#elimination death gauntlet
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Elimination Death Gauntlet
#mystery bracket#elimination death gauntlet#spamton#spamton g spamton#deltarune#deltarune chapter 2#deltarune chapter two#beans#rain world#rainworld spoilers#rain world spoilers#rw spoilers#hubble#space#nasa#17776#17776 hubble#cars#minivan#cereal#pioneer 9#17776 nine#straight#food mention#food tw#tw food#food
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My hot take on YYH Netflix is that normally condensing a story this drastically would not work at all, but YYH is kind of a special case because Togashi very obviously was making things up as he went along and it takes quite a while for YYH to settle on what the story actually is.
Like, if you just saw the first episode you'd probably think the show is about Yusuke's ghost shenanigans and the story's over when he comes back to life. They spent a whole four episodes on it in the anime, and that's after cutting out a lot more issues from the manga. But there's not a lot that happened while Yusuke was a ghost that's of any consequence to the rest of the story, and anything that was, like Kuwabara becoming a good student, didn't need Yusuke to be a ghost in order to happen. Like, while he's a ghost he learns ghost abilities like being able to possess people or talk to them in their dreams, but when he comes back to life he doesn't retain any ghost powers like Danny Phantom, he gets completely different abilities that he only learns about after coming back to life.
So it really doesn't feel like we missed out on anything by having Yusuke get resurrected right away and establishing the threat of demons invading the world from the beginning and having that be the reason Koenma wanted to resurrect him, rather than introducing all of that only after Yusuke came back to life. It doesn't feel rushed, it just feels like it knows what the point is and gets to it.
The story also doesn't really dally around with the idea of Yusuke doing actual detective work, which also gets abandoned pretty quicky in the managa/series. He doesn't get any gadgets or get assigned a bunch of different cases that all just end up being a gauntlet for him to fight through, he pretty much just has the one big case. I think combining the Three Thieves arc with the Rescue Yukina arc is actually a significant improvement for the story. Cause like, originally the Thieves arc was just a vehicle to introduce Kurama, but then Hiei ended up becoming a regular character too and his appearance in that arc was totally inconsistent with everything established about him later. It makes so much more sense for his motive for participating in the heist to be his sister, rather than wanting to take over the world with an army of demon slaves. It also doesn't feel like we lost anything of value by cutting out the 4 Saint Beasts arc when helping Hiei rescue his sister is a much better motive for him to cooperate and bond with the others than Hiei just being forced to do community service. It also eliminates that awkwardness of Hiei kidnapping Yusuke's girlfriend and trying to turn her into his demon slave and then being instantly forgiven by Yusuke the next time they meet and never addressing it again.
Where I feel like it went too far was bringing in the Dark Tournament stuff. Having Yusuke drop everything to go train with Genkai for a whole month in the middle of a case while Hiei apparently makes no progress toward finding his sister just didn't make any sense. We didn't get to know Yusuke well enough to really understand how much growth he had to go through to earn Genkai's spirit wave or what emotional barriers he needed to overcome to beat Toguro. We didn't get to know Genkai long enough for her death to hit as hard as it should. We didn't get to see enough of Yusuke and Kuwabara's bond to understand why it made more sense to kill him instead of Keiko in order to motivate Yusuke. We didn't get as much build-up for the opponents the fab four would be facing and things like Kurama's fox form and Hiei's dragon are just there and not things that that were built up as their only desperate options to have even the slimmest chance of survival.
It really feels like a shame that they didn't go with the original ending of the Rescue Yukina arc where the Toguros took a dive on Sakyo's orders. Like, if they were worried about not getting a second season, the story already had a perfectly satisfying conclusion that you can just accept as an ending as long as nothing else comes afterward to tell you the bad guys are still alive. But Toguro, Bui, and Karasu are all clearly unambiguously dead by the end of the Netflix series and all the important plot points about Toguro and Genkai's past has already been put out there, so there's no way to go back on that and do the Dark Tournament proper with a more fleshed out story and fan-favorite characters now.
Hypothetically, if there were more seasons though, because the vast majority of the series is already covered and there's really only two arcs left that are too distinctly separated to be combined I could see a season 2 and a season 3 that adapt Chapter Black and the Makai arcs in a way that's more satisfying.
Like, S2E1 could cover just the House of 4 Dimensions, ending with the reveal that Genkai has been brought back to life, or at least can contact the living world in order to continue Yusuke's training and prepare him for what's coming.
S2E2 would be Yusuke and the gang looking for Sensui and his goons and we'd get the battle with Doctor in the A plot and Kuwabara's battle with Seaman in the B plot.
S2E3 would be Seaman's backstory and revelations about who Sensui is and what he's trying to accomplish. Kuroko could maybe be introduced here to fill in some of the exposition gaps. The episode would end with Sensui finally appearing and kidnapping Kuwabara, with Sniper foiling Yusuke's attempt to rescue him.
S2E4 would be Seaman taking the gang into the tunnel, Game Master would be skipped over and we'd get straight into Yusuke vs Sensui, ending with Yusuke's death.
S2E5 would be Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei breaking out of containment to avenge Yusuke and Yusuke awakening to defeat Sensui, only for Spirit World to suddenly turn on him once they realize he's related to Raizen. The season would end on a cliffhanger with Yusuke being forced to go on the run into demon world.
S3E1 would then open with Yusuke already in Demon World, wandering around until he eventually finds Raizen. Meanwhile back in the human and Spirit Worlds everyone is dealing with the fallout and the episode ends with Hiei and Kurama being summoned/deported to Demon World.
S3E2 would be Hiei and Mukuro's stories.
S3E2 would be Kurama and Yomi's stories, with Kuronue from the movie thrown in there as well.
S3E3 since we skipped the Dark Tournament we can't have Kurama recruiting old opponents under the guise that they'd be serving Yomi only to turn the tables and reveal that they're all loyal to Yusuke. And besides, it was kind of a waste in the original series to set Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke up on opposing sides and then just instantly resolve the conflict by having Yusuke propose a free-for-all that everyone gets on board with. This could be a great opportunity to have some actual conflict between the three with Yusuke fearing what the other two Kings would do with total control of Demon World, Kurama not wanting to work for Yomi but having to pretend like he does, and Hiei not knowing what he wants.
S3E4 would see the three kingdoms go to war, until Yusuke and his friends learn about Spirit World's plot to pit them all against each other to further their own control of Demon World and convince the kings to set aside their differences and unite to battle Spirit World.
S3E5 would see Spirit World defeated and King Enma overthrown and replaced with Koenma. New policies would be put in place respecting the Demon World's right to self-govern and allow its citizens to travel between worlds. Yusuke and Kurama would finally be able to return home to their loved ones while Hiei would stay in Demon World to be with Mukuro.
#yyh#yu yu hakusho#netflix yyh#netflix yu yu hakusho#spoiler#spoilers#yyh spoilers#yu yu hakusho spoilers#netflix yyh spoilers#netflix yu yu hakusho spoilers
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Penumbra: Unspoken
for Angstpril, Day 2: Loss of Control (alt)
cw: torture, nonsexual nudity, death mentions
masterlist ///// next
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"The Shadow King has fallen."
A phrase on everyone's lips, passed around like a greeting, a blessing, a well-wishing.
"The Shadow King has fallen, and we are free."
General Nisha was at the head of the makeshift procession that paraded through the city, enemy shields and helmets held high like banners.
The war for the kingdom had been waged for five years. The fields outside the city were red with blood. But they'd won, they'd won. The undead legions had met their defeat, and their dark king had been imprisoned and was awaiting trial.
There was little doubt what his fate would be.
But before he could be executed, certain matters needed to be addressed. There were whispers in the streets, rumors of secret blood rituals, fail-safes emplaced by the Dark King to ensure he'd always be able to rise to power again. And if these rumors were true, they must be destroyed.
There were holy mages in cities further from the capital, wise men who could draw truths from a person's mind, but it would be weeks before their arrival. For now, Cerus the Shadow King would face Nisha.
They held a meager feast in the reclaimed castle; the city was still suffering from being besieged. Knights and lords and commoners dined together in celebration. Once the evening had turned to drinking and song, General Nisha took their leave, making the long journey down the stairs, to the dungeons.
Cerus hadn't moved an inch from the spot he'd been left in, Nisha had seen to that personally. The ex-king was blindfolded, chained spread-eagled on the ground with an iron bit in his mouth. Knight's gauntlets had been fitted over his hands, their joints fused together to form immobile metal gloves.
One could never be too careful when dealing with a mage, especially one as powerful as the Shadow King.
Nisha said nothing at first, unlocking the cell door and circling the prisoner inside.
Cerus's breathing quickened at the sound, his long black hair plastered to his face with sweat. He wore nothing but his restraints, leaving the multitude of wounds he'd sustained during his capture plainly visible.
How should they proceed? Normally, allowing a captive mage to speak would be exceedingly dangerous, but Nisha had taken precautions. One of their mages had crafted a runed cuff that would sap Cerus's power. The real question was, how would they get the man to respond?
They knew appealing to Cerus's morality was a lost cause. The former king had no issue razing whole villages to eliminate a single rebel. He'd executed entire families, burned the crops of his own people. There was no hope of finding any humanity in him.
Pain could be a motivator, but it would take time. And they had time, but pain alone wouldn't be enough. Someone like Cerus would need to be wholly broken before he'd give them anything worthwhile. Now fear… fear would be a useful tool, but how to employ it?
Nisha supposed they were already making some headway with their silent circling. Now to heighten it…
They eyed the rack of implements that lined one of the stone walls, selecting a slim wooden rod that looked like it had been freshly cut. Someone had stocked the dungeon for the occasion, then.
They tested it, watching Cerus's chest hitch as it cut through the air with a swish. Good. Instead of bringing it down on his exposed flesh, Nisha resumed their circling, letting the anticipation rise for a long moment before hovering over one of the deeper wounds on the chained man's torso and slowly, slowly forcing the tip of the implement into it, increasing pressure until Cerus was screaming around the bit.
Then without a word, they withdrew, the tip of the rod now slick with blood as they continued circling.
How would it feel, they wondered, to be in the Dark King's place? Dethroned, rendered powerless, in the hands of enemies who were hungry for blood. A prisoner in his own dungeon. They imagined it was terrifying. They hoped it was terrifying.
Nisha stopped, found another wound, and repeated the slow, pressured prodding. None of the cuts that littered Cerus's body were too deep; a few still oozed blood, and a few looked like they'd require stitches—or at least they would were Nisha inclined to grant the man any sort of medical aid. No, if Cerus were to be healed, it would only be to allow more pain. He deserved no mercy.
Nisha allowed themselves a few more jabs, a few more screams elicited from the tyrant, before even bothering to lock the runed cuff onto his wrist. They already knew they'd be up well into the night, whether Cerus elected to respond to their questions or not.
Whatever answers they were granted, they couldn't deny that they were going to enjoy this.
#angstpril2023#day 2#loss of control#alt 7#fic#whump writing#tentative title but i like it :)#cant wait to make cerus suffer more#villain whump#villain whumpee#royal whumpee#fantasy whump#tw torture#angstpril 2023#penumbra: shadow king
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deadly bias in the sith trials
While the Sith Trials have undoubtedly earned their bloody reputation, I don’t think that they are usually quite so bloody as those of the Warrior and Inquisitor. Having a sole survivor out of each batch of seven acolytes – a fatality rate of something in the range of 86% – would quickly leave the Sith outnumbered by the Jedi, which is a bit too stupid evil to be plausible. Overseers Harkun and Tremel are both trying to eliminate the slave-acolytes out of their pools of candidates, which not only results in the former slaves’ deaths but those of the free-born acolytes they aren’t actively trying to get rid of.
Tremel refuses to compromise the integrity of his Trials for both ideological and practical reasons. Interfering to allow the weak to triumph over the strong undermines the justification for having a murderous death gauntlet to weed the weak out in the first place. Watering down his Trials could damage Tremel’s reputation and Baras will obviously never accept an apprentice who was ushered through the Trials on training wheels. So, Tremel continues to ramp up the difficultly of the Trials that he assigns hoping to kill Vemrin, which doesn’t work. More free-born acolytes die until it becomes clear that soon Vemrin will be the only one left, which is when Tremel brings the Warrior in.
Unlike Tremel, Harkun is prepared to sacrifice the integrity of the Trials to push his preferred candidate through – it’s probably one of the reasons why his reputation is poor. Especially since the delivery of his favouritism is incompetent. Adding Ffon Althe to a Trial for a Lord who had stated she was specifically looking for a former slave, depriving him of challenges that would push him beyond his current limits, building an antagonism between Ffon and all the other acolytes who might have decided since they weren’t going to be permitted to survive to graduate they might as well have the satisfaction of murdering the teacher’s pet – it’s no surprise the guy wound up dead.
Having had the Inquisitor succeed too obviously in Lord Zash’s eyes to deny they have become Sith, Harkun would have preferred Zash also take Ffon as her apprentice. In The Final Trial, Lana Beniko makes it out of Tulak Hord’s tomb alongside the former slave Bensyn; given that this Trial was explicitly the last one, Lana’s master presumably took both her and Bensyn as apprentices, so even Harkun must have been forced to allow this in the past. Unfortunately for Ffon, he has failed to prove his worth before Zash, Harkun has annoyed Zash by attempting to foil her efforts to acquire her preferred apprentice, and Zash would probably prefer to keep the number of people who knew the Inquisitor before her planned body-snatch to a minimum.
Vemrin refuses to accept surviving defeat by the Warrior as a possibility, but I don’t believe it’s because there is any official directive against it – after all, the Warrior can convince Baras to give Klemral an out from the Trials by assigning him as Jailer Knash’s underling – rather that Vemrin has internalised the disparate treatment of the ex-slave and alien acolytes compared to their conventional counterparts. Overseers like Tremel and Harkun work to weed out the slave acolytes, dragging the Trials on for as long as it takes to achieve that, so that former slaves can only graduate if all their competition is eliminated. Prospective masters like Baras and Zash allow this. Hence the reason for Vemrin’s violence towards the other acolytes; if he is to live, then they must die. It doesn’t matter if the Warrior believes otherwise because it’s not up to the Warrior, it’s up to Baras, and Baras is complicit in this system.
In “fair” and “normal” Trials, I would expect that there would usually be two to four graduating Sith out of a batch of seven to nine acolytes. Higher ranking Sith presumably get first pick of the successful candidates. Higher ranked Sith also get first pick of which group being overseen by a particular Overseer they will choose survivors from. Taking multiple apprentices together from the same batch is common behaviour among Sith who view it as like hiring new research assistants, gophers, etc after their old group has all died or been promoted out of their direct service.
(No, this isn’t what we see when the Inquisitor recruits Xalek, but that sequence does make it obvious the player is chained to the plot rails. Many Inquisitors would like to reroute the cycle of suffering by immediately electrocuting Harkun and confiscating all the acolytes or take both Xalek and Seferiss as apprentices since the guy who actually managed to complete the Trials like you did should be at least as attractive as the guy waiting to jump him when he gets back but nooo.)
I think there is also an established out that Overseers can take advantage of to shuffle acolytes who have already passed some Trials but won’t make it through all of them away to work somewhere. Klemral can be assigned to Knash in the prison; Alif can be sent to apprentice under a Sith on Dromund Kaas as witness protection. This would be a useful tool for Overseers who are assigned an acolyte who they don’t want to have die on their watch – because, for example, the acolyte has a relative on the Dark Council – but whom they are also unable to push into success. While some families would absolutely tell their offspring to return a Sith or not return at all, others probably send theirs along with a note for the Overseer reading “When my useless son fails send him back to me so he can assist with my botany projects since that is all he will ever be good for.” An embarrassing failure for the acolyte, and one that many would rather die in the Trials than face, but a relief for others.
#Meanwhile in a Galaxy Far Far Away#swtor meta#the Sith Trials#Overseer Tremel#Overseer Harkun#Korriban Sith Academy#star wars the old republic#murder cw#character death cw
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Hi! I'm very new to the overwatch Fandom and am currently obsessing over your fan kids (specifically Seye bc I don't see a lot of doom content and I love him) ANYWAY, doomfist does die, right? If so, who is it that kills him, and how do Seye and his mother react? I did read the post about Seye eventually destroying the doomfist with some help, but am super curious about some of what happens in between and after :>
Wow! Asks that make me dig through my ancient 'Marsey' tag.
To be honest, I used to be SUPER protective and vague when it came to stuff at this stage of the story I wanted to tell with my fankids, and was also being sadly dangled along by Blizzard's breadcrumbs of lore---I was in a dance with Blizzard where, I did have a very strong idea of how I wanted the story to end, but I was also dependent on Blizzard for canon lore so that I could make my ending the most accurate, the most satisfying. But seeing as there's basically only lore drops now because Blizzard no longer gives a shit about continuity or quality, and basically the cast has expanded so much since I initially plotted it out that I'll probably have to reconfigure this ending in some capacity anyway, I can talk about it now.
Basically there were two avenues I could have taken with Doomfist, the first one, that actually had those Marsey fics, where it was basically a 'continuation' of the Doomfist cycle, that is, some guy challenges Doomfist for the gauntlet and is able to kill him and take the gauntlet, which obviously puts Seye into a lurch as Doomfist's son and the previously assumed successor. I literally didn't have a name for this would-be killer, and in a way, it didn't really matter because you as the reader weren't supposed to see Doomfist's killer as the rightful bearer of the mantle and Seye's whole arc would be defeating this guy (with Marti's help) and then basically shutting down the weird Metal Gear-esque war cult that's risen around the Doomfist gauntlet as a symbol.
The other option was that Doomfist would be killed in the Final Battle™ at Nepal by... drumroll... Junkrat and Roadhog. NOW BEFORE YOU YELL AT ME, Junkrat and Roadhog would also die in this fight. Roadhog would die before Junkrat, but Junkrat would basically be talking to a very clearly bled-out-past-the-point-of-no-return-and-unconscious Roadie like, "It's okay, Roadie, you can take a nap. I can wrap this up," Before pulling all of the pins on all the grenades on his little chest harness while clinging onto Doomfist. Okay you can yell at me more now. But mostly I loved the combination of dramatic irony of Doomfist being consumed in these fires of chaos, and of the ~Junkers~ of all people going out in a blaze of glory against one of Overwatch's Final Bosses. I had this in my brain for years before Junkrat even got his "I killed the Doomfist!!" elimination line, btw. Doomfist views conflict as its own sort of order, but ends up getting killed by the wacky Mad Max randos who have kind of been the comic relief this whole time. Basically the fact that the Doomfist gauntlet itself would also be destroyed in this kind of fight would aslo be the thing that ends the cycle. That was also the battle that was vaguely referenced in this fic.
In both potential deaths for Doomfist, Seye becomes disillusioned enough with Talon as an organization to basically split off and form his own splinter mercenary organization (I was going to use my Talon Goon OC's as his starting lineup, haha), and he also attempts to create his own mantle as "Earthshaker" but he's still deeply affected by Doomfist's death because that's so much of his identity and he's had this enormous fear of irrelevance all of his life. Like this isn't just the grief of losing a father, this is the threat of oblivion that he's dreaded his entire life. As for Seye's mother, Tejuka, it's less of a blow to her--she more or less came to terms with the fact that Doomfist really doesn't have the philosophy or lifestyle to "go peacefully in his sleep," and that's one of the reasons why they divorced and she put so much effort into grooming Seye to actually be the successor of Ogundimu Prosthetics. Dying is easy, living's harder, etc, etc.
#overwatch#doomfist#son of doomfist#A SEYE FAN OH MY GOD YAAAAAY#Me: I love stories of healing and redemption!!#also me: I have to kill off the Junkers because they're Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
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What is your favourite Doctor Who story?
ROUND 1 MASTERPOST
synopses and propaganda under the cut
The Queen of Time
Synopsis
Somewhere outside our universe, she is waiting.
A god-like immortal, living in a realm of clocks. The hours tick slowly by as she plots and plans. She is readying her trap. A trap for a very special man in a very special police box.
Hecuba has all the time in the world. But for the Doctor, time is running out.
Propaganda
It's a really interesting lost story in the vein of The Celestial Toymaker, where the Doctor is held captive at the world's worst dinner party while his friends are forced through a gauntlet of time-themed traps and puzzles. (6&7)
Paradise 5
Synopsis
The Doctor and Peri visit the planet Targos Delta to check in on old friend Professor Albrecht Thompson, only to discover that he has vanished. He was last sighted taking a shuttle to the holiday resort of Paradise 5, then never seen again.
The Doctor's curiosity is piqued. They must investigate, but they must do so stealthily...Peri will go undercover on Paradise 5, while the Doctor hides in the shadows. Because paradise holds a terrible secret beneath the white marble and golden trimmings. The mute Cherubs have a story to tell. And the Elohim are coming.
Beware.
Propaganda
Peri finally gets to be the star of the show! Really really good episode for her! (@finalpam8000 )
The Elite
Synopsis
The Doctor offers Tegan and Nyssa a trip to the paradise world of Florana, but instead the TARDIS takes them to a domed city on a planet scarred by warfare. A world where everyone is young, and fighting for the glory of the Elite...
Hidden away in the Cathedral of Power, the High Priest is watching. It knows the Doctor, and his arrival changes everything... (anonymous)
Propaganda
The best Dalek story never made. (@finalpam8000 )
I am the Master
Synopsis
There is a message for you. It comes from a long way, from a dying world. No, not a dying world. A killed world. And the message is from the killer.
Please attend carefully. The message that follows is vital to your future...
However much longer that may be.
Propaganda
the master has a fun time :) (anonymous)
Forever Fallen
Synopsis
Until now, an offered chance from the Doctor has never stopped the villain's schemes.
Until now, the android armies, the powerful space stations, the mind-control rays, have gone unchecked to disastrous effect.
Until now...
...But then what happens?
Propaganda no propaganda submitted
A Full Life
Synopsis
Adric's life is full of death. His parents died when he was a child. His brother died a few months ago. Now, travelling with the Doctor and Romana, everywhere he visits, people die. But now they have arrived on Veridis. And on Veridis, the dead come back...
Propaganda
It made me break down into tears. (@finalpam8000 )
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Sangheili Bracket Round 1 Match 26
More info below:
Voro Nar 'Mantakree:
Debuted in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
Born June 9th, 2487, he would rise to the rank of Major and be assigned to the Incorruptible. During the Flood outbreak on High Charity, the Incorruptible's shipmaster - Tano 'Inanraree - would delusionally believe that the Flood were masterpieces of gods and attempted to get everyone on the ship infected. Before he could, however, Voro would kill him with a Needler - something which should have had him killed as heresy, but instead the entire crew agreed it had to be done and held him up as the new shipmaster. Meanwhile, Incorruptible would be attacked by the Jiralhanae-commanded Tenebrous and Twilight Compunction, causing Voro to use Lawgiver as a shield in the ensuing space battle. Tenebrous would be destroyed whilst Twilight Compunction made a temporary retreat, allowing Voro to continue attempted to eliminate any Flood-controlled ships whilst briefly creating a short truce between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae to deal with the parasite. Once the Jiralhanae attacked again, Voro ordered Incorruptible to make a slipspace jump to escape the "madness". They would arrive at the world Joyous Exultation, intercepting a wayward transmission regarding Spartans taking control of Jiralhanae ship Bloodied Spirit. Then, Voro would take part in a meeting organized by Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree, expressing the opinion that the Flood were the most dire threat and the parasite could not be allowed to escape Halo. His dissent should have had him killed, but Xytan instead acknowledged the Flood threat. Next in the meeting, an intercepted transmission would be played, revealing that Spartans had been responsible for the destruction of the first discovered Halo Ring. Gaining the addition of "Nar" to his name, Voro was appointed Fleet Master of the Second Fleet of Homogenous Clarity and instructed to go to Onyx to protect the relics there and kill the Spartans present. His fleet left just in time to escape a sudden detonation of a NOVA bomb, destroying a majority of the ships above Joyous Exultation and killing Xytan in the process. Arriving at Onyx, they would make contact with the Forerunner Sentinels there, who then denied them access to the shield world and destroyed one of the fleet's ships - Far Sight Lost. Battle between the fleet and the Sentinels would commence, while Absolution was ordered to make a slipspace jump to Onyx's northern pole only to be destroyed by a suddenly appearing wave of Sentinels. Voro would try and figure out how the Sentinels could travel so suddenly and so fast, while the rest of the Sentinels would finally be destroyed. Yet once in atmosphere, they strangely came across more Sentinels that no longer harbored hostilities towards them. Upon the sighting of familiar Forerunner scriptures, Voro ordered a pulse of the Greeting of the Ancients on the off-chance that any living Forerunners were around - and instead picked up the signal from Bloodied Spirit, tracking it in order to lead an assault against the Spartans that made it onto Onyx. In the meantime, he discovered the core room antechamber. Then, the assault would begin, with Voro given the unorthodox order for troops to carry Kig-Yar point defense gauntlets. He would directly led the second wave into battle, reaching the center of the core room antechamber. There, he came across the mortally wounded Kurt Ambrose - Spartan-051. As he prepared to give the Spartan an honorable death, everyone would be killed by FENRIS nuclear warheads that Kurt had triggered remotely - allowing the other Spartans to escape with their lives. Whilst Voro died Nov. 3rd, 2552, he is survived by two brothers - Y'zaht and Delo - who currently serve as trusted lieutenants to Sali 'Nyon in his Covenant faction.
Gek 'Lhar:
Debuted in Halo 4: Spartan Ops
Born Oct. 19th, 2499 on an island, he led a group of salvagers following the end of the Covenant. At the same time, he also worked for Jul 'Mdama, being tasked with securing weapons and ships for his Covenant faction. Because of his absence from home, his keep became scattered across the Sanghelios continent of Kaepra.
In January 2557, he and his crew would ambush the salvage crew led by Ram Chalva, taking Ram prisoner. Following this, they would then arrive at Laconia due to stories of Radiant Perception - a ship still full of many Mgalekgolo left behind from the Human-Covenant war. Shortly after their arrival, Ace of Spades appeared for their own goal of finding a log buoy on the same ship. Once he became aware of the human presence, he used Ram Chalva to bait them into becoming exposed to being fired upon. When the humans rescued Ram and escaped the system, Gek ordered a pursuit, following them to Arcadia and then Etran Harborage. However, he arrive to Etran Harborage before them, allowing him to set an ambush. When Rion Forge and Cade McDonough arrived to explore the ancient structure Gek chose, he attacked them, with Rion forced to have to face him alone. During this fight, a voice from a nearby console - Little Bit - would speak up to address specifically Rion, both to Gek's awe and anger. A bit later into the skirmish, he would drive his sword into Cade's chest, causing Rion to retaliate by shooting a bullet that sliced his left eye and caused permanent blindness there. As he prepared to kill her, Rion flashed a grenade and threatened to kill them both, causing Gek to back off for now, taking a luminary and Cade's dog tags as he left.
Towards the end of that same year in December, Gek would launch a terrorist attack on Earth. Unbeknownst to him, Rion learned of this and warned Fireteam Apollo ahead of time, in the hopes his capture would end the bounty he placed on the Ace of Spades crew. He would be detained and interrogated at ONI's infamous detention center - the Midnight Facility - only to successfully escape in Feb. 2558.
Shortly after his escape, he would arrive at Requiem to take part in the campaign there. He was tasked by Jul with watching over the captured Dr. Glassman and his work in helping activating their Forerunner "shrine". Once Glassman caused a reaction within the shrine, a distraction would be caused that allowed the human to escape, with Gek being held back by Jul in attempting to pursue him. This was so Jul could chastise him for the situation occurring in the first place. Gek would then go on to give chase; thinking Glassman still had on his explosive harness, he activated the remote detonator, but would later find that it only killed some Sangheili whilst Glassman escaped unharmed. He would go on to track Glassman and his rescuer - Spartan Gabriel Thorne - to the "Quarry", attacking them whilst invisible. A fight would break out with rocks being used as weapons, with Glassman's arm being crushed and Thorne becoming stunned. However, the two men were spared death by the arrival of Fireteam Majestic, with Spartan Paul DeMarco shooting Gek in the back. His corpse would then be looted by the Spartans, allowing a holographic map of Requiem to fall into human hands.
#halo#halo aliens#sangheili#halo sangheili#halo elite#halo elites#halo fandom#halo tumblr#tumblr bracket#tumblr tournament#voro nar mantakree#voro mantakree#voro nar 'mantakree#voro 'mantakree#gek lhar#gek 'lhar
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Debts
Prompt: You wake up in bed to find a masked figure armed with a knife stood next to you. After a moment, they speak; "Hello. I won't waste your time, so I'll make things simple for you. Just say the name of a person you hate, and I will make sure that they're dead by the end of the month, no charge."
Prompt Source: user Paper_Shotgun; subreddit “Writing Prompts”
I blinked. Magic? Magic, I decided, considering the gauntlet this stranger would have had to get past: two dogs, four familiars, one surprisingly sharp-clawed coward cat, plus the combat-trained Dojo protégé in the living room, at least two ghost cats, my Garden, the Neighbors most Gentle who got a share of all my garden's produce, the Corvid Flock headed by the paired cawthers-in-law, my mother in law-Ent, my demon-dragon child, and finally my Demon Prince other husband just to reach my narcoleptic bedside. Probably dream casting, given the lack of wounds and blood.
"Watch out for the dragon," was what I said first, as I scootched up in bed to rest against my pillows.
"What? Is the dragon whom you hate most?"
"No, but he tends to visit our child and spice in dreams. He's very powerful, and doesn't much like strangers in his family's dreamscapes."
"Ma'am-"
"I don't hate any individual people deeply enough to desire their deaths, I'm afraid," I interrupted, watching the face under the mask and feeling gratified when confusion shifted to fear. Ah. This assassin owed my family something.
"I hate things. I rail against institutional racism; I despise capitalistic greed, I hate the need that some people have to trample down everyone around them to sit on top instead of working together to build something greater and help their neighbors. I hate to be micromanaged- I sometimes hate that my brain chemicals won't let me do the things I want to do. But generally, I do not hate people. So I cannot simply name a person, you see. It would be a lie."
The stranger shifted from foot to foot, looking anxious now. Perhaps it was the wingbeats in the distance making them nervy.
"Very well then," they blurted, quickly, "name one thing you wish to see eliminated from the world within a year. No charge."
Oh, that was easy. Of all the things I despised, one held highest sway. "Poverty; manufactured, abject, without recourse- every variety."
"It will be done within 365 days," they said, eyes glowing and voice dripping with relief.
"I look forward to seeing your work," I replied.
‐------------------------
"I woke up feeling ridiculously tired," I complained over breakfast, pouting at my bagel.
"Well the cats yowled for almost twenty minutes and set off the dogs, and Nightmare visited last night. Maybe your sleep was broken," Hyde said from next to me. "It woke up Night Shift."
"I heard the snarling!" the living room confirmed chirpily. Our spice must be knee-deep in killing a boss or something to be that cheerful this early.
"And I wouldn't remember because fuckin' narcolepsy," I grumbled. "Maybe. In the meantime what did I hear on the news?"
"Oh they're FINALLY overhauling the welfare and food stamp system- you know how we always said someone should make the lawmakers live on their own welfare budget and then say if it's enough? Someone snuck that into law and they just realized it after the bill was ratified, it starts today!"
"Oh my god this is gonna be hilarious AND we'll be able to afford groceries again! Cuz you know the lawmakers ain't gonna like it when they realize you can't buy toilet paper or band aids on food stamps!"
"I know right? Death to capitalism's manufactured poverty!"
"Death to poverty! Hey that sounds familiar, maybe that's what I dreamed of?"
I laughed that silly thought off and dug into breakfast feeling somehow much more energized.
#it's fine the author is just self-inserting again#writing prompts#poverty#fantasy#magical defenses#silvawrites#it is dangerous to owe a demon#but choosing ME to set the payment instead?#Oh you played yourself you poor thing
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How does Thanos intend to deal with the gems? I feel like unless he specifically targets all three diamond’s during the snap to deprive the Diamond Authority of more essence, they’ll just regrow their numbers in no time
There's a couple of key factors to remember here:
a) Thanos' whole ethos rests on the premise that his extermination of life is fair, unbiased, and random. When he Decimates a planet, his forces take a tally of all the combatants they've killed, and from the people remaining on the planet, he randomly selects enough to fulfill the 50% requirement - no more and no less than half the population count before the hostilities started. Even if it made his life easier, he wouldn't introduce any caveats to his wish when using the Infinity Gauntlet - not even to spare himself.
b) Thanos doesn't intend to rule the galaxy after the Snap or anything like that. His only concern re: the Gem Empire is whether or not they'll stand in his way before he gets all six Stones.
c) Production-wise, the Gem Empire actually isn't doing too hot right now; without Pink Diamond, and with Blue Diamond "moping all over the Local Cluster", as Yellow might put it, Homeworld is unable to produce fully capable Gems (like Peridot, who can't shape-shift), with some models (like Amethysts!) even getting entirely phased out due to Pink's death. If Thanos successfully committed pan-galactic genocide, it would set the Gems back thousands upon thousands of years - and if it happened to eliminate one of the Diamonds as well, it might permanently destabilize the Empire.
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Serious sam 2 pc download
Steamworks for online play - It eliminates the need for Gamespy for online play since the service has been announced to be officially closed.We suggest you try the file list with no filter applied, to browse all available. No files were found matching the criteria specified. It can be played in both singleplayer and multiplayer. Co-Op and Deathmatch Chaos - Go to war against Mental’s horde with up to 16 players online and annihilate everything that moves across 45 levels of mayhem or drop the gauntlet and face off in brutal Deathmatch. The demo of Serious Sam 2 features 1 mission called Seriousopolis Uptown.Helpful Native NPCs - Meet different races inhabiting environments and even fight side by side against enemies, to experience an additional bit of cooperative play feeling within the single player campaign.Powerful Turrets and Crazy Vehicles - Use powerful turrets to wipe out the relentless hordes of enemies and engage in heart-thumping action atop wild, mountable animals and intense, death-dealing vehicles.
Also, for the first time ever, use the alternative fire button to lob a grenade into an oncoming crowd of monsters and what the bad guys go boom!
Destructive Weapons - Unleash Sam’s classic arsenal with the shotgun, minigun, rocket launcher, and cannon or square off with new guns like the Klodovik.
Spectacular Environments - Battle across more than 40 beautiful, expansive levels spread out over 7 unique environments and gain the support of the quirky native tribes.
Fearsome Enemy Creatures - Take up arms against 45 outrageous enemies and 7 intimidating bosses from bomb-toting clowns and windup rhinos to zombie stockbrokers and the iconic beheaded kamikazes!.
Frantic Arcade-Style Action - Hold down the trigger and lay waste to a never-ending onslaught of bizarre enemies pursuing Sam from every angle and around every corner.
Serious Sam 2 is a shot of adrenaline to the hearts of first-person shooter fans across the world. You can read our thoughts on the game over here.About This Game The iconic Serious Sam brings his trademark relentless intensity to this bigger, bolder, more colorful sequel to the classic Serious Sam: First and Second Encounters! Tasked with rescuing the universe one bullet at a time against overwhelming hordes of time traveling enemies, Serious Sam must battle through thick jungles, murky swamps, frozen tundra, and futuristic cities to bring down Mental and his vile armies. Their latest entry, Serious Sam 4, was released last year and it received a positive reception from fans. It’s nice to see Croteam revisit their old games. This is serious Key Features: Frantic Arcade-Style Action - Hold down the trigger and lay waste to a never-ending onslaught of bizarre enemies pursuing Sam from every angle and around every corner. You can read the complete patch notes over here. Serious Sam 2 is a shot of adrenaline to the hearts of first-person shooter fans across the world.
Recreated beam gun animations to improve the bring up/put down animations.
Moved Netricsa icon up so it's not as close to the Armor text.
Reduced spacing of characters in the conversation text.
Removed darkening overlay from the loading menu.
Raised tool throwing Simba's target marker locations to fix items sometimes getting stuck on the model they stand on.
Created a new version of the lock texture.
Brought back the "Use auto jump" profile option.
Brought back original Serious Bomb mesh.
Brought back the original display for the minigun.
Made the gear on the side of the minigun spin.
Fixed an issue where the Albino would not spawn after you activate the Ursul Gardens chicken secret.
Fixed missing materials and other issues on new DM maps.
Moved Rocket launchers further apart in the first-person view to stop them from colliding when dual wielding.
Fixed helicopters colliding in Greendale.
We won’t list them here because we are ashamed of their existence.
Recreated fonts to fix missing characters (All translations should work fine now).
Fixed an issue where the serious bomb ammo would carry over even when you lose your weapons.
Fixed improper order of outro movies to the statistics menu.
Fixed an issue that allowed the player to pull out weapons while driving.
Fixed issue with “InSamnity! 2” stopping levels from loading.
You know that feeling when you’re dual-wielding cannons and shoot yourself in the face? Well, it’s not going to happen anymore.
The profile options will now initialize and save correctly.
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Yomaru Daichi/Hunter Reinhart
Name: Hunter Reinhart (birth name), Yomaru Daichi (renamed)
Hair color: Dark
Eye color: Hazel gold
Species: Human clone
Family: Arthur Watts (creator), Hazel Rainart (template/father), Yatsuhashi Daichi (adoptive father), Gretchen Reinhart (genetic aunt)
Occupation: Member of Team KYTE, Member of the Resistance, Salem's follower (formerly)
Affiliation: Team KYTE, Atlas Military, Resistance
Weapon: Hot-shot (gauntlets and guns)
Semblance: Numbing Agent
Significant other: Kali Belladonna II
Biography:
After the death of Hazel Rainart, one of Salem's former followers, Dr. Arthur Watts had managed to collect a sample of Hazel's DNA in order to create an enhanced soldier that will bend to Salem's will and commands.
Arthur created a clone of Hazel, named Hunter Rainart, but before the mind process can be completed, Hunter (at age 6) would break out of his imprisonment and shackles and runs away from the outskirts of Shinegure, the location and source of his creation.
Hunter would end up lost and nowhere to go. That is when Yatsuhashi Daichi, a former student of Beacon Academy and member of the Resistance against Salem's armies, found the cloned boy and took him in as his own, renaming him: Yomaru Daichi.
Despite having a bond with his new adoptive father, Yomaru would spend the rest of his life having nightmares about Salem and Watts, being young, he did not understand the purpose of his creation. But sees himself as a curse.
Yomaru would then begin training to become a huntsmen. But there was one incident that would change his life, during his manhunt on one of the Black Vipers, Corsac Albain, he fired flame dust on Yomaru, as it pierced through his skin.
Yomaru would then unlock his semblance, and attack Corsac as he was uncontrollably enraged, almost killing Corsac, until General Winter Schnee intervenes. Yomaru would then be approached by Yatsu, who explains the commotion and about his newfound semblance. Yomaru then decides to never again use his semblance, fearing he would bring harm to anyone, even towards an enemy.
In the next mission, he was to retrieve the relic of time. A special relic in the mysterious fifth kingdom that was unknown. But he was ambushed by Kali Belladonna II, a member of the White Fang.
Kali was assigned by Adam Taurus to eliminate him for betraying Salem. After Yomaru defeated Kali, she accepted defeat, fearing she disgraced the White Fang and asked him to kill her. But Yomaru refused, and told her that the encounter never took place. As if nothing had happened. They departed on neutral terms after this.
Yomaru's thoughts about Kali had began to run in his mind. Kali, once again hunted him down to "redeem herself" after receiving backlash from Adam. Although Kali successfully captured Yomaru, she became relevant to kill him after Adam ordered her to do so. Instead, Kali releases him and they fought off the White Fang together with Erina Albain.
Yomaru would then bond with Kali and they fell in love in the process. Then Yomaru digged in more of his past and found out he was a clone of Hazel Reinhart, a former subordinate of Salem. And was horrified to find out that he was supposed to serve her. Kali, Erina, and Tide Vasilias would then find Yomaru in the ruins of Shinegure. Yomaru feared that they would reject him for being a "monster."
But the three assure him that the past does not define who he is, as long as he chose a path. The four became known as Team KYTE after joining the resistance.
Personality:
Yomaru, born Hunter Reinhart, he was a peace lover and an incredible fighter who believes in justice. He has a familial bond with his adoptive father, Yatsuhashi Daichi. And was proud to have him as a father.
Yomaru would take on a mission to take on the White Fang and the Black Vipers without question. But suffers nightmares about Watts and Salem that he began to question himself about his past. Leaving him doubtful if he was ever human.
Upon meeting Kali Belladonna II, a member of the White Fang, whose mission was to kill him. But seeing Kali cannot bring herself to kill Yomaru, he sees himself in Kali as she feared being disgraced.
Despite being in enemy lines, both he and Kali grew fond of each other and fell in love with her. But knowing the White Fang will not take Kali's defection lightly, he will watch her back after she was made leader of Team KYTE.
#rwby#rwby fanfic#rwby volume 4#rwby next gen#hazel rainart#hunter rainart#rwby hazel#yomaru daichi#rwby oc
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Elimination Death Gauntlet!
#mystery bracket#elimination death gauntlet#kitties#cats#slime#nimona#nimona film#nimona netflix#nimona 2023#nimona ballister#spamton#spamton g spamton#deltarune#deltarune chapter 2#deltarune chapter two#rain world#rainworld spoilers#rain world spoilers#rw spoilers
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While Yang is an allusion to the fairytale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", I don't believe she's the titular character.
Modern audiences fixate on the Rule of Three and its middle path (just right) corollary, owing to a later writer altering the main character from an old woman (silver-haired) into a pretty little girl (golden-haired), but in all versions of the tale and its oral predecessors, the moral is: don't be a self-absorbed squatter and thief. Goldilocks trespasses, damages property, steals food, uses the stool and/or bed. She's so entitled and inconsiderate, that she robs a baby. While later versions soften the impact by turning the main character into a somewhat unwitting child, Goldilocks is nevertheless the villain of the story. One must judge by actions, not appearances.
European folktales that invoke bears usually mean the eurasian brown bear, known in America as the grizzly or kodiak. They're often golden brown, with long dense fur, including a mane along the neck. Asian variants often have a bib of paler russet along the neck, mimicking a bandana. They're kind of infamous for eating honey due to their tolerance of bee stings. The females can be fiercely overprotective of their cubs, sometimes needlessly fighting to the death.. All told, the brown bear is one of the largest, most dangerous land predators of the northern hemisphere, a true... beast.
Yes, the Gold trailer presents Yang as Goldilocks. She invades Junior's (baby bear) house, trashes the place in her quest of a personal goal, hurting him the worst. Except, listen to her song, the threatening and aggressive lyrics. Notice how she drops the entire persona in a heartbeat once she encounters Ruby outside. Just as the opening quote warned the audience, we cannot judge Yang by obvious appearance.
Yang only superficially resembles Goldilocks, because hair color isn't that character's defining trait. Though she's blonde, Yang's primary color is brown: light brown, dark brown, nearly black brown, russets and golds. Fun fact, in some older languages, the words for bear, brown, bronze and burnished (shining) share common roots. She's a close-contact melee fighter who hits hard, which is how a bear fights, standing on its hind legs to batter an opponent. In silhouette, Yang's extended gauntlets even make her arms look like chunky, clawed paws. (Slowly leans over to fistbump Beauty and the Beast in one direction, and even more slowly to high-five The Jungle Book in another).
So, what RWBY character hangs around in the woods to invade homes, robbing people of their resources, bringing down ursae in her wake, and is reviled for hurting (discarding) a baby? Who was systematically hunted down by that grown baby, and revealed to be a selfish, frightened woman who had never been worth the effort? And if I'm right about Yang's primary character allusion, it dovetails neatly into Beauty and the Beast, as well.
Indeed, Yang's Emerald Forest meeting with Blake combines the two fairytales. Yang fights two ursae instead of three because she herself is baby bear. The second ursa is eliminated by Blake, a faunus (beast) who becomes Yang's concept of just right, functioning as baby bear to Yang's nominal Goldilocks. Yang's eventual character development takes her from too aggressive, to passive, from feigned cheerfulness to PTSD depression, until she reaches equilibrium as an adult. Blake is also a foil to Raven, but the good, polite, respectful version of Goldilocks transmutes into Belle, and an adult brown bear is the Beast.
TL;DR: Yang is Baby Bear to Raven's Goldilocks, but as an adult bear, becomes the Beast to Blake's Belle.
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Wen Ruohan/Wei Wuxian?🍉
Forked Path - ao3
“You did me a favor, and I intend to repay that,” Wen Ruohan said, adjusting one of his gauntlets in irritation – more at the fact that he was sinking back into that old nervous tic, a tell that he’d thought he’d eliminated years ago than at the actual request, ridiculous as it was. “But to confirm, you’re certain that this is what you want? It’s not in my nature to stop midway, so if you have any hesitations, exercise them now or not at all.”
The two rogue cultivators looked at each other and after a few moments of clear silent communication and struggle, they looked back at him and nodded. The man did so reluctantly - Wen Ruohan looked at his wife, the immortal mountain’s disciple, and her nod was far more firm.
“Very well,” he said, lips twisting in distaste. He hated owing people favors, especially when they rejected his preferred counter-offer to graciously allow them to work for his sect, but he wasn’t yet so ungracious that he wouldn’t live up to something he had to do. “We are therefore agreed: in the event both of you die prematurely, I will take your son into my sect to be raised therein, rather than allow him to be raised alone outside or in the Jiang sect."
He paused, frowning. "To be clear, however, I am not going to raise him myself! He’ll be brought up among one of the branch families.”
Dafan Wen had some kids around the same age, didn’t they? That was pretty out of the way. With luck, he could avoid having to see the brat at all…and that was all assuming that these two died, of course. Still, based on their level of certainty and the association of the immortal mountain with divination, Wen Ruohan was going to assume a worst-case scenario was likely to occur.
“That’s fine,” the man said, his voice oddly sarcastic. “We don’t expect you to do more for us than you do for your own children.”
That pricked at Wen Ruohan’s pride, since he didn’t have a conscience to be affected.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked with a frown. He had two sons of his own, and they were being raised perfectly well by his wives, as far as he knew. It wasn’t really his concern until they were old enough to actually start getting started in cultivation, swordsmanship, or even the scholarly arts, at which point he would naturally take over their education with the assistance of many able tutors – he was far too busy to waste time with them, squalling brats that they undoubtedly were, until then.
“Nothing,” the woman said, and she looked amused – he almost suspected she was amused at his expense. “After all, with hard work, even the sharpest sword can be ground down into a needle.”
That wasn’t how that idiom went at all, but Wen Ruohan was too lazy to correct her.
Later, though, after they’d left, her words kept pricking at him in the same matter as idiomatic needle – it occurred to him that he didn’t much like his wives, even though the connections they’d brought to his sect were exceedingly beneficial. It was said that where there was a father, there was a son, the two invariably resembling each other, and he’d assumed that that would be the case here…but on the other hand, if he left all the initial raising of his sons to those wives he didn’t like, wasn’t he risking them raising the children to be just like theminstead of him? Grinding down his sons’ edges, so to speak?
That would be utterly unacceptable.
He was so busy, though. Beyond his own cultivation, his sect now controlled over a third of the cultivation world, and he was ambitious to raise that to half, and then perhaps even further. How could he waste time on something as pointless as taking care of small children?
On the other hand, he supposed that in the long run he’d actually be saving time if he at least made sure they were raised up right. After all, he’d always assumed that his two sons would be his right and left hands, his able aides capable of enacting his will, and obviously it would be a disaster to find out later on that they’d been spoiled rotten or rendered stupid....
No, he was sure his arrangement was fine. How much damage could his wives do in just a few years?
…perhaps it wouldn’t be that bad an idea to check in on them.
Just to make sure.
He definitely wasn’t going to raise that stupid Wei boy, though. Favors had limits!
-
“Your accomplishments do you credit,” Wen Ruohan said to Wen Qing, and even meant it the way he didn’t mean most of the things he was forced to say at these stupid discussion conferences.
After all, Wen Qing was of his bloodline, if distantly – Dafan Wen was a branch family – but at any rate, they shared a surname, and it was sheer pleasure watching her put all those other ‘promising’ young masters in their place. Anything that added a sheen of glory to his sect was a good thing.
She saluted deeply, trying to hide the way she was beaming, and Wen Ruohan wondered once again if it was time to bring her back to the Nightless City as his ward instead of leaving her out in the wilderness with the rest of Dafan Wen. To get the sort of medical skills she had at her age showed promise and talent, and he needed people of promise and talent, especially ones with his surname, if he were going to make good on his intention to conquer the cultivation world.
He would’ve brought her back years ago, in fact, except that Sect Leader Nie said that children were fidgety, flighty creatures that were bad at dealing with change and that he’d be better off sending medical texts and tutors to Dafan Wen rather than bring Wen Qing back to the Nightless City over her father’s protests. Normally, Wen Ruohan would have disregarded advice he didn’t like and proceed with his own intentions regardless, but Sect Leader Nie had been helping him deal with his own sons ever since he’d reclaimed them from his wives, who he’d discovered had been ruining them, and it seemed unwise to dispute with him regarding matters of child-rearing at that point. After all, if he wanted Wen Xu to end up as even half the son that it looked like that Nie Mingjue was going to be, he needed the man’s expertise, and that meant making compromises, irritating as it was.
Compromises like not just killing Wen Qing’s father for refusing to hand over his children, despite it being easier to accomplish. Or not killing Sect Leader Nie himself, no matter how irritating the man was, because now his sons loved that old bastard.
(Wen Ruohan had spitefully decided to get back at Sect Leader Nie by spoiling his youngest son, who seemed at first glance to be more like the lazy scholarly type, beyond belief. It seemed to be working very well so far, including in causing Sect Leader Nie no end of frustration at his extremely clever-when-it-came-to-evading-work second son; Wen Ruohan, satisfied, viewed this result as being wholly due to his own efforts.)
“How did you find that talisman you mentioned in your last paper?” he asked Wen Qing lazily. “I hadn’t seen it before. Was it in one of the books I sent, or somewhere else?”
In truth, that had been the most interesting aspect of the presentation from his perspective – he didn’t have either talent or interest in medical cultivation, but he could recognize firepower when he saw it. Just because the talisman worked on disrupting things at a very small level for medical reasons didn’t mean it couldn’t be repurposed for larger things…
“Oh, no, Wei Wuxian invented it,” Wen Qing said. “He used it to blow stuff up until I convinced him to make a smaller version for me.”
“Wei Wuxian?” Wen Ruohan asked, frowning, and then recalled – ah, yes, the Wei boy. His parents had died some five or eight years back, if he recalled correctly, and he’d had to go fetch him pursuant to that old agreement; it had been extremely annoying at the time. He’d been in the middle of a very nasty argument with Sect Leader Nie at the time, the one that had led him to think his most serious thoughts to date of eliminating the man entirely, and then, just as he’d been on the cusp of making a decision, he’d received word of the deaths of Cangse Sanren and her husband Wei Changze.
Naturally, he needed to find and recover their son as he’d promised long ago, which given how unreliable reports of the location of rogue cultivators was naturally became a colossal waste of time, but on the bright side it had at least given him a chance to vent his spleen and get out some of his rage on something other than wringing Sect Leader Nie’s neck. It turned out that Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze had died in some obscure night hunt in Yiling, but figuring that out had all but taken a full-scale canvass of six different territories – and then Sect Leader Jiang, who hadn’t bothered to do anything near the same level of search and had opted to search the various towns individually on his own, as if that would ever work, had tried to leapfrog off the back of his hard work, thinking he could just thank him and take the boy away just like that.
Wen Ruohan had refused, of course – he had the parents’ personal request, and that outweighed Wei Changze having been a former servant of the Jiang sect or Cangse Sanren being possibly a former lover of their sect leader – and it had turned into something of a political mess for a while.
That had been where he’d gotten most of the venting out, actually.
Sect Leader Nie had sided with him in that fight, though, rather viciously, and by the end of it all Wen Ruohan was reminded of why exactly it was that the man was a useful ally to have around. He’d also forgotten what exactly they’d been fighting about, but he wasn’t going to admit that, so he just magnanimously forgave him. It had all turned out rather all right, and Wen Ruohan had put the boy out of his mind shortly thereafter.
Why would he come up now, all of a sudden?
No, wait, he’d sent him to Dafan Wen, just as he’d planned. And of course Wen Qing was from the main branch of Dafan Wen as well – she would’ve been raised with Wei Wuxian as a little brother.
“How is he doing?” he asked, more out of etiquette than actual interest, but Wen Qing lit up and started talking about how her little shidi was a verifiable genius, and so good with her actual younger brother, and whatnot. Wen Ruohan nodded, pretending he was listening, and cast his eyes around the rest of the discussion conference, looking for a distraction – there was Sect Leader Nie, who was generally good for a laugh, but he was scolding that second son of his for failing one of Lan Qiren’s classes and having to be sent a second time over. Jiang Fengmian was comforting him, telling him that he was sending his son as well this year, and of course Jin Guangshan’s heir was of age as well, and would undoubtedly be going, too…
Hmm.
“If he’s such a genius, he should interact more with his peers,” Wen Ruohan announced. “I’ll recommend him – and that brother of yours, I suppose – for the lecture series at the Cloud Recesses this summer.”
It wouldn’t do to be left, after all.
“You…you will? Really? That’s wonderful! Thank you for the opportunity, Sect Leader Wen! They’ll treasure it! How can we ever repay your kindness –”
“As long as they impress me with their talents,” Wen Ruohan said, already imagining Jiang Fengmian’s constipated expression at seeing his lover’s son that was stolen from his grasp wearing Wen sect colors and, in an ideal world, smearing his own son into the ground with his superlative skill. “That will be repayment enough.”
-
“You need to get laid,” Sect Leader Nie said, and Wen Ruohan was reminded again of why he despised the man and should have killed him years ago. Why hadn’t he done that again? “As a matter of cultivation.”
“You’re joking,” Wen Ruohan said, putting down his bowl of wine and staring at him in disbelief. He hadn’t expected the man to actually be serious. It was rare enough an event, but in fairness to him, he never joked about matters of cultivation. “How does one help the other?”
“It’ll help balance you out.” Sect Leader Nie thought about it. “Or at least let you get out some of that nervous energy that makes you a paranoid megalomaniacal little bitch about eighty percent of the time.”
That sounded a bit more in character.
“If dual cultivation could fix personality problems, Lao Nie, you’d be immortal.”
“Who says I’m not?” Sect Leader Nie asked, teeth bared in a smile. “Only time will tell. Haven’t I already outlived my father?”
Wen Ruohan rolled his eyes. Sect Leader Nie had outlived his father because when he’d started in on a qi deviation like every other member of his blasted family, he, Wen Ruohan, had personally dived into the irritating bastard’s spiritual consciousness and dragged him back out again. It was very much not something that people were supposed to do, being more likely to cause qi deviations in the person doing the rescuing than resulting in an actual rescue, but he’d never cared what people were supposed to do and, really, it would be extremely annoying to have to do without him now that he’d invested all that time and effort and figured out how to get some real use out of him. Anyway, they both seemed to be fine and possibly they were also soul-bonded now - he wasn’t actually sure, Wen Qing always got a weird expression on her face whenever she talked about it, and he usually stopped listening at that point.
He didn’t really care. As long as it didn’t interfere with his plans, what did it mtter?
“Who exactly am I supposed to be dual cultivating with, exactly?” he asked dryly, deciding to address the matter head-on because that was the only way Sect Leader Nie understood things. “Don’t volunteer yourself again. I already told you that I refuse to indulge your ridiculous kink for dangerous people.”
Anymore, anyway.
Sect Leader Nie made a face at him, but Wen Ruohan ignored him. He might’ve fallen for that before the whole spiritual consciousness-soulbond business, but now he knew for sure that it was a kink, so – no.
Nothappening.
“You have a kink for things that increase your power, I don’t know why you’re being so judgy about my kink,” the other man grumbled. “And I don’t know, find someone – not another wife, you hate your wives, and anyway they’re much happier with their other lovers.”
“I didn’t pick them because I liked them,” Wen Ruohan pointed out. “I picked them because I wanted to absorb their sects and all the aligned sects associated with them. Which I did.”
“See, this is your problem! You married for power, rather than power, if you get my meaning –”
This was true. If any of his wives could cultivate worth a damn, maybe he’d care more about them. As it was, getting a son on each of them had been an exercise in willpower.
“ – and now you’re too busy pursuing power to fuck anyone else. You really need to get it out of your system. Find someone who can kill you.”
“No one can kill me,” Wen Ruohan said. “I’m the closest thing the cultivation world has to a god. Everyone should bow down and worship me.”
Sect Leader Nie started muttering something about megalomania again, but Wen Ruohan ignored him. It wasn’t a qi deviation talking if it was true.
“I bet we could find someone who could kill you if we tried,” Sect Leader Nie finally said. “And if they’re powerful enough to kill you, they’re probably powerful enough for the dual cultivation to improve your own cultivation, which is all you care about…we should start a war, maybe.”
“A war? Against who? And why?”
Sect Leader Nie frowned thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “The Jin sect?” he suggested, probably because he’d never liked Jin Guangshan. “Or the Jiang sect? Or both, I guess, since they’re allied. They’re next on your take-over list, aren’t they?”
“You’re next on my take-over list,” Wen Ruohan said threateningly, except Sect Leader Nie only laughed at him. Which was fair, he supposed, that whole soul-bond thing made the whole conquering business somewhat unnecessary – Qishan Wen and Qinghe Nie were bound together now as thoroughly as if he’d married the man.
Which he hadn’t. And wouldn’t. No matter what stupid snarky comments Sect Leader Nie said about Wen Ruohan treating him as a de facto consort on account of not having devouring his sect whole.
(Which he wasn’t going to do either - his sons still loved the man, and by now they were as thick as thieves with the Nie boys. What was he supposed to do, disappoint them? It’d be the same as disappointing himself, and he wasn’t about to do that.)
“I suppose we could start a war against the Jin and Jiang,” he allowed. His plan had always called for battle eventually, since he knew there was a limit to how many sects he could absorb through political, marital, economic or other means. As long as the other Great Sects stood against him, he’d never be able to achieve total domination – plus, he’d have to continue to suffer through those awful discussion conferences with the boring lectures and the petty politics of it all. Why couldn’t they see that they’d allbe better off under his dominion? “I could send Wen Zhuliu –“
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s not how you fight wars honorably, and also because I hate that man’s guts. I can’t believe you gave him your surname.”
Wen Ruohan rolled his eyes yet again. Such petty concerns were beneath him. “If we launch a surprise attack using him assassinate the Jiang sect leaders, thereby bringing down the Lotus Pier, the war will be over sooner,” he pointed out.
“Makes it harder to assimilate them into the Wen sect afterwards, though,” Sect Leader Nie pointed out, and damnit, he had a point. “Not to mention you’re going to want some experienced people policing your waterways when you finally take over…”
Damnit.
“Fine,” Wen Ruohan said. “We’ll declare war the old-fashioned way. Maybe we’ll find someone on the opposite side that can impress me, and then I’ll marry her – or him – and be done with the whole business. Happy now?”
Sect Leader Nie made a maybe-so gesture with his hand. “Anyone who can match you in power can probably kill me,” he said regretfully. “Would you consider sharing –“
“Paws off my hypothetical future consort, you beast. Anyway, aren’t you already pursuing Lan Qiren because he nearly slit your throat with a guqin string once?”
“A man can look!”
-
“Say,” Sect Leader Nie said, staring at the army of fierce corpses currently shambling along to the tune of Wei Wuxian’s flute, advancing inexorably towards their enemies – an entirely new cultivation style that the boy had recently invented. In an effort to impress his benefactor Wen Ruohan, apparently. “Are you sure about the no sharing rule?”
Wen Ruohan stared at the grown man perched on a tree like a demon, wrapped in shadow and crackling with power, eyes glowing as red as the sun-patterns on his clothing, who seemed to want nothing more from the world than to serve it up to Wen Ruohan on a platter.
“Yes,” he said, voice only a little strangled. Maybe Sect Leader Nie had a point about power being a kink for him. “I’m very sure.”
#mdzs#wen ruohan#sect leader nie#wei wuxian is sir not appearing in this fic#my fic#my fics#forked path
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Prompted by the most recent bug report, I checked the Destiny patch notes archives to see just how many times Telesto’s caused serious bugs. The answer...will not surprise you. The earliest reported fixed bug is from April 2016, nine months after Telesto’s debut in The Taken King. It’s been a shit-stirrer from the very start.
But these are just the bugfixes important enough to mention in the patch notes! Classic bugs like firing Telesto across the finish line in the Gauntlet subactivity of Menagerie to count multiple players “crossing,” using Enhanced Ashes to Assets to get instant super in Iron Banner, proccing Devour and shooting its projectiles to refresh health (but not the timer), aren’t even in here.
So what’s Telesto’s deal? In short, however they coded Telesto’s demolition fuzzballs often makes the game misinterpret them as enemies. That’s the source of bugs like triggering Death Throes, generating Diamond Lance, fueling Enhanced Ashes to Assets, refreshing health with Devour, filling up the Blind Well, causing friendly fire, or generating a pile of Orbs with Thermoclastic Blooming: all of those perks/mods/objectives count enemies killed.
But it’s not that simple, because of course it isn’t! If it were, Bungo could just flip a switch in the Telesto projectiles from “enemy” to “neutral” and eliminate future issues. But Telesto rounds are only sometimes enemies. They’ll refresh a Devour Warlock’s health but not the timer on the Devour effect, which should go back up to 10 seconds on every kill. They don’t trigger the Surrounded perk, which checks if you have at least three enemies nearby. But they did trigger Heavy-Handed, a mod that gave you guaranteed special ammo on kills with multiple enemies nearby. So the game must be checking for “enemies” in different ways at different levels, and Telesto rounds pass some of those checks and fail others.
And sometimes Telesto rounds count as friends! They won’t damage allies, and they could be used to cheese Menagerie because it counted Telesto rounds crossing the finish line as players completing the objective. Maybe they count as friendly until they hit a surface?
Telesto’s the only one causing these problems because unlike nearly all other weapons it creates a group of persistent objects that affix to geometry, enemies, and players both friendly and not. Only Telesto and Anarchy stick an actual object to an enemy (Ruinous Eggify will turn an enemy into an object, but held orbs are different) and only Telesto’s rounds need to both deal damage and take damage from the person who fired them - so the fuzzballs can’t be “allies” all the time, or friendly fire prevention wouldn’t let you shoot them. Anarchy also manifests a couple of Telesto’s milder behaviors, like counting as a remote Blessed damage tick in Crown of Sorrow, but since it isn’t as bad - and since it uses Heavy ammo, not Special, making it impractical in Crucible - it hasn’t achieved the same notoriety.
#Destiny 2#Telesto is Besto#always testo Telesto#words about Telesto#they've studiously avoided making new weapons that do this#but they can't get rid of Telesto!#it's ALWAYS THERE.#(they did voluntarily put it in Destiny 2 though nobody made them do that)#this is the wager of existence
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it’s @joukaiweek officially and i plunked away at my keyboard so i didn’t miss it. this is incredibly rough and i need to take a hammer to it, but i still wanted to post for day one so here it is!
The Final Countdown
rating T
characters joey wheeler/seto kaiba, appearances by yugi muto, mai valentine, and (unfortunately) maximillion pegasus
tags Secret Relationship (sort of), Commitment Issues, Love Confessions, Emotional Rollercoasters, Actual Rollercoasters (It’s Kaibaland Babyyyy), The Characters Actually Duel
1/19 - origin || conclusion
Joey and Seto’s relationship goes full circle when they attend “Return to Duelist Kingdom”. They’re forced to face their own emotional issues so they can move forward, or let it all fall apart.
Joey shielded his eyes as he stepped through the entrance of the large dome. The glass enclosure poured in the bright California light, and tall trees spread wide branches. The space was completely transformed with long brick paths tucked along flat ferns and bushes overflowing with flowers. A waterfall made a winding river underneath the pathways. It was easy, for a moment, to be transported to another realm entirely, except for the Slifer coaster peeking over the dome top, and the shouts of excited park goers as they tried to peer in at the duelists.
“Kaiba really knows how to go all out,” Yugi said from where he stood at Joey’s side.
Joey only nodded mutely and started down the path.
It’d been something of a surprise to receive the invitational to the Return to Duelist Kingdom a few months back, and even more of a shock to see it was being hosted at Kaibaland America. Considering the original tournament had been little more than a farce to steal souls and further corporate takeovers, it’d been regarded as a sort of dark time in the dueling world, before Battle City standardized the rule sets. Both Joey and Yugi had listened to Seto rant about how all Pegasus was capable of was making cards, while he made the game. In a long list of all the things they’d been through, Duelist Kingdom ranked fairly low on the trauma scale, depending on who you asked, but all in all their group decided it was best to leave it in the past.
Not that anything really got left in the past around here.
At least this time they weren’t on an abandoned island in international waters more likely to die from dehydration than from the psycho eliminators roaming the place. No, Kaibaland put them up in swanky five star resort rooms, complete with comped meals. If there was anything Seto Kaiba was good at, it was showing up the competition. Only those that had made it through the gauntlet were actually competing, with free Kaibaland tickets awarded to the past participants who’d been soundly kicked off. It was a rematch of sorts. There were a few people Joey wouldn’t mind getting his hands on again, now more experienced and with a top notch ranking. Bandit Keith, from whatever hole in the ground he decided to crawl out of, and Pegasus himself, still sitting on his throne, and then there was–
“Kaiba!” Yugi shouted and bounded towards the all too familiar shape of Seto Kaiba. Joey’s footsteps slowed as his best friend tossed his arms around his long time rival. The coordinator he’d been speaking too had a shocked look on her face and quickly tamped it down. Joey almost laughed. Normally touching Kaiba was a death warrant, but Yugi got a free pass.
“Oh, good,” Seto sighed. “You’re here.”
“Had to see what all the hype was about,” Joey said, tugging on the strap of his backpack. The tournament wasn’t until tomorrow, which gave them free reign over the amusement park the rest of the day. “This place is fan-cy.”
“It looks cool!” Yugi released his prey, eyes going up to the ceiling. “This wasn’t here last time.”
“Pegasus’ inane idea coincided with the opening of the new Enchanted Forest.” Seto adjusted his coat, despite the warmth from the sunlight. He looked the same as he always did, tall and lean and anemic, probably. Telltale bags sunk in his eyes. Joey wondered how much sleep he’d been getting. “Normally I wouldn’t entertain the old man’s fancies, but the marketing seemed worth the effort.”
“Is that all this is?” Joey asked, raising a single eyebrow. “Marketing?”
Seto’s eyes met his for the first time. Older, and more tired, he still had the steady steel gaze he’d always had since he was a child. Joey held it.
“That,” Seto admitted, “and I thought it might be fun.”
A grin stretched across Joey’s face. Seto looked away.
“You’ve already seen your accommodations,” he said. “If you’d like to see the tournament floor, it’s through there. The rest of the park is yours.”
“I guess you don’t have any time to ride rides with us,” Yugi said dejectedly.
“Not at the moment, no.” He took the clipboard his coordinator offered him, eyes narrowing as he went back to work. “Somehow you always manage to entertain yourself.”
“We’ll do that.” Joey scooped Yugi into a hold and noogied him. “We got more than enough yucks between the two of us to bother your skinny ass, eh, Yug?”
Yugi laughed, pushing away from him. “It’s true. Thanks for hosting us, Kaiba.”
Seto only hummed in response. Joey took his friend by the arm and pulled him along the path. It’d been a while since he’d been in a tournament with Kaiba, but he’d never forgotten the surly attitude he wore like spiked armor. Joey wasn’t going to spend all day in an amusement park not having fun. What was the point of that?
“Wheeler,” he heard Seto call behind them, and Joey turned. The same gaze hit him hard enough to make his breath catch. Seto eyed him for a moment, and then shook his head. “Don’t make a mess of my park.”
“No promises,” Joey called back and bounced away.
◈ ◈ ◈ ◈
It was a year ago when it started like this:
Hands and teeth and desperation. Joey didn’t know who made the first move, but it ended in messy sheets and heated air and quickened breath and hearts pounding. Seto told him he was worse than any rollercoaster, that Joey sent him reeling in ways that overwhelmed him. Joey’d worn the compliment with a sense of pride. Kaiba the legend, Kaiba the monument, but it was Seto that clutched his fingers into his skin and begged for more. It was explosive, it was heated, it was–
It was nice. Long nights became morning. Joey no longer felt a need to jump out of bed as soon as they were finished, which was all well in good because it turned out Seto was a cuddler. Mornings became breakfast. Breakfast became dinner dates. There were ups and downs. Joey was overwhelmed too, because Seto cared so much in ways he never could say. Affectionate and thoughtful, of all things. It wasn’t just sex anymore, but they both struggled to make it something else. What could it ever be, really? Seto was a public figure, who traveled for work, especially with the growth in Kaibaland America. The last thing Joey wanted was to be left behind again. They’d come to a forked road with no way back, not really, and neither were the type to let something stagnate. Go forward, brave an untrodden path, commit to something new, or let it all fall apart.
Joey, on his end, hadn’t made up his mind.
Dinner the night before the tournament took place in the Magician’s Mansion, at a long table nestled in a room overflowing with comically large books and holographic creatures flying overhead. Somewhere, an animatronic dragon screech sounded at regular intervals. The usual motley crew sat in a row down the length of the table. Joey sat between Mai and Yugi while Bandit Keith made the usual ass of himself. Pegasus stood and gave a speech that Joey made faces throughout. He glanced at the other end of the table, where Seto was hiding a smile. They were ushered to a viewing spot for the evenings firework display. Underneath the crooked top of the Magician’s Mansion, crowds of parkgoers peered past railings, or sat on their parents’ shoulders, or jumped up and down as the holograms raced across a manmade pond, reflecting bright points of color in all directions. A Dark Magician Girl stood in the center of the pond, waving her staff this way and that like the conductor of an orchestra. In the darkness of the alcove usually reserved for performers, it did feel like a whole different world. While the others laughed and cheered, Joey glanced up at Seto’s face. Reds and blues reflected off his pale skin. His face was the same sullen line it always was, but his fingers curled on the railing as his eyes lit up.
“Hey,” Joey said as the boom of another firework brought an array of bright pinks into the sky. Seto’s eyes turned down. His fingers curled tighter on the railing. “About–”
The crowd gasped together as a dragon joined the fireworks display, weaving between the lights and then flying down at the audience. The performer’s booming voice shouted across the park. The ever faithful Blue Eyes let out a screech and swooped down again. There was even a touch of wind as it flew past. Joey sucked in a breath as he watched the display. It was all so real. That was what Seto had always been good at. He made things into existence that others could only dream about, and he had all the means to do it. He was, in too many literal ways, the man who had everything. What did he need Joey for?
“About tomorrow,” his mouth finished, faster than his brain could function. He smiled up at Seto with uneasy, pained politeness. “Good luck.”
Seto opened his mouth, and then his eyes centered on their small group. The dragon climbed into the sky and roared.
“I won’t need it,” he said, and turned away.
◈ ◈ ◈ ◈
It was a beautiful bright day in California. Joey and Yugi shared a lazy breakfast at the hotel, waving at familiar faces and chatting with people who recognized them. Yugi hadn’t dueled in years, but he still carried the undefeated record. Joey’d started picking up sponsorship deals. Mai’d given him a run down of the business, and, well, it made sense. Still felt weird seeing his own face on cereal boxes.
The morning was dedicated to matches billed as old-timers versus newcomers. The familiar faces of old champs like Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood went toe-to-toe against new champions pulled from the Kaiba dueling academy and Industrial Illusions own ranked picks. They used the upgraded battle stages, which felt like dinosaur technology compared to the duel disks Joey was used to battling with. Yugi was called off to do some interview as the original champion of Duelist Kingdom, and Joey sat on stadium seating high above and out of the way, chewing on popcorn as he watched the strategies of the kids below. That was the real trick of this game. It was always changing, and someone always had a strategy you’d never faced before. Joey’d had to learn to change with it.
“Why,” came a dry voice from behind him, and Joey jumped straight up to see Seto waltzing down the steps, “did I think I’d find you here?”
“‘Cause you’ve got cameras all over this park,” Joey said, mouth full of popcorn. He swallowed it down and wiped his hands on his shirt. “‘Cause you’re a stalker.”
He tilted his head to the side, the only admission he would offer. He stopped at the end of steps, and it was a narrow pathway down the seats to where Joey lounged. Neither made a move closer.
“I still can’t believe you’re doing this,” Joey said. “I thought you were gonna hit Pegasus with a brick last night.”
“There’s still time,” he mused. He leaned forward on the railing, watching the matches below. “You’ve been oddly quiet this whole time.”
Joey set his popcorn aside, forced to admit his own guilt with a sigh. “I guess… I guess I don’t know what to say to you.”
His brow furrowed. “The answer isn’t yes.”
“It isn’t no either.” Joey closed his eyes, remembering the conversation the night before Seto had left to set up the tournament. Seto held Joey’s face in his hands and asked him point blank: Is there something here worth kindling? Did they have a reason to follow through?
Seto scoffed, his head dipping down so that his dark bangs covered his face. As he stood straight, it was Kaiba that came into view.
“I don’t know why I’m wasting my time on this,” he said in a hard edged tone. “I should’ve known you couldn’t commit.”
“I can’t commit? Me?” Joey jumped to his feet. “You’ve been gone for nearly two months! You spend half your time living on the other side of the world and then get mad when I don’t want to wait around! You can’t keep a dinner date, or a reservation–”
“I have obligations,” he snapped.
“So do I!” Joey shouted. “So does everyone! I take the bus to your place, but you can’t have your driver take you around?”
“Maybe,” Seto snarled, “it would be easier, if you didn’t decide to walk out every time you don’t get your way.”
Joey laughed. “You’re calling me selfish? You’re the one with a theme park with your name on it!”
“You feel a need to break up over every little thing,” Seto said. “If I’m late picking you up, when we can’t decide on a movie, when I pick up the wrong thing for dinner–”
“It wasn’t about dinner!” Joey shouted as he marched forward.
“Then you have to tell me what it is about!” Seto snapped back. “I can’t read your mind, and I never know what’s going to set you off, and I need you to tell me!”
“I need to know you think about me!” Joey said. His hand slid along the railing, the metal growing heated as he charged at his foe. Seto stood straight and tall like a brick wall, ready to bring him to a brutal stop. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you! I want to, god knows I tried, but I missed you! Every second you were gone! And I can’t stay up by my phone hoping I entered your mind long enough for you to call! I can’t let you hurt me like that!”
“Of course I missed you!” Seto shouted. “I’ve been in agony waiting to see you again! But you said you needed space. You said you wanted to figure things out. You can’t tell me one thing and mean something different entirely. It’s utterly infuriating!”
“Well I’m sorry!” Joey sucked in a breath, shoulders squeezing together, and then he let it go all at once. This wasn’t how he planned things to go when he got Seto alone. He hadn’t planned anything. Maybe that was part of his problem. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what I wanted. I thought distance would make things clear, but instead…”
He trailed off, scraping his bottom lip. Seto released his own breath he was holding. His features softened in a way Joey was getting used to seeing.
“I want you,” Joey said, with an earnestness that made him wince. “I know that. But I can’t–I can’t take it anymore. Wondering. Knowing I’m not good enough for you. Waiting for you to cut me off. I’d rather have nothing than have that.”
“Joey,” Seto said, and his hand cupped his cheek, guiding his face up. This was how the whole thing started, Joey remembered. An argument. A touch in the right place. It’d taken this long to grow this tender. “I’m not–”
Horns sounded from the arena, and the two pulled apart. Seto’s eyes drew up, and Joey saw the white security camera clearly placed. Right. Even alone, they were in public. He’d almost let himself forget. Seto’s back straightened as the PA announced the Duelist Kingdom champions tournament. They both had places to be.
“Don’t sweat it,” Joey said, brushing off the pain like he had so many times before. “I know how important this place is to you. I just never liked being second best.”
“You’re not,” Seto said. “Not to me.”
Joey let out a dry laugh. “You better check the tapes on that one.”
“I mean it,” he said. “I’m–”
His jacket pocket started buzzing, and he groaned low as he dug in to find his phone. Joey shook his head.
“I’ll see you on the battlefield,” he said and waved off any protests as he trotted up the stairs. No, Joey Wheeler didn’t stick around, not when he wasn’t wanted. Seto could say all the words he wanted, but Joey knew how he acted when trying to get something out of his reach. If he wanted Joey, he’d have him, and the whole world would know.
◈ ◈ ◈ ◈
When Yugi lost, the crowd went wild.
Things had played out pretty much as Joey remembered it. No one had expected much out of Bandit Keith, and he was soundly dealt with. Joey’s battle with Mai had been close, and she’d nearly tipped his life points over the edge when she wiped his field of monsters, but a well placed ritual summon brought him back on top. Seto replaced Pegasus as the final match, and so he waited on the sidelines as Pegasus commented on the Battle of Brothers. Yugi versus Joey. Yugi’s usual duck and weave routine kept things interesting, but they hit the turning point when Joey used Enemy Controller to bring his Summoned Skull to his side of the field, and a fusion card turned him into Black Skull Dragon. It’d kept him on the ropes long enough for Joey to play Time Wizard. It’d destroyed his last monster and given Joey a clear field to destroy his life points.
As the crowd screamed, Joey glanced at where Seto sat with a wide-eyed stare. Everyone had expected the final bout to be between Yugi and Seto, a return to rivals old school fans dreamed about. As the platforms descended back down to the stage floor, Yugi and Joey had gone in for the traditional handshake. Joey had scooped him up instead in a big hug. That was best buddy after all.
Then it was Seto’s turn.
There was no catchy slogan for this match up, no big rematch to sell. As far as the world was concerned, Joey had been some newcomer nobody grabbing onto Kaiba’s coattails. There were more serious matches to care about. Even their so-called “Battle for the Bronze” in Battle City had technically been outside the tournament proper. There’d never been a reason for the two to face off. It was unclear, then, if the audience caught the tension as the two climbed up to their roosts. The life points clicked into place. The duel began.
It was clear from the jump Seto had set up his strategy to counter Yugi’s usual play style. It was a head on barrage expected from his beatdown deck. Even in the quiet of Joey’s apartment, when they lazily laid down cards sitting on the floor across from each other, Seto battled with his usual intensity. Joey’d struck blows but usually fell short of actually beating him. Winning hadn’t mattered in those moments. Now it felt like the only thing that did.
“You’re so predictable,” Joey said as he summoned two of his Blue Eyes in one move. The duelists wore mics, making his offhand comment rebound across the glass walls. Trash talk was a staple of duels. No reason to leave the crowd wanting.
“And you don’t know when to stop,” Seto fired back. “You’ve never backed down from a fight before. You should learn to lose with dignity.”
“Alright,” Joey said, activating his trap card as the Blue Eyes fired at his Flame Swordsman. Evenly Matched wiped the field. As the Blue Eyes shattered into digital dust, he grinned at Seto from across the playing field. “Show me how.”
Backed into a corner was when Kaiba was at his most dangerous, and this duel was no different. They went round for round, monster for monster. Battling him had always felt like hitting a wall, a feeling Joey’d never gotten past, but this time it was different. Fight for fight, they bashed head on, their tactics weaving around each other. Seto tried to keep his most powerful cards on the field, but Joey kept every trick up his sleeve. And the banter never stopped. Back and forth like a volleying shuttle, and little by little it unwound. The frustrated edge in Seto’s voice faded away. Joey answered his calls with laughter and an ace of his own. Their life points chipped away. Joey felt it as he drew the card he’d been hoping for. He could’ve placed it blind. He nearly kissed it.
When he played Roulette Spider, Seto groaned, dropping his head in his hands as the animated creature appeared on the playing field. Only Saggi the Dark Clown stood between Joey and victory.
“If I lose because of Roulette Spider,” Seto said, “I’m going to kill you.”
Joey grinned wide and shouted, “Roulette Spider, go!”
The spider spun, same as it always had. Its arrow whirled around the arena, flashing past faces, past life points, whirling faster and faster.
And then it landed on Seto’s life points. The whole arena sucked in a breath as the life point counter ticked down, hitting zero.
“Holy shit,” Joey said.
The roar was deafening. Cheers from the front row where Yugi and Mai sat. Pegasus’ idiot voice still rambling. The podium couldn’t drop quick enough. Joey nearly fell off trying to get down. He couldn’t wait to see Seto’s face up close, couldn’t wait to rub it in his idiot face. No way he was living this one down. No way he was getting rid of him either. He wanted Joey to commit, then fine. He was committed to reminding him of this defeat every day of the rest of his life.
Lightbulbs flashed as Seto approached. His defeats were rarely public, but there was no denying this one. Seto’s whole face was furrowed as he strode purposefully towards the center to meet him. Oh god, he was gonna deck him. Joey almost wanted him to. Nothing excited him more than breaking that ice cold exterior. He wanted to take an ice pick to it with all his might, and for the first time he might’ve really done. Joey laughed, extending out a hand, and then shouted when Seto grabbed his arm and dragged him forward. Well, he said he’d kill him. This was honestly how he’d expected to go.
“I told you,” Seto growled as he pulled Joey close. “You aren’t second best.”
And then, to thundering cheers and with every flash going off at once, Seto kissed him. Right on the mouth. With the whole world watching.
Everything was white noise, the entire park their audience. Joey was laughing, tears dotting the corner of his eyes. Seto was smiling. There’d be interviews to follow, and an exhaustive round of questions where they were suddenly forced to define their relationship when Joey couldn’t say the word boyfriend without stuttering a week ago. Now they were on the record. Still, somehow, with Seto’s arms still around him, their faces still close, and everything else faded from view, this felt like the most intimate moment they’d shared together.
“You’re so stupid,” Joey said, and he kissed him again.
◈ ◈ ◈ ◈
Everything followed as expected. Hearty congratulations from their friends, siblings blowing up their phones, calls from agents and PR managers and marketing. Interviews, photos, partying.
Finally, it was just them.
The hotel room was dim, and the distant lights of the park cast blue shadows across the darkened floor. Exhaustion made them lazy. They kissed and touched and sighed, and then they held each other as the clock ticked closer towards midnight. Seto with his face buried in Joey’s hair, breathing slow, deep breaths. Joey closed his eyes as he listened to his heartbeat. Calm and steady. Everything felt alright.
Joey was drifting off to sleep when he felt Seto take in a sharp breath. The hamster in his head must’ve been whirring, he knew, but he let Seto take his time to say what he was thinking.
“Do you remember,” he murmured, “when you challenged me for the first time?”
Joey huffed out a laugh. “Don’t remind me. I didn’t have anything in my deck that could touch you.”
“You did,” he said. “Touch me.”
Joey lifted his head to look up at him. Light cut the edges of his cheekbones, the highlights of his eyes. It’d been years and years and years since Joey had tossed himself into the jaw of the lion. At the time, he hadn’t understood the full weight of what Seto was fighting for. Seto hadn’t understood how deeply those words managed to cut. It was an incident, a drop in their history, and the foundation of the mountain they’d had to climb.
“You’re stupid and brash and wreckless,” Seto said. “None of that’s changed. You never let your fear get to you.”
Joey laughed. “Is this your love confession?”
“Yes,” Seto said, too sincerely. He pressed his forehead to his. “I don’t know how long I’ve loved you. It feels like always.”
Joey looked at him. No quarter was given. Wrapped around each other, there was nowhere to go, no place to run, only the truth, as roughly hewn as it was. The words sat uneven and too sweet in Joey’s mouth. He’d always been a coward, that was true, but Seto was right. He’d never let it stop him before.
“I love you too,” he said, and kissed him.
And outside, the fireworks started.
#joukai week 2022#kaijou#my fanfic#i've had the image of seto and joey kissing after a duel in my head since i first got into this fandom 3 years ago#there's a lot of ideas here that need to be refined but listen#it's still pretty good#ignore the title i couldn't think of anything clever
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