#it deals instant psychic damage
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Bruce and Clark start dating and Clark finds himself spending more time around the batkids and whenever he's losing an argument he just says "yeah? well I fucked your dad."
It's very effective.
#it deals instant psychic damage#the kids still have not found a good response#clark tries not to be a petty person but he does enjoy the intense reactions his words evoke#it's especially effective on damian who can't even argue that bruce isn't technically his dad#tim tried 'well i fucked your son' once but it just doesn't have the same impact#batman#bruce wayne#superman#clark kent#superbat#dc#dc comics#mine#batfam
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having a normal morning
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10 months in and the game is indefinitely on hold! thanks, college. musing now whether i want the immediate gratification of revealing my character’s non-clericness to someone now, or biding my time for what may well be a year or two until the game is revamped and we reach the point at which it would become relevant narratively. hrmg.
#i think i will bide my time. bc if worst comes to worst and we never play again#i can still look at a friend and say 'hey remember my guy from that game? fun fact-' and still deal MASSIVE amounts of psychic damage#but man....moment of weakness rn......i want to Tell......#but i will at LEAST wait a year! gotta stay strong!#i formally came up with him mid-late november so i have to hold out at least a couple o months#instant gratification good. but. reputation for keeping absolutely buckwild character secrets with no indication as such is BETTER
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"soak the red onions in ice water to get rid of the spicy taste" ... bestie just use yellow onions or something what the fuuuuuuukc
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just taken a huckleberry hound record to the counter in oxfam and carry on wayward son started playing on the shop speakers just as i passed it over so like.. not sure what emotion the teenaged girls behind the till saw on my face.. think it might be a new one
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More bits from the 1st night of the London D20 live show that brought me joy:
The little “ooooohhhhHHHH” bit everyone in the atrium did as they were rolling the bingo cages for their characters
How NUTS everyone went when Lou got Fabian and everyone started chanting “hoot growl”
A second, just as loud cheer when Siobhan got Adaine and her and Lou ran around the stage together
Siobhan, unprompted: “GIVE ADAINE A GUN!”
Emily has apparently named a stray cat after Plug <3
Sydney straight up eating the ground (it’s ice cream, she’s fine. Sort of.)
“It’s a smell so counter to everything human life needs, in a way that almost kills you, but also, only in a way someone from New York can understand, makes you proud.”
The party refusing to call the candy wyverns anything other than “bugs”
Zac interrupting the ongoing banter to announce Skip is already boarded and sucking on the saddle of the wyvern
“I throw a flash grenade.” “I turn into a giant pigeon.” “I cast unseen servant to untie him.” “I shoot a guard.” “Okay, so everyone decides to do something SUPER SUBTLE.”
I mentioned it before but it’s SO good: “the DC is 500. Only a Nat 20 will do it.” Beardsley: [rolls a Nat 20 first try] [pandemonium in the arena]
“Have you seen Succession?”
The gabagool 🤌
“Adaine, we have saved the world multiple times. These are the scariest people we have ever met.”
Lou losing it at Sydney’s grenade having 1 point of poison damage in addition to all the bludgeoning damage
Skip gives Fabian a laser gun. He does not know what it is until he shoots Calroy with it
“Adaine, this gun thing you’re on? I get it.”
Cocaine Bear
“I YEETED YOU!”
Pete and Skip instant besties. Pete and Fabian instant enemies.
“You named him Anus and now I just have to do it the rest of the show!”
“I absolutely hate to add insult to injury…” “THEN DON’T!”
Adaine passing her wisdom save by 1 point to prevent Kugrash’s polymorph spell from turning her into a rat
The absolute ROAR that went up when Skip transformed into Lapin
“Anus?” “Not today.” “Not today WHAT?”
“I thought I was just on another planet starting a revolution I don’t intend to stick around for.” “America!”
Ally confidentially declaring Lapin and Aguefort have swinger vibes
“Do you want to just take him?” “Do you mean in the biblical sense?” “Another exciting use….”
[croaky voice] butterfly in the skyyyy
Pete opening 6 different flavors of seltzer while the rest of the party does kublacaine
Elaine Lee in the house!!!
Kugrash the greatest chaperone who ever lived
Lapin and Aguefort…and they were roommates…..Lapin’s “how do I look?” before they go into the egg fortress lmao
Syd’s perfume missile dealing 68 points of damage to Fabian and instantly knocking him unconscious. “Are you rolling D20s for damage???”
“I’m going to use my tides of chaos to reroll….worse.”
Tina the butterfly familiar that everyone totally remembers
“Well shit, any house where we kill the people in it becomes our house.”
Pete dissing Fabian so hard he feels the toxic masculinity coming back
Lapin requesting an exam extension for Adaine and Fabian from Arthur via dating app
The collective psychic damage everyone took from the “yar har har” scene
“Pete just starts dancing with a scarf in a way no one else has seen before.” “That’s my fucking thing!!!”
Sydney just enabling every pvp encounter alsdkghsdg. Giving Fabian unlimited capacity to his gun as he’s shooting Pete, with Fabian hitting twice and criting once.
“I can pleasure you or throw grenades, you gotta pick one.” “The first one, obviously!” “Okay!”
Lapin, Adaine and Kugrash chain smoking in the corner suffering through the pain of existence while the rest of party goes nuts around them
Murph incorporating the words “come/coming” as much as possible into Kugrash’s farewell speech while Brennan mimes Gilear’s enormous dick behind him. Not even Fabian’s battle sheet is enough to conceal that hog
“That’s right, I’m the king. And then I jump into the dumpster.”
GILEAR…MY…..OLD FRIEND………Aguefort and Gilear fwb real
“Not another person with their penis frozen to the walk in!”
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me when people leave nice comments on my incredibly old fics (i appreciate their kindness more than they could ever understand but the unbearable memory of my old cringe deals me instant amplified psychic damage)
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Farigiraf (Normal/Psychic)
As a result of its Evolution, the head of its main body and the head from its tail have become one. Both of Farigiraf’s brains are connected through thick nerves, increasing its psychic energy, and it can emit psychic waves from the antennae on its head. It’s always mindful of its surroundings, and while it can detect danger in an instant, there are times when its body cannot react as fast as its two brains can think.
The thick, sturdy head from its tail provides good defense for the head of the main body. When the head from its tail closes its mouth, Farigiraf whips its long neck around in an attack that deals brutal physical damage. The force of this attack is said to be able to pulverize stone and crush steel beams.
(via Serebii.net)
#pokemon#pokemon scarlet and violet#farigiraf#girafarig#pokemon spoilers#pokemon sv#pokemon sv spoilers#me gifs
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Okay so time for me to dump my thoughts on the Underworld Saga because I am going insane and tbh I'm not sure how coherent this will be because my brain is mostly keyboard smashing.
The Shades: "When does a man become a monster? 558 men who died under your command. CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN! Why would you let the cyclops live when ruthlessness is mercy?"
Okay so the harmonies of the Shades are amazing! But also this whole bit is just so... haunting. The call back to Just a Man and Ruthlessness does something to me. Could you imagine being screamed at by the ghosts of everyone you've failed? Also Jay confirmed that the shades in this song are just repeating their final thoughts in life. They drowned begging for their Captain to help them and died wondering why he failed them. This probably fucked Odysseus UP.
Odysseus: "I keep thinking of the infant from that night. I keep thinking of the infant from that night."
I swear I can hear the PTSD in his voice holy shit. Also Astyanax's music box motif being played in church bells in the back. I never would have noticed it if not for Jay's behind the scenes videos but knowing it's there makes this bit so much better.
Odysseus: "Polities..."
I was not nearly as wrecked at this bit until I saw this post mentioning that Odysseus quiet little "Polities..." is a mirror of Polities strangled "Captain..." when he died and now I will never be the same.
Odysseus' Mom
I am not exaggerating when I say I cried during the watch party. Everything about this is heartbreaking. His mom was thinking about him in her final moments. "Odyssues when you come home I'll be waiting" except she wont be. The shocked defeat in Odysseus' voice with "I took too long...". He's right there in front of her, but her shade just doesn't register him. They are so close physically yet still separated by death. Also the fact that Jay's mom voices her that is so sweet omg.
The change from "Here in the Underworld the past seems close behind" to "But in the Underworld your past is always close behind."
STTAGKDUKFUTAATUFOUCOUXGJXG
THE STRINGS!!!!! AND THE PIANO!!!!
Tiresias' voice is so haunting omg
Mason absolutely NAILED prophet who is constantly being shown everything all the time at one I love it sm.
The lyrics in this song are just.... so good. And the foreshadowing is top notch
Jay's voice acting for Odysseus' is also great in this.
The distress and frustration in "We've suffered and sailed through the toughest of hells. Now you tell us ur efforts are for NOTHING?!" and the absolute anger in "WHO!?!?!" (Its you, Ody. See your about to go through a complete change in morals about 5 minutes from now and become a completely different person).
THE DESCENDING ORGAN FOR THE SECOND CHORUS MY JAW DROPPED
Jorge don't think I didn't notice the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hellfire, vibes at the end I see you.
This is my favorite song released in Epic so far and I am not normal about it at all.
The GUITAR! THE ELECTRIC GUITAR!
For those unfamiliar and being dragged along this nonsense post, Odysseues character is associated with the guitar. The acoustic guitar is when he is softer, kinder, and more "human" while the electric guitar represents him at his most brutal, ruthless, and "monsterous". This song is his turning point to which he is done being merciful. He will do ANYHTING to get home.
"Oh Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves..."
Really taking Poseidon's lesson to heart there.
Odysseus: "AND IF I GOTTA DROP ANOTHER INFANT FROM A WALL IN AN INSTANT SO WE ALL DON'T DIE? THEN I'LL BECOME THE MONSTER! I WILL DEAL THE BLOW!... SO WHAT IF I'M THE MONSTER?"
Ayrsgstusigxjgsutaut holy shit holy shit holy shit-
Play this back to back with Just A Man for some psychic damage. What an end for Act 1!
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“While disinformation, fake news, and propaganda have been around since the beginning of time, today, new technologies are helping it proliferate online, often drowning out responsible voices. Nowhere is this truer than in Ukraine.
Bot technology, which was developed in the earliest years of the internet, has more recently been put to nefarious uses. Unscrupulous actors are using social media algorithms to raise the popularity of particular kinds of inflammatory content and to spread propaganda.
For more than a decade, former Soviet bloc countries have played an important and disturbing role in developing bot and troll farms. Russian and pro-Russian Ukrainians, many working for the Russian Federal Security Service, have launched well-functioning bot factories, creating chaos, distractions, anger, and fear via numerous disinformation streams that now pose an integral challenge everywhere, in countries as different as Venezuela, Colombia, the United States, and the U.K. - not just in Ukraine.
This is how it works. We are spending more and more time online, reading posts, watching videos, and consuming more information than ever. We share them with our friends and tweet about them. Many people rely on social media for all their news. In this way we have created entirely new information ecosystems outside the traditional systems that include fact-checking procedures.
Bots pretend to be a person online. They take advantage of our already established social media networks and spread like wildfire on them, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and instant messaging apps. The messages they push out are simple, precise, unambiguous, and convey a single thought. They are calibrated to produce the strongest emotions possible and elicit fear and confusion, creating havoc and causing considerable psychic damage to each of us, our loved ones, and people all over our country.
After Zelenskyy became president, it didn’t take long for him to understand how dangerous these bot farms are and the peril they posed to Ukraine: “These are the challenges of today, and we must be prepared for them,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine in February 2020. “In Ukraine, this is now a real business, a very serious business. Bot farms are a problem, whatever they are: for white or black, there is no difference. Because those who stand up for good, such as Ukraine’s independence, in social media today may be against it tomorrow. Therefore, we must fight against such things. For the independence of the country, the independence of the individual, human rights must be fought in any way.”
At that moment, Zelenskyy was speaking more broadly, meaning that not only Ukrainians but the whole world must learn to distinguish the line where freedom of speech ends and disinformation begins. To me, it seemed a very crucial point, because if we cannot decide on what is allowed on social media now, we will be unable to deal with even greater challenges in the future.
Bot farms were used to supplement and reinforce the methods used on the oligarch-owned television networks. They helped amplify the message of pro-Russian puppets brought to power by Moscow in different countries, influencing their politics and media. For Russia, the internet has been an important source of contemporary propaganda, and its use of the internet is analogous to the methods the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebels developed in the 1930s on the radio and in newspapers. As he once said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Nonsense remains nonsense in the singular. But when someone sends hundreds and thousands of nonsensical posts and commentaries to people’s phones and computer screens, people begin to believe what they see.
Here is but one outrageous example in Ukrainian media: to undermine government land reform policies, an endless number of absurd stories appeared about Chinese people digging up and shipping out the famously fertile Ukrainian soil. The usual chauvinistic and racist Russian-style propaganda outlets promulgated and published these stories. Their purpose was to create doubt about these needed land reform measures – such as lifting the moratorium on the sale of Ukraine’s agricultural land and investing in irrigation systems – which would help rid the agricultural sector of fraud and abuse and boost Ukraine’s economy. In the same vein, other stories trumpeted that Zelenskyy was a pro-Russian president or controlled by oligarchs – anything that could undermine people’s trust in him. By repeating such garbage over and over again, some were seeking political dividends. This fake news contributed to an oppressive political atmosphere and increased Ukrainians’ disenchantment with their institutions.”
Iuliia Mendel, The Fight of Our Lives: My Time with Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s Battle for Democracy, and What It Means for the World
#Iuliia Mendel#non-fiction#Volodymyr Zelenskyy#Ukraine#disinformation#social media#russian propaganda#media literacy
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So I started thinking about how to convert the MW operators into playable D&D characters! However: it's metamorphosing into a full RPG AU after seeing all the really well done AUs out there, oops
There's more rattling around and I'm extremely pleased with some ideas and vignettes stuck in my head that I haven't gotten to yet, so bear with me!
Spec ops units (the 141 included) heavily rely on the telepathic bond spell: using it, they can carry out strike assignments with completely silent, instant long-range comms. Despite the tactical advantage, Ghost's not a fan of having anyone's voice in his head but his own...
When stealth's irrelevant, Soap taunts enemies with vicious mockery, swearing at them in his home dialect (Scottish Standard Common?) to deal psychic damage
Ghost moving silently across a house's rooftop before sliding down the thatching, dropping onto a target from above and brutally neutralizing them—of course, being Ghost, he's gone the next moment
Ghost and Soap off-mission walk through the door of a pub—many eyes turn to Ghost's villainous-looking skull mask before Soap effortlessly diffuses the tension
For classes/archetypes: Ghost is definitely a Rogue and some Fighter. Soap feels like he could be a Bard but I like the thought of Artillerist Artificer multiclass? Price would probably be a Ranger multiclass, and I'm still debating what suits Gaz best
I'm considering taking the Strixhaven Initiate feat as inspiration and homebrewing a Faction-flavored version, but that's a little overkill and may not vary much, plus there's over a dozen(?)
Workshopping everything into actual character sheets while putting words to paper and writing ghostsoap sucks. Also, I can't draw
p.s. also suggestions open!
#alternate universe#fanfic#call of duty#cod mwii#simon ghost riley#john soap mactavish#ghostsoap#task force 141#call of duty mwii#soapghost#dungeons and dragons#dnd
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"K - RETURN OF KINGS" (Novel)
CHAPTER 9: NEKO'S DREAM (Part 3)
* List of Chapters
Translation: Naru-kun
Raws: Ridia
"What are you going to do?"
Actually, no such voice was heard.
However, the gazes that were directed from everywhere said so. Curiosity, animosity. The reason why they were so obvious was not because Kuro's senses were particularly good, but because the people looking at him didn't know how to hide their feelings.
"You can't be stupid!"
"Photos, photos. Even information alone will earn you points!"
He took a deep breath.
It wasn't even a problem and he didn't attack. He could have thrown it away, but he didn't like to take advantage of a reluctant enemy. "Jungle" is definitely his enemy. He doesn't know what to do with the photos, but he can't let them serve as a "mission."
His body submerged for a moment and Kuro jumped high.
From railings to streetlights, kicking over traffic lights and signs, moving in a zigzag trajectory. It was a very slight distraction that a normal psychic could detect, but there was a scream from behind.
"Ah, he ran away!"
"Damn, I couldn't take a photo!"
After all, "Jungle" is that kind of group of people.
Humans who can't even be called psychic to the extent that ordinary people have grown hair. He can't even fight a decent battle, and if he ever gets into that kind of situation, he'll run away as fast as he can. Originally, they were not Kuro's enemies.
He thinks that's why it's so troublesome.
They are not combatants. These are the countless eyes and ears of "Jungle". There's no point in destroying it, but if you leave it alone, it will deal damage. Kuro couldn't even imagine how Hisui Nagare, the core and brain of "Jungle", would handle the information he received from his eyes and ears.
This is happening more and more every day. Neither "Scepter 4" nor "Homura" were able to capture "Jungle". It's only natural that there hasn't been any movement since the decisive battle a month ago...
At that moment, an explosion sounded nearby.
Kuro took a deep breath and immediately went into a fighting stance. While he was holding a shopping bag, he placed his hand on the sword at his waist. In front of his gaze was a man with an unearthly light that seemed to have caused the explosion.
But...
"Oh, it's not me!"
The man was completely confused. Pushed by the surrounding gazes, he took a few steps back and put his hand on the fire hydrant. Then, the red light shining on his hand moved towards the fire hydrant, and in the next instant, the fire hydrant exploded, spraying a large amount of water.
"Kyaaaa!"
A passing woman reached out her hand to block the fall of water. And this time, a blue light inhabited her hand, creating a distorted shield. The shield barely repelled the water, but its distorted shape spread the water over a wider area, drenching even more people.
"Wow?! What the hell is this?!"
"Ah, that guy! He's a psychic!"
Anxiety and fear created chaos that spread like an epidemic. It was as if he could see it in Kuro's eyes.
"What?!"
With the shopping bags still in hand, Kuro ran outside to clear up the confusion. There is no way that they, who until just now were ordinary people, knew how to calm down and control their supernatural powers.
Cursing Hisui Nagare in his heart, wondering if that was his purpose to unnecessarily sow confusion, Kuro extended his hand towards the people who had become makeshift Strains.
Overhead, the announcer from the street television was announcing with a serious expression.
"Next is the news about the incidents involving supernatural powers that are rapidly increasing across the country!"
++++++++++
"Since the beginning of the year, the Cabinet has introduced a special emergency bill for countermeasures at the national administrative level in response to incidents involving singular abilities that have been occurring frequently throughout the Kanto region."
Underground temple, "Secret Base".
Hisui Nagare continued his work while listening to the voices of the news echoing through the six mat room.
In the same room, the executives of "Jungle" met. Sukuna was enjoying the game as always and Mishakuji was doing strange poses one after another on the yoga mat. And Iwafune was slowly drinking beer while he was watching the news on TV.
"Oh, the "Slate" test is going well, isn't it? Old Kokujoji's information control doesn't work anymore."
"Yes, everything is going well!"
Nagare stopped working and looked at Iwafune.
"Yes, the number of people receiving special powers from the "Dresden Slate" is increasing. It's working well."
Mishakuji muttered in ecstasy as he moved into the "pigeon pose" on the mat.
"Fufufu. A new age is coming where everyone will shine with their own individuality. A chaotic jungle age full of life. A paradise for the fittest."
"Paradise. Isn't that what people call "hell"?"
Iwafune laughed as he said that, but Nagare didn't let it slip that there was a cold, hollow feeling in his voice.
Iwafune is his ally. There is no doubt about that. However, if he were to ask if Iwafune affirmed everything Nagare wanted in the world, it would not.
Sukuna, who was still lying down, shot teasing words at him.
"Hm, what's wrong? Are you scared old man?"
"Old man, old man! You coward!"
Iwafune didn't resist and shrugged slightly.
"Not that I have any complaints. The hell I can see is a little better than the hell I can't see. That's my choice."
Iwafune lied and started drinking beer again, while Nagare operated the device in his wheelchair. A window appeared in the air behind him and a real-time image of the "Slate" was displayed.
"Currently, about 40% of the unlocking of the "Slate" has progressed. As a result, the people who become Strains are constantly increasing. There are probably some who have managed to control their powers and are cleverly hiding their supernatural powers, so that the actual number is much higher than the data. It doesn't seem to be directly proportional to the progress of the opening and the awakening of the supernatural powers."
Added various screens to the "Slate" of the video. Display of seals, mostly gold and some blue.
"The special protection that the "Golden King" had over the "Slate was about to be released naturally. The "Blue King" reinforced that. As expected, he governs the "order" and precisely separates the supernatural powers surrounding the "Slate". But that will soon be fixed."
"If that happens, all 7 billion humans will become kings."
Nagare nodded to Mishakuji, who smiled in "bow stance".
"Affirmative. In order to make the arrival of the next era faster and safer, we have also issued a series of special missions for "Jungle" players."
The image in the window changed and an electronic map of Tokyo was displayed. The "Jungle" seal, which indicates the mission in progress, continues to move slowly.
After hearing about the mission, Sukuna stood up. He looked at the map skeptically and muttered to himself.
"Is that the "starter plan"?"
"Capture and scout newborn Strains, monitor and restrain other clans, and lay the groundwork for our future movements."
"Hmph, don't bother."
The reason why Sukuna pouted was probably because he wasn't involved in the "Boot Plan". Maybe he didn't like the fact that he didn't have the opportunity to participate in a mission that seemed interesting.
Mishakuji scolded Sukuna as he took the "Hero Pose".
"Delicious food requires preparation, Sukuna-chan."
"A moment ago you said: "Survival of the fittest". Winner takes all, right? Eat or be eaten?"
Sukuna manipulated the PDA into calling a certain news site. The person reflected there is none other than Mishakuji Yukari. Wearing an elegant suit, he smiled as if he were spinning on a potter's wheel.
"What the hell is this?! Why are you interviewing me without permission?!"
Sukuna looked at him and expressed his own impressions of him.
"It says here: "Beautiful CEO, Mishakuji Yukari. Member of "Jungle", which stretches into the future." Hey, you said something big."
"Oh, it's a cheap camera, but it looks pretty good. Let's spread it later."
"Hey, Nagare! Are you alright?"
Sukuna seemed to realize that he couldn't understand it and pointed at Nagare in a fit of anger. Nagare responded with an inorganic expression.
"Since the "boot plan" is a plan for us to make public, there is no problem in being exposed to the media. The method of exposure is entirely up to Yukari."
Mishakuji said confidently as he moved into the "Standing Tree Pose".
"In a group, something called a "flower" is necessary. That's right, the "flower" is me. With that, they will unite like bees attracted to honey."
"Don't say the same as the interview written here! Damn, the King of "Jungle" is Nagare! You're just a decoration!"
"I can't go to the "front" yet. If I make my whereabouts clear, it might invite other clans to intervene."
"Boot Plan" is a great mission to advance "Jungle" to the front. Since it was a plan to advance to the "table", a person was needed to be the representative. Nagare for the right reasons, Iwafune because of his personal beliefs and Sukuna because he is a boy, the white arrow was Mishakuji. That could be the reason why Sukuna was irritated.
However, Sukuna was right. In other words, it is a standing position, like a panda attracting customers, a clown. He was a little worried that it would go against Mishakuji's aesthetics.
"The decoration is not good. If it is a role that draws people's attention by beautifully decorating the whole body, I would appreciate it."
Surprisingly, Mishakuji was quite enthusiastic. Even if he is a clown, it might be a treat for him if he gets a lot of attention.
"I also really like the CEO position. There are many unique people among the VIPs in various fields, and various seeds are sprouting among the clan members."
As Mishakuji murmured in delight, the marker on the electronic map made a sound in response. A mission accomplished report. A great mission of 3000JP. What is shown there is a picture of a suspicious person wearing a black mask.
Iwafune reacted while he drank beer.
"Oh? Is this the ninja girl you mentioned?"
"That's right, Douhan Hirasaka. During the first attack on Mihashira Tower in October, she was captured by "Scepter 4" and lost a lot of points, but in the last month she regained points and returned to U-Rank."
"As expected of Douhan-chan. But she seems like she has recently become a good person."
It was a glamorous way of speaking that seemed to be typical of Mishakuji, but it was somewhat deceptive. Nagare tampered with the device and summoned a new person.
Iwafune put down the beer can and widened his eyes in surprise.
"Oh, this guy is..."
"It is rumored that he is a new face."
"Wow! News, new face!"
Everyone was staring at the person. He has a listless look and for some reason holds a knife in his mouth. It can be said that he is the person who is currently attracting the most attention within "Jungle". After all, his predecessor is his predecessor.
"Fushimi Saruhiko. Former number 3 of "Scepter 4". He has also rapidly increased his points since a month ago and has risen to U-Rank immediately."
"I know. This guy is a bounty boss."
Sukuna crossed her arms with a dangerous smile. Nagare, who understood what he was thinking, immediately stabbed him.
"Right now, the bounty on Fushimi Saruhiko has been suspended. I won't stop you if you want to fight, but I wouldn't recommend it. He is a promising player."
"Hmm."
Sukuna snorted and turned to the side. Iwafune asked as he stroked his beard.
"I for one am curious about the old "Scepter 4". If you think about it normally, he might be a secret agent, right?"
"Of course, we have the highest level of surveillance on him. However, no evidence of his contact with "Scepter 4" was found on any network. For now, we can only consider him as a target."
"Hmm, isn't it that kind of thing?"
The Fushimi icon made a sound signaling that the mission was accomplished. Seeing that point, Iwafune raised his voice.
"Hey, he has over 90,000 points!"
"It's not a point that can be earned in about a month. There's a chance some kind of trick will be used. It's fun."
"Hey, is that a trap?"
Sukuna clucked and Nagare quoted from the data Hirasaka sent the other day.
"According to him, it's not a trap, it's a glitch. If there's a hole, use "Jungle". I agree."
"......"
Sukuna's disgust grew stronger. But unfortunately, there was no adult there to calm him down. Mishakuji said happily as he gradually turned his body into "Hero Pose 2".
"If he completes the next big mission, he might even go up to J-Rank."
"Very likely. I have high hopes."
"Wow. This room is getting a bit lively."
The elders said what they wanted and Sukuna stood up as if he had been frustrated.
"Hmph, this is always not a big deal."
"Oh? Where are you going, Sukuna?"
"I'll catch some small fish."
Saying that, Sukuna headed towards the exit. Mishakuji cast a mocking voice behind him.
"OMG, a newcomer caught me and I got nervous~♪"
"Hey!"
Is it a sign from the stars that they looked at it? Sukuna, who must have realized that, didn't say anything else and left the room with wild steps.
Nagare bowed his head.
"I have a question. Why is Sukuna angry? An increase in our combat strength should be a joyous thing for us."
Iwafune laughed out loud, but did not answer the question. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Mishakuji.
"Yukari-chan, don't have fun and provoke the child. You are mean."
"Even if it's bad, it's love."
Smiling charmingly, Mishakuji made a heart symbol with his hand and, seeing that, Nagare bowed his head again.
++++++++++
"I am at home now."
When he opened the door to his room in the student dormitory, two voices greeted him at the same time.
"Welcome home~"
"Sorry to bother you."
One voice belongs to Isana Yashiro, who is a roommate. And then, the owner of the other voice left the room. Kukuri Yukizome. A common friend of Kuro, Shiro, and Neko. The smile she had on her face turned into a surprised face when she saw Kuro drenched.
"What? Is it raining outside? Towel, towel..."
Saying that, she retreated to the bathroom and threw down the bath towel. With a wry smile, Kuro accepted it gratefully.
"No... today I also had some problems with supernatural beings in the city."
Saying that, as he dried his hair, Kukuri frowned painfully.
"Oh, yes, there's a big ruckus here and there. I know, it's pretty scary when you first see it."
Kukuri crossed her arms and nodded. A year ago, she too experienced a similar situation when the school was occupied by "Homura". It was there that Kukuri first touched a supernatural power the world did not know.
Kukuri quickly waved her hand away.
"Ah! Sorry, I wasn't talking about Kuro-kun, okay? Kuro-kun and Wagahai-chan aren't scary at all!"
"I understand. Thank you, Kukuri."
"Hahaha... Ah, I have to go to the student council. Kuro-kun, I'll leave you some cookies, so please eat them."
In response, Neko's voice echoed from the living room.
"Wagahai is eating! It's delicious!"
"Well then Shiro-kun too. Good luck with your studies~"
"Yes, thanks."
And so, leaving only a bright smile, Kukuri lightly left.
Kuro put the used bath towel in the laundry basket and entered the living room. There, Shiro and Neko were sitting next to each other. A small table was placed on the raised tatami and a large amount of materials was spread out on it. With chimaki wrapped around his head, he looks like a student in the middle of a race.
"Thank you for shopping, Kuro. How is it outside?"
"The security situation is getting worse and worse. A month ago, the ''Slate'' that fell into the hands of the ''Green King'' surpassed the clan's boundaries and began to grant special abilities to common people."
After encountering a supernatural incident along the way, Kuro calmed down the panicked new Strains and then handed them over to ''Scepter 4''. Of course, they didn't cause it on purpose, so it shouldn't be a crime, but the confusion and fear that flashed in their eyes were vividly etched in his mind.
''Fortunately no one appears to have been injured, but that is within visible range. I've heard there's damage elsewhere."
For a moment, Shiro's movement stopped. He slightly tilted his face.
And Neko next to him took a cookie.
"Shiro!"
Out of reflex, Shiro opened his mouth. Neko tossed a cookie there and Shiro nodded slightly as he munched on the cookie.
"Yes. Take immediate action. We have to complete this investigation as soon as possible."
"No, I don't blame you, but you have a very auspicious attitude."
Shiro looked at Kuro and smiled with concern.
"Ahaha... I completely failed in the Christmas matter. But I can't give up. This time we have to properly stop the "Dresden Slate" and the "Green King" Hisui Nagare."
A month ago, the "Decisive Battle of Mihashira Tower" ended in complete defeat.
Although no one was killed, the "Dresden Slate" was captured and its subsequent whereabouts are unknown. "Scepter 4" continues to search with all its might for it, but due to the frequent incidents of supernatural powers, it seems that he is not going smoothly. It was only natural for Munakata to reject Shiro and Kuro's offer of help. Dogs are fond of "tracking."
However, it seems that Shiro didn't take the news of the force knocked out seriously.
There are things that only Shiro can do. How to deal with the "Dresden Slate" stolen by Hisui Nagare. Only Adolf K. Weismann, who discovered the "Slate", can come up with it.
"When I was a child, my sister scolded me a lot. "If you make a mess, clean it up yourself", she said."
Suddenly, Shiro looked into the distance and stared at the photo frame on the dining table.
There are sepia-toned photographs of three people, two men and a woman. Adolf K. Weismann, Shiro's predecessor, his sister Claudia Weismann, and a young Daikaku Kokujoji.
"I'm the only one who can clean it up. If I don't finish it properly, they'd both get mad."
Kuro has no way of knowing how Shiro feels about his late sister and best friend. He just looked down at the ground and speak with a vague thought.
"You've been doing great for the past month. I can't do anything, so I'm not worthy."
Right now, the only thing Kuro can do is calm down the commotion caused by "Jungle" and Hisui Nagare. It's not even a symptomatic treatment, it's just a cleaning. Even while he was doing that, the thought of Nagare constantly breaking the seal made him feel more and more impatient.
And while Neko nodded to that Kuro.
"That's right, Shiro is fine! Kurosuke is the useless one!"
"I don't want you to tell me that...!"
Kuro was a bit upset by her cheerful words, but he still felt relieved somewhere in his heart.
Because Neko had fully recovered.
Even after learning her true identity and choosing to stay with Shiro and Kuro, Neko still showed signs of depression from time to time. Neither Kuro nor Shiro clearly know the cause, because Neko didn't want to talk.
Maybe it's due to Neko's past. Shiro speculated that she had sealed her own memories due to some kind of trauma. She was very scared because it was about to be resolved.
She couldn't face the past that was so painful that she had to abandon it and be reborn as a different existence. Therefore, the only thing Kuro can do is be by her side. Together with Shiro, he snuggles up to Neko. That's all he can do.
A series of thoughts arose again, but...
"Kuro cooks for us every day."
Suddenly, Shiro said that. Kuro shook his head with a bitter face.
"Don't mix things up. It's serious."
Shiro smiled.
"It's a serious story. If Kuro doesn't cook for us, we'll die. If I don't do something with the "Slate", humanity will be in trouble. That's why I have to complete the countermeasures against the "Slate", and Kuro has to cook for us."
"That's right!"
Kuro smiled wryly at Neko to which she nodded. Just when he was wondering if she really understood, Neko nodded and said happily.
"Kurosuke works hard on his food! Shiro works hard on his studio! Wagahai works hard on supporting them! It's fine!"
Neko then took Kukuri's cookie and threw it at Kuro. As he looked at the cookie that he received, he thought that it was correct.
Do what you can. Step by step, move on. Ultimately, that's it. There is no point in rushing and if you try to find a way out, you may fall into a trap. She seemed like she was saying something irrelevant, but what Neko said was definitely the truth.
"That's right. I think so too."
Shiro reluctantly agreed and turned to the mass of material.
"I think I'll go with the "Sounding Hammer" plan for the "Slate". The Sanctum, which is deployed in a special state, causes an irreversible transition into the Weismann phase of the "Dresden Slate". This is an application of my sister Dr. Claudia Weismann's "Schwert Second Control Methodology", and it looks like this."
Shiro showed him a notepad with a diagram of arrows and spirals. No matter how you look at it, it's a child's doodle, but it's probably imbued with immeasurable meaning.
"Fufu, yes, that's good."
After all, Neko nodded. Looking at him, Kuro said.
"I see. For dinner, it's curry."
"Hurrah!"
"Curry! Yes!"
Neko and Shiro jumped for joy and clapped their hands. With a quick smile, Kuro headed to the kitchen to put on his apron.
++++++++++
Fujinouchi, Tokyo. Millennium Hotel.
New Year's Day is over, and the neighborhood, back to normal, was tremendously lively that day. Luxury limousines and stylish sports cars arrive one after another, spitting out beautifully dressed people. The relaxed and dignified appearance was exactly that of the upper class, and they entered the hotel one after another while chatting in groups.
Among the crowd were a couple of familiar people. A man and a woman.
As for the man, he is quite handsome with a soft gaze and a sweet mask. The elegant figure standing in a suit looks like a model somewhere.
The woman is a beauty with her glamorous limbs draped in an evening gown. Her chest, daringly open, is adorned with a pearl necklace.
It is about Izumo Kusanagi and Seri Awashima, number 2 of "Homura" and "Scepter 4".
They talked in secret.
"Still, I didn't expect to receive a date invitation from Seri-chan. And at a celebrity party like this."
"We are currently understaffed. In the first place, it was you who brought the information about this party."
The way they link arms and whisper in each other's ears is like a perfect lover. However, the sharp glances that Awashima occasionally displays as she watches the guests cannot be attributed to those of the upper class.
With a smile, Kusanagi brought his lips to Awashima's ear and pointed it out.
"Seri-chan, Smile, smile. Here, the daughter of the president of R&B Corporation, "Kusakabe Lise", I want you to behave appropriately."
"...I know."
After answering briefly, Awashima gave an awkward smile. The dress that makes movement difficult and the smile that hides her true face are far from the usual Awashima. She's not used to it, but work is work.
It was none other than Kusanagi who got the information that "Jungle" was planning a large-scale party.
The party, dubbed "Jungle Bootup Reception", was to be hosted by a new company "Jungle", which operates an advanced SNS, and invited celebrities from various fields. Many celebrities accepted the invitation, although they were not that famous, because they were starting to get the hang of it.
Concepts like clans and supernatural powers were hidden by "Tokijikuin". But that's just on a general level. It was an open fact for people who extended their antennae, even a little. And the recognition of "Jungle" was proof that the story of the capture of the "Dresden Slate" was widespread.
When she told him that information, Kusanagi said something reluctant.
"Those big boys have light footwork. Riding the winning horse, he's too cheeky. I wonder if that's the case."
That comment resonated with Awashima, from "Scepter 4," with a sense of coldness.
After they were defeated in the "Decisive Battle of Mihashira Tower", the loss of "Scepter 4" was clearly visible. The information provided by other public institutions stagnated and some began to blatantly ignore their requests. Even when she informed Munakata, all she could hear was a single word: "Are you sure?" That weakness was going to produce the result of being despised again.
Hearing such insults being openly uttered by some people about youths trying to seize hegemony in a country without knowing where they stood and were left on their knees after clumsily failing, Awashima felt her blood rise again.
However, Awashima said nothing. She is the deputy commander of "Scepter 4" and is in charge of all practical matters. Undercover investigation into this match was the "practice's" top priority. "Jungle, who hadn't been caught by his tail until now, dared to appear on the surface... No matter what, it was necessary to capture the information there.
Awashima said with a sigh.
"If Fushimi was here, I wouldn't have bothered you."
Fushimi Saruhiko left "Scepter 4" after the "Battle of Mihashira Tower", and his whereabouts were unknown.
The last time Fushimi was seen was in the "Scepter 4" detention center, when he escaped with Hirasaka Douhan.
She kept it inside "Scepter 4" and didn't tell other clans about it. Even Kusanagi shouldn't have known either.
"I see. Fushimi hasn't been found yet. What about Munakata-san?"
"I don't know. The chief's thoughts, Fushimi's feelings."
Awashima frowned as if to bear the pain. Kusanagi gently hugged Awashima's shoulder.
"Well, that's a disappointing face. It's a fun party, Seri-chan."
"Don't be silly."
Reflexively she tried to push his hand away from her, but she stopped. Actions that inadvertently attract attention should be avoided. Awashima looked at Kusanagi with an angry smile, and Kusanagi, with an unfamiliar attitude, continued to escort Awashima.
The receptionist at the "Jungle Bootup Reception" place was wearing a mechanical mask.
Awashima frowned. She has seen that mask many times. For Awashima, it was a symbol of a coward who wants to hide his true identity while he commits crimes. Awashima is frustrated and righteously outraged that such a coward would openly work as a receptionist at a luxury hotel.
Kusanagi gave Awashima a light pat on the back and stepped forward.
"Please sign in on the spot."
Kusanagi brought his face closer to the PDA that was outstretched. The PDA made an electronic beep and scanned Kusanagi's retina, displaying his ID. The receptionist smiled; although he couldn't see his face, he reached out and pointed to the door of the place.
"Kusakabe Izuru-sama and his wife. Welcome. Please head to the entrance there."
"Ok."
Awashima looked at Kusanagi as she walked arm in arm.
"So, I'm your "wife"?"
"Yes, my love."
Kusanagi doesn't feel uncomfortable at all. Awashima sighed softly, put on the domino mask she was given, and entered the venue.
The party venue was quite big. It is probably the most prestigious place in this hotel and you can see the night view of Tokyo from the windows that stretch along the wall. Under the luxuriously shimmering chandelier, celebrities in domino masks converse and are entertained by tuxedo-clad members of the "Jungle" clan. The only strange thing was that they were wearing a mask that covered their entire face.
"Hmm, this is a celebrity party that's better than you've heard."
In response to Kusanagi's admiration, Awashima quickly determined the customer's physiognomy.
"Senior government officials, businessmen, movie actors, writers, even the current prime minister."
The anger rose again. It is a well-known fact that it is none other than the current Prime Minister Kanichi Samukawa who is spearheading the condemnation of Munakata. First of all, "Jungle" is a terrorist, and it could be said that the Prime Minister's attendance at a party organized by that terrorist was a serious problem.
"Seri-chan, smile, smile."
"I know."
When she answered in a tone that he didn't understand at all, a voice suddenly blared from the ceiling speaker.
"I would like to thank everyone here for coming to the "Jungle Bootup Reception". On behalf of the organizers, "Jungle" Corporation CEO Mishakuji Yukari would like to greet everyone."
The lighting dimmed and a spotlight shone on the person who appeared on the stage. Both Kusanagi and Awashima are well acquainted with the man, with his hair slicked back and dressed in a smart suit.
"Everyone, welcome to the new era!"
The dignified behavior of him is almost the same as when he faced Kusanagi and Awashima in the "Decisive Battle of Mihashira Tower". Kusanagi muttered bitterly.
"Mishakuji Yukari from "Jungle", both his face and name are exposed. How bold."
"So he doesn't even feel the need to hide anymore."
As Mishakuji extended his arms, the screen behind him projected a huge "Jungle" logo. A confident speech echoed throughout the room.
"Everyone here is very lucky, because we can be the pioneers of a new era! Our information network "Jungle" will go beyond mere communication tools to redefine human beings as a next generation social infrastructure. The possibilities that before us are, yes, infinite..."
For Awashima, it was excruciating nonsense. No, her job is to make a fool out of it. Awashima winked softly at Kusanagi, leaving him and slipping into the crowd of people hanging out here and there. The voices of them gossiping whispered in Awashima's ear.
"The supernatural incidents that have been going on for a while have become a tailwind, haven't they?"
"It seems that the "Jungle" system will also be introduced to related ministries and agencies."
"There are rumors that that power will be ours."
With the power of her will, she hardened the expression that was about to turn hard. She knows there will be a headwind. She came all the way here to do something about it.
Then, she saw a middle-aged man waving his wine glass and laughing out loud.
"Well, it's a very happy day! Now that disgusting young man can't play any role! Is this the first year of "Jungle"? Hahaha!"
After stepping on the foot of the current Prime Minister with all her might with her heel, Awashima proceeded smoothly. It would be a lie to say that she couldn't stop drinking when she heard the screaming behind him, but Awashima quickly forgot. Because the target appeared right in front of her.
She pretended to trip in front of an attendant wearing a mechanical mask and then fell. The attendant immediately held Awashima up with one arm, and Awashima dared to press her chest against her arm.
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
From the other side of the mask, she could clearly feel the turmoil within. Awashima frowned in annoyance and looked at the staff with moist eyes.
"Excuse me, I'm a little dizzy."
"Oh, customer? Are you okay?"
"I wonder if I had too much to drink. I want to go somewhere quiet."
The attendant's throat rose and fell at the charming whisper.
++++++++++
And the officer collapsed on the ground.
He went down unconscious with a blow to a vital point, but it shouldn't be a lasting injury. Kusanagi turned to Awashima, who was next to him, after apologizing with a single bow.
#k#k project#k stories#reisi munakata#scepter 4#homra#fushimi saruhiko#neko#isana yashiro#yatogami kuro#silver clan#seri awashima#kusanagi izumo#nagare hisui#iwafune tenkei#kotosaka#sukuna gojo#mishakuji yukari#jungle#k rok
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Monster Spotlight: Psychic Stalker
CR 7
Neutral Evil Medium Undead
Occult Bestiary, pg. 45 (also Bestiary 6, pg. 216)
Violent and envious undead created when a psychic spellcaster dies a hideous and violent death, Psychic Stalkers are a step above Shadows and Will-o-the-Wisps on the “invisible, incorporeal, bastardous monster that’s incredibly difficult to harm” ladder. The Formless ability of a Stalker makes it invisible, incorporeal, and impossible to detect or reveal through any means or spell; no Invisibility Purge, no See Invisibility, no Glitterdust or Faerie Fire, not even the old flour trick will work here! You’ve all the frustrations of fighting an enemy that cannot be seen or hit with nonmagical weapons in a single monster here! What more could you ask for?
There is SOME mercy in this design, though: it lacks the titanic AC and magic immunity of the Will-o-wisp (though it has twice as much HP to make up for it), and lacks the ability to cause depopulation events like a Shadow can. Also, it’s a high-enough level threat that the party is starting to get some AoE spells, and since it’s not immune to magic, the party caster can just blast its general area, and the party Cleric can weaken it with pulsed Channel Energy if needed. ... you know, if you know it’s there. A Psychic Stalker can jumpscare an otherwise prepared and alert party because it basically doesn’t exist until it gets right on top of the party and attacks, and its first attack may as well be undodgable thanks to being an incorporeal touch attack... which, depending on who it hits, may just end them instantly.
See, while Shadows attack Str and Willywisps attack HP, Psychic Stalkers attack Charisma, the most dumped stat in the entire game. There is no saving throw to avoid a Stalker’s consumption of a victim’s ego; if it hits with an incorporeal touch attack (which it has a +10 to), that’s an automatic 1d6 Cha damage. If you dumped Cha to 6 or 8 and the Stalker gets lucky, you may be out of the fight before initiative is even rolled. Luckily, the death caused by their Charisma damage isn’t instant, because a creature at 0 Charisma can survive by making DC 20 Will saves... but, unluckily, this is because Stalkers want their victims alive. Specifically, they want their victims at half their normal Cha, something--again--they may be able to do with a single attack.
Any creature who’s lost half their Cha score can be targeted by the Stalker’s Fleeting Possession, a dangerous and draining form of inhabitation that can be resisted with a DC 20 Will save (which renders the creature immune to further attempts for 24 hours). A creature that fails falls under the Stalker’s control, where it then immediately begins to deluge its senses with whatever stimulus it can. Drinking potions, eating rations, slamming its hands in a door, screaming and shouting and singing, the Stalker does whatever it can in the short time it has before its host’s mind is torn apart and the host is killed, because the Stalker continues to uncontrollably deal 1d6 Cha damage to the possessed victim every round, which can and will eventually kill them.
In an interesting twist, the Stalker becomes vulnerable when it’s just about to possess someone. Anyone suffering even a single point of Cha damage from the creature’s touch attack is able to see exactly where it is, viewing it as an abstract cloud of psychic energy with the image of a skull inside it. While this negates the advantage granted by its invisibility, it’s still incorporeal and thus immune to nonmagic weapons. While you’re bound to have at least one or two by the time you’re expected to fight one of these, there’s a chance you won’t depending on your DM, so seeing it doesn’t really mean much for a victim that doesn’t have a direct way to damage or deflect it before it flies into their body and uses it to savage the rest of the party.
Though the Stalker is willing to waste time sating its mad lusts for sensation, attacking it while it’s in possession of a host body is a good way to make it lash out with all its new skills and muscle. After all, who’s more likely to have dumped Charisma and gotten possessed in the first place: the Sorcerer, or the Fighter? Again and again I say that the most dangerous monster a party can face is itself, and this one comes with the caveat that not ending the Possession effect in 2 or 3 rounds spells death for the victim even if you manage to slap them with Hold Person to keep them from attacking everyone. And then the Psychic Stalker just moves on to the next nearest creature to begin the cycle all over again.
Except now it has help, because any creature it slays with its possession becomes an echohusk that’s bound to obey its every mental command. So I suppose you could say I lied when I said it can’t cause a depopulation event, because it’s very possible that the party could encounter the stumbling remains of a former town that trundles towards them and have a confusing but worrying moment wondering why the zombies are preferring nonlethal damage and restraints... and then the grappled Rogue suddenly loses half their Charisma to a foe no one else can see. Really, the fact that it’s utterly invisible except to the creature it’s attacking may just make the party think some form of illusion is at play instead of a creature, especially if there’s zombies keeping the rest of the party from thinking clearly.
You can read more about them here.
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Unit Teambuilding - Neo Champion Rosa
Fun fact! Meloetta is my favorite mythical Pokemon. I adore this little Vocaloid baby. So I've been anticipating the day it finally got added. I always expected more of a seasonal/PokeFair kinda deal, maybe with Lisia, but apparently we're going full-on Master Fair with Rosa. So she's gonna be good, right?
General Overview
Psychic Support. An instant OHKO on my hopes for a Normal Meloetta that type shifts, but I guess the plus side is my Psychic army is ever-growing. Also, she does type shift to Fighting, and all her moves seem to be Normal, as her sync is listed with Normal-type damage modifiers, so...I don't know, theme skills are weird.
Buddy Relic Song has AoE, and gives +1 crit, +2 to a random stat, and transforms Meloetta each use, with a passive giving +1 PMUN and SMUN each transformation. Her first attack in each form applies Psychic or Fighting rebuff, she gets both, and each attack gives +1 Sp Def (Aria) or +1 Def (Pirouette). Her trainer move is a pop +2 PMUN (Pirouette) or SMUN (Aria), with +2 team speed. She is the most consistent moves up next stacker in the game, with the most consistent fast-acting stacks in the game at present for either offensive type. And that's just her base kit, with two moves. She has Potion, and changes between Sing in Aria, and Teeter Dance in Pirouette. Her grid provides options like Precision Pals, MPR1 for even more stacking, Force Field/Team Stoic to get some guaranteed defenses, Curative Confusion for passive regen, Easy Pickings for random debuffs on foes, double Potion MPR, and Go Viral in case you really need Sing to just mess with the whole team, but I actually think Go Viral sleep is detrimental at this point in my life.
Rosa's rotation is fairly clear, at least to me. Spam Buddy move out the gate, while your allies handle boosting Atk/Sp Atk by themselves. By the time they're done, you're around first sync, which Rosa takes, getting Support EX buff. She then kicks in Sprint role and ramps so you're guaranteed second sync before foe's first. Then you either use Buddy move once to get to the form you want, or go straight to TM to stack moves up, until the opponent dies. There is no mercy. Only Meloetta.
Rosa's problems, however, are just as apparent. The main one is her Buddy move conditional. She needs to "not be in a pinch." Which is that red blinking HP level around 25%. Heavy hits in CS are a massive threat to her, and if she's taking Half Healing as a parameter, which is often free money in CS, it's hard to get her back on track. She also can't reliably buff Atk/Sp Atk, which means she's excellent for top-tier self-sufficient damage dealers, but pretty bad otherwise. Also she needs partners with good DPS attacks; low DPS gets borderline nothing from her. Another flaw, and this seems to be a personal stance, is that Sing is a bad decision. Yes, I hear you, general meta theorists. Sleep is insanely powerful and broken as a status for disruption. But it also means Rosa can't queue another action before the foe re-queues, which means if she's sleep-locking, she's not doing literally anything else. It also means having to run Troublemaker as a lucky skill to hit literally anything ever, because 45% accuracy. Even with the +20 accuracy she can get from grid, which is expensive and removes her better utility, AND the Precision Pals effect on TM, that's...around 85% accuracy. Which is still far too shaky to rely on. But she doesn't get Vigilance, so you're leaving yourself wide open on crits.
Which brings us to the big flaw. My first opinion of Rosa was "this seems kinda tame." It's because her grid sucks ass. Her kit does a lot, but considering that Blue not only had a super good base kit but also got an absurd grid that gave him even further tools that were unnecessary? Rosa feels like she should be getting more than this. Her tools are underwhelming on grid, and it's hard to build anything overly cohesive out of it. And like...no built-in Vigilance? I thought we fixed this shit with Melony; if you have Sing, you want Vigilance on grid so you can take Troublemaker, otherwise you're Elio, who is bad. Melony got this, but somehow Master Fair Rosa didn't? Why? This isn't exactly a tall order if a general pool can do it. Even her ability to boost team defense is +1 per attack, similar to Blue, but without his offense debuffing and chance for flinch. They even have the audacity to make them two separate skills on opposite ends of the grid. Rosa's grid legitimately feels like one of the worst all year for very little reason.
My stance on Rosa lands somewhere between "This is the best support in the game" and "Oddly under-kitted." Depending on partner, she's either the unquestionable best partner for 3v3 content given her stacking and defensive backbone with healing, or she's accomplishing next to nothing because her kit locked her into one niche unlike NC Blue who got to do literally everything at the same time. I think if the grid were less garbage, she'd have an argument for being better than him. But as it stands, she's at home among the other Master Fair support, but I don't know if I'd call her strictly better than Bede, and certainly not better than Blue. Which is just typical Kanto bias shit. My favorite couldn't just lose to Kanto, but to Zapdos? Rude.
EX, Role, and Move Level?
If you're looking at Rosa like damn. I wish I had that kind of stacking power. 1/5 has all you need. Legitimately, she's fine 1/5. EX is a good idea for the stats, given her buddy move conditional, but you only need the one copy. 3/5 is when you just get silly with the defensive backbone she doesn't need but will gladly take, and some other niche tools that don't do much because again, I do not respect her grid. The EX Role is honestly one of the most worth it things ever. Support/Sprint is one of the best combos in the game, and my pick for outright best. It's perfect pace for 3v3 metas, ensuring two syncs before foe's first even without quad queue, denial, or Adrenaline. Supremely worth it. And good news! She's the first and currently only Sprint sub-Role! So you have the cake. Choose wisely though, because there's good odds of SST Red and Aura Cynthia at the start of the year with roles, and I have a feeling Cynthia's getting Sprint.
Team 1: NC Rosa, SS Lana, SS Lusamine
Alright let's start with one on-type pick each, the best of each kind. Lusamine Hours. Rosa's +1 crit is all Lusamine needs for a successful fast-ramping nuke, and the ability to stack both types of Moves Up Next means both Lana and Lusamine fire at maximum capacity at all times. With a defensive-minded grid, she is able to consistently provide what Bede could not: a serious means of survival in High Score. Potion's pop heal just doubles down on this flexibility, achieving an absolutely bonkers performance. With Lana and Lusamine already fast-ramping to Lusamine's transformation, and Meloetta's Sprint role, she even contributes meaningfully to the ongoing Psychic Ramp meta.
Team 2: NC Rosa, NC Hop, Rei
"But Aura Cynthia-" redundant. Rosa stacks harder than Cynthia could ever imagine, and the rebuff is much better than duplication of Zone. And with Rei's Sprint role, welcome to fast ramp central, complete with sure-flinch lockdown and rapid defensive drops.
Team 3: NC Rosa, Anni Lillie, Renegade Cynthia
Okay, time to start getting a little silly with it. NC Rosa's ability to boost team speed, as well as boosting both offenses, anchors a dual strike opportunity like Lillie and Cynthia. Anni Lillie has tremendous DPS, and adores the stacks of SMUN. Meanwhile, Cynthia has the ability to store one type of moves up for the other, including a potential explosion off of Shadow Force. Having both options at her disposal allows Cynthia to just go ballistic here.
Team 4: NC Rosa, SS N, Glaceon/Colress
As alluded to in the previous set, one thing Rosa can be incredibly funny for is the 2-turn move nuke. SS N's Freeze Shock is bullshit powerful, having 300BP at base. Now consider a situation where N gets to throw out Freeze Shock, but he's loaded up with PMUN. And also there's either Zone, or there's Def debuffs. Are we really...going to argue this one? I might actually, a non-EX SS N often fails me. Two-turn damage is still a problem.
Team 5: NC Rosa, SS Hilda, Blaine/NC Leaf
SS Hilda is similar to Renegade Cynthia, being extremely high damage, but having both physical and special moves available. She can DPS nuke both ways. Add in Sun, and her damage is frankly batty. It doesn't even matter where the Sun comes from, anyone will do, but Leaf is the comedy hour option.
Team 6: NC Rosa, Nemona, Volkner/Jolteon
Another fun option: Nemona. Nemona operates on burst damage, she's not good at DPS. Rosa's stacks PMUN for Nemona to throw around on her Buddy move as needed, while also having that coveted Sprint role for repeat fast-ramping. Nemona instant ramps, Rosa ramps off her sync, into Nemona's sync, which is also a ramp. Speedrunning. There's honestly an argument for Paulo in here if you have him. Just triple fast-ramp sync nuke deluxe, with two of them being Support.
Team 7: NC Rosa, Anni Steven, S!Liza
Okay, NOW it's time to talk. NC Rosa, because of her buddy conditional, approaches CS with a bit of apprehension around field effects. The shuffling of parameters often means taking Offenses +5, which is when things get scary. When she ignores field effects, Rosa is at her most devastating. And with that in mind, enter one of my favorite cores, Anni Steven and Summer Liza. Both of them have very effective physical DPS, with Steven having fantastic speed control and Liza having the ability to rotate in Free Moves Next and her own PMUN. Rosa's ability to boost defense for the team off a 3/5 grid allows Liza to get to TM second turn with full Atk. Her TM boosting team speed eases their rotation of offense as well, as they throw around ridiculous numbers. And again, because Rosa can ramp with Sprint role, there's no more of this need for a denial to keep on pace. Liza will sync, and she will kill.
Team 8: NC Rosa, Paulo, Emmet
Sprint ramping is real, and Paulo was a huge proponent of it with his sub-Support role. Paulo can take first sync to throw out his own Buddy move, which also removes Rosa's grid energy from defense boosting to put into other fun tools like Precision Pals on TM for their accuracy issues. Paulo's GMax having Sandstorm application, and his free -2 with Emmet's -1 TM in Sandstorm composing a fast-ramp, makes this a fairly strong Sandstorm core. That can then pivot into Rosa taking second sync for further ramping, with double Support EX bonus and massive stacks of moves up next on both allies. The accuracy here is key; Rosa's ability to grid in accuracy salvages the issues I have with Paulo's base kit.
Team 9: NC Rosa, Roxie, Looker
I want to use this opportunity to stress something important. When you're dealing with these heavy moves up next stackers? +4 offense is sufficient. Obviously, +6 is the ideal, but you can make do. To that end, Roxie and Looker. +4 offenses is just fine for them, with the moves up next stacks more than making up for the missing +2. And with Rosa, there's always the chance that she rolls that +2 anyway.
Team 10: NC Rosa, Will, Brycen
Okay this is really stupid but I realized something I could do and it was WAY too funny not to consider. So, Rosa has Teeter Dance, right? But no Stop Hitting Yourself. She partners with pairs who do, though. Mallow has poor offensive setup, and Sidney has poor DPS. But Will? Will has Stored Power. "But wait," you say. "Will has no self setup at all! How is he relevant?" Not so. Remember, Five Stats +3 is a thing. Will can simply copy and double their buffs, to get all his stats to +6 instantly! "Okay but...now you're dealing with stronger opponents." Not with Brycen here to Haze that shit. "Crystal this feels like a bad plan that could very easily backfire." True. But I bet it works.
Final Thoughts
Rosa seems very good, and I am excited to try out her kit. I will acknowledge I think she also has some serious flaws which limit the teams she can support. She does not play well with sync nukers with low DPS, and she doesn't play nice with those who need full offensive support. But she does offer the best and most consistent moves up next stacking in the game at current, and given it's literally "every time you attack, +1 to both," this feels like a cap in the same way Aura Cynthia was. I doubt we'll get directly better than this any time soon. We just have to hope the Buddy move conditional isn't too great a burden.
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anything you ask. (xiaojun/yuta)
REQUEST (closed, sorry!) from anon: “Would you be willing to write some Xiaojun x Yuta smut? like them during universe promotions era.” | It's been a year since that now-viral video was posted online, and a lot has changed between Dejun and Yuta. Some things, though, have remained the same.
Characters: Xiaojun, Yuta, some of the other neos
Genre: oneshot, smut, canon/idol au
Warnings: overstimulation, bondage, dejun cries, d/s themes/undertones (dom yuta, sub dejun)
Rating: Explicit
Length: 4k
Dejun isn’t a coward.
Unless hiding from your groupmate so you don’t have to confront the consequences of your own actions counts as cowardice. Then, yeah, maybe Dejun is a little bit of a coward.
In his defense, the member in question is Yuta, who’s like maybe the third most terrifying to Dejun after Kun and Johnny (Kun because he’s proven himself quite capable of channeling the violence of all their mothers’ ass-whoopings combined when he’s pissed; Johnny because he’s tall and loud and handsome). It’s not physical violence, however, that Dejun fears from Yuta. No, it’s simply the sheer psychic damage of dealing with him when he gets in a mood.
The fact that Dejun put him in that mood should have nothing to do with it.
(Right?)
And yeah, maybe he antagonized him on camera. Maybe on purpose. But Mark and Jungwoo tried to spend the entire video making him out to be Yuta’s hapless little victim, which—okay, was maybe kind of true, but that information didn’t need to be public, did it?
It was already public, a voice in Dejun’s head reminds him. It was public the instant they posted that backstage footage last year.
What definitely isn’t public is that shortly after that moment backstage, Yuta and Dejun fucked for the first time. It’s only happened a handful of times since, but that’s mostly been due to their conflicting schedules rather than a lack of desire.
Sometimes Kunhang likes to make fun of Dejun for “becoming the group whore”—which Dejun immediately argues isn’t true. He fucks Yuta and he fucks Jaehyun, and until Halloween this year, he’d always fucked them separately.
“It wasn’t just them, though,” Kunhang pointed out smugly. “Johnny was there, too, and Mark and Doyoung.”
Dejun hadn’t been able to come up with a reply. But maybe that comment had been sitting in the back of his mind, maybe that’s why he’d been so defensive during his little interview yesterday, maybe that’s why he tried to rile Yuta up. Not very wise of him, he’s realizing now, as he catches Yuta’s eye down the hall and watches him waltz up to him.
“Hi, hyung,” Dejun says, trying to sound casual.
But Yuta’s smile isn’t casual. “You’ve been avoiding me all day,” he accuses softly.
“No I haven’t,” Dejun protests, even though he has. “I’ve just been busy.”
“Sure. But you’re not busy now, are you?” Yuta takes one of Dejun’s hands.
No, Dejun supposes he isn’t. And even if he was, he can’t look away, staring at Yuta’s lips and remembering the last time he felt them. He shakes his head, blinking back at him. “Why,” he says, “do you need something?”
Yuta raises an eyebrow, smile growing wider, sharper. “I might,” he replies.
It wasn’t always this way. When Dejun first met Yuta, he would never dream of talking back. He would never have done what he did yesterday; he would have let Yuta do whatever he pleased, have whatever he wanted. How could he not? Yuta’s beauty has always been blinding, his charm so alluring it was nearly hypnotizing. In that now-famous video, Dejun wasn’t scared, not really. He just let fear come to the fore to hide how much he wanted. He would’ve done anything Yuta asked.
He still would. They’ve just discovered it’s more fun for the both of them when it takes some coaxing. And Yuta, ever the smooth talker, never tires of coaxing Dejun into doing whatever he wants. Dejun, still just as blinded by Yuta’s beauty, just as hypnotized by his charm, never has it in him to resist for too long.
“You know what I think,” Yuta is saying. He doesn’t make it sound like a question, though it’s phrased as one. “I think you’ve been avoiding me ever since Halloween.”
This is also true. To be fair, work descended upon all of them like a flood of Biblical proportions as soon as November hit, and Dejun hasn’t had to actively do too much avoiding. But there have been nights he could have gone to the 127 dorm, or lingered outside the practice room instead of taking off as soon as the first syllable of dismissal escaped their teacher’s mouth. And Dejun couldn’t really blame himself. Halloween had been… a lot. Good, but a lot, and he wasn’t sure he was ready for that kind of insanity quite yet. It wasn’t personal; he’d been avoiding Jaehyun, too (and Johnny and Mark and Doyoung, though that was less relevant).
“Maybe,” Dejun says. He tries to be brusque, but a quaver in his voice gives him away. “Can you blame me?”
Yuta frowns at him. “Did you not like it?”
Dejun shakes his head quickly. “No, it’s not that! I just—I dunno, I’m a little embarrassed, I guess.”
Yuta’s expression clears; he reaches out and runs a hand down Dejun’s arm before interlocking their fingers and squeezing. “Oh, baby,” Yuta says, sweet and almost patronizing. “You don’t have to be shy. I thought you were over being shy with me.”
“Maybe not,” Dejun mumbles.
“No? But it really seemed like it yesterday,” Yuta presses, and okay, that’s mean, Dejun thinks. That was a performance, for the fans and for Jungwoo and Mark and the other members watching on the sidelines as they got touch-ups between shoots. That was to prove that he wasn’t, as Kunhang had so kindly put it, the group whore (they all knew that was Jeno—right?); that wasn’t a reflection of how Dejun really feels. Because in his mind, he’s already on his knees at Yuta’s feet.
“It’s different when we’re alone,” Dejun says.
“Mm,” Yuta hums, pulling Dejun closer. “But I think you’ll get over it pretty quickly.” He means it as a command, Dejun thinks; he nods. “Come with me,” Yuta continues. “C’mon.”
Dejun lets Yuta pull him down the hall, across a couple of connecting bridges and into the new building where the 127 dorms had moved just a couple of months ago. It’s definitely preferable to Dejun’s dorm, which is cramped and dirty. Besides, Yuta doesn’t have a roommate anymore, so he doesn’t even have to bully Taeil out of the room (though, Dejun reflects as Yuta opens his door, it was hardly bullying. Taeil is easygoing as they come, and more than happy for an excuse to invade Donghyuck’s space, Johnny or no Johnny). Instead, Yuta just shuts the door behind them and maneuvers Dejun onto his bed, leaning close so Dejun can smell his cologne.
Dejun lets his eyelids droop, leaning in, too, waiting to be kissed, but then Yuta just laughs and pulls away. Dejun lets a hurt little noise of confusion escape him, watching Yuta as he stands back up and starts unbuttoning his shirt.
“What are you doing?” Dejun asks.
“Maybe you shouldn’t avoid me next time,” Yuta says lightly. “You’re so needy now.”
Dejun glares at him. “So, what? Gonna punish me?”
Yuta laughs brightly, letting his shirt fall to the floor. “No, baby,” he says. “I’m gonna take care of you.”
Knowing Yuta, this is much more devious than it sounds. The first time they slept together, he’d said something similar—gonna show you how, he told Dejun when Dejun admitted he was a virgin. Gonna teach you, baby. Dejun had relaxed, thought that meant it would be easy, but he was quickly corrected mere minutes later, tears in his eyes from the way Yuta was fingering him.
I’m gonna take care of you. Dejun knows better now. He eyes Yuta warily as he finishes undressing, as he reaches out and pulls Dejun’s clothes off for him. He pauses to press a kiss to his jaw, his collarbone, the point of his ribcage.
“Here’s what we’re gonna do,” Yuta says as he works on the strings of Dejun’s sweatpants. “I think you’ve forgotten how good I can make you feel. I think if you remembered, you wouldn’t be so shy, and then maybe you wouldn’t avoid me. So to prove it to you, I’m not gonna let you do a thing. It’s gonna be all me. And to make sure it’s all me, I’m gonna tie you up. How’s that sound?”
There’s the catch. Dejun shivers a little as Yuta pulls his pants off. “Sounds good,” Dejun breathes out. He might regret the choice later when Yuta inevitably twists his own words in his favor, but right now, he likes the idea of giving himself over to Yuta. At the end of the day, he always wants to do anything Yuta asks.
“Yeah?” Yuta sits back. “Stay right there.”
Dejun watches him meander over to his dresser, pulling out a length of rope. It’s a silky, deep purple; Dejun swallows roughly. He knows this rope. Yuta is smiling when he turns around, but his eyes are thoughtful.
“What,” Dejun asks, maybe accuses.
“I’m trying to decide if I want to bother tying you down to something,” Yuta says, snagging the lube from the dresser and then returning to the bed. He leans a knee onto the mattress and walks himself up towards the head of the bed. “If I just tie your wrists together, will you be good? Otherwise it’ll be such a hassle If I want to flip you over.” Without waiting for Dejun to reply, he continues, “Or I could just leave some slack at the headboard, and twist the rope.”
“I’m not known for my goodness,” Dejun points out wryly.
“Not right away, no,” Yuta agrees. “Alright, then.” He grabs Dejun’s wrists and raises his arms above his head, wrapping the rope around them—individual loops at first, and then both together. It’s tight, but not so tight that Dejun will lose feeling in his fingers. Yuta secures his now-bound wrists to the headboard, and then tugs a couple of times to ensure that Dejun won’t be able to escape. When he’s satisfied, he crawls down the bed again, his skin is warm and soft against Dejun’s, and steals a kiss.
With anyone else, Dejun is pretty sure the embarrassment would win out almost immediately—it’s humiliating to be laid out naked and tied with his hands above his head so he can’t do anything to try and hide. But with Yuta, it feels safe somehow. Or maybe it’s just that it would feel like this anyway, rope or no rope. Dejun feels this vulnerable every time Yuta looks at him, even when they’re fully clothed, even if it’s just a brief glance from across the practice room, so it doesn’t make much of a difference.
Yuta kisses him slowly, almost lazily, pushing his tongue past Dejun’s teeth. Dejun finds himself relaxing against the mattress, almost going limp, letting himself be kissed until he’s breathless and whimpering for more.
“It really is so silly of you,” Yuta says, pulling back. “Look at you, baby. You’re already hard and all I’ve done is kiss you. If you’d come to me sooner, we wouldn’t be here, you know.”
“I feel like something could’ve changed between us,” Dejun points out rather cuttingly, “after Halloween. It’s one thing to be alone with you; it’s definitely another for you to watch as I…” He trails off, not even sure how to say it.
“What, because you cried?” Yuta asks. He has to be feigning ignorance now, Dejun thinks; Yuta isn’t even looking at him. He’s pressing gentle kisses to his collarbone and chest. “Anyone would cry if they took Johnny and Mark at the same time. Aren’t you glad I stopped you from taking Johnny and Jaehyun at once? You would’ve died.”
Dejun wishes he could cover his face with his hands. But, he remembers when he moves to do so, they’re tied to his headboard, so there’s nothing to stop Yuta from seeing the blush that spreads across his cheeks. The only thing he can think to say is, “Taeyong-hyung said he’s done it.”
This draws genuine laughter from Yuta. “Yes, well, we all can’t be Taeyong, can we?” Another kiss, this one between his ribcage. “Baby, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It was hot. We all thought it was hot. If anyone should be embarrassed, it’s Mark. I’ve never seen him come that fast in his life.”
Dejun can’t suppress a tiny giggle. “That’s true,” he concedes.
“You shouldn’t be embarrassed, you should be proud,” Yuta continues. “Most people can barely take Johnny, alone. The first time Jungwoo tried, he was, like, bedridden the next day.” A kiss to Dejun’s stomach, then another, slightly lower. “I was proud,” he adds, his voice darkening. “You were perfect. I know none of them have been able to stop thinking about you.” He pauses, finally looking up. “And I haven’t, either.”
Dejun’s heart pounds in his chest. Yuta’s fingers are so close to everywhere he wants them to be, ghosting over the skin right next to where he’s aching. “Yeah?” he breathes out.
“Yeah,” Yuta murmurs. “Which is why I was so put out when you kept running away from our dance practices and avoiding me at meals. I thought maybe you didn’t want me anymore. I thought maybe after that night, you realized you preferred someone else’s company—Johnny, maybe, or Mark.”
Dejun thinks about denying it—of course it isn’t true—but he kind of wants to make Yuta work for that kind of confession, so he just raises an eyebrow. “And what if I did?”
Yuta barely fails to conceal a smug sort of look as he reaches for the lube. “I would convince you otherwise,” he replies, slicking a finger up and using it to circle Dejun’s entrance.
He pushes his finger in, nice and slow, and Dejun shakes. It’s been over two months since someone else has touched him, and he’s forgotten how strange it is, to feel fingers that aren’t his own. But Dejun’s body remembers Yuta’s touch, and the strangeness is quickly replaced by warm pleasure, settling under his skin like a good buzz.
Yuta is grinning, blinking at Dejun through his bangs. “But I don’t think that’s the case, is it?” he asks as he pushes his finger in as far as it will go and then wraps his other hand around Dejun’s cock where it’s lying hard against his stomach.
Dejun shakes his head, shivering. “No,” he whispers. “I still want you the most.”
Yuta hums, working his finger out and then in again, sending shocks of pleasure across Dejun’s body. “That’s what I thought,” he says, almost proud, and Dejun would be a little miffed by it if he wasn’t so focused on Yuta’s hands. Yuta thumbs at his slit and Dejun moans softly, watching helplessly as beads of precome drip down Yuta’s knuckles. “Relax, baby,” Yuta continues. “Or I won’t be able to fuck you.”
Dejun takes a deep, unsteady breath, nodding. “Okay, yeah.”
Yuta adds a second finger once Dejun is no longer so tense, stroking him with his other hand at an even, measured pace to keep him occupied. It works; Dejun hardly feels the burn of the stretch.
It’s not until the third finger that Yuta starts targeting Dejun’s prostate. He’d almost forgotten it could feel better than it already did, and the first brush of Yuta’s fingers has him arching off the bed, partially in shock. Yuta, to his credit, doesn’t startle, just follows the movement of Dejun’s body, circling his fingers around the spot with deft precision.
“Oh, fuck,” Dejun mumbles as he settles back down. He can’t help the way he rolls his hips up into Yuta’s fist. Heat floods his body, arousal spiking suddenly. He clenches around Yuta’s fingers, breath coming ragged now as Yuta massages his prostate, a maddeningly calm expression settling over his features. He watches Dejun as he whimpers and twists in the sheets, as he accidentally tugs on his restraints, making the headboard creak.
“Gonna come?” Yuta asks calmly. Dejun nods. “Come for me, then. You always look so pretty.”
Maybe it’s the word pretty, or maybe Dejun’s body just hits its breaking point, but he comes with a gasp, spilling white all over Yuta’s hand, some of it shooting up to his stomach as he convulses, the gentle hum of pleasure rising in a crescendo until there’s ringing in his ears as he come back down.
“Just like that, baby,” Yuta hums, and Dejun preens a little under the praise.
He expects Yuta to release him once he’s done coming to give him a chance to recover before they continue, but he doesn’t, and only now does Dejun realize what he’s been up to this whole time.
“Yuta,” he whines, though he knows it’s entirely futile. He tugs in the rope just in case Yuta wasn’t perfect, just in case it’s come loose somehow, but no luck.
“What?” Yuta asks sweetly. “You don’t want to come again? Thought you were all pent up.”
“Not—like this,” Dejun grits out weakly. “Hurts.”
Yuta pouts sympathetically, though he doesn’t stop or even slow. “It does?” he asks. “It’s too much? Do you want me to stop?”
Dejun glares at him. Yuta’s now managed to frame it like a challenge, and Dejun wants to prove himself to Yuta more than he wants to spare himself the torture. He sets his jaw. “Fine, keep going,” he says. “See if you can even make me come again. Just because I wasn’t seeing you doesn’t mean I wasn’t finding other ways to take care of myself.”
“Okay,” Yuta says mildly, almost placating. “Your choice.”
Dejun keeps his jaw set and lets his mind wander a little while Yuta finishes prepping him, squeezing a fourth finger in beside the first three. His body is only just settling back down into pleasure instead of the heightened sensation of overstimulation by the time Yuta decides he’s ready.
Yuta rolls a condom on and squeezes a generous dollop of lube into his palm. Dejun tries not to watch too closely, tries not to get caught up in all of it, but it’s hard. Yuta is stunning in the dim evening light, muscle and bone rolling under smooth skin as he lines himself up with Dejun’s hole.
Yuta pushes in slow, and it only takes the tip for Dejun to consider giving up the act. But there’s a satisfied look on Yuta’s face that Dejun can’t help but feel is entirely unearned, so he presses his lips together and watches Yuta bottom out, tracing the lines of concentration between his brows to distract himself, or else convince himself he’s not the only one who’s slowly losing his mind.
Yuta rocks his hips back and forth, slow and shallow at first to let Dejun adjust, then longer and faster, falling into an easy rhythm. He tips forward, planting his hands just above Dejun’s shoulders so he can reach Dejun’s lips to kiss him.
Yuta kisses him gently, nothing like before, where it almost felt like he was going to reach down Dejun’s throat for his heart. This is nearly chaste; soft, sweet kisses that make Dejun melt.
Dejun doesn’t even realize he’s been making noise until Yuta all but cooes at him. “Poor thing,” he murmurs, lips brushing the skin of Dejun’s jaw. “Don’t you wanna come? Or are you still sure you won’t?”
“I won’t,” Dejun insists, but his tone is entirely unconvincing, even to his own ears.
Yuta’s laughter rings clear and dark; he picks up the pace, pushing away from Dejun at the same time so he can fit a hand between their bodies and jerk Dejun off, matching the timing of his thrusts.
And it really just isn’t fair. Dejun tries to pretend he has even just some semblance of control, but with Yuta, he always finds himself in over his head. Because he is close again, and if Yuta told him to come, he would, in spite of himself and in spite of everything. And the worst part is, he can’t even really be upset about it. Of course Yuta should have this kind of power over him, over everyone he meets. Sometimes Dejun isn’t convinced he’s entirely human.
Dejun squeezes his eyes shut and tries to will away the rising tide of his arousal, but it’s like trying to bail a sinking ship with a teaspoon. Yuta watches him shake and doesn’t change a thing. It’s infuriating—he knows Dejun will break. He’s just waiting.
“Does it hurt?” Yuta asks. “You know you can just let go, baby, I never said you couldn’t.” He bends over Dejun, leaving a trail of messy kisses down his chest. “C’mon,” he coaxes. “It’ll feel so good, you know.”
He takes one of Dejun’s nipples into his mouth and Dejun thinks, fuck it. What is he trying to prove? Other than that Yuta has him completely caught in his web, with no escape? Dejun gasps in breath, stomach contracting as he comes for a second time tonight, his release hot and sticky against his skin.
“That’s it.” Dejun registers Yuta’s voice, velvet and soothing, through the pounding in his head. “Wasn’t so difficult, was it?” He feels a hand on his cheek; he forces his eyes open and sees Yuta’s face hovering just inches from his own. “Hi, baby,” Yuta says. A kiss, to his forehead. “I’m gonna untie you now. I don’t think we need the rope anymore.”
It almost makes Dejun laugh. Even if he had the mind to rebel anymore, his body wouldn’t cooperate. His arms feel heavy from the post-orgasm weakness sluicing through him. Yuta undoes the knot with ease and guides Dejun’s hands back down to his sides so the circulation is better. Dejun only now realizes that while Yuta had stopped fucking him, he hadn’t pulled out.
“Can you take a little more?” Yuta asks. Dejun nods mutely. Of course he can. I can do anything you ask. “Okay,” Yuta says. “Tell me if you change your mind.” He rolls his hips, working his way back up to his original pace, though thankfully he leaves Dejun’s cock alone.
Dejun lies limp, letting Yuta fuck him, watching through nearly-closed eyes, vision blurring a little when he accidentally lets them cross. He knows he looks pathetic, but he kind of likes it. Only Yuta can make him like this, so quickly and with so little effort. Even Johnny and Mark together couldn’t do this.
Yuta swipes a thumb under Dejun’s eye. “Good or bad?” he asks, and Dejun realizes he’s crying.
Dejun manages a smile. “Good,” he sighs.
He thinks Yuta smiles back. “Then that’s good,” he says. He takes Dejun’s jaw and turns his head to the side so he can clean up the tears that have run down his cheeks; Dejun lets him. “You’re always so nice and pliant when you’re fucked out,” Yuta comments. “It’s so hot, baby.”
Dejun just gives him a soft hum in response, though he hiccups in breath in the middle of it when Yuta gives a particularly rough thrust. He clings to one of Yuta’s wrists as best as he can, only able to whimper out moans as Yuta uses his body to come.
He doesn’t last long, and Dejun can’t blame him. He knows he looks good like this, eyes glazed over with lust and flushed cheeks marred by drying tear-tracks. Yuta stills inside him, growling out a low curse—either in Japanese, or maybe Dejun is so far gone that Korean sounds fuzzy to his ears.
Dejun lets his eyes flutter shut. He did well; Yuta will take care of him. Nothing else matters.
***
Dejun wanders back into the WayV dorm much later than evening, after a long shower with Yuta and a late night snack. His hair is still drying as he pushes their door open and kicks off his shoes, poking around for his house slippers as Leon twines lovingly but unhelpfully around his ankles.
Kunhang is in the kitchen, watching videos over an empty bowl, and he looks up when he hears Dejun approach.
“Oh, thank god,” he says, rolling his eyes. “You’ve been so cranky lately, it was getting insufferable.”
Dejun stops in his tracks, staring. “What does that mean?” he demands.
Ten appears in the opposite doorway, Louis cuddled in his arms. “It’s okay, honey,” he says offhand to Dejun as he strolls over to the sink to fill their electric kettle, releasing the cat onto the counter. “Sometimes all you need is a good fuck to fix you. I would know.”
Dejun surges downward to cover Leon’s ears. “Oh my god, don’t let the kids hear you,” he admonishes. “They’re still babies!”
“Yeah,” Kunhang laughs, nodding. “Definitely fixed him.” He raises his mug to Ten, who uses an empty glass to clink against it.
Dejun groans. “I’m going to bed,” he says, heading down the hall.
“Bet you are!” Ten calls after him. “Yuta really knows how to wear people out!”
“I’m gonna kill you, ge!” Dejun hollers back, but he’s grinning.
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COFFEE TALK 2: HIBISCUS & BUTTERFLY REVIEW
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WHAT
Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly is the sequel to Coffee Talk, a more-or-less visual novel game with drink brewing mechanics to complement the story. Released 20 April 2023, this game from Toge Productions invites you to have a warm cup as you settle in to learn the lives of some fantastical people, with incredibly down-to-earth worries. This will be the Casual’s spoiler-free review.
SETTINGS
There’s not much, if anything, to the options menu. You start by making a new save in one of three slots, naming your barista, and you can dive right in. There’s sliders for SFX, BGM and ambience volumes, resolution, fullscreen off or on - with no windowed fullscreen - text language options in:
English
Japanese
Traditional / Simplified Chinese
Korean
German
French
Spanish
Text speed comes in default crawl or instant, autoscrolling dialogue on or off, and skipping read or all dialogue.
PRESENTATION
Much like its predecessor, Coffee Talk Episode 2 has this pixellated art style paired with its lo-fi soundtrack. It very much is a cozy little game, of course, no less gorgeous in its ‘simplicity’. There is no voice acting, so the game relies on its sound direction and expressive sprites - and some play on timing of text - to set the mood. In a way, I feel this allows the player to be more immersed in the text, which is what I’d say is the reason people get this game for, but I’ll elaborate on that just a bit later.
GAMEPLAY
The most complicated the gameplay gets will be to figure out which combination of ingredients, and in which order, you need in order to serve the right drink, and maybe sometimes hand over an item in your care. While there’s no hard fail state on serving the incorrect beverage, it does affect the stories you might encounter. Depending on how you see it, that in itself could be a fail state.
Outside of that, there’s the Endless Mode where you can either experiment with making drinks, or get challenged to serve as many correct ones as possible within the given time limit. There’s latte art as a side activity, but it’s just that - more of a side thing than ‘mandatory’.
Otherwise, sit back, and read how the power of your drinks can connect - or perhaps, disrupt - the paths of the people who come to you seeking advice, companionship, or maybe some solace on a lonely rainy night.
STORY
The story is the heart of Coffee Talk Episode 2. In this Seattle populated by anything from regular humans to succubi, elves, vampires, werewolves, nekomimi and more, their lives seem almost hilariously mundane in comparison. We do have the cast returning from the first game, alongside the debuts of Lucas, a satyr, and Riona, a banshee. I’d say it’s a given that first appearances aren’t always what they seem, and you will get the opportunity to know just how much that applies depending on the drinks you serve.
I did enjoy their interactions - even as I deal myself unnecessary psychic damage due to my own personal circumstances - as I mull over their stories. Sometimes, we just take things for granted - like common sense - but we hardly stop to think about it until a heartfelt piece of fiction reminds you that yes, these are completely relatable feelings and worries. The question becomes, what will you do with that knowledge?
Throughout the game, you’ll get to see little updates from your friends’ Tomodachill profiles and Stories, and the daily piece from the newspaper’s new short fiction column. There’s much to read, so, do.
CONCLUSION
For those of you who’ve played the first game, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly is more of the same. For those unfamiliar with the now duology, let me ask you these:
Do you love ‘human’ stories?
Do you want your stories to be served with a side of lo-fi music and delicious drinks?
If yes, then, get this game. In all the world’s hustle and bustle, being able to stop for a while and be listened to is such a luxury. Just for a little bit, you can get it here. I give Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly a Highly Recommended.
#Coffee Talk#Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly#Coffee Talk 2#Coffee Talk Episode 2#Review#CasuallyYoa#Youtube
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