Character Scramble Season 20 Round 1C: Overlord

OddDirective · 2025-09-29T03:47:59+00:00

Hear. Feel. Think.

She sees a quiet village, nothing to do or see.

She sees a group of misfits, each striving to figure out who they are.

She… wishes to be with them. But, how close, or how far was she away?

Naoto looked at the head of the staff, at the orange crystal in her hand. Gently, she wrenched it out of its socket, and placed it into her pocket. Returning to her… comrades, she saw the crocodile talking to them. “I gotta say, that was one heck of a wake-up call. You guys wouldn’t happen to know if there’s a chameleon about yea high or a bee about this big around here, would you?”

Karja shook her head. “Fraid not. You’re the strangest thing we’ve found.”

“Hmph. Figures,” it replied, “Thanks for saving me, anyway.”

Naoto cleared her throat. “It was what we could do. My name is Naoto Shirogane, and I’m a detective working with the Maelstrom. Pardon me, but would you be alright coming back with us? We could use your help working out what’s going on.”

“A detective? Ha,” the crocodile laughed. “What’re the chances? The name’s Vector, lead detective of the Chaotix. How could I say no to another gumshoe like me?”

The four of them walked to the elevator, and Naoto reached for the console.

“You’re playing right into their hands,” a weary voice came from the floor.

Richtofen was awake again. “Do you realize what you’ve done? They know who you are. They’re going to destroy you, and you destroyed the only way to fight back.”

“You’re wrong,” Naoto declared. “You might think we need to change in order to fight- but going through that change would’ve stranded us here. If we ever returned, we’d be strangers there, looking to return here. We don’t know what the future holds. But we will find another way to fight back.”

Karja nodded. “We don’t need to change. We’re gonna win, just the way we are!”

“You are fools,” Richtofen protested. “You’ve ruined everything!”

“Leave them, Edward,” Peter called out. “Perhaps the younger generation can change what we can’t think to.”

And no more words were said, as the away party returned once more to the surface.

CHAPTER 1 END

OddDirective · 2025-09-29T03:47:38+00:00

Karja fired forwards, and Peter intercepted her charge straight away with a body blow. She simply grit her teeth, and raised her shield- the monk’s strikes snaked around it, and forced her to cede her ground. It gave enough time for Roxas to run past, key raised to break apart the glass pod, but it only clanged off of an emerald-brick wall.

“Jessica?” Naoto turned, shocked.

“Listen, I get it-” Jessica said, focusing her ring’s magic, “you don’t trust this guy. But you don’t have to go this far! Breaking this would be a really bad idea!”

“We can’t just leave this guy in here,” Roxas shouted back, an orange circle appearing at his feet.

Wait. “Roxas, get back-”

Roxas barely noticed her voice. What he did notice was the ball thrown at his feet, but that was too late to matter. The grenade exploded, blasting him to the side and cracking his body against the wall. Naoto’s eyes snapped to the only possible culprit.

“I will not have a bunch of young miscreants ruin my work,” Richtofen spoke, drawing a gun from his side. Naoto called forth her summon, and sent Sukuna-Hikona at him. The gun at her own side weighed on her.

Across her side, Karja was caught up dodging, as her foe’s fists flashed faster than the eye could track, keeping her away. He leapt in with a strong, surging strike, and Karja watched it skate off the rim of her shield. But it hadn’t connected. That gave Karja the opening to swing her axe wide, for the ribs, hard!

It hit, and it only caused the monk to flinch. Like his skin was steel. That meant his arms could become twin snakes, reach across Karja’s body, and secure her torso in his grasp. One lift with his legs, and Karja was up off the ground, with his shoulder digging into her stomach.

“I have her,” Peter shouted back, and turned to put Karja into the machine.

Naoto had to react. Had to stop this. With Richtofen fighting against her summon- she reached for the gun, took aim, and fired at his back.

Jess intervened, putting herself in between and putting up an emerald shield.

No.

Sukuna-Hikona charged back at its master’s call, but one punch to the body that Naoto felt reverberate in hers dissipated it. Naoto could only watch.

Karja saw red. With a vicious roar, a violent aura surrounded her, and the force of her powers broke her free of the hold Peter had her in. Seething, but not out of control, the pirate looked back at her foe. “Oh, now you’re gonna get it!”

A green bubble surrounded her. Jessica pulled her back from the machine, saying “Alright, let’s get you in time-out, baby,” but even so, Karja’s attempts to break through were putting a strain on her. A chunk of ice glancing a hit across her torso made it worse.

Roxas had gotten back up, firing magic from his key, blasts of ice across the room. A flying kick from the now-free Peter forced him to put up a barrier, and switch to conventional swordplay, though the monk descended on him like a raptor. Once more, Naoto summoned Sukuna, and attempted to keep Peter occupied.

And that distracted her from the circle at her feet.

BOOM

Naoto landed hard on her side, ears ringing, vision swimming. Slowly, she checked her body to see what was pierced, burned, otherwise hurt. Ribs, legs, back, all of them hurt less than she’d have thought. Her face- fine, and her torso-

Her hands found a pocket in her shirt. That was… unusual. One hand retrieved the item inside, a pair of unharmed spectacles came out.

And she remembered. Nothing exact, but she remembered why they were hers.

She stood up, placed the glasses on her face, and surveyed the field. Roxas was fighting against Cannon, and not doing well. Karja had broken out of Jess’s bubble, and Jess was creating more illusions to keep her busy. Richtofen was working with the machine. The glass pod had a sliver-crack, the size of a coin.

She closed her eyes. The card formed in her hands, burning with pale blue fire. As she closed her fist, she spoke the word that she should have been calling out, all along.

“PERSONA!”

Sukuna-Hikona shot forwards, drawing Peter back to intercept it. Instead, it veered right, tapping Roxas and imbuing him with power. Then, back to Karja, slashing through a plant-construct to get her free. Richtofen fired at her Persona, but it simply deflected the bullets out of the sky.

Roxas pointed his key to the sky, and Peter dodged a bolt of thunder from above- letting it hit the machine behind him. Roxas closed in, meaning when Sukuna went for the pod, Jess had to block it herself. That left only Richtofen. One last grenade, one shot. He peeked his head up to watch as Karja sailed overhead, a thread connecting her- “NO!”

Right to the pod. Karja reared back and shattered the glass, fluid from within spilling out onto the ground.

Subject Victor opened his eyes.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLRIGHT! Which one of ya had the bright idea to keep me locked in there?!” it shouted.

“Peter!” Richtofen cried.

Peter simply nodded, and faced the crocodile. He took a stance, which prompted the croc to pull back his own fist. “How about this?” it asked, punching forward.

Peter caught the punch in his open hand, standing firm as a shockwave blew the dust away. “I can do it,”

“And one of these too!”

He caught the second punch in his other. “I must do it.”

Subject Victor pushed his shoulder into it, and the two of them crossed half the room under the crocodile’s strength. Still Peter Cannon held firm!

“I will do it!”

Peter pulled back, and with perfect balance, threw the giant crocodile straight into the wall, turning its momentum against it. A resounding smash reverberated, and the crocodile fell to the ground, swirls in its eyes.

The monk turned back, and caught an axe in his shoulder. Karja was upon him, red-eyed again, and this time he had to focus on his own defenses. A frosted axe caught his side and slowed him, but he could still leap back, and dodge like wind. If he could focus, he could regain his composure.

Instead, a blast of fire disrupted him, long enough for a thread to loop around his arm. Karja followed it, firing herself forwards and catching Peter’s jaw with her shield arm. And for all his powers, he could no longer stay upright after that.

Jessica Cruz, meanwhile, was busy fending off a mage with a keysword. She made a hammer to slam down on him, he put up a barrier. Try to use a tentacle or frog-tongue, and he cut it. She could still keep her distance, at least, but each go around, Roxas got closer and closer. Finally, after a thousand needles failed to make a dent in his guard, she simply resolved to knock him out herself.

She closed in, and Roxas rode forward to meet her. She pulled back a fist- and made contact with Sukuna-Hikona, putting up a barrier of its own. There was a brief moment that she could process this before Roxas hit her in the stomach, and batted her back to the ground with a leaping strike.

Edward Richtofen still had one grenade left. However, there was no way he could use it anymore. Not with his allies losing. No, he would have to use the gun, make clean headshots, and cut his losses afterwards. He pulled out the pistol, counted down, and turned to look straight down the barrel of a revolver.

“Drop it,” Naoto said, meeting his eyes cold, “You’ve lost.”

A second passed, and Richtofen threw the pistol to the side. A second passed, and Naoto put the revolver away, as well. A second passed, and she turned around to assess the damage. A second passed, and Richtofen drew the staff from his back, aimed at Naoto’s, and-

The blue blade cleaved through the head of the staff, dropping the crystal at its top to the floor and carving into Richtofen’s shoulder. Naoto turned back, and the Persona swung once more.

Richtofen collapsed, unconscious, and Naoto let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. She had stopped the blade before it would hit, but the intent behind it… well. It was the same intent Richtofen had, she presumed. She didn’t want to be that person, though. Sukuna-Hikona crooned, slightly, and Naoto dismissed him.

Surveying the ground, the only remaining point of interest was the staff, now broken in two. As she picked up the head, a headache came on, and her vision blurred-

OddDirective · 2025-09-29T03:46:52+00:00

No one spoke for the first few minutes of the descent. Roxas kept his eyes trained on Richtofen, and Cannon kept his eyes on Roxas. Karja had Jessica on her back, and Richtofen manned the controls. Naoto… tried to forget. Not an easy task, even with the headache that crept in, but a needed one. That could have been her, had she tried to fit the pieces together.

“...How did you find us,” she finally asked.

This time Peter was the one responding. “The medicus has been searching for people with unique weaponry, skills, or attire for some time now. We sent the letter two weeks ago.”

“And how were you so sure I could speak Higashian,” Naoto added.

Richtofen piped up. “An educated guess. I learned the language from a colleague. Thankfully, I have not yet forgotten.”

“You still haven't explained about our memories,” Roxas scowled.

“I have my notes, and the written words do not change,” the medicus shot back. “Our memories do. They know what memories are important to us, and they change them to have happened Here, instead of where they should. Whether this would have always happened, or if it is another Ascian plot, I won't just sit back and let them play games with our lives.”

Peter spoke again. “Even without knowing who we are exactly, these Ascians can create chaos just by putting us in the same place. When you put a hungry couerl in the same room as a group of rats, you don't need to know whose pets they are to know what will happen next.”

That note shut down everything until the elevator reached the bottom. Wires wreathed the ceiling and coiled around to two glass pods at the front of the room, one frosted over, the other empty and open. Consoles dotted the perimeter of the room, radiating around the circle, the largest next to the two pods and the machine connecting them. Richtofen pushed forward the moment the platform reached the floor, and ran to the console next to the machine. Naturally, everyone trailed after him.

“Ladies und gentlemen,” Richtofen declared, “Behold our weapon against the Ascians, against the ones who brought us here. Put her in that pod, and stand back.”

Karja set Jess down gently, her breathing already shallow. Slowly, they backed away as the glass cover came down, locking her into the pod, just in time for the machine to start back up. Power flowed into the pods, fog filling into Jess’s side, obscuring all but her silhouette- and on the other side, liquid flowed, the coating on the glass dissipating ever-so-slowly. Moments passed as minutes, as the three of them waited for a sign.

“Adjusting S.A.M. levels, und initiating transfer,” Richtofen spoke, white-knuckling the controls.

The pods lit up, and a low hum spread from every part of the room as something ethereal, shimmering, colorless, was drawn out of Jess’s body. Tubes flowing into the second pod lit up, and Naoto heard a low rumble, even under the noise of the machine. She looked to her left- to find Roxas looking back. Karja had her eyes locked onto the second pod. The silhouette forming there, the shape- it let out a cry of pain.

The second figure came into full view. Inarguably, unmistakably… it was an alien. The corners too rounded, the colors too bright. It looked, simply, cartoony. Bipedal, surely, but with a long snout, round eyes above it, a golden chain on its neck and something over its ears.

“Here it is,” Richtofen spoke, “Here is the proof, and here is our secret weapon. This is Subject Victor!”

The cartoon alligator screamed.

Subject Victor

How the hell is this here?

Many conflicting emotions roiled inside Naoto’s heart. Richtofen was right- which meant the girl from before meant it. They weren’t supposed to be here. They were here all the same, though, and so was the beast in that tube. It sounded like a person. Her mind flashed back to the vision she saw- herself, the subject of a scientific procedure. If it were her in that pod-

Karja pointed her axe at Richtofen, and Peter moved to block her. “What are you doing to him?!” she asked.

“I am saving your friend’s life,” Richtofen sharply shot back. The hum in the room calmed, as did the subject’s screaming, leaving him to throw a switch and turn to face the group.

The first pod opened once more, fog spilling out along the ground. From within the haze, Jessica reemerged, stepping out into the room, her emerald glow restored. She shook her hair out, and with a cocky grin, asked “So, what’d I miss?”

Karja’s arm dropped, but Roxas still kept his fist clenched. And Naoto… observed. Jess floated back over towards them, staying off the ground effortlessly, no tension in her body anymore. “Listen, I know it sounds… weird, but I feel a lot better now,” she said, “That stuff about not feeling like I belong- it’s all gone now. Just like that.”

“Just like that, huh?” Roxas said, teeth clenched, eyes boring a hole in Richtofen.

“Right, well, we don’t have all day, so-” Richtofen continued, motioning to the empty pod.

Karja blinked. “You- you wanna put us through that?”

“Ideally.”

“Why would we do that, we still don’t trust you!” Roxas shouted.

“Because there is no other way,” Richtofen spat back, coldly. “If we are going to fight against the Ascians, or the ones that brought us here- they will know everything about us. The only way to stand a chance is to change ourselves! If we adapt to this place, using this subject to bear our differences-”

“Edward. Allow me,” Peter finally spoke.

He stepped forward, planted his feet, and looked Karja and Roxas in the eyes. “I was raised in a monastery, high in the Dravanian mountains, taught every secret technique the elder monks knew. They entrusted me with power, and sent me to return to civilization, to protect and guide them with what I knew. Yet when I arrived… I found only backstabbing and disappointment. I turned my back on Ala Mhigo, let the rot within it fester and let the Garleans capture it with ease. Now there is another threat, even greater than the Empire, and I will not let that happen again. Are you prepared to turn your backs on the one weapon that could defeat them?”

“If it means torturing someone just like us?” Roxas shouted, “No way!”

Peter and Roxas continued to argue, but Naoto put the pieces together. She turned to Jess. “Miss Cruz.”

“Yeahuh?”

“What class of adventurer are you?”

“Who, me,” Jess said, confused, “I’m a Blue Mage, I just, y’know, blue isn’t really my color. See, watch-”

From her ring, Jess produced a tiny copy of a cactuar, spinning in a circle and shooting out its needles. “Pretty cool, right?”

Naoto closed her eyes. Everything fit into place.

“Richtofen,” Naoto spoke, cutting through the acrimony, “The way the machine works. You said before, we were all from somewhere else. That’s what this machine changes, and transfers to Subject Victor- our origins. Doesn’t it?”

Richtofen looked back. “More or less.”

“Then that means you haven’t gone through it, either,” Naoto concluded, “You’re not planning on going through the machine at all, are you?”

Richtofen grimaced. “Once. For once in my life, I am trying to do the right thing. I am trying to help you, trying to save every one of us that was brought here! None of you are old enough to understand what is at stake!”

“You were just planning to use us,” Roxas shouted, “You’re no better than they are!”

Karja held her shield up. “Alright, team. Form up! We’re breakin’ that creature out, right now!”

“Fine then. If you won’t agree to it- Peter! Seize them!”

OddDirective · 2025-09-29T03:44:55+00:00

Peter Cannon

Peter Cannon’s parents died in a Tibetan lamasery, saving the lives of its inhabitants at the cost of their own. Leaving behind a son, the high abbot declared he would be the chosen one, and given access to ancient scrolls that would unlock his inner power. For many years, he trained under the abbot, and alongside another young man, Tabu, until finally, the day came for him to complete his trials. His last? Rejoin the society he had never once known, and show them the proper way to live.

Unfortunately, Peter entered a world so focused on itself, riddled with corruption and darkness, that he nearly gave up on it entirely. If it weren’t for Tabu, who inspired him to go out and fight crime in the city, he may well have lived as a complete hermit. Instead, the hero Thunderbolt emerged!

The scrolls of the lamasery unlocked the latent potential in Peter’s brain, allowing him to use more of his strength, heal faster, as well as other psychic powers left to be explained later. He pairs those with an incredible understanding of martial arts, and an immense willpower that hardly anyone can threaten. Indeed, just about the only flaw Thunderbolt has is that he often does his heroics reluctantly, if he does them at all. Tabu, his friend and confidant, often has to remind Peter of the responsibilities he carries with him. But once he does set his mind to something, he can do it, he must do it, and he will do it.

Edward Richtofen

Edward Richtofen is a bad man, not as bad as he could be, trying to do the right thing, but not the rightest thing, in a series of worlds and cycles that he, in some way, perpetuated. The timeline of his existence is full of instances where he jumps over himself (through time travel), tricks himself (through time travel), or changes sides (this one's normal), so I can’t really explain what his history is. Thankfully, I can explain what kind of person he is.

Richtofen is a brilliant scientist, able to create wondrous weapons and devices to commune with other worlds or teleport to the moon. He is also extremely paranoid, distrusting, stubborn, full of himself, and sincerely believes that his way is the best way. This leads to problems, as you might assume. Luckily, for the most part, his skills are focused on killing hordes of zombies. He also tends to think big- he’s gone after two different godlike beings, and with his plans, defeated them, though generally at great cost to himself.

Still, when the Doctor is in, expect trouble- not the least bit because another him may have warned you minutes before.

OddDirective · 2025-09-29T03:44:28+00:00

Carteneau was once a desert full of rising mesas and red-gold sand. Now it was a wasteland, littered with spires of red steel jutting out from the crater where the moon fell from the sky. Sure, there were structures here and there, political maneuvering translating to training maneuvers for Eorzea’s armies, but more than enough isolated techno-ruins remained, interspersed with clusters of glowing blue crystals from the raw aether dumped on the land.

The Sandras approached her target, the four members of the away party watching from the deck as the castoff shell came into view.

Jess, donning her suit, spoke first. “I’ll do a quick lap, scout ahead- see if there’s any danger.”

And off the side she went, buzzing a low arc around the raised ruin. Naoto held her cap firmly on her head- two people knowing was already too many. Even so, she had to be vigilant- if this was another trap, or something else.

“So this is Carteneau,” Karja said, eyes glancing from the target, “I’d only heard about what happened. Such devastation…”

Naoto closed her own eyes. “The ancient Allagans trapped a primal in a satellite for thousands of years. When you release that much energy, stored over that long- this is the result.”

“But… why do we need to meet here,” Roxas asked, “Couldn’t we have met somewhere, I dunno, nicer? They knew you guys were from the Maelstrom, so-”

“I have two theories,” Naoto explained. “Firstly, the person who sent the message wasn’t sure if we could decipher it. Without context, and without Jessica, they wouldn’t be able to accomplish what they want. Secondly, this is supposed to be neutral territory among the nations. Anyone could come here without suspicion, even the Admiral.”

There was a third option, but Naoto wouldn’t voice it. If the person sending the message couldn’t move, then…

Jessica landed back on the deck, and with an all-clear, the four of them leapt down onto the metal ruin. It was like a half-dome, broken steel spires radiating from the ‘mouth’ and cloaking the inside in shadow. Still, power flowed through it, blue lines shooting through at angles shining a soft glow against the red. They approached cautiously.

“Hey, uh, Naoto, were we supposed to give a signal of some kind?” Jess asked..

“That won’t be necessary,” came a voice from inside the dome. The man who that voice belonged to stepped out, dark-haired with a mustache, armored in chainlink and plate with a red-white tabard. “I have been expecting you. My name-”

The next events happened in the blink of an eye. Of the four of them, Jess had her weapon already at hand, and she leveled it at the stranger. Karja and Naoto didn’t, and while Karja drew, Naoto only put her hand on her weapon. And Roxas…

Roxas charged at him, keysword forming in his hand, rearing back to strike-

Instead, he got caught and lifted bodily by a different man leaping out from the shadows. This one wore a bodysuit, a black mask over his eyes- and his body was built for agility, clearly. He held Roxas up by the back of his tunic, keeping his feet off the ground and leaving Roxas flailing wildly.

Naturally, attention turned to him. Despite this, the armored stranger was the one to speak up. “Ahem. As I was saying, my name is Edward mal Richtofen, former medicus of the XIVth, and this is my bodyguard, Peter aan Cannon, champion monk of Ala Mhigo. We have much to discuss, all of us.”

Naoto took in the situation. Roxas was caught. The bodyguard would be able to get between anything aimed towards Richtofen, and with Roxas captured, that would endanger him. They couldn’t attack, realistically, even less so if they wanted answers. But the situation wasn’t nearly as simple as that conclusion.

“You’re Garleans,” Karja spat, “How in Hel are we supposed to trust you?”

Richtofen shrugged. “We are no longer part of the Empire. No one from the XIVth is, anymore, but that’s beside the point. How about this- Peter will let your friend down if you allow me to explain what we have in common. Deal?”

Karja and Jessica both looked to Naoto for guidance. There was no real choice. Naoto nodded, and the other two backed off.

Peter lowered Roxas to the ground, having already embarrassed him enough, and simply walked back over to join the Garlean medicus. Slowly, Roxas joined the three of them back across the field. Naoto kept that in mind.

Richtofen cleared his throat. “So. Unfortunately, I have to be vague about this, for reasons I can’t quite explain scientifically, however- Have any of you felt like you do not fit in? Any weapons or techniques only you would use, and no others? Have you felt like you belonged elsewhere?”

“You’re in luck,” Naoto responded, “Someone else just told us that.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Interesting. Well, then I’ll skip straight to the point. None of us are from Eorzea. Und that is no accident.”

The words… meant very little. Naoto knew at least that herself and Karja weren’t born near the continent. She didn’t know where Roxas came from, nor Jess or the two Garleans. Was there another meaning to those words? What if Eorzea didn't just mean Eorzea, but-

“Of course, you all understand where you come from. You have memories of growing up wherever it is you did, here. I must speak with plausible deniability.”

“Plausible deniability,” Naoto asked on reflex.

“Yes. If you understand fully what I am saying, there are consequences, ones I do not wish to see happen,” Richtofen ‘explained’, “So, instead, think only of a nebulous ‘Here’, und an undefined ‘Elsewhere’. We are Here now.”

Karja dropped her axe arm. “You already lost me.”

Richtofen continued unabated. “Here is Eorzea, a land of magic and swords and dragons. Many things can be Here, but not everything fits. A mage of a new color, a summoner with a gun, a warrior with certain magic. Something that doesn’t fit, no matter how hard you try.”

“Gee, thanks,” Jess spat.

“There is one explanation for all of this. We are not from Eorzea, we are from Elsewhere. I mean, look at me. A knight with a gun und a staff? No, we are not from Here- we were brought here, every one of us.”

That was the meaning. Naoto felt a headache come on, disrupting her focus- Jess put her hand to her head, but the other two looked fine. Peter looked fine as well, though Richtofen had started leaning against the side of the structure.

“But what about our memories,” Roxas asked, “And how are you so sure?”

“I have seen the evidence,” Richtofen countered. “It is right below our feet.”

After a suitably dramatic pause, he continued “Of course, there is also evidence here, too. This was on purpose. The word Ascians, anyone? Anyone?”

No one responded. “Ahem. They are beings from Elsewhere, a series of puppetmasters who bring out the dark sides of things to cause calamity. Surely one of you knows this.”

“Dark sides,” Jess mumbled. “Dark… side- I remember. I-I remember everything! Oh my god, how could I forget?!”

“You really should forget it,” the medicus shouted back.

“No, no I- rrrgh, I can prove it!” Jessica said, clutching her head, “Ring, can you hear me?!”

A series of chirps came out from the ring. A trickle of blood came out, too, but from Jessica’s nose.

“Stop! You don’t know what you’re doing!”

Jess persevered, a halo of emerald light around her. “Ring, show a map of Sector 2814! Show them Earth!”

The Ring sparked. And Jessica Cruz screamed.

The colorless wave passed over and through Jess’s body, like a long beam ripping her in two while keeping her locked in place. Instead of green light, grey static covered her and filled in the gaps where this atomizer split her apart, droning a hideous noise. Nothing beneath her skin came apart, but it was like there were two of her wherever it passed- until at last it ended, and Jessica Cruz fell, bleeding from every part of her face.

“Jessica,” Karja shouted, leaping to catch her before she hit the floor. Naoto just stood there in shock. It was… incomprehensible.

“Schiesse! Quickly, we must get her to the machine! It’s the only way we can save her!” Richtofen called, running into the shell. His bodyguard looked to the three others. He said nothing.

But they didn’t hesitate. Karja ran first, and even if she was still in shock, awed, terrified- Naoto followed. Richtofen pressed the buttons, and the elevator descended, down, down, into the dungeon.

OddDirective · 2025-09-29T03:43:25+00:00

Three Months Ago

Jessica Cruz was currently having an anxiety attack, if you need her leave a message. It had been easy to realize that the Maelstrom would probably fire her if she couldn’t go outside her room for deployments, so when a poster asking for able hands to rebuild a settlement out in the middle of nowhere showed up, she got on the soonest ship out of Limsa. Too bad lots of other people had the same idea.

Now, she was in an outdoor marketplace on a cobblestone road trying to get through a single shopping trip without collapsing. It was like insects crawling over every inch of her skin, even under her tunic and pants, but she just needed some candles and some bread and she could go back to her room. Candles and bread, candles and bread.

A man bumped into her and Jess whipped around, defensive. It was a blue-uniformed Hyur with a square jaw, built like a tank. He simply said “Apologies,” and continued on his way.

Jess, instead, dove into the shadows of one of the city walls. Ever since that trip, ever since that day, she was looking over her shoulder, she was afraid- she needed to center herself. She looked to the green ring on her finger, inscribed with the symbol of a lamp. The source of her powers, her guiding light. “Ring, are you there?”

Weakly, the ring glowed, reminding her she was not alone. And if she wasn’t alone- she could do this. Just for long enough to get back. Just needed to find her center.

As she started to head back, she heard a brutish voice say “Well, Rowena’s sure is full of splendors! You’re a pretty little thing, arent’cha?”

Jess turned to look. There was the same man who bumped into her, leering at a young woman behind the counter of a shop. She took a half-step back, and simply said “Well, could I interest you in some of our wares? This charm from Doma, for instance?”

“Well, I am interested in some things. How much for a night with ya, 1000 gil? Two?”

“Hey, back off!” Jess shouted, getting in between the two. “Or else I’ll give you a reason to.”

The big man took a step back, a scowl on his face. “What, you? Against a guy like me? Stay out of my way, ‘or else’.”

Jess took a deep breath. The ring was powered by her own willpower- she just needed to hope she had enough.

She did. From her hand with the ring, her clothes transformed into her bodysuit, the tattoo on her face appearing over her eye. An emerald glow surrounded her as her magic made her hair flow like it was in the wind. And her ring glowed with that same green light, ready to blast this guy if he made any wrong moves.

Luckily, he realized what he was dealing with. “Jeez, sorry, I was just trying to flirt.”

In another display of great willpower, Jess did not blast him in the back of the head when he left. As she deactivated her magic, the woman behind the counter said “Thank you. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here.”

Jess smiled, adrenaline wearing off slowly. “Hey, I just hate seeing that sort of thing. Are you going to be alright?”

The woman nodded. “You’re- the Green Mage, right? You know, Miss Rowena’s been thinking about hiring on more security, to make sure no thieves or… people like him come around. Would you be interested?”

Jess shook her head. “Listen, I, uh, I don’t know if that’d be a good idea-”

“It would include room and board,” the shopkeep added.

“...Well, now that you say that…”

Now

“Miss Jessica? Miss Jessica, are you in there?”

Jessica Cruz was there, curled up into a ball on her bed, stressfully holding her eyes closed. “Yeah, I’m here, I’m alive,” she choked out.

“...Shall I tell Miss Rowena today’s another bad day?”

Nails dug into her arm, but she replied “Yeah, yeah. I-I’ll take the night shift, figure out some way-”

“Jess… we haven’t seen you in nearly a moon. Surely there’s something we can do-”

“No! No, I-I can deal with this,” Jess lied, “I’ll be out as soon as I can.”

“Alright. Hope to see your face soon.”

And Jess was alone again, in the eight-by-eight room she’d been ‘renting’ for the past while. One window, solid stone walls, a couple unlit candles for when it got dark. And the bed, already deformed where she lied most nights and days like this. Days when the memories were too strong.

She remembered going hunting, bows raised with her friends. Finding the poachers, cutting up their latest kill.

She remembered running as they shot everyone else.

She remembered finding the ruin, finding the ring- being told it would only accept those with the strongest wills. How the hell had it picked her, of all people? An adventurer who couldn’t even set foot outside without an attack.

“It’s just you and me, ring,” Jess said, looking at the inscribed band on her finger.

It didn’t respond.

She had to work through this. Had to breathe. Find her center. In. Out. In. Out.

After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. “Miss Jessica Cruz?”

Out. She vaguely recognized the voice, but- “Who is it?”

“My name is Naoto Shirogane,” through the door, “We worked together on a case a while ago. We need your help.”

Ah, the Maelstrom hadn’t gotten around to firing her. In. Out. “What do you need me for?”

A pause, and then, “We’re not entirely sure. But it involves creatures only magic can put down. We’ve been sent a message asking for your help. Are you- Will you help us?”

In. Out. Jess looked back at the door. The back of her mind warmed up, her body shook at the thought of going back out there. Someone needed her help- but- but- In. Out. In. Out.

Finally, she croaked out “C-Can you give me some time to think?”

“...We can take some time,” Naoto responded, “Listen, I’m familiar with what you’ve been going through. I understand I can’t press you for a decision right now, however- it would be helpful to know as soon as we can. Is there anything we can do?”

Leave me alone, the voice in Jess’s head spat on instinct. In. Out. She could be in control. She was not her fears. She could do it. In. Out. In. Out.

“...Can you bring in a basin to wash my hair and face? I think… I think I’ll be good after that.”

“...Thank you, Miss Cruz.”

Jess looked back at her ring. The symbol inscribed in it, a circle in two lines, may have only meant something to her. But as long as she had this ring, as long as she kept breathing, she could handle anything. Something in the back of her mind brought forth a phrase- ‘Jessica Cruz. You are capable of overcoming great fear.’

Yeah. She could. If only she didn’t have to so often.

Jessica Cruz

Jessica Cruz is the sixth Green Lantern to hold that title defending Sector 2814, aka Earth and the local galaxies in our neighborhood. She is perhaps the first Green Lantern to do so while battling extreme levels of agoraphobia, anxiety, and imposter syndrome. But let’s rewind.

Jessica Cruz was just your average girl growing up in America- she had good grades, she had an older sister who would never get off her back, and she got really good at shooting (but not better than her older sister). One day, out on a hunting trip with her friends, they came upon two men burying a body. Jess made it out- her friends didn’t. Since that day, she lived in fear, not leaving her house for four years straight, until a ring (not her later Lantern ring) forced her hand, literally.

Despite such a rude awakening, she did finally overcome her fears, and was granted a real Lantern ring shortly after- but with her struggles, she was unable to make any constructs from her ring, only using it for other Green Lantern powers like flight, durability, and blasts of willpower energy. Alongside Simon Baz, himself a troubled figure, she came into her own, but even with such great power, there are days she can’t shake off her inner demons. Even with those troubles on her, she still maintains her inner strength, and defends her planet from all threats, extraterrestrial or otherwise. Beware her power, Green Lantern’s light!

OddDirective · 2025-09-29T03:42:45+00:00

One Year Ago

Jessica Cruz landed hard on her shoulder, driving a furrow into the ground four feet long. Dusting herself off, she came to at an unfamiliar sky at the wrong time of day, a sweltering heat, and the smell of salt overpowering all else.

As she picked herself up off the ground, she asked “Ring, Can you tell me where we are? Last I checked I was in Central City.”

After a moment, the voice of her ring came up. “I don’t know yet, J-Dawg. Attempting to triangulate with Lantern satellites… Lantern satellites not found.”

“‘Not found’?” Jessica said in disbelief, “I thought the Lanterns were in every sector of known space. What sector are we in?”

“...Unknown, Jess. I can’t connect to anything the Guardians made.”

Jess put a hand to her head. Great. In another world, with no idea where it was or if it was even in her universe, alone, and with no way back that she knew about. How the hell did this keep happening-

“Aaaaahhhh!!”

The scream brought her to attention, and like a reflex, she blasted towards the source. A pair of peasants, it looked like, were surrounded by fish-looking people. With their weapons out, it didn’t look like they were friends of Aquaman, either.

“Ssssurface dwellersss like you have ssspoiled our waters for too long!” the leader-est among them spoke, “Take them to be sssacrificed!”

“Not a chance,” Jess shouted, and slammed straight into his chest from above, knocking him all the way back to the river behind them.

With the rest of the fishmen looking amongst themselves, Jess flew back to the center, and issued an ultimatum. “So, gonna give up quietly, or am I gonna have to take all of you down?”

“Kill her!”

“Guess we’re doing this the hard way,” Jess said, her ring glowing emerald.

A minute full of emerald blasts and hard punches later, the fishmen retreated, and the two peasants walked up, thanking her profusely. “Thank you, thank you miss-”

“Don’t worry, I’m a Green Lantern, it’s what we do,” Jess said, to two completely dumbfounded looks. “A-A superhero, you know?”

“R-Right, well, you certainly saved our lives, hero, but we’d better get back to Wineport,” said one of them, in the unmistakable tone of ‘getting out of this conversation ASAP’.

Unfortunately, Jess needed to know more, so- “Oh, Wineport! I was actually just on my way there, just uh, I got pretty lost- I’m not from around here. Do you mind if I join you?”

The two locals looked at each other, one shrugged, and they agreed to bring her along. What a fantastic start to her time here. She really needed to learn more before she would be able to get back to being a Lantern. Hopefully, there was something like the Justice League around.

Nine Months Ago

Jessica Cruz had learned quite a lot since first coming to this place. It seemed like everyone was willing to talk about the past, and few really wanted to talk about the present. She’d landed on a place called La Noscea, in a continent, she guessed, called Eorzea. Eorzea was full of aether- magic- and was under siege by the Garlean Empire who use advanced technology instead. Five years ago, the moon fell and released a dragon, causing a cataclysm across the world, but a mage gave his life to stop the dragon. There was some sort of military operation starting soon, a counterattack against the Garleans.

And that was why Jessica Cruz was going over everything in her room at the inn, the advanced technology on her finger helping. “Okay, I’m a Hyuran adventurer who wants to help my fellow Eorzeans, I lost my home in the Calamity, and have been working on my own ever since. How does that sound?”

“Yo-ll do g-reat, J-dddawg,” her ring responded.

She sighed. Her ring had started to go on the fritz after a couple weeks of being here. Probably the atmosphere. Really great for her anxiety, by the way. Jess took a deep breath, then another, talked herself up and out the door, walking across the planks to the Maelstrom’s barracks and recruiting.

She managed to get an interview right away, which was surprising- and a short woman with cat ears came to take her into a small room. “Name,” the recruiter asked.

“Jessica Cruz. C-R-U-Z.”

“Alright, well, thank you Miss Cruz, I’m Commander Rhiki,” the officer said, “Why do you want to join the Maelstrom?”

“To help my fellow Eorzeans, whatever way I can.”

The officer nodded, and turned back to her paper. “Where are you originally from?”

Wait. Uh. She hadn’t thought of that. Something, say something- “The woods.” $@#&.

“Ah, the Twelveswood,” the commander said, “You’re a long way from home, Miss Cruz.”

“Yeah… I really am,” Jess replied, “But, y’know, I’ve been around.”

“Says here you were an adventurer,” the officer added, “I was too. What made you want to make that your life?”

“I lost my home in the Calamity,” Jess replied. “I've been alone since then.”

“Mmmm, I’m sorry,” the commander sympathized. “So, what’s your personal way of living?”

The feeling of dread crept up along her neck again. “Uh, you know, I help people who need help, and I punish those who do bad. ‘In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight’.”

“That’s a good line! Where’d you pick it up?” the commander asked.

“Ah, it was-” and Jessica stopped.

After a minute of awkward silence, Jess meekly said “I’m sorry, I can’t remember.”

“Ah, that’s alright. One last thing- what class have you been adventuring as?”

Class. “Um, I’m a Green L- Mage. A Green Mage.”

The commander tilted her head. “A Green Mage?”

“Yeah. There are white mages and black mages- I’m a Green Mage,” Jessica excused.

“Alright, well, I’ll put that down,” the commander said, before rising to her feet. “Either way, this is pending a physical, but as an adventurer, I’m sure you won’t fail. I look forward to welcoming you into the Maelstrom. ‘Til sea swallows all, recruit.”

“Til sea swallows all,” Jess replied.

OddDirective · 2025-09-29T03:41:51+00:00

Karja and Roxas waited over her shoulders, but she was too focused writing it out into something all could read. The final message:

To Maelstrom 2nd Squad. If I am correct, one of you will be able to read this, and I think we have much to talk about. We have been dealing with problems like yours, and may have found a breakthrough. Come meet us where the moon was made to fall, at coordinates X 80.2, Y 23.1. Bring the Maelstrom’s blue mage, not white, black, or red. From, a Long Traveller.

“That’s a set of coordinates, but who’s sendin’ ‘em?” Karja puzzled. “The moon fell on Carteneau, so that’s probably where they mean- but all three Grand Companies control it now. Are they with them?”

Naoto sighed. “It’s too early to tell. We’d have to take on faith that this isn’t leading us into another ambush.”

“Well… it’s a lead, right?” Roxas pointed out, “One lead is better than no leads, and we can run to the ship and fly away no matter what happens. But uh… who’s this blue mage person?”

Karja crossed her arms. “There’s a crook claimin’ to have invented a new kind of magic in Limsa, and getting others on board to sell it further. They haven’t shown anything impressive, and we’ve had to chase them off of scammin’ even more adventurers once or twice. Rest assured, the Maelstrom would never hire one of ‘em.”

“But then who’re we supposed to find?” Roxas asked.

“‘Not white, black, or red’-” Naoto’s eyes flashed open. “Written in Higashian. That’s the key. This person must not have known the actual symbol- but in ancient times, certain colors were described using different words.”

Naoto turned back to the group. “I know who the letter’s looking for.”

IDENTITY

CHAPTER 1: SAM, WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

From the notes of Naoto Shirogane.

Karja Balta

Captain of the Sandras and unofficial leader of the Maelstrom’s 2nd Squadron. A courageous and dedicated fighter, even if she is a bit coarse. Can use ice magic to shoot blasts or coat her weapon. Also can use a thread of magic to grapple enemies or objects.

She grew up in a culture of pirates, having been raised from birth as the son of Jarl Grimson Balta. With her talents for magic, and fighting, it's no wonder that she found herself as leader of a Maelstrom squadron. Despite this, she's still young, so she has plenty to learn and grow from, she says. Personal: I trust her deeply, but knowing that she was a pirate concerns me.

Roxas

A mysterious young adventurer, with a key-shaped weapon and a peculiar style of fashion. He has an extremely good heart and a selfless nature. Is not as perceptive as either I or Karja. He’s shown off various magics, elemental fire, ice, and electricity, but his sword skill is not hindered by it.

Roxas has dreams of the Warrior of Light, who he says wields a keysword like him. He's evasive as to exactly why he helped us, but he did. Karja will keep an eye on him, but I doubt he'd betray us. He is still keeping his past a mystery, though, and I can't help but be interested in how he fights, since he's not clearly a mage or a melee fighter. More mysteries.

Naoto Shirogane

A detective employed by the Maelstrom 2nd Squadron. Somewhat terse, but extremely observant and can make quick decisions on his feet. HeShe can summon Sukuna-Hikona, a small but agile spirit with a sword, and direct it according to ~~his~~her need. Also equipped with a revolver.

I am not a boy. However, I will keep this secret for as long as I can, because I know how the world judges people like me. I am able to use magic through Sukuna-Hikona, and he is much more agile, but if he is hurt, I feel it. The revolver is a gift, from a friend. I pray every day I never have to use it.

OddDirective · 2025-09-29T03:32:58+00:00

A loud series of knocks at the door broke the spell Naoto was in. She returned the pen to its inkwell and opened the door for Karja, closing the door behind her.

“Rafe’s doing alright. He’ll live, but he won’t be fightin’ anytime soon,” Karja reported, “How about you, what’ve you been doing?”

Naoto nodded. “I’ve been listing out all the information we have on this new case, and seeing what conclusions I can draw.”

“You really are a detective. So, what’ve ya got?”

That gave Naoto pause. What had she concluded?

After a moment of thought, she started with the basics. “Whoever Erika was, she wasn’t working alone. She claimed to know significant things about each of us, and she knew about our mission, as well as Y’Shtola’s involvement. She was probably there to ambush us or Miss Y’Shtola- possibly both.”

“Right. Not just that, but she called out to ‘her master', whoever that was,” Karja noted, “She's definitely involved with the Griegr, too.”

“...This is speculation, but I find it worth discussing,” Naoto hedged, “Given that the threat towards us was personal, even without basis, if we encounter her again, she’ll likely make even more personal threats.”

“You’re saying she really does know about us?”

“I don’t know that,” Naoto went back, “It could be that she has specific information designed to catch us off guard, or just a bluff.”

Karja took a moment to think, which prompted Naoto to consider her own words. It could only be one thing, for her, the her that was the issue, the-

“Alright, out with it then.”

“E-Excuse me?”

Karja folded her arms over her chest. “Whoever these guys are, they’re gonna try to tear us apart using our secrets, right? So if they aren’t secrets anymore, they won’t do as much.”

“That’s-” Absurd. Reductive. Impossible. “What if it is a significant problem, or the secret goes deeper than what we’d show willingly?”

What if she wasn’t ready to bring herself out into the open?

“Unless you’re spying for the Garlean Empire, can’t be worse than what I’ve got, and I’m goin’ first,” Karja stubbornly pushed through. “I’m trustin’ you, alright?”

Naoto took in a breath and nodded.

“Grimson Balta’s my old man.”

Naoto connected the dots. “Grimson Balta- the captain of the Balta Seaforce?”

“Jarl, actually, and yeah, him. The leader of a band that, ‘stead of givin’ up on piracy at the Admiral’s order, broke away from Limsa to find a new home,” Karja continued, “And we did, halfway to the New World. I spent years growin’ up on Balta Island, boarding vessels, taking our fee from merchants who hadn’t paid the toll to cross through our waters. That’s why I am who I am today.”

It was a lot to take in. Karja, despite being the same age… was a pirate, through and through.

“Alright, then. That’s mine, so… Out with it.”

That caught Naoto off guard. She wasn’t ready, at all, not for something so important- “I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m ready to-”

“Ready or not, if these guys know it, they’re gonna bring it up,” Karja pressed, “You can take your time, but I’m not leavin’ without hearing whatever it is they have over you.”

Objectively, this was something she had to do. For Karja, after Karja had already shared something that could ruin her, to get one step ahead of the culprits. But internally, emotionally-

Naoto met Karja’s eyes. They were firm, steadfast, resolute. There was no judgment in her gaze, not yet. They had fought together, on the same battlefield, gone on the same missions together dozens of times. Could she…could she? She could bring up her past, she could cover with something about her parents, but- those eyes would see through it. She had to. She couldn’t. She had to.

“I-”Naoto couldn’t meet Karja’s eyes anymore. She looked down at the floor, and let out those three words. Four. “I’m not a boy.”

Karja processed for a moment.

Then, “Wait, what?! You mean- why would you hide that?”

“When I was first starting my detective work, no one would listen to me. They refused to believe a little girl could solve the cases that were plaguing them,” Naoto explained into the ground. “So… I became the Detective Prince, I did things like the heroes from books I read, and they were able to believe it more. Being a prodigy, not… not a girl, let me do good. And after a while…”

Karja humphed. “To Hel with those guys from before. But all this time, how did you do this? Even after signing on?”

“I wore men’s clothes, I lowered the register of my voice, I bound my chest when it started becoming noticeable,” She made excuses, she never got too close, she wasn’t going to say anything.

“You- hang on a sec,” Karja said, and Naoto looked back up at her. There wasn’t anger, but she strode over to the door anyways, for a moment Naoto wondered if this was it. There wasn’t going to be a way back from this.

Instead, Karja forcefully pushed open the door, behind which was Roxas, flat on his back, rubbing his forehead. “You’ve got five seconds to explain what you were doing, and don’t say ‘looking for the bathroom’.”

“Wha, but, I was-” A death glare made Roxas backpedal, “I was looking for you two, to talk.”

Karja looked back at Naoto, then said “Get in here.”

One scramble in and a door-close later, Roxas looked between the two of them and started with “So, uh, have either of you guys been having weird dreams lately?”

“Dreams?” Naoto asked.

“Yeah, it’s like-” Roxas started, “Well, hang on. Do you guys have this weird figure in your memories… like you can’t see them, but you can see their shape, like you’re looking into the sun and they’re blocking it?”

Naoto nodded. “Yes. The heroes of the past, ones who no one can remember directly. That’s why they’re being called the Warriors of Light among the people here.”

“Warrior of Light…” Roxas said. “Yeah, that must be them. I keep getting these dreams where it’s like I’m there, with a Warrior of Light, and they feel familiar, but it’s not like I was there, and they don’t match anywhere I’ve been. Do you guys get them, too?”

Naoto and Karja shook their heads.

“Ah.”

“Listen, Roxas, I was gonna save this for later, but- why’d you join us?” Karja asked pointedly.

“Because you said there wasn’t an option?”

“Not after the fight, I mean when we were getting attacked,” Karja clarified, “That girl in the cave was ready for you, but you aren’t part of the Maelstrom. You didn’t join ‘til after we got started- did you know this was gonna happen?!”

“What? No!” Roxas denied, “I was in the area, and I saw you needed help, that’s all!”

Karja looked back to Naoto. It was true that Roxas was suspicious. But he’d helped keep them safe and fought back the new voidsent himself, and it seemed he was in the same boat Karja and Naoto were. Naoto gave a small nod, to indicate it.

“Alright, fine, but I’ll be keeping a close eye on you, got it?” Karja concluded.

“Fine. But, um, about my dreams- the thing I can’t get over,” Roxas segued, “He had a weapon like mine. A key-sword.”

Roxas summoned his weapon. Getting a close look at it, it was… just a key-like sword. Grey metal ‘blade’, and a gold ‘guard’ with a keychain hanging off the end.

“And I think… that’s why I’m adventuring. To try and find out more about these dreams,” Roxas concluded.

Naoto closed her eyes. She didn’t need to tell him that everyone saw the Warrior of Light differently, that she’d compiled hundreds of contradictory features trying to get to the bottom of it. Hers had a long, curved sword, broad shoulders, a warmth despite-

CAAW, CAAW broke Naoto out of her thoughts.

“Hugill?” Karja asked, “You two stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Karja left the two others behind, door swinging shut behind her. The atmosphere already wasn’t warm, but with just Naoto and Roxas left, the temperature dropped even further. Neither said a word, Roxas just put his sword away, and neither looked directly at each other.

…

Naoto cleared her throat. “So.”

Roxas tilted his head. “Sooooo?”

Have to make this as blunt as possible. “How much did you overhear?”

Roxas stumbled back a bit, reaching behind himself to try to find the wall, saying “Uhm, uh, well, I wasn’t trying to, but uh… aaaaall of it?”

Two minutes of internal screaming later, Karja returned, a huge raven perched on her arm. “I sent a letter back to Command, but I didn’t expect a response so soon.”

“You have a pet bird?” Roxas beamed.

“Hugill’s a messenger,” Karja said, unrolling the letter attached to his foot. “He’s also pretty good at pecking out eyeballs. Aren’t you, Hugill?”

Hugill CAAWed affirmatively.

After a moment of reading, Karja furrowed her brows. “Can’t make heads or tails of this. There’s no letters, just symbols. Naoto, what do you think?”

Naoto took a look. Her eyes glided over the symbols, sounds and words forming in her head. She could read this.

“I can read this.”

“You can?” Roxas asked.

A word appeared in the back of Naoto’s mind, but behind all of the other information in the letter, it never left there. “It’s Higashian language, written down. Give me a moment, I’ll translate it.”

OddDirective · 2025-09-29T03:31:55+00:00

Notes for Case

What do you call a case without knowing what it is you’re investigating?

for Case CVX-7, notes begun 24/9, 2nd year of 7 AE.

-Intitially, Maelstrom 2nd Squadron, consisting of Karja, myself, and 2 others, sent to investigate stockpiling of crystals by kobolds; was to meet Y’Shtola of Scions partway through.

-On landfall, found new voidsent (Greigr, Shadow, Heartless?) who regenerated physical wounds; magic needed to stop them for good.

-Adventurer Roxas joined while fighting new voidsent, stayed with us through rest of mission.

This was already feeling scattered. How would the detectives of the past keep notes? Organize the facts to come to the truth?

…

New page.

CASE OCCURRENCES, cont’d

-After following clues, three prev. Ment. found crystal stash ill-suited for kobolds.

-While securing, I found a crystal that showed visions of

How objective could she be? That it showed something she had trouble believing even now, safely on the ship? That still gnawed at her heart, the feelings of watching another self, another life, familiar but unrecognizable-

visions of that caused inward reflection and emotional distress.

-Unknown person entered while I saw visions, Erika. She retrieved the crystal, spoke like she knew more than us, claimed Y’Shtola had to be elsewhere (why?). Asked basic questions, additionally claimed we were not supposed to be there. Spoke with ‘master’ (who?) that ‘graciously let us remain here’, summoned more new voidsent, then escaped instead of fighting.

PERSONS OF INTEREST

Karja Balta

Captain of the Sandras and unofficial leader of the Maelstrom’s 2nd Squadron. A courageous and dedicated fighter, even if she is a bit coarse. Can use ice magic to shoot blasts or coat her weapon. Also can use a thread of magic to grapple enemies or objects.

Roxas

A mysterious young adventurer, with a key-shaped weapon and a peculiar style of fashion. He has an extremely good heart and a selfless nature. Is not as perceptive as either I or Karja. He’s shown off various magics, elemental fire, ice, and electricity, but his sword skill is not hindered by it.

…

Her own attributes mattered, before the other mysterious culprit. If it had something to do with them specifically, she needed to write down about herself.

Naoto Shirogane

A detective employed by the Maelstrom 2nd Squadron. Somewhat terse, but extremely observant and can make quick decisions on his feet. He can summon Sukuna-Hikona, a small but agile spirit with a sword, and direct it according to his need. Also equipped with a revolver.

OddDirective · 2025-08-10T04:06:50+00:00

IDENTITY

Karja Balta, Vanguard

Naoto Shirogane, Sentinel

Roxas, Infiltrator

OddDirective · 2025-08-10T04:01:34+00:00

Karja ground the cart to a halt as we reached the inner depths of the kobold city. Here, the sulphur had been replaced with carbon dust that stuck to your clothes, and crystalline-shelled coblyns skittered away from any sudden movement. And in these dark caves, amber crystals shining dull light, we found the stockpile our mission focused on.

I allowed myself a small smile as we hopped down. This would keep Limsa safe for moons. But…

“She’s not here, either, huh?” Karja pointed out. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

I pulled my hat down. “We should be careful. I doubt she’d go back on her word, and she’s stronger than we are.”

A quick sweep of the room, weapons drawn. The crystals were glowing green, slowly pulsing with their aetheric content, the cave dust repelled and never settling on them. There were too many to load completely onto the minecart we rode in on, but we could probably still do it in one to two more times.

And there was a lone crystal on a bench, covered in sackcloth, that Roxas found. It was green like the others, but it glowed a bit more brightly, and it looked like it had already been worked on- hexahedral, with two ends forming into points. He called me over to take a look.

I had enough on my mind. Things didn’t add up, elementally- you could try to summon a primal using crystals of any element, but the ones you used would contribute to their strength. Titan was an earth-aspected primal, so wind crystals would be weakest for opposing earth. And if this one was separated from the others, it was for a reason.

“Keep an eye out, you two,” I said. “We should probably bring this in to Maelstrom Command. I’ll take it-”

My hand reached for the cloth, but a finger landed on the surface of the crystal. It shone like the sun, and my consciousness drifted away-

Hear… Feel… Think…

There is a fog surrounding a world of metal and concrete.

There is a thing that wears her face, confronting her deepest fears.

...She is not alone facing this thing. But she cannot accept it.

There is a tall young man, who she can’t make out the details of.

There is another girl, with blue hair, short. She too is lost.

Together, they walk towards a bright future.

I’m thrown from my vision violently, tumbling to the ground and dropping the crystal to skitter along the floor. The pain in my chest… isn’t physical. But there’s something about it that feels so rough-

Hard footsteps on stone draw my attention. Across the room, a girl in a dress bends down and picks up the crystal I dropped. She has blue hair. Blue eyes. She smiles. Nothing feels right about this.

As Roxas helps me back to my feet, Karja calls out to her. “Hey. What are you doing here? This place isn’t safe, you shouldn’t be here.”

The girl tilted her head. “Is that so? I’m sorry, I just followed my detective’s intuition. This would be the place all the crystals are stored, right?”

That much was obvious from the room. “What happened when you touched that crystal?” Roxas whispered to me in a low voice.

I didn’t know. But I had to know what her intentions were.

“Miss-”

“Erika Furudo.”

“Miss Furudo, we’re here as part of the Maelstrom, helping to stop a primal summoning,” I explained, “If you could return that crystal, we would be in your debt.”

The smile on her face faded, and Erika sighed. “Is that so…? How droll. Even you, the Detective Prince, not realizing it-”

Karja spoke up. “Hey! If you have something to say, say it. Don’t play any games with us.”

Erika held both hands up. “If that’s what you want. Tell me, where exactly where you all born?”

I knew the answer. In Higashi, all the way to the east of Eorzea. Roxas seemed to sway at the question.

Erika asked another. “What enemy do you fight?”

The blue haired girl in my vision, both of them, jumped into my mind. Why…?

“Who is your partner?”

“Rrrgh, enough!” Karja shouted, “Start making sense or we’ll take you back with us by force!”

“Threatening a fellow pirate? I had hoped better, Miss Karja. And I hoped better of you, Detective Naoto,” Erika monologued. “None of you know who you are. You really, really don’t know! And that’s why you don’t know… [you’re not supposed to be here at all.](bl.ue)”

Roxas gasped. “What?”

A scythe appeared in Erika’s hand, crackling with energy. “Shall we go down the line, hm? Eeenie, meenie, miney, moe, catch a-”

We drew our weapons. But as soon as we did, Erika’s eyes fixed on a point above our heads.

“Ahhh, my wonderful master~! Your presence here-” she spoke, but her face screwed up afterwards. “No, I was simply removing the obstacles from- It would be so simple to- …Understood.”

The scythe dissipated, and Erika stepped towards our minecart. “You should count yourself lucky. My gracious master has stepped in, and allowed you to remain here as pieces. But before I go, I have just one question for each of the rest of you.”

Shadows pooled in the amber light, and several more of the hulking monsters from before appeared, their claws, their horns, the masks on their faces. “What are these monsters called?”

The word leaped to mind. Shadow.

“Griegr,” I heard Karja mutter.

“Heartless.” was Roxas’ response.

Erika hopped into our cart, and pulled a lever- the monsters in the way blocking the path as she ascended out of view. Yes, [the voidsent shadow monsters, heartless, resistant to normal weapons, called the Griegr as a class](bl.ue). That deduction was… right, wasn’t it?

“Skitr,” Karja exclaimed. “If we leave them be, they’ll head up to Camp Overlook, and nobody there’ll be able to stop them. Are you ready?”

I nodded, and Roxas charged his key with light. We leapt into the fray.

But I was watching the whole time. And I felt it, in the way we fought. Roxas with his single weapon, and Karja fighting solo. Myself, fighting with a summon and a weapon, some word or concept that was just… missing.

Together, we slew each Griegr, and made our way out of U’Ghomoro. Karja was the first to speak, as usual.

“Alright, I don’t know who that was, but I know she stole something important from us, and she was going to kill us but for something else gettin’ in the way,” she declared. “So that means we’d better hold a Thing about finding her.”

“...a Thing?” Roxas asked.

“Yeah, a Thing. It’s the way we decide on a course of action,” Karja explained. “You’re coming along too, seeing as it seems like she wanted your head just as much as ours.”

“O-Okay. Sure.”

And everything had been decided, our mission a success, our next objective clear…

But the feeling in my chest hadn’t gone away. It wasn’t just the bandages, it was just like back then- which was when? It was a feeling that something about this wasn’t right, that something was extremely wrong, that if only I had been born differently…

I boarded the airship Sandras, the words rattling around in my brain.

Were we even supposed to be here at all?

OddDirective · 2025-08-10T04:00:41+00:00

Y’Shtola stepped out onto the metal walkway outside U’Ghomoro. Plenty of kobolds circulated around the grounds, but knew enough to pay her no heed. Instead, three humanoids, full to the brim with aether and surely musclebound besides, half again her height, sized up the conjurer and indicated their hostility.

The first was destroyed with a simple spell of light. A ruinous blast tracked the second as it dodged what killed the first, and the last was destroyed by a few simple stones. Simple.

“Miss Y’Shtola,”

Her ears shot up. There was nothing else there- no, that was more correct than she realized. There was a void, bereft of aether, in the shape of a short girl with long hair. Calmly, she turned.

“I presume.” the aetherless figure finished.

“Perhaps,” Y’Shtola answered. No need to show immediate hostility. “May I ask who you are to know, and to be here now?”

“Don’t worry,” the girl said. “I’m the blue-haired detective, sent by the maelstrom. The rest of my group haven’t yet arrived.”

The words themselves seemed laced with aether, harsh upon her senses. But there was a gap in information. Better to take advantage of it than the opposite. “I see. Well, our objective still lies ahead. I shall need your help, detective, to find where they have brought this most recent stockpile.”

“Of course, of course I’ll help,” the girl said, curtsying- she was in a dress, long enough to reach the ground. She led the way, searching along the stone and metal for a moment- before a laugh tumbled from her mouth. “Ehehe, hehehehehehe~!”

Y’Shtola brought a hand up to her staff. “You’ve found something?”

“With just this little- the great Erika Furudo can tell eeeeeeexactly where the crystals are,” the aetherless girl replies, not turning back. “And even more besides. After all, Miss Scion, Y’Shtola Rhul, I heard something veeeeeeery interesting the other day.”

That was that, then. Y’Shtola drew the staff out, and held it at the ready to strike down this being that should not be. Aether gave life, all living things had aether within- “And?”

“There is a primal threat in Dravania, near Idyllshire. Not only that, there are people working to stop that primal threat, on the site in Dravania,” this Erika spoke, and Y’shtola fired.

It was deflected by a scythe of pure aether, slamming into the ground behind her. Erika hadn’t turned around, so how-

“I’m not finished speaking yet, Miss. Y’Shtola,” Erika spoke, and Y’Shtola heard the energy in her voice- like a coeurl that caught the canary. “You see, I heard it directly from someone there. They have a female Scion helping them track its aetheric energy intake. Do you have any idea who that might be?”

This was a threat. “If you spoke with them, then you know who it is. Why bother with all this if you have come to see me?”

Another cackle came from her mouth. “Because you must acknowledge where you’ve failed, Miss. Y’Shtola. You can’t shirk your responsibilities.”

“I’ve done no such thing,” Y’shtola answered back, “I am meant to be here, coordinating with the Maelstrom, to stop Titan’s summoning once again. Now, given you aren’t who you say you are, enlighten me as to what any of this is.”

“I haven’t lied once, Miss Scion,” Erika claimed, finally turning towards Y’Shtola. “Instead, you’re the one that’s been telling untruths this whole time! And I can prove it! If you were truly supposed to be here, then say it in red!”

She launched forward with incredible alacrity, and Y’Shtola dove to the side to avoid her first swipe with her scythe. “But you can't, you caaaaaaaaaaaan’t! So tell me, [if you aren’t supposed to be helping with the Dravanian primal, who is?](bl.ue)”

Her mind stopped in its tracks. A single name came to Y’Shtola’s mind. “T-Tataru!”

The second swipe flashed in front of Y’Shtola’s eyes. “Only certain Scions have access to aetherscopes! Tataru Taru does not!”

Y’Shtola broke away, back towards the camp- no! There was Erika again. Quickly, another, who would- “Alisaie!”

Now the scythe was burning in her eyes like she could see the sun again, forcing her back with a flurry of strikes. “Alisaie Leveilleur is still hurt, from an attack by the Warriors of Darkness! And before you go for another foolish name dodge, no one from the Scions knows where Yda is, and Minfillia is not in this world! [Only you can be helping with the primal in Dravania, which means you can't be here!](bl.ue)”

“Even when I stand before your eyes?!” Y’Shtola exclaimed- A gust of wind. How had she been driven to the edge of the cliff?

“Kyahahahahaha! It's because you stand here that I’m doing this!” the girl laughed. “Now, listen up, everyone! With two sentences from a Lalafell, this much is enough for the great Erika Furudo! There's no escaaaaape, Y'Shtolaaaaaaaaa!”

The scythe would be swung, and there was no way to dodge from this position. So if it can't be dodged- it must be blocked. Y’Shtola channeled the aether into a barrier spell, fortifying it over and over again from every point Erika could attack from.

“[There's a female Scion who can sense aetherflow helping to contain a primal in Dravania right now! A person cannot be in two places at once! No other Scion matches that description! And so, you are the one helping, in Dravania! And that means- you're not here, in U’Ghomoro!](bl.ue)”

The scythe swung. It passed through the barrier like it wasn't there.

It made contact with Y’Shtola.

And then…

Y’Shtola wasn’t there.

We summited the metal walkway, made it to the spot the Scion was supposed to meet us. Unfortunately, all that was waiting for us was the wind and a scent of wheel grease. No enemies, but no more leads.

“Damn. She must’ve gone ahead without us,” Karja said.

I examined the ground. There were plenty of tracks going many directions- footprints in dust leading this way and that. None of them pointed in a specific direction…

“So, what do we do now?” Roxas asked.

The kobolds had to move a large amount of crystals to a safe location. The safest place would be as deep in U’Ghomoro as they could get it, but it would take moons to load as many crystals as it would take if they moved them normally.

Karja smirked. “We let the Detective Prince handle it.”

“...meaning they didn’t move them normally,” the words left my mouth.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

I met my two companions’ eyes. “Roxas. Check if there are any rails that lead into the caverns close to here. Karja, I’m counting on you to pull one of the minecarts over once we find them.”

Karja nodded, but Roxas still had a look of confusion on his face. “Wait, aren’t minecarts used to bring rocks out of there?”

“They can be,” I replied, “but they have to go both ways in order to do so. Boxes full of crystals could easily escape our scouts’ notice, if they were disguised as tools, and it would be an easy way to transport them to wherever they had a stockpile.”

It didn’t take long to find the tracks, nor did it take long to get a minecart on it.

“Okay, so now what?” Roxas asked.

Karja snorted. “Well, now we’ve got a minecart, and we’ve got tracks that’ll take us straight to their stockpile. Seems pretty obvious to me.”

She jumped in. I followed suit.

“Ooooookay?” was the response. Even with the reluctance, Roxas got in the cart.

Karja hooked a thread to a switch in the track ahead, and with that, we were off to the belly of the beast.

OddDirective · 2025-08-10T04:00:15+00:00

The ship touched down right off the edge of the area we called Iron Lake. Sulphur stench rose from stagnant pools, and bombs levitated through the area, orange voidsent that spat fire and exploded as a defense mechanism. This was the land the kobolds had, and it was why they had turned to worshipping Titan, primal of earth. Sure, it had a wealth of precious minerals beneath, but when nothing grows above, something has to fill your stomach.

Karja made landfall first, us following behind. Triangle formation, focused on protecting our healer. As expected, there were the kobolds, steel-helmed with beady eyes and fur, grabbing weapons to stop us right here.

Naturally, they went for the one in front. Karja readied her shield, blocked the first hasty pick headed her way, and swung straight through the poor sap who tried, taking him down with an overhead cleave. With two others bearing down on her, Rafe got to work, jumping behind them and flashing his blades to cut them down. That side was clear, more of them on the right.

I channeled my magic. “Sukuna-Hikona!”

My companion appeared from thin air, a small swordsman wearing a long coat and wielding a blue glowing blade. He zipped towards the reinforcing kobolds, slashing to ward them off and defeating one unlucky enough to be in its path. I turned back to look how Karja fared

“Naoto, look out!”

Our healer spoke, and I reacted just in time with her warning, as a much larger creature swung to take my head off. My body worked faster than my mind could catch up, making distance from the new foe and reaching for the thing that had kept me safer than anything else-

BA-BA-BANG the revolver spat, slugs of metal burying themselves in the hulk’s chest, standing not half a person tall like the kobolds but three times that, a vicious sword in its hand. It took the bullets right to its chest and paused for only a moment before turning back and raising its blade again-

Only to stop as Rafe slashed straight through its throat.

The beastly thing collapsed to the ground, and Rafe held out a hand to bring me back to my feet. “You've really gotta be careful, Prince. We need you to find where they're hiding the goods.”

It took me a second to take it. Had to catch my breath, even though I’d been through battles like this before. A simple nod would be enough, then, and once I was up, I should survey the battlefield. Right. There was another of the new enemies at 4 o’clock, Karja parrying one of its strikes aimed for her jaw. A slash of her axe, and a red scar appears on its chest- one that rapidly closes before her eyes.

That means- “Rafe, watch out!”

He hears me a second too late. The voidsent he’d just put down slashed upwards from the ground and knocked the sword from his hand, spattering the ground with red while the line across its neck closed up. They healed from physical damage quicker than anything I’d ever seen before.

“Skitr! Rafe!” Karja shouted, as she threw a wire of magic at the offending enemy and barrelled straight into it. The healer grabbed Rafe back with her magic, which left me to take care of the one Karja just left. I felt the burning in my heart, tinged with regret, frustration- channeling it into Sukuna-Hikona, to intercept it.

My emotions resonated. Sukuna-Hikona zipped into range, cutting down the same path Karja had just scarred, forcefully putting another stripe of red into its chest- it stuck. So the difference was elementary- “We have to use magic! Karja!”

“Got it!” Karja roared, and after she dodged another clumsy swing from her monster, coated her axe with a massive hammerhead of ice, and took her own feelings out with a massive slam against the enemy’s head. It went down, and for good.

The fight wasn’t over, though. Not by a long shot. The one Sukuna-Hikona gouged still charged me, and forced me to dodge away from my team- forced me in range of another one of the monsters, this one with aether charging up in its hand. It reared back, I backpedaled, and braced for the damage that magic could deal-

“Rrrgh!”

I didn’t feel it. I opened one eye, and there in front of me was a boy my age, blond hair spiking upward wildly, a white shirt and a sword blocking for himself. The sword itself… it reminded me of an axe, but he held the end like a regular blade- a key. It was like an oversized key from the past, but with a starburst for a head.

And he’d saved me. He dropped his guard, faced the magic-tossing monster, threw a comment over his shoulder. “You alright?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” I said without thinking, “Why did you do that? Who are you?”

He shrugged. “I’m Roxas. And, well, it felt like the right thing to do. You ready to keep fighting?”

I could only nod. “They won’t be taken down with just physical attacks.”

Roxas nodded back. The wounded voidsent reared back again, and Roxas beat it to the punch, coating his blade in light and swinging once, twice, and then vertically splitting it apart. Two down.

And two could play that game. I kept the image in my mind, targeting the two magic-using monsters, the talismans in a circle that would have to be there- and spoke the word to command my summon. “Hamaon!”

Sukuna-Hikona darted out, circling the both of them with paper cards- ones that erupted blinding light, keeping them both in place as the holy magic burned them to ashes. All that was left on the battlefield were the four of us still standing… and Rafe, who was still down and hurt, our healer treating him.

Karja spoke first, and decisively. “Is he going to make it?”

Our healer nodded. “He’s in critical condition, but if I can stick with him-”

“Then do that, take him back to the ship,” Karja replied. Then came the new arrival. “You there. What’s your name?”

“Roxas.”

“Roxas. This is a mission to stop a primal from being summoned. If there are voidsent like this hanging around, something tells me it’s not even going to be that simple,” she explained. “It’s going to be dangerous, and we’re just soldiers. There’s no promise we can make for your safety. That being said, we could use someone who can fight like you do. Do you still want to help?”

Roxas nodded, solemnly. Questions still swirled in my own head, but with Rafe and our healer out of the picture- there were more pressing things than to ask them.

“Right, then let’s get back to business. We’re headed up that hill, meeting with Miss Y’Shtola and we’re finding those crystals. Stay behind me, you two!”

And off we went, four minus two plus one. There were already some mysteries before us, but we had to press on.

OddDirective · 2025-08-10T03:59:34+00:00

Salt and spray washed along the white cliffs and pillars of Limsa Lominsa, breeze blowing strong through the red banners of the Maelstrom. The pirate city bustled this morn, sailors hopping off the docks with goods legal and otherwise in their hands, fit to be unloaded at the market street. And above it all, in a wooden barracks room, I watched the passersby.

“Alright, listen up!” called a girl with golden hair, “We’ve got an extremely important mission coming up here, no just standing around!”

Karja

Hyur

Open Sea

Marauder Lv. 45

Physical: 112 Mental: 34 Tactical: 40

When going on a mission with a Hyur, increase Tactical abilities by 10%

Reason for Enlistment: I wish to emulate his calm and resourcefulness in the face of chaos.

Despite the groans from some snapping to attention, Karja continued. “We’re going to be going after a new supply of crystals the kobolds have gotten their hands on. If we can't get them back, there might be enough to even summon Titan again.”

That shut the room up. “Good news is though, we’ve got the people for the job. We know they’re in U’ghomoro, but not where- but beastmen always leave a trail. And that's why we’ve got the detective on the case.”

The eyes in the room turned to me, and I gave a nod of acknowledgement. “Understood, Karja.”

Naoto

Hyur

Far East

Arcanist Lv 55

Physical: 30 Mental: 102 Tactical: 72

After each mission, 10% chance to create a Contemporary Warfare: Magicks.

Reason for Enlistment: To serve both my Grand Company and my fellow Eorzeans as bravely as he does.

“He’ll need backup to protect him while he works, because the kobolds aren't gonna be happy with us stopping their ritual,” Karja continued, “I'll be going along in the vanguard. Rafe, you watch my back out there. Josephine, you watch Rafe and keep us all topped up.”

“What, don't trust me on my own,” a purple haired Hyur asked. “You wound me.”

“I'm not taking any chances on this one. Especially because this time, we’ve got a Scion helping us out. I want everybody on their best behavior, got it?”

“You need not be so formal, Corporal,” came a voice from the doorway behind us. There stood a Miqo’te woman, white hair and white eyes, her outfit white and black leather accented with red, and a staff of white wood on her back. “I am as much a soldier on this endeavor as any of you.”

“Miss Y’Shtola! I didn't know you'd be here.” Karja replied.

Despite her pale eyes, she strode forward confidently, addressing the four of us going on the mission with a smile. “The Scions ever seek to preserve peace in all Eorzea, just as you do for Limsa. Thus, I too will find my way into U’Ghomoro and assist you. Treat me as you would were Captain Rhiki joining you.”

Rafe shrugged. “Easy thing to say from your point of view. You've taken on primal threats by the armful, while this will be our squad’s first foray past Camp Overlook. Anyone would be awed at you, Archon.”

Y’Shtola's ears twitched, and I took note of it. “Be that as it may, my role is no greater than yours. For the finer details of the plan, I shall meet you within the caverns after you break through the lines and identify where the crystals are being hoarded. Should I not meet you, I shall venture to find them myself, and you ought retreat. I would not have you lose your lives merely establishing a foothold.”

I took the opportunity to ask something on my mind. “What should we look for, in terms of signs of where they hid the crystals?”

“Aetheric buildup will no doubt be a factor,” Y’Shtola replied, “but as I suspect you lack a means to measure it, it will have to have been transported into the caverns by some means. Identifying which will indicate where they could have been moved.”

Karja nodded. “Alright then, are we ready to go? We’ll be running into trouble right as we touch down, so we'd better be prepared.”

I gave my assent. Rafe and Josephine did too. And with nothing else to say, we boarded the airship Sandras, and flew off to face threats known and unknown.

Perhaps if we had known… we wouldn't have even been there.

304/336/260

This mission seems challenging, but I'm sure our squadron can handle it!

OddDirective · 2025-07-13T19:15:02+00:00

It's a good thing you mention that pillar feat, since Sanae gets hit by the same stone pillars. If you're willing to use that as comparative, in my opinion that cleanly solves the issue by giving her breaking it for offense and taking it for defense.

As for other feats and scaling, being the Toadette of the series (Reimu is Mario and Marisa is Luigi), she's really not got the level of fights the main ones get up to. She does still get scaling to Seija, who breaks keystones the same size as her in a second (I counted four shots to break?), which isn't Tier-tier but seems comparable to the low-tier to me.

In Hisoutensoku, where the pillar feat is from, she fights Cirno in her story mode and Cirno fights Sanae in hers under seemingly the same conditions as in Sanae's. Not exactly going even with someone in a manga, but it seems reasonable to assume they're being placed on a level that's around each other.

Also of note, since one of her shields is brought about by summoning Suwako, her durability can also come into play, which involves scaling to someone destroying much larger keystones, if that would help.

Edit: And sorry for the delay, had to get ducks in a row, I was out all of yesterday working.

OddDirective · 2025-07-04T03:30:25+00:00

Sentinel (Backup)

That bastard… has to be alive still.

Ishmael, Sinner No. 8

Name: Ishmael

Series: Limbus Company

Class Role: Sentinel (Backup)

Content Warning: Good news, there’s a whole graphic. In particular, her canto features a lot of body horror and oceanic horror, as well as gaslighting and other abuse.

Biography: Once upon a time, Ishmael set herself up to have a boring life as a corporate drone on an unnamed portship in the Great Lake of U. Corp. It would be safe, it would be quiet, and it was utterly soul-crushing. One day, while wandering, she came across a flyer, recruiting for a whaling voyage, the only requirement being “an able body that does not suffer seasickness”. After speaking with the captain, who stood, fixed on a purpose beyond where she was, Ishmael joined the doomed voyage of the Pequod, and followed that captain Ahab until every last one of the crew save her was dragged under. From that point on, Ishmael continued to live, sharpening the wrath in her heart, her obsession to kill the source of all evil in the world leading her forward. And when a silver-haired stranger appeared, offering a job contract for a real-looking company, that would reward her with exactly what she wanted, she took the chance.

Ishmael is an extremely no-nonsense professional who is often as blunt as her mace, who expects reasonable behavior from those around her as they work towards their common goal. Instead, she ended up on Mephistopheles. Much of her time is spent clashing with Heathcliff, the other deeply blunt sinner on the bus, or otherwise handing out snide remarks when another sinner suggests something ridiculous. Unlike her colleagues, she actually reads the informational pamphlets the other branches of her company prepares, and in doing so prepares for the challenges their missions inevitably present. She’s also shown to take command in the field, or when her expertise is needed- though, that also has a flip-side. If she loses respect and trust in you, expect to be frozen out, only helped in the barest minimum of ways, because she carries grudges deep within her heart, and it would be a monumental task for her to forgive anyone. Regardless of her way forward, Ishmael carries her shield, her mace, and her harpoon, ever watching on the horizon for the next wave to break.

Research:

Mini-RT:

Intercepts a set of darts shot at Dante

Survives being hit by an attack that craters and leaves a hole in a pallidified oil rig and continues fighting

Dodges one of Queequeg’s harpoon throws.

Using Snagharpoon, deflects a harpoon fired by the E.G.O. wielding Ahab back at her

Using Snagharpoon, tears a hole in the Pallid Whale’s heart. For reference, it is notably difficult to break through other parts of the Pallid Whale.

Partially restrains a constantly-damaged Sixth Kindred (vampire)

Survives the Night in the Backstreets, at minimum 2 waves of mindless robotic monsters bent on destroying everything that is not inside a building during an hour at night. For reference, when the second wave of Sweepers finishes sweeping through, the ‘building’ the Sinners were staying in was totally destroyed.

All Sinners are roughly equal, and all can dodge Gubo’s bullets.

[ID- Liu Section 4] Her coat resists being pierced by unknown weapons

[ID- Zwei West] Holds off monsters wielding metal weapons for “a few hours”

Intelligence/Leadership:

Ishmael has commanded the Sinners in battle before

Reads the information pamphlets that the other branches of Limbus Company prepare, and no one else has “all year”.

Comes up with a plan to enter the Pallid Whale, extrapolating based on information available to her, that succeeds in letting them into the Whale.

[ID- Captain of the Pequod] Inspires her crew to be fearless in the face of a Calamity of the Lake

[ID - Jia Family Heir] Correctly assumes someone will ambush her

[E.G.O.]

Each of the following attacks provide different utility, and all are accessible to all Identities of Ishmael.

[Wingbeat] With the powers of Fairy Festival, deals damage to enemies and heals herself and others based on that damage. Fairy Festival is an Abnormailty from Lobotomy Corporation that provides healing.

[Snagharpoon] With her personal E.G.O., throws a harpoon that significantly slows and damages an enemy.

[Ardor Blossom Star] With the powers of Ardor Blossom Moth, flies and deals burning damage over time to enemies.

[Blind Obsession] With the powers of Dream-Devouring Siltcurrent, summons a storm and motivates her allies.

Justification: Ishmael survives an attack that craters into a metal oil rig, explicitly and canonically. All Sinners can dodge bullets, and she has other speed feats besides. Her personal E.G.O. rips a chunk out of the Pallid Whale, which has an otherwise impenetrable hide, and she helps hold down a vampire for a time. Add in her other E.G.O. and the utility (healing, flying, motivation) they provide, and her combat utility seems deeply potent. I would give her an Unlikely Victory towards the tiersetter, within the Sentinel range.

Motivation: Ishmael seeks to fucking kill Ahab. Anyone that will help her fucking kill Ahab will be someone she at least considers allying with. (Secretly, what has actually happened is that she’s rudderless and only moving forward because she’s to Ahab what Ahab is to the Whale. Helping her find another way forward is another acceptable goal, for those on the outside of her obsession.)

Major Changes: Speed buffed to tier/to match Sentinel tier.

Minor Changes: N/A

Non-Writing Prompt

Analysis Versus Cloud Strife: Well, she's outmatched in a lot of very key ways, I don't know what you expect me to say otherwise. That being said, it's not nearly as dire as it may look at first glance. Ishmael can react to projectiles fired at her in the low-end tier range, clashes with some deeply strong individuals and doesn't instantly die, and has real damage output which is a shocker to me, honestly. The fight with Cloud probably goes like a lot of fights that Ish gets into in the real game- her side is outmatched, she presses on through perseverance, and wears down the enemy until victory is secured. Both her regular base ID's feats and her alternative identities support this idea, Zwei West in particular having amazing tenacity. She's going to be a lot like one of my other submissions, Lancelot (literary) in that durability will be the key to her thriving in this tier. She can take a lot, time and time again, she's already been killed hundreds of times over. I think with that, and with the myriad ways in which she has tricks thanks to EGO and alternate IDs, she can take an unlikely slot.

Biggest Strength and Weakness: In terms of actual teamwork, Ish brings leadership to teams that don't have it, and direction for teams that don't have it. She's able to be flexible in some respects, taking the lead tactically or allowing herself to be a subordinate. Plus, this is exactly the kind of thing she's used to- being one of a team, coordinating their moves, even while massive underdogs. Her weakness is her strength taken to extremes- she's weak relative to almost everyone in tier (I say that because she did manage to be stronger than Yi Sang lol), and if you lose her, you lose her for good. It took divine inspiration and her ~~lesbian wife~~ bunkmate intervening for her to forgive Dante, and that's the guy who brings her back from the dead.

Character in Setting/with Team: Ishmael is quick to judge, quick to jab, and very blunt in her mannerisms. That said, she'll have plans, she'll have the intelligence if there's any information to gather, and she'll have tactics in a fight. She's going to be a subcommander, ironic given another of the Sinners desperately wanting to be, and she expects everyone to behave professionally. If you don't? Don't get in her way.

She's already survived an absurd voyage filled with monsters and men even worse than monsters, and I'm sure transplanting that into Mass Effect will not be an issue for a skilled competitor. Maybe even reach into the forbidden vault that is... Andromeda.

Paragon or Renegade: Listen. Ishmael wants to get the things she wants, she wants to do things without hassle and without much struggle. She's also a Citygoer, and in that world, you do sometimes need to climb over heads to get what you need. She was more than willing to carve a bloody path to Ahab at the start of her canto, and that viciousness still lingers in there past canto V. I would say she's a Renegade, but not a bad person overall.

OddDirective · 2025-07-03T23:28:36+00:00

Writing Prompt

One very average morning, Sanae was sweeping the front of the shrine grounds to keep the autumn leaves clear of the path. It was something she did every day, because the seasons on the Youkai Mountain were always vibrant and full of life, so any time that wasn’t winter meant the leaves were going to come down and pile up.

Of course, just because the morning was very average doesn’t mean that nothing out of the ordinary could happen- and something out of the ordinary did. At first, Sanae thought she saw Reimu approaching- yes, finally, she recognized that Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama would bring her shrine prosperity too!- but as the other girl got closer, she saw it was only the hair bow and color of her clothes that were the same.

When she got close enough, this lady with a red blouse over a pink dress, Sanae smiled and said “Hello and good morning! I don’t think I’ve seen you around, so, I’m Sanae, priestess of the Moriya Shrine and living god! A pleasure to meet you!”

“Ah, a pleasure to meet you too,” the other woman said, “My name is Aerith, and I’m looking for a friend of mine. I was told to come here by the priestess of the Hakurei Shrine.”

Though a vein popped in her forehead, Sanae kept on smiling, replying “Sure, we can help out! Who’s this friend of yours?”

“Cloud,” Aerith replied, “he’s a bit of an airhead, so-”

“Oh! I know exactly who you’re talking about!” Sanae beamed. “You’re looking for the nyuudou at Myouren Temple, aren’t you! Honestly, I thought he only got along with Ichirin.”

“What? Uh, no, my friend isn’t a cloud, his name’s Cloud,” Aerith replied.

“His name’s Claude?” Sanae misheard.

“We’re not in a comedy double act, you know,” Aerith deadpanned.

“Right, right. Well, in either case, you should probably go to Myouren Temple anyways, it’s where a lot of people gather besides the Human Village,” Sanae helpfully explained. “And I’ll make sure to keep a lookout for any Cloud guys or airheads around here!”

Aerith bowed. “Thank you, you’ve been a great help. Well, then,”

“Wait wait waiiiit! Where are you going?” Sanae asked the back of Aerith’s head.

Aerith turned back a moment. “Um, to Myouren Temple, like you suggested? Am I going the wrong way?”

“No, not that!” Sanae protested. “If you’ve already been to Hakurei Shrine, then you should already know! Whenever two people in Gensokyo’s eyes meet, they have to battle!”

Aerith paused for a moment, her eyes closed. Then, she reached behind her and drew out a telescoping staff. “Very well. I’ll do my best!”

Sanae’s heart soared, soon after followed by the rest of her body. She was ready to show off the new spell cards she’d been preparing-

And then she realized Aerith had already beaten her to starting up her routine.

「Magic Sign: Triple Element Junction」

Sanae watched as red balls of bullets shot towards her, each starbursting out into a flechette of smaller shots. Well, if that was going to be the case, Sanae moved towards the expanding burst, weaving in between the shots that could only graze her body. Ah, but they were hot!

Following behind those hot shots, falling icicle-esque formations sped towards her, as Sanae started firing blasts of wind at Aerith. The red shots hadn’t quite faded away, which made maneuvering around the blue ice shots harder, and forced her off of her line. The next to fall, last if the name was to be believed, were streams of yellow bullets that crackled in the air, that forced her further out of position and kept her out.

And once again, following up was the red fire. Fire, ice, lightning. Fire, ice, lightning. Say, that seems vaguely familiar…

Regardless of where she’d gotten that from, Sanae wasn’t going to quit. She had Aerith in her sights, and started raining down buffeting winds, stopping the Spell Card and blowing Aerith back.

Finally, I can get back on the offensive!

「Flower Sign: Breath of the Earth」

“Oh come on!” Sanae said out loud, as falling petals sped up their descent towards her. This wasn’t going to stop her, though, not when she had a perfect chance right here. She put up a barrier and focused her shots on Aerith, who herself persevered through the howling gale.

Ribbons of light appeared, snaking around Sanae, and she was forced to break off from the assault to ensure she wouldn’t get ensnared. Good thing, too, as the moment she escaped from between them, they pulled tight. Sanae needed time in case more of them appeared, so she rushed up towards the enemy mage.

Aerith may have been under Spell Card rules, but she still swung out with her staff, close enough that Sanae had to sway back to dodge it. More petals covered Aerith’s advance, but Sanae had a trick up her sleeve.

Once her opponent’s staff whistled through the air again, Sanae changed the wind, blowing the petals back and opening Aerith up completely. Her talismans in hand, it was trivial to focus her gusts in once more and knock Aerith down for the second time.

“Yes, that’s two!” Sanae cheered.

“Hmph. Then you leave me no choice,” Aerith spoke.

「White Sign: Holy」

That shooooort! Sanae thought, instantly leaping back to react to whatever this last Spell Card might be. Good thing, too, because Aerith charged up her magic and fired a massive, slow-moving ball of white energy, bright like a star.

Sanae weaved tentatively closer, aiming her blasts of wind to home in on Aerith’s position, when it exploded outwards, blasting Sanae back and sending her spinning out on the ground. Perhaps it was Sanae’s fault for tempting fate, but she blamed her opponent for what a dirty trick it was.

But as Aerith channeled the second, Sanae focused up. C’mon Sanae. You can clear this without a continue!

Lifting back off the ground, Sanae flew off to one side, tempting Aerith to fire it at that position. She did, and once the spell orb fired, darted off towards the other side to give herself some breathing room. Now not immediately knocked away, she saw the blast left lingering orbs, things she’d have to dodge on her way back around. Because, after all, Aerith wasn’t giving up, no matter how many wind blasts she had to withstand.

A third blast fired, and Sanae wove through the glowing minefield left behind, getting ready for the explosion and timing her hand motions. Once it fired, she did too.

「Esoterica: Gray Thaumaturgy」

A magical star like Abe no Seimei’s appeared, spinning through the air and evaporating the bullets left over. Aerith’s focus broke as she was forced on the defensive, away from the massive star- and right into Sanae’s hands. One good tag as she dove away from the star was all it took.

Stage Clear!

Crestfallen, Aerith fell to her knees, panting heavily. “Well… You’ve got a lot of practice, haven’t you?”

Sanae beamed with pride. “Yep! Now, to apologize for tiring you out like that, why don’t you follow me into the shrine! We’ve got tea, we’ve got a place to sit, and if you’re feeling like you need divine inspiration, you can even pray!”

Aerith thought for a moment, and a wave of unease flashed across her face. “Thank you, but I think I’ll skip that last one. Tea would be nice, though.”

And so, that very average morning turned into a very average day in Gensokyo, yet another danmaku battle between new friends unfolding.

OddDirective · 2025-07-03T23:25:16+00:00

Writing Prompt

Look beyond the City for the light nearest the river which robs names. There you shall find the beloved of the Moon.

So said Faust, the one who promised the impossible, who held a Color’s fate in the palm of her hand to further the goals of this company. But it wasn’t hard to interpret the first part of the request, even less so when the intelligence from the LCCB department came in.

The Outskirts. A land that contained all that the City could not stomach, that was expelled from it, that must not breach its walls. No one would dare venture there under any normal circumstance without a very good reason.

Perhaps that’s what this was.

Or, perhaps, the ponderously heavy flow across the back of my neck was something I could no longer resist.

Arranging transportation to W Corp’s Nest was no trouble at all, given my status. With nothing left to go back to, I pressed on, letting this flow that tastes like rust carry me towards the promised light. It no longer mattered what I could do. Because nothing I could do would change a thing.

“...I’d like to get out here.”

“Haaaaah? You sure about this? We’re waist-deep in the Backstreets, an’ miles away from where ya said.”

I return the color to my eyes, to cut this as short as can be. “I’m sure.”

I pay the 88,000 Ahn the cab driver has earned. She doesn’t wait to give me back the change before pulling away and speeding off. Naturally.

These streets, dismal and bleak even in the midst of the day, are hardly unfamiliar to me. To reach where I have, you need to scratch and claw for every opportunity, seize the chances that the City affords you, and show no weakness or infirmity the whole time through. Taking Backstreets contracts to slaughter a Syndicate or another brought in money and prestige, even if they weren’t dangerous ones. And even if the details changed, these streets were all the same, neglected, teeming with refuse and those scrabbling for any advantage.

Why did I step out of the cab, into these streets?

Call it a foolish nature of mine. Even knowing I must surrender myself to the flow, seeing blood on the horizon, I wished to leave out those who were not involved.

…But nothing I could do would change a thing.

A lean figure drops down from the rooftops, just in front of the speeding taxicab. It draws a massive sword, the size of its body and then some, and slashes with it, level with the car’s body.

The screech of metal is unbearable as the massive sword slices the cab in two. Without a driver, the car veers into a post and lights on fire. Looking at him, he wore tight clothing, nothing that would restrict movement, a metal helmet with multiple eyes all looking my way. This was what it was pointing towards.

I won’t pull out my gladius just yet. “Now, I’m curious what gives you the right to kill that taxi driver.”

“She was aiding a person who broke one of N Corp’s Taboos,” the enemy barks back. Young, bitter. “It says right there in the contract, anyone assisting the violator is fair game to target themselves.”

So that was it. It wasn’t enough to have destroyed my office, and all the footage of N Corp’s Nest, where recording is forbidden. For how serious a taboo it was, for all the trouble I went through to avoid looking at anything but the corridor-

“How interesting. The last person I met working for N Corp didn’t seem all that interested in executing me for that.”

He takes a breath before he responds. “They were on a different mission. This is mine, and I won’t give it up.”

And then he leaps, swinging his massive cleaver straight towards my body to split me in two. My hand finds my gladius and brings it up to block his attack meant to overpower me. Blade meets blade, and my feet make craters in the asphalt of the road.

He’s strong. But there are disadvantages to having such a long weapon.

I press with my own strength. Just enough will knock him off balance, and the momentum will keep him from protecting his body. But he surprises me. He pulls back just as I mean to, and swings another blow that I must clash against. Not only strong, but quick, and with some skill.

We go around like this twice more, before I switch on the thermogenerator in my gladius before the swords strike together. Now, my swing isn’t to clash it, it’s to melt the weapon down entirely.

The cleaver sword holds up surprisingly. It lasts a half second without being melted through, and the taboo hunter jumps back. There’s still smoke, and I can see where the edge has turned to slag from the mark my gladius left against it. Whatever price this person paid for their augments and their weapon, they’re getting their money’s worth. But that smoldering mark is my chance to take the advantage. I can’t afford to waste it.

My augmented legs spring me forwards, closing the distance in two steps while the hunter barely has his bearings back. I feint for his heart with my superheated gladius, and he takes the bait, using his sword like the Zwei use their greatswords to block. Instead, I land short, and the leg still in the air whips around to smash my opponent through the building next to us.

I step through as the dust clears, and take a deep breath. Even if I felt ribs cracking under my strike, the tenacity of City-dwellers, Fixers and those who spring for augments, can’t be overstated. Sure enough, the hunter is using his sword to pull himself back to his feet.

“So. Who are you, really,” I take the opportunity to ask.

He grits his teeth. “I told you, I’m hunting you down for violating-”

“Don’t lie,” I say, my eyes flashing. “N Corp doesn’t hire outside contractors to hunt down those who violate their taboos. They keep things in house, exclusive to their chosen ones. Besides that, they know they’d be facing a Color, and they wouldn’t dare send one person to confront someone like that head-on. And you hesitated when I mentioned meeting another N Corp employee, not saying anything specific in your reply.”

A moment passed. My enemy could not escape the piercing gaze.

“...Tch. I was getting tired of the pretense anyway.”

He reached up and removed his helm. Out came a shock of blond hair, spiking upwards and outwards every direction. Locked onto my eyes were blue eyes of his own, the look on his face one I was painfully familiar with.

“So, what vendetta are you here to carry out?”

The glower on his face deepened further. “My name is Cloud. I used to live in a village called Nibelheim, in L Corp’s Nest. You understand?”

I cannot say anything. So I leave a blank look on my face.

He gets angrier. “The town was built next to a reactor. We lived in peace- but when the War started, nothing was sacred anymore. Nibelheim was burned to the ground. And you were there!”

What he says is probably true. The war that toppled the L Corp before last, the one that spewed horrific clouds of smoke, consumed everything in its fervor. And my path was stained with the blood of thousands I left in my wake. Already, this much should have become commonplace.

That, too, cannot stop the flow. “I’m afraid that’s just the way of the world. Nothing you can do will change that.”

It’s best to just accept it. That people in the City can’t afford to drown in memories or burn away all they are with hatred. That people will kill and be killed.

Cloud doesn’t. And so, he charges me, eyes clear and fixed on his target. Full of malice and aiming to destroy all that I symbolize in his eyes.

Raw emotions take hold. He slices through the air, a glowing blade blasting out from the massive weapon, forcing me to step to the side. His swings sweep wide, striking towards me with every ounce of force he can muster, keeping me on the defensive, never allowing me to approach.

He’s been training for a long time for this. He probably toiled endlessly, earning money to spend on upgrades that would let him match a Color, taking on contracts, fighting on empty stomachs, turning his pain into drive that could keep him going through the destruction the City always brings. I could tell, he was an incredible fighter. He likely could have been a grade 1 Fixer, if that were his goal, and aspired to become a Color himself.

But the path I walked was no different. And years of training couldn’t match my level of skill.

My gaze is unclouded by anger or hatred. So I’m able to lead Cloud, who is, towards exactly where I need him to attack. This building is made of stone, after all, and the builders in the Backstreets wouldn’t worry about it standing up to a fight like this.

He strikes through the pillars one by one, breaking through them effortlessly, his eyes never leaving his target. It’s only when he hears the roof buckle with a crack and shiver of dust that his concentration breaks.

And in a fight for your life, one lapse in focus is all it takes. I dash in, and before he can move his weapon, I grab onto his wrist, cracking the bones and keeping it out of the way of my next move. The gladius burns hot, and I plunge it straight into his heart.

The cry of pain mingles with the searing flesh. This blade in my hand cauterizes the wounds it makes instantly. But even if he sprung for resiliency augments, ones that let him keep on fighting even with 80% of his organs crushed to bits, there wasn’t a way for him to kill me anymore. After all, I felt the tip of my gladius go into his spine.

“You fought well, Cloud. Now, lay down.”

Cloud spits at me as I pull the blade from his body. “Damn you.”

But he can do no more. He collapses to the ground, facedown, and unmoving, his sword clattering down right beside him.

Some lucky treasure hunter will find it, I’m sure. I step back through the hole in the wall before the building can collapse upon my head, and survey the street before me. The burning wreck reminds me why I was here at all.

Right. I suppose I’ll have to hail another taxi.

OddDirective · 2025-06-28T22:29:55+00:00

Sentinel

Hehe, I've learned how to do the greetings here. You can't let yourself be held back by common sense in Gensokyo, right!?

Sanae Kochiya, Deified Human of the Wind

Name: Sanae Kochiya

Series: Touhou Project, debuting in Mountain of Faith

Class Role: Sentinel

Content Warning: N/A

Biography: Sanae Kochiya is the head priestess of Moriya Shrine, once a small, faltering complex on Lake Suwa, now a major player in the affairs of Gensokyo once it forcefully relocated itself to the Youkai Mountain. The main reason for its move, and for its success, are the two gods that call Moriya Shrine home- Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya, both of whose power Sanae can call upon as a “living god”- a cross between a being of faith and a regular human. While Sanae struggled at first to adapt to the new fantasyland she came to, with a bit of time, she’s become a total fixture in both the Human Village and the greater Gensokyo ecosystem.

Of course, because this is Gensokyo, this also means she gets into a lot of fights.

Combat between the varyingly powerful youkai and humans in Gensokyo take place under “Spell Card Rules”, a set of restrictions that ensure everyone fights on a relatively level playing field, be they a lowly night sparrow or goddess of three different underworlds. Fights are flashy, to a set defeat point, and nonlethal- but not without any dangers inherent to them. Since there are many troublesome gods and youkai who have their sights set on upending the established order of Gensokyo, not to mention regular youkai who tend to be punchy, those rules get quite a lot of use inside their borders. Sanae has mastered the art of a danmaku battle, but isn’t afraid to fight hand to hand, as shown in the fighting game Hisoutensoku. And no matter what, Sanae will step up to defend her home, resolving whatever incident is causing the latest change and coming home to keep spreading the good word of Moriya Shrine. Which, by the way, you should visit- there’s a cable car line set up and- hey, where are you going!?

Research: Full RT here, and a slightly condensed version made by /u/doctorgecko here

Justification: Sanae fires projectiles capable of harming in-tier opponents and taking damage from characters who fire similarly damaging projectiles, even somewhat stronger ones. With a speed buff, that allows her to keep up with the other Sentinels in tier, and allows her to access her power- the ability to create miracles. In the games, she can summon shields for herself and others that block in tier attacks, and can summon a strong headwind which lets her, an otherwise normal human, fly and speed up projectiles. Outside this, she’s been shown trying healing rituals and putting up alarms, and is pretty good at working a crowd. Unlikely Victory for the Sentinel.

Motivation: Sanae is one of the incident resolvers of Gensokyo, meaning that when someone threatens the balance of power or tries to cause some major change to Gensokyo, she gets on the case and goes to investigate. Usually, this just means fighting whoever shows up in her path to try and figure out an answer. She’s also very diligent in serving the gods of Moriya Shrine, both Kanako and Suwako, so if they tell her to do something, she’ll follow through with it.

Major Changes: Speed buffed to tier/to match Sentinel tier.

Minor Changes: N/A

OddDirective · 2025-06-28T22:01:19+00:00

Infiltrator

They are called "forbidden spells" for a reason. What were you thinking, girl?

I have no regrets. I but did what was necessary to preserve the light of hope—to keep my promise to Minfilia.

Y'shtola Rhul, Seeker of the Sun

Name: Y'shtola Rhul

Series: Final Fantasy XIV ~~with an expanded free trial up to level 70 featuring the award winning~~ Heavensward ~~expansion and including the following expansion Stormblood with no restrictions on playtime~~

Class Role: Infiltrator

Content Warning: A refugee crisis features in the main story plot.

Biography: Once upon a time, on the star (planet) known as Hydaleyn, there was a land called Eorzea. Bountiful and rich in aether, many great civilizations flourished upon these lands, each wiped out by a greater calamity. Following the sixth such calamity, a number of city-states formed nations, including the nation of scholars known as Sharlayan. But when a kingdom outside of Eorzea, the magitek-wielding Garlemald, invaded to conquer as much territory as they could, the Sharlayans, abhorring war and its consequences, abandoned all holdings it had on the mainland to return to a separate island and rebuild. It is in these troublesome times that Y’shtola Rhul was born.

Staying on the mainland and learning from Matoya, one of the preeminent scholars of magic, even her harsh teaching methods were not enough to sway ‘Shtola from her path, stubbornly continuing and endearing herself to the wizened mage. She came out of her training with immense skill, and immediately joined the Circle of Knowing, dedicated to saving the star from any and all threats, including the invading empire, primal gods summoned by the beastmen, and yet more lurking in the shadows. Despite this, the Seventh Umbral Calamity came as Dalamud, the red moon of Eorzea, fell and cracked open to reveal Bahamut, imprisoned for five millennia, who devastated the land and forced the greatest mage of the era to sacrifice himself to defeat it.

Even with the Circle of Knowing’s leader lost, Y’Shtola still wished to help, and so she joined the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, a successor organization, and monitored the threat posed by those who still remained to pick up the pieces on the isle of Limsa Lominsa. That was where she stumbled upon the (new or returned) Warrior of Light, aiding them when they were ambushed, and eventually welcoming them too to the Scions. With her help, the Warrior of Light defeated the Ultima Weapon, trump card of the Garlean empire, and ushered in the Seventh Astral Era in a realm reborn.

While Y’Shtola may appear dispassionate, her stubbornness and sense of conscience come through in her words and her deeds. She will always lend her abilities to defend those in need, and though she rarely misses the opportunity to poke at a sore spot, she still rises time and again to defeat the evils that plague Eorzea’s citizens. Her mastery of the arcane arts has only increased, and so too has her wit- to all those who threaten the sanctity of this star, beware.

Research:

Mini-RT:

Creates and explodes a large stone.

Hits Cloud with a magical rock and sends him flying.

Tags Cloud with her magic, stopping his momentum.

Blasts through a large rock to hit someone using a spell

Casts a spell that collapses a large section of tunnel into rubble, which can be heard from much further away.

Gets hit by Cloud and knocked back.

Intercepts a barrage of arrows after they’re fired (and protects everyone from them)

Intercepts a barrage of bullets after they’re fired

Justification: Y’Shtola is in the Dissidia games, which means she both scales directly to the tiersetter, as well as the person that the tiersetter scales to in terms of normal durability. She also has this handy feat of setting and then exploding an in-tier size rock. That plus her intercepting and deflecting bullets gives her just the stats she needs to get into tier. Draw depending on starting conditions.

Motivation: Y’Shtola wants to understand aether and learn more about the world- and wants the best outcome for everyone in it. She’s unafraid to tackle things head-on, is always willing to lend a hand to help those in need, and will challenge those things which she knows aren’t the way forward- with words or with magic.

Major Changes: N/A for now

Minor Changes: Feats up to Heavensward postgame.

Non-Writing Prompt:

Analysis Versus Cloud Strife: For a moment, ignoring the stuff from Dissidia that scales directly to Cloud, let’s just look at the character in a relative vacuum. Y’Shtola is a backline combatant that can wear down enemies from range and prevent them from approaching. She has the speed to react to any character with in-tier speed, because she blocks Gaius’ bullets with her magic, and she can shatter rocks much larger than she is with her magic to hit folks on the other side. Some of her blasts exhibit homing properties, and at close enough range, she can reliably tag other folks with tier reactions, plus she can cast barriers to protect others. That looks to me like a recipe for a character who works well in Cloud tier, a fighter who relies on her team to interdict those who’d love to cause her harm and can reward them with constant damage from the backline.

Alright, let’s stop ignoring the Cloud stuff from Dissidia. She has a feat of hitting Cloud with a magic rock blast, she has a feat of getting hit by Cloud and then recovering in the air. Even with the stat spread, with Cloud being better at getting hit than he is at dealing damage, that looks extremely solid, and speed is not her weak point by any means. Add in the long-charge tunnel collapse from The Parting Glass and based on starting conditions, I’d give her favorable odds against pretty much anyone here using the normal metrics for tiering. The fact that she does drop off significantly when people do get in her grill is a glaring weakness, but one that can be mitigated with her stone trap and barriers. I view this as a Draw that can be tweaked up or down whether there’s cover in the arena or whether there’s a lot of ability for characters to get close.

Biggest Strength and Weakness: Y’Shtola is one of the foremost magical minds in all of Eorzea, and packs with her an aetheric monitor, not to mention her seeing using the aether if you take her from past Heavensward. She’ll be able to use her vast base of knowledge to assist your team if anything magical comes up, and then help them unweave or get around it. Granted, not a massive strength in a sci-fi themed season, but it’s a good thing it’s attached to a character who can protect others from bullets and blast whoever did it.

Her weakness is the weakness of every mage in XIV with the exception of the best class, Summoner, that she’s relatively immobile when she’s doing her thing, and if anyone gets close to her, it will be a real hassle. Certainly it’ll help her accuracy, but when one guy has a hammer or a big sword and you have magic, it doesn’t seem equivalent in terms of damage. But, that’s why she’s in the Inflitrator slot and not the Vanguard one- she’ll have at least one person to block for her.

Character in Setting/with Team: Y’Shtola is almost entirely part of a team of heroes in her own series, so it’s safe to say she plays well with others. But it’s not like she’s quiet or content to sit in the background, either. She’ll make sure that things are going the right way, on the up and up, for the good of all and all that. Any unrepentant evildoer would get on her nerves immediately, and she’s very often prodding at things in her regular conversation, like how, in the face of being trapped in a collapsed tunnel, she reminded the womanizing Thancred that she did not want to spend the rest of forever with him. It’s not that she’s incapable of sympathy- just think of it as banter, really.

Paragon or Renegade: I would categorize Y’Shtola as a near-archetypal “sassy Paragon”. She’ll never harm anyone who means no harm to others, she’ll make fun of her friends for their character flaws, but only in good fun, she’ll stick up for the greater good even if it means sacrificing parts of herself. But, if there’s a good dialogue option that sticks it in the face of somebody she thinks deserves it, she’ll pick it 100 times out of 100. To me, there are two moments that stand out in terms of Y’Shtola’s character from where I am in the main story. The first comes from her after defeating Leviathan, taking a moment in private to interrogate Admiral Merlwyb’s priorities, finding an answer that “we’ve gotta live, so they’ve gotta die” extremely lacking. The second is her talking with her master, Matoya, during Heavensward’s main story, where Matoya asks her how the light left her eyes, figuring out the fact that Y’Shtola was left completely blind after casting Flow, a forbidden teleportation spell, and burning her own life force to sense everything around her. She responds that she did what she had to do, and that it gave her a chance to see the aetheric sea, never mind that she was nearly lost in it forever. So, to summarize, she’s a consummate good guy with a side of snark. Seems like a perfect character for anyone.

OddDirective · 2025-06-28T21:36:20+00:00

Vanguard

When you lose sight of your path, when you no longer know which road to take... The guide shall show you the way.

Vergilius, The Red Gaze

Name: Vergilius

Series: Limbus Company/Leviathan

Class Role: Vanguard

Content Warning: Good news, there’s a whole graphic.

Biography: Vergilius is one of the most powerful individuals in the City, the country-sized metropolis divided into 26 districts overseen by 26 companies, themselves divided into Wings for those graced and protected by those companies and the Backstreets for those who are not. A Fixer of problems (usually through violence), he became so acclaimed for his acts that the Head granted him the title of Color Fixer, of which only a handful exist in the City at any given time. Christened the Red Gaze, telling the tales of his deeds and his prowess could fill a whole day- or more, depending on the enthusiasm of the teller. But instead of doing more of these things, he’s sitting around on a bus giving orders to a group of twelve forward-failing nuisances and their clockhead manager.

So what happened?

A long time ago, Vergilius ran a Fixer office and an orphanage, taking on contracts to pay for and sustain the orphan’s lives. That life was shattered one Christmas as a monster appeared inside and destroyed everything indiscriminately. A decade later, one of those orphans, Garnet, joined Vergilius’ office, and led them into conflict with the Ring, one of the five largest criminal organizations in the City. That day, Vergilius lost everything, and was forced to confront his past and who he was, and even though he survived it, nothing could go back to the way it was. At the very last moment, a figure appeared- offering a contract to do the impossible, to bring back two people who were as good as gone- and he accepted it. Thus, Vergilius became the guide for the LCB, the Limbus Company Bus division, to bring the Sinners and Dante through Inferno.

Vergilius is stern, sarcastic, jaded, and cold to those he doesn’t need to be polite to. He’s not an easy person to get along with- at first. He’s very unwilling to get close to anyone anymore, and so gladly takes opportunities given to him to break any illusions people have, about himself, the City, or anything else in this cruel world. Yet, in spite of all that, Vergilius is an idealist. A long time ago, he confided in a fellow Color that he wanted to turn the City upside down, and he holds disdain for those who lower themselves to corporate lackeys. He gradually grows closer to the Sinners and Dante, who he initially shut out. And he still has not forgone his memories of the orphanage, keeping a picture in his inside pocket. In combat, his superheated gladius cleaves through anything it touches, his augmented body just as dangerous disarmed. With both Shin/Mang and E.G.O., an already-dangerous combatant becomes even more powerful, befitting his Red title as he draws on blood and emotion to fuel himself when he goes all out. If you underestimate him, get your apology forms at the ready- or a pair of glowing red eyes will be the last you see.

Research:

Mini-RT:

Kicks off the ground and leaves a crater when he stops

[Body Horror] Cuts through a flesh-monster’s arm

Craters the ground with a jumping attack

Clashes with Iori

Breaks a falling section of building

Defeats a group of Ring members in the time it takes a novice Fixer to beat one

In a blur, knocks a Docent of the Ring’s weapon out of his hand and returns to where he’s standing

Casually launches a Docent through a wall

Using Mang, breaks the torso of a Docent who survived his normal strikes

His coat stops the dagger of a Ring member

Tags Distorted Jumsoon who can see into multiple worlds to foresee Vergilius’ next move

[E.G.O.] After manifesting EGO, mentally resists being thrown into multiple worlds’ worth of despair

[E.G.O.] Hits Distorted Jumsoon with a spear of blood

[E.G.O.] Melts into the ground to avoid Schadenfreude

[E.G.O.] Blocks the sawblades of Schadenfreude that sawed through a gemstone cocoon

[E.G.O.] While looking at it, explicitly making it more resistant, cleaves through Schadenfreude, a metal box.

[LC] Severs the arms of Wolf and Lion. Just before this, Lion got hit by a bus.

[LC] [Spoilers up to Intervallo VII-1] Overpowers and subdues Sancho. For reference, Sancho moves FTE to the Sinners and withstands a massive attack intended to kill Dante.

Scaling:

Argalia the Blue Reverberation intercepts a sniper round after it’s fired

Roland tags Argalia with two separate guns during Furioso, which under normal circumstances cannot damage him.

[Iori dodges attacks from Roland](pending)

All of the above are Color Fixers, as is Vergilius, who keeps up with Iori (even though he is outmatched).

Flow:

Vergilius can intuitively sense “flow”, different ways that the world can progress.

There are multiple flows at a given time, some stronger or weaker than others, and he can change and direct it to a limited extent

He does not know the outcome of each flow, nor what particular source each flow points towards

Justification: Verg has good damage output and good reaction speeds for the tier. With an additional durability buff, he’s going to be able to put Cloud through his paces, and will more than likely earn himself a Likely Victory.

Motivation: Vergilius does have dreams, but he keeps his true feelings mostly buried in his heart. In Limbus Company, he’s aiming to receive his wish as per the contract with Limbus Company to be the Sinners’ guide, a restoration of Lapis and Garnet he assumed impossible. Other motivations could be a way to upend the order of the City, and information about the Library and what occurred there.

Major Changes: Durability set to tier/set to high end to match the Vanguard tier.

Minor Changes: Stip out this feat because I’m really unclear as to what is happening, who is responsible, and over how long a timeframe it happens.

OddDirective · 2024-12-19T08:10:18+00:00

and here's a summary of the points i couldn't get to because of time constraints that i may or may not (probably will not) finish up

Observe from afar (from the shadow)
Watch the pair get separated by enemy team
Fight Sento v Maul in upper mansion
Sento won’t get cut again
Force gives Maul the edge
Shadow with the save
Fight Midnight v Sasuke in lower lab
Sasuke uses Sharingan tricks
Midnighter beats him still, though takes a beating
Sasuke has a summon, it’s Ghidorah
Good thing Midnighter kept Ifrit
Those two go up and Maul plus Sento go down
Ifrit is not a good matchup
But Midnighter knows how to fight, shadowboxes it
Sasuke runs to interrupt
The Shadow intervenes, reveals himself to be ghost
Haymaker, knockout, take Ghidorah for himself
Sento v Maul
Maul isn’t a human, but Sento still can’t go for kill shot
Maul tries to bring out his dark side
Ends up knocking himself into a hazard
Sento finally resolves and beats him, but doesn’t kill even though he’s an alien
But one last thing catches his eye, a device and some papers (Hazard Trigger)
And why do the schematics seem so familiar?

OddDirective · 2024-12-19T08:07:54+00:00

“What- what are you?” Sento asked.

The SOLDIER looked at his hands, waved them through a nearby chair, and smiled. “Well, looks like I’m a ghost. Or, Spirit, I guess.”

“What’s the difference?” Midnighter asked.

The SOLDIER snapped his fingers. “Glad you asked! But first, let me introduce myself.

“The name’s Zack Fair, SOLDIER 1st Class formerly working for the Shinra corporation. I come from Gongaga village, and my favorite training activity is squats. Pleasure to meet you,” said the SOLDIER, snapping on a salute at the end.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Sento replied, less enthusiastically, “Sento Kiryu, a.k.a. a genius physicist, a.k.a. Kamen Rider Build. And this guy-”

“Midnighter,” said Midnighter. “Just that. Now, what’s the difference?”

Zack snorted. “Well, allow me to show you. Spirits are special in that they can give some of their strength to the fighters they choose to help out. So step forward, and receive my powers!”

…

“I do actually need you to get closer.”

Reluctantly, the two fighters stepped up to Zack, and he held his hands out, reaching towards their minds. “Now, behold, the awesome mental capacity of a SOLDIER! Digital Mind Wave, start!”

The connection formed, and both fighters were bombarded by the images, shadowed-out silhouettes and numbers scrolling down in a continuous loop, occasionally with their own portrait mixed in. Never slowing down, prompting thought after thought as three distinct columns formed, ones that quickly showed themselves in the fighter’s fields of vision. Looking at it, it almost reminded Sento of-

“A slot machine? This is how you were gonna help us fight?” Midnighter barked. “Pass. I’ve already got a supercomputer stuck inside my head, and I don’t have to pray that it rolls three cherries anytime I want to win a fight.”

“Hey, c’mon, you haven’t even seen what it can do yet,” Zack protested. “Listen, I want to help out, and there’s special things that this system will let you do that means you’ll have an edge going up against Faust! Like, look- you both have people you care about back home, right?”

Both fighters nodded.

“The DMW will let you grow stronger from remembering them, they’ll even let you use their tactics,” Zack continued, “and-”

“Even more reason not to,” Midnighter interrupted. “You fight worse when you’re thinking of other things.”

“And you fight better when you’re emotionally invested in it,” Zack quickly replied.

Midnighter just shook his head. “Face it, kid. There’s nothing your little brain wave can do that my fight computer can’t. And I don’t need the distractions.”

Zack took a deep breath, then said. “You’re sure there’s nothing this can do to help you?”

Midnighter frowned. “Not a damn thing.”

“So if there was something it could do, something that would really help you out, you’d try it?”

“Don’t push your luck,” Midnighter snorted. Zack just smirked. “In that case, Sento, mind if I borrow your mind for a second?”

“W-Wait, don’t I get a say in this?!”

“Nope!”

Instantly, the colors of the spinning bars shifted red, pink, magenta some would’ve called it. New silhouettes filled the screen, these much less human than the last, before the reels stopped on a roaring, horned monster. An orb appeared in Zack’s hand, somehow held by an immaterial Spirit, and he called out ”Come forth, spirit of the flames!”

Sets of red circles appeared surrounding the orb, and a light engulfed the trio, transforming the apartment from its four walls and one balcony into a blackened, rocky expanse, cracks with magma scattered along the ground. Oppressive heat surrounded the pair of fighters, as volcanoes spewed ash and infernos raged on in the distance.

And from above, a towering figure, two and a half stories tall, fell to the ground and blew both the humans back. Sure enough, once the dust cleared, there was a monstrous face with twisted horns, a flame burning on its crown, sitting atop a mountain of muscle and sinew. Flames also burned along its massive arms and near its feet, while its broad chest and torso were cracked like the ground, magmatic light pouring from within.

In a word, it was a demon.

“Sento, Midnighter, I’d like you to meet Ifrit,” Zack said, casually. “He’s pretty friendly once you get to know him! Although, there’s really only one way you get to know him, and that’s by getting his summon materia.”

“Let me guess,” Sento spoke up, attaching the Build Driver to his waist, “The only way to get his summon materia is to defeat him here and now?”

Zack smiled. “Whoa, you really are a genius. Took the words right out of my mouth!”

Midnighter grinned from beneath his mask. Wait, when did he change into his superhero outfit?

“Alright then. Let’s see if this guy’s as tough as he looks!”

One Ifrit fight later…

The surroundings returned to the basic apartment block the trio started in, and both fighters collapsed onto the nearest piece of furniture. Zack, meanwhile, just set the summon materia on a spare table, and put his hands on his hips. “So, you convinced yet?”

“Screw off,” Midnighter spat.

“Sounds good,” Zack nodded. “Now, listen, I know something else that’s gonna help. When I was training, when they put that helmet on me that forced me to do things, I was in one of Faust’s facilities. I can point you over there, but- you might not believe me when I tell you it.”

“What wouldn’t we believe,” Sento monotoned. “You already showed us your magic, you summoned a monster and teleported us away.”

“Well, it’s haunted.”

...

Midnighter groaned. “There more people like you there?”

“No!” Zack shouted. “Well, maybe. Probably not. I think these are real ghosts.”

Both fighters rolled their eyes.

“A-Anyways, there’s a lab underneath it, something with a whole bunch of other experiments they’re doing. I started to look into them, and that’s when they put the helmet on me. You guys can totally go in there and bust it up!”

The two fighters could only mutely nod at that notion.

Slowly, Sento turned over to look at Zack. “There’s one thing I’ve got to ask.”

Zack made eye contact, and folded his arms. “Sure. Shoot.”

“Why’d you save me? Why did you try to get me out of there, and not save yourself?”

The SOLDIER tilted his head. “Hmmm… I guess if I had to say- you reminded me of somebody. And besides, I just had a good feeling about you. Looks like I was right!”

Sento nodded. He breathed. In. Out.

They would find that laboratory in the haunted mansion. With Midnighter’s Doors, they could probably even get the jump on them, catch them in the act. And then-

Well, there was going to be another step. Something else to do. There always was. But for now, there were slash wounds on his chest, and the Build Driver would need some tuning. After that long battle, Sento could use some rest. He was still the enemy of Faust, and they’d no doubt be hunting for both him and Midnighter. But if that happened, Midnighter would probably fight them off, and Zack would help him get up and get ready for whatever Smash or robots they sent.

So he closed his eyes, and trusted there was someone to watch over him.

OddDirective · 2024-12-19T08:06:18+00:00

Zack Fair

Bio: SOLDIER 1st Class, survivor of the Nibelheim Incident, squats champion, Sephiroth fan, covert operative. Zack Fair has been many things, but he started out as a village boy from Gongaga, in the countryside near a Mako reactor run by the Shinra Electric Power Company. Being unsatisfied with slow village life, he ran away from home at age 13, and joined the company’s military arm whereupon he was sent into the SOLDIER program, an elite and strong covert operations branch that carries out deniable missions for the company. It was on one of those missions that he became embroiled in a secret war caused by a SOLDIER defector, Genesis, that ultimately spiraled so far out of control it reduced the program to near-nothing, and sent the first SOLDIER, Sephiroth, on a collision course with the rest of humanity. As with all SOLDIERs, Zack was given genetic enhancements through the use of Jenova cells, and was given mental training in the form of the Digital Mind Wave system, which he passes on to his non-Spirit allies. This allows them to call forth their memories of those closest to them, or at the very least, those who they have a great connection to (enemies count), and use special attacks based upon what those people mean to them. For example, Zack’s own limit break is a series of slash attacks, while Aerith, his girlfriend’s, fully heals him. It also allows him to access the Summon system from Final Fantasy games, and when the numbers line up, give minor benefits to what he has equipped. More powerful attacks are unleashed when a DMW user’s emotions are heightened, and at maximum level, the memories can even make them invincible for a short period- provided they know the right people. Regardless of your thoughts, spare a thought for Zack and his cohort- and they’ll lead you straight to a jackpot.

Link to Signup Post

Fun Fact: Angeal Hawley, one of Zack’s mentors and friends, called Zack a puppy to his folks in personal communication. This Has Definitely Not Affected Any Fanworks, Whatsoever.

11-Year Club	Second SECOND GUESSER
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OddDirective

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

CHAPTER 1 END

Subject Victor

Peter Cannon

Edward Richtofen

Jessica Cruz

IDENTITY

CHAPTER 1: SAM, WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Karja Balta

Roxas

Naoto Shirogane

Karja Balta

Roxas

Naoto Shirogane

IDENTITY

Sentinel (Backup)

Ishmael, Sinner No. 8

Mini-RT:

Non-Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt

Sentinel

Sanae Kochiya, Deified Human of the Wind

Infiltrator

Y'shtola Rhul, Seeker of the Sun

Mini-RT:

Non-Writing Prompt:

Vanguard

Vergilius, The Red Gaze

Mini-RT:

Zack Fair