Jack's ADD Stories Repository [Mostly Crossovers]

[Jack of Olives]

So, my inspiration for writing tends to be sporadic, and in short bursts. What this means is that I'll come up with awesome stories, work on the first few chapters, and then start working on a new story; leaving the first unfinished.

While a lot of my stories aren't the greatest (and a lot of them end up deleted in a fit of self-critical pique), I thought I'd post some of them here, so they're not collecting dust on my hard drive.

Who knows; If enough people request it, I may become motivated to write more.

So without any further ado, I welcome you to:

Jack's ADD Stories Repository.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Author's Note: Yes it's another Worm/Exalted crossover. It has a couple twists from the usual formula, but if Worm/Exalted isn't your thing then feel free to give this one a pass. I won't be offended.

Anyway:

Heretic
(Worm/Exalted[Gunstar Autocthonia])

Prologue: Chrysalis

She's definitely a cape of some sort. One of those capes who's powers make them look inhuman. Case 43s, I think they're called.

Whatever she is, she has deep Purplish-red skin (burgundy?) with long, straight hair down to her waist that's lighting up the whole alley with it's reddish-orange glow, and two horns that curved from the top of her head to around her ears (like a ram or something). I'd guess she's somewhere in her mid-twenties. Her facial features looked vaguely Asian; which I can easily tell since she's not wearing a mask.

Heck, she's not wearing a stitch of clothing. Normally I'd be fighting back a blush (or a spike of envy at her figure), but one other thing is keeping me from focusing on that.

She looks like she's about to collapse. Can't say I blame her, mind you; she has a hole in her side that looks like it goes all the way though and appears to be slowly leaking glowing, green smoke. For that matter, her entire body seems to be smoking gently, like she's burning from the inside. I'm actually amazed that the poor thing is able to stand at all.

"Are you alright?" I almost smack myself as soon as those words are out of my mouth. She clearly isn't.

Now she's saying something in a strange language. No idea what it is, but it sounds beautiful; kind of like French by way of Japanese.

She's reaching into her chest; her hands sinking into her skin like it isn't there, and withdrawing something.

And what a something! Easily the most most beautiful thing I've ever seen; Red and green, White, black, and silver, the tiny star this being is holding seems to light up the whole world with it's painfully beautiful light. Despite a voice in the back of my head screaming that I was taking something from a strange cape, I find myself reaching out to accept it.

As I touch it, I briefly see the strange woman smile in my peripheral vision before she seems to dissolve into thousands of glowing threads that rush towards me.

***

I can't help but blink as I look around me. My mind is rapidly waking up, but it hasn't quite gotten there yet. From what I can tell in my half-awake state, I appear to be in some sort of concrete room that's being lit by some kind of reddish-orange glow.

Also, I feel... pretty good, actually. Heck, aside from my balance being a bit off, I don't think I've ever felt this good. I feel like I'm... more than I was before; like a piece of me was missing that just got filled in. Weird.

"Excuse me, Miss?" A tinny voice snaps me out of my self-reflection. "Can you hear me?"

I look around for the source of the voice. "Uh, Y-Yes; I hear you." I was wide awake now. The voice was definitely female, and she sounded concerned. Hopefully that was a good sign. "W-where..." I trailed off; too many 'where' questions and not enough time to prioritize.

"Oh good; you can understand me." She sounded relieved. "You're currently at the Brockton Bay Protectorate Base. Do you know where that is?"

I blinked at that. "The building out in the bay, right? Made from the old oil rig? I don't think there's anyone in the city that doesn't know about it." Seriously, while it's not as grand as some other cities' Protectorate buildings, it's still one of our major landmarks.

... Wait a minute. "Hold on. What am I doing here? What happened!?" I'm almost panicking at this point. I'm almost hyperventilating before an odd feeling comes over me. It feels... tired, but soothing; like when I'd have a nightmare as a kid and mom would get out of bed to comfort me. Also, coming from inside my head; not sure how, but I just know.

"No need to panic, miss." I'm once more startled from my thoughts by the voice. Sounds like she's trying to calm me down too. "We found you trapped in that... glowing crystal and brought you here." Glowing crystal? I look down. There are crystalline shards on the floor around me. They seem to be slowly disintegrating. "We weren't sure what happened, or if it was dangerous, so we brought you back here for safekeeping."

Oh, that would probably explain the room; they wouldn't put a potentially dangerous object in the employee lounge. A part of me giggled at that mental image.

That train of thought quickly gets derailed as two things come to my notice. The first being that I'm not wearing a stitch of clothing, "Eep!" and the second being the glow that I'd noticed earlier; it's coming from the air around me.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Heretic: Waking

It took an hour before the glow around me finally died down, and another half-hour before the mark on my head stopped imitating a flashlight. In that time, I had explained to the voice on the loudspeaker (who was apparently THE Dragon) who I was and what happened to me.

Somewhat unsurprisingly; they were just as stumped as I was.

Still, they're finally letting me out, as they've apparently determined that my powers aren't going to go out of control and hurt someone. I'd normally be insulted, but I've read the stories online about what happens when capes first get their powers, so I really couldn't fault them for their caution.

I'm interrupted from my thoughts as the door to the room opens up, and Miss Milita herself (holy crap!) pokes her head in. In her arms she appears to be carrying a set of sweatpants and a sweatshirt which I happily accept almost as soon as she offers them to me.

"Oh thank the gods." I say as I quickly dress myself. "I may not be complaining about my new looks, but I was getting tired of being naked." I really wasn't by the way... well, I wasn't sure about the glowing hair, but the curves were more than welcome.

"Sorry again about the wait." She seemed honestly appologetic. That was a nice change of pace. Also, it was pretty cool to see that one of the most baddass capes in the Bay was still courteous.

"It's okay." I assure her. "I imagine dealing with new capes with weird powers would make any organization want to err on the side of caution."

As I finish tieing the oversized pants to my newly-widened hips she hands me a domino mask. "If only everyone thought that way." She comments wistfully. "Anyway, your father should be here in a little bit. Would you mind answering some questions now, or would you rather wait for him?"

I think about that for a second before shrugging. "May as well get the questions out of the way. It's not like I have anything to hide." Wait, is that one of those things you weren't supposed to say? As I finish the thought, that same tired/soothing feeling comes over me again. This time tinged with amusement, like a parent who's trying not to laugh at something silly their child is doing.

Wait a minute. The woman from the alley. Is that you?

A feeling of confirmation, combined even more weariness. It feel like she's falling back asleep though. Rats.

"-up, and we can get you something to eat while we're at it." Whoops, looks like I missed a lot of that. I nod like I was following along, as she leads me out the door to an elevator down the hall.

As the door closes, I decide to ask a question that was bugging me. "So, ever since I've woken up, I've been feeling this... energy. Like It's both part of me and around me. Is that what Essence feels like?"

She blinks as she processes the question. Odd how her face is still so expresive with half of it covered. "Yes, that's Essence you're feeling." She says with a smile. (How is she doing that; her scarf covers most of her face?) "Armsmaster mentioned you showed up on the scanner as having active flows. Amazing isn't it?"

I can only nod. "It's like... I'm not sure how to describe it. Like feeling the wind after being cooped up inside for too long, but more so." She just nods in understanding as the elevator stops and I follow her out. "Do you think I can learn martial arts like you?" I ask eagerly.

I've seen the videos online. Sure, guns may be her parahuman power, but she can use Smoke and Thunder style in ways that only old marine-corps masters have achieved, and it's been rumored that she knows at least two more styles.

"I don't see why not." She (once again) manages to convey a smile through her oversized scarf. "Keep in mind, though: it takes most people years of practice to just learn the basic charms. So think of that as more of a long-term goal."

I can feel amusement emenating from my passenger, even through the exhaustion. 'Something you'd like to share?' I think at her. Confidence mixed with mischeviousness and a bit of smugness is the response I get before her presence once again fades.

Somehow, I get the feeling that learning essence-powered martial arts will be easier than Miss Militia thinks.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Author's Note: I blame @dingbat779 and his stories for this one.

Synopsis: Due to an accident, Taylor Hebert (pre-trigger) is sent careening through dimensions and drops right into the lap of a certain Goddess. (No~, not Neptune)

Join us as a girl from the grim darkness of Earth Bet lands in the cheery wackiness of Gamindustri.

Hi-jinks and slice-of-life shall ensue.

In the Green [Hyperdimension Neptunia/Worm]

Prologue:

"Ow." My... everything ached. "Did anyone get the number of that truck?" I mutter as my eyes try to focus on my surroundings. Unfortunately, without my glasses all I could make out were a lot of greens, browns, and whites.

Wait... last thing I remember, I was on my way back from school. There was that cape fight between Leet & Uber and the Merchants. One of Squealer's vehicles (or something from that Mad Max movie, but I'm guessing Squealer) was heading right for my hiding place and glowing with that weird energy...

"That wasn't meant to be a joke." I mutter to myself, as I manage to palm my face.

A beautiful feminine voice interrupts my thoughts. "Oh, you're awake." Jumping slightly, I turn to look at the speaker. Not that it does me much good, as all I can make out is a blonde figure in what appears to be a green dress. "Thank goodness, you gave us quite the fright falling out of the sky like that."

Falling? Oh, that's right; after the truck hit me, I was in this weird place, and then I was falling for what felt like ages. Not that I could see much since my glasses got knocked off during the... collision, but I'm pretty sure the big green thing I was hurtling towards was the ground.

...Hold on a minute. "I-I'm okay? How in the world... I must have fallen at least..."

"Hm? Oh! That's simple enough; you crashed into Chika which broke your fall."

I blink at the simple, matter-of-fact response. "But I had to have been near terminal velocity by that point!"

"But you didn't hit the ground directly, therefore you were safe."

... What? "... What?" Eloquent, Taylor.

"Honestly, what kind of things are they teaching in school these days?" The woman's tone sounds somewhere between amused and exasperated before taking on a lecturing quality. "No matter the distance, falls never result in death unless there's something like spikes or lava at the bottom, and landing on something relatively soft will prevent any kind of serious injury."

I must have hit my head harder than I thought. It's the only way to explain all the crazy I'm hearing. That or a year and a half of school with Emma and her gang have finally driven me mad. They're the only logical conclusions.

"So, which dimension are you from?"

And once more my train of thought screeched to halt. "Wait, what!?"

"Well, aside from recognizing an inter-dimensional portal when I see one." That just raises more questions! "There's no Brockton Bay on Gameindustri." She says as she holds up a white blur that I can only assume is my ID. "At least not in any of the ones we know about."

I should probably be hyperventilating at this point. If this woman was to be belived, I wasn't even on my own world. I'd call her a liar, but considering what my scattered memories are telling me it seems plausible.

So, assuming this isn't some massive prank (considering how mature and classy my host sounds, I don't think so), that means that I've been thrust into a whole new world.

I Taylor Hebert was in another dimension. I'm seperated from my home, my dad, and probably everything else I'm familiar with, with no idea what's going to happen to me.

...And despite all that; the thought that keeps running the thought that keeps running through my head is...

No more Emma.

"Pardon?"

Crap. I said that out loud didn't I? "N-nothing." I stammer out.

...And now I'm starting to cry. She must think I'm pathet-

My vision is suddenly obscured by golden hair as a pair of arms press me to a soft (and unfairly large) chest. "Shh... It's okay."

And just like that the proverbial dam bursts, and I find myself bawling into the arms of a woman I've just met and who's name I don't even know.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Greener Pastures 1:

"I still have a hard time believing that there's no magic on your world."

My host's voice pulls me away from the delicious lasagna we're dining on. "It's like talking about a world without... plants or light; possible in theory, but really strange to try and think about."

"Honestly, for all we know, parahuman powers are magic. It's not like we've found another explaination." I said inbetwen bites. Now normally I'd be slowly picking at my food due to all the changes I've experienced recently, but this stuff was heavenly. Seriously, this is the kind of food you get when you go out to one of those high-end restaraunts; the kind that aren't pretending to be all snooty.

"An interesting theory; although as far as I'm aware, there are no magics that require an extra lobe in your brain." My host, who'd introduced herself as Vert, continued. "Anyway, we'll likely be able to have a look for ourselves later. I may not be Neptune, but I'm genre savvy enough to know that we'll be making contact with them sooner or later."

There was one of those weird videogame/trope-things again. Another one of those weird things about this place (aside from the futuristic city just outside the window and the weird landscape beyond that) that made me question if I wasn't in some sort of coma and this was all in my head; Nearly everyone I'd met so far seemed to causally mention gaming, had some handheld console on their person (and often playing them in public), or was talking about leveling in a way that made me think they weren't talking about a game.

Considering that it was Emma that had originally turned me off of playing video games way back in grade school (due to wanting to fit in) I hadn't really thought much of them since.

...Damnit! This whole thing better not be some kind of wierd figment of my repressed desire to play video games.

I snap back to reality as I realize that my host is staring at me with an odd look on her face, I idly fidgit with my new glasses, while fighting to keep a blush off of my face. I really need to get used to social interaction again.

"Um, sorry. My mind wandered."

Her response was a soft smile. "Perfectly understandable. I can only imagine how overwhelmed you must feel right now."

I can't help but let out a self-depricating chuckle.

"Heya Vert!" A loud and rambunctious voice calls out from the door, before our conversation can go any futher. Two quieter greetings follow quickly afterwards.

Turning to look, I see a rather strange group walking into the room.

The first two looked like sisters. Both of them had lavender hair (is that natural? I've seen a lot of weird hair colors here) and were wearing what looked like oversized jackets, stockings up past their knees, and what look like directional pads from videogame controlers in their hair. The older's jacket looked oddly like a sailor's uniform.

The third's hair was a lightish blue, and she seemed to be wearing an outfit that looked like someone from a clockwork-themed Hogwarts. Also, her stockings went all the way up to mid-thigh.

Was that some weird fashion here? Did they use magic to keep them up there?

My thoughts are interrupted as the younger sister points at me. "Aha! It's You!" She declares loudly.

I barely have time to blink before she's suddenly standing next to my chair and inspecting me, her head uncomfortably close to mine (I idly not that she has to stand on her toes to do so, even though I'm sitting).

"So you're the one who stole my protagonist status." Her voice is both acusing and teasing, and I'm quietly freaking out. I knew this place was too good to be true.

The strange declaration seems to mean something to the others, as both her older sister and Vert make a surprised noise.

"Is that what I was feeling earlier?" Vert muses, quickly regaining her composure. "How very curious."

When did I arrive on Discworld?

"Close, but not quite. They're a few 'verses over." The... blue-haired girl (bluenette?) responds to my (apparently voiced) question. I really need to stop that. Oddly enough the vulpine grin on her face was giving a weird deja-vu feeling.

"Enough of that, though!" The loud one interrupts again. "What do you do?"

"H-Huh?" I squeek out.

"You know: what's your schtick? Are you a goddess in your world? A legendary hero? The last hope to save your species from an alien invasion?"

"... Um, I'm just an ordinary high-school student." I venture. "I don't have any powers."

"Gotcha! We've got an Isekai plotline on our hands." A what? "Now we just need to get you some awesome powers." She pulls back and nods to herself.

My host had facepalmed. "Neptune..."

"Don't worry Vert; I've got just the solution!" The girl (who I'm guessing is Neptune) declared as she reached into her jacket and pulled out a large, diamond-shaped crystal with what looked like a power-symbol inside it. "Here ya go!" And tosses it into the air in my direction.

As I reflexively reach up to catch it, I see Vert dive toward me out of the corner of my eye. "Taylor, No!"

Her hand reaches the crystal just as It lands in my hands.

And then everything goes green.

---

Author's Note: I was originally planning to wait on this, but then Neptune appeared and all my plans went out the window.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Greener Pastures 2:

Energy is racing through my very being; body and soul.

Green energy.

Aside from seeing the color physically, I can just... feel it.

It feels a lot like Vert, somehow.

As the light begins to die down I realize that I felt different.

First thing I notice: I'm not wearing the dress that Vert had loaned me earlier. Looking down, I note that I'm in some kind of white, high-tech swimsuit with gloves and boots that go almost all the way up to my torso, all of which has glowing green accents on it.

As I look down at myself, my hair falls into my view; hair which has turned forest green. I should probably be upset, but I find myself admiring the color.

Wait, what's that high-pitched noi-

And suddenly I'm grabbed into a hug by a squeeling Vert.

"Oh my goodness; you're so cute! And green! Just like your new big-sis."

"Huh, I was kinda expecting her chest to get bigger."

I spare a quick moment to smack Neptune upside the head,

"Nepu!"

-before turning back to my host. "Excuse me; what?"

"Oh! I'm sorry; you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Nope." I answer simply. "Explain."

"Oh! I got this." The manic munchkin perks up. "*Ahem* EXPOSITION!"

I blink. "Oh, that explains everything... Wait a minute. How did that work?!"

Vert just shrugs. "She's really good at that kinda thing; you get used to it."

"So, the two of you are actually goddesses, empowered by the belief of your people, and that Goddess Memory, from that other dimension, just made me your little sister through the power of sympathetic magic and plot-convienence. Did I get that right?"

"Mm-hm." She hummed in agreement.

I assume a thoughtful position. "I see." After a moment of thought, I bring my hand to my face and promptly bite down on my thumb, hard. "Ouch!"

"What the nep!?"

"Just making sure I'm not dreaming." I assure her as I cradle my now-sore thumb. "Speaking of which," I say as I turn to fully look at her. "Now, what was that bit about turning into a monster?"

She seems to wilt under my attention. "A-heh. Well, it's not like there was much danger of that; you're the protagonist." She explains in a reasonable manner. "The odds of it not working were miniscule." The purple-head's nerve returning as she continues. "Besides which, Mr. Badd firgured out how to reverse the monster-transformation a while back; it wouldn't have stuck."

I groan softly as I massage my head with a hand. "Next time: ask first."

"It's a lot easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, though." Is that response I get.

"Yes, but it's also a lot more likely to get you pounded into the ground." I retort, before making my way over to the nearby mirror hanging on the wall. It's not a full-length one, but it's there.

Wow, I look good. A little strange, especially the purple eyes with the power-symbol in them, but I definitely make this look work.

"So." A new voice breaks me out of my self-inspection. "Are you actually going to be Vert's little sister?" It's the girl's older sister. She seems oddly hopeful.

I pause. I'll admit, I missed having a family. Dad had pretty much shut down after Mom had died. Vert seemed pretty nice.

Then again so did Emma.

I shake my head, as if to force the thought out. I'm not going to let that bitch ruin my life any more than she already has. I'm not going to let her win.

I turned to face my blonde host, who was looking at me with a hopeful expression that was just short of puppy-dog eyes. She'd been nothing but kind to me since I'd gotten here.

"Sure." I find myself saying, with more hope than I've had in a long time. "I'm willing to give it a try."

With another high-pitched squee, Vert quickly captures me in a tight hug.

As I relax into her embrace, the world around me flashes green again, and I feel my transformation slipping away.

... And suddenly everything I just did catches up to me. "Eeep!"

"Aaand she's back to being shy." Neptune's voice calls out, and I have to resist the urge to burrow deeper into Vert's chest. It probably won't help.

---

AN: For those of you who didn't catch it; Taylor recieves a confidence-boost in her goddess/candidate form, and takes no crap. I'll expand upon this in later chapters.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Author's Note: So, I've seen a different stories of Taylor (or others) with DnD/Pathfinder skills and powers. I thought I'd give it a try with one of my favorite (fluff-wise) classes; The Shadowcaster.

As an aside: I'm pulling stuff from from 3.5, Pathfinder, and 5e (and taking a few creative liberties), so if you notice something strange, that's probably why.

Casting Shadows [Worm/D&D/Pathfinder]
A lighter darker and softer Worm AU

Prologue: Hello Darkness, My New Friend.

I'm lost.

Wandering in a dark place.

No, I'm wandering in The Dark Place. Somehow I can feel that, even though I can still make out shapes and objects in this dimly-lit and strangely-twisted version of Winslow, this place would always be darker than any other.

I shake my head at the strange thought. My time in... that locker must have messed me up more than I thought.

I'd woken up this warped version of my school an hour ago, in front of a set of lockers even more worn than Winslow's normal ones. In fact; everything in this place seems to be more worn-down than it should be. I'd gone outside briefly and, despite my watch telling me that it's still daytime, the sky is pitch black. Probably the deepest black I've ever seen, with not a star to be seen.

I'd almost say that I've somehow gotten myself stuck in a Steven King novel, if I wasn't reasonably sure there's some kind of parahuman power involved.

After risking a quick shower in the Not-Winslow's shower rooms to wash the gunk from the locker off of me (a strange and surreal experience) I began a more thorough exploration of this place I'd appeared in.

Leading me to where I am now

Despite it's aesthetics, now that the initial shock has worn off, I've actually started to like this place more than regular-Winslow. Although that may have to do with the fact that nobody was around to bother me.

... I think I have issues.

Either way, I've tried to force myself to teleport (or whatever you'd call it) back to the real world, after all dad will be worried if I don't come home. No luck; however I got here, getting back isn't going to be easy.

It didn't help that I can't quite shake the feeling that I still had something I needed to do here; almost as if something was calling to me.

I shake my head once again. Forget issues, there's a decent chance that Emma's little stunt drove me crazy.

As I shake myself from my introspection, I see something that makes me freeze in place. Where the glass door to the library once was sits a massive door made out of some sort of black wood, and adorned with tarnished silver. The door itself somehow seems to warp space around it, as I'm almost positive it shouldn't fit in the hallway.

And yet, despite it's foreboding appearance, something about that door, and what might be on the other side calls to me, in a way that I can't describe in words.

Mentally pushing away thoughts of danger, I reach out (When did I get this close to it?) and open the door.

What greets me on the other side is definitely not my school's library. Instead of faux-tile floors, aluminum shelves, and beat-up paperbacks, I walk into a room made out of the same dark wood as the door, with carpets and padded, wooden furniture in shades of greys and blacks, and old books bound in dark leather. The entire place was lit by strange lamps that appeared to be just glowing, crystal orbs set on tarnished, silver candle-holders.

And then I saw it. Sitting on a small table next to a dark easy-chair was what was calling to me. A book with a cover so black that it seemed to eat any light that touched it; black as the sky outside. The only color on it seemed to be the silvery letters that seemed to blur as I walked close, before coalescing into two words.

Shadow Magick.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Casting Shadows 1.1:
Back in Black

It's odd to be back in the real world, again. The Shadow Plane, as the Tome of Shadow Magic calls it, isn't without its own sounds; wind and weather, animals, and the like (I set up a wind-chime after the first couple of days just for some variety), but it was conspicuously absent of the more human sounds a Brockton Bay normally has.

And of course there's the bright light. I've found myself wearing a pair of clip-on sunglasses and a hat whenever I go out.

"So," I decide to break the silence. "I've gotta admit; that wasn't what I was expecting."

"Yeah, she gets that a lot." Dad comments with an amused grin. "No one expects the superhero who's power is guns to be the personable one." A chuckle. "Poor Armsmaster. He's a great guy, and a dedicated hero; but good with people, he's not."

We're currently on our way back from the PRT building. My dad insisted on it.

"I still can't believe that they know you by name." I ponder while looking up at the car roof. "I know the docks can be dangerous, but still..."

I honestly can't blame my dad for wanting to be cautious. First I disappear for months with no communication, then I suddenly show up on the doorstep looking pale from lack of sun and dressed in strange dark clothes.

Also, the fact that (after a long round of hugs and crying) I started going on about a dark world and learning magic, probably didn't help.

Heck, I'd probably be upset if he just acted like everything was normal. That doesn't mean I'd enjoyed the inquisition the cape-cops put me through, but it's good to know his first worry is making sure I'm okay.

Amazing how much being trapped in a shadowy reflection of the real world that mutes emotions for four moths, with only your pet owl to keep you company, gives you some perspective.

Her name is Annie, by the way. She's my Familiar.

Long story short, shortly after my first month in the Shadow Plane (even with the aformentioned emotional-dampening effetcts), the isolation was begining to get to me. Thankfully, I stumbled upon a ritual for summoning a familiar during my studies.

From what I was able to research in Shadow-Brockton Bay's libraries, Annie appears to be a black and grey variation of an athene noctua or a Little Owl (and I'm really glad no one was around to hear my squee when I discovered that). They were known for being the symbol of Athena/Minerva in mythology, and were associated with wisdom and knowledge.

This was especially amazing, since they aren't native to the Americas, and animals in the Shadow Plane tend to mirror the native ones of the region.

I took it to be a good sign.

"-aylor?" I jolt from my musings.

"Sorry dad, 'wasn't paying attention." I say sheepishly "Still getting used to interacting with others, again." Well, at least I'd mostly stopped flinching at all the unfamiliar sounds. That was progress, right?

A pittying look flashes across his face before shifting back to a more controlled expression. "Don't worry about it. I just asked where you wanted to go for dinner; the fridge is pretty much empty."

I try not to flinch at that. The house was a mess. From the look of things, my disappearance hit him pretty hard. I'm definitely going to spend more time with him now that I'm back.

Three months of isolation really puts things into perspective.

I shake my head to get my thoughts back on track. "Honestly, Could we go to Fugly Bobs? I've been craving a cheeseburger for ages."

That earns me a chuckle. "Sure thing, kiddo."

The burger was incredible.

---

The sun was setting by the time we got home. It was oddly comforting.

Dad turns to face me as he hangs his coat on the rack. A teasing smile was on his face. "So, you're a wizard now, huh? Like Myrridin?"

I shrug. "Kinda. My magic focuses mostly on the magic of the Shadow Plane (where I was) and how it interacts with other places. From what I understand, wizards focus mostly on this worlds magic and work their way out." Judging by his expression, I was losing him. "More or less; just with less spellbook and more shadows."

The man just chuckles before walking over and pulling me into another hug. I've lost track of the number of times I've been hugged today. Not that I was complaining, mind you. I think we both need the reminder that this is real.

Annie gives a soft hoot as she flutters over to my shoulder. Looks like she wanted to get in on the group-hug. Are owls huggers, or was this a familiar thing?

My pondering is interrupted as dad finally pulls away, and anne flaps over to the coat-rack.

"So, excited about power-testing tomorrow?"

"I guess so." I mused out loud. "Honestly, I'm still in shock from meeting actual superheros. The fact that I get to show off my new powers..." I trail off as a smile grows on my face.

I get another chuckle out of dad as he musses my hair before heading into the kitchen. "Any requests for dinner?"

I follow him (I'm feeling a bit clingy; sue me). "Depends. Do we actually have anything?" I snark.
"Of course! I can order out for pizza, chinese, or mexican." He shot right back.

"We still have chinese and mexican places around here?" The snark is strong with our family. "Was the Empire finally conquered while I was away?"

An expression somewhere beetween sheepish and proud suddenly crosses his face before he quickly tries to hide it.

Too late.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Daaad, is there something you'd like to tell me?" I ask while putting on my best 'resolve' face (the one mom used to use on us).

Anne flaps over from her perch to land on my shoulder and glares with me.

"Um..." He's starting to sweat. "About that..."

"Danny!" A voice calls from the entryway, startling both of us.

"Nick?" Dad asks as a man walked into the room. He was dressed in a suit, and khakies, with a neat mustache and beard. "This really isn't the best time-"

"Your daughter, who dissapeared for over three months, comes back with magical powers, and you don't even try to get in touch with me? The best expert on magic in the Protectorate! Come on, man! I had to hear about this from Dragon!"

Wait, "Dragon?" This causes both of them jump. 'Nick's' hand briefly glows for a minute, before he aparently realizes what happened and sheepishly dispells it.

Oh! I must have done my shadow-hiding thing out of reflex, when he came in.

Whoops.

Meanwhile, Dad's hand has moved to rub his forehead. "I was right about to explain things to her."

"I... I figured you would have done it at the PRT building."

"I was trying not to overwhelm her with everything all at once."

Doing my best to suppress my instinctive teenage annoyance at parent's attempt to 'protect' me, I decide to interrupt. "While I appreciate the thought. I'd like an explaination, please."

Annie gives a hoot for emphasis, and I rub a finger over her head as thinks.

Our guest seemed oddly fascinated by this.

"Sure... Um... Crap; where do I start?

"What's to explain?" I try to keep the annoyance out of my tone. "You're a superhero."

"Has been for the past two decades." Nick, who I'm starting to think is actually Myrridin, confirms.

"Thanks, Nick." He says as he runs a hand through his thinning hair in aggravation.

"Chessman." I guess, playing on a hunch. "And Mom was Shadowdancer." It makes way too much sense. It would explain why she left Lustrum and joined the Protectorate. Especially since she disapeared around the time Mom did. They were supposed to have been a couple, so it would make sense.

"You're a sharp kid."

"Not that sharp." I say self-deprecatingly. "I feel like an idiot for missing it; all the clues where right there in front of me."

"To be fair, The Protectorate has a lot of experience covering for secret identities, and we train all our members in doing so. I'm Nicholas Wyld, by the way."

"Also known as 'Myrddin'?" I half-guess.

"At your service, little lady." He says with a bow fit for Las Vegas. "Or perhaps I should say: young mage."

My dad leans forward at this. "So it is magic, then? She's not just a parahuman?"

"I can feel the magic coming off of her, Her clothes are enchanted," he gestures as he talks. "And that's a familiar if I've ever seen one."

"As nice as it is to have proof that I'm not just some crazy cape." I interrupt, before turning to Dad. "What. Did. You. Do?" I am keeping this conversation on-track, dangit!

"Um... That is..." Our guest tries unsuccessfully to hide his laughter as I stare my father down.

Finally, 'Nick' interrupts. "What didn't he do? When he found out his daughter was missing, He did everything but go on a roaring rampage of revenge. And even then some of the villains might argue otherwise."

"Before we go any further, can I get something to eat?" My thoroughly embarrassed father (who is currently hiding his face in his hands) decides to interrupt. "I hadn't eaten since last night, and that one Fugly Burger wasn't nearly enough."

"Sure thing!" Our guest says cheerfully, before waving his hands and speaking a few words in a language I don't recognize. As he finishes, the table is filled with several boxes of Chinese take-out.

"Huh." He seems rather surprised at this result. "Didn't think I'd get Chinese food in Brockton Bay of all places."

My father and I fail to contain our laughter.

---

Author's Notes: Danny as Chessman stolen from a certain Worm/Okami fanfic.
But seriously, go read Constellations if you haven't already; it's hilarious, fluffy, awesome, and way better than my stories.

 

[Jack of Olives]

And that's about it for now.

I may post more later, but I'm not feeling up to doing the editing the rest of my stories requre at the moment.

Still, let me know what you guys think.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Quick Omake: Green Sister vs. Iris Heart

"Hide me! Hide you! Heck, hide everyone!"

"Chika, what's wrong?"

"Your Sister and Iris Heart!"

"Iris Heart? how!?"

"I... forgot to warn Taylor not to let Plutia transform."

"Chika! I can't belive you! My poor little sister has probably been traumatized for life!"

"Worse; when she registered a threat she escalated the situation by transforming herself."

"...I don't hear any signs of combat or anything. Did they take the fight outside the city or something?"

"Even worse! Iris Heart decided that she has potential; she's decided to mentor her."

"... I hear the Zero Dimension is nice this millenia."

---

Omake: (Don't) Hide Your Lesbians

"NoireNoireNoire!" The Goddess of Lastation, who had been quietly working at her desk, turned looked up from her paperwork a the noise.

Only to be tackled out of her chair by a flying lavender-headed missile.

"Neptune! What the heck are yo-" She was interrupted by a toe-curling kiss from the smaller girl. A kiss with tongue.

What?

And then the lips were gone. "I love you, Noire." She Lavender-ette giggled almost manically. "Dang but it feels good to actually be able to say that. I. Love. You."

"What? HOW!? We're not supposed to be able to do anything like this!" The raven-haired goddess was seriously freaking out. "We can make references, or hint at our feeling but actually doing anything that can't be construed as platonic shouldn't work!"

"You can thank our new protagonist for that."

Noire forced herself off of her back and into a sitting position. Causing the other girl to shift onto her lap. "...Why don't you start at the beginning."

"I was doing my annual trip to the Tropes Monastery to hone my 1337, fourth-wall-breaking skillz," Here she struck what Noire assumed was supposed to be a some kind of martial arts pose with her hands. "But as soon as I arrived I noticed that the place was flooded with couples of all kinds; straight, yuri, yaoi, and even some threesomes!"

Noire looked perplexed at this. "And they weren't playing it for comedy?"

"No! It was actual romantic encounters!" The Goddess of Planeptune looked both amazed and weirded-out. "I managed to get a couple of them to stop long enough to explain that our protagonist comes from a culture where LGBT rights are mostly accepted. One of their greatest heroes is married to another man. Publicly!"

"Whoa! I wonder if Taylor has told her sister yet..."

"If so she probably locked herself in her room for the rest of the day." The purple CPU said cattily. Earning her a smack to the shoulder followed by another kiss.

"I could get used to this." The deity of Lastation comments with a wistful sigh.

After a minute of snuggling, Neptune finally speaks up again. "So... bedroom?"

This gets her a raised eyebrow in response. "Don't you think that's going a bit fast?"

"After how many games and spin-offs? No!"

"Well, you'll just have to wait a bit longer; because I'm not that kind of girl." At her crestfallen expression Noire smirks. "I require dinner and dancing before any kind of bedroom activities are to be had."

The Purplette winced. "Would DDR at the arcade count?"

"The one next to the Okonomiaki stand we both we both enjoy eating at? Certainly!"

"Wait, that's it?"

"For you, Neptune; I'm a cheap date."

This earned her another kiss.

---

Author's Notes: Figured that I might as well post these.

Also, if you couldn't tell, I totally ship Neptune/Noire. Although Neptune/Blanc can be cute, too.

 

[TMTM™]

Wow that exalted crossover surprised me, but in a good way. I was not expecting it to be a fusion. This entire thread was a nice surprise honestly, I really hope to see more.

 

[Prismatic Glaive]

In the Green [Hyperdimension Neptunia/Worm]

Click to shrink...

I would pay (if I could) for you to continue this...

Neptune/Noire

Click to shrink...

Good taste!

Neptune/Blanc

Click to shrink...

Nah... Blanc/Plutie is much better! They hang out in silence in their normal form, Plutie sleeping in Blanc's lap as she reads her books in silence! And in HDD form, they get to 'play' certain roles (mistress and rebellious pet... you know who's who)!!!

 

[globalwarmth]

"Gotcha! We've got an Isekai plotline on our hands." A what? "Now we just need to get you some awesome powers." She pulls back and nods to herself.

My host had facepalmed. "Neptune..."

Click to shrink...

this is so dumb yet incredibly refreshing

how would her powers work back on earth?

 

[Jack of Olives]

how would her powers work back on earth?

Click to shrink...

Neptune's fourth-wall breaking shtick on Earth Bet? At first she'd have a hard time adjusting to the different (considerably darker) tone, but after that it'd probably be turned into a weak form of precognition/pattern recognition. Somewhere around Thinker 2-3.

Granted, I haven't gotten around to writing that part yet; so this is all subject to change.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Greener Pastures 3

Apparently the blunette(?) was some sort of mad-scientist/wizard who was an expert on interdimensional travel.

Also her name is 'MAGES.'. Took me a few tries to get the hang of the pronunciation (for lack of a better word). The fact that I can now apparently pronounce capital letters and periods is a little odd. The fact that i can now recognize when someone else is using them, almost like I'm reading it, is what's really odd.

On a side note: while I'm still somewhat worried about my sanity, that fear is slowly fading. My imagination just isn't this good.

Anyway, dimensional travel is apparently a difficult and energy-intensive process to do with any measure of accuracy, especially if we don't want it to be one-way. MAGES. gave this big long rant about the intricacies of the process, but most of it went in one ear and out the other. The short explaination: It's apparently easier to travel to closer dimensions (like parallel ones) than further out ones, since it's just travel on one axis of dimensional space.

I, from what they could tell, went through at least half a dozen axies(?). So yeah; this wasn't going to be easy.

On the other hand, she seemed quite motivated once she found out that Dr. Pepper existed on Earth Bet, for some reason; she's been working practically non-stop.

In other news, my new big sister has spent most of today showing me around Leanbox's basilicom (the center of government/power); showing me where all the important rooms are and everything.

She's really taking the sibling thing seriously. Then again, from how it was explained to me (side note: I have got to get Neptune to teach me that trick), Goddesses are the metaphysical center of a nation as well as being their leaders, so there may be a reason behind it.

Speaking of reasons, I'm a bit unsettled about how everyone's been eyeing me, throughout the tour. While it could be about how Vert has been introducing me as her 'new Candidate'; something about everyone's reactions seem to be... off. Almost like they're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Anyway, I'm currently munching on some kind of gyro-pizza thing that we bought from a food-truck outside the basilicom. I'm still not sure how Vert was able to finish hers so quickly, let alone how she managed to do so while looking as elegant as ever. I wasn't even a third of the way through my own, having decided to take my time rather than making a fool out of myself.

"And finally, this is the entrance to the Sharicite Chamber. Excess shares are condensed here into something we can use during a proverbial rainy-day."

"It feels... kinda strange." I comment as I examine the elaborate door in front of me. "Like I'm standing in front of a tornado, but a helpful one." Great metaphor, Taylor.

Vert just giggles as she pulls me into a hug. Have I mentioned that she's a hugger? "From my understanding, it always feels different to each goddess, but it's usually something along those lines, yes."

Breaking off the hug she begins walking to the door. "As much as I'd like to show you the inside, that will have to wait until you have a bit more control over your power. For right now, only Chika and I are allowed in here." As she says this, she places her hand on a green crystal by the door, which glows briefly before the door opens. "I shouldn't be long." She calls with a smile and a wave, before entering the room.

I mentally shrug before taking another bite of my lunch. Honestly, I'm rather greatful for the break. As much as I like Vert, I'm beginning to understand that she's a lot more extroverted than I am.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, but between meeting all these new people and trying to learn as much as I can about my new world & position in it, I'm more than a bit overwhelmed.

My musings are interrupted as my brain registers what sounds like someone shouting while heading in this direction.

As I turn to look at the entryway to the room, a figure dashes inside. My brain registers green hair, and a black dress before a loud snapping sound catches my attention.

"Whoa-"

Acting on instinct as I see the girl in front of me begin to fall-over backwards, I drop my lunch and move forward and catch her.

And suddenly I find myself with a beautiful girl in my arms. Green hair in loose curls flows from her head, looking like it goes all the way down her back, and her gorgeous ruby-red eyes meet mine as we stare at each other for what seems like an eternity.

"Um... th-thank you." She manages to stutter out as her cheeks turn red. I can feel mine doing the same.

"I, um, I was happy to help." Smooth, Taylor.

"Um, would you mind..." She starts to ask.

It takes me a second to realize what she's asking. "Oh!" I say as I move to stand her back upright. "Certainly."

This results into her stumbling into my arms. Looking down, we both notice that the reason she did so (and likely the reason she fell in the first place), is that the heel on one of her shoes has snapped off.

We both look up again, and I can feel myself begin to blush again, as I notice our faces are inches away from each other.

"Oh dear." Vert's amused voice startles both of us out of our trance. "Am I interrupting something?" The teasing smile on her face matching her tone.

---

AN: This one came out very differently than my intentions going into it. I was originally planning just to have comedic shenanigans. Then I started writing Chika into the scene, and everything mysteriously changed.

My muse is fickle like that.

Edit: Awkward romantic subplot, woo!

Edit 2: Dangit Neptune! Leave the Fourth-Wall Alone!

 

[Jack of Olives]

Wormfinder (Working Title)
A Worm/Pathfinder Crossover

Warning: I'll be (eventually) taking some creative liberties based on how I think how Earth's various governments and religions would react upon meeting the Fantasy-Kitchen-Sink that is Golarion (Pathfinder's setting). While I intend to do my best to avoid intentionally offending anyone, I'll likely step on a couple toes as the story goes on. Reader discretion is advised for those sensitive about these subjects.

Chapter 1:

"And so; Despite five years having passed since the end of the Madness War, and the defeat of the Lord of Ryleigh; the disappearance of Scion still remains one of the greatest mysteries that-"

I couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh. While the information that our Paranormal Studies teacher was going on about was objectively fascinating, being about the greatest event in our time; I just couldn't find it in myself to care.

"It's speculated that the popularity of the monster in the years before was a subtle master-effect which-"

Having lived through the first contact event with Golarion, and having been around to witness the chaos that followed with the awakening of the Great Old One; being forced to listen to this old man drone on about it just rubbed me the wrong way, somehow.

A soft voice, that was definitely not Mr. Pressley's, interrupted my thoughts. "Are you as bored as I am?"

I looked to the other side of the room to where Emma was sneaking a glance (and a small wave) in my direction. After checking to make sure Mr. Pressley's back was turned, I made the gestures for a message cantrip of my own. After finishing, I quickly Covered my mouth with my hand to disguise my talking. "Probably more, Emms. Seriously, I can understand having some of the other students taking this class," I flick my eyes towards a couple of halfling immigrants seated near me. "But why make us take it?"

"Bureaucracy, my dear Hebert. Bureaucracy." She snarked in a faux-british accent. I had to stifle a chuckle at that.

"Now, for your homework for the weekend;" We sat straight up to pay attention at that. "I want you to write a one-page essay on a way that our country has restored order since the War ended." There were some soft groans scattered around the classroom that our teacher politely ignored (or just didn't hear; it's hard to tell sometimes). "I'll let you spend the last few minutes before the bell discussing ideas amongst yourselves.

I wasted no time making my way towards where Emma was sitting. "So, best-friend and future bardic-celebrity." I open teasingly. "Any big plans for this weekend?"

She shrugs nonchalantly. "Not really; just getting together with the band Sunday to practice our stuff." Her tone is teasing, and I can see where this is going. "Nothing else that I can think of." She finishes with a big smile.

My voice takes on a teasing quality of it's own. "Oh, too bad. I guess It'll just be me and mom making cookies, then."

"Wait! Joking! I want those cookies!" She exclaims inbetween giggles. "Seriously; if I hadn't checked myself, I'd swear that your mother's cookies are magic. I'm still not fully convinced as it is." She finishes with faux-suspicious look.

I chuckle as the bell rang and we picked up our backpacks. "If they are, then I hope she teaches me that spell, one day."

After stopping at our lockers to pick up the rest of our stuff, bantering back and fourth all the while, we made our way to Winslow's main exit.

"You know," A voice pipes up from Emma's other side. I look over and see Greg Veder walking beside us. "You two should really be more careful."

"Why Greg, whatever do you mean." My best friend asks faux-innocently.

The boy just snorts. "Mr. Smith may not be the sharpest, but almost everyone knows some cantrips these days."

It's true, after Zandar the Red (a human wizard from Golarion) started a channel on Youtube a few years ago, magic has become a lot more widespread. While all the big stuff requires a lot of time and effort to learn how to do, the ability to move things with your mind (and a few words and gestures) after a mere week or two of practice is something many people had taken an interest in.

Also, it takes a lot of the fear out of something when you not only understand the basic principles enough to know if something is dangerous or not, but can use it yourself.

"I've gotten caught casting magic in class, and mine isn't even obvious."

"We know, you still haven't shut up about it." The redhead complains.

He seemingly ignores this. "But do you also remember that Detect Magic is a cantrip as well. All he has to do is use it and the two of you are busted."

As I step outside, with my two friends still bickering, I feel a pair of claws and a weight on my shoulder.

"Hey T." I greet the tawny owl that is my familiar. "Did you have a nice nap?" I get a hoot and a 'yes' feeling from her in response.

T usually sleeps in a tree in the yard while I'm in class. I can't really blame her, owls are supposed to be nocturnal, after all.

"Ready to go home?" Another hoot in affirmative. "Then let's get moving."

---

[Hey everyone! Welcome to another episode of Magic and You.] I watched eagerly as the famous Red Wizard's newest video played on the household computer. Sure, I knew a lot of the stuff he usually went over from mom's lessons, but I almost always learned something.

[Today, we're going to go over a subject that a lot of you have been asking me about; The Gods.] I fist-pump in triumph. This should be awesome.

[As I've mentioned time and time before,] I can't help but let out a snicker at the barely concealed exasperation in his voice. [I'm by no means an expert on deities or religion. So~, I've decided to call in some help on this one.]

I watch as the camera pans sideways to show a middle-aged woman sitting in a chair next to his. She looks vaguely Indian in ethnicity, wearing a fairly simple robe, and has a braid of her hair wrapped around her like a necklace.

[Ladies and Gentlemen, may I Introduce Lady Sajna, Cleric of Irori; Golarion's god of history, knowledge, and self-perfection.] Turning to look at her, he moved a hand in front of his chest and bowed slightly from his sitting position. [It's an honor to have you on the show Sajna.]

[Thank you for having me here, Zandar. I'm always happy to spread the gift of knowledge with others.] As she talks, I can't help but notice that she has the 'wise and serene' thing down.

[So, let's start with the most commonly asked question. 'What are the gods?']

The woman gives an amused smile. [Not pulling any blows, are you? Well, the short answer is that gods are powerful extra-planar entities who embody one or more concepts.]

[Like Nethys being the god of magic, right?]

[Correct. Something to note is that the more powerful gods have more or broader concepts under their purview. In the case of Nethys, 'Magic' for is all-encompassing enough to make a Major god by itself. On the other hand, a lesser god might have a specific aspect of that portfolio, like divination magic. Said gods usually work directly or indirectly under the gods that their concept falls under.]

[Makes sense to me.] Zandar nods, before flipping to the next note-card in his hands. [Another Question people ask a lot: why didn't they help during the Madness War? Directly, I mean.]

[The gods themselves are forbidden from directly interfering in mortal affairs without being called upon outside of very specific circumstances. We believe this is due to some sort of divine treaty, but the exact details have never been reveled to us, as far as I'm aware. That said, all gods have the ability to gift a fraction of their powers to their followers in the form of divine magic and minor miracles. These gifts are granted to those who perform certain rites and rituals of varying complexity showing that they are indeed followers of the god in question. Also, the god can choose to withhold their gifts if they believe that the person in question is not acting in their interests.]

[Can you give us an example?]

[Certainly. As you've mentioned, I follow Irori, who is a god of self-perfection; meaning his whole purpose is to help others better themselves. Generally, his rites involve around such things as exercising, eating well, and mental improvement. However, there are no shortcuts when trying to improve yourself, and doing things like taking steroids, eating junk-food, or deliberately remaining ignorant is likely to bar you from his blessings.]

Zandar nods his head at this while scratching is goatee. [Nethys is the same way with magic, from what I've come to understand.]

[So I understand.]

[Fascinating.] As interested as he seems, I can't help but feel he's heard a lot of this already. [Next question: Where do the gods come from?]

[Gods can be birthed from any number of phenomena; anything from a powerful event, an ascended mortal, or having been around since the Beginning.] Here she pauses. [Admittedly, those that fall into the last category are just from what we've been able to gather from the immortals we've been able to question, but most accounts on that matter mesh together well enough for us to take them as truth.]

[That actually segues into another question that I'm frequently asked: What happened to Earth's gods?]

The robed woman leans back into her chair. [That is actually one of the reasons I'm here. While there are a great deal of stories about the gods of this world, as far as anyone can tell, no god has been seen since The Fading.]

The host interrupts her here. [For those of you new to the show. 'The Fading' is what we call the event that happened in this world's ancient times that caused magic to slowly disappear from this world. I'll post a link to my video on that in the video's description.]

She nods. [While there are definitely signs that there were gods here, what happened to them is still a mystery. Some believe they left, others that they died keeping the outer gods away before the fading. I'm confident that we will discover what happened to them one day, but for now all we have are questions and speculation.] 'Gee, that's not worrying at all.' I mentally roll my eyes.

[What about the afterlife, then?]

[Again, this is from what I've been told; but apparently the local version of The Boneyard has been simply collecting souls over the millennia. It wasn't until recently that souls have been able to be processed and sent on to their appropriate afterlives. I don't know the details, but apparently they're still working through the backlog.]

Zandar interrupts her again. [For those of you wondering, The Boneyard is the place in Golarion's cosmology where Pharasma, the goddess of the dead, judges the souls and sends them off to their final reward. Usually to be with their patron deity, from my understanding.]

[Correct. I'm unsure who is acting as the interim death-god, but I've seen more than one cleric of Pharasma helping the unquiet dead pass-on during my time here.]

[Good to know that won't be a problem, then.] He nods. [I know that the various hauntings have been freaking out a lot of Earth's people since magic came back. Anyway, for our last question people have been asking about the Outer Gods. What are they, and will we have to worry about them in the future?]

Here she makes a face as if she smelled something disgusting. [It is the position of the church of Irori that the Outer Gods are gods of madness; a cancer that exist only to warp things to their insane purposes.]

Here she turns to look straight at the camera. [If you or someone you know believe you have believe that you have encountered any paraphernalia or followers of the beings, please contact your local authorities, they should know what to do from there.]

[Indeed. Such things need to be handled by trained professionals.] The red wizard nods, seriously.

"Good advice." A voice calls from behind, causing me to jump.

"Ack! Mom! When did you get here?" I demand as I spin around.

"Just a minute ago. Just got off my shift." She comments as she picks up her briefcase from the table.

"Oh." I say, trying not to blush at my lack of awareness.

"Sounds like a serious episode."

I shrug. "Gods, afterlives, and monsters at the end there."

She makes a noise of agreement as she opens up one of the cabinets in the kitchen.

"So, how were things at work?" I decide to ask.

"Oh, just another day for the Paranormal Response Team."

---

Author's Notes: So, a while back, I was going over the ramifications of a crossover between Worm and Pathfinder for a Worm CYOA story, when It occurred to me that the Lovecraft Mythos exists in the Pathfinder universe. Of specific note: of the great old ones mentioned, it specifically mentions that, despite slumbering on a far-away planet, Cthulhu's influence could still be felt on Golarion. And then I though 'Hey, doesn't Earth have legends of Cthulhu sleeping off the coast of...'. Although I initially 'noped!' the idea; my brain wouldn't let it go.

And thus, like the madness that spreads from any Great Old One, this story began to take shape.

On another note: since Taylor's mom was an English professor, I decided to roll to see if she'd ever read any particularly dangerous books (I roll dice when I'm indecisive/bored). She had.

I then rolled to see if she would pass her will-save to not, y'know: go mad.

Nat '20'.

So, I decided that if she wanted to be a badass, she could be a badass. Which ends with us having Witch-Annette.

Spoiler: Approximate Character Class/Levels

Taylor Hebert: CG Human, Witch [Mind Patron] 1

Annette Hebert: NG Human, Witch [Mind Patron] 11

Daniel Hebert: NG Human, Gunslinger 5/Rogue 5

Emma Barnes: CN Human, Bard 1

Greg Veder: CN Human, Occultist 1

Zandar the Red: TN Human, Wizard [Diviner] 14

Sajna: LN Human, Cleric of Irori 13

 

[Jack of Olives]

Greener Pastures 4

"I-" "She-" "her heal-" "running-"

Before either of us could get further than some confused babbling, The blonde goddess decided to interrupt. "Now, now; there's nothing to be ashamed of. After all, the two of you are old enough to make these kind of decisions on your own."

The small part of me that wasn't dying from embarrassment idly noted that my big sister seemed incredibly happy for some reason. Not just amused, Happy; like getting exactly what you wanted for your birthday, and then some.

The other girl (who's name I still hadn't gotten yet) pushes away from me before trying to walk over to where my big sister is standing. "Vert, I swear that wasn't what i-" And forgetting about the broken heel.

Once more, I move to catch her. We both end up on the floor, this time; although I do manage to keep her from banging her head, or anything.

I also get the strangest feeling that I just set off some sort of chain of events. Weird.

Vert seems completely unaffected by our pratfall. "I'd imagine so, considering I'm 99% sure that the two of you have never met before." The fact that she's not completely sure probably says something about this place. "Oh! But where are my manners; Taylor, this is Chika Hakozaki. She's Leanbox's oracle; basically second in command of Leanbox, and in charge of things when I'm not around. Chika, this is Taylor. She's Leanbox's new Candidate, and will be working to assist you in the future."

It might be my imagination, but I could swear that I hear a sound like a glass shattering come from the direction of the newly introduced Chika as Vert mentions my new divine status.

Vert, in the meantime, has pulled out her phone and is looking at the screen. "Oh shoot, I need to take care of this." Something about her voice makes me think she's faking, somehow. "I'll leave the two of you to get to know each-other." She says as she pockets the device.

"But Vert!" I'm not sure which one of us said those words.

"Don't do anything that I wouldn't do~." She sing-songs back, and the two of us can only stare as the blonde practically skips out the door, closing it behind her.

There's silence in the room, as we move from staring at the door to staring at each-other's still-red faces.

"So, it's nice to meet you." I offer, trying to get a conversation started. "I'm glad I'm not the only one she teases like that." I add with a smile.

Her blush deepens. "Nice to meet you too." She adds with a slight smile of her own.

Then something then seems to occur to her. "Wait a minute. No it isn't!" She exclaims, before standing up from the ground (and almost tripping again, before kicking off her shoes in frustration) and pointing her finger at me. "You're trying to steal my Vert from me!"

I blink at her declaration. 'Steal her Vert'? Is that why she ran into the room? "But I'm not trying to steal her."

"That- That doesn't matter!" She said shaking her head. I detect a note of... desperation in her tone. "Vert is going to love me. It's only a matter of time before I find some way."

At something of a loss for words, I find myself saying the first thing that comes to mind. "I'm... pretty sure that she's straight." Then again, I thought I was straight until a few minutes ago, so I may not be the best judge. But if all of the posters in her room are anything to go off of, Vert seems fixated on males.

The green-haired girl visibly deflates at your declaration. Staring down at the space between her feet, I barely catch her next words. "I know." Tears are forming in her eyes. "That's why I wanted to be her little sister." There are a lot of emotions in just those words; anger, frustration, despair. "It's the only thing I could find that she actually seemed to care about."

"That... really doesn't sound like a healthy way to start a relationship." I say softly. "Trying to get close to someone you want to be romantically involved with by creating a familial bond... that sounds like it would lead to something out of a bad soap-opera." Then again, I'm hardly an expert when it comes to love.

For that matter, when did I get so good at reading people?

Either way, the tension in her frame drains as she collapses to her knees, covering her face with her hands as she does so. "I'm a horrible person." She manages to say inbetween sobs.

I kneel down myself, and pull her into a gentle hug. "That's not true, you just-" My words were interrupted by a commotion coming from outside the closed door.

"Hey Chika!" An annoying and familiar voice calls from out in the hallway, cutting through the tender moment. "Just wanted to see how things turned out with the new candidate. Did you set off any flags yet?"

The girl in my arms stiffens, suddenly. "N-Neptune!" She calls back, tone suddenly nervous. "Now really isn't the best time."

Seemingly ignoring Chika's reply, the CPU of Planeptune storms through the door with a kick, still talking as she went. "When you said you were going to try and see if she'd be open for the romance option when I sent you that picture, I just had to stop by and see for myself. It's been practically ages since you gave up on... Vert?" She pauses in her ramblings as she looks at the scene in front of her, then promptly facepalms. "I'm not mature enough to deal with this." I hear her mutter to herself.

...Wait a minute, what was that she said about Chika?

There is a flash of light as Neptune transforms into what appears to be her own goddess form. And wow, that's quite the change. Also, looks like I really am actually bisexual, because she fills out that outfit nicely.

Purple Heart (if I recall correctly) practically teleports to where we are, and proceeds to drag Chika to her feet by her ear. "You know better than this, Chika."

"Crash-it Neptune; did you have to interrupt? I almost had her!" Ice-water runs through my veins at her sudden change of attitude.

"Not like this. If you want a healthy relationship, you're going to talk to her like a normal person. Doing this kind of thing is just a recipe for a Liar-Revealed plotline."

...Wait a minute. "That... was all fake. The whole thing with being in love with Vert; the crying; everything?"

Here, the purple CPU waves her hand back and fourth. "Eh~, sort of. Vert told her over a year ago that she wasn't interested in girls, and to stop chasing her. She was down in the dumps for about a couple weeks or so. Then started using the sympathy card to sleep around" Here she gave a tug on the ear still in her hands, getting a yelp from the green-head. "We eventually staged an intervention."

The girl in question was looking incredibly nervous at this point; she was also visibly sweating.

Another flash of light fills the room, this time in green, as I mentally flick a switch.

"Thank you for your assistance. Would you mind leaving the two of us alone for a minute? I'm afraid I need to have some private words with our Oracle." Chika's sweating intensifies.

Yet another flash, and a de-transformed Neptune is striding towards the door. "No~ problem." She calls with a sing-song tone. "My job here is done. Take care~"

"N-Neptune! Don't just leave-" The door slams shut. "Oh, crash." She turns to look in my direction as I slowly walk towards her. "Ehehe, I don't suppose an 'I'm sorry' will help my position at all?"

Acting on instinct, I hold out my hand and a halberd appears in a flash of light. I idly spin it around with seemingly practiced ease as I speak up again. "It's a start."

---

Author's Note: Funny thing about Chika; even though she does care, she's also a habitual liar/drama-queen. In this story, this tendencey has developed from a relatively-harmless bad habbit, into a more worrying tendency to decieve others into trying to get what she wants in the short-term (without thinking about the consequences), due to a bad-habit she developed after Vert's rejection. Intellectually, she recognizes that she has a problem, but...




Also, as I'm posting this, I should be writing for my quest, but my muse wasn't leting me write for anything but this.

Now, let's see if I can actually get anywhere on LJtI.

 

[Rended Space]

"Why must all situations end in violence?"

 

[Jack of Olives]

Shadow Hunter 1 [Harry Potter/Persona SI]

I'm slowly woken from my sleep by the sounds of quiet talking around me. I take a moment to remind myself where I am before finally opening my eyes.

Sure enough, here I am; sitting on the Hogwarts Express on my way to said Wizarding school. What I wasn't expecting, however were my current traveling companions.

"Oh!" A certain frizzy-haired girl in Griffindor colors exclaims as I sit up in my seat and start blinking the sand from my eyes. "Sorry if we woke you." She says apologetically. "We were trying" Here she shoots a small glare at the red-headed boy sitting next to her. "to keep our voices down."

"No worries." I do my best to assure her. "Just trying to make up for lost sleep."

"Blimey! What's a Colonial doing here?" Apparently my accent tipped them off that I wasn't a local. No surprises there.

"Ron!"

I let out a laugh, hoping to head off an argument. "It's okay. I don't mind. My Aunt Inga's job transferred her to here in the U.K., and I decided to come with her." I explain. "I could have stayed behind at Ilvermorny, but" Here I shrug. "I wouldn't be much of a Thunderbird if I passed up an opportunity for something new."

"'Thunderbird'?" The youngest Weasley asks, confused."

"That's one of the houses at Ilvermorny, if memory serves." Hermione speaks up. "Named after their house mascot. It's supposed to be the house of the adventurous."

I let out another chuckle. "2 points to... "I make a point to look at their ties. "Griffindor?" She nods, and I decide to continue. "To be specific, we're supposed to represent Explorers, and the Soul of a wizard or witch."

"The soul?" All three ask. Ron's seemingly more befuddled than Harry and Hermione's curious tones.

"Yup. Each house is said to represent one part of a wizard or witch." I explain.

Pulling out my wand (beech with a thunderbird feather, 9 & 3/4 inches, somewhat springy), I cast a quick spell to create an image of the four Ilvermorny house crests in the air. I love this spell, by the way; it's really useful for visual aids when explaining things.

"The Wampus house," I begin, pointing to the stylized great cat. "is the warrior house and represents the body."

"I thought you said that you were in the warrior house?" The redhead asks with a confused expression on his face.

Thankfully, I half-expected this question. "Nope. Although a lot of us learn to do so anyway, since we're the ones that tend to find ourselves in trouble the most; Wampus house is the house that tends to specialize in it the most, though. They're the ones we call on when we need help."

While he tries to wrap his head around it, I decide to continue. "Anyway, Next is Horned Serpent; which is the house of scholars, and represents the mind."

"What's so smart about a slimy snake?"

"Honestly, Ron."

"I dunno, what's so special about an overgrown houscat?" I ask faux-innocently, as I conjure an image of the Griffindor Lion into the air.

"That's completely different! A housecat is nothing like a Lion! They're two different... animals." The light seems to go on in his head as he realizes what I'm getting at. "...Oh."

"Don't worry about it." I wave him off before he can start to apologize. "I know the Wizarding World here in Europe hasn't had the best history with snakes."

Harry idly rubs his forearm, seemingly unconsciously. "Tell me about it." He mutters.

"Anyway," I say as I point to the last house crest. "The last house is Pukwudgie; the house of healers, and representing the heart."

"Speaking of pukwudgies," Hermione is the one to speak up this time. "I wasn't able to find out much about them. Just their name and a simple drawing."

"I'm not surprised." I say in (what I hope) was as assuring tone. "They're not well known outside of North America. I've got a book that talks about them, you can borrow it if you're interested."

"You don't mind?" She asks. Visibly trying to control her eagerness.

"It's fine." I assure her. "I've already read through it."

I also brought it along specifically for this purpose. The book in question Magical Races of the World is the best book I was able to find about various sapient magical races that manages to talk about how they differ both mentally and culturally from humans, without being bigoted about it. It even has a preface that talks about how mutual understanding between the various magical races, and how they hoped the book would promote better relations between the different civilizations. Hopefully, it would be able to blunt (if not stop) her S.P.E.W. kick this year.

Also, I'm pretty sure that using 'races' instead of 'species' in the title was a deliberate choice on the author's part, which is why I picked up the book in the first place.

I summon my trunk down, and begin to rifle through it looking for the book, before a thought occurs to me. "Oh! I haven't introduced myself, have I? Jacqueline Olivia Shepard; fourth-year student." Oh! there it is. Snagging the book from the library-compartment, I close the trunk's lid and turn back to them. "But you can call me Jackie." I say with a smile.

"A pleasure." The other girl in the room says as I hand her the book; a brilliant smile of her own on her face. "I'm Hermione Jane Granger; also a fourth-year."

Time seems to stop briefly as a connection is formed.

"I am thou... Thou art I..."

Arcana VIII 'Justice' gained.

Persona 'Angel' gained.

"And these are my friends, Ronald Weasley," She continues as time resumes its normal course.

The redhead lets out a half-hearted wave. "Call me 'Ron'."

"And Harry Potter." She finishes. I can see the boy trying to suppress a slouch as she says his name.

Still, I play up being surprised as I blink owlishly. "As in: The Boy Who Lived?"

"Unfortunately." He says somewhat sourly.

I walk over and put my hand on his shoulder. "I am so sorry. That must be a horrible thing to be famous for." I notice Ron shift out of the corner of my eye, but I keep my focus on Harry.

"You're one of the few people who seem to think so." He says, bitterness hanging off of his words.

I shrug. "Probably because I'm not from Europe." At the curious looks, I elaborate. "I mean, Back in the States, we never head much trouble with Death Eaters; so it's more of a curious tale than anything. Around here I'd imagine that between the adults who lived through the war, and the children who grew up on the story, no one stops to think about what it would mean to live though it."

"...Oh. I hadn't thought about it like that."

To be fair, I had a lot more years of experience to draw from than he did. "It's okay. A lot of times we're so close to a problem, we can't see the whole thing." I smile encouragingly. "Anyway, want to be friends?"

"...I think I'd like that."

"I am thou... Thou art I..."

Arcana XII 'Hanged Man' gained.

Persona 'Hua Po' gained.

The rest of the train ride passed with the four of us talking about their experiences at Hogwarts, with myself chiming in about the differences between it and Ilvermorny.

---

Earlier

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." A creepy-looking man greets me, as I suddenly find myself sitting in what appears to be a luxury train-car lined in blue velvet. Sitting across me are three figures; Igor, a platinum-blonde woman in a an old-fashioned stewardess uniform (also in blue), and a being that appeared to be made out of solid white light.

Now, most people would probably be freaking out about now. That's not me, though; I tend to have a cool head in strange situations and emergencies. After everything is over, I tend to have a major freakout as my brain tries to work through everything that's just happened to me. There are a few exceptions, but they tend to be due to a lack of any kind of agency; as long as I can do something, I'll keep my cool.

"Um, hi." I say lamely, as my brain begins shifts into social-mode.

"I'm terribly sorry to disturb your normal routine, but if you would be so kind as to listen to our sponsor's request," He says as he gestures to the glowing being sitting next to him. "we would greatly appreciate it."

"Hey, there. You can call me ROB." The being in question says nonchalantly. "And don't worry; I'm not the A-Hole kind."

I almost ask if he was reading my mind, before mentally chastising myself. "Nice to meet you." It kinda is, actually. Especially if he's going to A: not be a dick, & B: giving me an offer instead of forcing me to do something. That's better than a lot of ROBs I'd read about. "You have a 'request' for me?"

"That's right! You're familiar with Harry Potter, right?" At my nod he continues. "And you've read a lot of fanfiction about him, right?" Another nod from me. "So you're almost certainly aware of some of the cliches out there that have popped up among the fandom, right?"

"Like 'evil Weasleys' or 'manipulative Dumbledore'? Oh yeah, I'm far too aware of those." I say with a roll of my eyes.

"Have you ever wondered about how, in an infinite multiverse, situations could arrange to make such unrealistic scenarios happen?"

I pause for a minute in thought. I'd toyed with theories about what it would take to make some of the more ridiculous scenarios in some fanfics possible. Most of the time it would end up with me assuming either some kind of mental problem in the cast members, or some kind of curse/dark magic.

I tell him as much.

"Some of the time, yes. There are also other reasons, which is why you're here right now."

"... By any chance is something causing people's shadows to go haywire and cause people to act in ways they normally wouldn't?" Let it never be said that I couldn't put obvious clues together (when I'm paying attention).

"Got it in one."

"And you want me to help fix it."

"Bingo."

"So what's the deal, then?" I finally ask.

"I'll reincarnate you into the world in-question. You'll wake up as a 4th-year student who is transferring over to Hogwarts from Ilvermorny. From there, you'd need to do your best to deal with 'shadow' problems as they appear. Your Personas will let you shift into the shadow-realm in order to deal with such things. You'll have access to the Velvet Room, to help you out, of course. Any questions or requests?"

So far it's been mostly straightforward, but... "Any clues as to what I'll be dealing with?"

The glowing being shakes his head. "Aside from what I've already mentioned, I can't tell you anymore about the situation. It's one of the deals I made to let you help out."

Fair enough. I'm not even going to try and contemplate politicking and bureaucracy at the level this guy probably works at. "Who's gonna be my Guardian?"

"I believe that's to be my job, dear guest." The woman next to Igor speaks up for the first time. "My name is Inga, and should you agree, it will be my honor to assist you on your journey."

I pause look at her for a second. While it's true that Igor's assistants have been shown to be able to leave the Velvet room before, I hadn't heard of one taking such an active involvement in a guest's life before.

Then again, with a ROB involved, the usual rules tended to be a bit more flexible.

Eh, what the heck.

"I'll do it on two conditions." I tell them.

Rob seems amused as I elaborate.

---

Author's Notes: So, this story came to me while I was trolling through FFN for Harry Potter fanfics during lunch at work.

The first day in months that I've felt good enough to write, and it's on a completely new fic. Oh, but my muse is fickle.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Casting Shadows: 1.2

"So~, first time out on patrol; you excited?"

With a raised eyebrow, I turn to look at Denis- no; it's Clockblocker in costume. "Honestly?" I ask, before sighing at my own rhetorical question. "I don't know; it doesn't quite feel real yet."

From beneath his helmet I hear a chuckle as he casually leans back against the wall. "I hear you. I remember how weird it was during my first patrol." He shakes his head as he finishes. "Fair warning, but it's just the downtown route. The most excitement we ever get is the occasional mugging."

Dad had mentioned something to that effect; and quite frankly, "That's perfectly fine with me." After dealing with the Shadow Plane's wildlife for as long as I had, part of me was worried that I'd use a bit too much force when taking down villains. Granted, a lot of my arsenal was non-lethal, but...

This gets a quiet 'Ha!' laugh from him. "I still can't get over how different you are from Stalker. Seriously; even if your powers are both shadow-based, you're like polar opposites."

"Considering how everyone's described her; I think I'll take that as a compliment." I comment lightly. "Besides, spend enough time on the Shadow Plane, and the last thing you'll want is more action."

"I hear you." He says, moving his hands behind his head. "I still can't get over some of the pictures Myrridin brought back from that place. It's like... reality by way of a goth-metal album."

That gets a laugh out of me. "That's probably the best description for the place I've ever heard." I muse out loud. "Honestly, The place isn't so bad when you have a safe place to stay in; but if you ever have to go out, you'll probably have to deal with monsters."

"I'll take your word for it." He says, with a theatrical shudder.

Not for the first time, I find myself impressed at how good this guy is at emoting in that costume. You'd think that a full face-mask would make him seem imposing, but he's got the lovable-goof shtick down.

"Are you saying that you wouldn't be up for a field trip?" I comment, as I idly scan the street. Then a mischevous streak hits, and I eye him without turning my head in his direction. "Maybe a romantic rendezvous for two?"

The poor boy misses a step, before recovering with admirable dexterity. "Please don't feed the shippers! Besides; I don't want my first date end with being eaten by a grue." He pauses as something seems to occur to him. "Those don't actually exist, right?"

"We're on a patrol together, they're probably shipping us as we speak." I answer back. Amused at the theatrical shudder he gives. "And not unless you count the villain; no." Actually, I wouldn't even know what a grue was if Uncle Nick and dad hadn't mentioned it offhand. "But if you're looking for scary shadow beasts, I could see about learning to conjure some."

"No thanks." He comments dryly. "There are laws about summoning extraplanar monstrosities into the real world."

"Which I'm totally going to get a permit for." I grin at him. "Because why fight yourself when you can summon a bear or something to do it for you."

"Somehow, I doubt they'll let a teenager have a license to summon monsters. No matter who her mentor is." He comments as we turn a corner in our route. "Besides, PR would have our heads if you started summoning shadowy monsters."

"Yeah, but if they had their way I'd be completely re-trained in the use of another magic system, from the ground-up" I drawl.

"I still say they should have gone with my costume idea!" He proclaims with a mock-pout; kicking an invisible rock while doing so. "With your powers, a Slenderman design would have been perfect."

I playfully jab him in the side. "Just because I'm tall, can flicker around the battlefield, and can knock people out with a touch, doesn't mean that I'd make a good Slenderwoman." I pause for dramtic effect. "For one thing, I'm way too outspoken."

"... Yeah, I suppose that would ruin the effect." He says thoughtfully. "And that would rule out mimes, also."

"Mimes?" I ask bemusedly.

"Well, you've got that monochrome thing going for you; I figure you might as well own it."

"Why do I get the feeling that the only reason you haven't mentioned vampires is that PR would have you assassinated if they so much as suspected you said it?" It's hard keeping a dry tone of voice when I'm trying not to grin.

"Because you've met them?" He answers in his own deadpan.

"Just be-"

My retort is interrupted by Missy's voice as our earpieces go off. "Clockblocker, Shadowcaster; we have a robbery a block away from where you are."

"Copy that, Console." Clock replies. "Just tell us where to go."

Thirty seconds later, finds us rounding the street corner, to find a bunch of guys carrying a bunch of sacks and a cash-register out of the smashed window of a grocery store, and into a white panel-van.

Unfortunately, the guy in the driver's seat of said van spots us, and shouts something to his buddies; who quickly scramble towards the van. The fact that they're on the other side of the block means that we'll never catch them on foot.

"Ready?" I ask my partner in crimefighting.

"Wait until they're all in the van, first." He advises. "It'll make things easier."

As the last crook piles in and closes the door; my hands, as well as my shadow's, begin weaving the magic of the shadow plane into the appropriate mystery. Grabbing Clockblocker's shoulder, the world darkens briefly as we Step into Shadow and reappear ahead, and to the left, of the escaping van.

At which point Clock casually reaches out and tags the van, as it tries to move past us.

Thankfully, it didn't have much time to pick up speed, or I imagine the people inside would have been injured by the sudden stop. Even with that, though; it's not hard to tell that the guy in the driver's seat was cursing us out. Not that we can hear him.

"Console, this is Clockblocker. We've caught the perps attempting to flee the scene."

Now that I get a closer look at them, I'm pretty sure that, if not outright Merchants, they're definitely substance abusers of some kind. The two in front of me look strung-out. "-currently trapped inside a white panel van. License plate number is-"

As he starts giving the number, the guy in the passenger seat manages to pull a gun from his pants after a few seconds of fumbling. Before I can say anything, he's aiming it at Clock through the window. A flash goes off as the gun discharges, followed by a small spray of blood, as the guy's buddy clutches his arm in pain.

"Make that an ambulance, while you're at it." Clock comments offhandely, after finishing with the license plate number. "one of these idiots just hit his buddy with a ricochet."

And now they're fighting over the gun. Honestly, this is just pathetic.

"You know what the real sad thing is?" Clock comments as we wait with the police sirens getting closer.

"What?" I ask simply.

"That cash-register was probably emptied before the store closed. Probably has a hundred bucks in it, at-most."

"... that is sad." I comment while shaking my head.

---

Author's note: Not much to say about this one. Just felt the urge to write it.