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finn-writes-stuff · 2 months

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Hiii~ I saw your requests are open for Baldur's gate and I was wondering if you can write a one shot about wyll when tav/reader gets injured...

Thank u so much<3

Reckless

After a risky play in a battle and a temporary death, Wyll takes care of you.

Wyll Ravengard x Reader

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3

Format: Oneshot

Gender Neutral Reader

Masterlist

Not to go insane about a man on main (Lying) but god I love him so much. The genuine hero archetype is so good and sweet.

No matter how long you had been adventuring, the poisoned sting of a goblin arrow never hurt any less. A lucky shot from an archer up above you, you hissed as it sunk into your shoulder. This had been a long battle, with your enemy calling in unexpected reinforcements, and your whole party was running out of health and energy.

A crackle of magic whipped past you and crashed into the archer's chest. Their rattling yell as they were knocked down let you know they were taken care of, and you were free to turn and grin at your savior, rushing to his aid in return.

Wyll had his own group of goblins he was trading blows with, his rapier clashing against another blade as you reached his side. He was better off health-wise than you were at the moment, but his shot at your attacker had cost him precious time to fend off the group.

"Thanks for the save!" You called gratefully as you dived into your own attack, trying to take out the enemies that seemed worn down.

"I've got you," he called back, ducking away from another blow. "But we need to get that ritual stopped, do you have any way to break the circle?"

Doing your best to run through your options as you danced back from a sword, you grimaced. Everyone was out of spell slots by now, and other resources were too limited to spare on a goblin ritual.

Or maybe not. As you shoved a hand into your bag, your hand fell upon a smoke powder bomb, one you had almost forgotten about.

"Yep! I can do it, Wyll! Just keep me covered," you said, already sprinting towards the ritual circle.

"The Blade provides," he laughed, carving down a goblin trying to slash at your retreat. "Do try to keep close then, love."

"It's on you to keep up," you shot back, relishing in the banter and the adrenaline of the fight. You needed to get close to set this off to maximum effect, with the arrow in your shoulder, you couldn't throw the bomb at a distance with any certainty. You just had to get close enough to toss it and back off before it set off. A piece of cake.

Not quite a piece of cake, you realized as you had to dodge and dive around goblins, hearing your companions slashing and seeing the familiar crackling red energy knock down enemies trying to rush you. But the day that a battle went smoothly would be the day Avernus froze over.

The attackers in your way didn't manage to get any solid hits on you, but they did succeed in slowing you down, enough so that you saw magic rising from the circle, pulling up like walls around the caster in the centre. Shit, if they got this spell off, that would be deadly. You barely took a second to think before diving in, crashing to the ground over the circle with the bomb in your hands.

The bomb that did not take kindly to the hard landing and magical heat around you. This was going to hurt. A lot.

Your last thought before being thrown back by the explosion was that at least the magic walls should contain the blast enough so that it didn't catch the rest of your party.

---

Being revived always hurt like hell. Feeling your heart forcefully start back up and your injuries repair themselves under magical guidance was excruciating when it was done quickly. You came too coughing up blood and was that a tooth? You hoped not, but if it was could the healing magic replace it?

Your thoughts were ended quite quickly by a familiar face dropping into your view as Wyll knelt in front of you, grabbing your face to look you over. His touch was so gentle, even as he turned you back and forth, and his sword callouses ran over your skin.

"Gentle? Yes, I'm trying my best, love," he replied, clueing you into the fact that you'd spoken aloud. Maybe the healing magic hadn't quite finished its work.

But it was hard to complain when he was so close to you like this. Carefully pulling you up to your feet and leaning you into his side as he watched you blearily gain your balance.

"Alright, no, we're not making you walk back to camp like that," he said, steadying you. "Let me carry you? I promise I won't drop you on the way there."

All it took was a nod for him to slip his arm under your knees and behind your back and scoop you up into a bridal carry. His arms were steady and you had the impression this was not the first time he had done this. Perhaps it was a staple of daring rescues in his past.

You giggled at the thought, resting your head against his chest and he looked down at you with concern. "You alright there? I'm a little concerned you got a concussion that hasn't been healed."

"Perfectly fine. But you must answer me honestly. Are you Prince Charming?"

"Alright, I'm quite concerned you got a concussion." He didn't bother to hide his smile though, keeping you steady against his chest. As you let your eyes drift, you heard him say something softer, not the brash and heroic Blade of the Frontiers, but just Wyll. "Don't do that to me again, love. You terrified me."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"I would rather swordfight that whole group at once than see you blow yourself up like that again. I was worried you would shatter yourself too much to be brought back." His pace was steady as he carried you, keeping you from jostling or rocking around too much even on the uneven ground. "Be careful for me?"

"If you'll be careful for me," you murmured back, leaning easier into his chest. It was all too easy to fall asleep in his arms.

#finnwrites #baldur's gate 3 x reader #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 x reader #bg3 #wyll x reader #wyll ravengard x tav #wyll ravengard x reader #wyll ravengard #oneshot #gender neutral reader

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cerastes · 6 months

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Was thinking about the hypothetical Arknights action game stuff from awhile back again, what enemies/story characters do you think would make for some sick boss fights?

Oh, I like this one. Just to name a few:

Patriot: The first that comes to mind is Patriot, as an enemy that would push the game systems of an action game to its limit. In concept, I like to imagine it in the way the true final boss of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon goes: You have your playable character, which I would like to say is Amiya for this case, and your big damage opportunities come from interference ran by Rosmontis clashing with Patriot and Rhodes Island Snipers and Casters barraging him by Elysium's instruction. Patriot is also perfect to load a ton of mix-ups onto by virtue of him being able to do both gigantic, slower attacks and barrages of quick lunges. He could be a setpiece boss and a straight up skill check boss in equal measures.

Bishop Quintus: Yeah, man's Yamcha as far as bosses go, BUT in the context of a character action game with tight movesets and mechanics, a gigantic tentacled boss that can spawn more and more tentacles from everywhere in the arena, has laser attacks, and was explicitly Devil May Cried for a while by Specter when she was literally air comboing it by leaping from falling rock to falling rock as she unleashed a Sexy Smokin' Style kinda beatdown on him? Yeah I would very much love to control an Abyssal Hunter in a fight against this thing.

Faust: Hear me out. In the context of a full on high impact high speed action game, Faust would be heaven to fight. Between the ability to shoot a hugely powerful bolt, the ability to turn invisible, the turrets, and imagining him hoping around for a stylish mix of melee and ranged combat, yeah, I'm a believer. I like to imagine a scripted part of the fight where he hides and starts charging a truly massive shot, with the Arts humming from the sheer power. In the arena, there's also a lot of his snipers to run diversion and make it harder to find him. Normal people will find him and hit him out of the charge. COOL people will find him, taunt to trigger a MUCH faster charge, and then use a counter to catch the supercharged shot and return it to him a la Nero Buster counters in DMC4.

Full Power Big Ugly Thing & Eunectes: Remember Full Power Big Ugly Thing? No, not the one running on emergency fumes and jury rigged power sources, the actual fully geared version, powered by the airplane engine? The one that sent Gavial flying into the sky Team Rocket style? That one, that one should be some sort of secret fight. An actual brickhouse of immense, unfair power, only for the gamerest of gamers to cut their teeth with, punctuated with a final, high impact duel with Eunectes herself as the burning wreck and the originium fires make for a makeshift ring.

FrostNova: Legitimately, I think FrostNova would make That Moment in an action game. That Moment, That Boss, the one everyone remembers. Her skill set and aesthetic is supreme, the way ice can be used for both style and gameplay, alongside the actual emotional beat of throwing down with FrostNova as her life literally evaporates. Creating ice weapons that break with each attack just to have another one ready for the next swing, diverse moveset, dangerous at all ranges, highly mobile due to sliding on ice, giving the player high mobility as well (I love when boss gimmicks also can be used by the player in some way), there's just SO much one could do with a FrostNova fight, it'd probably my dream fight if done with love.

Endspeaker/Amaia: The concept of an ever-evolving boss with multiple forms has so much potential, TOO much potential, it's hard to fill those shoes, but if you do, imagine. In my dream of dreams, each phase/form of Endspeaker would grow resilient and even develop specific counters to your habits, in the shape of better dodge maneuvering against specific, high usage moves, and even counterattacks if you use some too much. The best way to go about this boss is to actually use your whole moveset, and even then, you want to ration specific parts of it depending on the phase. Plus, the latter forms of Endspeaker/Amaia are legitimately wicked looking and I think would look eerie and breathtaking in motion, with all those flowing parts constrasting with its sharp, long claws.

#kc5rings #arknights

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i-scream-for-fate · 3 months

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Caster class Yui Shōsetsu for the Waxing Moon Clashing Swords Chronicles event in Fate Grand Order.

Illustrator: Wataru Rei.

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psalmsofpsychosis · 20 days

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personally i'm finding out that i like Bruce Wayne way better than Batman, even though the way Batman media have cut an almost clear line between the personas is still so weird to me, but like— for some reasons many Batman media allow Bruce to keep some of his humanity and his more interesting, conflicting and clashing selfhood, but when it comes to Batman he's offten suddenly stripped of all fun nuance and is turned into Big Dude With Two And A Half Personality Traits??? like bro where did the characteristics go??? DC writers laced Batman's backstage coke with caster oil and he took one bathroom break for 1 hour and shat his entire emotional landscape out???

#i haven't thought about it enough to make it a full fledged meta but #yeah #it's fascinating how most DC writers have came to the collective consensus that Batman as an identity is flatter #than the flavourful Bruce Wayne #something something the one dimensional hero persona #IT'S FUCKING WEIRD WHY DID Y'ALL MAKE BATMAN EASY!!!! HE'S BRUCE WAYNE!!!!!#Batman #Bruce Wayne

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thydungeongal · 2 months

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What's so confusing about Tunnels & Trolls?

I am halfway through 5th edition rulebook so I can't give any advice but for now it looks much more comprehensive and elegant than AD&D RAW. Rules of combat are very different from mainstream ttrpgs because it was very early and explicitly not for wargame fans, but they don't look really hard, especially once it explained the logic. I think that if I was alive back in 1979 I would pick it over D&D without hesitation. I haven't really read rules on monsters yet but yeah they look counterintuitive.

I am not calling you stupid, I just want to actually try it and want to be aware of what problems I may encounter. Also I specified the edition just in case it's different in some later or earlier ones.

(While we are at it, can I say how funny its magic works. Recieving damage reduces constitution instead of absent hit points, which makes sense because due to this wounded characters perform some tasks worse, but casting magic reduces strength the same way. I think that the idea was that casters are tired from casting spells but making magic reduce constitution would make wizards and rogues die too fast, but as a result they created the world of muscle wizards. Yes, I said rogues because in T&T rogues are apparently not thieves but mix of fighter and wizard that can do both swordfight and magic... but also kind of sucks at both. And their implied backstory is that they failed to develop any of the skills because either their life circumstances suck or they themself suck.)

(Also, I wanted to send you an ask like "how would ttrpgs look like if they evolved from something else other than miniature wargames?", and apparently T&T is how ttrpgs would like if they evolved from traditional dice games like what landsknechts played in.)

We found the guy,

No but seriously, based on what little I've looked at T&T it actually looks really neat and I enjoy the idea of combat being basically what I've talked about at one point (kind of like a game of football in that teams clash for a moment then get into a huddle and think of their next play). I think what has made T&T hard for my brain to grasp is in part because I'm so used to TTRPGs that follow the structures of D&D (which is actually most RPGs) that the subtle deviations from D&D structures in a dungeon game just make my brain resist receiving any information

But yeah I do have one of the rulebooks? I can't remember which edition it was. But I might go and give it another look.

#thydungeongal answers

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nasuverse-most-breedable-tourney · 10 months

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Side A, Round 5 (Semifinals) *Clash of Casters*

On the left: A woman of astonishing beauty that served as a courtesan for Emperor Toba towards the end of the Heian era, credited for catalyzing the downfall of the Shang dynasty. A shrine maiden said to be the Nine-Tail Demon Fox in disguise who wanted nothing more than to be a good wife. Tamamo-no-Mae

On the right: Considered to be the child and reincarnation of the Sky God, Horus. The mage pharaoh who briefly ruled over ancient Egypt during the 6th Dynasty whose mirror is claimed to reflect the netherworld. She drowned all the people in power who murdered her beloved siblings, and after achieving her revenge, she committed suicide. Nitocris

#Tamamo no Mae #Nitocris #fate #clash of casters

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catastrophic-maniac · 7 months

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#toontown corporate clash #corporate clash #ttcc #ttcc oc #toontown oc #cog oc #oc: spellia caster

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littlemonstert-blog · 1 year

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Hinata Before war arc

A bit of scaling for hinata despite little screen time.

Just a little recap:

a member of the Hyuuga clan Hinata is capable of performing the gentle fist. This taijutsu is blatantly broken because it basically allows the user to ignore your defense/durability and attack your internal organs directly. According to Lee and Guy a single scratch from the gentle fist is capable of ending a fight with no problems ch79

Kakashi says if the gentle fist were to land you’re done because there is no way that you can train your internal organs to sustain damage.

Hinata in Sasuke Retrieval Mission Team (Before pain arc); Hinata being an asset to the team in mission of finding Sasuke during encounter with Tobi/Obito.

Team 8 really just there to track and locate mostly this arc was mostly info gathering. Almost catching Sasuke in the process

maxium of her sight is 10 kilometers

As for genjutsu, Hinata should have good awareness if genjutsu is casted. We also see Hinata can see the genjutsu caster even while in genjutsu and seems pretty confident about it.(This is most likely a result of Kurenai's training.) Another, thing is she can expand the range of her sight as well.

Pain Arc

In the animated version Pain is toying with her(kinda OCC) whilst nonchalantly dodging all her attacks until Hinata gets a freebee hit when Nagato was dying. The animated fight showed that pain was faster than her and she never landed anything.

much shorter her feat’s (manga) are more impressive to the point that you can classify it as an outlier for her character. For starters, in the manga Hinata did push Pain back, (look at Pain's feet) Pain had to block/tank every hit until he got an opening to use shinrai tensei.

the Klak-klak-klak sfx is usually used for sword clashes, the clashes here being Hinata’s Gentle fists vs Tendo’s chakra

The feat is even more crazy when you take into account that Hinata was pushing him back without even activating her Twin lion fist which according to the Databook increases the range and destructive power of the gentle fist exponentially.

And yes Hinata did push pain back, we have seen this use in the story. same “klak”“klak” “klak” panel multiple times, most notably in the Sasuke vs Killer bee fight where Bee was absolutely destroying sasuke in CQC

he didn’t have access to an instant basically an undodgeable technique called shinra tensei. If Tendo was much faster than Hinata it would’ve been nonsensical for Nagato to waste chakra on someone he could’ve easily killed or paralyzed with a chakra rod, like he did to fukasaku who is a SAGE toad.

Ok so she pushed Pain back and outdid him in Taijutsu so what does that mean? Well a lot but before we go into that let’s remember on how Tendo/deva path works

Hinata faced Tendo when all of the other paths were DEAD then we can state that Hinata was fighting Pain at his absolute strongest, his feats reflect that too. When all the paths are alive Nagato divides his chakra evenly meaning that Tendo is at his weakest when this happens. So what did Tendo at his weakest accomplish taijutsu wise? He was easily capable of hitting Kakashi and dodge his attacks which means that at his absolute weakest Tendo was already relative to Kakashi in speed.

Hinata faced Tendo when all of the other paths were dead then we can objectively state that Hinata was fighting Pain at his absolute strongest, his feats reflect that too.

Not only was Nagato focusing all his chakra on all the paths when Kakashi fought Tendo but 4 of the 6 paths where also busy somewhere else wasting even more chakra. Ever noticed that the second the Asura path was pretty much out of commission Tendo proceeded to oneshot Kakashi, Choza and Choji? Summarizing, this fight wasn’t Kakashi vs Pain, it was Kakashi and whole hidden leaf(in the background) vs Pain. Despite all of that Tendo was still relative to Kakashi in speed and taijutsu.

On to Jiraiya, this fight we saw multiple paths block punches of Sage Jiraiya. The human path was capable of blocking Sage punches without even trying, he didn’t get pushed back or anything he just absorbed all that energy like nothing. Later on we see the deva path do the same thing.

Tendo during his fight with Naruto was capable of pushing Base Naruto back whilst he was at his absolute weakest and despite that he was still capable of reacting and defending himself against a Sage mode kick which should be at the bare minimum 10 times stronger if we use natural energy multipliers.

Already know that base Naruto is faster than other memebers of T7 giving Naruto showed against omoi and Karui where Naruto pretty much carried the fight despite being on the defensive. Hinata's feats are faster and better in Taijutsu than base Naruto, Kakashi and even Sage Mode Jiraiya without even using her Twin lion fist jutsu. She fought the strongest version of (Pain) Tendo and was actually capable of pushing him back unlike these characters.

At this point you might start understanding why it’s an outlier for her character but I'M NOT DONE YET.

Now, Hinata’s durability which might as well be a bigger feat than her speed and Taijutsu. I already explained how much stronger the Tendo that fought Hinata was, this can clearly be shown with his feats. When Tendo was in one of his weakest stages Kakashi was tanking point blank shinrai tenseis left and right. When Nagato had to focus on only 1 or 2 paths Tendo became this strong

30 seconds Tendo singlehandedly oneshotted 3 boss toads, one of them capable of going blow for blow with Shukaku (one tail) and wrestle a little bit with Kurama and he oneshotted 2 sage toads one of them with a single paralyzing rod. Fugasaku being capable of trading blows and keeping up with SM naruto.

Hinata was capable of not only tanking Pain's shinrai tensei that was capable of oneshotting boss toads but she was also capable of tanking Pain's direct hit with his paralyzing rod that oneshotted Fukasaku.

But she would’ve died! Nope, she was somehow fine! It would be way too OCC for Pain to spare her by holding back so don’t even bother using that argument.

There you have it, by feats Hinata has better speed and taijutsu feats than base Naruto, Kakashi and SM Jiraiya and she has superior durability to Gamabunta and fukasaku.

outlier for her, if you want my opinion I’d say that she was faster and stronger than base Naruto when she confronted Pain.

Being faster and stronger than base Naruto at this point in the story is still pretty good giving that he was able to react and defend himself against the same weakened Tendo that Kakashi fought and a weaker version of Naruto could also tag mid-tier akatsuki members such as Kakuzu.

Problem Hinata goes against OP or God-level characters. Like alot of Naruto characters they really don't get their shine and solo fights and arcs. Just focused on Naruto and Sasuke rivarly and the Uchiha clan.

I'll add more if I reread her parts again.

#hinata hyuga #pre war arc #scaling #naruto #naruto series

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sneasedtomeetyou · 7 months

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[A video is uploaded to the blog, seemingly by Oran the Roto-Caster, as it seems to be filmed without Casi’s knowledge.]

Casi is sitting on the couch in her living room, wearing an outfit that seems totally unlike anything he would usually wear. Those who have met him in person and have grown accustomed to his wardrobe of bright colors with a bunch of purples and whites would find his current look of black and red to be utterly bizarre. Kept by his side is the worn down sword, seeming prepared to use it in some kind of defense. His demeanor is one of paranoia, despite trying to relax he’s constantly looking around at every noise and movement he seems to perceive.

Eventually two figures enter the room, Volnix and his Hisuian Zoroark, Zorrik. This seems to make Casi bristle in anger. “You,” he spits out in Hisuy-itak, helpfully captioned by the Roto-Caster, “You’re the man from the Icelands.” The accusation falls on quite literal deaf ears though as he makes no attempt to use sign or any other means of communicating with Nix in a way he actually understands.

Nix and Zorrik do however communicate with each other in sign before seemingly Zorrik responds. Due to the nature of Hisuian Zoroark illusions, whatever is being said is to Casi directly and isn’t caught on camera. The most we get is some growling and vocalizations from Zorrik. Seemingly it is requesting something of him.

“I don’t trust you. Either of you,” Casi harshly counters whatever was said. He finally switches back to Unovan to say, "Why do I have to be sent away when the two of you remain here?"

Another response that isn’t caught on the camera, the Zoroark seems to be growing frustrated. It makes another attempt to negotiate.

"I refuse." He's trying to maintain a level tone, but there’s a shakiness that underlines his words as he gets to his feet, sword in hand. Nix attempts to sign something along the lines of “I’m trying to help you, I promise,” but it seems to go ignored. "You're not removing me. I leave on my terms and not at the will of a Zoroark."

The Zoroark snarls, clearly agitated by the harsh tone and the refusal to comply. Casi lunges at Zorrik, prepared to slash at him.

From here, things escalate rather quickly. Nix’s shadow seemingly moves on its own, yanking him down with an unseen force. The sword clatters to the floor at his side.

With a cry he attempts to wrestle free of the shadow's grasp. The footage distorts as two ghostly figures begin to clash, wrestling for some kind of control over Casi’s body.

"Stay away from me!! Stop! Let me go!!" Casi begins to wail, kicking out and thrashing wildly. His shadow retaliates and seems to overpower his attacker before the connection breaks and Nix’s retreats.

After some sort of incorporeal struggle Nix collapses, face beginning to lose color before Zorrik steps in. He gives a snarl in warning before trying to remove himself and Nix from the situation. Casi attempts to launch at the two of them, roaring in anger, but ultimately collapsing to the floor, his body too exhausted. The footage cuts as Zorrik carries Nix out of the room, leaving Casimir coughing and violently shaking in his own living room.

{ can someone explain what’s going on?! }

#wandering spirits arc #high stakes pokereality #//sorry if this one is kind of a mess its.. hard adapting this kind of rp into a post #//when half of the conversation isnt visible lmao #EDIT: SOME OF THIS TEXT HAS BEEN DRASTICALLY ALTERED

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pyropsychiccollector · 2 months

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Shiro Harem: Holy Grail War... of Love 4/7

As you guys know, the poll ended up being a 3-way tie... Technically. Although, based off the accidental "first" poll where Artoria had more votes tying her with Sakura... I'm gonna be generous and throw the King of Knights in here as an "unofficial" winner. It's the only poll that changed drastically enough, and I feel bad for flubbing up the first time. XD

... So, uh. Yeah. I'll be writing up 4 posts before posting anything. Be sure to cycle through my posts to find your favorite girl(s)... The official winners are Rin, Sakura, and Luvia. I'll be getting to Mitsuzuri, Illya, and Reines later. XD

The Beginning

To top off this series of posts, I'm going to do the "unofficial" winner, too... As stated, I flubbed up with the poll last week, and I fear that skewered results somewhat. While Sakura still got her votes, Artoria's... petered out... And I don't wanna disappoint any fans looking forward to her. XD It's only a small concession, but here we are~ Artoria Pendragon. Otherwise known as S E I B A. ... Saber. (人◕ω◕) I'm not as much into "Seiba Nation" as a lot of fans are... But this isn't a bad ship. ... I might just tweak some things to ramp up my own excitement. First, though... The disclaimer~

Fate: Stay Night is all about branching timelines. As such, to cater to all seven members of this harem in a single worldline, we'll be looking at an AU separate from the canon ones, regardless of how similarly events may play out. Just a forewarning.

As I did with the Sakura and Rin posts, I'll give a brief overview of the Fourth Holy Grail War, to start us off.

As most fans are aware, the Fourth Holy Grail War is Ground Zero for all the events that come about in the subsequent war... And it's just as much common knowledge that the Heroic Spirit Artoria Pendragon... and the Magus Killer Kiritsugu Emiya... did not get along.

Not. One. Bit.

But this is a development that comes about later in the war. At the start, Artoria had high hopes of serving her Master, and by extension his wife, well and emerging triumphant in this epic battle. He seemed to have a strange way of operating, but Artoria did as she was instructed, staying by Irisveil's side. Though he did not seem to know his place in his feelings about the subjects she ruled over, how they treated her as a "man" and not a woman, the King of Knights was willing to believe Iri that Kiritsugu was a noble man who sought for a peaceful world, to fight all evil in the world.

This war, however... Does not go as Artoria expects. After the battle on the pier, where she clashed with Lancer, Berserker, Archer, and Rider, Kiritsugu entered some... arrangement with Berserker's Master. And the war was temporarily on hold until an outside matter was dealt with. Artoria didn't understand the whole situation, but it apparently revolved around some girl that Berserker's Master was trying to save; that's as much as Irisveil knew about it. Something about the Matou family having stooped so low...

Still, the situation resolved itself, and the war seemed to be back on track. ... Or so Artoria thought. Apparently Kiritsugu was still holding Berserker's Master to whatever "deal" they struck, and so Berserker would not be her opponent, at least not for some time. Artoria feels mixed about this arrangement, as she fears Berserker stabbing them in the back in a bout of madness...

But it doesn't pan out that way. Iskandar holds a "banquet" among the Kings, and shortly after defeats Assassin, who intrudes on their gathering... Then the Masters band together to defeat Caster. And after all those exceptional situations, Artoria is almost glad to have her duel with Lancer at long last...

And then Kiritsugu ruins it, forcing Lancer's Master to kill his Servant... and then killed that same Master and his beloved in cold blood. That's the first real time Artoria understands that she and Kiritsugu will never get along.

... Yet Artoria gets an opportunity to reclaim her honor when she battles Iskandar. With his Reality Marble, it's a titanic battle... But she emerges triumphant with Excalibur. And around that same time, Berserker is felled by Archer.

Just like that, it's down to Saber and Archer to determine who will win the Grail... And Kiritsugu battles it out with Kirei. Gilgamesh proves too much trouble for Artoria, and even when Kiritsugu emerges triumphant, he betrays her and orders her to destroy the Grail for reasons unknown. At least unknown to her.

That war went on to be a stain for Artoria, one of her greatest failures... She and Kiritsugu never got resolution, and likely never would have even if they had gotten their happy ending... Their methods and ideals were too at odds. And yet... in the last few years of his life, Kiritsugu managed to save his daughter Illya. And he adopted Shiro, as the boy was made an orphan by the Great Fire. And they had Maiya supporting them as well.

It wasn't a perfect family life... Kiritsugu still died a few years after adopting Shiro. Maiya was left to care for the children, and Shiro promised that he would become a Hero someday in Kiritsugu's stead. Illya doesn't tell Shiro anything about the Grail War, even with her little brother picking up Trace and Reinforcement magic, as Kiritsugu had taught him. If she can help it, she doesn't want Shiro involved in the nightmare that is the Grail War. If they're lucky, they'll be old by the time the next one rolls around... That's what Illya is thinking, anyway. At least for the first few years.

That day for Shiro to stand up and prove himself... would come soon enough, as the Fifth Holy Grail War arrived. Cornered by Lancer after witnessing a battle between Servants, and then having been revived, Shiro summons Saber, running on pure instincts and fear.

It's... an awkward encounter. Saber repels Lancer... But Shiro knows nothing of the Grail Wars, barely knows any magic at all. He's even more spooked that Illya reveals she has a Servant of her own - Berserker - and hadn't counted on Shiro being involved in the conflict. Artoria gets a strange sense of deja vu upon seeing Illya, and she reveals that Irisveil was her mother, and Kiritsugu was her father. Shiro is the adopted son of Kiritsugu.

Artoria doesn't know what to think about these revelations... Shiro knows nothing of war, let alone the Grail War, and yet despite his lack of knowledge, despite whether he should bother getting involved... Shiro courageously accepts his role as a Master. As Artoria is soon to discover, Shiro is the polar opposite of Kiritsugu - the boy wears his heart on his sleeve, he's reckless, but he cares enough to protect people... Even tries to protect Artoria herself, despite their clear gap in combat ability.

She felt conflicted about being contracted to the Emiya's once more, even if she knew Illya from 10 years ago... But the more she spends time with Shiro, the more she is willing to give this new Master a shot. Her ideals resonate with Shiro, rather than clash... And for that, Artoria is grateful.

The Middle Act

Saber is... a very loyal, and dedicated Servant. (人◕ω◕);;; However... It's awful enough that Shiro is willing to ally with his sister when clearly there can be only one victor for the Grail. But it doesn't stop there. One of Shiro's schoolmates is also a Master, and he wishes to ally with her, too.

This is not how Holy Grail Wars are conducted. Saber is quite cross about it. (人◕ω◕);;;;;;; As rough as the last war went, at least alliances were temporary... The way Shiro talks with Illya and Sakura... makes Saber realize that Shiro understands very little about how these conflicts are supposed to go. The Grail can only grant one wish, and Artoria is both dutybound to make that wish go to her Master and selfish enough that she herself wants the wish... To save Britain.

It's not so easy just letting Shiro make alliances as he pleases. Shiro gives his trust out far too simply, and it's hard enough assuming Rider won't pull something... But to turn her back on Berserker? Never. Saber is too paranoid, and she almost rejoices when yet another schoolmate turns out to be a Master and she rejects Shiro's attempt at alliance.

... Because if four of them were on the same team, how was this conflict ever supposed to end? That's what Artoria worried over, in those early days of the war. Shiro was too trusting, and moreover there were just too many children doing battle... Saber needed to personally destroy some Servants, or she would never get any peace of mind about this.

Shiro tried calming her down, and while Artoria could understand not wanting to end his sister or his friends, the fact is their Servants needed to be eliminated. At the very least. When Shiro asks for kendo lessons, Artoria does so with gusto; she's a hard taskmaster, and she needs to vent.

Things go downhill when Caster kidnaps Shiro in an attempt to steal his Command Seals. Saber, Illya, Berserker, Sakura, and Rider all mount a rescue operation and defeat Caster, Assassin, and Caster's Master... Saber's thrilled to have made progress, and yet... For the next few days she fretted over Shiro and refused to continue training him. She didn't want him to get captured again and lose his Command Seals...

Not too surprisingly, however, Shiro does win her back over... with food. If cooking was a type of magic, Shiro would be the undisputed master. ... And to Saber's dismay, she has a rather... insatiable appetite. She grudgingly goes back to giving Shiro kendo lessons, though she impressed upon him the importance of letting her handle the Servants. With only five Servants remaining, Saber was beginning to plot how to take down Berserker before he could turn on them... Not that she escaped Illya's shrewd gaze; Illya assured the King of Knights she would never hurt her brother. They'd find a way to get the Grail without turning on each other, Illya and Sakura were quite adamant about staying loyal to Shiro.

It doesn't reassure Artoria. Not exactly. Shiro keeps insisting they're a team, but she's increasingly wary of Sakura and Illya betraying her, and just keeping Shiro alive. Saber doesn't like being paranoid... But after the last war, how can she not be?

Eventually they battle it out with Archer and Rin. And they come to discover Archer is a future possibility of Shiro, bitter about being unable to fulfill his ideals, and bitter about being betrayed in life... Archer wanted to destroy Shiro to end the cycle, but it wasn't to be. Not when he was fighting 3 against 1... 4, if you count Shiro trying to throw himself into the ring. These revelations about Shiro aren't easy to swallow, though Artoria certainly understands sacrificing themselves for one's people...

Shiro's problem is that he wants to save everyone. Including his enemies. It's a lofty dream... Perhaps too lofty. At least on his own. While Artoria still seeks to have her wish granted, she also finds a stronger resolve to support Shiro and his dream. Because in him, she senses a similar noble spirit...

Alas, Gilgamesh rears his ugly head. He takes down Berserker, and kidnaps Illya. He informs them of the Grail's true nature, taunts them and challenges them to come and fight...

It's a lot for Saber to take in. The wish-granting cup that she's tried to win for two wars now... It's nothing but a corrupted abomination. And moreover, Gilgamesh remained behind in this world, and she had been unable to defeat him last time. After Shiro performs that ritual with Rin to obtain more magical power, Saber comes to the realization that Avalon is implanted within Shiro... And she deduces it was Kiritsugu's doing. Shiro gives it back to her, hoping it will be enough to overcome Gilgamesh...

And she does. Artoria emerges triumphant in this battle, just as Medusa defeats Lancer and Shiro defeats Kirei... And after rescuing Illya, they all resolve to destroy the Greater Grail. They don't have to fight each other anymore, just destroy the Grail...

Artoria manages it. And yet... even though she expected to fade away after accomplishing this final task, because Shiro had one Command Seal left... Through some miracle, the ensuing explosion of energy granted her a new mortal body. And the same was true for Medusa.

This wasn't the ending they were expecting... But Artoria thinks she can live with this outcome. She didn't save Britain from ruin... But she does have a second chance at life. Opportunities like this almost never come by...

The Future

Living in the modern age... takes some getting used to for Artoria. She got a taste of it in both of the Grail Wars she fought in, but she knows full well this new arrangement will be... longer lasting. And moreover, she and Medusa both lost their Heroic Spirit abilities. Artoria still has muscle memory, and can move relatively quickly... But she's no longer superhumanly strong.

... And that's alright. Artoria can tolerate being "just a human" again. She's not overseeing another kingdom, but she does have a treasured family in Shiro, Illya, Sakura, and Rin. Artoria is even formally introduced to Mitsuzuri, and they hit it off pretty well. Seeing Maiya again when she returns... makes Artoria feel conflicted, but she can tell the woman is looking out for Shiro and Illya, keeping Kiritsugu's enemies off their trails.

She obliges Rin's plan to take Shiro to London for a few years, believing it would be just like a vacation for the three of them... Except Rin doesn't think bringing Artoria along is a good idea. ... And Artoria has quite cross words to say about that, insisting she must stay by Shiro's side...

Eventually Artoria grudgingly acquiesces. It's pointed out that if the Clocktower ever found out that she used to be a Heroic Spirit, she'd be experimented on by mages in no time flat. It's all too tempting to visit her homeland... It's just not a good idea for Artoria to do so at this time.

At least Shiro promises to bring her there someday. ... So that's something.

Artoria keeps the house in order while Shiro's away, juggling the antics of Sakura, Illya, Mitsuzuri, and Taiga-sensei... Sure, Shiro and Rin graduated from high school, but there's no need to do away with the honorific.

When Shiro gets back... Artoria is glad he's home. More than words can describe. (人◕ω◕) Of Shiro's girls, she's definitely the de-facto leader. It's too troublesome to let any of the others take charge. Artoria-chan is very prim and proper, and rules will be followed... (人◕ω◕)*** Even though Sakura took Shiro's virginity... Artoria is never able to quite forgive her for that. (人◕ω◕)

Rin bearing the first children is also an affront to Artoria's honor, but... Artoria will happily take the children that Shiro plants in her womb. (人◕ω◕) As competitive as she can be, the former King of Knights must still set an example. ... Even if she's jealous and moping. (人◕ω◕)

It's fine~... The end goal is to ensure Shiro's happiness. And to help him save others. As former leader of the Knights of the Round Table, Artoria is pleased to have all that battle experience, to help Shiro in the most dire of situations.

Everything will be fine~! \(人◕ω◕)/ Shiro and Artoria will uphold each other's honor. They respect and admire each other. Truly a touching, heartfelt couple. (人◕ω◕) ... If Artoria views the other members of the harem as her new "subjects", that is her business. No one else's. (人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)

#fate stay night #artoria pendragon #saber artoria #Shiro x Saber #Shiro x Artoria #Shiro harem

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tgrailwar · 1 year

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Tumblr Holy Grail War: Wave 6 - Day 2 (Team Caster, Team Archer, and Team Berserker)

To travel to the base of Caster was bold. To do so in the midst of a Noble Phantasm- especially a Reality Marble- was even more so. Of course, even if some teams were trying to avoid Caster, the Servant had other plans. Immediately, the Masters of both Berserker and Archer lost contact to their Servants as they vanished into the dense storm of mana surrounding the territory.

For the Archer… the Archer of Treachery…

The air was frigid, only made colder by the wailing shades surrounding him.

This was his own judgement. The manifestation of his own 'Dark Krishna' that resided within him. He was a coward. Treacherous, prideful, desperate to prove himself at the expense of others. Such was the 'Judgement' placed upon him by the Reality Marble of the Inferno. The light from the Pashupata flickered as he struggled to keep the mana within it burning, the mana that had been so desperately given to him.

"This is your own punishment, Arjuna. For eternity. Do you dare find yourself even worthy to use the Pashupata? Such a grand weapon of Lord Shiva… you truly are a shameless creature."

Words unbecoming of the figure that spoke them, but that was fine, as they were not the figure's words. Simply the Archer's… the Ar████… the… his identity began to crumble and fade, becoming nothing more than a shade. A sinner. He would need to fight his way out.

For the Berserker… the Berserker of Violence.

Heavy footsteps waded through a pool of thick, boiling blood. A place for the violent. Those who paved their legacy in nothing but shameless, heretical blood. Pride? What pride was there to be had in his bloodshed? Emerging from the sea of blood, several shades manifested themselves. Shades not native to this circle, but ones that represented the agony that was impending for the Berserker… the Ber██████… the sinner.

"…You're a warrior. Accept your penance and writhe within the Phlegethon."

It spoke, in a voice that didn't belong to it. The bubbling, boiling sea burned at the legs of the warrior, already beginning to eat at him and render him nothing more than a wailing, pained shade.

The sinner only raised his axe and roared, damning himself with violence evermore.

Both Dante and Arjuna are using their Noble Phantasms!

If Arjuna gains 1st Place, both Kintoki and Dante will sustain 2 wounds, and be eliminated!

Due to the effects of Dante's Noble Phantasm, both Kintoki and Arjuna will have a persistent -30% effect for both this round, and the next!

Kintoki's Natural Body protects against Dante's debuffs!

If Arjuna doesn't win, then same Free-for-All rules apply for wounds! Meaning if Dante is last he'll simply take 1 wound, but also if Kintoki doesn't gain 1st place, then he'll still also sustain a wound!

Dante has [1] wound!

Arjuna is uninjured!

Kintoki has [1] wound!

Based on skills, augmentations to the final score are:

Dante: +0% Arjuna: -13% Kintoki: +10%

ACTIVE SKILLS/NOBLE PHANTASMS:

Caster (Dante)

Skills:

Protection of the Faith (Triune) (A) - When fighting offensively, reduce opponent scores by 5%. Additionally, when fighting a Servant with Divinity, reduce their score by -3%.

Innocent Monster (Commedia) (EX) - If victorious when attacking, if the resulting score gap is larger than 35%, recover a Command Spell.

Dante's Noble Phantasm:

La Divina Commedia (A) - Does not inflict wounds, but instead provides a 30% debuff to those caught within it for that current round, and the following combat round. Costs 2 Command Spells to use, rather than 3.

Archer (Arjuna)

Skills:

Hero of the Endowed (A) - If fighting an enemy Servant, and the difference between scores is within 3%, take the win.

Mana Burst (Flame) (A) - Gain a +8% boost to combat poll results when attacked during 'playing defensively', rather than +3%. When not ‘playing defensively’, gains a 5% boost to final combat poll results instead.

Arjuna's Noble Phantasm:

Pashupata (A+) - Inflicts 2 'wounds' rather than just one. If the gap between scores is greater than 45%, then inflicts 3 'wounds' instead. Due to ‘Independent Action’, the cost to use his Noble Phantasm is 2 Command Spells, rather than 3. Standard 20% boost from Command Spells.

Sakata Kintoki (Berserker)

Skills:

Natural Body (A) - Gains resistance from skill effects that reduce combat bonus scores.

Mad Enhancement (E) - Due to the low ranking of Kintoki's Mad Enhancement, he can fight a bit more carefully than other Berserkers. Rather than sustaining 2 wounds if on the bottom of a 3-way combat poll, he only sustains 1. However, he still runs the risk of also gaining 1 'wound' if he lands 2nd place, rather than 1st.

Monstrous Strength (A) - Rather than +5% and +7% for 1-on-1 and 3-way combat polls, respectively, Kintoki gains +7% and 10% boosts to those respective combat polls.

#combat phase poll #team berserker #team archer #team caster #thgw story

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