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cerastes · 2 years

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Whats wrong with Near Light?

It is completely clueless as to what its own point is.

"Maria Nearl" made an excellent job of portraying the capitalist bloodsport known as "the Kazimierz Major" as a soulless venture meant to sell dreams and deliver bloodshed, propaganda, and ad revenue instead. It is impeccable in its themes, to the point that Blemishine is in fact told that she is expecting far too much, by EVERYONE else, when she says she'll compete in the Major for the sake of House Nearl having a Knight Primus. Her closest associates end up supporting her not because they truly believe she's right, they support her because they literally don't want her to end up dead. Zofia, Vogelweide, Kowal and Marcin know there's no actual stopping Maria once she sets up her mind on something, so they choose to train her not so she can win, but so she can survive at all in something she's woefully unqualified for. There's absolutely no glory to be made. This is a vie for survival first and foremost.

Near Light then completely disregards all of this and makes Margaret Nearl, a character I really like, into a generic fantasy hero that Must Fight To Achieve Things. It takes the very grounded "meaningless fight for something" from the first event, which is completely in line with old knightly literature, and turns it into a shonen, which I found pretty, well, insulting. Victory equals successful ideals now, because she's Margaret "Kirito SAO" Nearl, so if she does it, it's Fine now. It spins everything into seemingly being honorable knightly duels (but we're the good ones), while giving a horribly passive centrist narrative to what was purely a criticism of late stage capitalism in the prior event. Margaret wants to change things systematically from within.. Which is just a load of hog-fucking-wash when we already established from moment one that the system is in itself flawed, corrupt, and a cesspit of maggots trying to eat each other. It makes you wonder if it was the same writer that wrote both events, because it sure as shit doesn't seem so, and if it was, did they get into NFTs in the meantime or subscribe to Infowars or Andrew Tate or whatever equivalent there is mainland China or something? It went from a clearly muddied look at a system that is inherently flawed into "Actually, if we win enough fights... We can begin the Change Everything castbar, it's pretty simple, actually".

And I bring up those particular shitstains because Margaret Nearl, VERY uncharacteristically, pulls off a "no handouts, let them pull themselves up by their bootstrings" in the event: She refuses to go rescue Pinus Sylvestris because "they can't be saved by those who already have true conviction, they must do it themselves"... Actually what the fuck? You see in Chapter 0, 1 and 7 of the main story that Nearl will go out of her way, risk her very own flesh, to rescue those who are hopeless because that's what she believes in, that's why she's admired, because she'll fucking pull through in these situations... And then she says this shit in Near Light? AND THEN, as if that wasn't enough, smashing a fucking broken thermometer over a salted wound, it is then stated in god damn Operators Files that she did rescue Pinus Sylvestris off-screen anyways, because whoever was responsible for "writing" this, and I'm being fucking magnanimously generous with that word, couldn't just have their cake, but also had to devour it wholesale in one single bite? Get the fuck out.

On screen: Yeah, they gotta earn their lives. [Some fakedeep shit about needing to be devoted enough to their own cause and beliefs] Off screen: Oh I saved them anyways lol, I need to Look Cool.

It's not good writing, g, I'll tell you that fucking much, and it makes me upset because it's a character I like in a setting I love.

Of course I'm not going to like if they Kiritofy a character they had consistently written real damn well prior to an event meant to star her.

It makes me mad because the ultimate resolution of it all is a very cowardly "I Will Now Improve Things From Within" yeah okay and Suzaku was right in Code Geass too, right? Jesus fucking christ, man.

Bottom line, it all feels like they set up something incredible in Maria Nearl, right up until the very end, when Fan Favorite comes out of fucking nowhere to save the day, and then her event contradicts the key tenets of her character thus far to boot.

So you'll have to forgive me but my opinion on Near Light is not particularly positive because it became a "Wow look at how COOL this character is!" kinda shonen shitshow when we had a very "The system is inherently wrong, the solution is not at all simple" sort of seinen narrative going on. It should be telling when Mlynar embodies a more scathingly apt take on the sides Maria herself did not cover in her event towards the narrative than whatever the hell they decided to tarnish Margaret with. It's like the Twilight of Wolumonde writer handled Maria Nearl until the end and then they put the Sword Art Online writer on for Near Light.

It's not because I dislike Margaret Nearl that I feel this way. It's because I like her and they did her dirty. But sure, wau cool horse dom wife mommy or whatever.

#thunderbird145 #arknights #near light

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shuttershocky · 9 months

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Hey shutters, do you have tips for tn-3 spectacular mode? That's the only one of this event that has me pulling my hair out basically

Right? That shit actually took me awhile. Harder than TN-4 Spectacular.

Alright so here's some tips that helped me out

Go with the +HP + DEF and + Healing Effectiveness perk. TN-3 is the tank stage, what with Manfred's cannon and Steam Knight dealing incredibly high burst damage.

Bring tanks and medics - One Guardian and one Protector are ideal, but even Two Guardians can work if they're tanky enough like Saria and Blemishine with their modules.

Mudrock - Let the Colossus leak. Because Spectacular swaps the Colossus and Mudrock's Health, Mudrock has 100k HP and will be nearly impossible to bring down without the Gramophones. Use a Trapper specialist to begin recapturing the left gramophones, but wait until they're almost full. Mudrock will try to cast a skill to capture all Gramophones via a big red wave. Once she does this, immediately finish capturing the two left towers and throw everything you have at her. If you're really lucky, the two middle towers + Traps from the trapper can even take down the colossus, but it isn't necessary. You have 5 lives. That means you can strategically leak 4.

Manfred - By capturing the middle towers in Mudrock's stage, you can solo hold the left side of Manfred's stage just by using the free Siege. The Victorian perk and the Gramophone heals will let her solo the whole left side, letting you concentrate on Manfred. Use one of your Defenders at the very center of the chokepoint to stop Manfred. At the center, the cannon can't hit the top ranged tiles, which lets you deploy medics to keep your tank topped up. Don't forget to use the Glasgow girls to take out the enemies trying to sneak through the bottom lane.

Steam Knight - Holy shit this part is Hell on Earth. With both Steam Knight and Manfred's cannon, the final wave is AOE hell. Fortunately, there is a way to make the cannon work for you. First off, deploy your tankiest Protector Defender on the center of the stage near the top, and a Guardian Defender next to them. You can place them in such a way that the Protector is in range of multiple medics, while the Guardian acts as an extra Block-3 body that can survive the cannon blasts. These two will use their bodies to bait the cannon into attacking all the enemies onstage including Steam Knight. If you have any other ranged units able to help them out though, the left ranged tiles can assist in dealing damage (or throwing additional heals). The biggest threat in the map is Steam Knight flying into the sky and barraging your Defenders with Arts damage at the same time the cannon lands. Try to time it so they don't happen at the same time.

Protip - with the HP perk, the free Indra is able to survive a cannon blast when at full health. With her S2 healing herself and the Victorian perk, Indra is able to act as a third body on top of your double Defender combo to tank the Steam Knight's arts barrage as well as fighting the horde of enemies and Manfred.

Good luck!

#arknights

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yzxsn · 2 years

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visits from andreana and blemishine.

pov: you dont feel like moving or getting up from bed, having a wreck of a time.

andreana

would knock on your door expecting you to answer.

didn't you two have lunch plans earlier today? it had been past that, and she spent the whole time on the ship's deck drinking juice on her own. only to the company of the other abyssal hunters, whom she might have wanted to gossip with you over. and it was fine weather, cloudy, breezy. on the verge of rain, so the blood in her was pumping just a little more fervently for that while.

so what's keeping you in for so long?

ah, though to be honest, it's such a pain having to go look for you. if you had been busy, she reasons, you could have just told her, nevermind needing to say yes just because you didn't want to let anyone down; including her.

but the door doesnt open for her, so she enters the room on her own.

andreana sees you in bed huddled in blankets. the room is dark, with only the lights coming in from the single window out to the wastes as per standard rhodes island dormitory rooms, and yet it is still shaded by the blinds pulled over them.

"doctor?" she asks, taking steps towards you. when you don't reply, she thinks twice and shuts up. she ends up taking a seat at the edge of your bed.

maybe you could raise yourself up, or roll over to see who it was. maybe you didn't have to check at all. but andreana does, and she notices the state you're in.

"ah," she says aloud. "doctor, you don't look too good. do you need company right now?"

though she doesn't exactly wait for a response.

andreana takes off her jacket first before taking a seat closer to you on your bed. it is with her own hands that she pulls you closer to herself. cold fingers trail across your hair strands, brushing them aside.

upon your eyes meeting, andreana stops to stare, and then sigh.

"really, you're just like monica..."

in the end, she joins you in bed, leaving her resignation of the day's plans at the door. under your blankets, she pulls your head onto her chest, mask placed aside, and she strokes down your back with a careful, doting hand. ear scratches, slow fingers reaching the back of your scalp.

above all else, andreana is as calm, cool and quiet as it is in the ocean's depths. given enough time, she would sing, too, to you out of her own boredom. and if you needed, she makes good conversation.

"don't worry, doctor. i'm here for you. it's going to be okay."

blemishine

present for a variety of reasons. a complaint about closure or kaltsit kicking her out from the workshop, for example. or a new piece of equipment she's made that she wanted to show off to you.

so she's in casual attire when she knocks on the door.

but the excited raps don't summon a doctor. they are met with quiet response.

so she enters, blemishine sticking her head in for a moment to look around. she spots you upon first notice, tangled up in sheets, and leaves her gear at the door.

"doctor? are you not feeling well?"

she gasps when you turn, and the door closes behind her. almost as though if you hadn't been feeling okay, the world wouldn't have let anyone else seen it.

"hey... what's got you looking so sad...?"

she's quick to your side to scoop you up and hold you close. strong arms hold your head upon her lap, boots quickly off before she'd gotten into bed with you.

rough hands threaten to mess up your hair, but blemishine's more careful when it comes to organics.

so she pets you softly. in the dark of this room, though the light only reflects off her skin, she's the brightest thing around, and the warmest, next to you.

"did something happen? what's on your mind?"

she's earnest in the way she wants to know what troubles you, and doesn't hesitate to listen fully, already having forgotten the main reason why she'd come to visit in the first place.

she doesn't mind you holding onto her, for comfort. she wipes your tears away with a finger or two. and the concern behind her eyes shows in a deep, encompassing velvet.

when you don't have the urge to say anything anymore, she offers you a small grin, and coddles you further. her stroking your hair is repetitve, something you can find stability in during your dullest moments.

"it's okay doctor, it's okay... don't worry, don't worry. whatever it is that's bothering you, we'll get through it together, okay?"

#arknights x reader #arknights #andreana #blemishine #andreana x reader #andreana x doctor #blemishine x reader #blemishine x doctor #arknights imagine #arknights writing #man im not feeling alright atm and im missing people and feeling unproductive #so i write this fillef with grief #arknights fanfic

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johannstutt413 · 2 years

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(requested by greenone170b7) Nearl’s Alternate outfit getting applauded (and, later, ‘tested out’ by the wives) [taking place shortly after Near Light]

“So Maria…Quick question.” The Doctor pulled up some footage of Nearl with her swordspear. “Did you help make her outfit?”

The Kuranta cocked her head. “Yeah? Do you like it?”

“I didn’t realize how powerful she could look without her plate mail on…” He faked a cough to conveniently wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth.

“Oh, right, most of Rhodes Island never saw her during her first time through the circuit, did they?” Blemishine watched the footage back herself with a smile. ‘She really does light up her corner of the world wherever she is, doesn’t she?’

By this point, he’d managed to collect himself, but then he looked at Maria for a couple of seconds and a neuron fired. “That we didn’t. I did watch yours, however.”

“Really?” It didn’t surprise her that the Doctor had watched the tourney, but he’d called it ‘hers’ for some reason. What did that-

“You were an inspiration. Seriously, the ingenuity you showed in that arena was an incredible display of your talent.” He took a quick breath. “And uh…you looked damn good through it all, on top of that.”

A moment of silence as Blem registered what’d just happened. Then: “You, uh, wanna get a coffee after work?”

“Hell, we can go right now, if that works for you.”

“Sure!” Holy shit, her day just took a turn for the interesting. “Do you know a good place? I haven’t had time to scope out the restaurants since I joined.”

The Doctor knew just the place.

-----

Whislash walked into the bar as a group was gathered around a phone, watching footage from the most recent knights’ tourney. Hellagur, leaning against the bar and discussing one of the matches with Blaze, noticed her and heard his heartbeat double-tap. “The Whislash Knight herself aboard Rhodes Island? I’m surprised I didn’t hear about your arrival from someone earlier.”

“Well, I haven’t been a competition knight in a while. My sisters are probably taking the limelight there - which, I’ll add, they certainly earned.” Of course Zofia was still running with that story-

“Sisters?” Blaze cocked her head. “Margaret said you were her aunt.”

The Kuranta’s fist curled for a moment. “She did, huh?”

“Honestly, I thought you just looked young, but you really could just be their older sister, couldn’t you?” The Feline, like the Liberi next to her, wouldn’t have been any the wiser without that insider knowledge.

“You’re damn right.” The ex-knight sighed, tapping the counter. “Bottle of Chervon when you get the chance.”

Rosmontis - mostly there to spend time with her fellow Elite Operators, since she wasn’t old enough to drink herself - wandered over. “Are you related to Nearl, miss?”

“I’m her s- aunt. Zofia the Whislash, in the flesh.” Zofia popped the cork on the wine she’d ordered, poured herself a glass, and raised it to her.

“She looks pretty in her new dress.” The living weapon pulled up a stool and clambered up it to sit next to Whislash; Blaze and Hellagur joined her, the Liberi taking a seat on the other sight of the ex-knight. “When she was with us, she wore really bulky armor and used a mace.”

The other Feline nodded. “Never imagined she knew how to fight with…whatever that thing is. It looks like a spear with a whole sword at the end of it!”

“If you have some time, maybe we can swap stories? Feel free to talk about your own exploits, of course - you’ve had an impressive career yourself, after all.” The General took the mug of beer he was offered by the bartender but didn’t start drinking yet - there was a fight brewing in the ‘tourney chat’ corner, and he didn’t want to be off his game until after that tension resolved itself.

“Yeah, I’ve got some time to talk about Margaret.” The Kuranta sipped her wine. “First, though, plate mail? Seriously?”

Rosmontis nodded. “From our first mission together, even…It might be a moment while I remember the specifics.”

“Take your time, I’m not in a rush.” And why would she be? It wasn’t every day she’d get to learn about her niece’s time away from Kazimierz…Although, maybe now that she was working with Rhodes Island, maybe it would be?

-----

Gravel was in the training area; it wasn’t that she needed practice - no, she was more than capable of holding her own, no question about that - but some new tactics. Rhodes Island didn’t send the Doctor into the field, which meant that her deployments would have her taking on a different role. The training itself made plenty of sense to her.

What made less sense were the people she was working with.

“You’re rather young to be an assassin,” Senomy observed as a red-coated Lupo joined her in the arena. “How long have you been training?”

“I was born to hunt,” Projekt Red replied, spinning a knife in each hand.

That honestly impressed the Zalak. For a moment, at least; she was pretty used to big talk, considering the Armorless Union’s seemingly endless arrogant asshole archers. “Not what I asked, but you’re committed, at least. Whenever you’re ready.”

“Miss Dobermann?” The Perro blew a whistle, and both Specialists’ eyes changed. “The hunt begins.”

“It won’t last long.”

As the rest of the Operators gathered - for their own training mostly, with a couple interested in seeing the new blood at work - watched, it was hard to track where the participants were at any given point. Despite Gravel’s assurance this would be a quick fight, since both were using hit-and-run tactics and a similar set of weapons (even with rather different fighting styles), they weren’t scoring many hits on each other. The clinging of parries and counter-parries rolled across the cover-laden battlefield, occasionally accompanied with a couple drops of blood falling to the ground near one obstacle or another. By the time Dobermann - who had other fights to get to - called time, it seemed like very little had actually been accomplished.

When both Operators emerged in the center, absolutely cut to ribbons, however, it had to be acknowledged something had in fact occurred.

“Oh, if he’d been here to watch, I’m sure the Doctor would be proud~” Gravel wasn’t swooning from blood loss. That was just her being Gravel. “You weren’t joking about being born to hunt, but wolves don’t really chase rats very often, do they?”

“Not in packs. Alone, sometimes.” Red was definitely redder than usual.

Rhodes Island’s head combat instructor gave them a once-over. “You both did well - too well to pick a winner. Phantom, you’re up next.”

“Very well.” He hopped down to join them. “Which one am I fighting?”

“Both of them. Two on one,” the Perro asserted as she went back to her post.

The pair shared a glance as the Feline split off his shadow self. “Turnabout is fair play,” Gravel admitted.

“Play?” Red’s eyes flashed again as their opponent drew his blades, the girls following suit shortly after. “The hunt resumes.”

“That it does, little Red. That it does.” Phantom gave them a cruel smirk before disappearing from sight.

If the first bout had been a dance, this was going to be a true musical number.

-----

As the others adapted to their new positions at Rhodes Island, Margaret Nearl was in Kazimierz, refamiliarizing herself with her surroundings. There was a time she knew her hometown like the back of her hand, but so much had changed since she’d last spent serious time here-

Knock knock on the door. She went to answer it…and was pleasantly surprised. “Good evening, Liz.”

“Good evening,” Nightingale replied as she stepped across the threshold and into Margaret’s arms. “Are you busy?”

“Certainly not too busy for you. Good evening, Shining.” Holding one Sarkaz close left her somewhat unable to do the same for the second, but that was fine.

The Confessor had never been the one to ask for affection. Granted, tonight would be different, but they had time to get there. “Good evening, Margaret…Are we safe?”

“The media has other concerns tonight.” Once the door was closed, the Kuranta gave both her soon-to-be-departing wives a kiss. “Although I’m not concerned about those rumors, or any others, taking off regarding our relationship. You leave tomorrow, correct?”

“Correct. But, before we do…” Granted, it was still difficult for Shining to ask-

-And less so for Liz. “We wanted to make some memories to tide us over.”

“As if I needed a reason to spend time with my beloveds.” Nearl chuckled. “Shining, will you help me lead Liz up the stairs?”

“Certainly.”

Liz leaned her head on Margaret’s shoulder as they walked. “You keep the lights on?”

“Only when mine aren’t beside me.” The Kuranta sighed. “These next few months will be an effort to not leave and join you, but I will respect your wishes.”

“Less ‘wishes,’ more ‘precautions,’ but it will be tough on all of us…Incidentally, would you mind wearing the outfit you wore for the tournament tonight?”

Considering it was Shining asking for that, the knight had no reason not to, but she asked nonetheless, “No, I do not, but I am curious why?”

“You were so cool~” Nightingale would have swooned if she wasn’t glued to her wife’s shoulder. “It suits you really well.”

“I believe the term is ‘smoking hot.’” The Confessor smiled, because she knew for a fact that was the exact term for it.

Well, with praise like that, how could she not indulge them?

#arknights #arknights fic #nearl (arknights)#blemishine (arknights)#whislash (arknights)#gravel (arknights)#shining (arknights)#nightingale (arknights)#projekt red (arknights)#hellagur (arknights)#blaze (arknights)#rosmontis (arknights)#just a little 'where are they now' for the Nearls #and Gravel #because she's always with us #remember: she's Your Wife #...expect a fic about her at some point before the end of this event #to make up for the fact we aren't allowed to smother her in affection despite all the dialogue we get with her #YOSTAR LEMME SMOOCH SENOMY GODDAMN YOU

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tokai-teio · 2 years

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well. here goes nothing.

scattered thoughts/ramblings/whatevers below on Platinum, my favorite character from arknights. heads-up, it’s not really any deep levels of thought, i’m not really capable of providing that kinda stuff.

alright so obviously first off i really love her design. the elegance of a medieval-inspired look blended in a tasteful marriage to the tactical setting is something arknights pulled off really well, so hats off to Skade for platinum’s design. i even bought her outfit from the coral coast collection but i never use it because i love her original design that much; i pretty much only got the outfit because it was platinum’s outfit. my horse girl bias is active as always, but platinum beat out other characters like nearl and grani in the end thanks to other things on top of her design as well.

her original VA being kayano ai was definitely something that made me notice her in the first place, being a big kayano ai fan. if you’ve followed me for more than a couple of months, you know exactly how i feel about that entire can of worms. her new VA, kitajima miyuki, did a good job with her voice. i am not going to hold anything against her, especially since she did a good job emulating the voice that kayano ai already did for her; if arknights had changed the way she sounded overall, i would have been really upset. on the note of VAs, with the game potentially getting EN voices down the line, i think stephanie sheh would be a good fit for platinum, being able to do a high-pitched soft voice while also proving that she can do a more bored tone. something like a mix between her beruka and tharja would be excellent in my opinion. but anyways, back to platinum.

her personality was another huge part of it; it’s hard to pin down exactly what word describes her. for one, i really like characters who are kinda cocky/prideful while ALSO being able to back up their words with actions, and her battle lines of stuff like “ you may as well attack all at once, since you're all too weak anyway” are excellent. she’s kinda aloof, cool, cute, and laid-back all at once, she’s definitely got the ‘too-cool-to-care’ thing down pat, but the way she’s also more teasing and open and coy with the doctor is really really nice. people see it in different ways but i see the way she interacts with the doctor to be in a ‘very very close friendship that toes the line of romantic interaction to the point where a romance is more than possible at this point’ kind of way, with a lot of her lines being flirty and her trust token even being tickets to the local amusement park/carnival/faire for the two of you to go on a date.

for this reason it makes me sad that people seem to ship her mostly with blemishine. it’s not that i particularly dislike that ship or that i’m bashing on them for liking it (people can like whatever they want), but it’s rather that i greatly prefer doctor x platinum (to the point where i even made a doctor OC, doctor sepia, that pairs romantically with platinum specifically for the purpose of having a more concrete envisioned character to write stuff with [which will probably never get finished at this rate so i might just snip off what i had planned and hammer the unfinished stuff into a shorter thing]) and it just sucks to see that there’s not a whole lot of doctor x platinum stuff in general, at least in the english-speaking part of the fandom. and as i said, i’m neutral on platinum with blemishine. the content that people make for that pairing is cute.

the lines that platinum has about her feeling bored and dissatisfied with her job really makes me want to give her some happiness and have the doctor take her out on a date and stuff.

gameplay-wise i like her a lot as well. as i’ve said a couple of times before, snipers are my favorite class in arknights (picking off opponents before they even become a problem is my preferred tactic) and platinum is undeniably a really good sniper. she’s got the power to still dent high-armor targets and has a longer range so she can clear threats more effectively than others on my team. she rarely leaves my squad, ever.

this next part is spoilers i guess for platinum’s backstory so this is your heads-up.

platinum’s backstory as an ex-idol was something that originally made me chuckle because of how serendipitously perfect it was for my favorite character to be an ex-idol knight, since i am in a sense an ex-idol fan (i grew disillusioned with idols in general thanks to the horrible culture surrounding them), and her backstory definitely hits that culture’s darker points, with her being more or less thrown away after a fall from grace where people forgot about her despite her being beloved at one point. it REALLY made me draw mental parallels to the entire VA situation with platinum, where a beloved VA was cast aside by a lot of people (i saw dumb shit on twitter where people called kayano ai a war criminal, that she deserved what happened, etc) in a situation where she fell from grace. long-time followers probably noticed a trend where i tend to latch onto ‘social underdogs’ in a sense where a lot of people dogpile them to the point of them being at a low point with little to no support, and platinum’s new lore caused her to once again serendipitously fit that bill even though i already liked her a lot before. she was at a good point in a highly-competitive field but everything she worked for was ruined in an instant with basically no way back, then the one person who reached out to her in a time of need and helped her get back on her feet got killed, and then she ended up in his old position in a job that she hates with literally no way to leave with the threat of being assassinated constantly looming over her head if she ever even considers abandoning the armorless union. i just really really want her to get a happy ending more than anything, really. i want her to be able to stop having to do a job that makes her miserable and be able to go back to her parents (who she canonically loves and went into her original career for but hasn’t seen in ages because she doesn’t want them to be ashamed of her being an assassin). i want to be able to finish that story i started where the doctor gets to take her to the carnival and they have cute moments and spend time together where platinum legitimately gets to take a break from the depressing reality of her job and have fun for once.

sure, people might say i’m naive for thinking that way, that i’m stupid. i’m sure a good handful of people unfollowed me for my stance on that entire kayano ai debacle.

the point is, i really love platinum arknights. i get hyperfixated on a lot of different characters to the point where my blog is a total mess but platinum is on an entirely different level of being a ‘blorbo’ overall, to the point where i even hold her as my favorite horse girl period, with her beating out every single girl from a series literally centered around horse girls.

i know i’m not even near being qualified to be considered a high-profile platinum fan, i don’t even make fanart or publish anything that people can really see. there are so many other people who are willing to be vocal about their love for the character, they’re willing to put out feelings and content for platinum, and i’m just gonna have to be content sitting on the sidelines in an arbitrary ‘competition’ in my mind that doesn’t even matter, and that’s alright.

#adventures of prefix #sfw

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johannstutt413 · 3 years

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(requested by mathmaticalknight)

Blemishine was in the Engineering Department, hiding from Zofia with her fellow tech-heads as she often did, the day she first encountered the Nian. She’d heard rumors about the meandering meddling metallurgist and her amorphous armaments, but it was only when the Doctor finally gave in and let her work with the Department that the Kuranta came into contact with her.

“Workshop #3 just sent up the results from their latest alloy test,” Passenger reported matter-of-factly. “No progress.”

“I’m definitely starting to see why we haven’t figured this thing out. It’s like the metal is...alive.” Blemishine was watching VODs of Nian’s combat performance to try and get some new data-

-which meant she was the perfect target when the real Nian arrived and glanced over her shoulder. “Well, you look like you’re having fun.”

“She’s incredible, isn’t she?” The knight looked over her shoulder, realized it was THE Nian standing over her, and with a blush said, “You’re incredible.”

“A lot of people don’t trust me, that’s true. I’m gonna borrow her, alright, Elliot?”

The Liberi waved an arm. “Bring her back in one piece.”

“Oh, you know I’d never hurt a hair on her head.” She hooked one of her arms under one of the Kuranta’s and pulled her out of her chair. “Let’s go.”

“Ehh? O-okay! I’ll be back, Passenger!” And without any resistance, Maria was off on an adventure.

At least, she thought that’s what was happening, though the Nian didn’t exactly explain as they walked through the corridors of Rhodes Island in the direction of the shuttle bay. “What’s your name, kid? I haven’t seen you around much.”

“Blemishine’s my codename, but you can call me Maria.” Honestly, she’d prefer the latter. “Is it true you’re not a Rhodes Island employee? I know you spend a lot of time in Engineering, and I mean, you’d have to be a smith to have a weapon as cool as yours, but I’ve never seen you in person before.”

“Closure offered me a job, but that’s not why I’m here. You like shopping? We’re heading into town.” Now wasn’t the time for worrying about the future; she did that plenty on her own, especially with Dusk around now.

The knight shrugged. “Auntie and I go every now and again, and when I needed new parts for my projects I’d go out to get them, but since I started helping out at the Department I don’t have as much time for that.”

“Projects?” Nian smiled to herself. “Like trying to recreate my weapon? I hope y’all figure it out.”

“Oh, that’s for the Workshop, it’s fun but not really the kind of thing I’d do in my free time, you know? I’m a mechanic at heart, and now that I’m working for the Department, maybe they’ll let me supe up one of the shuttles. I used to have a car that could get some real speed going before I became a competition knight...”

Thinking about the past was just as bad, but fortunately they’d reached the shuttles. “So you wanna mess around with one of these?”

“We’re here already? And yeah, that’d be really fun! They don’t run on quite the same intake system I’m used to, and I’d have to make some openings in the hood to fit everything on I’d need to, and then there’s the nitrous canisters- oh, there I go again.” Blemishine didn’t know many people who actually wanted to listen to her talk about this kind of stuff. “Sorry about that!”

“What do you mean? Keep going! I hate when people try to tamp down on their enthusiasm just to make other people happy, and you were really building up steam there.” Plus, she was super cute when she got excited.

Maria blushed again. “Alright, but only because you asked. So obviously we’d have to start with taking one of these babies apart - I think I could get Broca to help out with that, it really takes two people to get a car onto a maintenance lift when you’re trying to keep the engine cool - because they won’t let me look at the schematics yet even though I asked Closure specifically if I could...”

The entire drive into town was essentially like that; the knight went into the blow-by-blow description of what she wanted the shuttle to look like under the hood when she was done, and Nian only occasionally interrupted with an insight or a question to help her along. She was impressed with how much the Kuranta actually knew despite not having much opportunity to act on that knowledge back in Kazimierz (Nearl’s sister, no question about where she was from), but more than that, she was reminded of some of her old acquaintances who used to get the same gleams in their eyes when talking about sword-smithing or armor-forging. This girl wasn’t like her usual kidnappees for sure.

“-Hey, Nian?” Blemishine looked out the window. “I think we drove past town.”

“Did we? Shit, I guess we did.”

They weren’t turning around. “Are we gonna keep going?”

“Just a little bit.” The Nian smiled to herself. “I was going to take you shopping, but since we’ve been talking about cars, there’s a place I wanna show you. Might help out with this plan you’ve got.”

“Oh, it’s not really a plan, just some ide- is that a junkyard? Out here?!”A sign poked out from behind a dune. Looks like her birthday’d come around early this year.

The smith laughed. “You sound like a kid going to the candy store.”

“Candy can’t take you a hundred kilometers away in an hour, though, and that’s much more exciting than some sugar!” Maria giggled. “Not that I’m against sugar.”

“I can take it or leave it. There was one place I visited that had these cinnamon-pepper candies; those were more my style. Speaking of style...” They pulled into the lot, broken-down vehicles already visible from the entrance, and the tour began.

Well, less of a tour and more of a scavenging run; this wasn’t a museum, after all, and Nian never left home without a few tools. The Kuranta popped the hood on the first ground-level car within eyesight, putting on a pair of goggles and pulling a tool roll seemingly out of thin air. “This one’s in great condition; how’d you end up, little guy? Don’t worry, we’ll be gentle. Hey, Nian, could you help me roll this one forward a bit?”

“I’ve gotcha.” She popped open the door on one side, Blemishine did the same on the other, and the two pushed the car to where there was plenty of room on all sides. “Looking for something specific?”

“Just want to double-check a few things. How’d one of RI’s shuttles end up out here, do you think? I mean, if we had the keys, I’m sure we could get this one to run again, no problem...Do you hear that?”

The Nian sighed. “The rustling from over there? I heard.”

“Hands up!” A gruff voice barked as a small gang of bandits mobilized from behind other junk piles, crossbows trained on the pair. “Thanks for the fresh wheels, ladies. Toss us the keys and leave, and we won’t have to get nasty.”

“What kind of gang sets up shop in a junkyard? You can’t possibly make enough stops to survive,” Maria observed, hands still below her head.

The presumed leader, a Sankta with a black halo, spat on the ground. “Don’t change the subject. Hands, up, or your pretty little friend gets it.”

“Which one of us is little?” The other Defender asked casually, a pool of silver forming around her feet. “We’re about the same height, after all.”

“...Well, boys, can’t say I tried.” The Sankta fired at the Kuranta-

-and missed, partially because his target rolled out of the way, and partially because there was now a lump of metal where his Adam’s apple had been. Nian’s malleable murder-metal formed a curtain around her as she started walking forward with a smile. “Well, boys, you picked the wrong couple to rob.”

“Couple?” Blemishine asked as she reemerged from cover, sword and shield at the ready. “A couple of what?”

“A couple of-” At that moment, a bolt detonated against her tectonic armor, blasting shrapnel through and into her shoulder, and the Beast awoke.

A few minutes later, after the junkyard had had a proper bloodbath, the Nian was sitting on the hood of the car they’d rolled out while Maria patched her up. “Exploding bolts? That’s higher grade gear than your average bandit, isn’t it?” The knight asked

“Probably. Not that we’ve got to worry about it now.” She felt the debris-free gashes knitting back together in the Kuranta’s light. “I need a snack after that. Mind if we head back to town?”

“Nah, I don’t mind; there’s an ice cream shop that Surtr recommended I’ve been meaning to try. We can get a milkshake with two straws, like in the movies.”

Nian would have rolled her eyes if that didn’t sound like something she wanted to try. “You’re the first person I’ve dragged out with me who wanted to make a date out of it.”

“You’re the one who called us a couple,” Maria replied with a momentary smirk. Momentary because she wanted her next words to have the proper gravitas. “But I meant what I said earlier. You really are an incredible person, Nian, and now that we’ve gotten a chance to talk, I know it’s not your weapon we should be trying to emulate at the shop, but your spirit.”

“...I haven’t heard praise like that in a long time.” The Nian slid off the car.

Blemishine stepped off to walk back to their shuttle as the other Defender took her hand. “I don’t know if I’d call it ‘praise-’”

“What else do you call complimenting a goddess?” That stopped the knight in her tracks as Nian walked around her. “And praise of that calibre deserves a blessing.”

“You’re seri-” Whatever thought Maria had loaded up crashed to desktop as the ‘blessing’ in question turned out to be a kiss.

It was a good thing the smith’s eyes had closed before their lips connected; she might’ve gone blind from the Kuranta’s flash of light otherwise.

#arknights #arknights fic #blemishine (arknights)#nian (arknights)#tmw you wrote three pages because it refused to wrap up in two #maria is faqing cute #dunno if i have her voice right yet #but i'll be getting plenty of practice with the next few fics...

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johannstutt413 · 3 years

Text

(requested by mathmaticalknight; continuing from this)

As Tomimi settled into her seat for the Tail Club meeting, and Provence took a breath to start talking, a pair of small hands knocked on the door. The group turned their attention to the door as the Lupo went forward with the whole “speaking” thing. “Yes?”

“The posters said this is a club for people with tails?” Suzuran peeked around the door. “I have a lot of tails, and I have some questions about it.”

“Morti thought I should come, too,” Shamare said, also peering around the door. She’d actually come because Suzuran had invited her, but that wasn’t the point.

The trio (including a sort-of-visible Manticore) set about adding some more seats to their circle, but as they did, there was another knock. “Hey, I saw a poster for a ‘Tail Club.’ Is this enough tail to join?” Pramanix’s mound of Feline floof slapped the threshold as she walked into view.

“Sure!” Provence gestured to the chair circle. “We’re working on widening the circle right now, but we’re pretty sure we have enough chairs for everyone.”

“We brought a few just in case!” Blemishine replied to an unverbalized question as she, her sister, and her aunt walked in as well. Tripling in the span of one meeting...what a turnout!

The club leader, once everyone was settled in, stood up to address them. “Wow. Um, first, I’m glad everyone could make it! We’ll go around the room and get everyone’s names, but before we do, I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page. I know Manty’s cute poster calls us ‘Tail Club,’ but we’re not an after-school club or something; we’re a support group and an activist group more than anything, in that we lobby the Doctor and the rest of leadership on behalf of the needs of Operators, ourselves included, with tails that are especially cumbersome, high-maintenance, or just...big. Alright, with that out of the way, I’m Provence! Hi! I’m the president, I guess, of the Tail Club, and no, it’s not because I have the biggest tail. We might actually do an election or something now that we have more members...hmm. We’ll figure it out! Alright, right or left, you two pick.”

“I-I’ll go...” Manticore stood up as the Lupo sat down. “I’m the club’s...vice-president. If you have...any questions, you can...come and find me, or...you can tell Estelle or Tomimi...and they’ll find me...and then I’ll find you...Thank you...”

“Codename’s Whislash, but go on ahead and call me Zofia. Brought myself and my sisters with me when I saw the poster because, well, we’ve got fluffy business in the back and wanna be in solidarity with similar folks. It’s neat to see all kinds of tail- what are you giggling about, Maria?”

Blemishine didn’t stifle her laughter as she took her turn. “Nothing, aun- ‘sis.’ Maria ‘Blemishine’ Nearl at your service!”

“And I am Margaret ‘Nearl’ Nearl.” She smiled at the repetition. “Thank you for taking the initiative and starting this group, Provence; the wider thresholds have already saved me at least one embarrassing entrapment.”

“No problem, but Tomimi’s the one to thank for that one.” The president gestured to the Archosaurian, who gave a little wave as everyone else in the room clapped.

Suzuran waited for the applause to subside before taking her turn. “Good afternoon. I’m Lisa, or Suzuran, as you like. I have a lot of tails, which is like having one big tail, and I saw the poster and thought my friend Shamare might want some help, too. Isn’t that right, Shamare?”

“Um...Yeah.” The Vulpo’s misdirection had been foiled, so she just carried on. “Morti’s gonna sit with me, even though he doesn’t have a big tail, because he’ll remember if I forget what we talk about. He likes being in the same room as priestesses, too.”

“Your doll understands flattery, then. That’s interesting. Anya ‘Pramanix’ Silverash, Karlan Saintess and in need of some tail care advice - I’m getting tired of shedding fur on corners. I’ll help if I can, too, but most of you have a lot more to worry about than me, it looks like.” It was actually kind of humbling for the Feline to sit in a room with so many people with Tails of Unusual Size. Hers was fluffy and silky smooth, true, but just look at the Archosaurian.

The Archosaurian whose turn it was, in fact. “Hi. I’m Tomimi, and that’s the only name I have. I came here for help, and Provence and Manty have been really helpful, and they’re really nice, so I keep coming back. Let’s, uh...Let’s all get along!” She learned that one from Young Things Magazine.

“Thank you, Tommy!” Provence clapped her hands; she could already tell she was going to enjoy this ‘proper president’ thing. “Alright, first order of business for our first-timers: what problems are you having? Anya, you mentioned yours a bit already, so would you be willing to start?”

“Oh, sure. I’ve always had a fluffy tail, and it’s pretty versatile, but there’s this one thing that’s always bugged me about it...”

After going around the room, sharing some tips and tricks for better grooming, and even breaking off into groups for tail-brushing time (Zofia suggested it, and everyone liked the sound of it), the meeting adjourned after a productive two-hour session. Suzuran found a broom to sweep up the sheddings (including scales from Tomimi - she was nearly done with her shedding cycle, but not quite), and Shamare waited for her in a chair near the entrance, whispering to Morti. Tomimi approached her, curious. “Shamare?”

“Hmm?” The harbinger frowned. “It’s rude to interrupt a conversation.”

“You can hear him?” She leaned in, trying to catch its voice.

The Vulpo pulled back into the upholstery. “I can. Do you want to?”

“I don’t think so.” The Caster sat on the floor in front of her. “Is he nice?”

“He takes the bad feelings away, and he likes talking to people.” She rubbed his head, and Tomimi could’ve sworn the stitched smile curled a little more.

That convinced her. “Did you make Morti?”

“No,” Shamare replied, “but I did give him his body.”

“Could you make a doll for me to give to my girlfriend? I don’t want her to be lonely when she’s busy in her office.”

The oracle blinked. “You want me to do that?”

“Mmhmm.” The Archosaurian gave her a toothy smile. “I like your style.”

“...Okay, but you have to get me the stuffing. My doctor found out I stuffed Morti with Originum and she wasn’t happy, but I need something to put in your doll.” The Vulpo didn’t want to blush, but it seemed Morti didn’t feel like intervening for her.

Suzuran skipped over to the pair, sweeping finished. “Hi, Tommy! Ready to go, Shamare?”

“One more thing.” She hopped off her chair. “Can I have one of your scales?”

“Okay.” The Caster lifted her tail and smacked the ground; a small tremor shook their immediate vicinity, and several scales fell off.

Shamare took a few, put the rest in the bucket her friend had filled while sweeping, and nodded to Tomimi. “I’ll bring your doll to the next meeting.”

“Thanks.” She watched the pair leave, cocking her head. ‘Those two are like opposites...Just like Gav and me.’

“Well, I didn’t meet any cute bachelors, but the tail talk is super nice,” Whislash noted as the Nearls packed up their chairs.

Provence chuckled. “Is that why you really came, Zofia?”

“M-maybe.” She sighed. “Look, I don’t like making a big deal out of it, since I’m only the eldest by a couple years, but it’s getting harder to find my kind of guy out in the wild. You have someone special?”

“Sure do! My girlfriend and I met here at Rhodes Island, actually.”

The Kuranta’s ears perked up as her nieces left her to her conversation; they had other stuff to do, especially while she was distracted. “Girlfriend? That’s okay here?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Then the Lupo remembered where the Nearls were from. “Oh, right, you’re from Kazimierz. Yeah, RI doesn’t discriminate like some other companies...or governments, either.”

“Huh...You, uh, know anyone on the market? They don’t even have to be that cute.” Saying the words out loud made her blush.

The Sniper smiled as she slipped her phone out of her pocket. “Actually, I think I know just the person. Walk and talk?”

“Sure!” Whislash’s tail swished behind her as she turned to leave, glowing a bit. “Ooh, there’s a movie playing tonight I’ve been wanting to see, if they like that kinda thing.”

“You can ask them - I’m sending you their number now.” Provence looked back as she passed the light switch; Tomimi was still there, so she left them on.

Manty was, too, although the Lupo had missed her at a glance; after all, they had a double date themselves...the Manticore needed her girlfriend to bear witness to the thicc she was exposed to on a daily basis. It just wasn’t fair. “Hey, Tommy...why do you think...everyone started coming today? We’ve had posters...for a couple weeks now.”

“Oh, Gav started telling people about it, too.” The Archosaurian was still seated in front of the chair. “Estelle is an Archosaurian, isn’t she?”

“She is...Why do you ask?”

The Caster looked back at her tail. “In my village, there’s a lot of arguing about which is better - big or small tails. I wonder if other Archosaurians have that debate, too.”

...The Specialist had a feeling she knew the answer to that.

#arknights #arknights fic #tomimi (arknights)#provence (arknights)#manticore (arknights)#blemishine (arknights)#shamare (arknights)#suzuran (arknights)#whislash (arknights)#nearl (arknights)#pramanix (arknights)#don't ya just love a tag cloud #nice to see a lot of rare names in it #shamare's on my mind now #gonna e2 her next #for teh funz

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