@laughiisms

« you sure gave that slimy character a workout. i wouldn’t want to mess with you.  »

He reacts to that voice after a second, yet turns quite quickly to face the newcomer. Drenched in dirt and oil, both his and his opponent, now on the ground lacking of all of its limbs, the only sign of nervousness is shown in how tightly he keeps his grip on the dulled blade - a grip that relaxes slowly, uncertain.

It's rare to have anyone speak to him rather than attack, so the fact that he wasn't stabbed through the chest was good; on the other side, it wouldn't be the first time he lowered his guard just to break down and reappear at the last Stargazer he found.

Just to be sure, he keeps the weapon ready... yet nods, welcoming the stranger on that macabre stage, before tilting his head, as if he was silently allowing the other to keep talking.

It usually works like that. Those who like running their tongue usually keep on talking, barely giving him a chance to answer back most of the time. Might as well take a breather and see if this was truly a friend or a foe.

“I’m not real. What’s your excuse?”

Pinocchio stares at the puppet. He didn't know what he was, at this point. Human? Puppet? Some amalgamation of both? "my excuse for what?" He signs, tilting his head. They'd basically tired each other out at this point. The whole fight had been pointless. All they ended up doing was beat some pieces off of each other. "of course you're real. just as real as I am."

What is your character arc?

hero arc well done - you did things right. this may seem like a boring answer, but i promise it isn't. you believe in goodness and you believe in doing good, and through everything, you work to keep that goodness. you have seen so much blood, and your instinct is always to stitch. you grew and fought and won, and i'm glad you did, because someone had to. i'm glad you kept believing in the world you were trying to save. you are far braver than most could ever be.

Tagged by: @whiimsicaldream (Thank you, dear! ♡) Tagging: @asternovi (For Carlo~), @riiese (For Ingvar!), @laughiisms, @rollinggirlrunahika, and @theunknownmasks (For Thief King~)!