothesis Lan Qiren had come up with.)
Lan Qiren wasn’t sure it was better, exactly, to be a pawn in a strange game between sect leaders, but it was at least more familiar. As a younger son of a politically minded Great Sect, he was more like a daughter; being used for some scheme by the adults around him had always been his destiny, barring some tragedy or especially indulgent parents – the former was unlikely, the latter he lacked – and so his fate was set.
Of course, it would have been better not to be in a game involving Wen Ruohan at all, but he supposed that there were worse options.
After all, if Wen Ruohan’s primary interest was in tormenting Lao Nie, he probably wouldn’t demand Lan Qiren’s presence in the Nightless City all that often – probably just enough to show that he could – and Lan Qiren would be allowed to continue with his plans for his future. It might even turn out to be something of a benefit. After all, a musician with limited martial skills, traveling all alone, could always use strong friends that were nearby, and the Wen sect’s reach far exceeded that of the Lan sect…
Anyway, comparatively, Lan Qiren disliked far more the idea of being stuck in the Jin sect with its inexplicable devotion to worldly affairs (and when it came to Jin Guangshan, word was that that usually meant literal affairs…), and he would have undoubtedly gone utterly mad in the Jiang sect, with its emphasis on freedom and lack of any rules to explain anything. And of course, regrettably, the Nie sect wouldn't have done such a thing to begin with, secretive as they were...
No, it wouldn’t be so bad, Lan Qiren tried to convince himself. It wouldn’t be so bad at all.
The illusion lasted exactly as long as it took for the leaders of the five Great Sects to retreat to finalize their discussions on business – with Sect Leader Jiang and Jin stepping up to keep Sect Leaders Wen and Nie from each other’s throats, even as Lan Qiren’s brother ignored them all – and Lan Qiren returned to his proper place among the other Lan sect disciples.
“Did he really put you in the Fire Palace until you agreed?” one of them asked, then was promptly elbowed by at least three of his fellows – it was poor Lan Yueheng that had asked, naturally; he was extraordinarily good at mathematics and extraordinarily bad at just about everything else, including both tact and following the Lan sect rules. Lan Qiren had gotten on quite well with him in the past, each one happy to have an audience to listen to their rambling without caring too much if the other side was really listening, but Lan Yueheng was Lan Ganhui’s mother’s sister’s son, the two of them raised together like brothers, and in recent years the latter had a habit of restricting the former from spending too much time with Lan Qiren, the favorite subject of his mockery.
“No,” Lan Qiren said stiffly, and turned his face away in sudden upset. He had almost managed to forget that his new sworn brother was reputed to enjoy spending his free time torturing people, enough so that he had an entire prison devoted to it.
The older brother guided, the younger brother obeyed – what was Lan Qiren supposed to learn from Wen Ruohan? How to be cruel and pitiless, how to hurt people, how to increase his cultivation by doing all manner of dirty things?
Even if he didn’t learn such things, wouldn’t people assume it of him anyway?
“But I heard –” Lan Yueheng persisted, then hissed when someone stepped on his foot.
“No,” Lan Qiren said, stronger this time. “Do not speak behind the backs of others, Yueheng-xiong.”
“Oh. Right.”
Someone muttered killjoy under their breath, but that wasn’t exactly new; his brother thought he was one, and he was popular, so others often followed his lead - and anyway, perhaps he was. At any rate, they all stood around in awkward silence for a little while before someone decided to recount one of the incidents in the main event competition once again, their voice a little over-loud in the silence, and a perfectly anodyne conversation about Qingheng-jun’s performance started up in earnest to cover over all the things they did not say.
That, too, was not new.
Truly, life would be easier if everyone would just listen to the rules, Lan Qiren thought wistfully. The nice written-down ones, just those, and never mind about all the unspoken ones, the ones that everyone seemed to intuitively understand except for him – he tried his best to learn those, too, and to extrapolate from one situation to another, but unspoken rules seemed as changeable as a puff of cloud. It was simply impossible.
In the end, the sect leaders finished up their business and each of them took their leave from the Nightless City, just the way that always happened. Before he went, Lao Nie put his hand on Lan Qiren’s shoulder and said, “Write to me if you ever need anything at all,” while glaring at Wen Ruohan, who smirked back; Lan Qiren’s brother did not glance at either of them and merely walked off, his hands behind his back and his posture straight and tall as a tree. The other two Great Sect leaders, Jin and Jiang, exchanged glances of their own and headed off their own way without a word, choosing, quite prudently, not to get involved.
Lan Qiren saluted to Lao Nie and, slightly more hesitantly, to Wen Ruohan, then followed after his brother. To his relief, Wen Ruohan didn’t stop him, only watched him go, his eyes glittering malevolently - his gaze a palpable weight. It wasn’t quite like the first few times they’d met, where the pressure almost felt like the other man was exerting power on him; rather, Lan Qiren suspected, the weight he was feeling was only the weight of all the new expectations that had fallen onto his shoulders as a result of his new brotherhood. 
The ride home was excruciatingly awkward.
It was not a short journey, and Lan Qiren did not speak to his brother once the entire time by mutual unspoken agreement. He might not have noticed such a thing normally, but his brother’s usually cool aura was positively frigid, driving Lan Qiren to silence even when he might have otherwise spoken on mundane matters such as the weather or travel conditions.
Lan Qiren even suspected that if he had dared to try, his brother might have used the muting spell on him.
Naturally, the other disciples followed his brother’s lead – poor Lan Yueheng looked especially torn up over it, and at one point Lan Qiren found a book on abstruse geometry hidden under his pillow in what was probably a well-meaning gesture of solidarity – and Lan Qiren was stuck in that uncomfortable place where he finally had the peace and solitude he often longed for when stuck in a crowd while also simultaneously feeling awful about it, struck with a sudden desire for the company of his family, however cold it might be.
When at last they returned home in the late afternoon, Lan Qiren knew from experience what to do next: he went straight to the hanshi, where his father was waiting for their report, and knelt in penance outside. If the trip had gone well, he would have helped his brother settle the final matters relating to their trip – putting back anything borrowed from the sect’s stores, registering everyone as having arrived with no one lost on the way, that sort of thing – but since it hadn’t, his duties were limited to…well, this.
It was unpleasant, but then, it was supposed to be.
He waited for over a shichen in unmoving silence. The remainder of the sect tiptoed around him, with the disciples that had remained behind sending him sympathetic looks that suggested that they didn’t know exactly what had happened but were burning with curiosity to find out.
It was already dark by the time his brother arrived.
When he did so, he walked right by Lan Qiren without looking and went inside.
There was no written rule against eavesdropping, although there were several unspoken rules about it that were sometimes but not always applicable, but even when (guiltily) straining his ears to the utmost, Lan Qiren could only hear the vaguest murmur of voices within.
It was only after some time – towards the end of his brother’s report, no doubt – that there was a brief uptick, a surprised exclamation (possibly “what?!”, although Lan Qiren’s father was soft-spoken enough that even an exclamation was too muffled to be properly audible), and Lan Qiren braced himself.
After a little longer, the door to the hanshi opened.
“Qiren,” his father’s voice drifted out. “Enter.”
Lan Qiren got up, a little unsteady from all the kneeling, straightened himself out and walked inside, his hands folded behind his back. He would have knelt again, but his father waved for him to keep standing, frowning thoughtfully at him as his brother drank the tea they had been sharing.
“You swore an oath of brotherhood with Sect Leader Wen?” his father asked, his face frustratingly neutral.
Lan Qiren nodded, then amended: “I do not remember doing so. He offered me a toast, and would not allow me to reject it, and then the next morning, he informed me that we had sworn an oath together and showed me the written version of the oath.”
The paper in question was laid out on the table in front of his father. Lan Qiren’s brother had confiscated it after Wen Ruohan had showed it to him, and Lan Qiren hadn’t figured out a way to ask to see it, though he desperately wanted to know whether they had sworn one of the classical brotherhood oaths or if they’d added their own clauses. It seemed like a thing Wen Ruohan would do, yet the idea had only belatedly occurred to Lan Qiren, which meant he hadn’t properly examined the oath while he’d had the chance.
His father hummed thoughtfully.
“There’s no reason to doubt Sect Leader Wen,” Lan Qiren’s brother opined. “He is meticulous in his schemes. Even if there were, the announcement was public; I would not have our clan be known as oath-breakers.”
“Public and unrefuted,” Lan Qiren’s father said, and Lan Qiren blinked because he almost sounded disapproving – but his father never disapproved of anything his brother did, as far as he knew. “Still, you are not wrong. There are few more decisive than Sect Leader Wen. Once he settled on his course, he would not leave such a gap through which one could retreat, not even for himself…Qiren.”
Lan Qiren straightened.
“You were unharmed?”
He blinked at the unexpected question, the same his brother had posed.
“I only had a headache,” he said hesitantly, vaguely aware from the way his father looked at him and his brother did as well that his answer was not what they were expecting. “From the liquor. Nothing else.”
“Did anything else hurt?” his father pressed. “Your body?”
Lan Qiren thought back. “My upper arms,” he said, remembering. He’d thought it was from the uncomfortable bed. “And my right knee. They were a little bruised, I think, but it went away after Sect Leader Wen shared spiritual energy with me.”
His father frowned and twisted his fingers in a gesture; an array opened beneath Lan Qiren’s feet, and the places he had mentioned, as well as his palms and forehead, began to glow.
The marks on his arms, glowing with the pale echoes of Wen Ruohan’s qi, were in the shape of hands.
(Wen Ruohan had commented on Lan Qiren’s enthusiastic telling of the Lan sect rules while intoxicated, to the point of seeking to hold him down as an unwilling audience. Had Wen Ruohan had to physically restrain him from causing trouble as well?)
“The disgrace was minimal, then,” his brother remarked, and when their father said nothing but dismissed the spell Lan Qiren abruptly realized that they were trying to figure out if he had, in fact, been deflowered, just as Wen Ruohan had teasingly hinted that night. He had not shared with anyone that he had woken up in Wen Ruohan’s bed, too mortified to do so, and now that the suggestion had been seriously raised, he was even more determined never to do so. “Not that that will help the rumors.”
Lan Qiren hadn’t thought – surely people wouldn’t think – wouldn’t assume –
Wen Ruohan had no reputation for liking young boys. He wasn’t even known to cut his sleeve!
(Lan Qiren didn’t know what he himself liked. He’d thought he’d have more time to figure it out.)
“We do not guide our sect according to rumors.”
His brother put down his teacup with a little more force than necessary. “Is it the sale or the price that you object to, Father?” he asked, voice far sharper than it should be when speaking to an elder, least of all their father. “See what I have accomplished for our sect, and without even the official authority of being vested as sect leader! It is just as you taught me! Am I to flinch simply because he shares my blood?”
“It is not what is taken,” their father responded, his voice a little sharper than usual as well, but not by much; he might as well have been commenting disapprovingly on an unfortunate turn in the weather. “But that it is Wen Ruohan who takes. His greed knows no boundaries, his recklessness grows by the year – today Qiren is unharmed and your plans may proceed, but what of tomorrow?”
“Have you thought of any better use to put him to? His role is to serve the sect!”
“As a disciple of the Lan sect,” their father said. His tone was still mild, but his voice was icy enough to make Lan Qiren shiver in a confused sort of fear that he did not quite understand. “Not as a plaything for Wen Ruohan.”
By all rights, Lan Qiren’s brother ought to now kneel and beg forgiveness from his elder, his sect leader, his father, but instead he only shook his head. “An oath of brotherhood goes both ways,” he reminded their father, speaking to him as if they were equals. “Sect Leader Wen announced to the world that he swore an oath with a child – does that not also mean that responsibility for his safety and wellbeing falls equally on his shoulders? Any harm to him stains Sect Leader Wen’s name as much if not more than ours.”
“Are we to let outsiders educate our children, then?”
“One cannot compare a foolish younger son to a brother, voluntarily chosen. He chose it, not us; everyone knows this. Any mistakes Qiren makes will fall heavier on his shoulders.”
Their father frowned deeply enough to carve additional lines into his prematurely aged face. “You plan to use Qiren as a lever, then, and extract concessions for every slight.”
His brother shrugged, almost careless in his arrogance. “If Sect Leader Wen chooses to give me such a handle over him, am I meant to refuse? For all his clever schemes, he is also known to be moody and impulsive, easily lured into rashness…I see an opportunity here, not a trap. You chose to give me responsibility early, to have me help you make our sect stronger, greater; that is what I was born to do. You gave me power and I have done well with it, done exactly what you’ve asked me to do. I’ve made you proud - haven’t I?”
“But what of the risk that Wen Ruohan might ignore public opinion and harm Qiren regardless?” his father pressed, not answering. It wasn’t really necessary, of course; he was always proud of Lan Qiren’s brother, no matter what he did - his eldest son was his treasure, the only thing he cared for; it was as fact as undeniable as the direction in which the sun rose each morning. “The Lan sect does not buy riches with blood.”
“I have thought it over, Father,” his brother said quietly. “It is only a risk that he might be harmed, not a guarantee; it’s not as if I am sending Qiren to the Fire Palace myself. And there is the hope here, not of riches, but of glory for the sect –”
“Glory for the sect?” their father asked, voice rich with meaning Lan Qiren did not understand. “Or for yourself?”
“Are they not one and the same?” Lan Qiren’s brother was unmoved. “In the future, it will be mine, and so there is no difference - whatever you say now, that is what you have always shown me. Besides, Qiren will agree.”
Lan Qiren did not take a step backwards when they turned to look at him, though he dearly wanted to. His hands were still behind his back, gripped tight enough to hurt; he suspected when he looked later on he would find blood beneath his fingernails, dug in deep into his flesh.
“Well?” their father asked of him, though his gaze settled somewhere above Lan Qiren’s head as it always seemed to, as different as night and day from the tender and forgiving looks he gave his eldest son even in the midst of their argument. His voice was so cold that Lan Qiren could feel it against his skin like the bitter winter wind. “What do you say?”
Is it the sale or the price that you object to?
It’s not what is taken, but that it is Wen Ruohan who takes.
Have you thought of any better use to put him to?
His role is to serve the sect.
“I do not see what choice there is,” he said dully, his eyes focused on his father’s face just as his father’s refused to focus on his, foolishly still looking for the affection he knew he would likely never find. In his father’s mind, he had only one son – even his objections on Lan Qiren’s behalf, however mild, were nothing more than what he would have said on behalf of any Lan sect disciple. Even Lan Qiren, foolish and bad at people as he was, could see that his father’s primary concern over the approach his brother had suggested was its potential impact on the reputation of his brother and his sect. “I swore an oath. Even if I do not remember it, as a matter of personal honor, I will not allow myself to be foresworn.”
“There,” his brother said, his voice rich in satisfaction. “You see? The choice is made. It is only what we do with it now that matters.”
Lan Qiren bit his lower lip to keep himself from doing something stupid, like asking do either of you care about me at all.
“Very well,” their father said indifferently. “Then it will be as you say. Qiren.”
“Father.”
“You will spend the night kneeling in the ancestral hall to consider the consequences of violating the prohibition against alcohol and the injunction to maintain your discipline. In view of the circumstances, no other punishment will be imposed.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“Dismissed.”
As Lan Qiren left, he heard his father ask his brother to tell him about the riding competition.
He did not ask about music.
112 notes · View notes
frostfireft · 3 years
Note
Can we have more Bickslow headcannons? And maybe Evergreen, Freed, and Lexus too?
Fuck yeah you can! I’m gonna start with a lot of angst and then move into their dynamics as a team. (this got REALLY long but I’m not sorry)
-I gave you all my HC for Freed’s backstory in my last post and mentioned that Freed is the reason that Bickslow and Evergreen joined the guild, so have both their backstories too! 
-Bickslow grew up in a travelling circus with several other child performers. It wasn’t exactly a nice environment. There were lots of issues and safety hazards and abuse going on behind the scenes, but they were forced to keep smiling and performing through it all. 
-Bickslow was especially targeted by the ringmaster because of his magic allowing him to look into people’s souls. The ringmaster is the one who forced him to wear a helmet when he wasn’t using his ability on the crowd for money. 
-Because of that, he only had five friends back then, all children younger than he was, who looked up to him both for his tricks and the fact that no matter how upset he was, he had a smile for them.
-one day the tent caught fire during a practice. Bickslow was the only one to make it out alive. 
-but considering all the traumatic events they went through, most of the children kept there weren’t able to move on, and their spirits lingered in the area... Except for the five kids who were most fond of Bickslow. They stayed near him and talked to him all the time, especially once they realized he could see them. You still have a soul as a spirit after all. 
-the town he was in began to think he was crazy because he was “talking to the air” all the time, and they would continuously call child services to try and take him to an orphanage. The five spirits however, would warn him before they could, and Bickslow used his years of acrobatics skills to stay away from anyone who tried to move him away from where the circus burned down. It may have been a place of trauma, but there were good memories too, and it’s all he had. 
-So the town tried one last gamble. Who better to adopt a child with mysterious magic that Fairy Tail? 
-And Makarov, in an attempt to get Laxus to be more social, decided to send him and Freed. 
-It went about as well as you’d expect. Laxus tried to fight him while Freed did research on the area and what happened to him. 
-Laxus didn’t have as much control over his magic as he thought he did at that age, and Bickslow was kicking his ass before Freed showed up and trapped him so they could talk.
-Freed shared his story with him and offered the same thing Laxus once offered him: a home. 
-Bickslow cracked soon after that, and told them everything after Freed started asking questions about the town thinking he’s crazy while they were on the train back to magnolia. 
-While many members of Fairy Tail were unnerved by him, those around their age did their best to make him feel at home. Natsu listened to all his stories about the circus and about the five ghosts who followed him, and Bickslow listened to his stories about the dragons. 
-Freed used this time to research Seith magic extensively, and he eventually came across the idea of putting the souls into objects. He and Bickslow worked for weeks to figure out how to do it, and the five spirits became his five main “dolls.” 
-He of course, asked them if they were okay with being alongside him before putting them inside the tiki dolls, and if he cried when they said there was nowhere else they’d rather be? Well Freed and Laxus weren’t going to tell anyone about it. 
-Evergreen was both harder and easier to get back to Fairy Tail. 
-Like Freed, She was once a part of the noble class, but under a name she never wants to use again. 
-When she gained her eye magic, she accidentally turned her mother to stone, and it was all downhill from there. Her father tried to keep her locked in a room, and it worked for a long time. 
-Eventually though, she had decided she’d had enough, and snuck out and ran as far away as she could. She kept a ribbon tied around her eyes any time she had to go into town, and learned how to walk while completely blind. This did some damage to her eyesight after several years of doing it. 
-it felt like it was too good to be true. She was free and she did odd little jobs in a town far from her original home to earn money for food. it was all she needed..... Until a child tore the ribbon from her face. 
-the second she made eye contact, the little boy turned to stone. There was nothing she could do about it except cover her face up again and run. 
-her father, however, had notified several guilds about her disappearance and claimed she was dangerous if left alone, so when stories spread about a homeless child turning a boy to stone, it became their first lead in months. 
-there was a lull in fighting missions at the time, and something about her magic intrigued Freed. It was an eye magic like his and Bickslow’s first magics, and they aren’t exactly common. Freed, Laxus, and Bickslow took it upon themselves to take the mission to bring her home.
-She very quickly figured out how to hide herself in the woods and away from people. Freed had to trap the entire area and make it so that eye magics don’t work within his barriers before they could even get close to her. It took almost a month. 
-And much to their surprise, she was nothing like what they were expecting. After all, they were supposed to be hunting down a nobleman’s son, not a daughter.
-Bickslow almost immediately asks her about why she ran away, and Ever looks up at him- then panics as she slams her eyes shut- but he doesn’t turn to stone because of Freed’s runes, and he explains as such. 
-They have a long conversation about why she ran away, and she tells them everything her father did to her, from being locked in her room to being terrified to tell him she’s his daughter and not his son because of his anger issues.
-They realize then and there they can’t give her back to him, and Freed comes up with the plan to tell him that they didn’t find his son, but rather a random girl with a similar magic, and she can join Fairy Tail instead of staying on the run. 
-The only reason she doesn’t agree immediatly is because of her eye magic. She couldn’t control it, and the idea of turning someone to stone again scared her.
-Freed sent Laxus to buy a pair of glasses without a prescription and a nice dress for her to wear, and he etches runes into the glasses to block her eye magic when they’re on.
-She’s sold from that moment on, and the raijinshuu’s friendship is sealed with that secret. 
-Laxus helps her chose her name before they get onto the train, and they solidify the story before then too  
-Makarov Accepts the story without question, even though they have a sneaking suspicion he knows. 
-They become a tight knit group in no time. 
-Then they learn about Ivan and all he did to Laxus, and they start to jokingly refer to themselves as the Laxus protection squad. It’s a lot less of a joke when Ivan’s actually around though, and the guild definitely notices. Makarov even starts to officially call them that in some reports. 
-No one remembers who suggested the name “raijinshuu,” but they all privately agree it’s dumb. Especially since  it insinuates that Laxus is the team leader. Freed’s the captain of their team for a reason.
-Dispite the fact that Bickslow is the tallest of them, both Laxus and Freed are both physically stronger than him. That’s not to say he isn’t strong, but Laxus can carry freakish amounts of weight due to his slayer biology, and Freed does the same due to his demon biology. 
-Freed can carry all of them at once. No one knows how. 
-Freed puts new runes on Ever’s glasses every time she gets new frames or a new prescription. He knows she doesn’t need it anymore, but she’s always grateful for the option. 
-if they share a bed, Freed and Ever cannot sleep next to each other. Their hair tangles together and they’ve only had to make that mistake once. 
-Ever and Bickslow are not under any circumstances allowed to cook, Freed can make fancy meals, and Laxus makes homemade stuff that would make your mouth water. He also stress bakes in secret at four am. 
-That’s how they always know he’s stressed when he doesn’t tell them. It’s kind of hard to miss 6 batches of cookies that spontaneously appeared overnight
-Freed has an unsharpened rapier that feels like getting hit with a slap bracelet at full speed. Naturally, this is the sword he chases Bickslow with when he pisses him off. 
-Laxus likes to pretend he’s one of the smartest members of the guild, but the raijinshuu knows he’s actually kind of a himbo. 
-Bickslow is really close friends with Loke, and when he noticed the man was dying slowly, the others comforted him despite not knowing what was going on.
-Bickslow often helps ghosts pass on from the mortal plane. 
-Evergreen keeps up with all the latest fashion, but she still considers Freed to be more fashionable. Because of this she always double checks her outfits with him. 
-Evergreen’s always the first to sass someone when they’re being rude to her team. It’s earned her her reputation as a “bitch” but she’s far too proud of it to be offended.
-One Laxus was open about his dragon slayer magic, they pushed him to talk to the other slayers to learn about himself and his magic. Freed and Bickslow pushed the hardest though, since they’re friends with Natsu and knew that he would be all too willing to drag Laxus into his little family of dragon slayers.
-Laxus was much happier oncce he accepted that he was more dragon that human anyways, and the more he learned, the happier he was. 
-In case it wasn’t clear: mtf Trans!Ever (she/her exclusively), he/they Freed, and  wtf is gender, is it a food?” Laxus and Bickslow (any pronouns). 
72 notes · View notes
oumakokichi · 3 years
Note
hello! could you talk a bit more about the original (as in jp, not localization) ouma's personality and speech patterns? you've mentioned that he tends to trail off or speak more softly when it is implied he is speaking the truth, etc. and how he is not so loud/intentionally obnoxious. //btw when does he call himself a fairy? that's so cute
Tumblr media
I got a couple of questions asking about the fairy line Ouma has, so I don’t mind sort of rolling them both into one! And I’m more than happy to talk a little more in-depth about Ouma’s speech patterns and personality in the original game, too!
Since I’ll be covering some late-game spoilers, I’ll put the bulk of this under the cut, so be careful when reading!
First off, I cannot stress how much I recommed playing ndrv3 with the Japanese voices enabled. If you’ve already played through the English dub but never experiened the original voice acting cast, I promise you won’t be disappointed. The Japanese cast are all fantastic, incredibly talented VAs who, unlike the dub, were hired specifically for these roles and not just re-casted from previous DR games.
Hiro Shimono as Ouma gives an absolutely incredible performance. The localization might still have many flaws in its translation and omission of certain lines or punctuation, but you can still very much get a feel for how Ouma’s character was intended by listening to Shimono’s performance. Re-playing the game with the Japanese voices will definitely let you hear how soft and tonally different Shimono’s performance is in places from the English dub, and compare it to the way in which many lines are written and punctuated as if Ouma’s yelling at everyone.
That isn’t to say that Shimono’s Ouma is never loud or excited: Ouma is a character whose moods and façades are all over the place, and therefore his performance requires a voice actor who can similarly change moods and intonation on a dime. Ouma is very much loud and haughty and deliberately annoying when he’s supposed to be, but his voice is also low and ominous at other points when he’s trying to be scary. And again, it’s soft and hesitant in places where he’s considering divulging some of his information, or when he’s insisting that all the things he does are for everyone’s sake, because he cares about them and doesn’t want anyone to die.
These moments feel so much more genuine in the Japanese version of the game--because they’re meant to be. As fantastic of a liar as Ouma is, it’s much easier for us, the player, to tell when he’s lying on a re-play, knowing the information from chapters 5 and 6 that we do, and looking at cues like his sprites (often his blank-faced ones) and, yes, his delivery of certain lines.
This probably sounds like me just gushing about what a fantastic voice actor Hiro Shimono is, and in part that’s exactly what it is, but I want to stress that pretty much every single voice actor in the Japanese cast is just as fantastic and that they all do their jobs incredibly well. With all that gushing out of the way, I’ll move on to talking about some of Ouma’s actual speech tics and the way he refers to other characters.
Like most things about him, Ouma’s speech patterns are sort of an interesting mix and even seem a little contradictory at times. He uses the very masculine pronoun “ore” (オレ), but he also refers to nearly everyone (with only a handful of exceptions) by their surnames and the much more childish honorific “-chan” (i.e. “Saihara-chan,” “Akamatsu-chan,” “Amami-chan,” etc.)
The use of “-chan” is very interesting. Honorifics in Japan are extremely complicated and tend to mean different things depending on who is using them. Typically, “-chan” is seen as a very feminine way to refer to someone else, commonly used in close-knit friend groups among school girls.
There are, of course, a few notable exceptions to this however: often times, middle-aged or elderly people will call a child “-chan” regardless of gender, as a way of showing they find them cute and endearing. And sometimes, people will use “-chan” to refer to other things they find cute, such as pets, or even to refer to themselves in a sort of informal, tongue-in-cheek way.
The fact that Ouma uses “-chan” as an honorific to refer to nearly everyone in the game stands out quite a lot: by and large, boys don’t use this term to refer to other boys. Using “-chan” to refer to anyone you’ve just met or don’t know very well is already somewhat frowned upon, but a boy using it to refer to other boys is especially rare. This helps set Ouma’s character up as someone who is both incredibly casual and informal with others (not to mention, you know, quite coded). Considering childishness and lightheartedness are traits Ouma values, and how much emphasis is put on him having “a very innocent, childish streak that’s hard to hate,” it makes sense then that he would talk like this.
Not counting Monokuma and the Monokubs, the only characters who Ouma doesn’t refer to with “-chan” are Gonta and Kiibo, who he simply calls by name. This also says some interesting things about his character.
Gonta is easily the character who Ouma interacts with the most often, as well as the charater he hurts the most in the end. Ouma’s choice to exclude Gonta from his usual way of calling people is, I think, a testament to how much Gonta really wanted to be friends with him, even if their friendship was never exactly on equal footing.
Meanwhile with Kiibo, I feel the choice to exclude him from his usual way of addressing others is indicative of how much Ouma tried to remind himself that Kiibo “wasn’t human,” and therefore how suspicious he found his presence in the killing game. We know Ouma suspected Kiibo and likely even had an inkling of his role as the audience proxy/camera in the game, due to how Kiibo’s picture is one of the only others set aside on his whiteboard besides Saihara’s, with the word “weird” written next to it (he also clearly guessed about the cameras after Gonta’s line in chapter 2, as we see from how he commissioned Miu for the bug-vac).
Ouma clearly enjoys teasing Kiibo a lot, and their banter reads very much like a manzai comedy duo; I feel like Ouma often tried pushing himself to remember that Kiibo “wasn’t human” on purpose in order to not get too attached to him or too distracted from his goal of ending the killing game. I don’t think Ouma’s decision to exclude Kiibo from the way that he very particularly referred to most of the rest of the group was just an accident or a coincidence.
Honorifics aside, Ouma also refers to several characters in interesting ways. He often uses “daisuki na ___-chan” (大好きな) to refer to some of the other characters, a phrase which more or less equates to “my beloved.” He uses this phrase with Saihara more than any other character of the game, but there are a few other instances where he does use it with Amami, Momota, and (if I’m remembering correctly) Kaede. Pretty much every single instance where the localization put, “because I love you” or “because you’re my favorite” whenever Ouma was talking to Saihara was usually a point where he would specifically call him “my beloved Saihara-chan.”
In chapter 4 during the scene where Ouma is alone in the parlor of the VR world, he also specifically, exclusively refers to Saihara as “suki ni natta hito” (好きになった人), literally: “the person I fell in love with.” This line was changed in the localization to, “when there’s a person I like,” which is more or less literally correct--however, the phrase “suki ni natta” is much heavier and more loaded with explicitly romantic implications than “suki” would be on its own, as it’s often used in Japanese love songs and shoujo manga love confessions.
Worth noting in my opinion is the fact that this is the exact same phrasing Maki uses to describe her romantic feelings for Momota. Since Maki’s feelings for Momota are considered canonically confirmed because of this, Ouma’s feelings should be considered equally canon, but a lot of people don’t know this because, well, it’s sort of been lost in translation.
And now, on to the fairy line! Ouma calls himself a fairy in chapter 3, when he pops up in the middle of Saihara and Korekiyo’s discussion of the katana in Korekiyo’s lab. Full of enthusiasm, he decides to touch the sword and examine it for himself; Korekiyo starts to object, but Ouma interrupts and says:
Tumblr media
“Come on, it’s not a big deal! I’m like a fairy, so it’ll be fine!”
I’ve always really loved this line and thought it was super adorable, both as a nod to how fairies aren’t supposed to be able to touch steel in most fae mythos, as well as the fact that fairies tend to also have a love for mischief and pranks and lies. The localization apparently didn’t like it so much though, because this line is simply changed to, “Come on, would I lie to you?” instead.
One final thing I can think of as far as Ouma’s speech tics go is that his laugh in Japanese is romanized as “nishishi” instead of “neeheehee,” as this is closer to the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound horses make--but I actually don’t mind this localization change at all! “Neeheehee” definitely looks a lot closer to the word “neigh” and helps capture that horse joke in a way that I feel like western players can more easily understand.
All in all, while I still definitely feel people can like and enjoy Ouma’s character from playing the localization alone, I still stand by my opinion that listening to the original Japanese voices helps give a much better picture of how the character was intended to come across, and really shows how much depth Hiro Shimono put into his performance. He’s quoted in the official ndrv3 artbook as saying that he believes Ouma is someone who’s actually “really meek if you take away his strong wish to outwit everyone” (credit to @kaibutsushidousha for the art book translation), and I think this interpretation of Ouma really shows through in so many of his lines.
Thank you both for the really fun questions! I hope I could provide some more interesting information about Ouma and the translation!
298 notes · View notes
andraaste · 3 years
Text
I am not your enemy - Lance fanfiction part 9
So, here's the last chapter for now. I hope I can introduce you to the next one fairly quickly, but it's still being written. Hoping you liked those already released and see you soon for chapter 10 🐉
(Link for Chapter 10 here)
Chapter 9 : I've always been used to only showing my human form
My footsteps echoed in the silent of the Guards' Corridor. I had just left Lance's room and it was with a much lighter heart than when I entered that I walked away. The distant rumor of the happy conversations had finally died down, leaving me wondering how long I had been able to spend with the dragon.
Finally, I didn’t regret my impromptu visit. Even if our understanding remained fragile and our points of convergence continued to darken the picture, his presence had nevertheless proved, in many respects, more beneficial than harmful. So, to my surprise, I never believed that one day I would come to beg for his patience to relieve my ailments.
Unlike the last time, it was with a feeling of euphoria that I could feel the magic continue to flow through me. Not as vigorously as when I awakened my powers, but undoubtedly, its power had slowly returned to pulsating in my veins. When I wiggled my fingers, I could still feel bits of heat run through my muscles. And the strangest thing about it was that instead of wearing me out, this power rush seemed to invigorate me.
For the first time in weeks, I felt good.
Looking up, I noticed that a small figure was wandering right in front of me. In the half-light of the corridor, I narrowed my eyes to try to make out her more clearly. When she passed in front of one of the windows, the moonlight let me see the face of a little girl with long, light hair. Not seeming to notice my presence, she continued to wander until she reached the entrance to the Crystal Room, right next to me. When the girl finally reached my height, I was surprised to find myself overcome by a familiar feeling.
Did I know this child ?
The young girl finally entered the room without a glance in my direction. Intrigued and attracted by her aura, I decided to follow suit.
I entered in my turn cautiously and almost immediately, a feeling of serenity had seized my heart when my gaze rested on the immense Crystal enthroned religiously in the center of the large room. On the doorstep, I was dumbfounded for a moment.
Strangely enough, I had not been back here since waking up. Truth be told, I had even avoided that room in which I had spent far too much of my life.
However, I didn’t know for what reason.
Bathed in a soft light, the Crystal seemed so imposing to me that I could not look away for several seconds. Without realizing it, my steps slowly led me to it, my hand timidly extended in front of me. As my fingers approached the smooth surface of its barrier, I felt the warm energy of my powers unleashed down my arm to the palm of my palm. Kinds of tingling covered me almost entirely and it’s the shortness of breath that I felt one of my fingers cross the protection which surrounded the luminescent crystals.
- Andraste ?
I jumped even more at the hearing of the voice that echoed behind my back. As if caught in the act, I quickly withdrew my hand and turned to my interlocutor.
It was his long blonde hair that I noticed first.
- Leiftan, what are you doing here ?
How had I managed not to realize his presence ? Since the big battle, aengel and I were connected. Whenever he stood next to me, I got to feel his emotions as if they were mine, and probably the other way around.
- I'll turn the question back to you, he said to me, his face marked by a certain curiosity. I couldn't get to sleep. When I left my room, I saw you come out of one of them and lead you here.
He marked a silence full of innuendo before adding, in a much colder tone :
- From Lance's, it seems to me.
I tensed at hearing his last sentence. A dull anger seized for a short moment in my heart and it took me a few seconds to realize that it was not mine.
- Yes, I just needed to clear some things up with him.
- At this time of night ?
I had the impression of undergoing the interrogation of a jealous lover, except that it did not concern him.
- I have no further explanation for you, Leiftan.
The latter didn't answer anything and just probed my face.
I had seen him very little lately. The aengel seemed to do his utmost to flee any presence and to keep away from all responsibility. I had already tried to ask him to train me, especially about my powers because until now, he had been the only one who could help me, but he had each time declined my requests.
- Good. But I reiterate, what are you doing here in the middle of the night ?
His anger had subsided, I only felt a great calm accompanied by a touch of curiosity. But his question brought me back to reality.
Where had the little girl gone ?
I realized that I had not seen her since I entered the room.
- I saw a child come in here, I said, hesitating to continue. There was something strange about her.
- Can you explain to me ?
I was a little confused on how to phrase it. How do I tell him that his aura attracted me ?
- She reminded me of... the Oracle, I finally let go.
His eyes widened slightly at what I was advancing, but he quickly regained his composure.
- I think I know who you're talking about.
- Really ? I exclaimed, in my turn surprised.
- Yes, Huang Hua reported to me the presence of a child in the HQ that nobody knows anything about. She does not speak, but some people have speculated that there is a connection between her and the Oracle.
I couldn't believe my ears. This little one has something to do with the Oracle ?
- I have for my part never crossed, I can tell you nothing more.
- Do you know how long she's been at HQ ?
He knew very well where I was going with this.
- It seems to me that she was noticed for the first time shortly before our return, he announced to me, his face serious.
Leiftan and I pondered his words. Our awakening was clearly not trivial, something strange was manifesting itself on Eldarya and I wasn't sure I wanted to find out.
- I'll leave you, it's getting late and I think you might be better off doing the same.
He walked towards the hallway door and added quietly :
- Good night, Andraste.
Giving me one last look filled with infinite sadness, he finally left the room.
- Good night, Leiftan, I answered weakly.
*
Two days passed following these two unexpected interviews and the guard finally charged me with a few simple missions which occupied my days. My visit to the dragon chamber had really been fruitful, because since our discovery on the possible communion of our powers, I had the impression that mine had never really left me. I had thus discovered that I was again able to send a faint light from my hands, even in the absence of Lance, which gave me incredible surges of energy. I was finally starting not to tire myself at the slightest effort, even if I continued to perceive anomalies in my physical state, which did not prevent my mood from being markedly improved.
Having joined the Obsidian Guard, I had therefore started to perform the few requests that I was able to do as long as there was no specific mission to perform. I walked through the forge when I heard a voice that I recognized immediately.
My heart was racing against my will.
- We're going to need enough materials to consolidate these weapons. It will also be necessary to train new recruits and see their level in combat. I don't have time to train everyone, but I trust you to give me your feedback.
Without being noticed, I walked over to a shelf and put down what I had just bought at the market. Trying to concentrate on my task, I couldn't help but strain my ears.
- No worries boss, you know you can count on me. I already have some reports for you.
- Very good. Thanks Falco, it's a great job.
The young man by the name of Falco put a solemn fist on his heart and bowed slightly before stepping out of the forge. I was speechless. It was the first time that I had seen Lance as the leader of the guard and I had to admit that he seemed made for it. His naturally bossy tone commanded respect, and I was troubled to see the trust and admiration his subordinates seemed to have in him.
Pretending not to have noticed it, I bustled about my task and listed the effects I had just bought before putting them away in each compartment. After that, I gathered the things I needed to be able to complete my missions for the day and get out of here. But to my chagrin, one of the items on the list was at the top of one of the shelves. Huffing in annoyance, I reached out as far as I could but only managed to touch the end of the object. I was about to give up the idea when an arm appeared in my sight and effortlessly grabbed the mesh I needed. Standing behind me, I didn't have to see him to know who he was, though.
The tanned hand of the leader of the Obsidian patiently handed the object to me.
Turning my head, I fell on a bluish gaze plunged into mine. I grabbed the object not avoiding the trouble, I was going to succeed in catching it.
- Thank you, but it was not worth it, I was going to manage to catch it.
A carnivorous smile stretched his features.
- Yet I thought I understood the reverse.
- It must be because of your chivalrous soul, you can't help but rescue a young girl in distress.
Lance gave a deep laugh that echoed close to my ear. He then pretended to look for a parchment in front of me and very quickly, I found myself stuck in the space of his arms. The rest of his words echoed even closer.
- It's true, but I think it's only in your presence, that.
He wasn't looking at me as he said those words, focused on a point straight in front of him. I remained frozen in place, I was far too aware of his proximity all around me to dare a movement.
- And so, you felt compelled to help me? It's funny, I knew you rather inclined to serve me more than anything else.
I felt the dragon smile behind my back.
- You're not wrong. But didn't you already tell you that I had changed ?
- Yes. And far too many times for my taste, if you want to know.
His laughter echoed between us once again and I couldn't help but smile too. He eventually found the parchment he was looking for and finally withdrew his arms, allowing me to finally resume my normal breathing.
- You are free tonight ? he asked me as if nothing had happened.
In response, I gave him a dumbfounded look that amused him once again. He was definitely in a good mood today.
- It seems to me that you asked me for help with a certain thing and that I suggest you do that tonight.
*
With a lump in my stomach, I found myself knocking on Lance's bedroom door again at a late hour, preferring to avoid the busy times in the hallway so as not to be surprised. This time, the dragon opened me much faster and moreover, he had taken care to keep some of his armor while still being more comfortable. Without a word, he let me in as if the gesture had already become a habit, and closed behind my back just as eloquently. He moved away from the clapper and briskly walked around me to remove his gloves and place them on his desk.
He seemed to ignore me completely. I waited several seconds but he definitely showed no sign of starting a conversation.
- So like that, you invite a girl to your room and you play the distant guy? I gave him bluntly.
Taken aback, the dragon looked at me with a strange eye, looking amused but also ...
An amused smile was born on his lips.
- You would have more interest in remaining a nice girl and not looking too much for me on this ground, you know. I will not hold back indefinitely, he said, planting his gaze on mine, in which I thought I read some undisguised envy.
Did I understand what he meant ?
My god, I was very hot all of a sudden.
- Lance ...
Seeing that he had managed to confuse me, the dragon seemed to revel in having cornered me. Because if I answered, the slope could become too slippery and we both knew it.
He laughed under his breath before finally changing the subject.
- Do you have any news about your powers ? he asked me.
Relieved, I smiled slightly before rolling up my sleeve and letting the beams of light travel up my arm. I thought I saw an imperceptible admiration appear on his face.
- Their feeling hasn't left me since the other night. It's still very weak, I can barely use it, but they're there, I finished with a hint of pride.
Lance tilted his head, suddenly looking thoughtful.
- It's a very good start. We will already start by focusing on this element before tackling a more complicated one.
- More complicated ?
- Well in my memories, you had a huge pair of wings on your back, he said with a thin smile.
My wings ... it is true that with Leiftan, he was the one who had seen my powers the most at work, in the end. Even though it was clearly not in the best of conditions. Thoughtful, I passed an absent hand between my shoulder blades but unsurprisingly, no trace of wings marked my back.
- It's true, I would love to find them, I said softly.
A memory suddenly came back to me.
- Tell me, the other night when I left your room, something rather strange happened.
- What ? he asked me, suddenly really intrigued.
- Going out into the hallway, I passed a child walking alone. She didn't seem to have noticed my presence. She went to the Crystal Room and when I followed her, she sort of ... disappeared.
Lance seemed to think for a moment.
- It is probably Ophéliai where it comes from, even if some hypothesize...
- That she would have a connection with the Oracle, I continued in his place.
Like every time something intrigued him, he raised one of his eyebrows.
- Indeed. But why are you telling me about it ?
I pursed my lips. I hadn't told anyone what had happened before Leiftan arrived in the room.
- When I entered, I felt a kind of connection between the Crystal and me. My powers absolutely seemed to want to manifest, and I don't know how that protective barrier works, but when my finger went through it...
- Wait, he stopped me, you crossed the barrier ?
I hesitated for a moment. Was it a good idea to confide in him ?
- Yes, at least, I had started to cross it. But the closer I got, the more I felt that my aengel strength was taking over. It was ... powerful.
Lance was silent for a long time, seeming to analyze my words. I clearly didn't like his silence.
- I think it's not for nothing if you saw her that night precisely, he began. You had just reactivated your powers, and if Ophelia really has a connection to the Oracle, it wouldn't be surprising if she sought to get in touch with you. The barrier is an enchanted protective field, normally no one is supposed to be able to cross it, but I guess that last point is not for you.
He paused again before concluding :
- I don't know if it's a good thing or not, but the Oracle seems to try to push you to use them, or at least to find them.
The words of the leader of the Obsidian echoed what I had feared. The Oracle seemed to want to get in touch with me, but for what reason exactly ?
I wondered if Leiftan's presence that evening was really harmless...
- Hopefully I can find them entirely, then. I don't feel that all of these events are heralding anything good.
- Me neither, if you want to know everything, he said in a serious tone. In any event, this proves that the process will have to be speeded up. I also thought about what happened between our respective magics, and I would like to try something else.
Playfully, Lance slowly approached the center of the room. When he reached my height, I was amazed to see ice blue scales appear along his skin. Escaping from the collar of his top, they went up to the bottom of his face, much like when he had marked me with his streaks two days before. His arms and hands also covered, more sparsely, and soon I could see a dragon tail wagging calmly behind his back.
I was totally fascinated by his appearance. I had seen him in his draconian form before, but never that way. Seeing him half transformed in this way reminded me of Tia, his mother, whom I had seen by his side in the memories of his ancestors in Memoria.
As if drawn in spite of myself, I raised a hand and let it slide along the scales that covered the base of his jaw. Rigid and cold, I felt them vibrate slightly under my fingers as his gaze never left me. Lance looked surprised at first, straining under my fingers, but finally let me.
- Do you feel better like that ? I asked him, watching the play of lights reflecting off the blue of his now hardened skin. Tia seemed more comfortable in this form, did you too ?
The dragon did not move a millimeter, but hearing his mother's first name, I saw him swallow his saliva with difficulty.
- I've always been used to showing only my human form, so it's very easy for me to stay that way. But yes, the most comfortable appearance is this, he told me in a deep and low voice, almost ashamed.
I gently pulled my hand away and watched his scales move slightly, as if a shiver ran through him just where my fingers left him.
- They are beautiful, I said, looking up to his.
I saw him swallow again and thought for a moment that he was going to make a move in my direction, but he finally restrained himself and just said :
- I avoid showing myself like that, in general. Normal people don't really feel confident when they learn they are in the presence of a dragon, he argued, his jaws clenched. Moreover for most, this form can seem repulsive.
I was shocked to hear those words. Faeries must be used to seeing creatures of all kinds, so why should the appearance turn them off ?
- I find it anything but repulsive, I felt compelled to tell him. And yet, I have lived much longer on Earth than here.
His features relaxed under my words.
- Dragons are believed to be a long extinct race, and their stories are largely unknown to the people of the lands of Eel. It is therefore not surprising to see them react in a virulent way to something that they thought was gone.
- Maybe, but it's still silly, I said, quite annoyed. Dragons are certainly very large, but certainly not repulsive.
Lance looked at me for a long time before laughing. His gaze suddenly softened.
- I hope I can count on your bravery to kick their buttocks for me, in this case.
I returned his smile sincerely, rocked by this revelation that saddened me for injustice. Because in a way I could understand what he was feeling. How would people react if they saw me walking around with aengel wings on my back ? They would probably be scared too, even if my form was softer than his.
I realized that humans and faeries looked more alike than I thought, the same fear of the unknown marking them indelibly.
- Well, what did you want to try, suddenly ?
His gaze suddenly became serious again, but the weak smile never left him.
- Do you know if you trust me, or still not ?
I hadn't really expected this question. But if I was here now, it had to be a bit like that, right ?
- Let's say I trust you a little more than before, I tell him cautiously.
He nodded in approval.
- I've been doing quite a bit of research on the powers of aengels and dragons since the other night, and there is something I would like to try. But for that, you have to trust me a minimum.
- All right, tell me what to do.
(Chapter 10)
68 notes · View notes
wakraya · 2 years
Note
Okay now what about your opinion on the domestic abuse pandemic?
Oh boy, this became more a relationship rant than anything else but:
You know I could spend a while talking about domestic abuse and say how, you know, helping people reach out, doing better in the future to make people less entitled and prone to taking advantage of others and promoting mutual respect, talk about how misogyny plays into all of it...
But instead I'm gonna focus on one specific thing- I think we need to rethink relationships as like, a whole? Now, this comes from someone who's SUPER Poly, but like... I've seen a lot of people close to me, and generally seen around, just kinda, a lot of relationships that just don't work and trying to make them work not for the sake of the people involved, but for the sake of the relationship itself?
Like... Dating sites are promoted as a place to seek love- And yeah they match you with similar people, but it's always seemed weird to me because, I never understood the idea of seeking love for the sake of love? Love is something that, for me, blossoms between people that get along well. Looking FOR the love to begin with as the primary objective instead of for people you get along with and share interests, and then love can just happen as a byproduct? It seems a lot of people feel pressured to FIND love for the sake of it, and when you force it, you can end up with unpleasant relationships and friction and a lot of bullshit.
This is not just about Dating Sites either. I am a biiiig Introvert, and Autistic, so that plays into my view of it, but I can't, for the life of me, understand how, for example, my parents, met at a bar. Like... You just, decided to approach each other because they were attracted to each other and they happened to mesh well. Except. They fucking do not mesh well. They say they're so in love, but my mother is a manipulative bitch and my father's a pushover who holds resentment for her attitude, they can argue and can threaten divorce and will literally be at each other's throats over the most MINOR disagreements, and then they will be like "Oh I love you so much :)" and I've NEVER seen the love. It's always seemed so performative, it's been tolerance, at best, for each other, and I think that's messed up? They do not get along. They aren't a good match. But they got together, and had children, and their idea of 'love' is this fucked up tolerance because they're too far in and it's Sunken Cost Fallacy all the way down, no matter what happens or how they make each other worse and not only don't share any interests, but she actually mocks him for his interests.
My sister has a friend who got together and had a kid with someone that everyone around them never saw getting along together- Not even from an outside perspective, but from the friend directly saying that his only redeeming quality was having enough money to pay for child support if they ended up getting divorced. I've seen and heard time and time again of people giving up their hobbies entirely because their partners are embarrassed of them/Don't like them and that drives them off entirely from indulging in this thing they liked.
Relationships can often require sacrifices and doing things differently! I'm not saying that any relationship where you need to concede something is bad. But like, you know what I mean? There's so much romantic stuff I see that is based on immediate physical appearances and 'making it work' despite rather intense friction, or like, "I found out a year into the relationship that my husband believed in X, which conflicts entirely with my ideology", how do you go out to begin with without knowing something as basic as "Hey, my partner-to-be is actually a huge racist"? How do you go out with someone if they make you feel ashamed of your hobbies and pull you away from things that you enjoy for dumb reasons? How do you build a relationship STARTING from the idea of WANTING to be in love with them, instead of from a foundation of understanding, mutual respect and knowing each other?
That's my take. I think so long as the point of relationships, for many, IS being in a relationship, instead of being with someone that they trust, respect, coincide with and can be with, there's going to be abuse and friction and bullshit in said relationships, from people expecting more/wanting more than the other party wants, from people settling for what they have because they are clinging to this fake love while in reality they're being taken advantage of, from people who mistake physical attraction with "Actually getting along together and loving each other". And by making this forced love less the point, it'd also help people who AREN'T interested in romance or relationships at all have an easier time, too, less pressure to 'find someone' or 'to be fixed', when more people realize it's all about comfort and happiness in your life, and not about 'seeking love' being a checkbox to tick before you're 30 or whatever the fuck.
NOTE: I am not saying that relationships that started in a bar or dating site are hollow/less real/cannot work, and I am not saying that everyone who met in these places met entirely for the sake of it or due to physical attraction. But I am saying in my experience, I've seen a lot of this in the past-
11 notes · View notes
unfunny-quips · 3 years
Text
Shouta had been sized up before. 
Many times during his life, in fact. As a student, as a hero, as a teacher. He’d always met the assessments with the same steady, unflinching gaze of his own. He knew his capabilities, and no amount of side eye or stare down would make him think twice.
That did not mean he was in any way prepared for Midoriya Inko. 
Nezdu’s assistant - soft spoken, unassuming, and sweet - had a way of making her scrutinizing gaze seem gentle as it swept over him. Her sharp eyes taking in every detail, weighing and measuring every fact she gathered. She always had a bright smile and a kind word, a gentle hand to guide when needed. And yet, somehow, she was one of the very, very few people Shouta had ever met that made him nervous.
It shouldn’t have been surprising, he supposed. For all the things he had faced down in his career, he had never faced true, unwavering evil the way she had. The green haired woman had been married to the single most dangerous man in Japan - very possibly the world - and had come out of the experience with her heart of gold intact. 
An impressive enough feat on its own merit. That she had managed to pull one over on that villain - gathering up her sons and a damning amount of information and sweeping them away to safety before All For One had even a chance to understand what was happening - that was terrifying. She’d stormed the police, stared down the Symbol of Peace himself, and forced the Hero Commision themselves to give her a deal placing her family in the highest amount of security available. 
Most terrifying of all, she had impressed Nezdu.
The woman was a force of nature and Shouta was smart enough to know he wouldn’t survive the storm if it’s ire was turned on him.
Midoriya herself, dressed disarmingly in a smart grey suit with a teal blouse, finally brought her gaze to meet his and offered him one of her cheerful grins. It was warm and soft, the kind of thing mothers gave he supposed, not that he had a terrible lot of familiarity with that. The gentleness of the smile did not make him forget the steel of her spine or how she could make that smile turn predatory when the need arose.
“Aizawa-San, it’s lovely to see you today!”  She greeted him, standing from her desk - immaculate and clearly organized to the height of perfection - and rounding it to greet him. 
He should have anticipated the crushing hug she’d pulled him into, but as always her unwavering cheerfulness had sent him off balance and she’d pressed her advantage before he could regain his senses. She did it with all the staff, with the exception of All Might and Nezdu. Aizawa suspected All Might’s great height - even in his skeletal form - prevented her from pulling him in for one of her crushing hugs. Nezdu, for his part, was a fellow apex predator and therefore exempt from such treatment.
He wished, not for the first time, that Zashi had come with him. He sometimes was able to hide behind the other man when Midoriya Inko started hugging. Sometimes. 
Then again, she’d sometimes just sweep the both of them up at once, and Zashi took it as an invitation for a group hug, trapping Shouta entirely.
“Midoriya-San.” He awkwardly greeted when she’d released him. She ignored his discomfort, and moved back towards her desk where a stack of papers waited.
“You’re just in time, I just finished compiling the pre-approved applications for the transfers. Oh!” She paused, turning away from her desk and darting through the door just off her office to the small kitchenette hidden there. He blinked after her, feeling bewildered, and watched as she moved to pull two bentos from the fridge. “I noticed your schedule today didn’t allow for lunch.” She told him, shoving one of the bentos into his hands. “So I thought we could enjoy a meal while we reviewed everything.”
He barely managed not to fumble the container as she dropped it in his hands, whisking off to sit at her desk before he could even think of refusing. He blinked after her, then turned to the bento. The fabric it had been tied into was a soft blue and printed with adorable chibi versions of Hizashi in fully hero gear. It was adorable and mildly terrifying to think she had noticed something in Shouta he thought he’d locked down and hidden away years ago.
“You didn’t have to, I have -” Any protest he might have made died the moment he glanced up and saw the sharp look in her eyes. She was still smiling, but there was a certain gleam of warning in her gaze as she looked at him.
“Protein pouches are not an appropriate substitute for a proper meal.” Midoriya said with the kind of finality that left no room for argument. Not that there would be any. Shouta certainly wasn’t going to be fool enough to pick a fight he knew he couldn’t win - more than once, at least. Especially not when she had that soft, warning expression pointed at him.
Instead he clamped his mouth shut and took the seat across from her, dutifully untying the knot in the colorful bento wrapping at her warning glance. Inside he found onigiri made to look like cats tucked in with a variety of protein rich, healthy foods and some apple slices cut to look like bunnies. 
It was adorable. 
How she managed to find time to make him something so elaborate and cute while balancing care for Izuku and Tenko, the running of the school and keeping up with Nezu while also being constantly vigilant for her villainous estranged husband was beyond him.
“Now there were a number of transfer requests made to get into 1-A” Midoriya began, glancing over the documents on her computer after she had ensured that Shouta was indeed eating the food she’d given him. “About two hundred total. Most of them were sifted out due to grades and overall performance which brought it down to sixty-two. From there we accounted for teacher evaluation to whittle it down to a more reasonable seventeen.”
She pulled up a list, tilting her screen to better show him the names and pictures of seventeen promising first years. Hitoshi, as expected, had made it through the initial two stages of the transfer process. Just two more stages to go.
“Interviews have been scheduled to speak to their classmates, friends and family. Nezdu suspects will have only seven or eight remaining afterward those have been conducted.” Midoriya explained, casting another warning glance at Shouta to ensure he was still eating the lunch she’d prepared for him. He dutifully began digging into a Tsukune. Satisfied, Inko unwrapped her own bento and allowed Shouta to review the short bios of the students as she ate her own lunch.
Each student he reviewed gave the impression of a serious hero course candidate. A class full of good students who hadn’t made the cut initially due to a system biased against their quirks. Nezdu expected nearly ten of them wouldn’t make the interview process, and Shouta didn’t doubt the principal’s estimate, he was rarely wrong about such things. Usually there were only three or four remaining after the interviews, it was an unusually adept group that year it seemed.
After the interviews would be the practicals, followed by the faculty review of those remaining. Despite his personal interest, Nezdu had permitted him to remain on the faculty board to judge the students, confident in Shouta’s ability to remain objective. 
“Oh, I nearly forgot,” Midorya said, breaking him from his thoughts. He watched as she set her lunch to the side and turned her attention to one of her desk drawers. “Izuku gave this to me to pass along to you. He was worried he wouldn’t have the chance otherwise with midterms coming up.” A plain file folder was held out to him, innocent looking.
Shouta squinted at it suspiciously. “He could have brought it in during my office hours.” He said, reaching for it anyway. He’d started calling Midoriya Izuku Problem Child in the first couple days of class, but in no way was the boy actually a troublemaker. Only over eager and overpowered with no sense of self protection. He was a good student, though, and a good kid from everything he’d seen and everything Hitoshi had told him. Not one he’d expect to use a go between for passing notes on to his teachers.
Midoirya Inko gave one of those knowing smiles that put Shouta’s hair on end. “I think he wanted to avoid taking any of your time that could go to other students for something that isn’t related to his own school work.”
Shouta blinked at that, then flipped the folder open and blinked again.
“Are these -?”
“Recommendation letters, yes.” Midoriya said, smile growing bright at Shouta’s bewildered expression. “Hitoshi-kun mentioned they’d help him during his application for the hero course so Izuku got some put together for him. I wrote one of my own, and All Might was similarly happy to make a recommendation based on what he’s seen of Hitoshi’s excellent character.”
155 notes · View notes
datastate · 3 years
Note
hi I don't know fuck all abt hollow knight but pls tell me abt these five guys. wanna hear u talk abt the bugs w the sick white gourd heads
THANK YOU BRO!!! okay. so.
essentially - there's this largely respected group who works directly under the king and queen of hallownest, the "five great knights" who protect hallownest. (likely separated into different sections among the kingdom, but still returning to the white palace altogether during important events)
it gets! very stressful for them once an infection falls upon the kingdom. there's nothing you Can do, and no matter the magic or whatever protection or isolation you try, it's an infection that manifests within dreams. the knights are mortal forces, they cannot fight against something built from dreams, from essence. they are mortals and tied to physical forces alone, and therefore reliant on their leaders to find a solution.
(in my intepretation) a few years before it begins, their gods (literal), the king and queen, come up with a plan that is essentially - hey, here is a unthinking object that will act as a vessel for to save the kingdom from eternal suffering. the pale king has some foresight, so the knights take his word and trust in this plan. they are the only mortals allowed to see this vessel in its child form - with the vague exception of monomon (a jellyfish teacher) who is to examine it for physical error.
but, seeing this supposed “machine” grow before your eyes is... unnerving. but this is the only chance you have to save the entire kingdom, the people as a whole, so you have to abide and dehumanize this “vessel” while also helping it train to peak performance and remain strong as to better ward off the force behind the infection. you are sure it must be alive, despite it never speaking and only ever obeying commands given to it. but you are tasked with speaking on any ‘fault’ - read: any symbol of being alive - or other ways it falters, as it must remain a pure force despite everything. this is why some of the knights are unable to be around it too often
in order, the people most to least trusted with staying around thk:
- dryya: as a servant bound to the white lady, she is the one with the most knowledge on the vessel(s; multiple. its origins are vague but every knight knows there were at least a few children who were killed because they didn’t match this perfection from the force of the void) and the one who is around it the most. she is the primary trainer for thk due to her proficiency with a nail (weapon), and steels herself from becoming too attached... there are moments, however, where she will applaud it for its progress. as a mentor, it slips by. she has seen it show signs of weariness, and has become more mindful as to not push it to the point of exhaustion. it will not stop until it shuts down, because it doesn’t feel it’s allowed to stop until the command comes. she spends time tending to any wounds inflicted upon them from training, or when they are on small patrols, and will talk sometimes. but she keeps it curt. she is attached, everyone who knows and cares for her realizes her love comes through actions, but she’ll be damned if she admits it or dares to do more than basic courtesies.
- isma: what prevents isma from being around thk as often as she’d like to is her other duties, often tending to projects similar to what the archive performs. she looks into a lot of physical matter, as intertwined with magic (specifically the sort that mosskin use). she is purposefully colder while around thk, but mostly because she doesn’t... want to deal with the internal conflict of essentially sentencing thk to the pale beings’ judgement if she’s kind enough to warrant some response. she is nice where she can be, but nothing especially notable past ‘polite’. she trains thk along with dryya.
- hegemol: while he primarily spends his time in hallownest’s capital, there are times he is an escort for thk (once it’s grown) or will visit the palace to fill in for dryya when isma is busy and ogrim is either with isma or not trusted by the pale king. he has heavy doubt in the king, and thereby the vessel’s origins, but... ultimately decides this isn’t his problem. he shows decency, of course, similarly to isma, but rarely tries to speak with thk. his orders are more suggestions, and he uses them sparingly, but after the dreamer plan is brought to light he is... harsher. he watches the vessel much closer for any falter, because now lurien’s life is on the line (his close friend, another leader of the capital, who chose to give his life for the plan thk was created for). hegemol feels awful, obviously - this isn’t the kid’s fault even if it’ll bear the brunt of it - but at the end of it he cares more about hallownest than he does about the pale beings or this creation of theirs. it sounds bad, but that’s how it is. he will not choose to overlook any fault in this plan any longer. (in truth, he wants to protect it, if it’s alive, from a mantle that will kill it and bleed dry everyone else who relied on it and the pale beings’ plan. he knows he can’t stand against the pale beings, but he likes to think he can repent for this if his suspicions are true.)
- ze’mer: because she is a lot more. aloof than the others, she is typically sent for other matters beside tending to the vessel. she is aware of its existence, yes, and curious at times, but doesn’t often try to pursue it. despite her position, she is undoubtedly an outsider and is sure that her prying would not be welcomed and.. she’s gotten tired, honestly. ze’mer does care for thk on an objective level, would feel awful if it was hurt, but doesn’t try too hard either way with leaning into moments she can be kind to it nor gives it many orders or examining it as heavily as hegemol eventually does for impurity. she trusts that the others have it under control.
- ogrim: ogrim... has a big heart. and it works against him here. while he is the king’s most loyal, he is not especially the king’s most trusted. not for matters as delicate as thk, at least. ogrim would undoubtedly taint the supposed ‘purity’ of thk, and that is why, while he may visit while thk is in the area, his personal interactions with thk were few and far between. most of what he heard was from the other five, be it suspicion or simply recounting and reinforcing the idea that thk is hollow.
there were times the five questioned it, but that doubt was rarely spoken aloud. they were doing what they must, after all. while conflicted and with the hope that they could protect thk from the pale beings’ judgement should its impurity ever come to light, it was ultimately never their choice. they were people who did what they hoped was for the best, even if it was at the cost of a child never being able to live their life. it was sentenced to be a martyr with the bloody mantle of an entire kingdom and the surrounding areas upon its shoulders, and upon the five knights’ hands. was it their fault that it failed and hallownest died, with the dreamers in endless stasis for naught? should they have tried harder to spot its failure? would they have had the strength to admit it was impure and accept the consequences to come? would anything ever change, or was it always destined to end this way? why didn’t they at least try to show more care for thk, ‘purity’ be damned. they were complicit whether or not they wanted to be, because they thought they were saving so many. but they failed alongside thk. it was their king and queen who thought this plan should work, but there’s only so much deflecting you can do. there is so much guilt and regret and ‘what if’s each of the five hold, regardless of how they try to cast it away.
...this wasn’t going too much into the characters themselves but when i first got this i was mostly thinking of the important parts of their stories, which is primarily focused on thk, ;w; i will get around to their interprersonal dynamics later on tho!!! again, thank you dude
12 notes · View notes
arielmatosdraws · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media
(WARNING: broken english, not my main laguage)
Also, special and high inspiration on: Miss Holoska(i write right, right?) With Underswap!MH and a but of Team Switched with TS!Underswap
So, you guys rembember me talking about how many takes of Underswap is out there but not many Underfell, well, guess what? I have a Underswap take
Character explanation
Chara: i made Chara design to look like how they look in the intro and flashback of Undertale, since i have a headcanon that Chara hair is like that because Chara didn't have time to brush their hair(why would they?), and so, the Dreemurs take care of them, and one time Chara have that hair that we see on genocide end(is just my headcanon), and since in this Underswap is the first time that Chara is in thr underground and not have time to brush their hair, i decided that should look like this, also, their personality depends of the routes, not only that but their personalities is just from the differents view of Undertale Chara, the neutral route, depending of what did Chara do, they have the personality that the "Neutral-Chara" believers think they have, the pacifist route, their personality can be either sarcastic, sassy, etc, to educated, angel, lawful good etc, and finally genocide, can be either sinlent, or, if Chara used cruel ACTs, can be the stereotype evil Chara
Sans: first of all, no, he is not a child, if was i could have drawed a stripe on his shirt, so, his clothes, is just thinked that his Undertale clothes are already perfect to exercice, so why change? The only thing that i changed was the sneakers with the shoes of Temmie Chang Sans concerpt art, and their hoodie with a scarf, he have a good relationship with Toriel like in Undertale, telling puns, talking about Papyrus, etc, the only people that know that Sans go talk to the queen is his brother, Mettaboo and Napstaton, but they doesn't mind and don't tell anyone, Sans doesn't use this as a excuse to enter the royal guard, he wants to enter with his skills(like Undertale Sans, he is just skilled, but not strong), he still have the shortcut, he like sci-fi and watched enough fiction movies to assume that Chara is a Time-Traveler, he, unlike Undertale Papyrus, actually is seen with Papyrus and his friends in some areas, however, if you killed someone, only Sans will be in other areas, he will say how his brother dissapeared after the battle bentween Chara and Sans, he doesn't kill you in pacifist and neutral, only captures you, but in genocide, he wants to do justice and he tries his best to kill you and he introduce his SECRET ATTACK, KARMA
Papyrus: i decided to just make he look different from his stereotype, well he is not drepessed like Undertale Sans, actually that bags on his eyes is because he suffer from insonnia, thats why he sleep many times, Sans not get angry about that, but, yes worried, since, unlike Undertale Sans thats just lazy, Papyrus suffer from insonnia and he have "other things" to treat and Sans is really worried about his younger brother, Papyrus doesn't mind puns, unless that too many, well, Papyrus is kind and sweet outside and doesn't want the people worry about him, he will not hate the person if killed someone like "you demon" but will be highly dissapointed, he will only hate you if you kill his brother, if Chara killed someone, he will no longer appear after Sans battle and only reappear in the judgement hall, he, unlike Sans, doesn't believe that The Fallen Human is some time-traveller and think thaf just Sans crazy imagination, but he notices that the Human act strange sometimes, he never made the promise to protect a human, in pacifist, he is just fine with Chara and never treath them about they "would be dead where they stand", in neutral, if any other monster was killed, he will be just disappointed, and if Sans was killed, he doesn't kill you because he will not be any better than you, but in genocide, the hate was so much that he take action, he is way stronger than Sans, both in attacks and status, but doesn't have karma, however, he is weaker than Undertale Papyrus because he not train and not sleep very well, but he have one thing that Undertale Papyrus doesn't have, the will to end you, he have bone attacks, have blue magic and blue attacks, he also use Gaster Blaster, however they eyes are angry cartoonish eyes, but if you could see, you would have a chill on the spine
Alphys: i always imagined a Alphys battle with a mecha, so instead of her being a close-combat warrior, she wears a mecha made by Undyne as a gift, the armor have a lighting canon and a robotic axe(with lighting aspect, yes, lighting will be exclusive to Alphys in this AU), she will not have a Undying form, but will use a upgrade of her armor that more hard, Alphys doesn't talk so much and not have a explosive personality, she is also not rude, but once that you make friendship with her, she shows her good side, she is a kind and sweet person, that just want the best to the people, she really like anime and loves Undyne, in battle, she uses her mecha and make you soul yellow, that is similar to Undertale, however she gives you a powerful teaser that you use to defend yourself from attacks, but you can use to overcharge her charge shot to make her mecha arm explode, after the two arms are destroyed, she will use a attavk that open their mecha torso reaviling the core, than you use all the enerhy of the teaser to stop the machine, than you can spare her or give the final blow, while she is inconsience, you can date her with Papyrus to be friends, the date involves you draw anime and watch anime, she is akward at first because she think that Chara doesn't like her, however, you can turn the tables and be really good friends, however, if you killed someone, instead of Papyrus, Sans will be in the front of the door to visit her, then he notices Chara and ask if you also want to pay a visit, and this version, Sans and Alphys go to her room to talk, Chara stay in the kitchen, than Sans go out, then the date with Alphys start, she is kinda reluctant in this version and in the end she doesn't really see you as a friend
Asgore: he is the one that stated that every human would die, however, Toriel banned them from the capital and he insolated himself in the ruins, he still the kind and good fluffy king from Undertale, i don't have much thing to talk about him
Undyne: even if US! Undyne hair is canon in Undertale, i decided that is just a pony tail, or, sometimes, a messy hair(without a pony tail), she is more determined than Undertale Alphys and go out more to visit Papyrus and his brother, she made Napstaton body and she like anime way more than Undertale Undyne, she knows that anime is not real, but, with her determination, she made robots, armors, etc, Napstaton is the only robot with soul, and is way stronger than that robots, this robots onoy follow their progamation ans don't give EXP, she upgrade Chara's chellphone and turn it into a deluxe U-phone, that phone have pretty much the same things from Undertale Alphys Cellphone, but, instead of a yellow mode, it have a "Cyan mode", in the cyan mode, the soul turn cyan, pressing Z make the soul make a really fast tackle that destroy or react some attacks, if missed the timing or used and doesn't hit nothing, the soul get way slower, so, be PATIENCE
Mettaboo(mettaton): He is not shy or melancolic like Undertale Napstablook, in the truth, he want to perform and be the famous star in the underground, he tries things like tearthes, pilot progams, etc.., but not many people like it, but he is not giving up! He doesn't attack using robots or lighting, but attack with things like flowers, other things that resemble, magic shows, cook lessons, pose, etc, he is cousin of Napstaton and he knows that they are cousins
Napstaton(Napstablook): they is the most famous musician on the underground, making sometimes collabs, music videos, etc.. they makes songs to progams, cartoons, games, etc.. but they is pretty shy, and have a TON(fingerguns) of fans not really help with their mental health, sometimes Undyne and mettaboo to giving them moral support, in thrir battle, the Cyan mode is really necessary, is a rythm battle, the objective is make a good song until have 10000 hearts, but, in genocide, they will truly battle you and use the whole area to attack you, and their "NEO" form is called Sonical Napstaton
Asriel: he is swappes with Mosnter kid, in this universe, he is not related in any way with the dreemurs, he have a more important role in this AU in pacifist, a little in neutral, but don't appear in genocide, Asriel have the same exact personality of his Undertale counterpart, he first appear when Chara ended up sliding in a endless ice path and ended up failing in some special crystal colors flowers, Asriel heard the sound of somebody grunting and he ended up founding Chara, and he heal them, he help them in some puzzles and guide them till Springout(Snowdin swap), then Chara can visit him in the local park, the two can go for the Muffet Café, the library, etc, after that, Chara gains Asriel phone number, if doing pacifist, Asriel can be found in other places since theres not "mysterious murders" going on, he normally will appear next to save points areas, because feel some sensation(determination)
Toriel: She is the queen of the Underground, almost everyone fear her, but, in the end, she just some poor old lady that have a whole kingdom to take care, have lost her two children, and their husband "is a horrible creature" to her, when encoutering her for the first time, she is silent at first, then proceeds to talk about all that her have face while walking to the barrier, she doesn't use anything to attack except their magic, she only attack Chara because Chara doesn't want to go away from her, making her feel guilty
Frisk and Monster Kid: [NO DATA FOUNDED]
So thats all that i have now about my Underswap, i tried to make the designs to look like their original counterparts and use almost the same style of clothes of the original Undertale, thats all, please, don't steal this idea,
Special thanks to: Miss Holoska and Team Switched, they are my inspiration to do this Underswap
7 notes · View notes
britishassistant · 3 years
Text
The Villainous Paranoiac Just Wants An Uneventful Holiday (Part 1)
This is not how you wanted to spend your break.
The school was supposed to be empty. Everyone except the Octavinelle trio was supposed to be gone.
Not to say you don’t enjoy your friends’ company but. No magic-using people means no magic-spewing overblots.
You were looking forward to just bringing the fairies their firewood and working on your winter homework while taking the first opportunity in a good long while to unwind with Grim and the ghosts. No investigations to worry about, no weird dreams to get worked up over, no overblots to frantically try and survive.
You wanted a break.
This? Marching 10km into the desert with the rest of Scarabia dorm for the third day in a row due to their leader’s looming psychotic breakdown? This is not a break.
Although...
There’s definetely something rotten in Scarabia dorm, you think to yourself as you watch Viper-senpai hand out skeins of water. Kalim-senpai had no problem using his unique magic yesterday, and yet today he acted like Grim had mortally insulted him when he asked for a repeat performance.
If the outburst had been after two or three other instances of Kalim-senpai using Oasis Maker and receiving what he felt were insufficient thanks for it, then his current attitude would make a little more sense. But taking umbrage after using it just once? And being universally praised by everyone else the rest of the day for it?
It doesn’t add up.
Even deranged behavior has some sort of internal logic to it, as Rosehearts-senpai and the Rules of the Queen of Hearts have taught you. Even with how nonsensical all 810 rules are, it’s rare to find a scenario where one rule actually conflicts with another— all of them usually work smoothly in tandem with the goal of having an orderly unbirthday party in mind.
Even if they do violate most forms of dignity and common sense.
Kalim-senpai’s behavior though? It’s erratic without rhyme or reason, bouncing from nice to mean and back again seemingly as he enters and exits a room. He insists you and Grim stay and participate in this asinine “training”, despite the fact that you both belong to a different dorm, and are technically rivals to Scarabia in Magift and exams.
If you didn’t know better, you’d say it’s almost like he’s trying to imitate Rosehearts-senpai before his overblot—and doing poorly at it.
And with how much Viper-senpai has been invoking parallels between the current situation and what happened back then...
The smartphone Crowley gave you is a cold, heavy weight in your pocket. Its charge ran out yesterday, which is unsurprising given how many times you dialed and redialed the dumb bird headmaster’s number only to be met with his voicemail. You can probably recite that stupid message by heart now. You’ve heard nothing from Ace and Deuce either.
One thing is clear; no one’s going to help you out of this mess but you.
“Kalim-senpai?” You brace yourself as you step towards him. “Can I ask you something?”
“What could you possibly question me about?” He barks, glaring down at you haughtily.
“Well, I was just wondering, what’s the point of all this?” You fight to keep your nerve as his posture stiffens. “I don’t mean any disrespect, none at all, but you do want everyone to do better in Magift and exams, don’t you? I was hoping you could explain to me how the parades and defensive magic training are supposed to do that. I apologize for my ignorance, I’m nowhere near as smart as you, but could you please tell me why we don’t just practice Magift and brush up on the class material inst—”
Tumblr media
Your head’s ringing.
You think you hear faint yelling, though it sounds like it’s coming from somewhere far away.
Your cheek aches.
Numbness blooming into a sharp stinging throb that feels like it’s growing with every second that passes, burning hotter than the sun above you.
You cautiously poke your tongue against your teeth, but none feel loose, thank the Seven.
Damn, the desperate, near-hysterical thought flits through your head. Even a pampered rich boy like him has strength behind his hits, huh?
The rest of you is just trying to process what the Hell just happened.
Tumblr media
“How. Dare. You?!”
Asim-sama looms over you, red eyes burning with fury.
It’s a fight to keep yourself from curling into a terrified ball under his gaze, tucking into yourself as though seeing less of you would abate the anger, the shouting, the hurt, like you used to when you were a child.
“You dare to question my methods, my leadership of this dorm?! You? A sniveling street rat leeching off my hospitality?! Do you know who I am?!” He rages. “I am Kalim al-Asim! I am the Head of this dorm! I don’t have to explain ANYTHING, justify ANYTHING to the likes of you!!”
You knew, you knew you were pushing your luck when you first asked, but you thought it would just be yelling, like it was before. You can handle yelling, nothing Asim-sama can say could ever be worse than what you’ve already heard.
You didn’t think he’d hit you.
You didn’t think he’d hit you.
You didn’t think—
Tumblr media
“DON'T YOU TOUCH MY MINION, FGNAH!”
Your arm whips out almost on instinct.
You jolt forward slightly as Grim collides with it, hissing and spitting like he really was an irate cat, the flames in his ears flaring brightly enough that some detached part of you is worried about getting burned.
The other Scarabia students are reaching for their magic pens.
“Lemme at ‘im! Lemme at ‘im!!” Your friend howls, fighting to get past you. “Forget butt on fire, I’ll BURN IT TO A CRISP FOR HURTING MY MINION!! I'LL STEAL EVERYTHING YOU HAVE AND SELL IT FOR LUXURY TUNA!! THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR CROSSING THE GREAT GRIM—”
“No, Grim.”
Your friend halts in his flailing to stare uncomprehendingly at you. “But Yuu—!”
“It was my fault.” You say, trying to keep as much emotion out of your voice as possible. Tears and trembling only show weakness, only make them worse. “Asim-sama was just correcting me. He was right to do so. I shouldn’t have questioned him. I overstepped my bounds.”
Asim-sama sniffs. “At least you know your place. Be glad I don’t punish you anymore than this.”
“What?! He slapped you for asking a question, you can’t possibly believe—” You gather Grim into your arms and hug him close. You quietly thank the Great Seven you at least have him, trying to hide the quiver in your limbs by burying your face in his fur.
But that’s exactly why you can’t let him do this. It’s just the two of you, you can’t win against an entire dorm of wizards like you did against the ghosts. Maybe if Ace and Deuce and Jack were here...but it’s just you. You need to protect your friend in the only way you can. “We can’t win this. Please, Grim.”
You feel him grumble, then a paw carefully pushes at your forehead. “Hrm...I’ll show mercy for now, so geroff already. It’s too hot for you to keep hugging me like this, I’m cooking here fgnah.”
Despite saying so, he settles onto your shoulder, tail smacking your arm as it flicks irritably.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
“If you’ll excuse me, Asim-sama.” You duck your head slightly. “I will remove myself from your sight and head back early as penance for my behavior. Once again, my deepest apologies for insulting you.”
Asim-sama gives you a curt, dismissive nod.
You turn and make your way through the crowd of Scarabia students, snatches of muttered conversations floating to your ears.
“How could he—?”
“Just for a question?”
“Isn’t that going too far...?”
“Unforgivable...”
“Prefect.” Viper-senpai takes you by the shoulder, turning you to face him. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” You reply monotonously, eyes on the sand below you. “Just...just need to be by myself for a bit.”
His lips purse and you can feel him study your face. He presses a full water skein into your hands. “Take this. Even if it’s not as cold as I’d like, it should help with the swelling some. Plus you need to stay hydrated out there.”
“Thank you, Viper-senpai.” You nod, keeping your eyes down.
“And Prefect?” He squeezes your shoulder, voice lowering only a fraction. “I am truly sorry about this. All of this. It will not happen again, you have my word.”
It would’ve been a nice apology, had you not caught a glimpse of a smirk on his face.
You nod, making sure not to outwardly react to that or to the way the whispers of the other Scarabia students turn from the condemnation of their dorm head to the exaltation of the vice dorm head. You begin following the tracks in the sand back to the main dorm.
The sun beats down on your back as you take a swig from the skein and pass it to Grim to drink from. He’s still grumbling about how you should’ve let him recreate his rampage at the entrance ceremony.
For your part, the distance and good company have let you pull yourself out of that headspace enough that you can try and look back objectively on what happened.
Your mind keeps circling back around to one question: why did Asim-senpai hit you?
Based on your interactions before this, Asim-senpai doesn’t seem to be the type to resort to physical violence as a first response, or even a last one. Which means something in your question likely backed him into a corner enough that the normally pacifistic dorm head felt lashing out physically was the only way to get you to stop.
...Like the fact that he couldn’t answer it?
Even when screaming abuse at you, his ultimate response was that he wouldn’t explain himself to you. Is that because he didn’t want to? Or because he couldn’t? Does Asim-senpai himself not know the reasons behind his own actions? But how can someone act without knowing or meaning to, without being under the influence somehow?
Under the influence.
People acted without knowing or meaning to thanks to being under the influence of Buchie-senpai’s Unique Magic during the Magift incident. But he went home, you saw him leave, so what...?
You pull out your notebook, flipping through the pages with sweaty hands until you get to your records of the testimonies from the incident. You scan through the testimonies from Scarabia students, hoping to find something, anything—
Oh.
Oh.
“Motherfucker.” You hiss, staring at the page in dismay. You are an idiot. You are the biggest idiot, you make Deuce look like a genuis, how could you forget about this?? It was only the key testimony that helped pinpoint Buchie-senpai and Savannahclaw as the culprits behind the injuries. And it explains so much— why you kept agreeing to stay here despite wanting to go back to Ramshackle so desperately, almost like your mouth was speaking without your consent.
“Minion?” Grim asks, pushing the water skein back onto you. “What’s wrong?”
You snap your notebook shut and slide it back into your pocket, taking another fortifying swig from the skein. “Grim? Think we can get back soon enough to work on the escape route in our room before the others arrive back for lunch?”
“If we pick up the pace a bit, yeah.” He hops back onto your shoulder. “But what’s the rush? We have all night tonight to work on it.”
“Let’s just say the sooner we can get out of here, the better.” You mutter, cogs and gears turning in your head as a tentative plan begins to form.
This is not how you wanted to spend your winter break.
95 notes · View notes
Text
 Character Bio and rules are below the line
You can call me Shadow. i’m a 28yo male that hasn’t rped in years. Last time i did was i think 3 maybe 4 years ago so i am plenty rusty. I know this doesn’t say a lot about me but if there’s anything you’d like to know, just ask.
About Karisa
Name: Karisa
Race: Tiefling: A Humanoid people descended from humans who made pacts or crossbred with demons.
Age: 18
Height: 6'3"
Hair color: black
Occupation: Golemancer, Adventurer, occasional Blacksmith
Appearance: As a tiefling, Karisa has several traits that distinguishes her from Humans. She has Lavender colored skin, ice blue eyes, two horns, pointed ears, and a 4 foot long tail.
Personality: When it comes to enemies, Karisa can be downright ruthless. if she hates them bad enough, she will leave an enemy broken but alive to let them try again. She swears a LOT around everyone no matter who they are with the exception of children and has a habit of making enemies through her mannerisms. She’s bad enough with her words that there have been jokes made about weaponizing her lexicon and isn’t afraid to cuss out friends! BUT if you can take her words with a grain of salt and actually befriend her, then no matter what she says to you, she will protect you with her life. In her words, “You may be a cunt, but you’re MY cunt. And no one FUCKS with my cunt!”
Background:
Karisa was born on a small farm and raised by her parents until she reached the age of 8 when they passed away. Since then she would delve into golemancy as a way to cope, keeping her hands busy and moving foreword as best as she can. This is around the time she found the large crystal that would become Grom’s core. At the age of 10, she made her way to the city with her golem Grom, who was wood at the time, to try and become an adventurer. There she met the Dwarf Bormi who gave her a place to stay and taught her in the ways of the blacksmith.
Modern Verse (Hazbin Verse rewrite):
Karisa is Tiefling who was born into an organization known as The Adventurer’s Guild. The purpose of this organization is to deal with supernatural threats to society as a whole by hunting down creatures, artifacts, books, and other things that could pose a danger. If it can’t be recruited, it is to be either destroyed or relocated. People of course know about them but there is a general distrust of the organization due to their habit of employing non-humans and the Guild’s use of magic.
When it comes to the forces of Heaven and Hell, the Guild was able to get their hands on a blueprint for portal technology. The portal they have doesn’t always work and sometimes accesses realms other than Heaven or Hell. This can have a tendency to get adventurers stuck in realms outside of earth.
Skills-
Golemancy: Throughout her life, Karisa has made a variety of golems. These golems can me made from just about any solid material if given enough time. Golems made from metal, stone, wood, and even flesh are within her area of expertise. Her favorite golem is an 8 foot tall minotaur automaton she named Grom.
Cooking: Karisa LOVES to cook. She’s always experimenting with different dishes and creating a few of her own.
Basic Martial Arts: Since she turned 13, Karisa has trained with a quarterstaff and dagger so that if her golems failed, she could still take care of herself.
Magic: In addition to Golemancy, she has a small arsenal of spells at her disposal.
Fire Spells: All Tieflings are capable of fire magic. Fireball, Burning Hands, and Firewall to name a few. Using fire helps her a lot if she has to weld parts together on a golem.
Lightning Spells: Karisa can perform rudimentary lightning spells but this mostly equates to coating her hand in electricity to use. The strength of this can range from the power of a normal stun gun to enough power to jumpstart a city’s electrical grid.
3D Movement: This is a form of wind magic that allows her to “kick” the air. by doing this, Karisa can give off the impression that she is flying. This does not mean she stays in the air, only that she can move in it. she usually only uses this to get over walls or cliffs or maybe to get into a tree.
Empathy Link: This is something she originally learned in order to better deal with golems in order to find out what their orders are. it can be used on other creatures and objects to get a kind of idea of either how they are feeling or how they are used. She MUST make contact with the palm of her hand for this to work.
Golem Creation: As a golemancer, Karisa carries a number of golem cores on her at all times. These cores can often be infused into whatever matter she chooses to create a quick golem in the field. These golems aren’t as effective as one she has time to prepare but they get the job done. Golem cores are also extremely volatile! Damaging a core will cause any magic in it to go haywire and explode in relation to the core’s size. This makes golems and their cores effective bombs if she needs to!
Golem Override: This is a skill that allows Karisa to manually control her golems and see through their eyes. HOWEVER this is only a last resort because it leaves her immobile and defenseless. 
Please send Karisa questions and asks either from yourself or your characters! i will fill this out as i go!
Rules
1: i am all for fight scenes and such but please do not god-mod. meaning do not assume what happens to my character. (EX: “My character fires a gun and hits your character in the shoulder.” or “Your character tried to dodge but my character cuts off their arm before they can.”) In my responses, i’ve taken to rolling a dice to determine whether or not my character gets hit and how badly she gets hit. I do not mind my character dying in a particular thread so long as it is discussed at length beforehand and is necessary for the development of the plot. communication is key for stuff like this.
2: Don’t send hate. I don’t mind criticizing because it helps me reflect on how i’m doing. Hate is just a dick move though.
3: I reserve the right to choose whether or not i rp or answer an ask. There will be times that i don’t have the inspiration or motivation to continue it or there is not enough for me to go on. An example of this would be if i responded to an rp and the response i get back is “Character ducks.” or something as equally short.
4: I don’t mind reminders but i DO mind spamming. I will mostly be rping either on the weekends or some afternoons when i can get up the motivation. DO NOT spam me reminders every day or every other day. I have a 5 month old son and a job that has me working monday to thursday with the occasional friday up to 12 hours a day. Those come first.
5: You will see a lot of stuff on here that i will do my best to tag from gore to n//s//f//w// threads. If there is anything in particular you would like me to tag when it shows up, please let me know! Anything truly spicy will placed uner a read more and tagged as “Read at your own Risk!::NSFPC” (nsfpc stands for not safe for public consumption.
6: While i accept starters, memes, questions and comments through asks, starters and starter memes WILL be turned into a post to start a thread. I will not rp through constant asks because this can lead to more dash clutter than the post will. That being said, i will trim the post before it gets too long and will try to have any appropriate tags on it.
7: THERE WILL BE LOTS AND LOTS OF SWEARING! Enough that i will not be tagging it because it is everywhere! I will not tone down her swearing except around child muses because this is part of her character and i ask that you please understand.
8: When it comes to shipping, Karisa will make things fairly clear on whether or not she wants to be with your character. I love shipping but i also know that not everyone will ship their characters with Karisa and that's perfectly fine! Karisa WILL flirt and get touchy with people she's interested in but if the mun or character they are controlling doesn't want that, TELL HER! Not me. HER. Have your character reject her advances, tell her "no" or even smack the shit out of her if she gets too handsy! I will not be upset and i will completely understand! A lot of people plan ships out and tell others there has to be chemistry, but as I'm thinking about it, im going to be removing that little section from my rules. Why? Because failed ships have the potential to create drama, angst, and even enemies if done properly! If she comes onto a character and it makes you uncomfortable or you're just not interested, EXPRESS IT THROUGH YOUR CHARACTER! The same will apply to her! The only time i will have any sort of problem is if she says no, gets into a fight, and you try to godmod it to your liking or try to guilt ME about it. My character makes up her own mind about how to do things just like yours.
I may add more rules as time goes on but it’s pretty straightforward. Don’t be afraid to come and talk to me! I’m pretty open about things and i would love to see you around! Come and join me on discord for more Mun stuff! Just make sure you edit your name to match your tumblr url so i know who you are please! https://discord.gg/6ftZuSP8XH 
10 notes · View notes
magicalforcesau · 3 years
Text
Letters (part 2)
As Obi-Wan and Satine continue their written correspondence in the back half of their Hogwarts career, their bond strengthens to the point where it might not strictly be platonic.
ao3 link
Fifth Year Summer
Dear Ben,
I GOT MY MENTORSHIP REQUEST APPROVED! I’m going to be a peer mentor this upcoming year! Oh, I know this is going to be another responsibility when we’re already saddling quite a bit with OWLS and our duties as prefects. While it was your initial idea to join, I have no regrets. If I’m to influence the minds of thousands from the Ministry, it will do me good to have practice on a smaller and more impressionable scale. Besides, far too many first years are led astray in my opinion. Having firm and caring guidance will be most beneficial.
I hope you can write to me with the same news, even if I still believe you are pushing yourself far too hard. Just please consider your own mental health for this upcoming term. You’re already wound tighter than anyone I know. I would truly not like to partake in the bets that Fives and Echo make behind your back about when your head will explode. I believe either myself or Cody would win. We know you best.
Speaking of being wound tight, I have been dedicating my summer to the practice of enchanting muggle objects as per our homework assignments. Turns out, it truly is not that difficult. I’ve been careful not to alter anything that would come into contact with other muggles, but I look forward to showing you the results of some of my recreations. Between you and me, I’ve been constructing some that were not on the instructed list.
You’re not technically a prefect yet, Obi-Wan Kenobi, so don’t even think about making a wise remark about how you could see me in trouble.
Yours Truly,
Satine
Dear Satine,
I, too, just received confirmation that I’m to mentor a first year this upcoming school year! Regardless of your speculation and wariness, I stand by my decision. We will be kept busy, but idle minds mean time wasted. If you hadn’t agreed on principle, I don’t believe you would have signed up right behind me. As for my extracurricular activities, pretending as though I am not stressed in the slightest about the prospect of the coming year is futile, but I hope to work through it and to become a better student as a result of it. My father has relented on training by Quidditch form. There are bigger things to worry about such as OWLS, which is why I’m to be locked in all summer. No complaints there- I’d much rather read.
Speaking of reading, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the books you snuck into my trunk. Yes, I found them and they were quite a welcome surprise. A bit of relaxing education is just what the doctor ordered. Not literally, because I loathe visiting my family’s practitioner. He takes the term “witch doctor” to new levels and I will leave it at that.
You’ve always been far better at charming objects than I ever have. To be fair, I still don’t have a full understanding of what certain muggle objects actually do, but I’ve got most of the list marked off by this point. While I promise not to report you for deliberate rule breaking, I do admire your gumption. I hope you’ll one day let me see what you’ve crafted. You know I adore learning the novelties of the muggle world. I believe last we spoke, you were telling me about ‘computers’.
As always, I’d love to know more. You have a manner of speaking that simply can’t go unnoticed, at least not to me.
Best,
Obi-Wan
Fifth Year- Winter
Dear Satine,
I apologize if this owl reaches you at an indecent hour. I know how you are about your beauty sleep. It’s been strange being back home, even if for a couple of weeks. It’s only made me realize just how unreal this year has been in terms of excitement and mystery. Though I do not blame the boy for any of it, I won’t lie that it was a much quieter school without Anakin Skywalker present. I wouldn’t change any of it, of course. I believe I am making a difference in working with him. He has a bright mind, if he chooses to use it.
I still can’t get the vision of him foaming at the mouth on the floor out of my head. There’s no doubt that someone has it in for him. I can only imagine who. While eccentric, Anakin is still just a child. He’s harmless.
At risk of drastically changing the subject- my true reason for writing was to thank you again for the watch. My parents have ingrained in me the importance of writing thank you notes regardless of the nature of the gift. However, this might be the first time the sentiment has felt important in action. It may sound ungrateful, but a boy can only receive so many tie clips before he starts to sound a bit robotic in his delivery.
However, please note that every word I say, I mean through my very bones. I hope you didn’t take my silence at receiving it to be anything less than breathlessness. You always keep me guessing, Satine Kryze, and I would have you no different. I am still in awe every time I catch a gander at my wrist.
You did a marvelous job in transfixing and refurbishing it. Seriously, it is of no wonder that Charms comes easier to you than it does to me. Had I not known otherwise; I would have assumed this watch was always crafted with the intention of being magical. Even if it were just a standard watch, it would still have meant more to me than anything I’ve received simply because it came from you. My friend. I’m not sure I deserve it.
I suppose I’ve no excuse for fear of being late any longer, now do I?
It’s never coming off!
Obi-Wan
Dear Ben,
I’m no longer, by any means, insinuating that the boy is trouble. Or more accurately, I don’t believe he’s cognizant of these omens. What concerns me, is Qui-Gon seems to believe that a dark time is upon us. He won’t share his suspicions outright, but I can tell just by how he talks to Anakin with a certain level of wonder and curiosity. Surely, you see it too.
Even still, I say, when school starts up, we try and start our own investigation- off the books and away from Anakin, of course. We needn’t worry him more than he already is. Perhaps while Gryffindor has the field for Quidditch practice we can better research. There’s been too many strange occurrences this year for it to all be coincidental. I’d argue this is the tipping point.
We can further discuss a game plan back at school, but at risk of hurting feelings and potentially endangering lives, we should keep this between us.
I am, however, glad to hear you enjoyed the watch ♥
Yours,
Satine
Sixth Year- Summer
Dear Satine,
I received my OWLS results today as I’m sure you did the same. I wanted you to hear from me, personally, that I am, in fact, alive and well despite what I received as scores. I’m surprised at how alive and how well, quite actually.
For some context- I received all O’s in everything… With the exception of Arithmancy- of which I got an E. I’m not positive where exactly I went wrong in studying for it. I don’t recall the exam being particularly difficult. It’s never been a prized subject of mine as you well know, but I’ve always delivered nothing less than near-perfect marks.
My parents took the news surprisingly well. As opposed to blaming me for slacking off or being distracted by frivolous things such as friends… They were in support of me. In fact, they’re positive that the school is deliberately discriminating against me. I think it might have to do with the recent revelation regarding Anakin being the chosen one. They’ve been much kinder to me and the choices I’ve made as a result of my association with him. Where they believed I was wasting my time, I apparently “saw” what they couldn’t- even if my decision to mentor Anakin had absolutely nothing to do with the matter.
I still have not yet mentioned my pursuit of becoming an Auror. You have to space this kind of news out when you can. They’ve supported me on this, but I’m not sure they’d take that in stride. My parents have been itching to have me become a lawyer or a politician for as long as I can remember.
How were your scores? I’m sure you did brilliantly. I should know, I studied alongside you during all of this madness. I’m eager to properly celebrate with you when we next meet. My mother asked me where I’d gotten the watch the other day and I exclaimed that the brightest witch of my age crafted it for me personally… She assumed it was Ventress, but you’ve always thrived in the chaos of being underestimated, now haven’t you? I will never make that mistake.
Truly,
Ben
Dear Ben,
Don’t you ever scare me with such a dramatic introduction ever again! I nearly had a heart attack, assuming you’d gone and failed your OWLS in a fit of insanity. Given how unusual our fifth year was, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it had another anomaly to toss our way. I thought I was going to have to portkey to you and shake the living daylights out of you for being so foolish.
You landed on your feet, as you always do and seem to make it look incredibly easy to those that do not know any better. We’re matching, actually, except my E was in DADA- likely during the practical session when I wouldn’t cast that Sectumsempra spell. To have us perform such an act on a defenseless animal is cruel (even if it was a spider), particularly in the name of ‘testing’. If they must endorse the epidemic of violence, can they not simply provide test dummies?
I’m actually surprised I scored that high, since the instructor looked at me like I had ten heads. I spoke to Cody today. He passed, despite how hard he doubted himself. We both knew that he would do fine, of course.
Ventress has been around a lot more frequently, hasn’t she? I know that she’s been quite displaced ever since Dooku’s outing. She’s quite smug and entitled for someone who hardly does anything aside from being an errand girl to a Sith terror. I’m sure she’ll be continuing her tricks this year. To think your family thinks you could be as shrewd and awful as her.
How is Anakin this summer? I contemplated sending him an owl just to see how he was processing the more recent revelations, but it would most likely sound more from the heart if it came from you. You were truly excellent with him this year, if I hadn’t already mentioned it. I know I convinced you to break away from the status quo and lean into your desires to become an auror, but you’ve got a real knack for teaching and seeing the best in people. It’s truly one of your best traits. That, and the fact that regardless how much of a mess you are, you always manage to look pristine from head to toe.
Actually, that last bit is borderline infuriating. I hope to see you before the summer lets out. I understand why that might be difficult, but it seems with your parents’ investment in Anakin, you might have a valid reason to be away from the homestead more often. If you understand what I’m saying.
Best,
Satine
Sixth Year- Winter
{A draft from the desk of Obi-Wan Kenobi}
[Boldened text in parenthesis] = out loud thoughts
Dear Satine,
How do I say this without sounding like a damn fool? You kissed me!
It’s been brought to my attention by literally everyone that we have a certain noticeable chemistry. [Why am I saying what everyone else thinks when I should be saying what I think?] Usually, when we are together, we argue. A lot. Sometimes, I’m surprised we haven’t strangled each other yet by how heated some of our debates become. You have this ability to get under my skin in a way that no one else possesses. Truthfully, I love [Too strong! Don’t go scaring her off now] truly appreciate that about you.
But there are times when I get this feeling… And it’s come on more and more the longer I know you… Like we could get beyond the possible strangulation phase and onto something… Better. [What is wrong with me?] You challenge me and I think sometimes I’m able to challenge you as well. I think having people in your life that push you to be the best you can be is a sign of true companionship friendship. You’ve become a constant in my life that I wouldn’t shake even if I could. Looking back, it’s only natural for me to grow feelings for you.
Where I tried to convince myself those feelings were simply an intense comradery, I cannot deny that I do not notice how the light casts on Cody’s hair or linger on him as he walks away [Blast that makes me sound like a pervert] wonder what his hand would feel like in mine. My heart doesn’t quicken if Cody touches my shoulder or laughs at one of my jokes. Cody doesn’t sit incredibly close to me at the dining hall, but if he did, I would be more confused than completely entranced. Cody is my other best friend, but my entire day is not made or broken by seeing him smile.
I wouldn’t be jealous if the seventh year boys decided to notice that Cody was beautiful.
And you are disarmingly beautiful, but I’ve always known that, even if I try to ignore it.
You can imagine how terrifying all of this is to realize at the remarkable hour of 3 in the morning- a mere 3 hours after you decided to kiss me under the mistletoe. How am I supposed to think of anything else now or ever again? Which leads me to think [Don’t be presumptuous] wonder… If you share these feelings. And if you do, we’ve got quite a predicament there. Because if I could blissfully convinced myself that we could never be, I’d be able to bury that deep within me, but even the idea of hope that you could see me in that light… I fear that would be all too tempting. The evidence says that you might. You’ve always been a better investigator than myself, but I can’t shake this feeling that we have these spellbound moments where everything slows down. And it’s just you and me. During those moments, everything is alright.
Usually, when I’m troubled as I am now, I do not hesitate to reach out to you. You’re my co-conspirator, my fellow prefect, my best friend. However, given the situation, that’s not very easy to do. Even if Qui-Gon speaks of it like it is . I wish it were, because now all I can imagine is the mark you’ve left with your kiss. It’s the same sort of feeling I get every time I touch the face of the watch you gifted me last year.
Should I ever muster up the courage to send this letter to you, which I definitely shouldn’t, because you deserve the sort of man that would bare his heart in person, please understand that while I’ve dedicated my life to studying magical text, I’m not nearly as well-versed in the subject of love. Since I’m so certain you’ll never read this, there’s no point in denying that it’s anything less than love.
Love,
Ben
Seventh Year- Summer
Dear Ben,
I wanted to ensure that you were on the road of being okay, all things considering. I tried to wait to give you space, but I couldn’t make it more than a week without knowing you weren’t going mad locked up in that house of yours. I’m not even positive you’ll write me back, which is infuriating, but understanding since Qui-Gon’s passing is not one to be taken lightly by anyone, but especially you. I wish I could alleviate the pain you must be feeling in any way.
I’m relieved just a little bit, knowing that Anakin is in your care. It was very surprising of your parents to offer him refuge, as he’s currently got no one else to possibly lean on. Hopefully the two of you can find some solace in each other during these difficult times. I care for both of you very much and my heart aches knowing I am virtually helpless in making this any better. I know you are likely placing an immense amount of pressure on yourself to distract you from addressing your own mentor’s death, but while your parents might encourage this behavior, it’s not a true way of coping. You need to let someone in.
Stay safe. Do not hesitate to reach out (no matter how cliché that sounds). Even if you talk to Cody instead, that’s fine. Just… Don’t lock yourself in that head of yours and go rogue. I’d miss you far too much.
With Love,
Satine
Dear Satine,
I’m not okay, but I’ll have to be soon. Anakin is safe and on the same boat. I’ll write later with a real reply. I’m not quite in the spirit right now. I just wanted you to know that I haven’t gone completely mad in absence.
~Obi-Wan
Dear Satine,
I’m sorry to be writing to you so late in “true” reply. I’ve been quite busy with Anakin this summer. It has been helpful having someone else around. While a gray cloud still seems to follow him around, I’d say he’s faring better than expected. It’s alarming how resilient the boy is, but also incredibly depressing that it needs to be that way. We’ve discussed the matter of Qui-Gon’s death a couple of times. While you won’t like this, I think there is some closure to knowing that Anakin’s attacker, who became Qui-Gon’s murderer, is dead.
Meanwhile, I must confess that it still haunts me every night. I haven’t said anything to Anakin, because like you rightfully assumed, I’m not about to unload that burden onto him. He feels it’s his fault just as much as I do. We’ve taken to playing Quidditch outside. My family owns several acres of land, so we are able to get out of earshot every now and then. Anakin actually gets on quite nicely with my parents, which is a massive relief. Getting back to school for our final year will be a good way to get back into routine. On the other hand, I’m dreading trying to attempt adjusting to a school without Qui-Gon.
I suppose studying my brains out for the NEWTS alongside you will provide for ample distraction. You, alone, are admittedly very distracting. I am referring to your character of course. A general statement.
There’s always Quidditch, unfortunately, which isn’t nearly as fun and carefree as playing with Anakin in the yard. Despite how massively competitive he is? He’s just turned 13 and he’s loads better than me already. I still hate the flying aspect.
I’m writing you, of course, because we just got notified that I’m to be the Head Boy to your Head Girl. This incredibly tragic time has truly made me appreciate the people I have in my life. You are, without a doubt, shining at the top of that metaphorical list in bold and underlined print. I wouldn’t be Head Boy had it not been for you.
A lot has changed thus far, Satine, and I’m growing tired of being afraid. Life is too short and it’s always going to throw negatives at us- some that are absolutely debilitating. However, there is always the light, which has made me think that perhaps this year, some changes don’t have to be bad. There are many things I’d like to discuss with you, in person. Because this sort of conversation should be the kind that happens face-to-face.
Would you like to meet before school?
Truly Yours,
Ben
5 notes · View notes
grailfinders · 3 years
Text
Fate and Phantasms #122: Tristan
Tumblr media
Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re building another member of the Round Table, Sir Tristan, the “child of sadness”. This knight’s bowstrings are equal part deadly weapons and musical instruments, but his most dangerous weapon is just look at that final ascension art all the KotRT were so close I’m not crying you’re crying.
Check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!
Next up: Sun’s out, guns out.
Race and Background
Don’t worry, we’re not doing anything weird this time. Tristan is, in fact, a human! As a Variant Human, you get +1 to Dexterity and Wisdom, Performance proficiency, and the Sharpshooter feat. Any cover less than full won’t affect your aim, and you can fire at long range normally. Additionally, you can take a -5 penalty to hit for a +10 bonus to damage.
Much like Lancelot, you’re a Knight of the Order, giving you Religion and Persuasion proficiency.
Ability Scores
Make sure your Wisdom is high- you can hit headshots without opening your eyes, that’s some real good perception. Second is your Charisma, your bow is also a harp, and you’re really good with it. Following that up is Dexterity. Your harp is also a bow, and you’re really good with it. Writing deadly lyrics on the fly isn’t easy, so your Intelligence isn’t bad. After that is Strength- bows actually take a lot of strength to use, but you don’t really need it here so...
That being said, we’re still dumping Constitution. You’re famously unlucky, and you died to poison, that’ll affect your HP almost as badly as Okita.
Class Levels
1. Ranger 1: Being a paladin would be nice, but smiting doesn’t work with ranged weapons. You know what does? Being a ranger. First level rangers get proficiency with Strength and Dexterity saves, as well as three ranger skills. Grab Animal Handling, Athletics, and Perception for better horsemanship and archery skills.
Speaking of better skills, first level rangers can also be Canny, doubling your proficiency bonus in Performance. You can also mark a creature when you hit them thanks to Favored Foe. Once per turn for the next minute, you can add 1d4 to your damage against that target. It’s a bit weaker than Hunter’s Mark, how sad. You can also use it a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus.
2. Ranger 2: For your fighting style, Blind Fighting is almost completely useless, but it does explain how you’re able to fight without opening your eyes. (Seriously though if you want a semi-serious build go with Archery, it’s so much more useful than 10′ of darkvision.)
You can also cast Spells this level using your Wisdom. Grab Cure Wounds for some feel-good music, and Snare for your first rope trap. I said you were really good with that bow, and I meant it. This spell creates a rope trap in a 5 foot cube that requires an investigation check (DC eight plus proficiency plus wisdom modifier) to notice. A creature that triggers the trap has to make a dexterity save (same DC) or it’s restrained above the ground. Each turn, the trapped creature can make another dexterity save at disadvantage or another creature can make an Arcana check to free the creature.
3. Ranger 3: Third level rangers join a conclave, and you’re so depressing you’re a Gloom Stalker. You get Disguise Self as part of your subclass, though it’s not particularly in character for you. How sad. You’re also a Dread Ambusher, adding your wisdom to intiative. You can also move faster on your first turn, and you can make an extra attack with your action that turn as well. The extra attack also deals an extra 1d8 damage. You also gain Umbral Sight, a.k.a. 60 feet of darkvision, rendering that blind fighting almost entirely useless. Also, while in darkness, you’re invisible to other creatures with darkvision. 
You also get Primeval Awareness, letting you spend an action and spell slot to sense aberrations, celestial, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead within a mile of you. Finally, you get another spell. Entangle creates a larger area snare that requires a strength save to break free from if you’re caught in the area when it’s cast. Regardless, the area is difficult terrain until your concentration is broken.
4. Ranger 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Dexterity for a higher AC and better archery skills.
5. Ranger 5: Fifth level rangers get an Extra Attack with their attack action, and they can cast second level spells. Your free spell here is another very fancy way to use your bowstrings, Rope Trick. This spell sends a rope 60′ straight up and creates an extradimensional space for you and up to seven friends. You’re relatively safe inside for the duration, just make sure you’re out before the hour’s up. Falling sixty feet doesn’t seem like fun.
You can also create a Cordon of Arrows to protect an area, throwing four arrows at creatures who come too close. Almost as deadly as your bow, and significantly less work for you.
6. Bard 1: I told you we were making that bow a harp. First level bards can cast Spells using their Charisma, and they can mete out Bardic Inspiration as a bonus action, giving an ally a d6 they can add to one skill check, saving roll, or attack roll. You can use this a number of times per long rest equal to your charisma modifier.
For spells, Prestidigitation will help you turn your bowstrings into smaller objects; Vicious Mockery, Dissonant Whispers, and Bane give you minor curses you can place with your dirges; and Healing Word and Heroism gives you some more positive energy to hand out to party members. Don’t get those mixed up, that would be sad.
You also get another skill proficiency; you’re good at getting out of the way of attacks, so I’d say that’s Acrobatics. 
7. Bard 2: Second level bards are Jack of All Trades, giving you half proficiency on all your checks that don’t already have your proficiency bonus. You also make Camelot a bit more lively with your Song of Rest, enhancing healing done during short rests by 1d6. Finally, you get Magical Inspiration, meaning your inspiration dice can now be used to give spells more damage or healing. 
For spells, you can now turn your bowstrings into a safety net, thanks to Feather Fall. 
8. Bard 3: Your college of choice is the College of Whispers, giving you the ability to curse people in casual conversation thanks to your Words of Terror. Speaking to a humanoid alone for at least a minute forces a wisdom save or they become frightened of a creature of your choice for an hour or until they or their allies are seen being attacked. You can use this once per short rest. Go on, make your king afraid of herself, I’m sure it won’t backfire.
You also get Psychic Blades, allowing you to burn inspiration to add psychic damage to your attack once per round.
Finally, you get Expertise in two skills, doubling your proficiency bonus. Grab Perception to help you see with closed eyes and Performance because I’m a sucker for quadrupling things.
You can also cast Lesser Restoration for a stronger form of healing music, removing some of your party’s debuffs.
9. Ranger 6: At sixth level your Favored Foe grows to 1d6, making it almost as good as Hunter’s Mark. You also become Roving, giving you 5 extra feet of movement, plus a swimming and climbing speed. You might not get a fancy magic horse like the other knights of the round but... actually no, you should probably still get a horse.
10. Ranger 7: Seventh level Gloom Stalkers get an Iron Mind, giving you proficiency in Wisdom saves. You can also cast Healing Spirit this level for some hands-free healing, so you can heal while you heal! Or curse while you heal, either’s good.
11. Bard 4: Use this ASI to bump up your Charisma for more inspiration and better bard spells. You can also cast True Strike if you need to remember what a tragedy looks like, or Calm Emotions to make your enemies too depressed to fight.
12. Bard 5: Your Bardic Inspiration and Psychic Blades both grow in power, and you become a Font of Inspiration, recharging your inspiration on short rests instead of long ones.
Your final bardic spell is Bestow Curse, allowing you to technically do anything you want with the DM’s approval. Given curses include: Disadvantage on one ability score’s checks and saves. Disadvantage on attack rolls against you. Wasting a turn every time they fail a wisdom save. Dealing extra damage to them. Have some fun with it, they certainly won’t.
13. Ranger 8: Bump up your Wisdom with this ASI for a better initiative and stronger spells. You’re also Fleet of Foot, meaning you can move through difficult terrain quickly, and you don’t take damage from nonmagical plants. You also get advantage on magical plant spells. Not... super useful, but it’ll give you a better shot against Poison Ivy.
14. Ranger 9: Ninth level Gloom Stalkers can cast Fear, in case you weren’t giving your foes enough debuffs as is, and you also get Conjure Barrage to make your Failnaught truly unavoidable. Except by monks. And rogues. Still pretty good though.
15. Ranger 10: You’re now Tireless, meaning you can spend an action (a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus) to gain temporary hp. Your exhaustion also decreases on short rests too. You can also use Nature’s Veil to become invisible for a round as a bonus action, the same number of times per long rest as Tireless. We’re going a bit heavy on the evade spam here to make up for the fact that we dumped constitution what is wrong with us. 
16. Ranger 11: Thanks to your new Stalker’s Flurry, you can’t miss even if you do miss- you can make an extra attack as part of your attack action if one of your normal attacks missed.
You can also cast Protection from Energy this level, because honestly we weren’t sure what to do here. You’ll get more Tristany spells when we get fourth level slots, promise. 
17. Ranger 12: For your final ASI, bump up your Charisma again for stronger bard spells and a better performance overall.
18. Ranger 13: For your fourth level spells, Freedom of Movement and Greater Invisibility give you even more ways to avoid capture and damage. Ah, they keep missing. How sad.
19. Ranger 14: Your Favored Foe grows to a d8 now, and you can Vanish as a bonus action,  meaning you can hide and nobody can track you without magic. 
20. Ranger 15: Fifteenth level Gloom Stalkers can make a Shadowy Dodge as a reaction, giving disadvantage on an attack roll against you if the attack wasn’t made with advantage.
You can also turn your bowstrings into a Grasping Vine, forcing your opponents to dance like puppets. On a- on a string. You get it?
Pros
Thanks to all those evades you can pump out and your ability to maneuver in darkness, you’re very hard to hit. Turn invisible, dodge weirdly, stay invisible, or make your target fear you, it’s all good.
Thanks to your curses and fear building skills, you’re a good debuffer, which can help whittle powerful enemies down while your party starts getting hits in.
Thanks to spells like Cordon of Arrows, Snare, and Grasping Vine, you can also set up plenty of battlefield hazards to control and slow enemy movement. Nobody wants to rush in just to get flung into the air like a Tom and Jerry cartoon.
Cons
Remember how we dumped constitution at the beginning? That’s going to bite us in the ass. Even at level 20, you still have less than 100 hp, meaning if a wizard with Power Word Kill spots you your story’s ending early. This is why going invisible is so useful for you.
Blind Fighting would be more of a gimmick usually, but you’re an archer! Seriously, just take archery.
Being a bard and a ranger means you split your magic abilities between charisma and wisdom, eating up a lot of ASIs that could have gone towards your dexterity or constitution instead for more survivability and bow damage.
31 notes · View notes