…
…
...huh?
…
…
"Umm… hello?"
…
…
No response.
Looks like I'm all alone, here.
...wherever 'here' is, anyway.
…
Where is here? From what I can tell, it's just a never-ending void full of nothing but darkness.
Totally not creepy whatsoever. Nope. Not at all.
But… simply floating around like this isn't really doing it for me. It's pretty damn boring.
Then again, though, the only real course of action I can take here is suck it up and endure it, because there's no possible way to be doing anything better than this. Because I'm floating in an endless expanse of black.
Black. All important stories start… with a black void.
...okay.
"Well, the confirmation of your existence answers a lot of questions about my current situation. However, I will recognize the fact that I like your tastes. And if I'm being honest, that was a pretty fitting line, even if it is slightly modified."
Why, thank you! I try my best. And I kind of figured someone like you would appreciate that reference.
"You're welcome. Now, would you please terribly mind being nice and giving me the details on what's about to go down?"
Well, since you asked nicely, I suppose I have no choice. *ahem*
Hello, there! Now, while I would like to get the situational exposition out of the way, I don't want to tell you things that you already know. So, take what you know about the current situation, attempt to draw parallels from other situations you've experienced, heard, or read about, and try to come to your own conclusion.
K, den.
Right… I'm in a void, with a disembodied voice talking to me…
Of course, I already know where this is going.
"Okay, let's cut to the chase - where am I being whisked off to?"
Yeah, I figured you would piece it together pretty quickly. And to answer your question… you'll have to wait 'till you get to the avatar customization screen.
"Well, I guess that answers the question of whether or not I'll get a broken ability. The main villains of my destination might as well call an early 'GG no re' at this point."
Heh, yeah, pretty much!
"Oh, by the way, I don't think I ever got your name…"
Gaia. You can call me Gaia.
"Huh. Now that's a crossover if I've ever seen one."
Anyway, we've spent enough time talking. I think it's time we actually got to the fun part.
"Yes, please!"
If you'll take a look at the map.
Whoa.
Umm… okay.
Select your starting kingdom and time period.
Vale - Difficulty: Normal
Mistral - Difficulty: Moderate
Atlas - Difficulty: Hard
Vacuo - Difficulty: Very Hard
Menagerie - Difficulty: ?
The Grimmlands - Difficulty: 5-Stars Hector Hard Mode combined with Lunatic+ and Radiant Hard while shooting for a Low Turn Count No Deaths playthrough on STEROIDS (I could go on, but I'm sure you get the point)
Years before/during/after canon: TBD
Well, I sure as hell know where I'm going now.
Definitely not going to the Grimmlands - even though I've never experienced those horrifying things myself, I have seen what those words entail. And it's the farthest thing from pleasant I can imagine.
I think the best possible choice would be Vale. Can I narrow it down, though?
Ah-ha! There you are, you slippery little zoom button!
Much better.
Hmm…
I think I'll start off on Patch.
From what I've seen, the Grimm there aren't really anything special. Ergo, it should be a nice training ground.
Drop-off point set to: Patch
Now, when do I start?
Ehhh…
Hmm. "Hey, Gaia? Does an item that can revive people exist in this world?"
Yes it does, in fact.
"Great. Thanks."
Happy to help!
That gives me some leeway...
Drop-off time set to: 2 years before canon
Are these settings acceptable?
Yes No
"Yes."
Nice. This should make me about age 17 by the time canon starts - which makes me eligible for an application to Beacon. Ozpin, being the Chessmaster that he is, will likely see my usefulness if I tell him all about myself and get me a free pass. Or he could kill me. He probably won't, though.
Done, and done. Now to create my character…
Male, obviously. I don't know how I'd feel with a sudden sex change.
Let's go with… 6 feet of height, to reflect my previous life. Hair color… how about a purple, with streaks of red? Okay, that looks good. Eye color… Mom and Dad always said my eyes were blue, but they were probably tripping due to my eyes ending up as some kind of gray. I think I'll go with a blue-steel hue, if only for the Zoolander jokes.
Can I check my stats?
Choose a class first.
Oh, okay.
Starting Class list
Drifter - A young individual traveling the world to find their place in it. Has the potential to reach any goal they put their mind to, but currently has none that strike their fancy. Balanced stats, specializes in Swords. Promotes to Mercenary, Hero, and Vanguard.
Celerian - A duelist from a land of traditions, this honorbound youth wanders the planet to hone their skills in order to defeat any foe they come across. Very fast and skilled, but can't take a lot of hits. Specializes in Swords. Promotes to Myrmidon, Swordmaster, and Trueblade.
Recruit - A dream chaser, this courageous youngster is training to become a part of the world's protectors. Not very fast, but makes up for it with high defenses and good offensive skills. Specializes in Lances. Promotes to Knight, General, and Marshall.
Villager - A simple youth from a rural part of the world, who's had lots of impromptu training in the form of farm work and other menial tasks. Starts off poorly, but comes into their own quite fast. Specializes in Lances. Promotes to Soldier, Halberdier, and Sentinel.
Journeyman - A youth with an affinity for brawling, who has trained themself to become top dog in local scraps. Very good offensive potential with high vitality, which is countered by poor defenses. Specializes in Axes. Promotes to Fighter, Warrior, and Reaver.
Ruffian - An unsavory youth who loves to inflict harm on others, entirely self-taught and sustaining. Very high attack power and notable defensive ability, with near nonexistent fighting skill and below average speed. Specializes in Axes. Promotes to Brigand, Barbarian, and Berserker.
Hunter - A handy youth who spends their free time tracking and hunting game, as well as practicing their wilderness survival skills. Trades off some defenses for better aim, and is otherwise well-rounded. Specializes in Bows. Promotes to Archer, Sniper, and Marksman.
Engineer - A budding great mind that has become fascinated with machinery, and has created no small amount of gadgets and doodads in their free time. High defense and above average attack power, plus insane range, with low speed to compensate. Specializes in Bows. Promotes to Tanker, Ballistician, and Artilleryman.
Sneak - An unscrupulous youth who has been forced to resort to stealing as a method of survival. Very hard to catch, but goes down easily if they're caught, and has multiple utility skills to prevent that outcome. Specializes in Knives and Daggers. Promotes to Thief, Rogue, and Assassin.
Due to the nature of Remnant, no magically inclined or mounted classes can be chosen.
Oh, well that's a bummer. Being an Archsage or a Gold Knight would've been cool. But I believe I can make this work.
By the by, another crossover. I don't know if I expected Fire Emblem to make an appearance, but more power to me.
That "Engineer" class line is entirely new to me, though. It's almost as if they took Shadow Dragon's "Ballistician" class and made it into a bigger thing than it already was.
Since I have a lot of prior experience with these classes, I should probably go over the advantages and disadvantages of each one and go from there.
Drifters - the famed sword-wielding all-rounders. Great for all number of situations owing to their high offensive potential, but certain specialized roles could do many of their jobs better at the cost of something else. No real weaknesses.
Celerians - one big Yu-Gi-Oh reference. You ask them what time it is, and they reply with "it's TIME to D-D-DU-DU, DU-DU-DU-DUE-DUEL!" Very few of them have been classified as objectively good units owing to their frailty and poor strength, leaving many to simply use them for chip damage. Probably not the best choice concerning survivability.
Recruits - the obvious tanks. Strong as an ox, sturdy as a steel wall… and slow as a snail. Once they get good enough most earn the nickname of 'Walking Fortress,' but they also typically have a hard time getting to where they need to be in a timely manner. I'll likely end up doing a lot of traveling, so… don't think this one's for me.
Villagers - the tried-and-true underdog story. Who doesn't love one of those? And who doesn't love training up a nobody into a nightmare? (Apparently every single pro player, but whatever.) This would probably be another good option, but I don't know if the trade-off of poor early-game performance for late game dominance is worth it. After all, being a Carry won't mean shit if I go out too soon. Next up...
Journeymen - kinda like Recruits, but with more HP, attack power, and speed at the cost of severely lowered defenses. The other kind of tanks. Much better at moving quickly, though, which gives them a huge advantage over their heavily-armored counterparts. I bet Yang's classed as this, given her semblance.
Ruffians - Journeymen 2.0, in a basic sense. Except trade speed and almost all fighting skill for even more HP and patched-up defenses. I bet if I told a Ruffian to knock down a wall, he'd still miss half his strikes, because their accuracy is just that bad. Not really the best of choices for anyone looking to fight more than really slow targets.
Hunters - often restricted from attacking at melee range. That alone usually earns them the label of 'bad unit' right out of the gate, but lots of them are also subject to incredibly horrible stat spreads, which only increase the ire directed at them. Certain members of this class do have the potential to become gods, but they're few and far between. Don't think I'll be picking this one.
Engineers - thinking on the class line, I have a few ideas as to what it's all about. Most of them… well, who doesn't love riding around in a tank? Buuuut… pretty much every big-time villain here could slice a bunch of fancy contraptions in half without breaking a sweat, and I don't want to think about how I'll fare outside the cockpit. So… not this one.
Sneak - let it be known that only a very select few of these are good combat units. Their main uses are designated as utilities - lockpicking, hacking, stealing, info-gathering, spying, all that good shadowy stuff. I can tell that later promotions will earn me the coveted Lethality skill, but I'd have to claw my way up the ladder for quite a while before I hit that level of skill. And I figure that'll be practically impossible given this line's tendency to go down in three hits or less. I'll leave it for Emerald.
Well, it looks like the only viable options here are the two sword wielding classes and the Villager class. And if I'm being honest… well, I like Ike, you like Ike, everybody likes Ike.
You have selected "Drifter." Are you sure?
Yes No
"Yes."
Starting class set to "Drifter."
Set your stats.
VIT - 10
STR - 5
INT - 10
DEX - 5
AGI - 5
RES - 5
LUK - 5
CHR - 5
Points: 20
Hmm… hey, game? Mind if I see the descriptions on these before I make my choices? I already know the basic gist of what they do, but I want to make sure that a minor detail doesn't screw me over later.
Sure!
VIT - Vitality. Determines the amount of HP you have. 1 point in this stat equals 10 points of HP. Vital (heh) to your success.
God DAMN IT, BARB!
STR - Strength. Determines how much damage you deal with physical attacks, and allows you to wield heavier weapons without penalties to your Agility. Do you even lift, bro?
Yes, I do lift bro. Literally. As in, I can pick up my brother and carry him around.
INT - Intelligence. Determines damage dealt and effectiveness of skills that are magical in nature, as well as how much Mana you have. Same deal as Vitality: one point here equals 10 MP. To be fair, you have to have a really high I.Q. to understand Rick and Morty…
I don't even watch Rick and Morty!
DEX - Dexterity. Determines hand-eye coordination and the speed at which you can react to things. Technically speaking, it speeds up your brain so the neurons fire faster, more often, and the travel speed of the electrical pulses that give your muscles commands goes up. In general, increases ability to hit (more noticeable with ranged weapons), and slows down your perception of the world. Would you like to see a MAGIC TRICK?
Drumroll, please…
"No!"
AGI - Agility. Determines the speed at which you can move your body. Increases ability to dodge attacks and attack speed, as well as movement speed inside and outside of combat. You either gotta go fast, or YOU'RE TOO SLOW!
ROLLIN' AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND-
RES - Resistance. Decreases damage taken from all manner of attacks. IIII AM BULLET-PROOOOOOF!
DOKTAR! ARE YOU SURE THEES WEEL WORK?
Ahaha… I HAVE NO IDEA!
LUK - Luck. Affects all manner of things - namely chance to hit, chance to dodge, item drop rates, how often fortune favors you, and many unseen other things. So… do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
Nah, I'm pretty sure you fired six shots. Or was it five…?
CHR - Charisma. Determines your proficiency at swaying others to your side. Gives bonuses to allies when you are near them. Also affects many other aspects of socializing. Bump this up enough, and who knows… maybe Salem might even lend an ear!
That'd be utterly insane to watch. If, by some bullshit miracle, I actually manage to convince her to stop her quest of eradicating humanity, I'll start calling myself 'Gary Stu.'
…
Please, oh, please don't tell me I just tempted fate to make that happen.
Oh, who the hell am I kidding? It's so totally going to happen. It's going to happen just to spite me. I might as well give up hope trying to stop it now, because it'll only delay the inevitable.
Well… it's not like it's a bad thing, right? Right? I mean, it's not like she'll be that crazy yandere girl that has eyes only for the main protagonist who's the most oblivious person on the planet. That's impossible.
…
You know what, I'm just going to stop digging my own grave before I break through to the mantle. I need to get back to speccing myself.
What to do, what to do…
I could try for a tank build, but my class isn't really suited for that. Going too far in the other direction's also a problem. Luck might be a good investment, and an early charm boost could mean the difference between life and death if I'm caught between a rock with a soft interior and a hard place.
Sheesh. Pressure's really on here, isn't it? If I'm this indecisive at the damn character setup page, who knows how I'll get anything done when I start playing for keeps?
Mmm… okay, think I've got it.
VIT - 10
STR - 10
INT - 10
DEX - 10
AGI - 10
RES - 5
LUK - 5
CHR - 10
Points: 0
That looks good. A basic Merc stat spread - balance of Strength, Dexterity, and Agility, with average Resistance. And a little Charm never hurt anybody - I'll see if I can't convince people to join me early.
Confirm choices?
Yes No
"Yes."
Enter your avatar name.
…
Oof…
Shit. Um…
Would you like to randomly generate a name?
Oh thank god.
Heh. Was worried I might have to choose an outlier name, what with the whole color-theme and all.
Parkscent Shitking
Is this okay?
Yes No
Oh, hardy har har, very funny. Try again, smartass.
SOME TIME LATER
Zeiss Serven
Is this okay?
Yes No
"Hmm… okay, okay… I think I like where this one's going. I'm finding myself a little lost on the symbolism, though. Care to fix that, Gaia?"
Basically, your first name is a rough translation for 'purple' in some foreign language that I can't be bothered to remember the name of. Same deal with your last name, only that's 'red.'
"All right, that's fine. I like this name. I'll take it."
Okay, you're all set! Good luck, and have fun!
Here I come, world! Hope you're ready!
A/N: Hel-lo, happy people, and welcome to "Soft Reset." This here's the first story that I thought was worthy of being published on this site. No offense to any other sites similar to this, but... well, I have very little experience with Ao3, I have no idea what to do with Wattpad, and experience has taught me that Spacebattles is a holy ground reserved only for the best of the best. So I figured that I might as well stick with what I know. Anyway...
Spoilers ahead. You've been warned.
I started writing this way back when... Volume 5 was still in the works, I think. And one of my first thoughts upon witnessing the last minute of Episode 3 of Volume 6 was as follows:
"Whoa... uh, wow. Did I just stealth-predict the method of Salem's downfall?"
Because if you really think about it, that might very well be what will actually happen. It's outright stated that she's impossible to kill via conventional means - or any means at all, really. Thus, the door has been opened to alternate solutions. If my hunch is correct, Miles and Kerry may be hinting that the final boss won't be beaten with blades or bullets, but rather with words. Which... would feel anticlimactic, and has me more than a little worried. If the show was written by someone with a little more credibility, I could believe that they'd find a way to make this tradition-breaking ending work well. But with those two guys' track record, I think they'd be lucky to write a cookie-cutter confrontation properly, without any plot holes or retcons.
In any case, I think that's about it. See ya.
[TRANSMISSION ENDED]