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tonguetiedraven · 2 years

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Swap It Till You Make It

Summary: After fighting off the Impure Baron in Lightning's cursed Aria deck, Bon tries to free Rin, only for something to go horribly wrong.

Can they find their ways back into their own bodies? And can Bon keep quiet about his crush while they try? (Not if Lightning has anything to say about it.)

Part: One, two, three, four (you're here.), five

— — — — — — —

The fur along Kuro’s back was raised in a straight angry line. He stepped closer, snarling as he glared up at Bon.

“Who are you,” the cat sidhe demanded, “and what have you done with my Rin?”

“Rin,” Bon said as evenly as he could, “what’s going on?”

Rin stepped forward and dropped into a low crouch beside Kuro. “Hey, buddy, I can’t hear ya. Are you trying to talk?”

“He knows I’m not you.” Bon added as Kuro gave Rin’s outstretched hand a tentative sniff while he held Bon with his glare.

“Who are you?” Kuro asked again. He sat on his haunches and gave his head a curious and disgruntled tilt. “Ryuuji doesn’t smell right, and neither do you.”

How did Kuro know his name? Had they ever had a real conversation? He couldn’t remember if they’d talked during the Impure King fight. It had been a blur. A dangerous blur. Ugh, he hoped he never had to ride in the back again. The tails had been awful. A bit scratchy, and way too loose to be comfortable. He’d flown around like crazy. Which had just made the misama get everywhere.

Kuro hissed and Bon realized he had once again gotten distracted. He swallowed, found it did almost nothing to help, and tried for a smile. “I’m Ryuuji. Rin and I… swapped bodies?” That was how Lightning put it. Swapped bodies for a day. Hopefully just a day. He had a chemistry test he couldn’t afford to fail, and Rin would not be able to pass. He wasn’t even taking chemistry.

Bon’s tail twitched and he flinched away from it.

Kuro’s eyes turned to Rin distrustfully. “This is Rin?”

“Yes.”

Kuro frowned. Rin reached forward slowly and scratched his furry cheek. “I know it’s weird, bud. But I promise it’s me.” He frowned. “I can’t hear ya.”

Kuro’s tails drooped. “I don’t like this.” He pushed up and bounded up onto Rin’s shoulder.

“We’re not happy about it either,” Bon pointed out, and tried not to fidget as his tail kept swaying. “But it’s only temporary.” It better be temporary or Bon was going to kill Lightning. He was probably strong enough to manage it in Rin’s body.

“Come on,” Rin said, pulling Kuro from his shoulder and cuddling him close with a soft smile as he nuzzled his cheek against Kuro’s. Bon didn’t think he’d ever cuddled that close with a cat before, and despite being his own face, the expression was entirely Rin. Bizarrely so. He could see Rin in his squinting eyes, in his broad smile, and the little wrinkle beside his eyes. It was the happiest kind of smiles, and while he wasn’t sure his face had ever made that expression, it had his heart hammering in his chest and that strange warmth spreading through him as he stared.

He loved that particular smile on Rin. He loved how content and cheerful it was. How untroubled and right it looked on Rin.

Bon swallowed those thoughts down and turned his gaze back to the dorm as his tail flicked and wagged behind him, giving his own emotions away. They weren’t new emotions. He’d dealt with them for a while now, and he could keep dealing with them. He’d just act like none of this was weird and he’d keep his hands to himself and wouldn’t stare like a pervert. He’d just hold the memories of those smiles close and try to keep the chuchi in his stomach from exploding out whenever Rin smiled in that (or any) way.

Chuchi. He needed to grab his prayer beads. Lightning would probably have some weird stuff going on. Hadn’t Rin said Yukio was out? Maybe they could just stay at the dorm instead. Why was Yukio out? Enjoying the weekend or an assignment? Something with the Illuminati?

Rin’s hand wrapped around his and Bon’s entire body went stiff as a wave of heat rolled through him, sending goosebumps along his arms and up his spine. The water was nearly dried, and he had a feeling he’d be igniting soon if he didn’t get a hold of this.

He was still really hungry.

“Did you skip lunch?” He blurted as Rin started towards Bon’s dorm again.

Rin’s eyes darted towards him curiously. “Huh?”

Bon wrapped a hand around his stomach and blushed at the loud rumble. Apparently butterflies (and that was too tame a creature for the fluttering and stomping thing Rin brought out in his stomach. These had to be chuchi.) weren’t enough to dampen hunger. He also didn’t know why he was embarrassed about it. It wasn’t like it was his body complaining about being hungry. Rin was the one who didn’t seem to have eaten.

Ugh. He wanted a meat bun. Or some of Rin’s curry. Maybe he had leftovers in the fridge. The deli would be sold out of the best options right now. Honestly he’d take anything. Hell, he could munch on a kiwi in this — did Rin have allergies? Other than holy water and silver — oh, he’d need to keep an eye out for that. Sigils too. There were a couple of seals in his room he’d been working on. He’d have to make sure not to step on them or touch them. Oh, they had a magic-circles report due Monday. Had he finished that? He should get on that. He’d do that.

Rin pushed the door to the dorm building open, still holding his hand, and pulling him towards the stairs. How did he know where to go? Had they been to his room? He didn’t think they had. Rin in his room. Rin and him alone in his room.

His cheeks warmed up and he had to press a hand against them in hopes they weren’t ignited. His tail was entirely too warm (it would not stop flicking through the air in an absurdly cheerful way and seriously, how the hell did Rin keep it wrapped around his chest?!) and he just knew flames were coming. He should have got some holy-sake from Izumo. Izumo who saw Rin grab his hand. No, saw him grab Rin’s hand. Izumo who would tell Shima just to be mean, and Shima would blab to Konekomaru. He was going to get texts now. They were going to talk and ugh.

“Here, right?” Rin asked, motioning towards the door, still smiling too big to be believable as Bon, and still making Bon’s heart do weird things in his chest because it was so Rin, and ugh, he was hopeless.

Bon blinked, realized it was a question, and turned his gaze to the door. His door. “Yep.”

Rin pat at his pockets and frowned. “Where do ya keep the key?”

Bon reached up to his own neck — now Rin’s neck — and pulled the leather cord there free. The keys he’d attached next to the holy symbols showed and Rin looked surprised by the touch or revelation.

“Oh,” he murmured, blushing as Bon let go of the cord, “nifty.”

“They don’t fall off as often as they would in my pockets.” He freed the key and unlocked the door as he spoke. Attaching it back, he added, “The symbols are for the arias. Some verses need them.”

“Always prepared,” Rin chuckled. Bon nodded and stepped into his room. He got two steps before he began to sneeze violently. His tail whipped in agitation behind him, and he felt it flicker with the first flames.

“Agh,” he hacked, sneezing and trying to rub away the awful burning in his nose. “What—” he couldn’t finish the question. He just kept sneezing and it hurt, and he bit his lips and tongue, and his mouth tasted like blood, and the flames were now in his hair and he couldn’t push them away, but the flames were making his eyes water, and Rin’s sword was on his back, still sheathed, so why was this happening? And what hurt? It was buzzing his skin, burning his nose, itching and irritating and —

“Oh!” Rin darted past him and snatched something off his small altar. Bon wanted to object, but he couldn’t stop sneezing. There was a clink of glass and a fizzing noise, and then the whoosh of a hand being waved through the air. “Sorry about that! I shoulda realized you’d have incense burning. Breathe in through your mouth. That’s the only thing I’ve found that helps.”

Bon followed the instruction, breathing in through his blood tasting mouth and trying to see through his watery and fire hazy vision. Rin was standing a few feet away, entirely blue in his vision, and frowning in consideration. He didn’t look frightened, and he absolutely should because Bon had no idea how to control the flames sparking along his body. They were uncomfortably hot to him, and each breath he managed — now sneeze free— was bringing more and more awareness to how unpleasant the burn in his body was. He didn’t know how to control this body, and he didn’t know what set it off, and the burn in his nostrils was still there. Incense? Rin said that was what did it? Bon used incense all the time. How much did it suck for Rin to be around him? Shit, why hadn’t he said anything? Bon was going to have to try a different type. Could he get the ingredients separately and blend it himself to prevent it from having been blessed? Which ingredient burned like this? Could he use that elsewhere? Put it in a spray or something to use against demons? Add it to the chalk they drew circles with? Ooh! Or maybe add it —

“Better?” Rin had gotten closer when he wasn’t looking, and the flames had dissipated around him. Bon’s tail raised straight in the air in surprise at the sudden close proximity, and his stomach gave a nervous swoop.

“What?” He’d started drumming his fingers against his leg again.

Rin smiled toothily, it didn’t look right on Bon’s face, and it didn’t look quite like Rin’s smile without the fangs (fangs that were currently poking Bon’s lip. These things sucked.)

“Never mind. What do ya need?”

Bon, with a nervous frown and a twitch glanced around. (Why couldn’t he stay focused on anything for more than a few seconds? His thoughts were dizzying and he’d never realized how damn loud this room was. The buzz of heat, the constant mumble of other voices in different rooms, the creak of wood, the muffle of music, the birds out side, agh!)

“What you need. Clothes?” His stomach growled again. Forget clothes. Bon stomped across the room, uncomfortably aware of his tail and how awkward it felt curled against his leg, and to his dresser. He pulled the top drawer open and pulled out a protein bar. After a moment of consideration, he pulled out a second one as well. He was fixing this hunger problem.

#bonrin #ao no exorcist #my tumblr fics #blue exorcist #ryuuji suguro #bonfire #bon suguro #ryuji suguro #rin okumura #aoex #bon/rin #bon x rin #sugurin #body swap au

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monstersdownthepath · 2 years

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Monster Spotlight: Ximtal

CR 17

Neutral Evil Large Outsider

Bestiary 6, pg. 244~245 (Image taken from Adventure Path: Tyrant’s Grasp: Borne by the Sun’s Grace, pg. 36)

I, personally, think it’s kind of funny that these creatures get to be designated “Large” just because of their enormous hind-ends, but the Ximtal are anything but funny themselves. It’s going to get very heavy for a moment, so if the current worldly situation is not something you wish to think about, skip the rest of this paragraph and I’ll get to the crunch immediately after. Representing the fear of isolation and not belonging, Ximtal go above and beyond their kin, affecting entire societies at once rather than picking on singular victims, manipulating the upper echelons of a given settlement with promises of power and gifts of magic to cause as much damage as possible. It is their goal to cause fanaticism, widespread abuse, and crushing dogmas which silence the meek and sensitive and give voice to the mad and aggressive, as well as to twist all messages and hopes for positivity or a better future into hopeless fear that nothing will ever change... all because people who are divided and lonely are that much easier to pick off, both for the Ximtal and any other Sahkil and daemons that live in their shadow.

hwoof. alright, onto how to fight them!

The good news is that, much like such terrors in real life, Ximtal can be beat if enough people band together and take up arms. However, it’s not easy; rooting out the deep, clinging corruption the Ximtal represent and foster never is. Just knowing one’s around pulling the strings is hard to spot! They work subtly more often than not, their 3/day Suggestion bending the wills of potential minions when their words and promises don’t, and just their presence alone worsens things in a subtle but painful way. Every drug, poison, and disease within 1000ft of a Ximtal is enhanced by their Despoil, their DC raising by 2, so all that one of these wretched rat-crabs needs to do is find a good spot to park and sit down for a while to just let its aura work, or collapse into a Misama and drift through the streets or across the sky as a greasy black smoke cloud (though if anyone ventures inside the cloud, the illusion of harmlessness is broken as they take 4d6 damage). On the occasion they lose patience and wish to accelerate a specific victim’s spiral, a single bite (2d8+14 damage, but this can easily be made nonlethal) transfers one of the cruelest diseases in Paizo’s catalogue: Forsaken Agony.

Any creature afflicted by Forsaken Agony becomes pale, distracted, and their senses are, one by one, taken from them. Each day the victim fails their Fortitude save (DC 29, NOT including the Despoil effect, which raises it to 31 if the Ximtal is lurking relatively nearby) they not only take 1d6 Wisdom drain, but roll another d6 to see which sense they lose: 1 for taste, 2 for smell, 3 for touch, 4 for hearing, 5 for sight... and 6 for all of them at once, locking the victim in a numb, dark, silent world. Once a victim has lost all six senses, the “agony” part of Forsaken Agony kicks in, wracking the victim with ennui and sensations of helpless isolation so painful that they take 1d4 Constitution drain as well.

Forsaken Agony can be cured like any disease, but simply touching an infected victim also exposes one to being infected as well on a failed DC 25 Fortitude save (27 if the Ximtal is nearby). Thankfully, due to a unique quirk with how the supernatural disease works, it can only spread if the infected victim is alone with the other person... Or, rather, if the infectee can’t see anyone but the other person. “Forsaken Agony is not contagious when the sufferer can see two or more creatures,” is what the book says, but you’ll notice that a result of 5 or 6 robs the victim of their sight so they cannot see ANY creature, which as-written means a blind victim (or one rendered catatonic by the Wisdom drain) is always contagious. And, of course, Cure Disease is a touch spell... It can be very, very difficult to cure a city of an agonized plague without a plot intervention.

Killing the creature starting the infection in the first place is a good first step, though they won’t go down easy. They possess DR 15/Good and, more annoyingly, the ability to fly, which I feel just kind of makes them look ridiculous. Like giant rat-crabs scuttling through the air at 60ft a round. The two giant sticky hands at the ends of their bodies can extend outwards to slap creatures up to 15ft away, dealing a substantial 3d8+14 damage and Grabbing whatever they hit. The long, clawed fingers they possess can grievously constrict any creature that can’t break their grip for an additional 3d8+14 damage each round. Already a formidable Full-Attack, but note that you’re likely going to be dealing with it on your own.

They have Maze at 1/day to instantly shunt a member of the party into a personalized labyrinth for upwards to 10 minutes without allotting a save, often imprisoning the least Intelligent party member they can to assure the spell sticks for its full duration. They also have Horrid Wilting at 1/day to suck an enormous amount of health from the party before they even realize the Sahkil is upon them, but without a doubt one of its most cruel tricks is to split the party on the first round. With Skip Between it can sneak up on the party and place itself gingerly between all of them before fading back into reality, at which point it can blast all of them with Isolation. This wave of supernatural loneliness can target up to four creatures adjacent to the Ximtal once a day, and failing a DC 25 Will save means you can no longer see, hear, or interact with your allies, nor can they see, hear, or interact with you, all of you treating one another as though you were invisible, silenced, and intangible.

Once Isolated, dealing with the Ximtal becomes all the much harder. Without the power to deliver touch spells or buffs to one another or even coordinate in the slightest (anyone who succeeds the save against being isolated still cannot see or interact with anyone who failed! and you might just get shoved in the Maze anyway), there’s nothing stopping the Ximtal from weaving lies about how it disintegrated or teleported the others away, and how now this “brave hero” must face it “all alone...” That being said, it can absolutely still be attacked by every isolated creature at once, since Isolation doesn’t stop enemies from seeing and interacting with one another, so the illusion of a party being divided is kind of shaken when the Barbarian’s axe wounds keep mysteriously appearing on the creature’s hide, or the Sorcerer’s Maximized Fireball explodes outwards from the Ximtal’s space--wait oh no

You can read more about them here.

#Monster Spotlight #CR 16 to 20 #pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons

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dourpeep · 3 years

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WAIT. I must participate in this. Please pardon me, I have no self control and cannot choose one story so I'm going to choose four.

Sweet Pea: I LOVE the domesticity behind the idea of Albedo is figuring out his feelings based on the reader's interactions with Klee. I love how Albedo and Klee view each other as siblings, especially when you think about how Albedo canonically believed that his master would leave him should he fail + Klee being left with the KoF. Thus, I think it's important to hime that the person he holds dear is also close to Klee.

Tenderly Yours: This may be the sweetest smut ever. I remember when I first read the lines, "Albedo pecks your lips. He misses" and I almost lost my mind. It's such a sweet image in its clumsiness that it just stuck with me.

Page Turner: So soft :'). I also love how domestic this was! It was so cute that Albedo's immediate reaction to the reader's empty lap is to snuggle into them. I also love the ending!!

Until You Believe: hello, this made me hnngggg. He's such a sweet character. It's so unfair that he was enslaved for so long only to be plagued by the misama that he shys away from others in fear of hurting them. So I love the idea of giving Xiao love so unabashedly and blatantly!

Tryst for Two: JUST THE THOUGHT of making out with Albedo between bookshelves or hidden away in a library alcove is too much for my heart. Neck kisses, the way he was touchy, and how he shushes the reader for more kisses- OTL. I think about this one way too much.

Thank you for writing all of your works btw!! There's just something so distinct about your diction that I love so much! I appreciate all the work and effort you put into writing so I wanted to take this opportunity to say what I love hehe

- honey (who is so sorry about the long asks)

HDFOIEHF DW HONEY BUN I DON'T MIND THE LONG ASKS

I'm wiggling in my seat reading this my heart (': Thank you for taking so much time to write this all out! but also y e s s s Albedo OTL

I'll forever be biased towards my Bedo works muah muah he deserves all the love and kisses-

AND UNTIL YOU BELIEVE I still think about that all the time--Xiao also deserves all the love and kisses, he's such a gentle character and I want to do him justice as well as give him the softness that he deserves but does not get in canon (yet?? who knows-)

BUT THAT BEING SAID ofc I'm gonna make it my business to reply to each of these gimme a sec

Sweet Pea: Yesyesyesyesyes yes this was the start of me trying to really get into his head--what better than through a connection that we know is dear to him?? I feel he'd have an easier time differentiating between a familial love versus romantic as well nodnod so there's that too--that being said I want to write more Albedo and Klee sibling shenanigains because they're just so cute and I adore them so much!

Tenderly Yours: ((NSFW 18+)) Hehe this is another one of my favorites! There's just something so sweet about that first time with the one you love, being able to explore and feel everything--it's a different kind of intimacy. And the clumsiness??? Ahhh yessss this was basically the idea of that exploration of a new part of a relationships with a hint of the unavoidable silliness. Like, first times are bound to be awkward, why not laugh about it?

Page Turner: I won't lie, this was entirely self-indulgent (and one of my favorites--you did a great job of picking my favorites hahaha). I just finished reading one of the books in a series (but I won't say what because major spoilers) and the antagonist pulled such a cheap move!! Ahhhh it was so unsatisfying but I get why the author wrote it so I can't be mad OTL That and also, again, silly and a little dorky Albedo is too good to resist-

Also also ofc gotta have more cuddles w/ Bedo. At this point the relationship would've been further along, lots of comfort and familiarity both w/ the banter + with the little things like how he immediately lays in their lap

Until You Believe: Ahh yes, the soft praise fic nodnod continuing from my earlier gush about it, I think that Xiao would be incredibly responsive to stuff like this. Just that slow, sweet, gentle touch of your hand to his cheek, the feel of chase kisses peppered over his cheeks and forehead--it's all very grounding. Something that'd help him slow down and take a breath when things aren't going so great.

The ending with his confession (though not really a confession because it's meant to be an established relationship) was also done because that's kinda supposed to be like him seeing himself through your eyes, then realizing how much he does love you because of that deep understanding sidhfoieh I might've been a bit cryptic with that ehe

Tryst for Two: Ehehe I actually wanted to make this one more than just a mini musing, but I ended up getting distracted by a bunch of stuff- but yes! I agreeeeee idk, Bedo feels like he'd be pretty tactile once he experiences stuff like this (same w/ Kazuha, he seems like he'd like those fleeting touches and stuff) and then I also just thought about how people end up flirting and stuff in the KoF Library-- yeahhhhhh

Hehe as for my diction--I just like writing in a way that sounds both poetic but also gets the point across! Something that allows you to feel the emotions that I'm trying to convey but also makes sure to reel you back before it gets too distracting--

Also that and lots of long sentences. I really like writing about details!

But again, thank you so much for taking the time to write that all out aaaa I'm soft (':

#anon asks #honey anon #about me #now you can get a little peek into my thoughts from when I was writing stuff nodnodnpd

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