#They create this Them vs. Us and it just breaks me on the inside

[marvelseries19]

THE ONLY MEMORY IS US KISSING IN THE MOONLIGHT

Pairing: Mary Earps x reader

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Summary: All of your memories are lost after a concussion... All but one.

A/N: First, it was meant to be a one-shot but, it turned out to be a bit too long for my liking so, in the next few days I should be able to post the second part if you want it. Despite studying to be a nurse, I have no idea how a concussion works, so, don't quote me on anything. Also, I used to play football like a hundred years ago, so, again, don't quote me on anything. I hoped to post this on Valentine's Day, but life happened, and I ended up driving my sister to get a few things, which set me back a lot. I hope you like it and I'm open to reading your feedback and your ideas if you want. I did not proofread it so, if you see a misspelled word or something... no you didn't.

Warnings: Mention of injuries mostly.

Word count: 1.4k+

[You do not have permission to repost or translate any of my stories or claim them as yours]

Part one

Manchester United vs. Manchester City 

It was Derby match day, and as such, you were all nervous about it. Everyone was very determined to get another win for the team. But there was no one more determined than your fiance. Mary tended to take it very hard whenever someone got the ball past her, especially on a Derby match, and you more than anyone knew how much it affected her, having witnessed Mary's dedication and passion for the game countless times before. Her commitment to the team was unwavering, and she always gave it her all on the field. The pressure of this match only fueled her determination further, making her even more focused on stopping every shot that came her way. It was also the reason you were so committed to ensuring she could, hopefully, maintain a clean sheet.

Traveling to the stadium proceeded as usual. Before heading outside to do the field inspection, you went to the changing rooms and put away your gear. Following one of your pre-match traditions, you went hand in hand, talking about some ideas and your hopes while also giving each other sweet, supportive words.

After you were done with the inspection, everyone headed toward the changing room to start getting ready to go out for the warm-up. "Baby…" Mary came to sit next to you in your cubby, holding the physio tape out for you to take. Another one of your traditions was for you to tape her fingers before every game. You kissed each of her fingers as you taped it, taking care to get it exactly how she wanted it. "All done, baby." You leaned in to kiss her cheek before she moved to tie your boots. When you first made it a tradition, your teammates made sure to tease you relentlessly about it, but after time passed, they realized how important it was for both of you and decided to just silently admire the dedication and love each of you put into the task.

It felt like you blinked when you suddenly had to get out to the tunnel to make your entrance, but not before sharing a sweet kiss with your soon-to-be wife.

The next hour passed like a blur. Each team left it all out on the field in the first half, both being very physical about their game. By this point, the goalkeepers were the only players who had not been taken down by another player. Leaving the first time 0–0 didn't help either to calm their playing strategies.

Halftime goes as expected. The pressure of the derby weighs heavily on everyone, especially on the defensive line and Mary, since the opposite team managed to break it a few times, creating dangerous opportunities that your girlfriend was successfully able to save.

Going to the second leg of the game, you were even more determined to help Mary get a clean sheet, so when the other team got a corner kick, you were inside the penalty box to make sure that the ball didn't get past the blond's hands.

Your heart was racing while you waited for the city player to take the corner, fighting to maintain the mark on your player. All that was on your mind was keeping that ball away from the danger zone, so when the ball was finally in the air, you, along with the other players, jumped to head the ball.

That is the last thing you get to see, as your head not only collides with the other footballer's head, but since you were near the post, your head ended up hitting it too. Mary got a hold of the ball, but before she could send it far, she noticed your unmoving body. Ella, who was near you, leaned down to make sure you were okay, but if the blood on your forehead wasn't enough to scare her, your lack of response was.

The medics are rushed to the playground, worried that head injuries can become bad really fast. Mary is stuck in place, not able to do anything more than call out for you in hopes that you open your eyes.

"Baby, please just open your eyes." A nudge from Zelem takes her out of her shock, finally making her way toward you.

"We need to take her to the hospital; she's not waking up." One of the physios said as they called in the paramedics on standby at each game.

"I need to go with her," Mary said to her captain. "Go, I'll talk to the coach." With a pat on the goalkeeper's shoulder, she sent her on her way. "Let me know what happens!"

—

Mary is left in the waiting area, concerned about your condition, while you are hurried into the hospital for some scans to determine the extent of the injuries. She understands that injuries are inevitable in such a physically demanding sport, but it breaks her heart to watch the person she loves so much lying on the ground, unable to open her eyes. The blonde was struggling mightily with her tears, trying not to think of the worst-case scenario because she knew it would not help.

The remainder of the squad started to move toward the waiting room an hour later. Even though Mary wasn't crying just yet, her expression made it obvious that she was frightened about your condition, and they were all rather concerned about it.

They didn't have to wait much longer for a status report. The doctor appears through the door of the waiting room. "Y/n Y/l/n's family?"

Mary shot up from her seat. "Yes, I'm her fiance."

"I have some news; there are no signs of intracranial bleeding, which was our main concern, but she does have a pretty serious concussion, so I must warn you. She may present some loss of memory, but it will be temporary, and there is no way of knowing how much time it will take for her to recover it or how much of it she'll lose if she does at all."

"So, she's going to be okay, right?" Mary said, her voice filled with concern.

"Yes, she will need to rest a lot and take it easy for a while, but she's going to be okay." Everyone could feel the tension leave their shoulders. "Would you like to see her?"

"Yes, please." The doctor was quick to direct the blonde to your room. Mary wanted to cry at the sight of you, so small on the hospital bed and with a big bandage on your head.

"Remember that she might not know who you are just yet; just be gentle with her." The keeper could only nod to the doctor. "I'll leave you with her; if you need anything, just press the button on the side of her bed."

Mary walked next to you and held your hand in one of hers; with the other, she very gently caressed your cheek, not wanting to disturb you in any way. She was scared out of her mind. You were about to get married; you were supposed to enjoy this chapter of your life, and now you might not even remember who she was.

The first few hours were the easiest for her. The more time that passed, the more she worried. What was taking so long? The doctor had said that you would be okay; it was just a concussion.

Your teammates had tried in vain to lift her spirits, but at least they'd succeeded in getting the blonde to change out of her still-fitting team kit and take a shower.

The shower, the strong emotions of the day, and the game you had played tired her out. She fell asleep with her head resting next to your body on the bed while holding your hand for dear life.

—

Your eyelids flickered open and then shut again as soon as you noticed the room's brightness; this made the pounding sensation in your head worse. You tried moving your hand to cover your face when you felt a weight on top of it. The movement stirred Mary up, who took a second to understand what was happening.

"Baby, you're awake," Mary whispered with a mixture of relief and concern in her voice. She gently moved her head from your body and sat up, allowing you to adjust to the light. "How are you feeling?" she asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"Who are you?"

To be continued…

#Mary Earps #mary earps imagine #mary earps x reader #Manchester united wfc #mary earps x reader fluff #woso fanfic #reader insert #woso imagine #engwnt #woso fanfics

[shiningshenanigans]

So, about Loki and Sylvie’s dynamic in Episode 2…

This episode was hard to watch. It’s painful to see these two characters who we know love each other wrestle with such deep-seated issues in their relationship. The gap between expectations and reality for their reunion scene, what we hoped it would be vs. what we got, is pretty glaringly huge. 

It’s interesting to think about how most of the reunion fics people have been writing for the past two years have been variations of the same thing: Loki searching endlessly for Sylvie out in the multiverse, finally finding her and welcoming her back with open arms; Sylvie, tentative and rageful at first, but eventually breaking down in tears and melting into his embrace. We all wanted a big, emotional moment for them, full of kisses and hugs and apologies and “I love you”s. What we got instead was awkward tension and a lack of vulnerability from both parties. 

That sad part is, this is just what happens in human relationships sometimes. Sometimes you can’t resolve everything with one conversation. Sometimes fear, insecurities, pride, or just poorly timed interruptions keep us from mending what’s been broken between us and the people we love. 

But, there’s still a reason that we wanted to see the reunion scene play out this way, à la Hosea and Gomer or the prodigal son returning home after wasting his father's money. We long to see forgiveness and repentance play out in relationships, because that’s what unconditional love looks like. That’s how the conversation should have gone, and would have gone if these weren’t flawed, complex characters that we’re dealing with. Sylvie should be feeling remorse for what she’s done. Loki should be prioritizing Sylvie’s emotional well-being above his own needs. Under the surface, I think that that’s exactly what’s happening. But neither of them are vocalizing it properly, and that’s what’s creating the tension. 

Sylvie, I think, is clearly in the wrong. I say that as the biggest Sylvie stan ever, so hear me out. Her actions and anger towards the TVA have always been completely, 100% justified, but she’s being really short-sighted at the moment. She thinks she can settle down in her own timeline and forget about everything, but sooner or later the consequences of her actions are going to come back to haunt her.  

If you think about it, killing HWR didn’t really do that much to free the timeline. The TVA didn’t even know that HWR existed, and he seemed to be running everything on autopilot. If Sylvie had made it all the way to the citadel by herself, without ever meeting Loki or Mobius, the TVA might very well have just continued to prune branches and hunt her down, with no real knowledge of what happened behind the curtain. 

The real reason the TVA stopped coming after Sylvie is because Mobius and B15 put out an order to stop pruning branches. While Loki and Sylvie were making their way to the citadel, they were down in the TVA changing hearts and minds, transforming it from the inside out. That’s not to diminish what Sylvie did - after all, it was her fighting spirit that inspired the change in the first place. But in a roundabout way, Loki is really the one who set her free from her life on the run. He was the bridge between her and the TVA, the one who brought her story and the all evils of the TVA to the light. It’s really his influence that has made her new life on the timeline possible, but she doesn’t comprehend this yet. She can’t, with all of her unhealed trauma. In her mind, she’s her own hero. She saved herself.

It’s interesting to note that when Loki asks her what she’ll do if HWR shows up again, her answer is, “Kill him”, with that smug little smirk on her face. This has been Sylvie's go-to solution for all her problems ever since we met her. Minute men chasing her down? Kill them. Timekeepers trying to control her destiny? Kill them. Clown interrupts her plan to kill said time keepers? Kill him. Weird man in a purple robe trying to take away everyone’s free will? You guessed it: kill him. What she doesn’t realize, though, is that this mindset makes her no different from the corrupt TVA agents she hates so much. People making choices that lead to chaos and multiversal war? Prune them. In other words, kill them. Loki’s love for Sylvie, and his friendship with Mobius, has taught him that life has value, and now he’s doing everything he can to protect it through the TVA. But this isn’t a lesson that Sylvie has learned yet. She’s only thinking about the value of her own life - not the lives of others. Not really. Not yet.

Also, how happy could she really be in her little 1980s McDonalds world? Yes, she's experiencing stability for the first time in her life, and don't get me wrong, Homegirl totally deserves the chance to rest and live a normal life for a little while. But, at the same time, how many people in her new timeline could ever really, truly understand the life she’s lived? She deserves to have people like Loki, Mobius, B15, Casey and OB in her life: fellow variants who can relate, on some level, to the trauma that she’s been through. She deserves the chance to explore and embrace her Asgardian heritage, her Jotun heritage, even. With Loki in particular, she has the opportunity to be in a relationship where she is fully known in every way possible, seeing as he’s literally a masculine version of herself. She deserves that kind of intimacy in her life, and it won’t be long before that lack of connection starts to leave her lonely again. She may say that she’s not running from anything, but she is. She’s running from herself, from her own story.

Loki’s not off the hook, either. He made some major missteps in the way he approached this conversation. It really should have been his responsibility to lead with love and prioritize Sylvie’s emotions over his own. And while I think he tried to do that… he failed pretty miserably. 

I have a suspicion that he was disappointed, a little hurt, even, when he learned about Sylvie’s new life on the timeline. Afterall, they had kinda made plans to do that together when all was said and done. It probably stung to learn that not only was she ok without him, she was also happy and thriving in her new life. This is honestly the hardest part of learning how to love someone selflessly. You tell yourself that you want what’s best for them, but… can you accept it if “what’s best for them” has nothing to do with whether or not you are an active part of their life?

A lot of Loki’s desperation to find Sylvie in the first episode is fueled by uncertainty–not knowing where she is and wanting to make sure she’s ok. When he learns about her new life, a lot of that urgency goes away. But, he still wants to see her, and he feels like he needs a “reason” for it. So, he hides behind his encounter with her in the elevator as his way in.

What Loki should have done in this moment was be vulnerable with her. He should have asked her how she was. He should have told her the real reason he came: because he loves her and wants to fix things between them (and also protect her from an impending multiversal war, but that’s a conversation for later). He got this so right when he threw himself under her blade at the citadel, holding her gently and assuring her that he knew how she felt. But sincerity and truth-telling, vulnerability, are all still new to him, and while he’s not hiding his feelings anymore, you can tell he’s still struggling to express them.     

He’s too in his own head during their conversation. Her cold attitude and the time limit she’s placed on the talk have left him scrambling for words, so instead, he chooses to put up his own walls rather than chip away at hers. He tells her about what he saw in the future and asks her for information. He starts talking about TVA business and multiversal wars (the absolutely last thing she wants to hear about) and tries to force his viewpoint on her again rather than actually trying to clear the air.  

They both have so far to go to reconcile their relationship, and it's tough to watch. It makes me miss their bond in season 1, their playful banter and the inherent sweetness of their honeymoon phase. Is it possible that they’re drifting apart intentionally, that they won’t end up together in the end? Yeah, sure. Marvel doesn’t really have a great track record for ending romances on a positive note. But I really hope that all the angst is building towards something satisfying in the end. It is, after all, only episode 2. We’ve got the whole rest of the season to go!  

#sylki #loki season 2 #loki series #loki spoilers #geeking out gracefully

[sharingfandoms]

So like in your tags under the bb vs msp poll I saw you mentioning that msp was bad written and tingun aren't as healthy as people claim they are.....and I was like YEAH!! EXACTLY!! But I wasn't able to pinpoint it. Would you mind elaborating on those tags??

ohhh wowwwww my first ask!!!!! of course i will. i am also really happy that someone agrees since i kind of always found myself pretty alone in this lmaooo. thank you for your question!!! much appreciated! ♥

First claim: MSP is bad written

Yes, it is. For many reasons. I will elaborate on the main two.

It kind of presents itself as some sort of heir of Bad Buddy, but the comparison is pale to say the least. The main characters don't really have any reasons not to date. They could date in secret from the very start, as soon as they realize they both have feelings for each other, and then come out as an actual couple as soon as the whole music contest is over, or something like that (even waiting for another year until they graduate could be a valid choice tbh). No particular drama needed. They could still go to each other's houses and make out all day in bed while Gun's mom is working, or go out somewhere public without their classmates present and have a real date.

The actual conflict that makes them star-crossed lovers is ridiculous at best. The mere idea that a school club in high school (well, Mattayom actually, but whatever) would have a rule like that is genuinely stupid - like, it's not even 'club members can't date', but 'those who are in this club and going for Hot Wave can't have a faen'. Like, hello? What if I've had a faen before joining this damn club? I'm supposed to break up with them because some idiot thinks that'll make me more focused on singing and playing music? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm only accepting this as something not entirely crazy and fucked up if there's some cultural reference I'm missing behind it (if things really work like that anywhere in Thailand, then apologies, pretend you never read this last complain; but I did look it up on the internet and didn't find anything about it). It'd still sound stupid, but at least it'd make sense. It was something so out of the blue that just felt like the opposite of plot armor: something made entirely just to create an obstacle to the love story of the main guys once their path was clear and they were both sure about their feelings (if that's such an important rule, why didn't it come up sooner? It felt like watching a kids show, where threats gradually become scarier the more our protagonist becomes stronger). Regardless, like I said, it was not that bad for them.

Pat and Pran are star-crossed lovers because the parents they love and admire - and are economically dependent on - hate each other and actively tried to keep them apart, causing trauma and pain on both ends. They can't get rid of them. It's not highschool, it's not a damn music club you'll eventually get out of (soon enough!!!). It's their whole life. It's the people they love the most who are trying to oppose their relationship (not to mention their friends as well, while Tinn and Gun have full support on that regard). They feel guilty, they feel sad, they don't want to have to say goodbye to their fucking families in order to keep their relationship going. This is serious, and complicated - and practical, as money does buy happiness after all. This will last, probably forever, until their parents will finally come around and accept things are the way they are - we see a glint of it happening in the last episode, at least. Compared to this, Gun and Tinn are fine, really. Even a teenager should be able to see that. The writers didn't have to go out of their ways to make comparisons that martyr PatPran's symbols, like having them use the word 'friend' instead of 'boyfriend' as an 'inside joke', or their colors, or anything at all really, only for them to be related to a fucking school club rule.

The secondary couples are bad handled, which is a shame because I was genuinely interested in Sound and Win at first. I even dared to hope - fully aware I was fooling myself, but at least hoping it was going to be a fun road to something interesting and original! - that they would have actually written an aromantic/demiromantic character in this drama, based on what Win says to Sound in episode 10. But then everything that episode was supposed to be a build-up for in terms of their bond just suddenly disappears in the next, when they're somehow in an established relationship already. Great? Would have been nice to see that happening on screen, I guess. I suppose that's what happens when you WASTE so many episodes around only two characters (TinnGun), relegating focus on your secondary couple (I won't even mention the third couple, since there isn't much to say about them tbh) in the last ones, making it rushed and kind of pointless (this also happened with the feud between Tinn and Sound, which never got explained to the viewers for some reason; okay). And they even get an explicit PatPran reference at some point towards the end of the drama, which makes me cry and not in a good way - poor babies, don't worry, we'll all just collectively forget your outfits and cans were even brought up in MPS in the first place.

Second claim: TinnGun are not as healthy as people say they are

I want to be brief with this one, because people are going to hate on me anyway, and I don't feel like writing a whole ass essay on those two. All I have to say is: if this couple had been heterosexual, people would have probably hated it. With how much double standards affect the way people perceive female characters and straight relationships, all those traits that make them state Tinn is a green-flag and a lovable simp would instead have them assert that he's a succubus, that he's not indipendent enough, that he's only obsessed with the guy and doesn't actually love him, and that he doesn't do much in the show other than being the love interest. Usually, when people say these things related to female characters, they're wrong - and just being mysogynistic, hating on any girl who dares to have a cute crush on a guy. Ironically enough, in Tinn's case, they wouldn't even be all that wrong.

Like I said, I don't feel like elaborating much on this issue, unless anon really wants me to - then I'll dive into it in detail in another post. But, like, genuinely, Gun really pissed me off at times, he often takes Tinn for granted (I'm thinking about that one moment where Tinn tells him he's not going to make it to one of their rehearsals and he gets mad about it, as if Tinn hasn't been at his disposal the entire fucking time; that scene really made me feel uncomfortable, because if I were the one who had been so helpful to anyone at all, just for them to treat me like that as soon as I have a problem of my own and can't attend to theirs, I'd be genuinely disappointed; and yes, I know that Gun will later change his attitude, but I feel like there was no weight placed on this matter, as if him finally acknowledging Tinn's struggles and effort wasn't a turning point in their story but more like something optional that just kind of happened), and I feel like their relationship is often unbalanced on many aspects.

I won't elaborate on all the other claims - "he's obsessed with the guy", "he doesn't do much in the show other than being the love interest" -, but I do genuinely believe there should be more dialogue about them in the fandom. I never once read anyone complain about these issues, and I know for a fact they'd have come up immediately had it been a female character in Tinn's place.

#i don't know how to tag this #because i don't want it showing up in t1nngun's tag #i don't mean to be an hater #i can certainly tag #bad buddy #bad buddy the series #patpran #my beloved #and then maybe my school president #hoping this won't be upsetting for anyone

[areyoudreaminof]

No Regrets in this Life: A Cassian Playlist

We're back with our good ol' Lord of Bloodshed. Cassian has had a lot of assumptions and descriptors thrown his way. Bastard, warlord, General, bastard, and himbo (my own personal favorite). But underneath his humor, you've got this very loving and empathetic man, who has a lot more emotional complexity than he gets credit for underneath that humor. So I really let myself have a lot of fun with this playlist. I branched out more sonically and lyrically. So come take a look with me behind the cut! And Listen Here!

Ares-Bloc Party

War, war, war, war I want to declare a war My fist breaks your porcelain nose There are other things my hands can do To create or to destroy Mini gods and goddesses First person singular Set it, set it, set it off

The Man-The Killers

Nothing can break, nothing can break me down Don't need no advice, I got a plan I know the direction, the lay of the land I know the score like the back of my hand Them other boys, I don't give a damn

Inhaler-Foals

So can you not go away If just for one day? Impossible, possible How do you feel now? How do you feel now in a war? War sends out for you And throw your fortune away

After Hours-The Weeknd

Thought I almost died in my dream again Fightin' for my life, I couldn't breathe again I'm fallin' in too deep Without you, I can't sleep 'Cause my heart belongs to you I'll risk it all for you I want you next to me This time, I'll never leave

Careful You-TV on the Radio

Not to say, not to say That you shouldn't share the blame There is a softness to your touch There is a wonder to your ways Don't know how I feel, what's the deal? Is it real? When's it gonna go down? Can we talk? Can we not? Well, I'm here, won't you tell me right now? And I'll care for you, oh, careful you

Bite Down: Bastille vs HAIM

You don't have to look any further I've been waiting here for you for time You don't have to look any further You're missing what is right before your eyes No one's gonna stick the pieces Together for you, together for you

HEADBOARD-Lil Ugly Mane

Caught in a fire Buried with you Off in a dream, dream, dream All I know is right now, I'm through

waves-Miguel

Don't stop, I wanna ride that wave All night, I'm gonna ride that wave Look here, I'm gon' surf in it baby Get turnt in it baby, put work in it baby Keep workin' it while I ride that wave Put it out, I'm on fire, fire That’s what I’m about, take me higher, higher, tonight (I'm gonna ride that wave) You got a body built for the beach Do you got that ocean? Body surf, don't sleep, body surf on me

Don't Wanna Fight-Alabama Shakes

What you like, what I like Why can't we both be right? Attacking, defending Until there's nothing left worth winning Your pride and my pride Don't waste my time I don't wanna fight no more

The Fire-The Roots & John Legend

There's something in your heart And it's in your eyes It's the fire, inside you Let it burn You don't say, "Good luck" You say, "Don't give up" It's the fire, inside you Let it burn

10 Lovers-The Black Keys

When I hear them use your name I get all choked up inside It's not only from the shame It's like ten different lovers died Except you're still just a mile away But there's nothing left to say Don't leave us down and out again Cause we might break instead of bend

Who-David Byrne & St. Vincent

Who’ll help the tired soldier? Far from his own hometown Carry these men and women Who get lost when the Sun goes down? Who is an honest man?

TKO-Justin Timberlake

Fair fight, knocked down, then I got over you Can't fight no more, you knock me out What am I supposed to do? Don't understand it Tell me, how could you be so low? Been swinging after the bell and after all of the whistle blows Tried to go below the belt, through my chest, perfect hit to the dome Dammit, babe

Young Men Dead-The Black Angels

And out of the black a figure forms A soldier in the sky With a drop of love Trying to set you free Run for the hills, pick up your feet and let's go We did our jobs, pick up speed now lets move The trees can't grow without the sun in their eyes And we can't live if we're too afraid to die

Good Times, Bad Times-Led Zeppelin

I know what it means to be alone I sure do wish I was at home I don't care what the neighbours say I'm gonna love you each and every day You can feel the beat within my heart Realize, sweet babe, we ain't never gonna part I feel good when I look into your eyes

taglist: @octobers-veryown, @melting-houses-of-gold, @velidewrites, @reverie-tales, @thesistersarcheron@ultadverb, @c-e-d-dreamer, @andrigyn, @foundress0fnothing, @vulpes-fennec ,@asnowfern,@mossytrashcan, @thelovelymadone, @the-lonelybarricade, @shadowriel, @separatist-apologist , @fieldofdaisiies, @stickyelectrons, @vanserrass, @panicatthenightcourt, @krem-does-stuff, @iftheshoef1tz, @damedechance, @headcanonheadcase, @cursebrkr, @andrigyn, @mossytrashcan, @thelovelymadone, @wilde-knight, @moonpatroclus, @stickyelectrons, @kataravimes-of-the-shire, @mossytrashcan, @sunshinebingo, @filthyglamdoll, @ablogofbipanic

#acotar playlist project #cassian #pro cassian #a little something for the cassian girlies #Spotify

[katy-133]

What's so funny to me about the whole "Medic vs Mercy" thing is that, if you try to look at it with a non-biased mindset, both characters could have worked and been very well-received. When you get right down to it, they are both one-sentence character archetypes (Medic is "a mad scientist" and Mercy is "an angel taken human form").

It's just that Medic was given additional nuance, because as you play Team Fortress 2, you learn about the contradictions to his character:

The medi gun he invented was originally designed to be a weapon but accidentally healed people instead, so he rolled with it.

He treats his fellow teammates as both his found family, and also as his own personal science experiments.

Lost his medical licence because he stole a patient's skeleton.

Was at least 18 years old during WWII and possibly fled his hometown to either join the Allies or avoid being drafted in Germany (his WWII paraphernalia helmet is of German shape, but is white, not grey-green, and uses Geneva Convention/red cross iconography).

Stole his teammates' souls by surgically removing their hearts (hearts are souls in the TF2 universe) and placing them inside himself, but we later find out that he did this to cheat the Devil by preventing him from taking any of them.

Was given a marble bust of Hippocrates with the Solemn Vow engraved on it ("Do No Harm"), but ends up using it as a bludgeoning weapon, thereby breaking his vow in the most ironic way possible.

Loves taking care of birds and has a pet dove named Archimedes, whom he can recognise amongst all the other doves.

Mercy is seemingly "what you see is what you get." An angelic doctor who aims to heal others and felt hesitation in joining the war. She is exactly as advertised.

The fandom found potential nuance to her character when they found dialogue between her and Reaper that implies she helped create him (specifically the exchange, M: "What happened to you?" R: "You tell me, Doctor."). The twist that she possibly created one of the more evil-aligned characters in the game could have helped expand her character, but the devs reacted by saying that the bark lines are not canon, essentially shutting down the conversation, and eventually giving Reaper a different backstory. I have no idea why the devs wouldn't just lean into it, even if it wasn't their initial idea. It was a concept that could have potentially made the fans more invested with Mercy (which is something you want if you're running an MMO) and would give them a starting point for giving players scraps of new lore to keep themselves fed between game updates. It's like Overwatch 2 is allergic to money (but then again, Activision Blizzard isn't known for listening--there's a reason they are referred to as "the Devil's publisher").

In conclusion, Medic became the more contradictory, developed character, and the fandom loves him for it.

Medic can be both this:

*Meet the Medic's choir introduction plays*

And also this:

*Rocket Jump Waltz plays*

And I think that's neat.

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #character development #storytelling #my text #WWII #cw: blood #video games

[cynthiaandsamus]

Cynthia vs Diantha

"Heh, I expected you to have more respect for me than to go into this match with a disadvantage..." A small smile crossed Diantha's lips as she and Cynthia stood across from each other on the beach with Garchomp and Gardevoir between them.

"It's not disrespect, Garchomp's my strongest pokemon, and I wouldn't want to go into this with anything less than my best. For this battle I want to do things at my peak even if that makes it more difficult." Cynthia held up the lipstick tube holding her keystone while Diantha prepared her own Mega Charm.

"LET'S GO!" Twin orbs of light engulfed the Champions' ace pokemon sending shockwaves across the beach and rippling the waves as Garchomp and Gardevoir exploded with energy and transformed into their Mega Forms.

"They haven't even started yet and they're already making a mess..." Dawn sighed, shaking her head from the sidelines.

"Yeah, guess it makes sense why this one is on the beach instead of the usual arena, even this far away I bet they're feeling it back at the villa." Touko smirked, crossing her arms and glancing up towards the villa on the hill overlooking the beach.

"Shadow Ball!" Diantha called, a sphere of dark energy forming in front of the Mega Gardevoir and firing at Garchomp.

"Garchomp, Sandstorm!" With a single mighty stomp, Garchomp kicked up enough sand from the beach to create a massive torrent of swirling sand surrounding the arena, simultaneously obscuring its position for an instant to dodge the opposing projectile.

"I see, creating a home field advantage that'll hurt Gardevoir and power up your Garchomp's moves, now I'm the one on the backfoot." Diantha's mind puzzled through her options, knowing prep time inside the buffeting winds of the sandstorm would only whittle down her chances but rushing in against the behemoth would be equally foolish. "Gardevoir, Reflect!" Focusing her power, Gardevoir created a barrier wall around her to reduce Garchomp's ability to damage it, cancelling out its sandstorm boost and then some.

"Just what I thought you'd do." Cynthia grinned, wordlessly instructing Garchomp to close the distance between them, practically surfing on the wall of sand swirling around them and popping out right next to Gardevoir. "Brick Break!" Focusing the power of its claw into a karate chop, it struck Gardevoir in the side, shattering the Reflect's defensive abilities in an instant. It did minimal damage on its own but it was essentially making Diantha's efforts a waste of time which was all the more dangerous as she watched her pokemon take continuous damage from the Sandstorm with each passing moment.

Diantha didn't seem worried at all however, a thin smile crossing her lips again. "And that's just what I thought you'd do... Now you're in range and can't use the sandstorm as cover. Just because Garchomp is a special attacker doesn't mean I can't take advantage of point-blank range."

"Wait, what are you..."

"HYPER VOICE!" Like an acetelene torch firing up, a small focused burst of sound emerged from Gardevoir's mouth only to turn pink and explode into a dome of energy that pierced the veil of the sandstorm as Mega Gardevoir's Pixelate added power and Fairy Type to the otherwise Normal Hyper Voice.

"Garchomp!" Cynthia called out, but it was slightly too late to dodge, Garchomp barely able to turn out of the blast at all, making it not a direct hit but devastating all the same. "So you switched up your moveset since the last time we battled huh?"

"Can't keep coming to you with the same old tricks." Diantha grinned proudly. Once the smoke cleared Garchomp was on one knee, still standing but struggling to get upright. "It can't dodge, Gardevoir, Hyper Voice again!"

"Garchomp, DOWN!" Cynthia commanded in a way that wouldn't be immediately obvious to her opponent but was a clear indication to her partner that had spent hours and hours training with her and learning each others' signals intimately. Once again the Hyper Voice collected around Gardevoir's mouth before changing color and exploding outwards, in an energy blast that not only shook away the sandstorm completely but kept going across the sea line and into the nearby forest across the beach, ripping through several of the trees in its wake.

Expecting to see either her imminent victory or some desperate attempt to turn the tables, Diantha was surprised to see nothing when the smoke and sand cleared again. It took a moment too long for her mind to put the pieces together, partially due to the fact that the hole from where Garchomp had been standing was somewhat camoflauged by sand sinking into it. "Gardevoir, below you!"

"DIIIIG!!" Cynthia shouted as the land shark pokemon emerged right underneath Gardevoir's feet, delivering a powerup uppercut to the fairy-type pokemon along with all the rocks and debris it carried up with it buffeting Diantha's ace.

Expecting that to be the end of it, Diantha planned her next move, with Gardevoir having been hit with that and several turns of the Sandstorm's winds chipping away at her, it seemed both pokemon would be down to the wire soon, but she still had the type advantage. To her horror however, Cynthia wasn't about to give them the chance to regroup.

"Pin it!" The Champion shouted, Garchomp going straight from the connecting blow from Dig to spinning its whole body, rotating from the punch to knock Gardevoir off-balance and pin the Kalos Champion's pokemon under its large foot. "You're not the only one who likes point-blank attacks..."

Having enough of being caught a second behind, Diantha pivoted to an immediate offense, not willing to let the swift combo rob them of their chance to finish this. Even though it was pinned, she instructed her pokemon not to fight the position and simply hit her opponent with everything she had.

"Garchomp..."

"Gardevoir..."

"EARTHQUAKE!!!"

"MOONBLAST!!!"

The two signature moves went off within seconds of each other, Gardevoir channeling a huge amount of pink energy that was less intense than the Hyper Voice but covered a wider range while Garchomp struck the very earth itself hard enough to cause a massive fissure in the beach, rumbling with the foot directly on top of Gardevoir carrying with it the powerful tremor as if the natural disaster was coursing through every fiber of her being.

The ground split and the heavens erupted, the pink light from the Moonblast glistening in the sky as if there was a full moon in broad daylight and the spider-web of fissures caused by the Earthquake changing the landscape of the beach for quite some time.

The two Champions and their spectators watched with hardly a breath between them as the smoke cleared to see who would emerge victorious. With a mighty roar, Garchomp raised a scythe-like claw out of the scattered sand, panting and barely able to hold its Mega form any longer as the silver light reverted it back to its base physique, Gardevoir lying in the sand behind it thoroughly fainted.

"Heh, guess it missed, it's probably pretty hard to aim when you have an Earthquake going on on top of you..." Cynthia chuckled softly, amused with her victory.

"Good job Gardevoir." Diantha sighed, returning her pokemon. "It was pretty foolish of me to think I could win a quick draw when the enemy was literally on top of us..." The Kalos Champion shook her head but smiled over at Cynthia.

"Guess lunch is on me today."

#drabble #Pokemon #Cynthia #Shirona #Diantha #Carnet #Gardevoir #Garchomp

[terrors-and-tables]

As a way to give this blog some purpose, and give myself something to do, I’ve decided to start writing out my RPG musings in my spare time. I’ve been slowly working on a campaign setting for several years now, and it’s become a little creative space for me to hammer out a hypothetical kitchen sink to throw my fantasy ideas in. I’ll probably end up using it for a Pathfinder game (where I’ll finally get to use Spheres of Power/Might, and maybe even Guile), but I’ve thought about running it with an OSR game as well. Who knows, maybe I’ll run it over several different systems. Without further ado, here’s the first installment!

Post #1: The Ottoguard

This idea was created using Ultimate Engineering, the most recent (and final) Pathfinder product for Spheres of Might from Drop Dead Studios. I contributed a bit to the playtesting and had a great time, and its author spent two years fine tuning it, so if you're interested, go support them and take a look. At the time of writing, it should also be on the SoP wiki any day now.

In the core of the setting, the city of Scalmoor treats scientific advancement like its own fom of magic. They build marvelous contraptions of steel and glass, whether powered by tightly wound clockworks or by burning coal and spewing black smoke. In this city, the law is kept by those with the most money to build the biggest toys, and one such toy is the Ottoguard.

Standing at eight feet tall, an Ottoguard is a hollow sort of mechanical construct, but bears no magic or animating consciousness like a golem. Instead, a trained fighter pilots it, wearing it as a sort of incredibly heavy armor that carries itself. Ottoguards don’t do all of the policing, usually accompanied by a few regular guards who can do things like fit into buildings, move obstacles aside, bully civilians up close and personal, and so on and so forth.

Ottoguard CR 1 XP 400 Human Warrior 3 LN Medium Humanoid (Human) Init +2; Perception +5

Defense

AC 17; Touch 12; Flat-Footed 15; (+2 Dex, +5 Chainmail) 21 HP (3d10+6) Fort +5 Ref +3; Will +3

Offense

Speed 20ft. Space 5ft; Reach 5ft Melee Sap +4 (1d6+1 nonlethal) Ranged Light Crossbow +5 (1d8/19-20) Special Attacks Snag (Swift action, render target battered as melee touch attack)

Statistics

Str 13, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8 Base Atk ; CMB ; CMD ( vs. trip) Feats Extra Combat Feat Skills Craft (Technology) +6, Intimidate +5, Perception +5, Sense Motive +5; Racial Modifiers Languages Common SQ Gear: Mwk Chainmail, Light Crossbow, Longsword, Large Crossbow, MwK Large Sap, Potion of CLW, 8 gold pieces, 13 silver pieces. Martial Tradition: Mechaguard* Martial Talents (2 talents from progression, 1 talent from feat)

Equipment Sphere: Bounty Hunter’s Tools Armor Training Tinker Sphere: Transportation Package Mechanical Arsenal Transportation Mastery Wrestling Sphere: (Constrictor Drawback) Hammerlock Clinch Strike

Those stats above are for if our unlucky Ottoguard pilot is caught… off-guard. They’re there to represent what’s inside the fantastic mech and what he’s trained to do in a fight, particularly specializing in nonlethal capture- even when fully kitted out he’s here to apprehend criminals, not brain them. The crossbows are just for emergencies. So let’s break down what he’s capable of as a third level warrior, namely his talents:

His Equipment Sphere talents are there solely for proficiencies, for the Sap and for medium/heavy armor. The Athletics Sphere lets him run pretty quick (five times his speed in medium armor, at a hundred feet per round)- he won’t be able to outrun most people, but he won’t fall too far behind either. Tinker is much more complex, opening up an entire subsystem, but the bulk of why it’s there is to build and maintain his precious Ottoguard, with Mechanical Arsenal allowing him to outfit it with custom-crafted plate-mail for free, and Transportation Mastery allowing him to make an immersive cockpit that responds to his movements with a complicated array of levers and pulleys. Wrestling is there so that he can tackle a criminal and, if needed, beat them unconscious. It’s alright though, because even if it’s scaled up to be sized for an ogre, a lead rod wrapped in leather will still deal nonlethal damage.

Mechanoid Statistics: 4th level Mechanoid N Large Construct Init +2; Perception +5

Defense AC 24; Touch ; Flat-Footed ; (+9 Full Plate, +1 Dex, -1 size, +5 NA) 27 HP (3d10+12) Fort +5; Ref +3; Will +3 Defensive Abilities ; Immune Construct Traits

Offense

Speed 20ft. Space 10ft; Reach 10ft Melee MwK Large Sap +8 (1d8+5, Nonlethal) Ranged MwK Large Light Crossbow +5 (2d6/19-2) Special Attacks Snag (Swift action, render target battered as melee touch attack)

Statistics

Str 20, Dex 14, Con --, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8 Base Atk +3; CMB +9; CMD 21 Feats -- Skills Perception +5, Sense Motive +5, Intimidate +5; Racial Modifiers SQ 6 Upgrades (Arms, Legs, Cover*, Focused Design (+2 Str), Immersive Cockpit, Armor Slot, Alternate Size) *Free upgrade Gear MwK Large Sap, MwK Light Crossbow,

The Ottoguard, while piloted, can benefit from its pilot’s skills, feats, saving throw bonuses, base attack bonuses, et cetera, while keeping its own physical ability scores, armor class, and better weaponry, while also having its own pool of hit points. The pilot isn’t totally sequestered, however, and some parts of him are still visible, even if they’re behind hatches or a visor, and he may be attacked separately from the Ottoguard- though he benefits from Cover, gaining a +4 bonus to Armor Class.

An Ottoguard isn’t cheap, of course, but by the rules of Ultimate Engineering, Project Materials (for things such as mechanoids) may be acquired freely with time and successful crafting checks (DC 15 for 50 gold worth of material, +50 for each increase of 5, gathered over the course of 4 hours per check), meaning that by carefully sourcing and repurposing parts, the Ottoguard may be constructed from scratch by its pilot for free. This process of assembly and subsequent maintenance are drilled into pilots’ heads from day one. At a cost of 500gp for the average Ottoguard (100 per level, +200 for being large size), and about 100gp of Project Materials being acquired per day, this means an Ottoguard can be fully constructed in a week’s time (not counting the weekend of course). If in a proper settlement and in a real emergency, 500 gold pieces can be paid outright to acquire exactly what is needed almost immediately, after which construction of the Ottoguard takes 1 hour. All of this means that while Ottoguards are probably extremely similar on the outside (serving as somewhere between uniforms and police vehicles, they probably should), a pilot knows their machine inside and out, and there may be differences in the internal construction.

Ottoguard Adventure Hooks

1. A pilot’s Ottoguard has been stolen, likely to be reverse engineered by some enterprising criminals.

2. A pilot has been found guilty of illegally modifying his Ottoguard with blades, flame projectors, and stronger leg actuators. After causing several fires and deaths, he’s gone on the run with his new death machine.

3. A chaotic druid has caused trees and vines to grow over all of the city’s Ottoguards overnight, and has ruined the Ottoworks. With the city’s strongest defenders disabled, and Scalmoor’s stingy oligarchy unwilling to fund that many replacements immediately, the city is in shambles!

4. A mad tinker wizard has stolen the blueprints for the Ottoguards, creating one with an integrated Artificial Intelligence. It’s been going on its own patrols, blending in perfectly and disappearing before it can be apprehended. What is its purpose?

*New Martial Tradition

Mechaguard Equipment Sphere: Bounty Hunter’s Tools Armor Training Tinker Sphere: Transportation Package Wrestling Sphere: (Constrictor Drawback) Hammerlock

Inspirations:

FantasyNameGenerators is a wonderful site, and I used it to come up with the name Scalmoor

Appleseed (the 1988 OVA) is what really inspired this idea, bringing that movie's Landmates into a technologically advanced fantasy setting

#Pathfinder #RPG #Spheres of Might #Spheres of Power #3rd party Pathfinder #Steampunk

[kitaychan]

Tag Game To Better Know You! Send this to people you’d like to know better!

Thank you @fizzycherrycola  for tagging me! <3

What book are you currently reading?

I'm still making my way through "The vortex" by José Eustacio Rivera. The book is a classic in here and it has amazing descriptions of the amazonian rainforest but I always forget where I leave the book lol but I'm close to end!

What’s your favourite movie you saw in theatres this year?

The Batman! I loooove Batman and I was astonished with Robert Pattinson's take on the character and Paul Dano did an excellent job as The riddler!

What do you usually wear?

I wear a lot of dresses and big coats, they're comfy and look cute, I also lean to soft colors though lately I've been buying more green clothes...

How tall are you?

I'm the tallest in my family, but people here are not so tall...

What’s your Star Sign? Do you share a birthday with a celebrity or a historical event?

Cancer. My birthday is on independence day, so it's annoying at times, but it's always festive!

Do you go by your name or a nick-name?

Ilich is a nickname, but irl I just go by my name.

Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child?

Haha no. When I was a child I wanted to be an astronaut which is nearly impossible in a country that has no space program. Though I am happy with what I am now.

Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one?

I am 🥰

What’s something you’re good at vs. something you’re bad at?

I am very good at swimming! I used to take lessons and all, but I am very bad at the trademark sports here like soccer and cycling.

Dogs or cats?

Cats!

If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favourite picture/favourite line/favourite etc. from something you created this year?

I really liked this part of Together, I had fun researching about how outer space looks like and idk that part always gets me.

Everything seemed to work normally. Alfred lost count of how much time had passed, days, nights, it was hard to tell after they crossed by the Andromeda Galaxy, clouds of nebulae and a foreign web of constellations displayed an overwhelming number of suns, leaving them with the knowledge of how small the spiral-like Milky Way actually was.

There was a pause and shake of their heads every time the system marked a break on the distance from home. An infinite path strayed from their calculations, from their lifespans, but the prospect of a finish line for their journey didn't comfort them either.

In a surge of boredom, Alfred turned off the gravity inside, they seemed astonished at first. Wang had tried to turn it back on, but he had shoved him away and a childish game of tag started. It was strange, how unprofessional this was, how they were wasting time and energy on something so… human.

Alfred laughed, even when he knew they couldn't hear him, that they couldn't see his smile through the helmet, and it was… nice, for a while, but his laughter turned into sobs.

They were together, but not really.

What’s something you would like to create content for?

I think I'm happy with what I've done, and instead of creating new stuff I'd stop doing it, I want to finish my stories and take a break.

What’s something you’re currently obsessed with?

Cooking, this year I'm the one preparing the Christmas dinner and I've been practicing and planning what to do. Some of my family is coming over too so Idk I'm a bit nervous with that haha

What’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

The Wakanda forever movie, there's something about how they handled having two powerful nations/empires and putting them against each other that simply disappointed me... It's a good movie but idk what I was expecting.

What’s a hidden talent of yours?

Hmm I've been crocheting lately and it's getting better haha

Are you religious?    

I'd like to say no but I'm constantly catching myself for assuming that some traditions here (that are heavily catholic) are also usual in other places, so that makes me go 🤔🤔

What’s something you wish to have at this moment?

Ahh I need some nice buñuelos (a pastry), in fact I think I'll get some of those on my way home.

I'm tagging @fireandiceland @magictrio1118 @darcymariaphoster and @crumpled--notes if you want to~

#tag game

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

Writing Questions Tag Game!

I was tagged by @darsynia and I'll do my best to answer these questions! Some seem very thought-provoking for a Saturday when my brain wants to just lie around and indulge!

What is your absolute all-time favourite idea you’ve ever had?

I always always hate these favorite questions. I feel like a parent being asked to choose a favorite child, and I'm not one of those parents who could have a favorite child. I mean, I guess for the sake of the question, one of my favorites, at least, is Hemispheres, which is a WIP (not abandoned!) Frostiron series that uses some canon but diverges from canon as well. I could also say that Outside the dawn is breaking (But inside in the dark I'm aching to be free), a Scott/Logan X-Men 3 Fix-it WIP is another favorite. Also another idea that is a favorite is an original story idea that I haven't begun writing yet that involves two of my favorite things: food/cooking and writing, but I won't go into details about that one right now.

Is there a question you’ve been asked in the past that really stands out to you and you still think about sometimes?

About my writing? I don't think so. Most people don't ask me questions about my writing.

What is your favourite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

My favorite part of being a writer is losing myself in the stories I create. Putting myself into the characters and living vicariously through them. I also really dig the positive feedback I get. I could really do without people who want to tell me how *they* would prefer my stories be written to suit their particular niche needs/wants. Or telling me, someone with degrees in language and writing, how something is supposed to be punctuated based on their views on Old People Writing vs. Young (obviously more correct) People Writing.

What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

To have fun. To, again, live vicariously through the stories and characters. To exercise my empathy for the characters. Also I know that while my writing isn't the most popular out there, I still have a small crowd that is made happy by my writing, so that's a good motivation for me.

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

Well, when I first started writing, I was 12 years old, and at that time, I'd probably have wanted to know how much easier using a computer made writing compared to writing by hand. Of course, when I was 12, my parents couldn't have afforded a personal computer (I'm 50 now, so do the math). My brother bought the first personal computer after he got out of the army (I was 14-15 then), and he always offered to let me write on it and save my writing, but I wasn't interested at the time. Plus any of that wouldn't have easily been salvageable between then computers to now computers.

What is your favourite story you’ve written TO COMPLETION? Link it if you’d like and can!

Favorite original story: It was a short story I wrote for a short story class and later published in my college's publication, Windward Review. It's called Two Minutes Too Late, after the Alanis Morrisette's song, "Ironic," about a man on death row who doesn't belong there and who's already injected by the time the call comes to stay his execution. It was pretty personal, and those who know me know why.

Favorite finished fanfic: Probably a toss-up between Behind Blue Eyes and Never Piss Off a Telepath; Or How Logan Opened His Mouth and Said a Stupid Thing

What is your favourite out-of-the-box quote?

I don't quite understand this question. Meaning a favorite quote from something I've written? Again, I hate picking favorites of anything, esp with my writing. LOL

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

Most controversial mindsets would be Emma Frost, Loki, and Tony Stark, I would think. Probably even Scott Summers, to be honest. I don't feel they're controversial (they're not controversial to me, that is), but so many people hate Scott just for existing because they think he's just a stick in the mud/stick up his ass boring leader who, for a time, "picked the wrong girl" (aka he chose Emma Frost for a while instead of the redhead). I think Emma is controversial because she came between Scott and said redhead, and many people like to label her a slut (and trust me, it's not just dudes labeling her that; I've argued with so many women about Emma as well) - I think she's also controversial because people who love or hate her only see her as this BDSM domme and that's the whole of her character instead of her actual *job* for a while that is not the whole of herself. I and a few other people don't write her in that way, and I think our vision of Emma therefore becomes controversial because we write her more humanized than some one-dimensional bimbette. Same with Loki, tbh. He's controversial because you've got the people who just hate him because he's a villain and he stabbed Thor (without looking into the potential reasons why he stabbed Thor - look, I have a brother whom I love but who behaves in a very Thor manner - dismissive, gaslighting, condescending, bullying - and sometimes I wish I could get away with stabbing him where he'd heal just fine from it but otherwise would know that I was pissed off at his bullshit). He's also controversial when you have writers who ONLY write him as this humiliation-kink, abuse-loving (as in thinking he deserves to be abused and loves to be abused), 24/7 BDSM-living character who can only be written wallowing in angst and these writers get annoyed at those of us who don't write him this way. And Tony - well, he's controversial because people just love to hate on Tony because he's Tony.

If you, when you first started writing, met you now, what would younger you think?

I think the 12 year old me would be disappointed af that at 50, we aren't published, we aren't romantically or physically where we thought we'd be. I think 12 year old me would be thrilled that our smut writing improved A LOT over the years, so there's that. I think 12 year old me would see that what we thought our aspirations were didn't quite get us where we wanted to be, so maybe they would take some different turns to achieving the writing success but not the academic success. Definitely they would insist on getting the hell out of Texas much earlier, avoid the whole shitty marriage, and discover who we were all along much earlier, not to mention set boundaries so much earlier in life.

Thanks for tagging me!

Tagging: @scottxlogan, @mcfiddlestan, @kleenexwoman, @chaotic-hypnotic-erotic, @chaoticgardenbread, @renlybaratheon-tyrell, @just-fandomthings, @securitybreach, @endlesstwanted, @cerylid, @sivan325

#writer tag game

[the-fandom-crossroads]

Who is that mysterious voice? 3.6 Trailer Theory!

3.6 is right around the corner! The Livestream today promised Nahida's Story Quest Part 2 and a New Area linked to Khaenri'ah! This post will be breaking down the lines in the trailer to try and figure out who is talking and what they are talking about. Please follow for more theories like this!

"I come from an ancient race. We have existed for a very long time. Possibly longer than any records in existence." -Fem voice through a recording filter.

"The history of Dragons Dates back to the very beginning of Tevyat." - Nahida

"D-dragon King?!" - Paimon

'We were victims of the Apocalypse but we also became the Apocalypse itself." -Fem voice recording continued

The way these dialogue lines are ordered we are meant to see the recorded voice as being a Dragon. Back before the Archons, Celstia, and even the Primordial one (credited with creating humanity) the Dragons and Vishaps were to soul inhabitants of Teyvat. There were Seven Sovereigns, the strongest of the dragons each channeling one of the 7 elements like the Archons do now.

The Primordial One was formed and overthrew the Dragons forcing them to flee into the Vishap Realm or Light realm at this time the Abyss or Dark realm was also created. Two realms separate from Teyvat itself.

The reason a Dragon from this time would be from before records is because a being called "The Second Who Came" challenged the Primordial One. The victor of this war wiped all history from before the war including the ruling of the dragons.

But I believe this is a misdirect. This is our Dragon King

"Both of you have only existed for a fraction of what you know as time, yet you call yourselves lords of this land by leaning on heaven's glow." - different unknown voice

"Is there anyway to avoid fighting them?" - Nahida

The new Dendro Dragon is the Dragon King we will be fighting. Nahida's VA in the livestream goes on to describe it as corrupted and sick. Explaining why Nahida is hesitant to fight them.

This Dragon King is most likely from that ancient time before the Archons were created and that is why they call Nahida and the Traveler young.

So who is speaking at the beginning then? The way I see it there are 2 options or the 2 options are the same person.

Option 1 survivor/recording from Khaenri'ah

The new area revealed in the livestream is said to be one of the main battlegrounds of khaenri'ah vs celestia. Like I said the voice has a recording filter on it. What ancient civilization had recording technology? Khaenri'ah. What is shown while the voice speaks? The inside of a Ruin Golem. Specifically a zoom in on a static monitor screen.

"We were victims of the Apocalypse but we also became the Apocalypse itself."

This line cements it for me. Celestia used Abyssal energy as the curse they placed on Khaenri'ah. The Abyss/Apocalypse was tossed upon the citizens of Khaenri'ah. They became corrupted by the Abyss and are now the Apocalypse for current day humans.

But there's a hole in this option

"I come from an ancient race. We have existed for a very long time. Possibly longer than any records in existence."

When you look at the history of Teyvat Khaenri'ah isn't that old. Enkanomiya and the nation from Dragonspine are older. The Royal "WE" here can't be Khaenri'ans and it can't be humans in general. As mentioned above Dragons and vishaps lived on this world long before humans were created.

So I have an Option 2 a Seelie

The Seelie race like Enkanomiya and Dragons dates back to before the history wipe caused by the "Second Who Came". That is when Seelie were at their strongest. When they built large palaces and had larger, humanoid forms. But the Seelie civilization fell during the fighting and the Seelie were weakened to the forms we see today.

A red Seelie will be our Guide in this new area. We just spent the last world expansion with a Jinn that had survived the degradation of her race. Why not a Seelie next?

The Seelie Race is certainly ancient and most likely existed before records of the world were being recording in Irminsol. If you're older than the tree you're older than recorded history. The Seelie Race did fall in what can be considered an Apocalypse since it completely destroyed their civilization.

The only Hole is the "becoming the Apocalypse" line. Seelie are just harmless guides now not bringers of the Apocalypse.

That's why I think it might be both? A seelie the survived the fall of the Seelie civilization only to witness the fall of Khaenri'ah. The Red Seelie mentioned above? It's going to be our guide in the new area said to be the battleground between Khaenri'ah and Celestia. Yes Seelie's guide travelers to treasure but why does this seelie know how to guide us through these ruins?

Who knows what we'll find buried beneath these sands? Guess we'll have to wait until 3.6 to find out! But what did you think of my theory? Who do you think the first voice is?

#genshin #genshin impact 3.6 #genshin impact #genshin spoilers #khaenri'ah #nahida #if you like the theory please like and share around! #i love making lore posts like this #but i can't make as many #if meme posts get more notes #following also helps of course

[razorblade180]

Twin Snowflakes part 51: You vs Us

TSF 50 <-

On the outskirts of the school among the clouds, Valerie and Eliza soar on the Nevermore as a way to “leave” quickly. Eliza keeps her eyes fixed on the school and wits about her, waiting for action. She raises her left hand to tap her earpiece for a report.

“Everyone, this is Eliza. We dropped off Veronica and Nick.”

“Good job.” Ruby said, calmly. “Now we wait for Veronica to tell us when the fighting starts.”

“Well it’s been four minutes already. Realistically speaking, how long do you think it would take for a fight to break-”

A thunderous boom came from the ground, whipping the wind and shaking all forms of ice around the school. The communicators beeped in the girl’s ear.

“THEY ARE FIGHTING!” Veronica yelled before immediately hanging up.

Ruby came back online. “Well, you heard her! Stick to the plan!”

Eliza turned around to Valerie. “Hey!”

“I heard. Hold on tight!” She tapped the beast with her heel and it did half a loop before diving straight down towards their battlefield.

xxxxx

Inside the auditorium, Nick flew head first into the rows of chairs before rolling to his feet with swift recovery. He took a chair and swung it clean across Shiva’s face as she tried to get close, then swung it backhand. The chair broke against her jaw but he didn’t care; following up with a sword thrust that slid her back. Shiva rapidly fired lances that forced Nick to counter by striking them down as they approached. This left him open for Shiva to slip behind him, blasting him with the force of a blizzard in the palm of her hand. Fortunately he made the dust in the air near his back form into a shield but he was still sent flying onto the stage, smashing through her throne.

He only got to his knees before having to dodge roll to the right, nearly avoiding Shiva coming for his head with Summer’s sword. She made a glyph to bounce off of. If it was close quarters she wanted then that’s what she would get! Nick would spare no expense, making a second sword in hand before crossing blades again. Her movements were planned and precise. Each party of his didn’t leave an opening she couldn’t sidestep or flip overhead. Nick had seen these moves practiced his whole life. He had to admit it, but he had never seen them performed so gracefully and lethally. However, that feeling was going both ways. Shiva went for a chest injury but was promptly blocked with the left sword moving her arm out the way as the right sword was held with a reverse grip, slashing her upper along her chest before Nick full on kicked her in the stomach for her fall into the cheap seats. Not only was he stronger than before, but Shiva could tell he wasn’t holding back. A salvo of fireballs came her way and was snuffed out like fading candles with a sway of her left hand.

The girl smirked. “Weak.” She said before stabbing the ground, creating a wave of rushing snow that tore its way to Nick. He slammed his blade against it, slashing through with his own snow attack. “You’re not winning if your plan is copying me!”

Shiva went to slash through his attack when she was suddenly yanked forward by a glyph under her feet. The new distance made her strike miss timed and Shiva took the hit, knocking her against the back wall with a flurry of snow.

“That wasn’t you getting hit was it?” Veronica said over his earpiece.

“No.” He said in whispers, making sure Shiva continues to be unsuspecting. With Veronica, he didn’t have to use comms. She could hear clearly regardless of the chaos. “Please be quick.”

“I am! Just a little harder to breathe than I thought.

“Don’t rush recklessly. The others still need time anyways.” He readied his blade.

“They’re gathering there as we speak. Start heading towards the gym, somehow…”

“Yeah.”

The snow plume around Shiva got thicker before condensing into swirling winds around her sword, revealing the woman atop a Sphinx. Nick grimaced, making lightning glyphs crackle around him.

“C’mon, I dare you!” He yelled with conviction.

“My pleasure.” The beast ran towards him channeling ice within its throat while the girl jumped up its head with blade raised high and voice screaming higher.

xxxxxx

Veronica came out into a science lab, doing her best to ignore the constant rumbling as she spotted a pair of giant fan blades in the ceiling. She reached into her bag and pulled out a device in the shape of a sphere. Veronica split it in half, attaching each on to a fan and pressing the same series of buttons on both. The device blinked a red screen several times before delivering a pulse of heat that thawed the ice in a matter of seconds.

“Penny, thermal charges work like a charm.”

“Excellent! I’m sure the general will be pleased. Do be careful though. I tried minimizing much of the original scale. I tested these but…”

“You have no idea what kind of explosion will happen if these bad boys fail, do you?”

“I have a few. Watch your fingers.”

Veronica was sorry she even asked. She made it to the next spot on the map, but like most of the school, it was walled off. Vee went through the ice to get to the library, placing two more changes. The girl went under again, removing herself entirely from the school grounds and emerging outside. Veronica took three full breaths of clean air before going back into the building towards the council room to set up another charge. As she was about to walk out, a book bag caught her eye; Summer’s bag. Completely frozen in a block of ice. Veronica sliced the top layer of ice to touch the bag, making it intangible. Free from the ice and on her back, Veronica left the room. Her legs only carried her a couple of feet before another symphony of crashes rumbled closer and closer. Veronica nearly yelped and she quickly went below ground.

Nick came around the corner a second later with Shiva’s fingers gripping his forearm as he slammed her against the lockers, only for her to counter with a headbutt to his nose that made him drop her. She struck his wrist with her blade to disarm him of his weapon then stabbed at his scar. Nick let out a guttural growl that made his teeth clench and blood boil. Shiva went for another thrust but Nick full on grabbed her blade and yanked her close. His right hand drew ice around his knuckles before he punched her dead center of her face so hard the ice shattered. Nick then grabbed her face and pushed her up against the wall.

“I’m so fucking sick of your shit.” He said through his teeth.

“Took the words right out of my mouth!” Shiva jumped and doubled kicked Nick in the ribs to get him away. She went to tackle him but the clever bastard made a giant glyph that shot an ice sculpted fist that punched her down the hall.

Shiva rolled along the ground and back to her feet only for four more glyphs to bind her limbs apart from each other. A flickering light down the hallway she just slid across grew brighter as Nick set his sword ablaze and hurled it like a spear. Both it and Shiva were sent straight into the courtyard with explosive force before Nick followed them into.

Shiva was already on her feet again when she saw Nick emerge from the smoke. Boulder sized chunks of ice were conjured over his head to fall like meteors but kept narrowly escaping their impact. Even as Shiva pierced the ground with her blade to create spikes to skewer him, the fleet footed young man zigzagged with perfect accuracy; it ate away at Shiva. Nick wasn’t just reacting. He was reading her, his glowing blue eyes fixed on every moment and his brain hard at work. He ran behind an icicle she made and didn’t come back into view. Shiva quickly looked up to see a swift streak of white go into the air, but it was a trick, a blade of frost that had been thrown!

“Whatcha lookin at!?”

A black glyph of his making kept her feet in place and Shiva looked ahead of her to see Nick reunited with his blade again and arms length away ready to use it. Shiva hastily raised to block. Her wrist wasn’t prepared for the blow and it gave way. Nick undid the gravity glyph as he followed through with his swing to ruin her balance and send her flying again towards the other set of doors. He wasn’t done yet though! Nick broke down all the dust spikes she made with his own glyphs then swung his blade to send it flying at her like howling winds in a storm that blew Shiva inside. Not even she could keep her eyes open wide in the face of such fierce wind. Feeling him approach, she brought her left arm up to help see as she stabbed straight forward when he got close enough, but Nick swatted the attack outward. Fearing his blade swinging back in her direction, Shiva ducks and does a roll to her right as the sound of metal cutting the air breezes by her ears. She could finally see with the wind out of her face but not before receiving another kick to the chest that slid her down near the gym door boiler room.

Nick refused to let her truly breathe, forcing her to use the instincts he had trained against. He bounced off glyphs widely to approach her. As expected, Shiva thought of the boiler room, making a glyph on the entrance that pulled Diamond Dust into it to create a terrifying Ursa. Its jagged claws were raised up to swipe Nick ducked the left attack then choose to block the right paw, cushioning the attack but allowing it to knock him into the gym where he then flipped midair to stabilize himself, sliding on the covered floor directly into the middle of the large room as he saw the doors swing closed. In the midst of danger, Nick allowed himself to smile in satisfaction.

He really had to thank his mother and aunt for what he prepared to do next. Nick stood up straight and composed himself. A moment later, the Ursa came rushing in with a full flock of baby Nevermores swarming in by the dozens. Unblinking and full of power brought to new heights, Nick raised his right foot and lived up to the name bestowed to him in battle. He stomped down, making a full floor of glyphs. It took every layer of ice that rested beneath and shot it skyward in the form of countless swords in the likeness of his own. The Ursa was decimated and each bird was greeted personally with a blade mid flight. Nick snapped his fingers, causing the swords to blow up in a burst of Dust energy that took the form of falling snow scattered among fading feathers. Across the room, Shiva stared in silence as her lip began to quiver.

“H..How did…you-”

“A big open room like this, Summer can’t help herself but attack from above and at a distance. Of course you’d keep summoning instead of rushing in. I know how you think better than most. In a fight that is. Now then, are you going to keep acting like you’re not-”

“SHUT UP!” Her voice echoed in the crystallized room, threatening to crack it. Tears welled, froze, and shattered as her eyes shook erratically. “Don’t act like you’re better than me! As if anything has changed!! Let me remind you…WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH!!!”

Shiva abandoned Summer’s sword, tossing it away as her hair glowed whiter and eye pulsed blue. The gym began getting colder and wind stirred like the blizzard outside as cold vapor grew bigger off of Shiva. A dagger formed in her left hand which she used to cut her right palm. Nick’s eyes grew wide as he watched blue blood flow from down her hand and froze into the shape of a cutlass. Nick had only ever seen this once during the tournament, but this was far more intense. With this new blade, Nick knew Shiva was intending to fight without the swordplay Summer used for years. She would be an enigma once again, but one rooted with habits and tactics she’s used to fight before relying on memories.

“Don’t get scared now! Witness my power that you dare try to make your own! Witness Diamond Dust and its master, WITNESS YOUR MISTAKE!”

The weather inside increasingly got worse as her power grew and grew until…stillness. Nick felt his heart sink as the wind completely died and all falling snowflakes froze in place in fearful radiance of the blue blade and the madwoman who pulled it back across her body as she gazed at Nick with pure ire as she whispered…

“I am Shiva.”

She slashed the air horizontally once as if she drew an imaginary line. Everything remained still, except Nick, who frantically went to raise his blade in the presence of looming yet terrifying pressure that came as suddenly as a breeze.

xxxxx

“How are we looking!?” Weiss yelled to Penny, who overlooked Ruby’s trail of flame dust from above.

“So far so good! She’s on the tenth lap around!”

“Good. Let’s not fall behi-”

It was like a bomb. One second, silence. The next, a sound that blasted eardrums. All things shook but the glass windows of the gym all blew out with rushing winds and heavy snow. Every eye looked towards the gym which was several hundred feet away. Even if they were further, they knew that attack was too strong; stronger than Shiva’s usual display.

“Nick!?” Weiss said over comms, immediately letting panic creep in the moment she didn’t hear his voice. “NICK!?” She yelled with urgency.

“He’s fine…” Veronica said in pain, her voice high pitched and the sound of her breath going through her teeth.

Blake and Yang chimed in. “What happened!?”

xxxxx

Veronica laid on the ground with her hands over her cat ears and tearing up from the pain. Nick crouched over her, body trembling behind a tattered and chipping ice dome as the thick blowing snow still hid them from view, but that wouldn’t last forever. He had to be quick.

“We’re alive.” He said to everyone, frazzled. “Shiva pulled out all the stops and…yeah.”

Nick wasn’t quick enough to defend outright. The attack was far superior than his hastily made shield. Veronica must’ve sensed the severity. He didn’t expect her to come out of the ground and let the brunt of it pass through, allowing him more time to strengthen the dome. Still, the abrupt wind, force, cold, and sound, did damage.

Nick shook her gently by the arm. “Vee? Talk to me! You good?”

She knew he was whispering and yet it still felt too loud. “I’m not deaf at least.” Veronica removed one of her hands to find blood on it. “But I’m not a fan of this either. Bright side, three more charges left.” She winced.

“You can’t -”

“We don’t have time to debate.” She said in fear, going underground again slowly. “I’ll rest in the boiler room for a sec and keep going.”

The entire group overheard her, but that didn’t stop them from reevaluating this danger they felt and what Nick witnessed. The dome fell down and the snow began to disperse enough to make out the figure of his living terror, grinning at the sight of him.

“Well, well, well…” Shiva dragged the blade along the floor as she took her time approaching. “What happened to all that bravado? Are things sinking in again?”

“Nick, change of plans!” Penny said. “It’s getting colder in there! Lead her out now. We can make things work!”

That was a lie and he knew it. They weren’t done, not as much as they’d like to be. Not as much as they needed to be. Despite knowing that, his body wasn’t compromising. He still crouched and couldn’t even blame the ice on the floor that quickly reformed.

Weiss repeated, “Nick! It’s time to go! We’ll send Ruby to back you up and-”

“So what if I’m scared!?” He yelled, confusing everyone as he gazed off ahead.

Nick’s eyes never left the blade, its shimmering body reflecting himself. It stared back with arms crossed and a gaze that read, “Are you done?” No, he wasn’t.

Inch by inch he stood back up, watching his reflection crack a smile and nod. A gleam of light passed over the blade and left Nick with an image of himself breathing heavily with Mort Froide clenched tightly in his hands. Nick looked into Shiva’s eyes.

“Some things you just do.” Nicholas summed a glyph beneath him, dawning an Arma Gigas armor clad with the brilliance of the Dust along the joints, edges, greaves, and gauntlets. “Come! Let’s have a proper grudge match!”

Shiva clicked her tongue in anger, then laughed before running towards him frantically. “Fine by me!” Shiva jumped for an overhead strike and was met by Nick's blade coated in a layer of ice, preventing her breaking it into pieces outright. “Tsk!”

Their fight began again with her angrier than ever, but that didn’t matter. She had taken the bait and more importantly, his friends got the message.

Veronica was already running through the building as she tried shaking off the pain. Thankfully her earpiece wasn’t in her cat ears. Still, it hurt when it beeped.

“Vee?” Penny said

“Three minutes, right? That’s a grudge match in combat training.” She dove through a wall into the cafeteria and placed another charge. “I can make it.”

xxxxx

“Perfect. See you in three.” Penny hung up and kicked her boosters in high gear. At this point, with all this cold escalating and anger, Shiva wasn’t about to notice extra propulsion.

Three minutes. It wasn’t Nick ordering them to be done, but him telling them how long he could last. Her eyes caught Winter summoning grimm to move more things into place while Weiss ran off towards the gym.

“Weiss?”

“There’s no way he’s gonna last a second longer than he asked for. We’re doing this flawlessly!” Weiss radioed him in. “Nick, end the fight with Shiva near the door leading to sports fields.”

xxxxx

That was a request he had in mind, but was easier said than done. Him and Shiva bounced off the walls, clashing blades again and again in succession. He grabbed the rim of a basketball hoop and flung himself across the area to avoid relentless ice needles and slid along the bleachers before flipping off of them in time to avoid Shiva coming down from above. Moving was the only option!!! Years of ice skating were put to the test with how quickly he glided across the floor, maneuvering around spikes while firing his own dust blasts. The moment she goes to block he moves in to strike to only gain further skirmishes with her cutlass. Flurries of snow fly off with every impact. Power is felt with each move; Nick couldn’t believe he was still okay.

Boundless fear and Shiva went hand and hand; years of frightful nights and memories of hiding had never truly faded. Even so, a match where skills must be put on full display was also his life. There wasn’t a shift in Shiva’s movement that his eyes didn’t track. Predicting attack sequences and setting up counters made his brain work overtime while juggling his own actions like swapping sword hands to block or making a glyph as he jumped in order to screw up her timing on when he fell. In spite of fear and the consequences of failure, Nick parried her blade and slashed up along her torso, because there was nothing more thrilling in his life than showing those who challenged him what he was made of.

“Ah…I think I get it now.” He muttered.

Another clash sent them both sliding away and making glyphs to stop themselves. Shiva performed another air slash. Nick rotated his glyph around him to use as a windbreaker. It absorbed the Diamond Dust on contact.

“You’re fighting on my stage now.”

A solid pillar the size of a Geist Golem shot out like a speeding bullet towards Shiva. A smirk left her lips as she ran at it.

“Worthless!” She cried out.

A single, powerful strike from her blade was swung at full force, shattering the ice into airborne chunks. Her satisfaction was short-lived however. A couple seconds out of view. That’s all that was needed. Shiva now saw Nick with the Gigas sword in his hand and Mort Froide stabbed into the floor by his feet inside a glowing yellow glyph that spun like a clock. Fearing how close he was, Shiva instinctively tried to jump back while controlling the ice chunks to throw at him. Sadly for her, that ice was already gone. Shiva looked around, gasping as she noticed thirteen blue glyphs that surrounded her.

Time felt as it slowed as Nick watched where Shiva’s feet would perfectly land. Nick made his pointer and middle finger on his left hand point at the spot to finish the trap; his final attack that earned him this Arma Gigas.

“Checkmate.” He flicked his fingers up.

A glyph appeared then pulsed under Shiva’s feet that flung her into the air. Nick used his increased speed to zip towards her before Shiva could react. He threw the summoned blade up high and touched the blue glyph in his path. The stored Diamond Dust inside turned into a sword which he broke against Shiva’s body as he sped past her. Nick bounced off the wall back towards her while touching another one, breaking it again against her back.

Again and again Shiva let out a voiceless yell as felt blade after blade break on her body. Left, right, forward, back, ribs, stomach, arms, and hips; they were mercilessly struck as Nick bounced between each glyph with a new sword to shatter. The thirteenth blade uppercutted her chin, lifting her body higher and jerking her head upward to witness Nicholas grabbing the Arma Gigas blade. He kicked off the ceiling the second his feet touched it, coming straight down. Shiva hadn’t a clue what expression he had under the helmet of his summon, but it didn’t hide the intensity of his vibrant blue eyes.

A final horizontal slash pressed deep against her gut, As her body bounced hard off the floor from the violent descent, aura flickered, and the icy interior within…

Nick saw his opportunity and took it. With all his might he screamed, “HEY SUMMER!!!”

xxxxx

The hairline fractures along the frozen lake became full blown cracks along the surface. Alarmed Shiva looked down into it and found a mix in relief seeing Summer still frozen at the bottom, but enraged by the fact she was concerned.

“You stay right where you are.” She growled as she tried mending a few cracks. “Nothing is going to change.”

xxxxx

Nick landed on the ground near the door and used his remaining strength to knock on the floor. All his armor faded away as he dropped to one knee in exhaustion. The air was finally doing more harm than good with how much energy he exerted; even the glow of his hair and eyes began to dull, flickering like a dying light. Meanwhile, Shiva raised herself up with the help of her blade. Any meaningful damage was already healing before his eyes, yet that did not restore her own stamina or quelled the rage she held in his wake.

Nick glanced at his blade across the room to see it immediately encased in ice.

“No more tricks.” She said coldly.

He looked back at Shiva and gave a tired smile as he stood up. “I was hoping you’d take a few seconds longer on the ground. My time is up.” The glow faded, his strength with it.

“Yes it is.” Shiva started closing the distance in one lunge with her blade aimed at the heart. It went through completely, along with the rest of her body. Shiva had phased right Nicholas, her blade pierced the ice covering the door and she turned around to see Veronica supporting Nick up before taking him away.”

Shiva was furious! “YOU LITTLE-”

Her rage was silenced by the massive hand of a giant Arma Gigas busting through the door, grabbing her. Shiva was yanked out violently and flung like a rock towards the track field; her body once again couldn't overcome the speed and crashed against the ground like a falling star.

Not much harder than before but Shiva quickly realized the difference in impact as she tried to stand, head towards the ground. What should’ve been inches of snow below her was instead green grass illuminated by an orange glow, and all the cold embrace outside felt like the center of a chimney.

Shiva looked ahead and saw flames. Not just in front of her but enclosing the track alongside smoldering embers that fought her snowflakes.

She was only rewarded the luxury to stumble to her feet before Winter came from beyond the fire with a blazing saber in hand that slashed her chest. Shiva had no choice but to snap out of her daze, frantically bringing up her sword to block a second attack, but not quick enough to avoid getting kneed in the stomach. Shiva hunched over and proceeded to get an elbow to the back of the neck that made her drop to her knees. Winter jumped backwards, performing a cross slash that sent waves of flames.

Shiva clenched her left fist as she got up quickly, swiping the air like pulling a curtain; dragging a cold wind across that erased the flames. However, removing the attack revealed Yang’s flaming right hook. The punch landed right against her cheek and was followed up with a left uppercut with a series of body blows. Yang went for a roundhouse kick that Shiva attempted to grab, but both her hands were quickly bound and pulled apart by a flaming tether on her left and two wires on her right that burned with dust.

Yang’s kick landed squarely on Shiva’s chest. She then swung her leg up and straight down as an axe kick to the face. Shiva’s head bobbed down violently but when it came back up, her cheeks were puffed out. Yang gasped as she was literally blown away from her. “Shit!” She yelled.

With pure strength alone, Shiva pulled her arms across her body, flinging Blake and Ren flying towards her. Ren let go to avoid her grasp while Blake dared to hold on and yank herself to gain more speed! Blake let Shiva reel her sword back thrust forward. A flame clone was left to take the blow while Blake flipped overhead. Shiva tried grabbing her again but Blake made another clone as she began spinning around in a circle to create a full ring of burning copies before retreating from the screaming child.

The clones crackled with energy that made Shiva put up a small ice barrier as they all exploded, launching her up into the air. Still, Shiva gripped her blade and readied herself. “So you want to overwhelm me huh!? Let’s see ya try!”

She commanded the snow to fall like knives with the swing of her sword and killed the embers around her. Shiva began to create several summoning glyphs as her foes evaded her attacks. Various creatures of grimm began to crawl out of their circles to lay waste, when suddenly, what felt no stronger than a thump hit Shiva in the back, causing all the creatures to fade as silver glimmers of light fell around her. Her semblance, it wasn’t working! Shiva turned around and noticed a person standing on one of the field’s LED light poles.

Shiva clenched her teeth. “You!”

Eliza twirled her lance casually and tipped her hat. “About time I met you. Figured I level the playing field a bit.” Her eyes glowed with magic and she pointed her lance at the field.

Countless small embers began flickering back into existence, swarming around like fireflies.

In a single move, Eliza Marigold became Shiva’s number one priority. A spear formed in hand and Shiva chucked it before running. She needed certainty that Eliza wasn’t gonna interfere; atmospheric frost condensed around her left hand. One good touch was all she needed.

Eliza jumped off the light as the spear struck it, bursting into long spiky structures. Eliza knew she was outclassed but was still stunned when she noticed Shiva was already several feet away and closing in while Eliza was still falling. No wonder her orders were to negate Shiva’s semblance only after making sure the girl was standing still. Shiva knew instantly Eliza wasn’t ready for close combat on this level. She lacked the experience unlike the others. There was no way her eyes would be prepared to track movement this intense. However, Eliza was never expected to in the first place.

Before Shiva could get any closer, three funnels of rose petals came from behind Eliza and merged together for Ruby to appear between the two fighters. Her gun was already aimed and shot several burning sniper bullets point blank at Shiva’s body and hand. The close proximity was enough to break Shiva’s stance. Ruby switched to scythe mode without hesitation to hook Shiva around the waist before petal bursting, dragging away back to the center of the field while Eliza hid herself among the fire.

Ruby yelled, “Heads up!” Then flung Shiva back into the fray. The huntress then proceeded to stab Crescent Rose into the ground to continue ranged support.

Shiva managed to roll onto her feet this time and went straight into blocking a right jab from Yang and then swinging her blade left to counter Winter’s horizontal slash. Back and forth she went, frantically juggling between two seasoned fighter’s relentless assault while bullets met her back not only from Ruby, but Ren as well. Shiva ducked and weaved behind one of Yang’s hooks, trying to stab her while taking cover, but Winter quickly got in the way to block for Yang. Yang then leaped frogged over Winter with her left arm while her right cocked back and fired a shotgun blast to slide Shiva back against another exploding clone of Blake that sent her stumbling forward into another gut punch! Yang dug her knuckles in deep before firing another round that sent Shiva sliding backwards.

“ENOUGH!” Shiva yelled, stabbing her sword into the floor to stop her movement.

Long ranged fire takes were unleashed by all of them towards her. Grabbing the hilt of her blade with both hands, Shiva sent a pulse of Diamond Dust out in front of her to make a mall. A shadow flew overhead, causing her to look up to see Whitley on top a summoned Nevermore flying low to the ground. A wave of his hand made a glyph against her wall that made Shiva gasp. She immediately took off running towards the bleachers towards the school as her defense opened right up to welcome in the onslaught. Fighting here was never her plan to begin with and she wasn’t about to stick around. She sent out a slash of ice and snow across the field in the group’s direction. As she fled, Shiva noticed the plumes of Diamond Dust flying out from the school towards the field. She didn’t have time to fully question it, but she took the opportunity to use it to make a better, stronger wall dividing herself from her pursuers as she dove through the unavoidable firewall to the other side.

Shiva went into a roll that ended with her crouch. Thank her lucky stars the flame wall wasn’t thick. At last, she found the precious seconds to take a breath as she looked up and said, “SHIT!” Again, she dove away from danger. This time it was a colossal sword from the very reason she was thrown over here to start with! It charged towards her at full speed with Weiss standing on its head.

Annoyed, Shiva rose to feet. “I am sick and tired…of these stupid Gigases!!!” She cried out as she ran to meet it head on.

The giant summon punched down at her location but missed as she flipped forward onto its right arm. Weiss moved its left arm to grab her but Shiva simply jumped onto that arm, reaching the neck in no time. Shiva put as much force as she could into a single strike, cutting off its head in one motion. Weiss jumped straight up and sent lightning raining down.

Shiva jumped after her, dodging the attacks. “Come here!” Her blade met Weiss’s with more power, pushing them higher up. “What!? No words for your daughter!?” Shiva taunted.

Weiss braced her sword with her right hand. She looked right into Shiva’s eyes and said, “You’re back in view.” Weiss put them on a platform.

Another sniper round hit dead center of her back from Ruby, who used the ice wall for a vantage point. Weiss gathered her strength, igniting Myrtenaster and shoving Shiva away before slashing underneath her left eye. No mark was left but Shiva felt the sting.

Weiss watched Shiva touch the spot. “Not so funny when it’s you, now is it?”

“Why you-”Shiva started swinging, but that’s all she could do.

Weiss blocked with her sword and weaved effortlessly across the glyph as she avoided lethal strikes too chaotic to land. Weiss struck back with precise piercing strikes at her shoulders, collar bone, and a slash along the right knee.

“Years of training and still can’t get you to keep your foot in position when you’re stressed.”

“I AM NOT HER!” Shiva went for the legs but Weiss. She thought she could catch her on the way down but the woman made another separate platform, leaving Shiva to get hit by another bullet. “AAHHH!”

Weiss moved the first glyph back towards the field. Shiva tried jumping off before she could get put back in. Unfortunately for her Whitley and Winter helped box her in long enough for Blake to throw Gamble Shroud. It lassoed Shiva tightly.

“Drop her!” Blake yelled, yanking her down to the ground.

Shiva breathing on the tether, freezing it so it would shatter. She deconstructed her ice wall of Dust for Ruby to fall and sent it out as a full on attack towards everyone in the form of cascading waves of solid ice.

“Ha! Let’s go!” Yang’s eyes turned crimson and she ran right towards it.

“Don’t get cocky!” Shiva kept putting more power in the attack to make it the size of a stampeding Goliaths, but Yang only sped up. Through her attack, Shiva could see two blurs of hot pink on each side of Yang. “Don’t tell me- they’re all here in waiting!?”

Nora and Valerie ran beside Yang with a hammer and battle ax at the ready!

Valerie shouted with authority, “Full steam ahead!”

“Yes ma’am!” The huntresses responded with equal intensity as all three of them glowed brightly; their strength soaring from Valerie’s semblance. They jumped in unison, striking the rushing ice head on with all their might. Not even Diamond Dust could withstand the unyielding passion the trio had. The ice shattered like mosaic glass.

The display of power was nothing short of spectacular and left everyone in awe. Shiva didn’t let this display of force go unchallenged though. She took the falling pieces and launched out like shrapnel. Ruby wasn’t about to let Shiva have her way. She did a full powered Petal Burst that sped by the three bruisers, saving them from harm while Eliza directed the floating flames to melt away as much ice as possible to spare her allies some trouble. The Nevermore began raining down feathers to keep Shiva from focusing on Ruby.

Ruby dropped off Valerie and Nora further back to help everyone else while she continued carrying Yang through the flames near the bleachers on the furthest side from the school. There her strength wavered, causing her to revert back to normal and fall with her sister right next to Jaune and Penny; who’s eyes scrolled with code as she sat on her knees. Jaune put his hands on Ruby and Yang’s head as they sat up to recover.

“You’re going too fast, both of you.” He said while amplifying them.

Yang grumbled. “Not really our choice, unfortunately.”

“That burst of cold early and that sword wasn’t in the plan. Even if it was, it’s not enough to match her. We have to keep her on the back foot.” Ruby insisted.

Jaune really couldn’t argue. He knew what they were dealing with. “Just don’t thread the needle too much. She’s as persistent as you. Even her rage is calculated.”

Yang nodded. “Don’t forget to worry about yourself. Start moving somewhere else after this. If you go down we’re as good as dead. Speaking of defense…” Yang looked at Penny.

Ruby spoke up before Yang had a chance to yell. “Uuuh Penny? Not to rush you but how much longer until you’re out there with us!?” She said mildly concerned.

Penny’s regular pupils returned and she gave a thumbs up with a smile. “Right now. Ventilation track set up.”

“Finally!” Yang hopped up, hand extended. “Would you kindly?”

Penny took Yang’s hand and flew around the perimeter. Even with fire in the way, finding Shiva was as easy as activating thermal vision. Penny chucked Yang at Shiva from behind, then flew above to get the jump on her.

Ruby took Jaune’s hand and moved him to the back right of the field closer to all of their friends, then sped around to grab Eliza and move her

to the top of the press box so she could overlook everything.

“Be ready to nullify Shiva again when it wears off.”

“Gonna be hard if she sees it coming.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let her.” Ruby flew all the way to the opposite side, past the bleachers and landed on the gymnasium roof with her scope out. She patiently waited for an opening, which admittedly got more difficult as her friends got more comfortable getting up close to Shiva. “Nora, help a girl out. Let’s make Yang look good.”

“No problem!” She unleashed a barrage of explosions from her grenade launcher that forced Shiva to move back.

Shiva noticed Yang coming up behind her and prepared to jump, but was shot in the leg by Ruby! “Gah!” Two more bullets hit her leg before a fist slammed into her back. Diamond Dust slowly became more potent in the air as it finally came through the vents closer to the field. The scars lit up on Shiva, unleashing spikes from them that kept everyone around at bay. It would be a lie to say this fight was easy, but she was far from tired. She snapped off an icicle that came from her palm and threw it at Valerie. Winter used the change in the environment to fire off her own shard of ice that broke Shiva’s along with her own.

Shiva clicked her tongue. “Again with the imitations.”

“Please, I’ve been doing this before you were even a bad thought.” Winter let her saber fall from her hands into the ground. “For example…”

Dozens of glyphs appeared simultaneously around Shiva. Fully refined, Diamond Dust enhanced baby Nevermore came flying out much faster and aggressive than the ones she made earlier. Shiva tried running but only made it several yards before the pain inflicted on her knee, accompanied by Weiss’s gravity glyph, dropped her body to the floor. The flock flew around her, riddling her arms and legs with talon scratches that ruined her clothes. A few even pulled at her hair.

“Aaaah! Let me gooo!” Shiva yelled as she struggled. Embers joined the flock and glowed brighter. “You think you’ve won!?” Her bellowing blew flames out but not fast enough.

No one said anything, but it was a little hard seeing Shiva struggle like this. The way her eyes, Summer’s eyes held such malice. Shiva tried raising her head to fire an ice beam from her mouth but the gravity forced her head into the ground with only her eyes visible. This couldn’t end this way! Her gaze focused on Weiss. Snowflakes around the huntress turned to razor sharp constructs that were probably shattered by three swords coming from the sky to spin around Weiss for protection. Shiva forced her head to tilt up enough to see Penny flying overhead. Of course she was here; the only person who could detect unnaturally drops in temperature in any given area. The others weren’t simply keen enough in battle. They had Penny keeping track of even the most well hidden attacks! The robot sent out another three swords that spun overhead. Gradually they spun faster and faster as a green ball of energy began to form.

Penny could only frown as Shiva looked at her with intense anger and fear. “I’m sorry.” Penny mouthed.

The beam fired continuously into Shiva’s back, causing her to scream. The vibrant glow of her aura was on full display as it tried warding off the attack. Even if it remained unbroken, the energy beam was still hot itself.

“AAAAAGGGGHHHH!” Shiva’s nails dug into the dirt. Crystals of ice bloomed and faded quickly as she tried to do anything. “LET ME GO!”

The display of anguish and struggle got to Winter, making her yell at Shiva. “Just give up already and end this! You’re only hurting yourself!”

“Hurting myself!?” Shiva bit her lip. “And what would that make your actions, huh!? Don’t act like this is my fault! Stop acting like you’re right and know what’s best, as if you all aren’t living failures! I’m only going to say this one more time…”

Everyone stayed on guard as she found the strength to raise her body up several inches. Terror hit their hearts as they saw blue blood run down from her lip and nails. The essence crystallized, suddenly turning from small pools of blood to icicles that cut into her own body to bleed more.

“LET. ME. GOOOOOOO!”

Gale force winds, as strong as last time, shook the entire arena. Flames died out and intense snowflakes came from her that bursted violently. Endless explosions of ice shards went flying in every direction. Ruby hurried back down, tackling Eliza out of the way of the attack. A few managed to hit Ruby, causing her to crash but keeping Eliza safe.

“RUBY!”

A chain of explosions made its way upward and hit Penny, stopping her blast and encasing her in ice. The summoned Nevermores were obliterated while more explosions made their way to Valerie and Yang. Ren pulled his daughter into his arms while Nora got in front of them both to block the explosion with a grenade. The impact was lessened but all three were still blown away. Blake attempted a similar tactic, pushing Yang out of the way while leaving a flame clone to take the blow. Again, then avoided the worst but sent into the bleachers hard.

Winter added her own gravity glyph to force Shiva back down, yet the girl’s will persisted. Another bellowing scream brought harsh winds. Particles of ice gathered in front of Shiva's mouth into one solid point and haphazardly shot towards the sisters. The extra gravity misplaced the shot to miss but be dangerously close in front of them. Thinking fast, Whitley commanded his summon to shield them with its wings. The orb went off a second later, killing the summon instantly and blowing all three of them apart. Winter back towards the left where Nora’s family was, Whitley flew straight back, nearly unconscious and would’ve gone far through the field goal if it wasn’t for Weiss. She hit the ground, rolling onto her hands and knees before hastily catching Whitley with a glyph the moment her eyes spotted him.

“I got yo-agh!” Weiss gripped her side in pain, feeling a piece of Dust wedged in that she immediately pulled out before it could be manipulated or seriously injure her.

The pain made her vision blur for a second, or maybe it was the hard landing. Either way, Weiss hadn’t realized until now that Jaune was speeding towards her frantically with fear in his eyes. She turned her head back towards Shiva and let out a voiceless gasp upon seeing a sword brimming frost coming for her. Jaune slid between her and Shiva, using both his sword and shield to block the tremendous blow. Weiss felt her heart sink.

“WATCH HER LEFT!”

“TOO LATE!” Shiva said, her voice manic as her bloody left hand was already reaching for Jaune’s face. As Shiva went to claim a victory, her eyes met Jaune’s. They held no anger, or resentment. Only sadness that made a voice inside scream…

“DAD!!!”

Shiva’s hand tensed up for an instant before she followed through a second later. Her hand however met the cold rough exterior of a Gigas helmet that had appeared on Jaune. The sudden layer of protection crumbled as she squeezed it, but it had bought the precious time Jaune needed to activate his shield. The crest of his family glowed purple before pushing Shiva back. The rest of the Gigas armor formed on him from the neck down for protection. Not wasting his opportunity and resolved to protect his friends, Jaune used his aura to boost his own performance as he took the fight to Shiva. Crocea Mors slammed against her cutlass, forcing Shiva back further from the weight of his strike.

As Weiss let her brother down, she looked at Winter to learn that Winter was looking back at her with the same shocked expression. Neither of them made that armor.

“KEEP PUSHING!” A familiar voice shouted in righteous fury.

Winter and Weiss looked towards the school to see Nick, fading glow and all, land on the track and b-line towards Shiva with his sword gripped. Eliza heard the yell and turned her head as well as Ruby recovered. Valerie staggered to her feet quicker than the others thanks to their protection.

“Nick!?” They all said to themselves, witnessing his new appearance for the first time.

“Mom! Auntie!” He called out, “King’s Guard!”

Not messing a beat, Weiss put up a summon glyph in his path and Winter fired a dilation glyph further out onto the ground. Nick jumped through the first one, gaining the armor of his mother’s knight and slid right into the second glyph before taking off swiftly to help his father. Nick looked down at Mort Froide to see the remaining embers in the area gather around it to reignite into a powerful blaze!

“You’re not doing this alone.” Eliza said, putting as much power into the fire as possible. “Valerie!”

The girl cuffed her hands around her mouth and shouted, “GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT!”

Nick’s speed increased again, making him look like a blur of white and red that glowed brighter by the second. Finally in range, Nick pushed ahead in a single lunge. “DAD!”

Jaune stepped back and a blaze of fire came soaring by to hit Shiva. The father and son rushed in at the same time and swung their blades down against Shiva, who gritted her teeth as she used both hands to withstand their attack.

Shiva couldn’t believe Nick was back, again! “How are you still fighting!?”

“Look who’s talking!?”

Shiva started back peddling as Nick took the lead with a flurry of slashes. One after another she parried, but any opening in his defense was quickly covered by Jaune’s shield, followed by the man’s blade coming in to take initiative. Jaune’s attacks weren’t only nearly as fast, but had far more striking force than Nick’s. The only vulnerable spot on Jaune was his face, but Shiva was in no position to land such an attack directly. Especially with Nick following up after Jaune to cover openings in defense that Shiva now believed to be intentional. The two hadn’t discussed anything but it was clear they were on the same page!

Grunts and growls came after each swing from Nick. “Dad…!”

“I know.” Jaune was looking for a good exit. Years of training with Weiss made it clear that multi-tasking between moving and summon control could be incredibly difficult. Even with him moving the suit of armor himself, the division of attention must be more than Nick was used to. Not only that, Jaune was certain his son ran to his side as quickly as he did to be the diversion. Right now, Jaune needed to help the others get up.

Jaune charged up another pulse in his shield. He blocked an attack meant for Nick and pushed Shiva away while sliding the two of them backwards. Jaune tapped his shield twice to queue Nick in. The boy jumped in front of Jaune with his feet landing on the shield. Nick dispelled the armor on his dad and focused only on making a second sword. Jaune used all his might to swing out as Nick kicked off, sending him straight at Shiva to keep the pressure on.

Jaune started running back to help. “Weiss, the armor!”

She took it off Nick and it was immediately replaced with his own. Penny’s fallen blades raised up again as the robotic woman broke out of her ice prison. Immediately she flew to Nick to support him in stalling. Jaune made it back to Weiss and pressed his hand against her wound.

“Agh!” Weiss winced.

“You know it’s faster this way.”

“Doesn’t make it hurt less.” She gripped his arm. “This sure brings back memories.”

Blake groaned as she saw a blob of yellow help sit her up. “You okay Yang?” Her vision gradually cleared up and the blob of yellow was actually two. It took a few more seconds before Blake realized it was her daughter who helped her up. Now she was lifting Yang. “Veronica!?”

The girl winced, her ears still sensitive from the first blast. “Hey mom. Looks like we’re all banged up a bit.” She shook Yang. “Ma, get a grip!”

Yang regained her senses as she groaned. “Hey sweetie…”

Blake noticed the dried blood near Veronica’s ears and in her hair. “What happened to you? Are you okay?”

“I’ll manage. Nick and I cut things close. Even blacked out for a minute. Fortunately for him, recovering isn’t that hard in a place even like the school as long as he’s not doing anything stupid. As for me…” Veronica fell to her knees. “It was way too noisy to stay asleep.”

Yang supported Veronica. “Woah there.”

“I’ll be fine. Fresh air helps. I’m more concerned about how long Nick and Penny can hold her off alone.”

A flash of red washed over them. In the blink of an eye, they were sitting right next to Jaune and Weiss, as well as everyone else. Winter helped Ren up while Valerie took care of her mother. Ruby appeared in front of them with Whitley in tow.

“Quickly, before she notices.” Ruby said, grabbing Jaune’s free hand.

Everyone joined hands so he could start amping them all at once. All except for Eliza, who focused her efforts in spreading the fire Nick had slung around at Shiva; as well as filling the air with embers again. The wall had to come last for now.

“Stay strong everyone. We got this.” Valerie echoed, giving everyone a boost to their stamina and vitality.

Peace and clarity finally came to Veronica’s head as her ears felt soothed. “Aah~ thank goodness.”

Nora, Yang, and Ren got up first. Thankfully they didn’t take the blast directly. They also wanted Jaune to focus more on the others. Weiss let go of him after them, having already spent the most time getting healed.

“Got you a gift.” Veronica said, pulling Summer’s Myrtenaster off of her hip. “Grabbed it along with Nick.”

Weiss took the sword and opened the revolver. “Hmph, didn’t even attempt to use the Dust that wasn’t ice. Eliza, on my mark you focus only on rekindling the wall.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Valerie and Winter let go, leaving Blake, Ruby, Veronica, and Whitley to be treated more effectively.

Ruby tried to get up but both Blake and Jaune kept her where she was. “You gotta save some for Nick.”

“I plan too, so take your share so you can save him without incident.” Jaune told Ruby.

Yang watched closely at how Nick used one blade to clash with Shiva’s while using the other to make her move back, or defend from ice. Meanwhile Penny kept Shiva on her toes with a barrage of lasers. Still, Shiva seemed to be faster than before. Not only were her wounds healed, but the cutlass unleashed stronger gales that served to attack and defend. Most likely due to the blood it added to itself.

“That sword has to go.”

“Easier said than done.” Ren huffed. “We won’t get much done if we’re winded. Amplified or not, we need to change the pace.”

Weiss blended gravity and fire in Summer’s blade. “One thing at a time. Let’s start with giving Nick a proper break. Eliza, now!”

Shiva kicked Nicked away then blocked two of Penny’s blades before causing another powerful gust with her blade to keep them at bay. The hue of red behind her darkened her shadow as flames erupted, traveling around the field.

“This trick again?” Shiva prepared to blow them out, when suddenly a massive fireball was launched over the field where it remained like a small sun. The fire broke down from its own weight and floated down everywhere into chunks of flames burned in place everywhere; far bigger than the embers did. Shiva blew her chilling winds but with so many intense flames fueled by both dust and magic, they didn’t dwindle easily.

Veronica got up with a chirp and a leap towards Yang. Her mother grabbed her by the arm then proceeded to fall underground. Yang came flying straight up like a rocket a couple seconds later, propelling herself halfway across the field before unloading flare after flare at Shiva from above. Vee popped back up in front of Nora.

The Valkyrie grinned happily. “Do it.”

“Kay.” Veronica grabbed her by the shoulders and essentially pushed her down like a spring before letting going. Nora flew even higher than Yang! She swung Magnhild around to stand on it then pulled the trigger to send herself forward into a spin.

The contest of strength between Nick and Shiva had turned into a battle of footwork as she now had to slide, pivot, and twirl around the mine field of fire and attacks. Nicholas was caught between keeping his aggressive style up to keep her guessing, and finding opportunities to weave behind fire to blitz her for escape. Even with the rain of gun shells Shiva managed to deflect while keeping her eyes fixed on Nick.

Penny swooped in and charged Shiva, sliding her back across the softened ground. Nick tried to run but Shiva catapulted herself up and over Penny by pushing ice up underneath her feet. Weiss and Eliza kept moving the fire as she bobbed and weaved through them. Nick could hear her get closer and refused to be stabbed from behind again. He put his sword in a patch of fire then spun around, flinging it across the area. Shiva cut right through and was greeted with Nick’s blade against her chest. The girl hissed at heated metal against the skin but stayed close.

“Running from what you can’t finish!?”

“Tactical retreats are sound strategies.” He put a glyph wall between them. “So is friendly fire.”

Nora came crashing down behind Shiva and blew up the immediate area, creating a thick pink cloud in the process.

Sensing all the moving heat, sensing him was difficult. “Shit.”

“Can’t see?” Penny said, soaring through the smoke and tackling Shiva along the ground as she kept her flying. “I can see you perfectly.”

“Tsk, damn bot!”

Penny threw Shiva to the furthest end of the track. All her swords split into groups of lasers that fired alongside moving fire Yang and Nora joined Penny in standing by her side to intercept Shiva the moment she tried to get close. For now she blocked the constant bombardment of attacks with her left hand making a barrier. Shiva stared at her arm in anger, replaying the crucial moment it tensed up. No matter the trigger, that wasn’t a fluke.

“Do not resist me.” She said to herself. “I’m the one in control.” Shiva waited for a response, an act of defiance. However, her head was silent. Good, that was good. Unknowingly, she let out a sigh of relief.

Ruby saw Nick come into view from behind embers and smoke. Poor boy was basically staggering as his armor faded. “I got-”

Whitley slammed his fist against the grass and summoned a Nucklavee. The monstrous grimm stretched out its arm, grabbing Nick by the hand and pulling him all the way to them like a rubber band snapping back.

Ren blinked. “Do I even wanna know where you got that?”

“There’s never a dull day with Ruby. You know that.” He moved away from Jaune so Nick could fall right into his arm.

The soothing feeling of Jaune’s aura washing over Nick’s body like a wave made him take his first calm breath this entire fight. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Jaune smiled and said, “I should be telling you that. Way to save your old man back there.”

“I got lucky.” It looked like she flinched.

“You noticed too?” Jaune looked out at the battlefield. “We’re getting through. I can feel it.”

Ruby and Blake finally got up and were reinvigorated. Ruby took their weapons along with Ren’s dashing to the nearest hidden cache and back.

“We got to get in there. Nora and Yang are bound to be low again. Right now our best bet is giving Nick a break so he can…” she looked at him. “Glow?”

Nick shrugged. “Sure. Not like I have a name for it.”

Winter added to their assault by summoning a pack of beowulves. The more Diamond Dust she could use, the less for Shiva to manipulate at any given time. “Call it whatever you want. It doesn’t change the fact we’ve gravely underestimated the scope of Shiva's power. Even with aura renewed, we only have so much stamina. Something has to change and fast.”

Valerie noticed Veronica looking right at her. “What?”

“Talk shit.” Veronica said bluntly. “You buff and debuff. Channel half of the nasty things you’ve said to me and let her have it.”

“You’re forgetting about the part she has to be receptive to my words. You missed the part where she stabbed herself in order to escape Penny’s laser and a flock of Nevermore. We would have to really shake her up.”

Veronica tapped her foot. “Well…that might be easier than we think. Can all you guys keep her busy enough for Penny to pull back? I need to confirm something.”

“Consider it done!” Ruby said, taking Ren and advancing left while Blake and Winter hitched a ride on the Nuckelavee to go right.

Veronica pointed at Val. “Be ready to taunt like your life depends on it when I get back.” She fell through the ground again.

Weiss watched Eliza continue to add fuel to flames her allies created. “Hey, I can handle the fire from this point. I have a special job only you can do.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Keep Shiva guessing. Live up to your title.”

Eliza paused briefly. “Live up to my title.” Such a selfish request given the circumstances. In this battle for their home and friend, Eliza played her part strictly for the sake of success. On paper, this request would be no different, yet hearing brought visible joy she couldn’t hope to hide. “Okay.” She said with a smile.

Wind spun underneath her spear and made it float sideways. Eliza sat on it like a bench then took off towards the clouds. The bird’s eye view allowed her to watch Shiva swipe away at summons, block explosions, and react fast enough for Ruby to stay on her toes. In a way, it was genius to allow Eliza to spend the beginning of this fight hiding and watching; learning the rhythm of the combat. Not only did it conserve energy, but all the fire and ice made the air and ground rather wet.

“Alright Shiva, time to fight a witch.” With a single snap, Eliza sent down a single bolt of lightning.

Shiva didn’t even know what happened. One minute she’s in the air ready to slam her blade down against Ruby’s scythe, the next second, a shock to the system that stunned her in place. The excess electricity crawled along the ground towards Nora, causing her to laugh.

“Haha!” She ran towards Ruby. “Sugar Rush!!!!”

The reaper swooped up Nora into a tornado of rose petals and pink lightning, then threw her with a recoil shot. Everyone moved out of Nora’s path except Shiva, whose feet became bound in mud and vines from Eliza. With Winter and Whitley in play to ruin defenses, Shiva had no other choice but to face the lightning head on! Magnhild and the cutlass collided head on to create a force that sent frost and electricity through the air as the two refused to budge an inch!

Their clash was so intense that the only person to notice Veronica taking Penny away happened to be Yang, who was closest to them. Unfortunately she couldn’t hear what her daughter had said that made Penny eagerly follow her.

The power struggle quickly ended when Nora noticed Shiva inhaling for a breath attack. With her last grenade, Nora got out of trouble by firing point blank, blowing each other apart. Lucky for Nora, Ren was there to catch her in his arms.

“Oh what would I do without you?” Nora batted her eyelashes. Her attempt to ease the tension fell flat when she noticed him squinting at Shiva. “Ren?”

“I saw it. Only for a moment, but her feelings shifted.” He put Nora down. “She got scared.”

“I was coming at her like a freight train. I’d be scared too.”

“You’re not wrong, but it wasn’t when you were approaching. It was during the struggle.”

White and blue slashes came out of the plume of smoke left by Shiva’s crash. Everyone kept their distance to easily avoid the attacks, which gave Shiva the time and space to jump into the sky with her sights on Eliza.

“I’ve had enough of you specifically!”

“Glad I’m making a good first impression.” Eliza said from afar.

A sea of moving red separated them, and Weiss had every intention of using it. Not only did the fire block Shiva from an enemy catch, but her ascent was halted altogether by the Nucklavee grabbing her by the ankle.

Ren took a gamble and threw both parts of Stormflower at Shiva. The normal blades had been swapped with fire blades, but Ren wasn’t looking to do damage. What he wanted was her reaction. Their aim closed in on the cutlass, yet Shiva used wind to blow them into another trajectory before getting yanked down to the ground.

“Aim for her sword!” He said with confidence. Ren darted towards his guns and threw them again.

Shiva rolled out of the way, then sidestepped Winter. Again, she used her left hand to blast wind before a blade of ice. Shiva whipped around and threw it at Blake, forcing the faunus to clone right into an ice blast; Ruby saved Blake at the last second with the help of Crescent Rose giving her a boost of speed.

Leaving Ruby’s arms , Blake jumped onto the scythe being held straight out. Ruby gave a good recoil swing that sent her towards Shiva at blinding speed. As observed earlier, Shiva chose to lead with her left, as if to grab or push Blake. That was until the young girl heard a burst of wind accompanied by petals from behind her. Ruby already had her scythe reeled back and ready to strike.

Passionately, Ruby yelled,“Ladybug!” Swinging from left to right. She wasn’t gonna give Shiva the chance to dodge this one. They had no choice but to make another ice blade that defended against Blake while using the cutlass to block Crescent Rose. It was at that moment, Ruby’s eyes widened as she noticed that the blade had been chipped, cracking a little with this new attack. Her gaze looked into Shiva’s as a glimmer of panic twinkling. Not only that, but they both witnessed something truly a shock. They saw a bead of sweat running down Shiva’s face; gathering her strength, Shiva pushed the two away.

Not missing a beat, Ruby switched to sniper mode and started aiming her bullets at the blade, to which Shiva hastily avoided.

“HER BLADE IS BREAKING!” Ruby shouted to all, stoking desire in her friends and worry into Shiva that didn’t go unnoticed by Ren.

Shiva had hoped there would be hesitation, an internal question of why she didn’t simply reinforce it. She wasn’t given that luxury. For them, the answer was obvious. The sword was made when her blood and the environment were at its absolute coldest. If they were breaking her best work, anything in these current conditions would be even less impressive. Even so, Shiva was still incredibly dangerous and she was gonna make sure they understood that! She punched the ground and geysers of snow erupted all around to keep her enemies staggered in their approach for her to continue facing them in succession.

The battle became like a revolving door. One moment she was weaving punches from Yang and using her as spring board just to end up getting tangled in long grimm arms long enough for Nora to hit her like a home run into a dual with Ren that would end before she could deliver a decisive blow because Winter saved his life with a glyph that pulled her out of reach; turning her around to not fight Winter. All this nonsense on top of moving flames and elemental annoyances from both Weiss and Eliza. To make matters worse, she was fully aware Nick wasn’t done yet.

This by far wasn’t the best situation for her to be in. Shiva had gone deadly quiet, tracking any and every movement. She still had the advantage of raw power and stamina. They may have tried to hide it but there wasn’t a single person in her path that hasn’t been breathing harshly or sweating for a while now. Even the mage in the sky relied on everyone to keep her safe. Then…it finally dawned on Shiva as her eyes kept darting between the ground and sky. One person here by all means would not get tired, and she was nowhere to be found.

“The hell did Penny go!?” Shiva said under her breath. Ruby tried to put pressure on Shiva again but that was brought to a swift end with a well timed roundhouse that hit the shaft of the scythe, taking the brunt of the attack but still sending the rose flying back to her friends. All of them stopped rushing in and switched to moving back. “Huh?” Shiva stood her ground and used the opportunity to fire ranged attacks.

Spears, knives, spikes, and all things alike were used. Outside of their capable dodging, a majority of ice found itself consumed in fire or running into raised platforms of mud before falling to the floor. All of them made it a little over the halfway point of the field before stopping, using their own range. Now Shiva felt like she was being mocked. She puckered her lips as she took in a slow, deep breath, then blew out a gale that rendered their attacks meaningless. Not even all the flames could withstand the wind. If only she could end the battle from afar but then she’d be guilty of underselling their abilities like they did to her. Combined with the clear advantages Eliza and the Schnees had in particular, Shiva had little choice but to take the fight to them. Escaping could only be an option now if they were incapable of pursuit. Her perfect stronghold had been breached, Diamond Dust concentration completely ruined. If she wanted to keep things in her favor then people had to die today. Shiva dodged fire and lightning as she made her swift approach with her blade gripped fiercely and eyes set on Nick. Her blade glowed a dark blue as she readied herself to sweep the entire field like she did the gym.

Nick recognized the stance. “Guys you’re too close!!!” He yelled.

“They’re fine.” Veronica said over comms. “Right, Penny?”

Veronica and Penny emerged from the ground directly in the center of the field. Nick’s eyes went wide then quickly softened as he smiled. All his friends and family continued their retreat towards Jaune happily after having their own little scare. Conversely, Shiva felt her heart skip a beat.

Veronica and Penny stood proudly with hands on their hips as Shiva was forced to tilt her head up to look at the Exam Paladin as it locked onto her with all its lasers. All of its weapons fired, from rubber bullets to concussion grenades. Shiva’s feet began sliding as she tried to quickly move back from the walking armory.

Penny looked at Vee. “Way to make a miracle. I had forgotten it was stored here.”

“I just happened to notice when I was coming up to help Nora.” Veronica admitted. “Good thing it got repaired.” She still vividly remembered the video of Nick, Summer, and Val fighting it. She turned around to see the grown up taking a well deserved breather. Meanwhile Valerie was charging forward.

Val used the earpiece. “I take it this is what I was waiting for?”

“Don’t worry, it won’t blow you up this time.”

“Tsk, I’ll hold you to it!”

Valerie jumped right into the fray! Her battle ax split into tomahawks and she threw the left then struck the ground, making a shockwave. That made Shiva jump into the thrown ax, slashing her shoulder before boomeranging back to Val’s hand as she rushed in. Veronica pounced through Shiva and used the red claw-like blade on her gauntlets to scrape down Shiva’s back before shoulder bashing her in Val’s direction.

“Hey Shiva?” Val said casually as she swung an ax against the chilled blade. “I feel like we don’t talk much.”

“Fuck off.”

Val swung for the face to make Shiva duck, then jumped back for the Paladin and Penny to get clear line of sight for quick shots before sliding in to trip up the ice fiend. Valerie wanted to keep Shiva moving in multiple ways. First the duck, now it was a jump that also forced her to block bullets briefly. Valerie was aware of the sword, as well as father’s insight. She got up close with a flurry of swings directed towards biceps and knees. Her tomahawks were constantly spinning in each hand, Val flipping the direction of their edge to sneak in cuts where she could. To no surprise, Shiva remained nimble.

“Woah, look at you go. You move well for a person completely exhausted. I mean even I’m keeping pace.”

“I said fuck off.” Shiva grunted, going for three quick slashes to the face that Val weaved like a boxer.

“Damn you’re even sweating.” Valerie sweeped Shiva’s legs from under her. “Fatigue setting in?”

A giant mechanical fist came slamming down for Shiva to guard against. Valerie watched the girl hold up the fist shakily with her blade sending ice to crawl up the metal. Valerie broke the ice with a quick jab.

“Ya know I’m not convinced you and Summer are the same; not when you’re this pathetic.” Valerie looked down at Shiva. “I mean just look at you struggle~ arms all shaky; Summer would never put herself in this position.”

“Says the bitch too scared to lose a fair fight!” Shiva scowled.

“Like you’re one to talk.” Valerie crouched down and spoke real calmly. “Nobody thinks you're tough for catching Nick off guard. All you did was prove your weakness. You’re a coward. At least I got my prize. Yours is slipping through your hands. It took four months to get back what you’ve been wanting for over a decade. You’re no match for us. You’re no match for Nicholas; never have been.”

Cracks spread across the cutlass as Shiva pressed harder against the fist. The visible anguish along with a faint dark blue around her told Valerie all she needed to know.

“You’ve lost.”

“I haven’t!”

“You’re gonna. Always do.”

“Shut…Uuup!!!!”

“Make me, if you have the strength. You know what makes this extra sad for you Shiva? Summer is watching you fail.”

Ice cold eyes shifted towards Val like a hunter looking at prey. Valerie instinctively jumped out of the way in fear. Shiva took a huge risk by escaping by rolling out. The fist squished the spot she was just in, and Penny had already flung herself off towards Shiva but she was too slow! The enraged girl had already made her move to Val’s head. The Valkyrie did not move or flinch from her foe as they swung their blade. All she did was stare at Shiva while bending her left arm near her ear. In a single breath, Valerie used her semblance one more time.

“You can win Summer!”

The cutlass came swinging by, and Valerie hit it with the back of her fist; the frightful blade was reduced to pieces like broken glass. Its sound echoed through Shiva’s head along with the various words Val spoke, breaking more of her down until she finally heard…

“I’m. Still. Here.”

An intense smell of Diamond Dust hit Veronica like a sucker punch. Quickly, she broke into a sprint, tackling Valerie through the floor for the girl’s safety. The Paladin swung its fist again but this time Shiva caught it with her left hand. Frosted nails dug into metal before flash freezing the limb. A blur of white brushed by her left seconds later; the robotic limb crumbled with a squeeze of her hand then swung it out to catch a second attack. Her right hand cradled her pounding head as she turned left to see Nick beside her.

Summer’s aura flickered and broke from around her body, yet her scars and features kept their unholy glow white glow that matched his. With no more fancy sword or extra tricks, Nick stood before the person grown to fear. Not the Shiva who confidently mocked him with laughter and words, but the one spared no expense taking every opportunity to take everyone down in a heartbeat. The one that caught his entire family unaware in their humble Argus apartment.

Nick gulped, cracking the smallest smile in the face of a living memory. “Been awhile since you dropped the mask.”

Her hand reached out to ruin his face, missing, but eagerly aiming again for anything she could get her hands on. Thankfully the Paladin was there to knock her away with a blast while everyone ran to his aid. Faux cordial mannerisms were thrown away. Instead, Shiva staggered forward with her hand still gripping her head in pain and eyes shaking with fury. Even with the fire around, cool vapor flowed off her like fresh steam and was growing by the second. She sprinted in a zigzag pattern, aiming right for Nicholas and ignoring the others. Val and Veronica tried intercepting but were grabbed by Nora as she jumped with everyone . Shiva missed Nick again and her hand hit the ground, making it freeze violently. Veronica covered her nose and tried not to gag.

“Listen.” Nora said with grave urgency. “Do not let her touch you.”

“W…what’s happening to her!?” Val stuttered.

Veronica watched Shiva endlessly pursue Nick, swinging at the air one moment and grabbing her head in pain the next as her muscles tensed. “Summer…”

xxxxx

Again and again, the frozen lake shook. Shiva had rushed over to it, falling to her knees and pressing her hands against the once pristine and reflective ice to fix it. Her eyes inspected the lake’s contents deeply when another thump made a crack right below her, revealing a pair of blue eyes underneath the surface that stared back. No words were uttered. Only a boiling rage on each side of the ice. The more Shiva froze it, the more Summer pounded her fist against it like a door she wanted broken down.

xxxxx

“Really!? How can you tell?” Val asked.

“Because I’ve seen this in the forest. Summer got all stiff and was struggling when Shiva tried crawling her way out. Now the roles are reversed.”

“Veronica is right.” Weiss yelled. “Everyone, make this place as hot as possible!” Weiss sent a wave of flames that kindled blades of grass.

Nick took the hair by bouncing on glyphs. He turned in midair to launch his own fireballs, but was shocked to see that Shiva was quick enough to use his glyph path before they could vanish. In a panic he yelled, “Summer!” Causing Shiva to wince. He used the opening to step on her face and kick back to the ground.

Penny yelped when Shiva hit the ground hard. “Nick, keep in mind, her aura is like it was before!”

Shiva popped her head up towards the sky, nose bleeding and face healing a cut. Shiva did an air slash in his direction

“Penny, I think she’ll be fine!” He yelled while cutting the attack. Back where the simple and lethally effective tactics of ice snow blasting her up and ice tipped nails that brought forth indiscriminate damage with the way they sliced through air. At least now for certain Shiva could be hurt, easily in fact. However, she also didn’t care at all about hurting herself to get what she wanted.

Nick shot his fireball and Shiva jumped right through it to get to him. “Give me a break.” He used Morte Froide to counter her left hand then summoned a second sword to block the right before kneeing Shiva in the stomach. Nick flung her back down and kept bouncing around in the air as she quickly bounced back up to face him. “So are we done talking?”

“I want you gone.” She gained a burst of speed and punched his sword with enough force for him to be the person falling for a change.

Nick bounced when he hit the ground but still managed to roll to his feet away from a dive kick. “I’m aware.”

The entire area from the bleachers to even the field goals had fire crackling nearby or directly on it. No source of heat disturbed the vapors that poured from her skin. It wasn’t that Shiva didn’t feel the heat, it just wasn’t enough!”

“This isn’t working!�� Yang said outright. “We are still here guys. Make this fire any bigger and we’re dying in it! Let’s restrain her again.”

“I’m out of gravity dust.” Weiss said pensively. She looked at Winter but her sister was in the same situation.

“Seriously!?”

“Yang, did you miss the part where I made a miniature sun and made it into all the floating flames!? Yes, I’m out, and any bindings we throw at her will end up having frost crawling up it back to us.”

Ruby shot a single flame round and watched it flicker away the moment it made contact with the vapor. “Simple rounds are out too. I’ll go in close quarters like Nick. I’m fast enough.”

“Unlike Nick, one touch is all it’s gonna take!” Whitley argued. “Not to mention we don’t know how long Shiva will last like this. Now is not the time to gamble it all.”

“Now is the only time! I don’t know what other options we have left but Nick doing this alone isn’t one.”

“I have an option.” Penny said warily.

Everyone turned their head to see their friend holding a thermal charge she had gotten from a cache. Her eyes scrolled with binary for a second before returning to normal with the charge blinking green, then Penny dialed a sequence that turned it to a dark red.

“Penny…” Winter said cautiously. “What did you just do?”

“I had modified all the charges so we could use them to thaw out the area and fans. Now I…unmodified this one.”

Now Ruby was concerned! “Ah, so a bomb? You just made a bomb.”

“It’s not a- well technically yes, a bomb. But it’s not that simple! I was designing these with excavation through ice in mind. When detonated, the fire will disperse in a funnel shape; carving pathways and reshaping glacial tunnels. I ran numbers and well…Shiva would hate this.”

Ruby squinted “What’s with the hesitation? You were just talking to Nick about Shiva’s aura. How big is this explosion?”

“Big. More so tall, and very hot. I’m actually very confident her regenerative powers and the vapor will protect Shiva from a point blank explosion.” Penny noticed the immediate concern on her friends’ faces. “Yeah, point blank. Think the eye of a storm. My idea is to get in close while everyone leaves. Admittedly, I never got the opportunity to test the blast radius for the final product. I recommend flying away.”

“That’s all fine and dandy but Penny, are you going to be okay?” Ruby said, watching her friend avoid eye contact. “Penny!”

“My odds…are better than yours. As you said Ruby, it’s a bomb.”

“Summer would never forgive herself!” Nick chimed in, listening through communications while running. “I won’t lie and say I can keep this up forever, but I can do this long enough for a better plan!”

Veronica could practically hear his body screaming. The only reason he could fight so wildly was the dust. “He’s overextending.”

Penny smiled at everyone and tried leaving but Ruby stepped in her way. “Ruby, please let me do this. I’m not intending on perishing. I’m confident I can handle the initial blast- Hic!” Penny covered her mouth.

Ruby hated pulling this card but she was left with no choice. “And how do we explain what happened to Oscar?” She watched her dear friend frown slowly in pain of the thought. “I can’t let you do this. Even if your odds are better than mine supposedly.”

Veronica sighed, removing her earpiece. “What about me?” She said in all seriousness, drawing their gaze. “Don’t have to deal with the heat if I’m underground.”

“Hello no.” Yang said bluntly.

“But-”

“This is your life, Veronica!” Blake said sternly. “We aren’t about to let you run off and risk dying! We’ll find-”

“WE’RE OUT OF TIME!” Veronica shouted in desperation. She looked at the fearful faces around her, the genuine concern in her parents eyes. “We are out of time.” She said again, much weaker. Veronica looked at Penny. “I don’t need the odds I’m going against. Just tell me what’s my best shot.”

Her fingers traced over the bomb’s grooves. Penny looked down at it, then briefly up at Blake and Yang before Veronica; she was practically begging for a reason not to continue. “I…only you know how good you are with your semblance. That being said, for you to fall through the ground as fast as you can you’re phasing feet first. That means the initial blast might hit before your entire body is intangible.”

“You can’t delay the explosion?”

“Not when it’s Shiva. Time for you is time for her. Think of it like the eye of a storm. You’d be safe underground but if she moves fast enough to end up outside the center she’ll be in flames. Even I’m not confident she would live at that point. In my opinion… your best option is phasing the front of your body first.”

Veronica had to think about that for a second. “So…I’m not trying to get into the ground. You want the explosion to pass through me first?”

“Like I said, I don’t know how fast you can activate your semblance after setting a bomb off, but you did free fall into the school and other places with remarkable speed. Hold the button down and toss it when you’re close enough for the best gap between it and you to shift. Once again, I am okay taking the bomb! This is my idea.”

“Normally I’d agree, however…” Veronica took it from her hands. It was heavier than she expected. “You’ve made me really attached to you. After all…we’re friends.” Vee smiled at Penny.

For once, Veronica was relieved she was the only one with sensitive hearing. If they all heard how fast her heart was racing right now… Veronica felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Jaune, channeling every ounce of aura he had into her. Eliza made a huge orb of water above her. Veronica shut her eyes as she was cold water poured onto her. Ruby took her hood off and draped it over Veronica while each Schnee made their family crest out of Diamond Dust that spun around her.

Ren handed her his father’s knife. “It’s not much but it always gets me out of a pinch.”

“If only my hammer was pocket sized.” Nora sighed, not having a tangible thing to boost Veronica. “Guess my advice would be to make her believe you’re out of tricks. Like how I used my last grenade. If that makes sense.”

Nora’s calm gaze that honestly made Veronica feel like she was doing the right thing. She put the knife in her back pocket. “Actually that does help. Thanks.”

“Hey.” Valerie said to gain Veronica’s attention. “You’re unstoppable.”

Veronica’s heart fluttered. She chuckled lightly as her aura let off a glow. “Thanks.” Veronica finally looked at her parents again. “I hope you know I have every intention of coming back, so stop the waterworks okay?”

A request they couldn’t give. Both of them had tears streaming down their faces as Veronica fought back her own. Honestly, where did she find the strength, the sheer stubbornness that told them they weren’t about to stop her. Hell, they couldn’t even hold her down if they tried. Veronica walked up to them. Her left arm wrapped around Blake and grabbed the back of Yang’s jacket tightly as they hugged her so warmly.

Veronica sunk her body into their love. “I’m glad I’m your daughter.” Veronica phased through them and ran towards Shiva.

Whitley made another giant Nevermore and Ruby grabbed everyone to put them on it as it took off, except for Penny. She began running towards Shiva as well, accelerating quickly until she activated her jet boots to zoom by Nick, grabbing him and flying away before he or Shiva could do anything about it.

“Huh!? Penny what are you-” He saw Veronica still on the ground. Nick began to struggle but he was trapped in the cybernetic grip. “Hey! Penny!? Turn back!! Why is-”

“She told you, didn’t she?” Penny said with a lump in her throat. “Veronica told you that there wasn’t a day she didn’t believe you weren’t gonna make it. Nick…give her that same faith.”

His stomach twisted in knots while his chest felt tight. He didn’t know if anger or fear made his body burn, but the heat rose up his throat and filled his face until the feeling finally came out as words.

“YOU ARE IN FOR IT WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER!”

Not a “goodbye” or a “good luck.” Just a very upset promise that brought the biggest grin across Veronica’s face. She was in for an earful. Veronica pointed at her target and finally held down the button.

“HEY SHIVA! I’M CALLING YOU OUT!” Veronica watched blue eyes give a dead stare in her direction. “READY FOR OUR REMATCH?!”

Shiva recalled the blatant disrespect and punch that ruined her chances at the lake months ago. That on top of everything Veronica did today drew a certain ire similar to what held for Nick. The thought of finally putting this loudmouth in her place made Shiva not just angry, but hungry for it. The glowing device in Veronica’s right hand was an instant eye grabber and Shiva wasn’t about to be foolish enough to rush in. Her hands clawed the ground and ripped it up as she brought forth a huge wave of snow.

It was almost sad how much the aroma enhanced. Veronica didn’t know the ins and out of everything, but one thing became clear over time. That smell was always stronger the deeper the rage was. Aside from Nick, the vile scent only became this potent with one another person; a testament to just how disgusting Veronica’s treatment to Summer was. Of course Shiva would want to hurt her. Veronica couldn’t even feel upset by it.

The one armed Paladin came rushing in from the left and positioned itself between Vee and the ever growing wave as its lights went green and held out its hand. “Ha! Penny, you're beautiful!” Veronica leaped into the palm and it launched her high over the wave before it was crushed beneath the sea of white.

Shiva flung her arms across her body, sending out a gale wind with an array of icicles. The glyphs around Veronica took the shards that would’ve hit her, pissing off Shiva to no end. Not even the wind was pushing her back as Veronica fell, her preparing to throw what was in her hand by raising it up like a pitcher’s throw “Stay back!” Shiva crouched low to make another snow wave that would reach high enough.

“Sorry in advance, Summer.” Veronica pulled out Ren’s knife with her tail and flung it hard at knee level while Shiva focused on the bomb.

Ren had downplayed his precision knife. Veronica had thrown it hard to make sure it stayed on track. Little did she expect it to effortlessly cut through the wind and go straighter than any arrow she’s seen! No wonder it’s saved his life through the years! The knife found its way through Shiva’s hand and into the ground. The pain alone interrupted her attack and she winced on pain. Shiva nearly reached to pull it out before realizing Veronica was several feet above her.

As Veronica drew closer to the cold vapors and looked Shiva in the eye, she couldn’t help warn the girl for both their sakes. “Defend!” Veronica’s final word before throwing the bomb.

At that moment, all throughout the kingdom, citizens watched the blue hue of their homeland turn orange as a pillar of fire rose up into the clouds.

The tired crew of firefighters watched in silence and grave fear upon their Nevermore; the heat of the blast reaching from a safe distance. The swirling pillar was easily half the field and burned the thing around it. Any attempts to call Veronica were impossible with the roar of fire drowning out all noise. Nick couldn’t find words. He just looked at Penny. Her eyes never looked away, searching for anything inside. While finding a heat signature would be impossible, Penny did see a mass of blue in the center of the chaos. Still, Penny dared not to jinx anything. Everyone should know in due time what was left in this inferno.

xxxxx

Where many saw horror, one saw beauty; the likes of which have never been seen. As all heard the fire, only one person could hear the yelling within it; Veronica. She stood in awe in the midst of a living snowstorm that fought unyielding heat. The glyphs around her had shattered on blast impact and Ruby’s cape was singed. Even the water dumped on her had either been evaporated or frozen off; she wasn’t sure which. All she knew was she was alive. Both the heat and wind blew through her body as she constantly shifted between phasing and tangible to see what had become of Shiva. Both her hands were free but she remained kneeling with them spread out. Veronica saw burn scars heal in real time while the girl used her tremendous power to keep the immediate area cool enough to barely cling on to reality. For the brief moments she could feel it, Veronica felt like the cold rivaled the same temperature that was inside the school.

“Unbelievable.” Veronica stood before Shiva. “Ever the fighter. Even in all this.” She looked around again at what would most likely be a once in a lifetime view. “Ya know…I always thought I was stronger than Summer; now I know that can’t be true.”

Veronica looked back at the girl who was too busy struggling and yelling to do anything else but glare. “To think she put up with both of us. Lord knows I wouldn’t be able to. Hey Summer! There’s a lot of things I want to tell you, but definitely not like this.” Veronica crossed her arm while smirking. “So can you hurry up and beat this bitch like I know you can?”

xxxxx

“Wow…now I know shit is bad. Even Vee’s calling for me now?” The girl hummed to herself, allowing the smallest smirk to form. “Geez, now I have to win.”

The entire lake shattered at once, shaking the mindscape and Sending Shiva flying. Her back hit a tree and she fell face down into the freshly fallen snow. A growl rumbled in her throat while her nails dug into her palms. Shiva raised her head in time to see an arm come out of the water and slam against the shore. It dragged itself out of the water like a reanimated corpse until the entire body made it land. Water dripped from soaked clothes and long undone hair as she stood on her hands and knees taking her first breath of clarity in what felt like an eternity. Her head slowly raised up and Shiva felt an unwelcome chill upon seeing the same cold yet fiery gaze Nick had held in his eyes.

In a mixture of excitement, power, and anger, words came out in a violent whisper. “Heeeey Shiva~” Summer stumbled to her feet while her hand slicked back the hair stuck to her face. “Checkmate.”

#rwby #rwby au #rwbabies #jaune arc #nicholas schnee #summer schnee #eliza marigold #val valkyrie #lie ren #veronica belladonna #weiss schnee #ruby rose #winter schnee #whitley schnee #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #penny polendina #nora valkyrie #rwby twin snowflakes

[dropintomanga]

Relationships Over Events in Manga and Life

I just finished reading the 2nd volume of Paru Itagaki’s Beast Complex (a collection of short stories about the Beastars universe) and Itagaki wrote a thought-provoking (or not, in her own words) afterword at the end of the volume about the stories she wants to tell. 

Itagaki said that she often wonders about whether she prefers to talk about relationships or events in her short stories. She says that she thought she liked talking about events at first, but admits that by talking about relationships, there’s added depth. Itagaki then reminisces about her living experiences near certain types of buildings filled with people (a dormitory in a large university, a cult headquarters, and a small theater were her examples). She said that she often wonders about what goes on inside the walls of those buildings and all the drama behind it.

In the end, Itagaki said she likes relationships as much as events when it comes to creating stories. She wants to put a nice balance of the two whenever possible.

Reading Itagaki’s words about relationships vs events made me think about how Beastars turned out. The 1st half of the series was phenomenal in my book. You had a major event transpire at the start of the story and while it’s a plot point, the relationships were on the forefront. We get to see characters like Legoshi, Haru and Louis grow due to their interactions with one another. When the major event finally gets attention near the end of the 1st half, we get to see those relationships enhance that event to deliver a creative payoff that satisfied many fans of the series. When it came to the 2nd half, it was a mixed bag. While there was still a focus on relationships and how they affected events in the series, things didn’t feel the same. There was one major character who was supposed to be the total opposite of Legoshi, but their development near the end of the series felt somewhat off. Beastars is still a great series though. I sometimes think that Itagaki was trying to figure things out with in the grand scheme of things past the 1st half and the focus became a bit too event-focused.

I guess it’s why I love Beast Complex so far. I really enjoyed the 1st volume a couple of years ago for its take on relationships in a very hierarchal system. The 2nd volume is more of the same. Like Itagaki, I share her sentiment whenever I'm around certain buildings of interest. I’m always curious about the people who reside/work in those areas and their history. I recently read a historical memoir about a Chinese family who spent many generations living in a specific building in Chinatown, NYC and how their relationships with one another helped them get through historical events that affected Asian-Americans.

The thing about events is they are often unpredictable or bound to happen at some point. That makes them stand out more than anything. When you talk about topics like mental health and trauma, people who suffer from trauma will say that certain events affected them for the worst. At the same time, what leads to events happening is an intersection of relationships working to create them. I can use anime conventions as an example. Yeah, they’re fun and full of exciting things to talk about. But anime conventions don’t happen without a group of passionate and smart fans coming together for a common cause. They don’t happen without relationships between that group and other interested parties who share similar goals/interests/wants. 

I feel that no one talks about how much relationships matter when it comes to why certain events happen. It’s not as simple as “Oh, this happened because I made it happen! I put it all the work!” Relationships are worth talking about more than events at times. They truly make or break people’s lives. There’s a reason why a lot of opportunities in life come down to who you know and not just what you know.

When someone goes through a rough event in their life, they can’t just gut it out alone. They have to rely on key relationships in their lives to get through the pain. Yet sometimes I’ve noticed that people are taught that they got this and they can tackle anything in their way without (or little) help as long as they optimize things like “life-hack” strategies that place too much emphasis on the individual. Having a community of meaningful relationships helps someone become resilient and able to take on life-changing events. They are what leads to better mental health more than anything outside of safety net support. 

Events can be fun to talk about, but I feel that if I’m able to spend quality time with someone I care about during events that’s more important. That’s what keeps me going.  Someone I spent time with at an convention once told me that they remember talking to me there more than the actual event itself. I’m sure it’s the same for many of you. I know the potential for drama and conflict frighten people, but there’s more good than bad. And good conflict is absolutely needed to grow. 

We focus heavily on events a bit too much and not enough about the behind-the-scenes of the relationships that make events the way they are.

Like Itagaki says, let’s strive to create an ideal balance of discussing the importance of both relationships and events.

#Paru Itagaki #manga #storytelling #relationships #events

[csykora]

I was suggested this video and would like your take on it if you are willing...https://youtu.be/L1vxN-0JnNw

My first take is how desperately jealous I am of football!

I've mentioned this before, but I don't think people who only watch hockey understand--the whole "player out for unspecified time with unspecified injury, maybe we'll say it's upper body/lower body, maybe nah" thing is very specific to hockey. I understand why the Player's Association wants it, because among other things there's an argument that it prevents a player's injury history from affecting their trade value, but I think it also makes it much harder for us to have honest conversations about the dangerous parts of the game and things that would protect them and leads to a culture that doesn't understand the severity of injury.

How often do we hear "oh he's skating off", then he's out for a period of time, then he's off injured reserve, he's back he must be all better--then what's this, he's out again, he's back in but he's playing worse, he's a "healthy" scratch, he's in and out, he's unreliable, suddenly and inexplicably this good player isn't anymore?

Let me tell you, football fans know about a motherfuckin ACL. Sure, maybe some still don't care about athlete safety, but many serious football fans know the difference between an MCL and an ACL or roughly how long it typically takes for a tendon to heal vs a bone vs a concussion much better than equivalent hockey fans do.

(the number of "wait, are knee injuries common in hockey? why?" conversations I've had, with people who watch a lot of hockey, just wrecks me bro)

Which means that if it's public knowledge that a player has one of those injuries, and then he comes back early, football fans at least know. When a hockey player is out with a "lower body injury" and comes back a week later we don't have even a scrap of a clue whether he can possibly be recovered in that amount of time. We have very little idea whether a player has had repeated incidents of the same injury, new injuries, injuries that are associated with each other like postural changes, or what. We often do not know which play or which part of a play caused what injury!

Second, I appreciate that Dr. Varshavski mentions how in sports medicine, the critical first stage of assessment is mostly guesswork. And that's in football, where you at least have a chance of seeing something like a malformation or a compound fracture without too many pads in the way.

(They talk about several compound fractures, which as Dr. Varshavski explains just means that a piece of the bone has broken through the skin. Ie, it's a compound of two injuries, one to the bone and one to the soft tissue. Compound fractures aren't necessarily worse than non-compounded fractures! You can have extremely severe internal damage that doesn't break the skin--as he mentions with the spiral fracture, the sharp edge of bone can do as much or more damage by cutting inside the body. In some limited ways, if I saw a sharp bone poking out of the skin, I'd be reassured that all the damage is done, and the bone can be safely secured where it is for now. If there's a sharp bone inside, for all I know it could have nicked an artery already or be about to cut one at any moment: it's a dynamic situation.

But compound fractures do have a particular risk because breaking the skin creates a chance for more infectious material to enter the body. It's possible that the player they discuss who experienced sepsis would have developed an infection anyway, but it's definitely associated with compound fractures!)

Note: at this point, G has forgotten what point she was making, and is just happily sorting through her favorite photos of bones

Injuries aren't just one moment of impact, but an evolving situation. It's absolutely crucial to stop play, to assess someone before they move to see if they can move, to get someone off the field or the ice, to have the best chance that we have to identify a serious injury. You can't know what's going on inside the skin and under the pads out on the field, or what will happen once they're out of the pads or the solid skate boot and things start to shift and swell, so ATs have to free to act as if it's the worst case scenario.

(If you're asking, I don't know Dr. Varshavki's experience or expertise on other areas of medicine, but in this vid everything he's saying is well-evidenced)

Oh, I also really liked that the concussion they show really shows the nasty whiplash snapping motion as the player falls! Such a rough injury. People have this idea that it's the point of external impact where a player strikes the other player's head that matters, which colors how much we worry about fighting and how much we don't about falls and other body collisions--really we need to worry about when the brain impacts on the skull, which could happen on the initial contact but will also happen on the backwards movement.

I liked Marshall's discussion of the internal conflict for athletes, as well. Listen, athletes deserve to have more information about their medical conditions, and it's also true that many athletes know what's going on with their bodies, and are having to consciously mask their symptoms or otherwise negotiate this culture and training to push through injuries.

Gosh, there's plenty else to say. It's a fun video and I had a great time thinking about all these injuries, thank you!

[snappedsky]

Fanatics 95.6

Zoli vs Squee part two

*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*

--

Final Awakening: All or Nothing Part 6

           Johnny walks through the underground hallways at a brisk pace, his eyes quickly scanning his surroundings and his ears listening for the slightest noise. He doesn’t notice anything until he passes by a room. Inside he spots a table holding his coat and Squee’s bag and shoes.

           “Our stuff,” he says as he throws on his coat and grabs Squee’s things. “Now where’s Squee?”            Meanwhile, a floor below, Zoli draws a sword from her jacket, glaring at Squee cautiously. He just stares back her, with a mildly amused expression.

           “Little brat,” she growls, “I’ll rip that grin off your face.”

           She charges him, lifting her sword. Squee gets into a ready position and swipes his hand through the air, creating a purple force field that Zoli hits with the blade. It shatters on impact and Squee stumbles back from the force.

           “Ouch,” he grunts, rubbing his arm. “That’s harder than it looks. Pepito really is cool.”

           “Are you not taking this seriously?” Zoli growls.

           He shrugs. “I’m kinda just using this as a learning opportunity.”

           “Don’t underestimate me!” she snaps and swings at him again. Squee easily sidesteps the blade so it smashes into the stone floor. As the rock pieces fly up into air, they suddenly freeze beneath Squee’s gaze and shoot at Zoli. She steps back to dodge them when they all erupt into tiny explosions that knock her back.

           She scoffs with annoyance and glares at Squee as he holds out his right hand. A section of the wall beside him breaks away and the stone reshapes into a large war hammer.

           He grips the handle and swings down at Zoli. She quickly rolls out of the way and the hammer shatters back into stone pieces as it impacts the floor.

           Zoli jumps to her feet and swings her sword at Squee. The stone pieces ensconce his hand like a large glove, which he uses to grab the blade. Then his palm glows purple before exploding out a blast that destroys the sword, as well as the glove.

           Both Zoli and Squee stumble back from the force, and Squee shakes his steaming hand. “Ouch. Man. Good thing Dib’s glove doesn’t explode like that.”            “Take this seriously!” Zoli barks as she draws two knives and swings at him. Squee easily dodges each strike, practically dancing around her.

           “It’s impossible to take you seriously, Zoli,” he says, somewhat apologetically. “I’ve gotten too used to you. You’re just a nuisance at this point.”

           “Oh yeah? You think this is a nuisance!” she shouts as Nightmare appendages erupt from her back. As they thrust at him, the wall behind Squee breaks apart and the stones shape into eight spider legs. They block the tendrils and knock them back.

           Zoli stays on the attack, her tendrils lashing about while Squee’s stone legs smack them away. With each strike, more stone breaks off but Squee continues to regenerate them by breaking apart the surrounding walls.

           Zoli cries out furiously and the tendrils all whip simultaneously. They smash through Squee’s spider legs and slam into him, wrapping around him and picking him up.

           “Gotcha,” Zoli smirks.

           Squee just huffs. She gasps as all of the broken stone pieces scattered about the floor hover up and explode around her, destroying the appendages.

           Squee lands neatly on his feet as the smoke clears around Zoli. She’s crouched down, covered in burns and panting heavily. She glares up at Squee as he stands over her, an almost pitiable look on his face.

           “What’s that look for?” she snaps.

           He shrugs. “It’s just…you’ve been doing this for so long and every time, you fail. It’s gotta be exhausting for you. Don’t you desire something more?”

           Zoli spits. “What do you know about me?”

           “Nothing. And that’s the whole problem. Do you even have anything to know about you?”

           “Stop talking!” she shrieks and whips out a pistol, which she then fires at Squee.    

           The bullet stops inches from his face, suspended for a second, before suddenly growing wings and turning into a black butterfly. It flutters around Squee’s head before flying out of the room. Zoli just stares, dumbfounded.

           “You see, Zoli?” he says, “you’re not exciting or scary anymore. I’ve changed and grown, but you haven’t. You’re just plain boring.”

           Zoli scowls angrily and scrambles for him. But she doesn’t get far before the wall behind her explodes into large spikes that stab through her body.

           She twitches on the spikes as discoloured blood pools on the floor. A single gag escapes her mouth before her body explodes into a mass of Nightmare appendages. They wriggle about before thrusting for Squee.

           He swipes his hands at them, creating a purple force field that they slam into. They press against the shield, Squee’s arms straining to hold them back.

           He shoves his hands forward. The force field wraps around the mass of tendrils, encasing them in a sphere. Squee clenches his fists and the shield walls close in and crush the appendages into nothing.

           Squee’s arms fall to his side, his fingers twitching slightly, and he sighs heavily. He glances at the painted wall to his right. He can feel the Nightmare within in. It feels even more active than before. He scowls and turns for the door. He just needs to get the hell out of here.

           He steps into the hall and glances around before noticing someone approaching from the left.

           “Squee!” Johnny exclaims.

           Squee smiles with relief and starts to head to him when a horrible chill runs up his spine. He fearfully turns as cracks spread across the bloody wall.

           It splits open and the Nightmare spills out.

#invader zim #invader zim fanfiction #johnny the homicidal maniac #johnny the homicidal maniac fanfiction #iz jthm crossover #myart #myocs

[mysmorgasbordoffantabulosa]

Thoughts on Festa 2022, the aftermath, and the yet to come of it all…

So Festa was something, wasn't it? Though, I don't think the guys expected the outcome that occurred...

The Dinner…

Their annual dinner turned into an emotional affair (as well as some fun momments), particularly when the conversation turned serious and then the 'bombshell' that PROOF would have come out sooner, after the planned massive world tour of MOTS and prior to some solo work and possibly envitable military enlistment.

But the pandemic threw a massive spanner in their plans and then came Dynamite (followed by Butter and PTD). RM and the boys felt discombobulated about the whole process, and whilst BE and Life Goes On were brief respites, they felt as a team that they had lost their way a little, RM felt like a translator and both him and Suga creatively drain and sometimes unable to create new content.

So all this discussion about concentrating on their own individuality become more prominant and so a decision was made to stop group music activities and focus on each own members music.

This means old mixtapes will be made available on streaming platforms and new mixtapes will become proper albums that can be purchased.

But an alleged 'mistranslation' meant the message was misconstrued.

Hiatus vs Off-Period vs Temporary Break…

So the translation on the original version English version tells us Suga said Hiatus, but the Korean to English translation is actually closer to the term off-period.

Now I hate to break to people but the actual definition of Hiatus is:

a pause or break in continuity in a sequence or activity. e.g. "there was a brief hiatus in the war with France"

So the translation is actually quite appropriate.

Except for the fact that the term Hiatus in western entertainment media has a very specific connotation, i.e. every group that has gone on an official hiatus has never returned to group activities. However, I'd like to point out that most of the group who go on hiatus often have lost members, prior to this: Spice Girls lost Geri; One Direction had lost Zayn; Little Mix lost Jesy. Whilst other groups had pressure from certain members to go solo. And in a some cases, the members didn't quite get along. However, BTS still have all the members, and from Festa and other content it's clearly all dearly love and respect each other.

In K-Pop, groups go one hiatus all the time, mostly for enlistment reasons, but also for solo projects to occur. Now, with what we know now, it's clear that after the world tour the members would have all done solo projects like acting / albums / collabs etc. but they pushed these back for more of a focus on the western markets (i.e USA and the Hot 100).

The boys have promised to come back together to make music. This feels almost like how GOT7, though the circumstances were very different. When they left JYPE they promised to return and that they weren't disbanded, and they did, but in the meantime they focused on solo work.

But was it a mistranslation?

Now, this is where the cynic in me comes forward.

In the back of my mind, I have a niggling feeling that HYBE deliberately used the word 'hiatus' in English translations, knowing what could happen. And what did happen?

Well first it sent the media into overdrive, forcing a statement to be issued and a VLive from JK and a letter from RM.

An other effect of this one word was this:

On 15th June (the day after the broadcast) stock markets opened and HYBE lost nearly 30% market value, but also YG, SM and JYPE all took similar but smaller hits to their stock price too, and whilst HYBE's price has levelled off, some have have continued to decline (mostly YG/YG+ who has business links with HYBE and JYPE who have had previous connections to them too).

But... Why would a company self-inflict this harm to themselves? They wouldn't because to them the word hiatus isn't scary. So to me it's all just a coincidence.

It was clearly a shock to everyone because according to industry insiders they believed that they believed there would be a World Tour at some point:

"It's true that the world tour, which was initially expected to take place in the latter half of the year, is up in the air now," said Kim Hyun-yong, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities.

The elephant in the room...

So about Military Enlistment...

So obviously not long after there was some talk about military enlistment and the proposed exemption. There is a rumour that HYBE are gonna release a video from BTS about military enlistment plans.

Then mysteriously an alleged Stock Company Report leaked online that proposed a plan for enlistment starting this year with a return to group activities in 2025 (just in time for Festa 2025):

Translation:

This isn't the first time a report like this had leaked online, in the past few months a similar report predicted PROOF album and other HYBE group activities.

So whilst, I take this with a pinch of salt, it's very plausible. If this is the plan, between October 2023 and April 2024 (6 months) we will have all members enlisted. Although, I think it might be longer because I doubt Jin and Suga (both who had major surgery recently), will enlist in the Army and will likely be eligible for social services, which requires 2 years enlistment.

A two-year gap wouldn't be problematic because this isn't unusual for western artists, and in actually, BTS have already started to follow this model already, between BE and Proof is 19 months (the length of enlistment in the Army). Also, in the meantime, we're getting solo and maybe unit work.

But what about Military exemption?

Well, it appears the bill regarding BTS's exemption has stalled slightly, predominantly because of local and by-elections (the current administration relies on certain group of voters who aren't particularly in favour of exemption i.e. young men who helped sweep them to power in the presidential election) that were happening early this month and the current assembly session is nearing its end. But this articles suggests that the National Assembly were embarrassed and shocked by the announcement of the break:

But it seems ever more likely that exemption may not happen now or if it does will be very last minute, similar to the extension bill that was finalised the month that Jin was due to enlist last time.

The difference, then it seems, was most of the talk both behind the scenes and in the press was very favourable. However, with the exemption talk this time it's very mixed and key parts of the press and government / military have pushed back a little.

So HYBE have to take pre-emptive action to plan ahead and give its artists time, particularly if there isn't movement on the exemption.

So keeping this all in mind...

What could be Yet to Come?

Firstly, a JK / Charlie Puth Collab and J Hope's album / Lalapalossa performance within a month of each other. It was reported that this would be followed by Suga then JK's albums. We're also getting In the Soop with the WOOGA boys.

RUN BTS will also return, and I have a feeling that they've been film them for a while already.

If military exemption occurs, I expect solo work for about a year to 18 months before a return with an album, a tour could occur in the meantime.

If not exemption, then I think something a staggered enlistment will happen we can expect the following to happen too:

Tae and Jin to do some acting before the group comeback

Everyone except Jin to release music before enlistment, Jin upon his return.

I could see them doing a Bon Voyage or In the Soop before the enlistment begins.

I expect JK and Tae to enlist around the same time (maybe within a month of each other.

Solo promo tours and gigs at festivals

Appearances on Korean TV variety shows

I could seem BTS performing as part of a HYBE New Year's Eve concert, both as a group and solo artists.

To attend awards ceremonies but maybe not perform as a group.

I could see some subunit work happening

And the members fully supporting each other throughout.

#bts #bts festa 2022 #bts military enlistment #bts proof #bts hiatus #bts solo

[crispyflowerfury]

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#replica bags online