Letter Bee

Royal Rumble: Rumble over the Heavens

-Edited out with permission from the GMs-

Kingdom Hearts AU Idea Standalone

Note: This isn't Canon Kingdom Hearts, but rather an Alternate Version of the setting in which Disney Worlds are replaced by Parallel Earths based on counterfactual histories. See below to see what the equivalent of Disney Castle is.

Updated Note: The First Version of this RP was written 8 years ago or so, way before I heard of FGO.

Kingdom Hearts: Alternate Lights

Long ago, there was One World, One Earth, and One Timeline, a world filled with Darkness and Light in unequal measures, with a greater proportion of Darkness to Light. This world, though many, was doomed to fall until one Hero delved into the secrets of the Light. He discovered that said Light flowed from an unseen land by the name of Kingdom Hearts, and that if he could just burst the barrier that separated this world from this source of Light, he can save the timeline.

And so, he did...but with unforeseen consequences. For what was once one world was separated to many, each with varying levels of Light and Dark. Now, any possibility for Earth to change, even the 'absurd' and 'impossible' ones, now sprang off into its own timeline, creating, for the first time, a Multiverse. The weapon the Hero used to create the Multiverse is called the X-Blade (Pronounced Key-Blade), and, seeing the consequences of his actions, the Hero shattered it into several pieces.

However, it was too late; the people of the various timelines saw, nay, knew, what had been done to them, and so created Lesser Keyblades in the shape of the X-Blade, so as to attempt to search for, and dominate, Kingdom Hearts. But, because of their hubris and ambition, they all failed, killing each other off except for a few repentant surviors, who swore off any attempt to dominate the Multiverse, and instead, chose to preserve it.

In time, the people of the Multiverse forgot about The Hero, the X-Blade, and the survivors of the Keyblade Wars, and slipped into complacency, thinking that their worlds were the only true ones. And so, centuries of peace and development passed. Then, one day, on the world of Shining Field, a Scholar in the House of Wisdom discovered the secrets of the Past, of the Light...and Darkness.

Only a few years after that, Shining Field burned, destroyed by an onslaught of Heartless, strange, black monsters with yellow eyes, who were resistant to most mortal weapons, and who, after destruction, merely reformed in another part of the world to continue their rampage. The Heartless consumed the majority of the inhabitants, man, woman, and child, before turning upon the Heart of the World, its Core of Light.

After that, more worlds burned in quick succession, as Heartless began emerging everywhere, like an unchecked plague. Not merely that, but there were hints that the Heartless were...guided, controlled by an unseen intelligence. And as if to add to the chaos and strife of the situation, strange beings called the Nobodies also emerged, sometimes fighting the Heartless, sometimes conquering their own stretches of territory.

And the Keyblade Order...was nowhere to be seen.

But there is hope: Creatures called Moogles have appeared throughout the worlds, offering trade links, technology, and magic that would give the worlds a fighting chance against the Heartless, and finally, ships that can connect to other worlds. In addition to this, people from all over the world with strong hearts have begun manifesting Keyblades of their own, weapons that are super-effective at killing Heartless, preventing them from reconstituting elsewhere. Now, the worlds prepare to strike back and find out who is behind this strange onslaught on the Multiverse...

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If you found that too long to read, then here's a summary:

Strange creatures called Heartless are taking over the worlds, the Moogles have come to save us through the power of trade, and people are spontaneously manifesting the Keyblade, a weapon that kills Heartless in droves. Also, there's Magic. And Technolgy. Sometimes a combination of both. Oh, and instead of Disney-based worlds, you get to travel to alternate timelines.

1.) No Godmoding or Powergaming, aka no controlling other players' actions, no defeating your enemy in one shot, and no shrugging of all hits without a magical shield.
2.) Any consenting relationship between people of the same age group is allowed, whether it's Homosexual or Heterosexual. If you cannot stand such things, don't post here in the first place.
3.) Be polite to others.
4.) Yes, you can play a non-human if he/she/they are not overpowered.
5.) All players must come from a universe with Humans and with a connection to Earth/Earth History. It can be as unrealistic as you want, but it must be A.) coherent, and B.) have at least some baseline Humans.
6.) Final Fantasy Magic works everywhere except when Final Fantasy Anti-Magic is applied.
7.) Please post once a week.

[U][B]Character Sheet[/b][/u]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[b]Bio:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Skills:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]

[U][B]World Sheet[/B][/U]
[B]Name:[/B]
[B]Summary of History:[/B]
[B]Important Nations (Great Powers, etc.):
Overall Technology Level:
[/B]
[B]Map:[/B] Optional; don't hesitate to add your world just because you don't yet have a map!

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This is the Disney Castle equivalent; please don't respond to this with a Political Discussion.

Renovation

World Sheet
Name: Renovation (written by Soverihn)
Summary of History: The Second Palailogoi Civil War, which in IRL, destroyed the Byzantine Empire as a Great Power, went the other way, with Serbia not interfering and the victory going to the Regency faction, who successfully reformed the state to lessen the aristocracy's power, redistribute land back to the peasants, increase the numbers of the navy, and take the Empire in a maritime, commercial, direction, trading with other nations instead of depending on landed estates. In time, this reformed Empire retook Anatolia using divide-and-conquer tactics, judicious alliances, and finally, luck.

It then used its position as a manufacturer of luxury goods, like Silk, to withstand the shock of the discovery of the Americas upon its economy, building the Empire 'tall' instead of 'wide', focusing upon economic and cultural pursuits instead of military conquests, as well as education. Despite this, they withstood more civil wars, foreign invasions, and coups, forcing them to keep developing their military.

Note, this is conjecture as the Timeline hasn't been finished yet: In modern times, the Byzantines can be credited with the invention of the Tank, the Stealth Fighter, and Rocket Artillery. Ever since the Enlightenment, they have also been a religiously tolerant state where Christians and Muslims live happily...as long as they speak Greek.

Important Nations (Great Powers, etc.): Byzantine Empire (Modern-Day Greece, Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, parts of Serbia, Turkey, and Crimea. Oh, and Cyprus, and parts of Syria), Timurid Sultanate of Egypt (Egypt, Hedjaz, Yemen, and the Levant), Chobanid Empire (East Iraq, Iran, parts of Afghanistan and the Caucasus), France, England, Marinid Sultanate (Granada and North Africa), Alternate!Spain (Castile-Portugal), Aragon, Italy formed by Naples, Alternate!Germany, The Avignon Papacy, and its rival/competitor in Salzburg, Unknown New World Powers, and China.

Note: Much of this is conjecture.

Overall Technology Level: Modern-day.

Map: Optional; don't hesitate to add your world just because you don't yet have a map!

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List of Destination Worlds

List of Destination Worlds:

1.) Ongoing World War II - The year is 1950...and the war is still occurring, due to the fact that the Nazis, using dark sorcery, have learned how to control the Heartless and unleash them upon the Allies, who are only saved from the verge of defeat by forming an alliance with Independent Keyblade Wielders and Nobodies. Not merely that, but Stalin has his own, dark plans to take control of the Heartless from Hitler. But, they will all find out that Darkness is not a toy...

2.) Puella Magi Madoka Magica - For the history of mankind, a race known as the 'Incubators' have uplifted young women from all walks of life, giving them great power as Magical Girls, and then feeding on said Magical Girls' descent into 'Witches', eldritch abominations that inflict suffering even as they are weighed down by the pain and despair of their lives. And, of course, the Heartless and Nobodies are added to the mix!

3.) Shimabara Triumphant - It is the Year 1669, 30 years after the Shimabara Rebellion held out long enough to force the Tokugawa Shogunate into a negotiated settlement that included lower taxes and freedom to worship. Japan had to revoke its policy of isolation from the world as a result, a development disliked by the ruling classes. Now, under a new Shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna, an excuse has been found to revoke the Shimabara Peninsula's autonomy and invade the land once more with Dutch help, endangering the new Princess of Heart - Shiro Amakusa's daugther, who was never born in the Original Timeline!

Interlude World: To Be Announced.

4.) Fallout: Apocalypse Averted - The world of Fallout...only the Bombs didn't fall as the Big Bad took over and promised the leaders of the US and China that if they submitted to him, he would replenish all of Fallout Earth's natural resources and give them unimaginable power - which he did. Now, the US and China provide immense numbers of troops armed with Power Armor, Lasers, Plasma Guns, and Gauss Rifles and all that Atompunk stuff to supplement the Heartless!

5.) Cleopatra's Ambition - Cleopatra and Marc Antony have won the Battle of Actium, but at such a staggering cost that they were unable to follow up their victory with an attack on Italy itself. Now, ten years later, Antony has died of sickness, leaving Cleopatra defenseless against a renewed assault from Octavian, who the Big Bad now supports with several Legions of Heartless. But now, Cleopatra's 21-year old daughter, Cleopatra Selene, has exhibited powers of her own that her as a Princess of Heart, one in need of rescuing.

Interlude World: To Be Announced.

6.) A Queen of Hearts, not a Princess - The Battle of Bosworth ends with the death of both Henry Tudor and Richard III, leaving Elizabeth of York as the best claimant to the English throne. But as it would be decades before the country's people could even accept the idea that women could rule in their own right, most of England's nobles were now trying to marry one of their sons to the Yorkist Princess and hoping to gain control of the Kingdom that way. Elizabeth of York is also vital to the salvation of the Multiverse as she is a Princess of Heart, and thus the PCs are tasked to save her from the Heartless and a loveless marriage.

Interlude World: To be Announced.

7.) The Ruins of Old Earth - In 2020, Ascot Carver, the one who discovered Magic and the X-blade, sought to use the mystic weapon to avert a nuclear war and a certain pandemic. He got his wish, but after all nuclear weapons were destroyed and a spell was cast to prevent people from using nuclear energy for anything violent, the nations of the world simply turned against each other in a conventional war that broke the world order and the economies of all Great Powers. Now, Earth is wrecked by conflict, pollution, and climate change, and while modern technology still exists, society has been pushed back to feudal levels of organization. But there is hope, hope in the Last Princess of Heart and the compassion of other worlds.

8.) The Tomb of Ascot.

9.) Playable Epilogue?

Kakumei [Absolute Shounenverse]

discord.gg/uQVgsTMP

Get on in here friends

@Blizz

I just woke up, and as I said, there's no firm commitment from me yet.

Kakumei [Absolute Shounenverse]

Pondering joining, but no absolute commitment yet.

Letter's Magic System (Standalone)

Letter's Magic System (Standalone)

Anyone can learn Magic, but few have the combination of strength of heart and imagination to be truly good at it. Therefore, Magical Academies are important so that what existing Magi already imagined before can be taught to other people.

Magic

There are six disciplines of Magic:

High - There are many theories that try to explain High Magic. Some say that it is the power of The Divine, others say it is the power of positive emotions, channeled through the human soul. Nevertheless, High Magic is the power of controlling Magical Energy itself, allowing for the ability to see all Magic, to draw available magical energy from the sky and earth, create constructs of condensed Mana, create and fuel magitech and enchanted items, ward people and places from magic, and finally, the ability to create bolts of silver-white light that cause damage that cannot be healed by magic to Mages and Magical creatures... But not ordinary targets, whose burns can be healed as normal.

World - World Magic is control over the physical elements of the world. Do you want to create Fire? World Magic. Do you want to alter Gravity to make yourself float? World Magic. Do you want to use lightning to electrocute a person? World Magic. Basically, if it has nothing to do with changing one thing to another, or controlling something that isn't wholly of this earth? World Magic is your key. Basically, Bending from Avatar: The Last Airbender, but without healing or spiritual arts and with control over gravity.

Change - This is the magic that deals with changing one thing to another. This magic can knit wounds and reverse aging, cause trees to grow fists, and turn vines into whips. This magic can change one substance to another, turning lead into gold, earth into acid, and fire into water. What it cannot do, however, is affect stuff protected by High magic, or reanimate/control creatures or beings which are already dead. That belongs to another school, the magic of the Underworld.

Underworld - Death is all around us, and the old laws against disturbing the ghosts who chose not to pass on are gone, cast into the wind. Nevertheless, the souls of the departed have to be treated with respect...but it is not the same for their bodies. Underworld Magic is the magic of Necromancy; it is the magic you wield when you want to raise an army of the dead, to control the shadows of the world, to speak with ghosts, and to strike people dead with one blow (this is a high-level spell). You can even use this to transcend death, allowing you continued existence in this world without the need for food, drink, and sleep...

Timespace - The magic of traveling vast distances in a single bound, of teleportation, portals, and scrying. The strongest Magi can even control probability, making a person luckier or unluckier, sometimes to absurd levels. But what it can not do is reverse the past; basically, no time travel. Bullet Time and Time Stop are also possibilities for incredibly strong practitioners but have certain requirements that limit their effectiveness in combat.

Mind Magic - This magic deals with controlling minds and altering emotions of both humans and animals, as well as creating illusions, mental compulsions, and even erasing or editing memories. A very powerful magical discipline, but strong willpower can better resist its effects...

Note: A lot of individual spells are very broken by nature, and would fundamentally destroy the game’s balance if implemented. If you’re touching these spells, please make sure you have some limitations added to them. If you’re not sure, look no further than your GMs! They will be happy to answer your question/address the balancing of your powers.

Spell Mastery

Spell Mastery

Pretty self-explanatory. Each spell your character possesses has their own degree of mastery. The more you master a spell, the less effort (Mana, Time, other relevant resources) it takes to perform that spell. If you have enough spells from the same school mastered, you can choose to make it a <Magic School> Mastery trait. How many spells, you ask? Well, there’s not a hard-coded number for that. But I’d say about 3+ spells of the same school. We can lower the number if the spells are difficult enough, or raise it if they’re easier to cast. Having Mastery as a trait makes learning and mastering new spells of that school a lot easier.

How long is it going to take to master a spell: This gives me headaches every time. It really depends. From the length of an arc to the number of times the character practices/uses these spells. I’d say on average 1 spell is mastered every arc as a benchmark, but don’t take this as a gospel. Use a LOT of nuances when interpreting this. We’ll try to adjust and accommodate your needs, just let us know.

Enchantment Rules

Enchantment Rules

Enchantment requires High Magic and a spell that you or another party member knows, along with an item to be enchanted. Note however that the weaker and less durable the material is, the magic you can put into it is more limited; for example, oak can be enchanted to emit laser beams, birch cannot. This is the same for metals, and the strongest of spells can only be enchanted into 'Perfected Electrum (more below)'.

Perfected Electrum

Perfected Electrum

Electrum is a mix of Gold and Silver that occurs naturally but can be made by artificial means. This material, if treated by High and Change Magic by four different Magi (see 'Group Spells' below) can be 'perfected', aka transformed into metal as hard as a diamond yet not as brittle, and whose lightness is that of cloth. But the most valuable property of Perfected Electrum is that it can contain very, very strong spells, except for Resurrection (see below under 'Group Spells'). The Ascendancy of Man has a monopoly of Perfected Electrum; not that it helped them win the war.

Group Spells

Group Spells

Basically, multiple spell-casters with different Schools can do things that would strain a single Mage. This also helps in compensating for single Magi's weaknesses in specialization.

Update on Group Spells: There’s no longer any rules in terms of how many spells are needed to perform group spells. What combination of spells creating what is down to your creativity. Use your imagination! And a bit of common sense too…

Potential Non-Magical Options

Character Traits (Formerly Exceptional Skills)

Character Traits (Formerly Exceptional Skills)

Character Traits can both be a few neat bullet points to describe some of your character’s defining traits, and also accommodate your character’s non-magic skills. They essentially describe a portion of your character, and some of them might be capable of special effects that can benefit you and other characters in different ways.

A character Trait consists of 3 parts as described

<Trait Name>: <Trait Description>. <Trait Effects>
<Trait Name>: Self-explanatory
<Trait Description>: A few sentences explaining what characteristics of your character that this Trait is describing. You can go longer if you wish
<Trait Effects>: These are optional, but the most interesting. These essentially encompasses the Ex Skills, but a lot more specific and individual-based.

A few examples of generic trait to illustrate this further

Swordmaster: His extended training with his family’s traditional blade and under their guidance have made him exceptionally capable with these weapons. Greatly increases proficiency when using blades
Turtleback: His natural skin of his species allowed him to essentially be a walking mini-fortress. Enhanced resistance against physical attacks.
A Healthy and Focused Mind: Her zen training allowed him to ascend to a higher spiritual state that allows her to act solely based on his instincts. Only usable in combat situation. Allows the character to ignore mind magic during these time. Only affected when said magic can affect subconscious thoughts.
Disgraced Warrior: From a family of traitors, he is received by the public with mistrust. Reduce effectiveness when coercing people through diplomacy
Supreme Chef: She’s just really good at cooking duh. <Blank> (Yes, you can leave it blank. You don’t have to have an effect for every trait)

Of course, these are generic examples that apply to no one in particular. Your character traits, however, are bound by their background. A character trait has to be connected somehow to your character and what makes them who they are. Unrelated traits will be rejected. Your trait names does not have to follow these format. Feel free to go ham and be creative with the name and description.

What these skills are not, however: They do not fully describe your character. There is and should be more depths to your character than just a bunch of bullet points. They have defining characteristics but they have nuances and more depths to and outside those characteristics. That’s how a great character is made

Some potential questions.

How many traits are needed: There should be no limits to how many traits you have, but please refrain from making too many of them. Remember this is supposed to represent defining characteristics that screams that’s them when mentioned. You don’t want to describe yourself like that. For starters, around 3-4 traits would be a healthy number (this number is preliminary).

What about combat with vague measures to quantify your strength: Well, this is not a tabletop RP to begin with. There is no dice. We have narratives and plots to drive your characters around. How battles would turn out is entirely down to you and your fighting partners. Discuss with your partner how you would want fights to turn out. Maybe this guy have a really cool move that he wants to show off, or this lady is cocky and needs to be slapped down a peg. After all, it’s more about building your character than a game of who gets to win. If you have problem deciding the fight, the GMs can step in and help

Can you bypass these skills somehow: Yes. Having traits that give you enhanced characteristics (durability/strength/speed/etc.) does not make you infallible (unless you opt in for it, to which you would need to give a GOOD justification). Having enhanced resistance against Mind Magic could fall apart if you’re intoxicated/not paying attention. Use common sense and logic at all times.

Gaining/Losing traits: This is possible, as your character changes, but you shouldn’t gain too many traits throughout the journey anyway, so when you want to add/remove/change a trait, contact your GM. Don’t worry we’re friendly

What about Magic Mastery: If you have 3+ spells mastered from the same school of magic, you can gain a mastery trait of that specific school, giving you increased magic literacy for that school. If you CHOOSE to have that trait at the very beginning, and thus giving you at least 3 spells to be mastered, it’s best you contact the GM so we can discuss it.

Royal Rumble: Rumble over the Heavens

Ken to Dr. Nightman

The glow faded as Ken looked once more at Dr. Nightman’s eyes and listened to the tone of his voice… And found the truth (or what seemed to be). The boy tried to keep his shoulders upright, not slumping them, before he said, “If you’re willing to take the risk of me killing you, as you trust me enough to be a good person at heart, someone who won’t kill an innocent person, then I suppose I should take the risk of this being some sort of nefarious plan, which it might not be.”

Finally relaxing, Ken said to the doctor, “All right, now that we’ve established tentative grounds for cooperation and collaboration, what’s the first order of business? Which one of my issues do you want to tackle first?”

This would be the optimal moment for a trap, part of Ken’s mind whispered, but the confrontation had drained him of his mental energy and he found that he rather admired ‘Dr. Nightman’s’ bravery…

@KillamriX88@Dezuel@Lewascan2

Royal Rumble: Rumble over the Heavens

Ken to Dr. Nightman

“It’s the latter,” Ken said, “And you still have not explained why your reviews have the tone they did, which adds fuel to the fire that is already there. And no, I do not see enemies hiding behind every shadow, I see enemies hiding behind the most… suitable shadows from whence they can strike. As it is, while I am technically an Imperial Prince or even an Imperial Claimant, that’s not the only reason why I feel so paranoid.”

He then fixed a glare at Dr. Nightman, even as he measured the distance between his fist and the man’s face and whether the desk proved to be any obstruction. He also thought of tipping over the desk to unbalance the other man if he proved to be hostile. Nevertheless, Ken felt a need to talk about his psyche and its inner workings anyway, just in case the ‘therapist’ proved to be genuine or knew enough psychology that he can trick some actual advice from the guy. So the boy continued.

“I have ‘Main Protagonist Syndrome’, or rather, I suspect I have it. This is basically an unrecognized variant of ‘Narcissistic Personality Syndrome’, but the effects are the same: I see myself as a protagonist in a story centered around me but I am self-aware enough to know that it is a bad thing. I see myself acting out and trying to be ‘top dog’ in my group of friends or trying to ‘fix’ problems they are capable of fixing on their own or even trying to make their own problems all about myself and how I am affected.”

The boy shuddered with self-loathing. “And I don’t want that. I don’t want to harm my friends just because I want greatness or the feeling of greatness and I’d rather cut out my own heart than hurt them. So fraud or not, I know full well you know enough psychology or just ‘raw people skills’ to either one: Help anyway, or two, take advantage of this tendency to further some sort of ulterior agenda. For example, offering me a Quest to fight an ‘Evil Greater than the Ancient Evil’ or telling me about someone with a tragic backstory I can’t help but want to fix. After that, whether I succeed or fail, you gain something even if it is amusement.”

He then paused for a few seconds before saying, “Of course, it could be that the fact I think I’m important enough for someone to manipulate in such a long convoluted way means that I am a narcissist and the fact that I think in terms of tropes is evidence of much deeper mental issues than I already have. But enough about me - Please answer why your reviews are the way they are and present proof you’re not a threat to me or furthering some plot which will eventually harm my friends or die right now.”

Ken activated Gimlé then, and the ring cloaked him in a golden aura which when amplified by his real Blessing, ought to protect him from magical and physical counterattacks. Of course, he didn’t have a weapon, but he can always smash ‘Dr. Nightman’s’ head with the nameplate he had on his desk… Unless Dr. Nightman gave proof that he was sincere, of course.

@KillamriX88@Dezuel@Lewascan2

Potential Iliad City Rework

-Moved to PMs-

Innocence Lost - A Science Fantasy RP [v.03]

Natasha Zhang

Natasha Zhang didn’t know what had gone wrong, and she was honest enough to admit that arrogance and overconfidence, and being inflexible had something to do with it. Same for being inconsiderate. Either way, she tried to make up for lost time and opportunities as best as she could by saying, “All right, folks, I guess it's time to see those of you who aren’t going on the stealth mission off - Make sure to come back and come back safe.”

She didn’t mention the families of the Star Marines, nor did she mention her own in Quingdao; Natasha already had a suspicion that the Ascendancy would do more than take or harm them, they’d try their best to turn them against their own lost children. Cruelty was not to be underestimated, nor an arrogant insistence that a dramatic plot was a clever plot - Kherol was immune to that impulse, but Laguna and her ilk were not.

But Natasha knew that she could not protect her crew from emotional pain, so she decided not to try. It was cruel of her, but also a concession to cold hard reality she did not want to make. So her last action was to look at Maria and Laurey the moment their ‘team’ was able to meet in the cockpit, and joke, “So, Ladies’ night out?”

Chuckling, the Captain then sighed and said, “We’ll be meeting the snitch in some sort of nature reserve planet, according to the notes Joey gave me; and by a nature reserve, basically one of the planets so beautiful that not even the Ascendancy wants to ‘Do a GIll’home’ on them… Yet.”

Ashton and Flame

“So…” Ashton said awkwardly to Flame as the two stood on the hangar, waiting for departure time and their separation, “It seems they’re splitting us up?”

Ashton did not say that perhaps this should have been Joey’s punishment for their attempt to attack the Ascendancy’s economy. Nor that it felt like a punishment. That made him sound like a needy guy, and not only did he not want to look like that to Flame, but he had an image to maintain; both of them did.

For he knew, and he thought Flame also knew, that the two needed to project the image that they were geniuses, that what their kidnappers had told them about their ‘gifts’ was true. That they and the other kids were better off thinking that the Ascendancy had a coherent reason for taking them away from their homes and lives and families, even if it was not a rational reason.

The boy felt a sudden warmth; Flame had embraced him impulsively. For a brief moment, Ashton felt the urge to cry but suppressed it as he brushed the back of Flame’s head, smiling as he did so. All thoughts of pretense left him at that.

“Flame,” Ashton worked up the courage to say, “Do you think it’s okay if we’re not geniuses?”

Flame slumped his shoulders, ended the hug, and said, “I’ve been waiting for you to say it, Ashton.”

Ashton staggered back, shocked, as his boyfriend continued.

“Ashton, I don’t want to pretend anymore. Oh, sure, there’s a chance we’re still geniuses or savants or whatever,” Flame was gesturing around wildly, not caring whoever saw him, “But I am tired of going around telling everybody, ‘we’re geniuses, we’re geniuses!’. Time to face it, Ashton; we don’t need to feel good about being Star Marines - I just want to retire and plant a garden when it’s all over.”

Flame looked at him a while longer, saw him smile and hug him back, and then say with tears in his eyes:

“You’re right; dad always told me to be myself,” Ashton said. “Once I meet him again, I’ll tell him all about you… If you want.”

“Just knock my asshole of a sperm donor out if you’re saving him too,” Flame interrupted before giving him one last kiss. “And now, goodbye. I love you.”

“Same,” Ashton said as he and his boyfriend turned to leave…

@Letter Bee@Landaus Five-One@FalloutJack@Conscripts@Starlance@jdh97@Smike@Senhara

Royal Rumble: Rumble over the Heavens

Ken to Reverio

"Indeed," Ken said to Reverio. "So, it seems that you got the message as well? By the way, what should I call you? Prince, Your Highness, or just Reverio or 'Rev'?"

He knew of Reverio's life before coming to Rhea; the other youth might be older than him, but Ken was still his academic senior plus interested in the lives of his fellow students. Well, most of them. To be honest, the boy suspected his fellow student of hiding the very mental issues that Dr. Nightman had said he had, and 'Rev's' appearance in this clinic provided circumstantial proof of that.

Or was he just being judgemental? His parents always said that he failed to consider multiple angles and the 'human factor' in strategy and tactics and management. Maybe Reverio was the kind and good and fun-loving person he always seemed like; maybe the trauma of his family's death and his own exile hadn't actually made him a worse person or driven him to self-destructive tendencies. Maybe Ken Illustrious Ikari was being paranoid or even projecting his own issues onto someone in similar circumstances.

Maybe. But he had to admit, he doubted...

Ken to Dr. Nightman

Ken was upfront as he said, "I've done my background check on you; absolutely no one has your level of unreasonably good reviews unless bribery, coercion, and fraud or any combination of such are used. Nevertheless, on the off-chance you are sincere, I'll share a few things about myself which will only harm me in the long run, not the short term."

He then breathed in and out, "I'm an arrogant asshole deep inside. I like thinking of myself as a genius, a prodigy, and using big words to make myself look intelligent. I also want the throne of Izumo even if my parents do not want to have it or are perfectly willing to stay in Rhea, which, granted, is one of the best cities in the world."

The boy then took a few moment's pauses before continuing, "But I value my friends to try and curb that truth about myself. I support them and their goals and try and help them as much as possible. So if you, and this is only speculation, want to brainwash me into turning against said friends, I am ready to fight."

Ken then looked at the Doctor's eyes as he tried to assess the impact of his words, "But if you're actually sincere about wanting to help me, present proof now or I will have your corpse cooling on the ground, damn the consequences before you get to Prince Galand..."

@KillamriX88@Dezuel@Lewascan2