#i tend to see laharl as equivalent to 15 or 16 and canon girl laharl as equivalent to 22 or 23 due to their heights and voices | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

duckapus · 6 months

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(So you know how this

is a Thing in the Disgaea series? Wanted to do something with that in the SMG AU but make it Not A Joke.)

While relaxing at home, Shantae hears a knock on her lighthouse's front door, "Coming!"

As she walks over, she wonders who could be visiting this late in the evening. It probably wasn't either of her SMGs, seeing as they'd already had an incident involving Ammo Baron and an unusually large Egg (the capitalization there is important) and filled their Wacky Misadventure quota for at least the next few days. And her canon friends all usually had their own things going on at home right about now.

Well, no more time to speculate. She opens the door with a hopefully-not-too-wide smile (Avatar-grade GMod physics are a real bitch sometimes), "Good evening! What can I...do...uh..."

She's stunned speechless by who she finds; a very tall, very attractive woman who is also very clearly Laharl! She does her best to look up at them, and then very quickly further up when she underestimates the height difference. 'Ohhh, mother have mercy do NOT oogle your genderbent mean demon friend We Have Sexy Zombie Girlfriend at Home.'

For their part, Laharl looks uncharacteristically nervous, or at least is uncharacteristically not hiding their nerves behind either aloofness or rage, "Hi Shantae. If you're not too busy I was hoping for some magic advice?"

'Okay, friend needs help. That I can work with.' "Of course! Come on in."

The two head inside and into the living room, with Shantae settling into a chair while Laharl takes the couch.

"So, what kind of advice where you looking for?"

"Well, uh...I'm guessing you've noticed I look different right now?"

'Different is certainly right.' "Well, I wasn't gonna say anything but...wait, I think I remember this from your games. Did you get stuck like this again from a SMG adventure or something? 'Cause I definitely know a few tricks to make a transformation revert."

There's a flash of...relief? embarrassment? something across their face before they go back to nervous, "Oh, you know where it's from. That makes things easier. And ah, no, dispelling it isn't the problem, I actually changed on purpose this time and I already know the counterspell. I was actually wondering if you know how to modify a transformation."

'Huh, okay then.' "Yeah, I've done that before. Not sure how compatible our magic systems are, but I can at least tell you what works for me. So, what kind of changes are we looking for? Hair color, shoe size, you wanna add wings or a tail?"

"Ah, nothing that drastic, I really just...just want it to feel...more like "me," I guess..." Despite how much taller they are than usual, they quickly curl in on themselves as they say this, suddenly seeming smaller than she's ever seen them.

'Oh...ohhhh.' "This...isn't the first time you've used this form on purpose, is it?"

"...No. I ah, I don't use it very often, there's a lot about it that's honestly a bit much, especially given...well, if you've played the games you probably know about a particular phobia of mine?"

"Yeah...That. That boss fight really hit different after I actually met you."

"Right, so this?" they gesture to their chest, "Does not work for me. Plus it just generally feels like some...some stupid exaggerated fanservicy parody of me. Which makes sense since that's all it was really supposed to be but like, come on!"

"Trust me, I get it. But, you're using it anyway?"

"Yeah, well...at certain points being mildly uncomfortable like this is still an improvement over my boy form."

"About that, I've been using 'they' for you in my head since you got here since I wasn't really sure what was going on. Would you prefer 'she,' or..."

Laharl finally fully relaxes at that, her presence once again filling the room like it usually does, "Yes, please do."

"No problem. Now, to start off, we'll probably want to get you down to your usual age...wait, are you older right now? 'Cause it kind of seems like it, but with how much is different I'm not sure."

She tilts her hand in a 'so-so' gesture, "Kind of? It's-so I'm guessing you know how I got this form the first time?"

"Flonne's angel world flowers, right?"

"Exactly. Now for most of the demons affected it just messed with their internal magic in some way and caused minor physical changes, but I'm half human, so it outright suppressed my demon half. Not enough to interfere with my power level, thankfully, but it made it so I was technically only about forty percent demon. And since humans have far shorter lifespans than demons and my human half specifically came from my mother, the result was me going from a teenage boy to a woman in her early twenties."

"Huh. That's actually kinda neat. And in that case dropping your age is definitely the right starting point. Thankfully I have plenty of experience with that thanks to my Monkey form. So, how you want to start is-"

This goes on for the better part of the evening, and by the time the sun goes down Laharl has a form she can feel much more comfortable in.

After putting the finishing touches on the new and improved Girl Laharl, the demonic Avatar looks out one of the windows, "Oh, I didn't realize how late it was. I should probably be getting back to-" she gets up to leave, only to suddenly feel dizzy and lightheaded, "woah, uh..."

Shantae quickly shoots up and helps her stay steady, "Oh my gosh I am so sorry! I forgot how much of a workout someone's first time messing with transformation magic like that is!"

"It's-I'm fine! Just stood up too fast I think." typical Laharl stubbornness. she really is feeling more like herself, "I can still get home just fiIIIINE!"

Aaand once again Shantae saves her from faceplanting when she stumbles and trips over nothing, "Oh no, I am not letting you try to make a portal back to your castle when you can barely walk! I can call Etna and let her know you're crashing here tonight."

"Fiiiine..." she...is she actually pouting? 'Oh dear mother, sleepy Laharl is adorable!'

After getting laid down on the (actually alarmingly comfortable, like where did she find cushions this soft on her peanuts salary?) couch, she once again drops her usual attitude, looking up at Shantae with completely undisguised affection, "Hey, uh, thanks for...everything you did to help me tonight."

"Anytime." as she grabs a blanket for her guest, she adds "And I do mean that. Anytime you need help, with this or anything else, you can come to me, got it."

"Got it."

"And thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about all this." She crouches down so they'll be at eye level, even if Laharl's are already half-closed, "I know how hard it can be to come out to someone."

"Mmm, 'course I trust you. You're family." And with that she's out like a light.

Shantae...actually chokes up a little at that. With her parents out of the picture since before she can remember, and Scuttle Town being...well, Scuttle Town, she can count on her hands the number of people she'd honestly have called family before all this Meme stuff, especially since Seven Sirens and the other four half-genies hadn't existed yet when the pods dropped, and she knows full well that Laharl's own complicated family-related hangups are far worse. So for her to say that so openly and honestly, even while half asleep...

On some sort of impulse, she leans down and brushes Laharl's hair out of her face gently enough not to wake her, "I swear, I'll do my best to live up to that," With that said, she gets back up, opens her command box...and takes a picture of the sleeping Avatar before sending it to Etna.

>Hey, Laharl wore herself out and needed a place to crash, so dw when she's not back til tomorrow.

>HOLY SHIT SHES SO FUCKING CUTE!!!! i gota send this 2 Flonny n the Gs

>thx 4 helpin hr btw, none of us r shapeshifters so we coldnt do jack

>*thumbs up*

'Hell yeah, I got this sister thing on lockdown.'

#smg4 #disgaea #shantae #laharl #girl laharl #genderfluid #genderfluid laharl #headcanon #i guess #just for this au's specific version of the character though #etna #flonne #implied rottytops #heavily implied shantae x rottytops #look girl laharl's design is cool but there's a LOT about it that laharl very understandably doesn't like #i tend to see laharl as equivalent to 15 or 16 and canon girl laharl as equivalent to 22 or 23 due to their heights and voices #hence the need for an explanation because that it Quite The Difference #shantae is Very Much a lesbian and not immune to fanservice designs #or to older women #it came up during the transformation manipulation session that laharl's loved ones back home already know about them being genderfluid #which is why shantae knew it would be safe to send etna the pic of Girl Laharl 2.0 #this version of shantae swears by her mother because genies in her universe are currently celestial beings on an etherial plane of some sor #and because i thought it'd be a little funny

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