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myth-of-light · 1 year

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\ Wing of Freedom / PART 1 Dark Pit

A Kid Icarus Uprising Analysis of two Angels

Analysis that happened because I looked at Japanese translations.

This is very long. Not ideal for mobile.

Back when I was in this fandom years ago, a common question people are confused by is why Dark Pit is working for Viridi???? Like, he does need someone to make him fly but what happened to "I am Dark Pit, servant to no other than myself"?

At first, I wasn't bugged by it that much, it was something to add to what he was doing post-Uprising. But then I looked at the Japanese translation recently, and I went down a huge rabbit hole. Suddenly, how I viewed Kid Icarus changed. And I get back to how it relates to Viridi at the end.

There is a very common theme, mechanic and story element. That is Pit's ability (or lack thereof) to fly. But to understand its narrative importance I will start with Dark Pit's narrative. (Pit's will be in the next post.) And it's difference in Japanese. Which we'll tie into this flying theme.

From the get-go of Dark Pit's creation, to later events to show the difference between them.

(Dark Pit/Pittoo is English)

(ブラックピット/Burakku Pitto/Burapi is Japanese)

Dark Pit/Burakku Pitto's Creation

Dark Pit is anti-authority. "You're A boss, Pandora. But you're not MY boss." See how he makes a point, calling her by name, that she is indeed a boss, but goes against her anyways. He doesn't like the idea of being told what to do. He has his hand out clenched, making a point, a stance even. He is defying her.

Burakku Pitto is dismissive and independent. When Pandôra demands to know why he isn't fighting Pitto, he replies "That doesn't have anything to do with me. I'll do whatever I want." It's less about going against her because she's a boss telling him what to do but more like he just got here, and he's going to do what he wants. His sprite is running, attacking, more focused on beating her than what she is saying.

It's anti-authority vs independent(?)

Get the idea? This is important for later. Now three more cases of the difference between them, that are vital to understanding Burakku Pitto.

Allies with Medusa?

Start of Chapter 6, Pit accuses Pittoo of working with the Underworld army. He responds with "Don't be ridiculous.". He calls the claim/idea ridiculous, and his pose suggests he is almost offended. He'll then go on to say he doesn't like someone copying his act.

Same time Pitto accuses Burapi of being with the Underworld army. "I have nothing to do with the Underworld army!" He exclaims, yet is more informative. Having his fist out for this claim. He goes on to say he doesn't like the idea of there being another him. (Using the pose that Dark Pit has.)

Dark Pit ridicules the idea while Burakku Pitto gives a straight answer. Once against showing Pittoo's Anti-Authority Stance and Burapi independence. But is that all.

Very Interesting change in dialogue is after Pit/Pitto says he's the copy here. Their response is very interesting.

Dark Pit makes a quip. A Snarky response to make fun of Pit. "Come on now. Think about it." "If I was a copy, why would I kicky my own butt?" He's making fun of Pit, even crossing his arms with a smug look at the end.

But Burakku Pitto fires back. Arguing he's not. "Why do you say that I'm the Copy!? Right now. I'm alive!" He exclaims and then gets angry, "How about it! I'm living!". His pose is offended/angry by the end of it. The idea of him being a copy upsets him and argues that by him existing he isn't, cause his choices are his, and his actions are his, and how dare he accuses him of being a copy! He makes his own choices! And that is what upsets Burakku Pitto, not the idea of authority, but him not being free/his choices not being his.

(Through this phrase definitely is not a one-to-one for English, and may have other meanings).

While he is aware that he is made from Pitto's "Dark thoughts", (as Palutena says in Japanese ver,) he doesn't like the term copy as it suggests his choices are not his own.

Freedom through anti-authority and Freedom through choices (or is it?).

Medusa/Medyūsa offers Assistance.

This is another case where Burakku Pitto isn't necessarily anti-authority.

Eventually, Medusa shows up. In English she calls Pittoo "a real go-getter" and Dark Pit replies "Is that so?"

Medyūsa comments that he's fighting back immediately. Burakku Pitto asks "You mean me?".

Both will offer the doppelgängers assistance in which they both reply with "Don't make me laugh" (though Burapi has a "Heh," before it).

Their response afterwards is very different though.

Dark Pit says "You got me confused with the other guy. THIS Pit is no pawn." Calling Pit a pawn and stating he himself isn't. He's against the idea of being used. He goes on to say he'll fight Medusa.

Burakku Pitto response is VERY biblical. "Those who brandish a the sword of another do not have wings to alight." Which is a phrase that basically means "If I were to fight for another God/religion I will not be allowed into heaven for that betrayal." Usually the person saying this phrase already believes/fight for a God and is refusing to fight for another, believing they will be denied heaven. Of course in this context, Burakku Pitto doesn't have a God, but he does have something he probably respects/worships like one. (Which I'll reveal later). He then states he'll fight Medusa.

Anti-Authority vs Other authority(?)

When talking to Pit about Palutena (and response after his speech)

Their Views on Palutena and Pit/Pitto's Relationship are also interesting.

Dark Pit says "Bring it, puppet!" with an angry/ready-to-fight pose, when referring to Pit. In which Pit himself gets angry. He then goes on to say "Palutena says jump, you jump. She says fight, you fight." That Pit is obeying everything Palutena says. "It sounds like a very satisfying existence. For her, that is." He mocks Pit's choice to serve Palutena and listens to her without a fault, saying his existence is unsatisfying with a smug look. This is almost also a jab at Palutena, for having Pit be so loyal to her. Calling Pit a puppet is saying he doesn't have free choices.

Burakku Pitto instead says "Bring it on! You piece of goddess shit!" (yes he does swear). Not even naming Palutena and is in his running/attacking pose. Then goes on to say "You're always doing whatever the goddess tells you and fighting for her without any questions." Still not naming Palutena and not bringing her directly into the conversation but Pitto's status towards her. Saying Pitto follows her direction without question. But instead of mocking Pitto he then asks, "Don't you have any regrets about that life? Hm?" With his fish clenched. he's asking if Pitto regrets living a life of blind faith, living a life without Freedom. Freedom is established as something Burakku Pitto cares about greatly. And upon seeing Pitto not being free he wants to know if Pitto has any regrets about that.

Dark pit and Pit's conversation is about Pit's loyalty to Palutena.

Burakku Pitto and Pitto's is about Pit's regrets.

And while calling Pit a puppet implies Pit is not free, it's a lot more obvious that was the intention in Japanese.

Both Pit/Pitto say they're happy working for Palutena.

Then the conversation continues.

Dark Pit states confidently (with arms crossed) "The Mirror of Truth doesn't lie. I'm a reflection of your true self." Bringing up that his opinion had to be based on something Pit believes in. He goes on to say "So maybe your faith in her isn't quite so absolute after all." He says, making his point. Saying Pit doesn't have absolute faith in Palutena because he doesn't have faith in her.

Burakku Pitto says (while in his thinking/pondering pose) "It's said that the "magic mirror of truth" shows the real truth." As if reflecting on what he has heard about his existence. He then uses what he knows to come to a conclusion against Pitto by saying "If that's so. my existence itself betrays your true feelings." but his true feelings about what exactly? Palutena, or Pitto's regrets?

Finally, after Pit/Pitto fires back one more time they say their final piece.

Dark Pit doesn't look impressed, "Looks like I touched a nerve. Methinks the puppet doth protest too much." He touched a nerve and mocks Pit for being a puppet once more telling him he shouldn't protest/talk so much. He then relents. "Ok, fine. Do what you want. Or rather, keep doing what she wants." Emphasis on the 'she' since it's her choices Pit is following, not his own. His side of the conversation ends with him smugly looking as he says "But I, for one, refuse to be a puppet. These wings take ME wherever I want to go!" He refuses to be like Pit and blindly follows orders. But what is interesting is that he mentions how his wings take him wherever he wants, as Pit's wings take Pit wherever Palutena wants.

Burakku Pitto looks smug. "They say people get irritated when you hit the mark." Using Pitto's defensiveness against him. He then relents by saying. "Fine. Do what you want." Recognising that Pitto's choice to serve Palutena is his choice. But it doesn't make him free. He ends by stating his perspective, "I absolutely refuse to be someone else's servant. With these wings. I will live freely!" He chooses not to serve anyone, saying that with these wings he can live freely.

What's interesting is that he ties his ability to be free to his wings. Remember that.

What both versions of him have in common is this idea of Freedom, and Pit not being free. Dark Pit sees his Freedom by not serving others and making his own choice, and Burakku Pitto sees Freedom, similarly, with the same values, but there is one main difference:

Freedom through ability to serve yourself vs Freedom through having the ability to serve yourself.

And I'll explain that difference in the final section of this Part.

Dark Pit/Burakku Pitto's Battle Cry

Jumping ahead many chapters we get to the battle cry during Chapter 21: Chaos Vortex. And we'll look at a single line from the cry, how the doppelgängers introduce themselves.

When Dark Pit introduces himself he says the following "And I am Dark Pit, servant to no other but myself!" Whereas Pit serves Palutena he serves himself and his own desires. This line is one of his most establishing character lines (imo). He is independent and makes his own choices, never to serve anyone else.

But in Burakku Pitto's introduction he says "With wings of freedom, I am Black Pit!"

(Note: He is called 'Black Pit' when translated directly from Japanese (Burakku = Black, Pitto = Pit).)

It's a minor change in words but the implications are HUGE. One. He calls his wings "wings of freedom" since he can fly with them, but by extention, he's also calling that flight "freedom". And next, he says "With". When he has these 'Wings of Freedom' he is Burakku Pitto. He is free. But it also implies that he is independent because he has that wings. The main point is that 'with these wings/ability to fly I am free'. The ability to fly is the cause, the effect is that he is free.

Wings to fly with -> Freedom

Remember when I mentioned Burakku Pitto has something he respects/worships? That thing is 'flight' or more accurately 'being able to fly on his own'. He already has previously mentioned that because of his wings, he can live freely, but here, where he's meant to say who/what he serves, he doesn't say himself, he says his wings/flight.

But what does that mean?

Well if his freedom is tied to whether or not he can fly on his own. Then what does that mean when he can't? When he loses his ability to fly? Well, it means in his eyes:

He is no longer free.

That may sound like a stretch but consider it. If you were to play the game and instead of viewing the miracle of flight as being freedom instead of just being able to fly. This flying theme I mentioned at the beginning. What does that change? Well if Dark Pit doesn't see himself as free then he would be more open to working with someone, he is still defiant in nature but he would probably have to put up with it if he believed he lost his freedom. Doesn't help that the only way to get a bit of it back is by serving someone.

But what else does that change narratively?

Well, there is one other character that constantly talks about his wish to fly on his own. A character whose big thing is that they cannot fly but have a desire to do so. A character that Dark Pit got his deep desire/love of flight from but at the same time doesn't see him as free. A character that almost died because he tried to fly longer than he should of and suffered the consequences. Whereas if you viewed this wish for flight as also a wish for freedom it makes things a lot more interesting.

Pit.

('PART TWO - Pit' -coming soon)

SOURCES:

English dialogue - Linkmstr

Japanese dialogue - Ryudou & milkyFlandre

#myth conversations #myth analyses things #god this is long #an this is part one #anyways here's tags #pit kid icarus #kid icarus #kid icarus uprising #dark pit #tell me if i missed something or messed something up

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thewatercolours · 2 months

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King's Quest Fic: "The Fairy" (Goblin Graham, #12)

"Gwendolyn. What are you still doing in here? Didn't you hear the guards order everyone out? Can't you hear everything creaking?"

"Um - what? Sorry?"

"Something's wrong, cousin. The castle's shaking on its foundations. Has been since early morning. Something strange here, making it go unstable all of a sudden. You didn't notice? There's... Oh my stars. Gwendolyn! Did those bricks fall while you were in here?"

"Maybe? I didn't really notice. The mirror -"

"I know, I know, you were too busy watching the mirror. I mean, look! It's taken out a quarter of the ceiling? What would you have done if it had collapsed on your head? Look, we'll take the mirror with us, but we've got to get out! Did you even hear me?"

---

Perhaps it was the rich overground air, or the long hours spent escaping, or maybe the cold was more comfortable these days. Graham drifted off as easily as any sleeper could wish. As he blinked away his last moments of consciousness, he felt vaguely that he ought to toss and turn now that he’d been told of Manny and the goblins’ siege of the castle. Insomnia felt more responsible. But exhaustion smoothed his fears away before he could wake himself to make a plan. Three quarters asleep, he snuggled deep into his cloak between the roots of a burly yew.

Mid-dream, something roused him. He rolled onto his right side, meaning to squint at the bedside clock in the castle’s royal chamber. Instead, he found himself eye to eye with a face, glowing blue as midwinter stars. The face giggled.

Untangling himself from the cloak, Graham yelped and scrambled to sit up, back against the tree.

The person before him was close to his own goblin size, and knelt to one side of him with a starry-eyed smile. Unnaturally lithe and dainty-featured she looked, just as he had always heard wood sprites described. He could not see much of her wings, but they appeared to be coolly golden and folded neatly behind her shoulders. Tittering musically, the fairy tapped the end of his nose with one shining finger, sending specks of light he could only just make out skittering over his skin. “Well, aren’t you the wee little goblin man! How precious!”

Half awake and wholly thunderstruck, Graham could not choke a single word from his throat.

She took hold of his long ears. They twitched away reflexively, despite her gentleness. She laughed in gleeful surprise. “Awww! Did I make you flinch? I’ll be careful. You’ve got such big, swoopy, droopy ears, haven’t you? Yes you have, yes you have,” she crooned, reaching again to stroke them.

“Who are you?” whispered Graham, but his voice was even hoarser with sleep, almost nothing like speech. She did not seem to notice.

“A sleeeepy goblin, a tuckered out little goblin,” she went on, fondly rumpling his hair. Her hands were kind, but cool to the touch, even to his strange skin. And though it was hard to tell what she was doing, it appeared that every time she made contact, her hands glowed the brighter, just for a moment. “Oh, your pupils are so big right now! Great big eyes to see in the dark. What are you doing up here in the forest? A bit lost? Or were you just too dozy to crawl downstairs to your home? Are you a tiny bit scared?” she asked as Graham made another attempt to speak up. “Don’t be frightened, little friend. I know something that might make you happy.” She spread her luminous golden wings wide, and flapped them so that gleaming dust dropped in their wake. Her grin grew broader. “See that? I’m a fairy! Yes, you know all about us, don’t you? From your games?”

Graham straightened up where he sat, and cleared his throat pointedly. “For your information -”

Enraptured, she paid no heed. “Just look at you, though.Your little tummy, and your nubby little fangs, and those little pink… freckles…” A suspicious look flashed across her face. She poked an interrogative finger at his chin and cheekbones, considerably less gently. “Not freckles,” she muttered, narrowing her eyes. “You, good sir, have holes in your skin. Or growths, maybe. That’s human flesh, that is.” She sounded positively disgusted. “Or possibly mould. Comes to much the same thing.”

He had never demanded this of anyone, but enough was enough. “You,” said Graham firmly, “will call me ‘Your Majesty.’”

The fairy leaned back, looking him over from tuft to toe. She still smiled, but her merriment had changed to mockery. “‘Your majesty,’ eh?” she drawled. “A little king, eh? Look here. I happen to know the goblin king, and you ain’t him, sugarplum.”

“I’ve met him too,” said Graham with dignity, squaring his narrow shoulders. “I am the King of Daventry.”

A flicker of doubt passed over her, but she regained herself a moment later. “I don’t keep up much with politics, but even I know the king of Daventry is your standard, garden-variety human. Now, you,” she leaned in again and began connecting the dots on his face with her finger, “are just a goblin with human pimples. Ugh! They’re warm!”

He brushed her arm aside, frowning. “Look, I don’t particularly care if you believe me,” he said, mind whirring, “but if you don’t quit touching my face…” What could he say? “… you’re gonna be going home with spots yourself.”

The fairy recoiled, and turned from blue to something slightly closer to violet. “It’s catching?” she shrieked.

“Like a fishing line,” said Graham brightly. “Take the warning where I didn’t.”

The fairy backed off further and rubbed her hands off her sides, but there still seemed something unconvinced in her. “You’re very well-spoken for a goblin,” she said slowly. “Why did you say you’re the King of Daventry?”

“Because I am. I’m under a spell of sorts.”

“A spell. Oho.” She stroked her chin. “Well, that’s easier to check up on, isn’t it? All right, cupcake, on your feet.”

“Oh, but my -”

Graham’s body parted ways with the forest floor. He rose three feet into the air, and tilted into a standing position despite himself. His dark hair billowed out as though he were underwater. Even his clothing did not drape in the ordinary way. His green wrists stuck out of his sleeve cuffs without the fabric touching them. His satin-trimmed cloak followed his trajectory up into the air, and then wandered gently and randomly like cream on a hot drink. “Hey!” he cried, throwing himself forward, hoping he could dive back to the ground. But he only found himself turning the slowest of slow-motion somersaults in the air. Head over heels he spun, groping for anything solid, but the fairy had lifted him into the middle of the clearing. Nothing met his grasp.

As he turned right way up, he came face to face with the fairy. She tapped his nose again, with just enough force that he lost momentum and didn’t fall into another somersault. “You know you go cross-eyed when I boop your nose?” She crossed her own eyes exaggeratedly. “Adorbs.”

He had no intention of using his claws on her, but this couldn’t go on. He glared and held up a warning finger. “I’m gonna have to ask you to put me down right this second, or this is going to be a diplomatic incident under Daventry Decree 90983.”

“Yes, yes, that sounds fun. But now, let’s have a better look at you.” She twirled her finger playfully.

A mellow warmth kindled in Graham’s core, kind as hot soup and a blanket when you’ve just come in from the cold. It fanned out through him to the tips of his overlong toes and gnarled, spindly fingers. His eyes widened in shock, and he gasped. Gentle as fog melting off a window, his claws flattened and pulled back into themselves, and his fingertips softened into tender pink skin.

The forest quieted. His vision dimmed, and the luminescent greens and purples of the night faded into a largely detail-less darkness.

Then he found himself laughing giddily as he changed and changed. He could hardly see a thing, but oh stars, could he feel it! He threw out his arms above his head as though he had just woken up, and stretched. Never had it felt so rewarding, for his arms actually stretched along with him. He could feel his spine and legs doing the same as that warmth spread through every inch of him. Meanwhile, his hands and bare feet shrank, growing less supple but so wonderfully familiar. And yet, remarkable in their unfamiliarity too. He flexed his goblin hand, and then his human hand, which hadn’t deserved that name in so long, marvelling at how new the sensation of closing his own fingers felt after only a few weeks. It all seemed so much more real than anything had since his transformation began. There was a clarity and quickness in his head that made him wonder how much his mind had been damped till now.

And his face, his face which he hardly ever dared touch, thawed into its true self. He ran his fine fingers over his great big nose, his cheeks, his eyelashes. He knew every line. His fingers came away from his eyes wet with tears. He couldn’t help but smile through them, a smile full of the greatest gratitude he had known in his life. “Thank you,” he murmured, turning to the fairy, hardly able to see her through the mist in his eyes. “Thank you!”

His real voice.

She nodded, smiling wryly. “Well, I guess you are human.” Casually, she snapped her fingers.

Almost instantly, Graham’s whole body reverted. His arms and legs snapped back like stretchy putty released, and he lost half his height. His skin shuddered, rippling and goosebumping. The sensation was something like plunging into a freezing pool through a layer of algae. The warmth inside him extinguished. Then green, and claws, and long, floppy ears flattening against his neck. He plopped to the ground, landing gracelessly on his bottom.

He hardly processed the jolt his ankle took when he made impact, or the forest’s restored brightness. She had turned him back. Back into a goblin. “What?” he growled, rounding on her and shaking with sudden fury. “Didn’t you see? Couldn’t you tell? I wanted to be myself again! I thought you were helping me!”

“Aww,” the fairy jeered, crouching down to the ground with him and tilting her head to one side. “Are we having a tantrum? Is that the king or the goblin side coming out, I wonder?”

“Turn me back,” he said sternly, stumbling to his feet. “I need to be human. My kingdom’s under attack as we speak. They need me.”

She rose and patted his cheek. Her touch only made him aware that his skin had curdled again. “Take it from me,” she said. “As a human, you’re not much to write home about. Better stick with the twitchy ears, little guy. You’re cute as a button.”

With a surge of ferocity, Graham snarled and shoved her backward. She squeaked and tripped over her own feet into a tall patch of bracken. He started forward angrily, unsure of anything but that he would make her understand the gravity of his situation. But with its customary unfortunate timing, his ankle buckled, and he sank to one knee, wincing and sucking his teeth to keep from snarling further. The voice of reason surfaced. Keep your head. Don’t give in to that side. Anything but that.

The fairy sat up and stared, her jaw hanging open. “Oh. Oh. Did I do that?” There was a long pause as they pulled themselves together. Then the first note of sympathy since her realization that he was human entered her voice. “I see you have a bad foot. Do you… do you want me to put you back up in the air a while longer?” “I’m fine. I’ll just sit down,” said Graham, leveling his voice and grabbing at a branch to support himself. He nearly pitched over. It was a flimsy evergreen, and it wobbled in his hand.

The fairy chewed her lip uncomfortably, and her hands glowed again, though he hadn’t seen her touch anything. “Okay.”

In a moment, he was steady again. The same unseen power carried his legs out from under him. “None of that now!” he shouted, but he need not have worried. The magic set him down carefully in a seated position, propped up against a generous oak, and his foot elevated on a mossy stone.

She settled herself on the farthest side of the clearing from him, folding her hands in her lap. “I don’t like seeing a little goblin hurting,” she mumbled, hanging her head and sounding a bit ashamed. “Even if they’re actually a human king.” She spoke more slowly. “I won’t touch your foot if you don’t want me to, but I’d like to make this better, if you’ll let me. I mean, not magically. But I could find food, or a change of bandages, or something.”

Graham took a deep breath, and pushed away the sneering, angry remarks he could have made. “I… am grateful you want to help me,” he said carefully. “But you would help me and my people a lot more if you worried less about my foot and more about the spell I’m under. You’ve already shown me it’s easy for you to break it. So…”

Yet again, she interrupted him, twiddling her thumbs and shaking her head with a doleful smile. “I think you’ve jumped to conclusions here, um… What’s your name?”

“Graham.”

“Graham. Mine’s Orri. Yeah. So, I didn’t break any spell just now. I just took a quick peek at your real form. It’s a pretty basic magical maneuver, and it doesn’t actually change anything.”

“Well, it certainly felt real,” Graham said, rubbing his ears.

“I guess it would. But it would have undone itself in a few seconds anyway. It’s just a peeling back of the magic for a moment to get a glimpse. It’s not a transformation.” Orri looked up and met his gaze with a disheartened shrug. “I couldn’t turn you into a human if I wanted to - not without a wish, and those are, um, pretty serious.”

“A wish?” Graham stiffened, and he stared at her fixedly. “You mean you could grant a wish?”

Orri heaved a sigh that was more sincere than anything she had said thus far. “Full truth here for a second? I’ve never done wishes before, exactly. Humans aren’t really my thing, if you couldn’t guess. I mean, technically I could probably do it. But it’s messy. Messy for you, messy for me. And give me another ten minutes and I won’t feel so bad about hurting your foot, and I’ll just be mad at you again for not being a real goblin.”

Something crinkled in the corner of her eye. A new light came over her features, literally, and traveled all the way to the ends of her hair. “I mean, I suppose I could make you into a real goblin. That’s loads easier than going the other way ‘round, and it wouldn’t take a wish!” Orri's enthusiasm grew with every word. She practically bounced up and down where she sat.“Oh man. Oh man, I could totally handle that! We’ll just sand down your mind a bit, make a few simplifications …”

“Oh, no, no! That won’t be necessary,” stammered Graham. He forced himself to stay calm, trying to pull her back to her more collected state. “Er, ouch, my foot, my poor foot!”

But Orri was back in full swing, already leaping into his personal space again. “Oh Graham, that would solve everything! Just a few tweaks in that little head of yours, and no more sad king. Your mother taught you all your nursery rhymes and fairy tales when you were a boy, I hope?”

“M-my sister, actually, but that’s -”

“Then you’re ready! You’d be so happy. I mean, you could still be a little grumpypants if you wanted to. It’s not like they don’t get mad sometimes. But most of the time, they just act out stories, and make costumes and stuff. Not a care in the world.” Her fingers began to glow an intense white, and she wiggled them playfully in his direction. “Why don’t you just give me your hands, and I can - ”

In spite of his resolve to stay even-keeled, Graham started crawling backwards, crab style, trying to put the oak between himself and Orri. “Oh, I’m sure being a goblin is a real barrel of laughs, but um, I can probably help my kingdom better with my mind intact. So let’s just reroute and-”

He cried out as she leapt, making a deft grab for his hand. Even before they made contact he could feel power surging from her fingertips like static, connecting with his. Something vital in him wanted to grab hold of her hand and draw that energy in. But he wrenched himself away in a side roll, panting nervously as he came to a halt lying on his front. He tucked his hands under his stomach as she fluttered down beside him, the blue-white of her skin more intense than the fullest moon. Again, the instinct to use his claws came, but not only would that set him further down the goblinification track, probably, it would only give her access to his hands.

She clicked her tongue consolingly. “You know, little friend, your mind’s already changing to match your body. I took a peek at what you really are, remember? You don’t have a duty anymore. That’s for humans. You couldn’t help your kingdom for much longer, anyway. Just give me your hands now. It’s just the human side of you being stubborn.” She prodded his side with her foot.

Graham swallowed and dug his fingertips into the patch of soft earth beneath him. “But if I can help them even for a bit, I’ve got to go for it. You said you technically could grant wishes. Can’t we try that first? Nothing to lose, right?” This felt utterly ridiculous, to fight a fairy by lying flat on the ground. But what choice did he have? To this overenthusiastic sprite, he was more or less just a cuddly puppy who was going to the vet’s, whatever he might think about the matter. What would he do if she flew him up in the air again, and he couldn’t hide his hands anymore? Play the world’s highest stakes game of ninja slap until she caught him?

Orri hunched over, and whispered in his enormous ear. “Graham, I don’t have ideas I can be proud of very often,” she said, almost confidingly. “Just let me have this.” Then she seized his ear, and twisted it where it attached to his head.

“Augh!” It was more than he could stand. He didn’t have much understanding of goblin biology, but he did know that twist was about ten times more painful than he would have expected. Before he could think, he pawed wildly to yank his ear out of her reach, to pry her fingers free.

Her hand clasped his. She didn’t seem to care about the claws. She just held on tight, and twined her fingers through his. He felt the magic lock on to him.

Graham’s thoughts windchimed off each other, too fleeting to follow. His head grew light. She pulled him to his feet. The ground seemed to shake underfoot, but all that felt faraway. Everything outside himself was irrelevant, because it felt like his mind was turning inside out. Something surfaced in his head. Something dauntingly clever and complicated and warm and royal red, and everything in him knew it didn’t belong here in his head. He had to get rid of it now before it could struggle. But it hung on awfully hard as he tried to reject it. But here was something else, edging it out, filling his mind. Yes. Something. Pushing it out for him. Something… good. Something yes. Yes, yes. Something something something rum-tee-tum-tee-tum, yes yes yes. Oho, filling up the corners. Hehehehehehehehe! Yes yes yes!

And then ow! Ow! Hand gone. No more hand! No more yes! Rage! Not fair! Ow! Whack you! Whack you! Someone grabbing. Someone pulling him away. No more magic. Turning it all outside in again. Everything spilling over again. Maybe a touch of nausea - in his mind? If that made sense? Nothing made sense, but it was coming back. His feet weren’t touching the ground, but neither was he floating this time. There were huge, pudgy arms lifting him up. No, not arms. Gigantic fingers.

Clarity shot through him. Olfie had him in his careful grasp, and the forest clearing below was a good twenty feet beneath him. Even with dark vision, Graham couldn’t see Orri anywhere. He craned his head back to look up at the bridge troll’s honest, hideous face. “Olfie!” he cried, overwhelmed with relief. “Oh, Olfie!” Olfie smiled, not without concern, lifting him up to look at him straight on. “You okay, King Goosie? Saw you were havin’ some fairy trouble down there. Did she try something?”

“No, I’m good.” Graham said, his chest still tense with stress but trying to let it go. His head bobbled on his neck and the world swam a bit, but fixing his eyes on Olfie’s face gave him a point of reference to stabilize from. “I think you didn’t arrive a moment too soon, though! Is she - did you see where she went?”

“Disappeared as soon as I got a hold on you.”

“Praise the consultations.” Graham muttered as Olfie propped him up in his palm. “I mean the consolati- no, the constellations. Sorry. She tried to mess with my head, and I might still be coming back from it.”

Olfie nodded, about as sagely as a troll could. “Gotta watch out for them. Always pulling tricks. One time they got Pillare thinking she was croissant, and you don’t want to hear how that went down at the meeting. Glad it’s all okay for you. So, I went and got them like you said. You ready for this?”

Graham tried to collect his disoriented thoughts. “You went and got who, now?”

“You told me to get them,” said Olfie. And before Graham could ask any further questions, the troll brought his two hands together - the palm where Graham leaned against his fingers, and the other - where to Graham’s astonishment, sat two of his royal guards, cross-legged in full uniform. Numbers One and Two.

Number One gasped.

#Tune in next week when Graham meets a walrus #So - in this version Graham is not running off like a coward. He's buckling down to be the leader Daventry needs now even if #it's an emotional ordeal for him and everyone involved. Prior to this scene he asked Olfie to gather a few people for him and bring them #to meet with him in the nearby woods - outside the anti-goblin shield that's keeping him from entering the castle and town.#Scrapping that other scene helped me plough forward and re-imagine! I may have to change a few details retrospectively #I'll edit the old chapters at some point but in the meantime I'll give you the heads up on any necessary retcons in the notes.#(price of posting as I go but I KNOW I would never have persevered with any of this if I tried to write the full fic in isolation.)#I might have had too much fun with this scene. It's been in the back of my head (though in a different form) for ages.#This is the reason I tried to drop so many mentions of fairies and wishes in Rippling Consequences scenes - Stargazers is the main #example. Now all my wonky foreshadowing is too old to be remembered but I did TRY to set this up not to come out of nowhere.#Goofy half-planned fic that got re-planned partway through that it is...#king's quest #king graham #rippling consequences #goblin graham #my writing

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demonfox38 · 5 months

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Completed: Breath of Fire II (GBA)

Whaddya mean I last played a "Breath of Fire" game ten years ago?!

I've been having another year where I try to beat one game a month to continue working through my backlog. (Considering I've got at least 20 years of games to beat without touching my Steam list…At some point, it is just collecting for the vibes.) A friend of mine from college recently got in contact with me, and we started going through our game lists. He mentioned wanting to go through "Breath of Fire II," and I was like, "Hey, I haven't done that! December's game, here we go!"

"Breath of Fire II" is the second title of the "Breath of Fire" series, naturally falling into place as the distant sequel to the first game. In it, a young man is cut off from his family, raised alongside a literal thieving dog. After said dog is accused of thievery that he didn't actually commit, the hero is thrust out into the world, righting not only his personal wrongs, but the grievances of the world around him. Naturally, with friends. Some, echoing that Zelda and Link same appearance/name/role but not the same person motif that "Legend of Zelda" games have going.

You know that Church Bad / Dragons Good / Church Bad Because They Won't Let You Fuck Dragons post? That's basically this game in a nutshell.

While similar in composition to its predecessor, there's something distinctly more anime about "Breath of Fire II." It feels a bit like a television series, giving time to each party member to build on their backstory and motivations. Granted, it's usually along the line of "sister needs help" or "princess needs help" or "princess sister needs help", but ya know. It is an effort, and that effort was noted and appreciated.

Because of the time devoted to each character, I feel like I've got a better chance of remembering these party members 10 years on than my current memory stands with "Breath of Fire." In particular, I found Katt to be hilarious from a game design point of view. Gal's all attack, speed, critical hits, and getting the most damaging magic spells, but seems to be paper-frail when it comes to HP, defense, or AP (used for magic.) She's also got a literal pussy out look going on. It's weird. I do not understand this sense of attire. But, I do appreciate the damage output.

Also, it's kind of weird to have the one long-haired Nina design actually have short hair in her sprites. And purple wings that everyone else calls black. I mean, I get the latter more in terms of palette balancing, but why doesn't the translation just call her wings dark instead?

I've got a lot of questions about this translation.

Anyone who has ever played this game should have questions about this translation.

In a way, I'm fascinated with just how this strange English translation came about. The pronoun issues and dropping words from sentences? I get that. Japanese to English is not an easy way to go, so some grammatical whoopsy-doos will happen. I don't get the lack of periods, though. Why? Was it an attempt to free up space in the cartridge by cutting out the most used punctuation? Why did the GBA port repair so little? Capcom couldn't have been that strapped for cash.

The ending credits of this game lists character casts, not game development staff. That only further confuses me. Like, I looked on both MobyGames and The Cutting Room Floor to see if there was any development staff for the SNES version on either site, and the best I got was just for the GBA port. (At least, I assume Masayuki Fukumoto is not responsible for the original translation, given their earliest work was credited in 1998.) The Breath of Fire II Production Staff entry on a fan wiki lists a Justin Berenbaum and Chris Kramer as responsible for the translation, but I don't know what that was sourced from, and it doesn't seem to match a pattern of jobs on MobyGames for either listing I found there. This translation just doesn't seem like something a native English speaker would end up making. Not unless cartridge space issues were really that bad.

Someone's going to have an interesting YouTube essay on this subject, one day. Also, we really ought to send flowers to Ted Woosley as an apology.

In terms of gameplay, "Breath of Fire II" is fairly straight forward. Walk across the map, use character-specific actions to engage with the world, talk to people, enter random battles, grind. You know the RPG drill.

A significant battle modification comes in the way of shaman fusing. By recruiting multiple shamans, a majority of the cast (minus Ryu and a special hidden character) can combine powers with elemental master, gaining stat boosts and potentially changes in character appearance. So, basically, almost everybody gets to be Karn this time. Granted, the greatest of these powers isn't really given to you until the last dungeon of the game, and you'll likely have to consult a guide to get half of the shamans, but when it hits, it really hits. Frankly, it's a shame that they locked the physical transformations until so late in the game. The artwork provided for all of them is pretty neat!

Additionally, a new town building subquest has been added. Depending on the player's actions, they can recruit six distinct residents to their town, most of which provide unique services (like armories, aesthetic changes, stat buffs, etc.) This location (TownShip) can be used for free healing, and under the right circumstances, can even be used as transportation. Granted, if you're expecting something as complex or flexible as "Animal Crossing" games, this is going to be an underwhelming feature. Once you get a resident, they are hard locked in, which can really suck if you don't like the services that the resident in question provides.

Look, this is me giving you permission to hit up a guide. Multiple guides. All of the guides. Maybe I'd feel guiltier about pushing that if the game was sensible, but we're dealing with a decently sized RPG that has multiple endings and hidden features. You should be able to know how to meet those objectives. Like, the ending thing is half obvious, but God help you should you not find a single character hidden in the back of an optional town.

If Capcom put in the effort that Enix did with its "Dragon Quest/Warrior" games, I think it would be much more reasonable to stick to just the maps and manuals provided with the original game. But, hell. Look at this map.

Almost completely useless. (Source: eBay Auction "Breath of Fire 2 II SNES Super Nintendo Complete In Box CIB Authentic Map Poster" by ashtons_shop)

In a related topic, I appreciate how the dungeons in game attempted to shake things up with different objectives. Like, it's one thing to march straight through a cave, and another to root around an obese woman, purging demons from within her. (Yeah, this game could be known as the Anime Furry Vore RPG. It could also stand to be nicer to said demon-possessed woman.) The bit inside SimaFort was madcap as well, even with the aggravating music. It's not every day a person has to punch giant insects into submission and use their remains as food ingredients. (Honestly, I'm sad that we didn't take the frog knight Jean's sister with us instead. She definitely seems like she would have been more useful than he was. Probably had a higher attack stat, at any rate.)

Even with online help, I'm not certain that I understood everything with this game. Like, there's a status called Zombie that never really did anything to me. Probably because I killed enemies reasonably fast, and it seems like a status that takes a couple of turns to kick in. Ditto the flashing dragon gemstone bit. Was there a prototypical affection rating going on with that? That's what the story seems to imply, anyway. Also, I didn't seem to have any luck casting the Angel spell on the few targets that I tried. Had luck with the Death spell, though! That was unexpected.

Also, I'm pretty sure the initial shaman fusing dialogue message is bugged. Feels like it should have its initial Yes/No option mapped opposite the way it actually is. No clue on why the menu takes a few seconds to load in, though.

Like a person who has had two spiritual entities stapled onto them, I feel a bit mixed up about this game. The artistic direction is fun, and there are a lot of plot beats that I found enjoyable. "I don't really care for Sten in combat, but this war drama with him is fascinating." "Man, Rand's mom was cool." "So that's what happened to Ryu's sister! That makes total sense!" Things like that. Some of the side systems have not aged as well as the core, though. Or, at least, I can see the potential beyond what's there, and that bums me out. There's also a fair amount of side content reading that a person would have to do to optimize their playthrough, which I'm finding to be more of a bummer as time goes on. Like, I'd like to pretend I'm smart enough to figure out some of these conditions for a better ending or greater rewards. It's just hard to manifest them when critical characters can literally be hidden behind invisible/background tiles.

I think another thing that bugs me is that this is the one "Breath of Fire" game that I had heard the most praise for over the years. Not to say it wasn't entertaining! But, maybe I'm mourning potential again. Like, I haven't heard anything really bad said about "Breath of Fire III", so I look forward to getting to that one at some point. "IV"'s got continuity arguments up the wazoo, "V" is treated like a mutant, and "VI"…did you even know there was a "Breath of Fire VI"? No? Probably didn't help that it was episodic (not in the fun TV way), Japanese-only, online-focused, and shit-canned in an incomplete state.

Maybe I've got to stop fantasying about what could be and appreciate what is. That, or buy more weird little RPGs on Steam. In an era of AAA graphics, time, and budget bloating, I can't expect Capcom to do more with this series. Especially, not if they need a guaranteed seller. But, I can always throw money at developers who enjoy experimenting with kooky things like this.

#post game evaluation #breath of fire II

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just-horrible-things · 2 years

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Verse: Crossover between my and @whump-sprite 's Resistance and @crash-bump-bring-the-whump 's wonderful original 'verse. Featuring his terrifying angelic whumper Daniel. Timeline: Somewhen Arc 4

Vivisect Or Be Vivisected [Next]

They sit side by side on the steel table. Shoulder to shoulder, shell-shocked. The creature – it calls itself angel but what kind of angel cuts people apart – the creature looms over them, vast wings dominating the operating theater even folded.

“Today,” it – no, he – says, wearing an uncanny imitation of a smile, “I want to take a look inside.”

There is no doubt what he means by that. Ranks of jarred organs line the walls. Alex and Ariadne press a little closer against each other.

“No,” Alex pleads, “no, please, Daniel –” The angel told them to call him Daniel. It feels like a sick joke.

“Don’t worry! Only one of you is going to be opened up. The other one is going to be holding the knife.”

Beside him, Alex feels Ariadne stiffen. But she stays where she is, as frozen in place as Alex. The angel is so much stronger than either of them. Fighting back is futile. She still bears the wounds from trying.

“I’ll even let you choose which is which.”

All of Alex’s instincts say to volunteer to take the pain. He always takes the pain. He protected Taryn and he’ll protect Ari.

But –

He meets her eyes and sees the horror there.

He knows what she’s thinking. Under the knife, Alex will lose himself. She will become Interrogator and he will beg her for mercy. And – she isn’t wrong.

“No,” she starts to say, “no, we won’t –” Alex interrupts her. “C-can I try to heal a-afterwards, please, Daniel? Y-you can study magical exhaustion, I’ll be exhausted. Please?”

The angel likes to study things. Even now he’s writing in one of his little books, taking notes on – Alex doesn’t know what – their reactions?

“Certainly!” He claps the pair of hands that aren’t writing. “If you would like to, of course you may heal afterwards. Whomever it is. I’d be delighted to observe.”

Ari’s hands are white-knuckled where she grips the edge of the table. She looks back and forth between Alex and Daniel, back and forth, upper lip twitching in the beginning of a snarl.

“What would you like to do, cruel Ariadne?” the angel asks her. “You can’t choose neither. Then I’d have to do the dissection myself, and if I can’t observe one of you working, I’d have to look inside both of you to make up for it.”

Ari is on the brink of losing control. Alex has to keep his head, for both of them. He takes deep breaths.

If she cuts him open, he might not be able to heal himself. He’ll be out of his mind with pain. And… she doesn’t know anatomy like he does.

She’ll kill him, and if she kills him she won’t be able to live with it.

Six crimson eyes stare at them, impassive.

“I’ll do it,” says Alex. “To her.” “Alex,” breathes Ari. He can’t take his eyes off Daniel but he can see her looking at him and he can see how worried she is. She understands.

Good. He couldn’t do this if she thought it was a betrayal.

“Wonderful!” The angel claps his hands again. “How fascinating. The gentle healer chooses to wield the knife. I have all the tools you’ll need right here.”

Ari is starting to hyperventilate. Her breath is silent, but Alex sees the rise and fall of her chest.

“Do I get an anaesthetic?” she asks. They both know the answer. “You won’t need that,” Daniel smiles. “I assure you, it’s perfectly possible for a human to survive the procedure without. I’ve done it many times.” “You’re – gonna strap me down, at least.” “Of course, of course.”

Feeling numb, Alex gets up from the table. He gives Ari’s hand a squeeze before leaving her. She takes off her clothes with shaking hands, and lies back. The angel’s four hands make short work of securing her to the table. Leather straps cross her wrists and ankles, knees and elbows, shoulders, hips, and ribs.

“Are you comfortable?” Daniel asks, with the fake-pleasant tone of a sitcom doctor. Muscles tense beneath Ari’s skin as she tests the restraints. “A – little tighter a-across the shoulders,” she says. She understands how important it is that she shouldn’t be able to squirm. “Of course,” the angel agrees, pulling the strap in question tight.

There aren’t any gloves, but there is alcohol for Alex to wash his hands. An array of scalpels – far more than seems necessary. Hooks and clamps and scissors and instruments Alex doesn’t even recognise.

“What do I have to do.” His voice comes out flat. “Nothing complicated! Just open her up so that I can have a look at her organs and make a note of any differences from the norm." "She's a normal human," Alex snaps. "We're both normal. The same as anyone else. You don't have to cut us open to know that." "Now now, Alex." There's a dangerous edge to the angel’s voice. "There's no substitute for direct observation."

It's not about "science". Alex knows that. The rows of victims on the wall attest to it. He just couldn't stop himself from saying something.

"Now, shall I guide you?' I am an expert in human anatomy." "I know my anatomy," Alex answers sullenly. "Just tell me exactly what I have to do." "Just open the abdomen,” the angel gestures a cross-shaped incision, “that's all."

That's all.

Alex picks up a scalpel. "Are these sterile?" "Yes of course. Everything has been very carefully sterilized." The angel holds up a hand, and a pale flame dances above his palm. "I know how susceptible humans are to infection. Angelic fire is very effective."

Alex's hands feel a million miles away. He washes Ariadne's skin with the rubbing alcohol. She meets his eyes and smiles a tiny, frightened smile. Her hands are balled into fists. "Can I – have something to bite down on?" Alex casts about. He pulls the belt from her pants and folds it between her teeth. He washes his hands again.

The angel is still taking notes. The hand with the pen moves mechanically. None of the eyes look down.

Alex steadies his hand against his other hand, lining the scalpel up below her sternum. Ari takes a deep breath and holds it.

"Try to relax," he tells her, knowing it must be impossible. There's no noticeable change in her tension.

The first bead of blood is very red. The scalpel slides easily through skin and the layer of fat beneath. Alex feels the resistance as the tip of the blade meets the sheath of connective tissue beneath.

Far away, his stomach turns.

Ari doesn't scream. Alex hears every stuttering catch and click and whistle of her breath as if it was a heart-rending wail. He doesn't think about how hard she must be trying to keep so quiet.

Blood slicks everything. It fills the incision, making it hard to see how deep Alex is cutting. It coats his hands. It trickles across her skin.

The vertical cut ends just above the strap across her hips. The horizontal cut is worse, transecting core muscles inch by bloody inch. The fibers contract away from the knife. Every part of Ari is spasming, shaking and twitching against the table. Her head is thrown back. Her fingers curl and uncurl, over and over.

He doesn’t look at her face.

Magic strains against Alex’s skin, trying to reach the damage he can sense beneath the blade. The temptation to give in is as strong as it ever was when he was the one in agony. Even if he only numbed where he is cutting, it would make so much of a difference.

But he doesn’t dare. The angel has so many eyes, and he is watching so closely.

After the long cuts comes the sickening business of separating the abdominal wall from the organs. The knife slides beneath the layers. A high, keening noise slips from Ari's throat – a raw, broken sound that wants to be a scream but lacks the breath.

Magic flares from Alex’s fingers, bright and involuntary, surging into Ari’s body.

“And what was that, Alex?” “I’m s-sorry, I didn’t mean to. Somet-times my magic just, comes out of me, i-if someone’s in pain.” “Oh? A stunning lack of control for a warlock.”

Alex twitches as a hand settles between his shoulderblades. Memories of his handlers crawl across his skin. It doesn’t make it any easier not to heal.

“You care about each other quite a lot,” the angel observes pleasantly. “It’s sweet.”

Alex keeps cutting. She doesn’t have time for him to stall or hesitate.

The cleaner the cuts, the easier it will be to heal. But Alex’s hands are shaking too badly and she is thrashing now, bucking wildly and blindly against the restraints.

“Tighten the hip strap.” Alex hears himself as if someone else is speaking. “She’s moving too much.”

He isn’t strong enough to hold her still and adjust the buckle at the same time – but the angel has no such trouble with his four arms and his inhuman strength.

He’ll have to heal in reverse order, from the inside out. Blood vessels will be the highest priority – he's keeping track of every cup of blood she loses – and any organs he damages accidentally. Then the structural damage. He’ll give her his entire life if he has to.

She just has to live long enough for him to be allowed.

The flesh peels back inch by agonizing inch, lifting like the cover of a book never meant to be opened. The sounds she makes are inhuman – hoarse gargles, breathless whines that scratch in her throat like nails on slate.

There are four quadrants to lift to expose her organs, four triangular sections of meat and sinew and skin. As Alex cuts each away from the organs beneath, one of the angel’s hands descends to hold it back. His fingers grip like a vise.

His wings loom above them as he leans forwards over the operating table. Alex feels surrounded on every side, enveloped in the angel’s unnatural presence.

“Amazing,” Daniel concludes finally, as Alex makes the last few cuts. “Amazing. Wonderful work, Alex.”

He makes the mistake of glancing at her face – a contorted rictus, mouth open, eyes screwed closed. Every breath is a wet, rasping moan, in and out.

“And your magic can’t regenerate a full organ, can it?” “No.” Sharp. “It cannot.” “Hm,” the angel hums wistfully. “A shame. But you can heal grievous injuries, can’t you?” “Like this?” Alex snaps. Helpless fury races through him. He needs to heal her. He needs permission. “Yes. It’ll be hard, but I can.” “Oh, meant an injury, such as… well, a broken bone. Would it be harder? Heal differently?” “May we, sir, discuss this after I put her back together?”

There’s so much blood. She is bleeding to death in front of him and the creature is talking.

“I suppose,” Daniel permits begrudgingly. “You are the healer here.” “Thank you, sir.”

He has permission to use magic. He doesn’t need to be told twice. He touches trembling fingertips to the insides of her abdominal wall, and floods her with numbing. Ari goes limp all at once, and the awful sounds she is making stop.

“And what does that spell do, sweet Alex?” No one said he wasn’t allowed to numb her. “I’m making it hurt less,” he admits nervously. “While I – try to pull things together – can I put her together, please, sir?” “Is reducing the pain necessary?” “Not really but, i-it makes it easier, it stops her twitching.”

She’s suffering so much. He wants her to know that he’s at least trying to make this less awful.

The angel is at least delicate about releasing his grip on her flesh. He lays the flaps gently back over the organs with the air of one slotting puzzle pieces into their proper places. “I’m terribly excited to see how your magic works, sweet Alex.”

It’s so, so hard not to just pour his life force into her. But if he did that, he might not have enough.

He can’t keep her numb either. It costs too much. It wears off so fast. She’s already moaning again. Alex has made such a mess of her. He tried so hard to be neat but she twitched so much.

He settles for numbing just the immediate area around his fingers, where he pinches tissues together as if to stitch them, using magic instead of sutures to seal the cut edges together. Her insides are slick under his fingertips. Her pain screams through his magic, begging him to fix her faster.

He restrains himself. He works slowly and methodically. Inside to out. He’s going to do the best job he’s ever done. He’s decided it. She won’t even scar.

He would lose himself in the mechanics of it, but the angel won’t stop asking questions. What is Alex doing? Why? What does it feel like? Has he done this before? How much magic does he have left? Is this a “normal” amount to heal?

Alex answers politely, but as briefly as he thinks he can get away with. He has to keep the angel happy. But he won’t tell more than he has to about how his magic works.

His hands get cold and stiff and numb. The familiar ache settles into his wrists, then his elbows and shoulders. His chest gets tight.

But Ari’s cries are getting quieter, tailing off first into low moans and then into exhausted silence.

Daniel addresses some of his questions to her. He seems unperturbed by the total lack of reaction. He just makes a note of it.

“And how are you feeling, sweet Alex?” The question is nonsense. Alex spares the angel a glance, but his unsettling gaze is unreadable. “Alright, sir,” he answers numbly.

[Next]

#my writing #verse: resistance crossover #unlikely salvation alt #ariadne milonas #alex morgen #archangel daniel #vivisection

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suzuki-violin-school · 2 years

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Unfortunate Habit

"A quick-witted pirate always ready with a gag to lighten the mood. He's more than just a joker, though--he's also a gifted pilot, and fiercely ambitious. Indeed, he likes to talk himself up as a successor to Batu Bakugo. Has an unfortunate habit of being struck by lightning." [Ni No Kuni II: Citizen Almanac]

Here is my entry for @suyacho 's Ghibli Collab! The lightning thing was just too perfect to ignore

Masterlist Collab Masterlist

Content: Ni No Kuni 2 fandomswap, khunbish!kaminari, planes and flying, lightning, not really any actual religious stuff but I do mention the old god so religion trigger warning?? Idk. Also bad words but Bakugo's there so we been knew

“How low can you dive?”

“In… Like, in water?”

“No, you stupid frog, in the canyon.”

“Hey!” Kaminari protested, cringing at Y/n’s words. “Don’t call me a frog! I don’t want to think about that!”

“Then don’t be stupid,” Y/n suggested. “Anyway. Fifty guilders I can dive lower than you.”

“What do you mean, ‘don’t be stupid’? You know that’s my defining character trait,” Kaminari bragged, flicking one of his dangly earrings and listening to the spritely wind chime noise it made.

“Yeah, and that’s not a good thing,” Y/n stated flatly.

“Uh- Well, I’m not really supposed to do any tricks for a while since I was hit again,” Kaminari admitted. “That mermaid healer and the human one and the dog one and Boss said not to fly unless absolutely necessary until the storm passes.”

“Boss told you not to fly?” Y/n asked, appalled. “Since when does Bakugo give a shit? You get hit by lightning all the time and he’s never cared before.”

Kaminari shrugged exaggeratedly.

“How should I know? He hardly talks to me if he’s not berating me for being dumb with Sero,” he said. “Speaking of, where is Sero?”

“I think he’s in Evermore,” Y/n said. She rolled her eyes, speaking mockingly. “The Great and Marvelous Righteous King Deku called for him, I think.”

“What?! Sero left without me and I can’t fly after him?!” Kaminari wailed.

“What if I fly and you just sit behind me?” Y/n suggested. “Boss didn’t say no to that, right?”

“No, but that still counts as flying, right?” Kaminari said timidly. “Never cross the boss, he almost took my head off with his bare hands last time I did.”

“Snakes eat frogs,” Y/n stated, shrugging as she stepped out of the small home-hole they were in. She walked over to the edge of the wooden platform and just grinned at Kaminari as she jumped off.

“Oi! You- Dumb- Huh? Y/n!”

Panicked, he ran down the spiral ramp leading up to the home, racing across the clay bridge and then running down the ramp on the other side of the base. To his- not quite delight, Y/n was perfectly fine. She’d landed on top of a pile of crates and was now climbing down, brushing off Ashido who was ever in awe of the gall and audacity Y/n carried with pride.

Y/n waved him over as she walked towards all the winged crafts at the cliff just waiting to be abused in the air. The both of them froze when they noticed the boss coming down the spiral ramp next to Y/n, and Kaminari skittered close to her, staring at Bakugo who was staring right back at him.

“And what the hell do you think you’re doing?” He asked, accusation so clear in his voice that it was drawing everyone’s attention- Not that that was entirely unusual, however.

“He’s not flying,” Y/n said quickly, cutting Kaminari off before he had a chance to speak. “We’re just going to Evermore to reunite the idiot and Sero.”

Bakugo rolled his eyes.

“Suit yourself,” he grumbled. “Don’t die, and I’m not paying the healers again if you get all fucked up, Sparky.”

“Yes, Boss,” Kaminari said dejectedly. He walked over to Y/n’s plane, dragging his feet through the dirt the whole way. “‘M not gonna get you killed.”

“Well, Sero’s come back maimed after riding with you a few times,” Y/n said. “But I’m the best flyer in this damn place, and I’ve dodged lightning before.”

“Really?! How?!”

“If I told you all my secrets, I’d never beat you in a diving contest again!” Y/n said, offended. “Get in the bird, dummy, we have a thunderstorm to get through.”

“To answer your question, pretty damn low,” Kaminari said, climbing awkwardly into Y/n’s plane, barely a different size than his own but unfamiliar nonetheless. “Knowing you, I would’ve lost the bet, but against Sero? I’m a shoe-in! Maybe even against the Boss.”

“Bakugo doesn’t do tricks,” Y/n said, grabbing the tail of her plane and pushing it closer to the cliff. “The damn Cloud Snake is too busy dealing with the Great Majesty Ruler of the World King Deku. And you’re underestimating Sero, the man’s a pretty decent flyer. He hasn’t fallen out of the air nearly as much as you.”

“No one has,” Kaminari said proudly.

“Hold on tight,” Y/n said, gripping the tail tightly in one hand as she tipped the plane off the cliff. She let herself fall with it, grabbing one of its still wings to jump around into the cockpit. She had her hands on the steering rod before Kaminari even had a chance to scream about how he was freefalling into giant wyvern-infested stalagmites.

“Why do you always do that?!” He shrieked, voice barely carrying over the loud wind as Y/n pushed the stick forward, speeding up as she rounded the god’s spine to aim the craft towards the Heartlands.

“What, have fun?” Y/n cried back, laughing at her friend’s panic.

“Most people make the wings flap before they jump off a cliff, you know!”

“Shut up, the storm’s coming up,” Y/n said seriously, pulling the steer back to slow down as clouds rolled in to hide the sun. The first few drops of rain on her nose were cold, but Kaminari seemed focused on something else.

“Get going already, lightning’ll hit you in the face if you’re just sitting here like this!”

“Wh- Well, that’s why you always get hit by lightning,” Y/n realized. “You try to outrun it, don’t you?”

“Uh, yeah!” Kaminari said, wiping rain-soaked bangs away from his eyes. “Duh!”

“That’s not how you play the game,” Y/n said, shaking her head and sending water flying from her hair as she did. She put her other hand on the steering rod, grasping it tightly with both hands. “Hold onto the sides, and if you fall out, too bad.”

Kaminari gripped the handles on the inside of the plane tightly- He knew from experience; If Y/n tells you to hold onto something, fucking do it.

Y/n had reprimanded him for trying to outrun lightning, but she herself wasn’t moving any slower either. She twisted the craft to the left harshly, rolling over in the air and barely dodging silent lightning as it struck the spot they’d just been in. Not even a second later, the ear-splitting roar of thunder rattled their heads, though Kaminari seemed used to it.

Y/n didn’t pause, though, slamming the stick full throttle at the same time she kicked the floor of the little plane, knocking the plane both down and forward as she sped up. She dived low in the canyon, looping around the rock arch in Snaketooth Ridge (lightning struck the lake as they passed over it), ducking through the ravine (lightning almost caused a landslide that would’ve crushed them), twisting through the bones of the god’s tail as the mountains faded behind them- The only reason lightning hadn’t followed them there was the lingering protection in the old god’s bones, but Kaminari was certain lightning would’ve struck His spine and His ribs would’ve collapsed around them and knocked them out of the air.

The storm passed them by as they soared into and over the plains, and Y/n had never been so glad to be blinded by the sun's reflection on her plane’s metal.

“So, how do you get struck by lightning even when it’s sunny like this?” She asked, pulling the steer back so they weren’t going so fast they couldn’t hear each other. One hand at a time, she let go of the stick to shake rain droplets from her fingertips.

“I wish I knew,” Kaminari said, finally relaxing his grip on the plane and shrugging. He sighed, just relishing in the way the breeze tried to dry his hair. “D’you think Sero’s worried about me?”

“No,” Y/n said flatly. “You might be two halves of the same chaotic entity, but he’s still two halves of one damn good person without you. Without him, you’re just… Well, you’re a frog.”

“Stop calling me a frog!” Kaminari wailed. “It’s not like I asked for it! I never wanted to be shot in the first place, let alone turned into a stupid little amphibian trying to hop my way through the canyon!”

Y/n snorted.

“Y’know, I think the chief consul still has a bag of those froggie pills somewhere in his office…” Y/n mused, grinning. “I mean, we’re already headed to the palace of the Great Wonderful Amazing King Deku, it’s a three minute detour down one of the halls to the right-”

“No more frogs!”

“Jeez. You get turned into a frog one time and lose all sense of humor related to amphibians.”

Kaminari huffed as the kingdom of Evermore came over the horizon, domed castle waving its flags as if to welcome them.

“I wonder why the king wanted to see Sero in the first place,” Kaminari wondered aloud. “I mean, without me, he’s just another pirate.”

“Well, I’m sure the Marvelous King Deku has his reasons-”

A blinding white light flashed before their eyes, followed immediately by the loud rumble of very close thunder, then followed by a crash, burn, bang as Y/n’s plane tumbled from the sky, wings smoking, landing loudly and ungracefully amid, ironically, The Ruins.

Y/n groaned, still in the cockpit though she’d been thrown backward into Kaminari’s lap.

“…How the hell are you an actual walking -and flying- lightning rod?”

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good-witch-luz · 1 year

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i hope there isn’t a character limit on tumblr…

The Owl House, Season 1 Episode 17: Wing It Like Witches

This episode opens with a very iconic Boscha quote, “Hello Hexside, your Star has arrived!” Then this episode immediately shows us willow and her newfound confidence and popularity. Willow’s flower barrette is repeatedly used to symbolize this confidence, but that doesn’t become relevant until later. When Luz gets dropped off at Hexside, we get some brand new Eda lore, she was the star player of her grudgby team! This is later elaborated on, and we get a new young eda picture, and in my personal opinion, those are the highlights of the show. Another important thing in this particular scene is Luz saying quote, “can’t reason with crazy.” This is paralleled in Hollow Mind by EMPEROR BELOS. This episode also clearly sets up something that I personally never got, and that is everyone’s admiration for Boscha. I suppose it’s because she’s the captain of the grudgby team but she’s such a bitch. This episode also sets up a lot of early lumity moments and it’s so adorable. There are several lumity quotes in here that I will now be dedicating a segment for. “Oh, Luz, you’re here. I mean, obviously you’re here, this is school, and you go here now, with me. I’ve been talking for too long.” “-Amity we need your help.” “-Yes. I can help! With.. what exactly?” “Oh wow.. Sports” “Me? On a team with you? Running around in cute uniforms? Sweating?? I gotta go.” “She can be so stupid, which I love. I mean hate! In any case, she needs you right now, which is sweet. I mean, I hate it, and it’s dumb.”

This chapter also brilliantly displays Luz’s naivety and childlike optimism and how they can ultimately hurt people even when she’s trying to help people. For example, when Luz challenges Boscha to a grudgby match on behalf of Willow, without consulting her first. Immediately following this scene, we come back to the owl house, and here some new Lillith lore is dropped! How exciting! Lilith was a grudgby CHAMPION. Back to hexside, this scene features an absolute banger of a joke from Boscha “Maybe It’s the altitude of the second floor, but I thought I heard Willow challenge me to a grudgby match.” Underrated as all get out. Later in this scene, another Good Witch Azura parallel is made between Luz + Friends and “Good Witch Azura 2: The Field of Deadly Fates” Immediately following the best montage ever, Luz attempts the thorn vault, and horribly hurts all of her friends. Not physically, but emotionally, and she damages their things. When Willow's barrette breaks, it’s symbolism for her confidence breaking down. It’s so so sad. Hard on the heels of this event, Luz gets hit with a difficult pill to swallow “Not everything can be solved with a good attitude and a dope music soundtrack.” After this, we come to a very important scene, the beginning of Eda and Lilith’s grudgby match! The B plot of this episode serves as a very important sibling bonding and relationship set-up for Eda and Lilith. Also we learn that Lilith was grudgby team captain?!?! Following this tidbit, we learn that Amity was once grudgby team captain, as a preamble to Boscha, and she stepped down after attempting,,, *GASP* THE THORN VAULT!?!?! After Boscha throws FIREBALLS at Luz, Amity manages to re-recruit Gus and Willow to do the grudgby match again. And then Eda and Lilith have one of the sweetest moments in the show.. “I will be back for you. And next time, i won’t be alone.” “I’ll be waiting..” This episode also includes that like, png basic sprite you see everytime you google Amity and I think that’s hilarious. Another thing that makes this episode so impactful and important, is that Luz learns the fire glyph from Boscha’s grudgby ball! The underdogs win this match (in spirit) via a thorn vault, *GASP* CALL BACK!! Lastly, this episode provides us with cheerleader king! Ugh!! Concluding thoughts: I have never had more fun commentating on something in my entire life. I love this episode with my entire heart + my bile sac.

#the owl house #wing it like witches #oh my god #lilith clawthorne #im in love with lilith clawthorne #young eda #young lilith #btw spoilers for hollow mind #sorry for the two page post

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arabe · 3 months

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it's a lot to think about. right? how many failed auditions and attempts have crossed her path already? but she can't give up. ara isn't the youngest sprite around anymore, but that... that doesn't mean anything! the girl can still compete and do her best. her toughest competition should be herself, but she knows that the crowd that also attends the same auditions as her also are in a mindset of their own. it's a whole ordeal and it's so massive. she'd missed out on the first season already, and marvelled at that whilst following up with it in between her lessons and job. if she's lucky... she'll make it in to at least learn more skills through the show, or at least be memorable enough. it's especially daunting when all the large labels are there.

they're split into separate groups and ara finds herself with with lime entertainment. they want a performance, she will give them a performance. somehow, there's an inkling that this is the most straight-forward part of the process. ara knows how to dance, and she's practiced how to keep her voice steady whilst dancing. sure, there are areas where she can improve in singing or rapping, but she can be molded into it. she's got the base. she can only improve. she has to think positively because nobody else in this industry will do it for her. for her solo, ara performs a part of the choreography from k/da pop/stars, a dance she is rather comfortable with and has danced to before. she wants to showcase what she has, so she also chooses to sing for the audition. despite not being the best singer, that she is on tune and can maintain her breath while dancing. the sixty seconds feels like the fastest and longest minute, all at the same time. and then she's whisked off to the audition portion with SR media. the time to absorb what actually occurred is lost on her as the transition was much too fast, with the questionnaires next. this - this definitely is more difficult than the performance part with lime. but it's important too. quite like a job interview, where she never practices the questions and wings them. that is... definitely what this reminds her of.

"what style of music/performance suits you best and why?"

ara clears her throat before responding. although it's not practiced, this is something she's thought about before. "i really enjoy upbeat music and performances with complex choreography. i would say that while i enjoy listening to ballads, i may not be the best at performing one at this moment. a song that is harmonious with a thought out dance? i am all for that. upbeat pop, rnb, hip hop. cutesy, even, as long as it is energetic. i enjoy expressing myself through dance the most."

"why do you want to become a kpop idol?"

"this sort of relates to the last question but i enjoy dancing a lot. i enjoy performing on a stage, and i enjoy being in the spotlight. i've danced in a group before and i loved performing on stage and in competitions for that, but i aspire to make a career out of it. to be able to spread it with fans, and a group to become our best selves. that would be cool."

"would you rather go to a tropical island or to the north pole?"

"i would go to the north pole. i've heard that depending on when you go, the days can be mostly daylight, or night and dark. that would be marvelous to experience and quite fascinating, something that i haven't been able to experience anywhere else thus far! also i'm not very good at swimming... so the north pole intrigues me the best." she wonders what this question has to do with the rest of the questions that have been asked so far, but it seems that not all questions were about performing. it

“What is the most interesting place that you have been to wearing the shoes that you’re wearing now?”

"oh... the most interesting place with this pair of shoes.. well.. i actually wore a specific pair of shoes from my collection." it was one of her few dance sneakers. not the freshest pair, but a bit well loved and definitely danced through. "the dance studio that i work at! that would be the most interesting place. i teach very young kids in beginner dance and lets just say, there is never a day that is the same. i am very privileged that way." she wished she had something more exciting to say about her shoes but this pair were well-loved, and not that well-travelled in her opinion.

surely, studio delta's audition was last for a reason. ara wasn't sure what to expect, the initial video such a daunting warning. something that she can do beyond... dancing or singing. ara had some tricks up her sleeve, but what would make her stand out? well... she didn't actually prepare anything with her but luckily she does know how to juggle. looking through her bag, she tries to find some things that would make do for juggling. it's the best she can do with what she has. it's been a while since ara's done this too, so she's rusty too. heavens. she has a lacrosse ball for whenever she accidentally hurt her foot, and... a makeup compact, and she unclips a plushie chain off her bag. this will have to do. "i... can show you how i juggle!" the items were different weights so she might be a bit off kilter, but ara knows she'll have to do it. if anything falls, she can laugh it off ( but again, positivity here. she can do it. ) she starts with the ball first, and then lumps in the lightest item which is the plushie. so far so good, before tossing up the compact too. she better not drop that. seven years of bad luck? hell no. but once the momentum picks up, ara's able to continue doing it again- just like riding a bike. after doing it for some time, she pulls back, extremely relieved that nothing dropped through the bit. "and no, i wasn't apart of a circus act before!"

#be:ngs2p1 #wc: 1048

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disenchantedif · 3 years

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Either 27 (fluff) or 17 (general) for Cameron? Whichever you think fits best, sorry I couldn't choose lol.

"Are you blushing?" and "Are you jealous?" for Cameron.

Early relationship and M!Cameron. Also, AU where MC's university experience doesn't immediately go to shit.

This probably got way too long so I broke it up some, read the rest under the cut.

The university cafeteria is packed as always. You're certain it looks the same as most like it around the country except this one...well, one table is full of Nephilim lounging with their wings out and another has Basilisks partaking in a venom shooting competition.

Maybe it's a bit unique.

You're sat in the back corner with your laptop propped open, a document on magical politics open on one side of the screen. Your homework for Advanced Lightning Manipulation occupies the other side, though it's more doodles than any actual work so far.

You absentmindedly begin to pick at your sandwich when-

"Hells!" You jump, feeling a hand on your shoulder.

You twist around to see none other than Cameron with his hands up in surrender, smiling sheepishly. You also notice that all eyes are now on your previously secluded corner, and the whispers are already beginning.

They say kids are vicious, and you can attest to that better than anyone. Everybody always fails to mention that a shit ton of young adults crammed into a cafeteria can feel like facing down a pack of hyenas, though. They thrive on gossip, and what's juicier than a fling between the Chosen One and the Unchosen One?

Nothing. Nothing is the answer. Or it appears to be, at least, when every pair of eyes follow you both around every corner. You had just started to fade into obscurity, then Cameron had to come along and fuck it all up.

Again.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He says, keeping his voice down and out of range of prying ears.

"I wasn't scared." You huff, pushing your plate away.

You had already lost your appetite.

"It's no good?" His nose scrunches sympathetically as he sits beside you, "If you want, we can go grab dinner-"

"I don't have any money." You interrupt him, "Besides, it's fine. I'll take it back to my dorm."

"It probably tastes like cardboard." He jokes, but you see the way his eyes dart around, making sure no one approaches.

"Maybe, but it's food." You shrug, "I need to finish this anyway."

You nod at your assignment and his eyes light up when he recognizes it, "For Professor Karlin's class, right? I'm in another section of it, and the assignment is super easy. I can help if you want?"

You almost snap, say no and tell him to get lost. It's your gut instinct when it comes to Cameron; just get him to leave you the hell alone. Except you don't really want that anymore.

Which is the absolute weirdest feeling ever, to want Cameron Fletcher around. Theo would be laughing his ass off at you right now, and you're sure Viktor would give you his patented disappointed eyebrows.

"If you want." You say instead, still stiff but slowly relaxing as people grow bored of your apparently normal conversation.

If they wanted to see you throw a glass of Sprite in Cameron's face, they're about six months too late.

He twiddles his thumbs for a bit as you work, occasionally piping up in assistance, but his nervous energy is overwhelming.

"Is there something you're wanting to talk about?" You say, pretending to be uninterested as you read the same question five times over to look busy.

"Oh." He startles, "Um. Yes, actually."

It's silent for a moment, so you continue to prompt him, "About?"

"Um, this weekend." He glances down at his hands, "A bunch of the freshmen are going to Inferno."

You know Inferno well. Every supernatural person with even a slight social life in New York knows Inferno well. It's the only club around town that's hidden from mortal eyes; you have to be supernatural to get in...and twenty-one.

"Most of them aren't even old enough." You say, "They get fakes?"

"Yeah. Apparently, Theo knows someone." His face sours as he says his name, "That's actually what I wanted to ask you about."

"What? Inferno?" You raise an eyebrow, "I'm not going, if that's what you're wondering."

He gets what you're saying without you having to actually say it. You might enjoy parties or clubbing, getting a fake ID, living it up with friends.

You'll never know, though.

Your presence is like a sedative to any social gathering you attend. Usually, things just end up awkward and you leave early to go home and cry in the shower. At worst, someone mentions your reputation that so often proceeds you and you have to beat off a panic attack with a stick.

"I know." He says quickly, "I'm not asking you to go. I was actually going to suggest a movie night."

"Movie night?" You say, more than a little shocked, "You're that nervous about suggesting a movie night?"

"No." He twists the edge of his shirt between his hands and you almost feel sorry for the cotton, "I was going to ask if anyone else asked you to go?"

You blink at him, incredulous for a moment, "Cam, who the hell would ever ask me out?"

He frowns momentarily, "Off-topic, but you're a catch."

"I'm a walking bad luck charm." You scoff, "The question remains."

"I overheard Theo and Penelope talking in Alchemy." He explains, "Apparently they were both going to ask you to go."

His face lights up like a stoplight, the dark flush hard to spot against his tan but certainly there.

"Are you blushing?" You ask, eyes wide, "Cameron-"

"I just wanted to know if they did ask you." He frowns.

"They know we're...a thing." You say, unable to call it dating, "They knew you were listening and wanted to fuck with you."

His mouth drops open slightly before he closes it, lips pursed. He doesn't say anything for a moment, leading you to draw your own conclusions.

"Hold on, are you jealous?" You question, "Why would you be jealous?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He responds, catching you off guard, "Barely a year ago you couldn't tolerate me and everyone thought you and Theo were already dating."

"So?" You ask, "I never dated Theo. I've never wanted to date Theo. And, don't get me wrong, Penelope is gorgeous-"

"You're not helping."

"Like, drop-dead stunning-"

"Now you're just being an asshole."

"I would totally let her step on me kind of hot-"

Cameron groans and you finally take mercy on him.

"But she hasn't asked me either." You confirm, "As of now, I have movie plans with this annoying kid I used to go to school with."

He smiles hesitantly, "If they did ask you, would you rather go with one of them? I mean, I guess I'd understand."

Your brows furrow, studying the weight of the words before you respond, "If I wanted to be with someone else, I would. I want to be with you, though, so that's where I am."

He grins now, a full-on beam of sunshine glowing on his face, "I want to be with you, too."

"I hope so." You say, "I spent a lot of time convincing Viktor and Theo not to break your kneecaps. I'd hate to have that hard work go to waste."

He just sighs in response.

#disenchantedif #cameron fletcher #short story

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unpretty · 3 years

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~astielle askdump with spoilers up to chapter 24 starts here~

anonymous asked:

"then once you get to the faewild you have to not piss off the fairy king, and instead convince him to give you a shot. sometimes there are intermediate steps here where you have to prove you got gud, because he doesn’t bother booting up the goddess gacha for scrublords."... so Vaelon skipped like an entire chapter/quest with a single charisma check?

it turns out in this universe if you put everything you have into charisma at the expense of all else you become comically overpowered and only clinical depression can nerf you

@driftward asked:

I think I see the spirits of the originals in their descendents; Karzarul, of course, who has not changed as much as they would like to think they have, and perhaps with enough denial they can be loved after all. Lynette in Leonas, the part where if he cannot have it on his own terms he does not want it at all. And Vaelon in Minnow, who shows her love for all things through collections and wanderings, but does not want the responsibility that often comes with attachments

anonymous asked:

"Stay with me? No war, no fighting. Let the world think you’re asleep a little longer. Until I pick one of every flower and eat every edible thing, take a feather from every kind of bird, map the whole world and catch a thousand fallen stars." You make me think that maybe I could love the world, reading stories until I hold the heart of every little thing in my memories

@eriquin asked:

Lynette: No matter how hot I find the monster I will not fuck the monster because he is a monster. .... hmmmm wonder how that's related to Ari's kinks. Nope, can't mean anything.

every single trio encountering each other for more than five minutes: i hope this doesn't awaken anything in me

@ivylaughed asked:

After reading the most recent Astielle chapters and then doing yet another reread, I'm thinking Leonas's threatening speech about Toast in Chapter 8 was reassuring to Karzarul, whether consciously or subconsciously. "Oh good, this one knows how to deal with loss. She knows how to live and keep on living."

@ivylaughed asked:

Sorry not sorry for two Astielle asks in one day, this story has eaten my brain and I think I've reread it three times in the past week. BUT. Leonas coughing up flowers and dandelion fluff is totally deliberately isn't it? He's got it bad.

he's got a terminal case of shoujo aesthetics for sure

just look at how often minnow notes the length of his fingers

anonymous asked:

......that shit hurted and now I'm all in my Karzarul feels again. how could you do this to me

anonymous asked:

Karzarul can eat my problems if you know what I mean (sorry)

if we've learned anything it's that you could probably just ask apropos of nothing and that would work out

anonymous asked:

Ohhhh. I've been wondering where the terms and conditions were.

only one man can be trusted to keep them safe and he probably drinks tadpoles through a boba straw

anonymous asked:

Well that answers Leonas' question about how he got so good at dreams.

karzarul making a dream flower: what, like it's hard?

karzarul trying to make a new form: WHERE DID THESE ARMS COME FROM

@onwardmotley asked:

I know Ari is probably right about Malgath and Kelruil but I actually have been in fandoms where fully-consensual vivisection is on the table as a fun romantic thing between two mad scientists, including holding someone's heart in your hands, so like. Maybe Karzarul just shouldn't kinkshame people idk.

canonically it is open to interpretation but in my head while they had a very unhealthy relationship karzarul really did just kinkshame that man to death

@onwardmotley asked:

Also a very heartfelt RIP to all the heroes and heirs who came all prepped to avenge their fallen partners and spouses and got thirsty Karzarul. "I'm not so terrible as my reputation would have you believe" "You never take me dancing anymore" good lord.

the fact that karzarul doesn't understand why violet is Like That gets funnier all the time

@windmillcrusader asked:

delighted to learn that karzarul has a multi phase boss fight. it’s what he deserves

@phasestab asked:

There is something intensely erotic about a man who knows how to structure himself a good boss fight.

despite what SOME COMICS would have you believe he is NOT easy!! he doesn't show off his final form in the first fight!!! he's gonna make sure you can last until PHASE FOUR!!! ... unless you use the glitch where if you use the kiss emoji he goes into final form immediately. but that's cheating.

(i like to imagine that if the starlight heroes games were real they would be old-school nintendo hard and the majority of the fandom would tell you that you don't need to beat the final boss battle to be a true fan because almost no one gets past phase two, at least not in the ORIGINALS, these new games are TOO EASY and also they didn't remember the sprites having so much hip action)

@asimovsideburns asked:

god I’m also just. SO head in hands about the fact that there’s a whole legend about how the three are fated to kill each other by the will of the gods and it’s just. WRONG. just completely wrong!! and like I’m going to have to reread but I remember Minnow early on being like “I won’t kill you” and Ari being like “we have to kill each other” and Minnow being like “well then I’ll kill you later, and the gods won’t take vengeance on us for not fighting because we’re just putting it off for a bit” and I’m like. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

"the reason we're always killing each other is because it's fate and can't be helped because the goddesses hate me and don't want me to be happy and thinking i could be happy actually just makes it worse so it's better to just really lean into it" - a reliable source

@flyingseacow asked:

Don't mind me, just rereading the whole story after chapter 23/24 giving so much new context:- Chapter 3 = “He is not your prince,” Ari said. “Astielle is not your kingdom. The Hero need be loyal to no one.” - AHHHH- "it felt offensive to treat a Tauril as a collection of other animal parts, rather than a whole monster with all his own parts - HAH! - “She should be mine, if she’s anyone’s.”“You’re not the first Heir to think so,” - Uuugh, and this was just chapter 3, rereading this might hurt

minnow's trying not to commit a microaggression while karzarul's out here hot-gluing regular sized bat wings onto a bear

anonymous asked:

Oh no. He's why she can't sing in front of others, why she panics when asked to sing. And poor Leonas, no wonder his memories are all of blood and death, when Flynn was the longest they'd ever spoken (lol) after he killed Lynette. "In the earliest reincarnation cycles, I. Made a lot of mistakes." Karzarul, King of All Monsters and also King of Understatements.

has finally met his match in "he has a lot of problems" minnow

@ultragenta asked:

HEY KITTY?? UH, HEY, HEY KITTY???? DOES MINNOW FEELING WEIRD ABT SINGING IN FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH, SAY, THE FIVE OR SIX TIMES HER SOUL '''REMEMBERS''' A GIANT TERRIFYING STRANGER HOLDING A BLADE TO HER THROAT AND DEMANDING SHE SING OR DIE???? KITTY????? DID YOU HVE TO HURT ME THAT WAY SPECIFICALLY KITTY?????????

maybe she just has regular stage fright! we'll never know!! and neither will karzarul!!!

#original #writeblogging #astielleblogging #astielle spoilers #asdjasdjk originally said 25 bc that's. what i'm working on.

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balillee · 3 years

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my unpopular dsmp opinions, some of which genuinely should be popular

c!dream has crossed the moral event horizon and is irredeemable. once you cross that threshold, you're no longer a 'morally grey' character.

pre-recorded, heavily produced lore killed the lore. it was cool, sure, but you completely misunderstand the magic that the smp had when people watched it initially. the story is improv and that's how we like it. we can tell the cc's have lost interest in it, you can admit that to us, we'll understand, just stop lying to me.

c!dream's pov isn't necessary to understand his character or his motivations. if you've watched literally any c!primeboys stream he's basically spelled it out for you.

i don't understand how fans can dislike l'manberg or have claimed to be against it since the beginning. i honestly don't get it. what's so bad about wanting your own spot where you make your own rules and skirt accountability that has been used to technically oppress you before - and, before someone who never saw the earlier streams tries to disagree with this, the og l'manberg crew were imprisoned for shit that everyone else on the server was practically encouraged to do. also, what do you have against fun and happiness?

i think some of you forget that 'hybrids' aren't a thing, discounting c!ranboo. there's no piglin hybrids, c!techno is just a pig. there's no avian hybrids, c!phil is just a man with wings. there's no creeper hybrids, c!sam is just a creeper who's indecently exposed from the hips down. canonically there's no hybrids, and therefore no hybrid discrimination. people ran with that concept too much.

the loss and the fanon rewriting of the early lore up until pogtopia has ruined fandom perception of c!dream and the og l'manberg boys. c!tommy is more morally white than you think he is, and c!dream has always been a villain - he massacres and he kills and he destroys and he schemes and he always has broken his own rules. no wonder the boys wanted their own space after how they were treated.

i think ranboo oftentimes forgets his own lore. he brings stuff up that c!ranboo may have done, such as exploding the community house to frame c!tommy, holding onto Cat, and it goes absolutely nowhere. we've gotten all of these developments in his story but they have never been expanded on, and we're nowhere closer to figuring out his relationship to c!dream and what his other side is and honestly i see no hope that we'll be any closer to knowing even by the end of the year.

your characters don't all have to be morally grey for the story itself to be morally grey. this is fiction - some people can be nothing but evil and others can be nothing but good. being purely good or evil doesn't mean that you're one dimensional, either.

c!dream apologists have ruined c!dream for me. he's not a good person. how about you let me enjoy a villain for who he actually is, rather for than your percieved woobified ragdoll you pass off as c!dream.

the story was better when there was a central writer. it was brilliant back when wilbur wrote it to be that the environment drives the characters and the story, and it was really good in early s2 up until techno's execution day when it was more character driven. since then, the amount of autonomy people have over their characters without any central 'director', as it were, has been a detriment to the story overall. there needs to still be one overarching figure or director or writer.

not everyone is a main character. just because they have a pov, doesn't mean they're a main character. some characters have such little impact on the overall plot and describing everyone as a main character oversaturates the story and makes some characters seem more important than they are.

the egg lore had so much potential up until it didn't. all that built up threat that we were expecting and we still don't even know what the egg wants really other than just controlling people. does it hatch?

genuinely, if there's no major plot developments by the end of the year (and let's be honest, it's a very big possibility at this point), a few of the more prominent members of the server should do a podcast style stream talking about where the story would have gone, because at least then we would have gotten somewhat closer to a conclusion.

c!techno is a villain and an asshole and a bad person. he stops caring for people once their interests don't align with his or if they look at him funny. he makes meta-jokes about his own tyrannical and oppressive nature. stop taking that away from him. he's a bad person. cc!techno does a fabulous job portraying that in a comedic manner and the balancing of him being a deeply flawed person with deeply flawed morals and ideas with his comedically-portrayed stubbornness and lack of willingness to hear out opposing viewpoints is incredible. i want to like characters who are arseholes for the sake of being arseholes, and who refuse to take into account the hurt they've caused either out of self-righteousness or because they don't care, so let me. he's the anti-peacemaker, LET ME HIM ENJOY HIM FOR THAT!!!!

i think tommy and wilbur's way of doing lore is my favourite. relies heavily on improv, voice acting, sprite acting and facial expressions. really shows off the acting props and they pull off the emotional moments well for the insanity of the creative medium.

i'm not a fan of fan-music. i find songs about media i'm into difficult to listen to. coincidentally i'm also not a fan of shit like slam poetry or live music/musicals/pantomimes.

the death of l'manberg killed people's motivation to go on the server casually. i've talked about it more in depth before, but destroying what was a central, driving environment for the story killed momentum and motivation. imagine in an episode of she-ra, the princess alliance just nuke the freight zone and all of the members of the horde just have to deal with it. that would be shit.

until season 3 has some momentum, i'm counting the end of the smp as january 20th. that had a conclusion. season 3 has... whores, technoblade and tommyinnit. that's about it.

i wasn't a fan of the development of c!tubbo joining las nevadas. i preferred snowchester and the walled city conflict. give c!tubbo some backbone and some badassery. also tubbo where's the fucking nuke bro if you're shelving that plotline just tell us on like an alt stream what the plan was i beg

add like 2 or 3 new people to the server so that michael mcchill has someone to talk to and so that there's something always happening on the server. it gives the og's more motivation to return if things are happening in and out of canon and it'll help with momentum, and who knows? maybe they can write their own story/stories.

i really think that c!sam is an underrated character. he's multilayered, extremely interesting, and the dichotomy of his loyalty to his job and how far down the rabbithole that's taken him versus the genuine love he has for his friends that drives him to do what he does out of wanting to do right by them is brilliant. i don't talk about c!sam enough.

STOP HAVING FUCKING VILLAIN ARCS!!! I'M FUCKIN SICK OF IT!!!! i want to see more characters who see everyone else being absolute selfish, abhorrent cunts and go 'if nobody else is going to be a good person, i fucking will'. GIVE ME SOME MORAL WHITENESS!!! IT'S INTERESTING AND MORALLY GOOD CHARACTERS ARE FUN!!!

let tommyinnit build cobblestone towers. everyone bullied him too much for how ugly they were and the one he built outside of the prison looked genuinely really nice. it gives the boy something to do.

i'm a fan of the revive book and the canon lives system. don't ask me why, but i think it might just be the morbidity of it. it adds to c!dream's god complex persona, and i think the fragility of death itself is a really fun concept. not enough fan cc's have made connections with that and c!mumza, and it could make for cool fanfic.

ranboo your house is fucking ugly. it's an eyesore

c!niki, and to some extent now c!jack and c!fundy, are boring me and ruining my mood. i think c!jack is the closest to being an actually interesting sympathetic villain, mainly because nobody else seems to realise that c!niki is a villain. not a good one imo, but she's a villain. c!jack just has the problem of starting a new project over and over and over and over again and because of the slow in momentum for the primary cast, there hasn't been a lot of recent development for him.

not really a dream smp opinion, but if philza went full geordie accent, i would love it. i want him to, in canon, say shit like 'me n ye' instead of 'me and you' and use geordie dialect. i want him to be physically unintelligible because it's funny.

i don't really know what's up with c!foolish but i think he's a dumbass. he had a while to think about c!q's proposal and then changed his mind about joining the guy to admitted to letting him die just because. moron

i wish there was more c!eret lore. i wish he was an actual king with an actual kingdom and actual subjects and royal advisors. c!eret is far too fucking cool to be the king of nothing and nobody. fatten up the kingdom and the castle with people who work with c!eret, and don't just make it tyrannical and dictator-y to prove the point of the server's 'anarchists'. make it a healthy working environment, please - if you want moral greyness, have 'anarchists' who claim to care about the welfare of the server oppose a kingdom of happy people under a fair and just ruler because their ideologies clash.

the server needs more characters who oppose anarchy in more peaceful ways, or passively wish for systems to be a part of. i think a chaos vs order conflict ending only in mutual understanding where everyone understands that they should just leave each other alone would slot nicely into the story that's been created so far.

you need to have watched all of the previous arcs to understand the story. i've seen people argue that they don't need to know about earlier lore to understand the prison, but that's the equivalent of only watching the final season of pretty little liars and expecting to understand the context of what's going on.

some characters aren't that morally grey. some characters, take c!tommy for example, are definitely on the whiter side for the morality scale, he's just an asshole. he's abrasive and rude and a dickhead but he also doesn't agree with terrorism, he's patriotic, he strives for a better world, he's apologetic, but he's also a fucking BITCH.

you can add onto this if you want, but not if you're a c!dream apologist. nobody likes your opinions

#dream smp #dsmp #esclaposhitpost

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theepisceswriter · 3 years

Text

Jealous!Reader with AOT characters pt.2 (Porco, Bertholdt, Pieck, Zeke)

A/N: y’all really liked the first one I made here, so here’s a pt.2 with different characters

TW: none really apply, sort of suggestive for Zeke, Modern AU, GN!reader

PORCO GALLIARD

I am a firm believer that in a modern AU, Porco and Reiner would be the type of people to go to sport restaurants like Hooters, Buffalo Wild Wings, or Twin Peaks. They give me that macho man type of vibe. Of course though, Porco would make you tag along with him almost every time he went. He feels that it’s a very nice way for the two of you to bond. Which honestly it is.

You have a deep sense of security within yourself and enough trust in Porco to not be bothered by the waitresses there, as you should, knowing that it’s only their job to be enticing like that. Hell, you even enjoy it when the waitresses would flirt with you sometimes or you’d get the really pretty ones who look like they’re straight off of a magazine. Not to mention that you visit places like this often, so most of them know you and know that you and Porco are in a relationship together.

They all respect your boundaries and don’t try to push at them at all.....until this one waitress comes around. You can quite obviously tell that her flirting is different from the “trained” flirting that the other girls often do. She lingers at your table a little longer than she should be trying to talk to Porco to the point where other waitresses have to tell her to go check on other tables and she’s disregarding you completely, asking Porco questions that should be aimed at you and being very rude in general.

Porco is hardly paying her any mind, too focused on the game to really pay attention to what’s going on, but any piece of attention he gives to her she latches on too it. But still, you remain cordial and calm on the inside. Not wanting to come off as one of those significant others and cause a scene that doesn’t need to be caused. If someone looked at you for too long they might notice an eye twitch or two coming from you.

Really it’s Porco’s hand holding underneath the table that’s keeping you sane and reminding you of how secure your position in your relationship is. You almost calm down entirely, but of course the waitress has to come back and try desperately to get his attention again. At one point he zones out into the game and to try and get his attention she attempts to tap him on his shoulder.

Strong on the attempt because you grabbed her wrist before she could even brush her fingers against his shirt and gave her a stern “Aht! Aht! That is not going to be happening tonight and definitely not in front of me.”

And Porco, this menace to society, finally speaks up like, “I was wondering when you were finally going to say something. I was getting afraid that I didn’t mean anything to you anymore.” He would’ve eventually intervened himself though if she was actually successful in touching him.

The waitress gets the hint for the rest of the night, but just incase she doesn’t he holds you close to his side with his arm draped over your shoulders.

BERTHOLDT HOOVER

Despite his soft spoken nature and personality that sometimes falls on the shy part of the spectrum, Bertholdt is actually an easy person to come up to and start a conversation with. Of course, you have to be the one to start the conversation, but after that it’s like he can’t shut up, likes he’s compelled to answer back to everything and keep a conversation going.

It’s a trait of his that you’ve come to love, but also come to hate on days when you’re out in public with him and can just see the twinkle in a girl’s eyes when she’s getting ready to come over to him to flirt. It’s usually in awkward situations too like when you’re out shopping and he’s standing off to the side because he has no business looking at what you’re shopping for, so the fact that he’s kind of alienated from you and doesn’t know how to respond to flirting all that well in the first place really has him in an awkward chokehold.

He’ll get asked for his number and instead of saying flat out no, because he doesn’t want to be harsh, he struggles to let words out at all as he tries to think of what to say. And people really prey on his shyness and don’t even give him the chance to respond before they’re forcing themselves on him more, handing their phone out to him just waiting to input a number.

Imagine the shock and anger on your face when you turn around from your shopping happy ready to show Bertholdt what you got and instead you see a girl trying to get his number! You’re over there in an instant, legs carrying you as fast as they can and a scold on your face as you go over there and the first thing you do is push that phone as far away from him as you can.

“I know my BOYFRIEND and something tells me that he is not interested in the direction this conversation is going with you whatsoever, so I suggest you leave him alone before I make you 😤” The girl leaves like immediately after that.

Bert is just behind you the whole time with a ☺️ look on his face like “Yes, that is indeed my significant other!” Which is so funny because he’s like 6’3 and towering over you, but you’re the feisty one!

He does feel kinda guilty for not cutting off the interaction before it got that far, so he wraps his arms around you and nuzzle his face into your neck all like, “I’m sorry baby 🥺🥺 you know I don’t like anyone else but you 🥺🥺 I was trying to tell them no thank you but it wouldn’t come out 🥺🥺”

You couldn’t stay mad at him even if you wanted to, that’s all it takes for you to forget about it altogether.

PIECK FINGER

It’s almost impossible to see someone as fine looking as Pieck and not shoot your shot. If I saw Pieck out in public the first thing I would do is shoot my shot.

It happens allll the time whenever you two go out. Out at the mall shopping for clothes? Someone’s going to come up to you two and try to hit on Pieck. At the club minding each other’s business and trying to have a good time? Some guy is going to come over and try to ruin that for you too.

At first it was like a bragging rights thing for you. Everyone noticed your hot girlfriend was hot but you were the one who went home to her everyday and not them, but at some point it switched from a bragging right to down right annoying. It’s like you can’t leave her alone for more than a couple of seconds because here comes someone breathing down her neck being a weirdo!

Poor Pieck doesn’t even know what’s going on half of the time because she be baked out of her mind, thinking about nothing but how some ruffles and ice cream can really hit right now. So she’s just going along with the conversation like “mhm, yeah ☺️” every ten seconds hoping that they’d get the hint that she’s not thinking about them at all and to leave her alone. But, of course, they don’t.

Her body language becomes stressed out and agitated, not knowing what to do because you’re in the gas station buying snacks for the two of you while she’s far away at the gas pumps doing her best to get an ending with this weirdo where they don’t kidnap her.

Luckily, just on time you exit out the gas station and even before you get any closer to Pieck you’re already pissed off at the fact that someone is probably hitting on her, but after you see her do that awkward little shuffle with her feet signifying that she’s uncomfortable? You’re over there in a heartbeat.

See, maybe you would’ve been a bit nicer if her body language didn’t tell you that they had been pestering her for a while despite how everything about her screamed ‘not interested.’

So what do you do? You take the bottle of sprite you bought and bop them on the head with it. Head empty no thoughts just ‘protect my stoner girlfriend.’

Pieck is so messy too, she’s in the background like “Ohhhhh shit *giggle* fight! Fight! Fight!” You were ready to rumble too, but if you were so ready to hit them in the head with a sprite bottle the other person definitely didn’t want to know what else you were confident with doing. So they recuperated from their sprite bottle hit and went running to their car.

This was a proud girlfriend moment for Pieck the whole drive home. She could not stop talking about how much of a badass you were and how she loved that you would do anything for her.

ZEKE JAEGER

I wrote soft Zeke already, so now it’s time for me to give y’all the menace Zeke y’all have been waiting for.

Zeke is the type of significant other who’s big on teasing and messing with his partner is general. There’s something about seeing them all flustered after he does something to embarrass them, like fake propose to them in public or something, that really cracks him up. That being said, he’s not opposed to flirting with someone in front of you to get you riled up and see your reaction.

Let’s set the scene; He drags you to Sam Ash with him, because we’ve all just collectively decided that modern day Zeke is a music pretentious asshole, to go get something for his guitar or at least that’s what you assume he was complaining about. You weren’t even listening, just excited to go and mess with the drums and guitars there. It’s the first thing you do once you get there and Zeke sees this as his opportunity to finally mess with you.

He goes over to the drum set display you’re playing on and calls over and employee with “inquiries” about the set you’re playing on. He pretends to ask a few genuine questions at first but eventually he’s able to get the conversation to shift to something a little more personal. Which isn’t terrible, but once he starts throwing out lines like “Oh you like (said band)? I’ve always found myself gravitating towards people who like them. They’re always the most attractive people, I’ve found 😏.” Is when you start getting agitated.

You’re just trying to play We Will Rock You on the drums and here he goes killing your vibe immensely. And it’s hard to ignore when they’re standing right on the side of you. Not to mention how the employee is eating all of this up, blushing and all. It’s at the first mention of numbers being exchanged that you’ve decided you’ve had enough. Without a word to Zeke you get up and storm out of the store.

Was this a dick move on his end? Absolutely, but you’re a couple who’s relationship is filled with debating and bickering, bickering especially, so part of him thought you would play along with his little game and be like “Whatever. I don’t care.” But instead, you were genuinely upset. You didn’t even know where you were going but you were going somewhere. And that somewhere was the outside of the Sam Ash store because you realized you really didn’t have a choice.

Sorry guys, but I have to switch over to soft Zeke now.

He comes running after you, “y/n! Y/n it was a joke!” But that just makes you even more mad and oops, a year drops down your face and he feels terrible.

Kisses all over your face, words of assurance spilling out his lips, and a tight ass beat hug.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m such a dick I know. I didn’t mean to make you this upset though.” He would get down on his knees if he had to!

I guess you can forgive him just this once, but only on the terms that you get Sub!Zeke tonight and get to act as a pillow princess/prince cause he has a lot of making up to do.

#sorry if there are any typos i was kinda rushing #aot x reader #attack on titan x reader #porco galliard x reader #bertholdt hoover x reader #pieck finger x reader #zeke yeager x reader #zeke jaeger x reader #aot imagines

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ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole · 3 years

Text

Stories of Paris

I have no self control this week and have just finished this wip I'll update 2 days on the trot (mainly as I've become word blind and can't see the words for the letters). This is a flux occurrence and is likely to never happen again unless it's like a month with 2 full moons and the stars have aligned wonky and theres a north wind blowing and Fae stuff like that....

Will eventually post on AO3 when like the tech sprites are feeling nice to me and the gremlins have disappeared.

Masterlist

Part One Part Two

...................................................................................

Alfred checked in on his small charge, making sure he was still asleep, before heading to his own room. The last couple of months had been hard. Much harder for young master Bruce but still hard. He had lost his employers, who were closer to friends really. He'd become an unexpected full time guardian on top of a full time workload of running a manor house, which he was originally employed for. Gone were his fortnightly day off. His evenings to himself to meet up with friends, his whole life was turned upside down and he was grieving.

As much as he adored Master Bruce he wanted, no that's not right, he needed a break to grieve too. Grieve the loss of his friends, the loss of his freedom, the loss of his own life expectations.

Once he reached his own personal sanctuary he got out his personal phone and dialed the one person who got him. She may have been a foreign agent but she had taken him under her wing, looked after him and treated him like a son before they both retired (for different reasons). She was like a mother to him after he lost his own. She was always a grounding rock. It was this point, in his early 30's he needed someone to talk to this overwhelming, unexpected, humongous responsibility he'd stumbled upon.

"Ciao?"

"Gina, Are free to talk?"

"Alfie darling!!! Of course I am free to talk to you! I'll always make time for you darling! How are you doing stateside? The family in your charge still treating you well? Or do they need to be dropped so you can come adventuring with me?"

Suppressing a stifled sob Alfred tried to answer Gina's questions.

"They, they died Gina. The couple. The… the Wayne's were murdered in front of their son… They left me in charge of looking after him. I'm his guardian… I've looked after him for 2… 2 months..."

The stifled sob broke loose. After 2 months of being in complete control over all the emotions in favour of protecting and supporting Master Bruce he finally let them all out.

".... Shhhh shhh, there there il mio piccolo… Let those tears flow. Don't hold it in. Let those feelings out… "

Alfred sat in his room allowing himself to crack with Gina providing soothing words to him. After a while the sobs died down and he recomposed himself.

"Are you feeling better Alfie sweetie?"

"... Yes …"

"How often do you get your own space? Time to care about yourself? When was the last time you had a 'you' day?"

"... Before, before all this I would have days and time to see friends. Now, it's all about Master Bruce. He needs someone. He's just lost his parents. I can't abandon him as well.''

"So not for 2 months then. Hmmmm… you need to get a babysitter and make time and days for yourself"

"I don't trust anyone in Gotham Gina to look after Master Bruce. I've built a network up but not a 'child friendly one'."

"Good thing then I have the perfect candidate for you. My granddaughter is in Gotham as part of a study program or something like that. My little fairy is good with bambini. And it would benefit us having someone we trust to physically check in with her too. Being an ocean away makes it hard for us to check she is actually ok and not what she is presenting to a screen or phone."

"That, that might work Gina. How old is she? I know you wouldn't suggest it if she wasn't suitable…"

"Currently 17 but soon to be 18 and planning to stay Gotham way for a while. She seems to adore the architecture."

"That… .this might work. Could you check with her that she is happy to do this and we can arrange a meeting to see how it goes. It will be dependent on how well she connects with Master Bruce as to what happens next."

"Sounds like a plan Alfie! You're a strong resourceful man Alfie. You'll get through this. Do call me again if you need anything. And I do mean anything! Also be certain I'll be visiting in the nearish future to check on you and the lad.

Now go to sleep and I'll have a chat with my little fairy to see what we can do. You're not on your own in this son. Rest now and I will be in contact soon."

"Thank you Gina. For everything. Just being able to talk to someone has been a huge help. I'll go rest now. Bye"

"Bye Alfie"

After hanging up the phone Alfred took a deep breath and for the first time in a long time he felt he could finally breathe. Gina had never led him wrong before. Having someone to watch Master Bruce even for a few hours would allow him the space to set up a new network and reconnect with people. The overwhelming task would become manageable. Hopefully Gina's granddaughter would be willing and that Master Bruce liked her.

With those thoughts in mind Alfred finally turned in for the night.

…………………………………………………………..

Bruce continued to stare at the teen in his living room. It was an unexpected guest in his eyes. Alfred had informed him of a visitor, an old friend's granddaughter who was studying in Gotham, and Alfred's friend wanted him to check up on her. So Alfred had invited her to the manor. That was all fine. What he didn't get is why HE needed to be about. He didn't want company, he wanted his parents back. He wanted that man who destroyed his life brought to justice. He wanted to do research not listening to some inane talk. He wanted to be left alone to wallow. And maybe have Alfred about too for quiet company and provide tea and snacks. Not this stranger in his home.

As he stared (glared) at the girl he lost focus on the ongoing conversation she was having with Alfred to sulk.

He was drawn out of his musing when he saw the girl out down the cup she was drinking from and gave Alfred a hug. She whispered something to Alfred and much to Bruce's amazement, Alfred's whole being seemed to loose some of the tenseness it held. A glimmer of a spark he once held seems to re-enter his being.

"*cough* Right Miss Marinette. I can tell you are related to your Grandmother. Gina holds a magic way with words too."

"It's ok Monsieur Pennyworth. I learnt a lot about how words have power and how they can affect people under Hawkmoth's rein. Nonna helped me refine the skill."

"Hawkmoth? Miss Marinette could you explain further?"

"Yes, he was a supervillain. He held the power to manipulate people with negative emotions and turn them into temporary villains which Paris superheros had to defeat.

It was exhausting to live through. Watching what you said and how it could affect others. Keeping your own emotions in check. Nonna was a great help in learning to read body language so I could preempt and defuse situations before Hawkmoth could attack."

The girl, Marinette, went back to drinking her tea as if what she said was common knowledge and that having super heros was a normal thing.

It sparked Bruce's interest. The 8 year old boy adored comics telling granduese stories of adventures. This Marinette may not be as awful as he originally thought. She had experience of heroes and what they could do. In the small boy's head, he needed to get as much information as humanly possible from her. She might know how they came to be. How they got their powers. She knew about justice and how to take down bad guys indirectly. That meant joining in the conversation so she might come again.

"Thank you for coming round Miss Marinette. Are you sure I can not interest you into staying for dinner?"

"No, thank you Monsieur Pennyworth, for having me. I would have loved to stay for dinner, Nonna tells tales of your fabulous culinary skills, I must however decline. The family I am staying with is expecting me back soon.

It was a pleasure to meet you though. And you Monsieur Wayne."

Bruce was drawn out of his thoughts of superheroing and taking down bad guys. His information source was leaving. He needed to keep her here somehow. Or get her return.

"It was nice to meet you too Marinette. Would you like to come round and visit Alfred again?"

Alfred looked at the young master in surprise, the young boy had appeared to show no interest and huge distrust of Miss Marinette, but apparently looks are deceiving. Somehow she had won the boys interest and he wanted her to return. Gina was right about the girl, she was talented and seemed to know how to work her audience especially children. Maybe, just maybe Gina's idea would work.

"I would be delighted to visit again Monsieur Wayne. Monsieur Pennyworth has my details. I'm sure we can arrange another occasion to meet."

"If you would like to follow me Miss Marinette, I will escort you to the door."

…………………………………………………………..

"Gina"

"Alfie!!! How are you? It's good to hear from you!"

"I am well thank you. Much better than when we last spoke. I must say though, thank you! Your idea has been perfect. Your granddaughter has been amazing. She completely worked her magic with Master Bruce."

"Mmmm hmmm"

"She has got him talking. Not much. But he isn't as wallowy as he was before we met her. She got him kneading bread. And basically got him to beat his frustrations into it. The kitchen was a disaster from it all but he seems happier."

"YOU sound happier darling too!! The kneading thing likely comes from my Tom. He got my fairy doing that a lot under Hawkmoths rein. Baking for her has become a way to process/deal with her emotions. The nasty fella. I'm glad he is all done and dusted for my fairy. He left his mark on her."

"I can honestly see a way forward now Gina. Thank you. Bruce and I, we will get there. But back to your comment, Left his Mark? Did Miss Marinette get hurt? Has she an injury that I need to be aware of. Every time I've seen her she seems well, with the occasional spacey moments. She seems to navigate a conversation well to avoid topics that cause her too many anxieties."

"Not physically that I am aware of. Emotionally it has taken its toll. She is good at masking and misdirecting emotions as you've probably seen and noted. She's grieving too. She's left Paris as it has too many memories for the moment."

"I see.... I can see how that is likely helping her and Master Bruce connect. Thank you Gina, truly. Our little family has hope now that your fairy has arrived. We will see if we can also watch out and help her."

…………………………………………………………..

Had Bruce realised at the time that Marinette's original visit was an informal interview to see if he connected with her, Bruce may have paid a bit more attention. He might have noticed if had paid attention but that's neither here nor there. In his unfocused state he had somehow agreed to her becoming his babysitter. And as much as he protested to Alfred that he was perfectly capable of looking after himself. The small fire he created in the kitchen when he tried to make toast (this time) shortly before his declaration destroyed his argument.

The bonus was that with each occasion Marinette babysat him he was learning more and more about superheros (and got freshly baked treats). And she knew a lot about both.

"Mon poussin, shall we go bake some cookies before Alfred returns?"

"Ummm… I might have been err banned from the kitchen since you last visited Mari."

"Banned mon chéri? Why on earth were you banned?"

"I tried to make the cookies we made last time for Alfred as a surprise. The fire this time was much bigger than normal"

"Are you banned from baking or just being in the kitchen? I kinda need to know what rule we're about to bend"

"Bend? And errrr baking and kitchen. Alfred said 'Young master. Please can you refrain from attempting to bake and using the kitchen equipment. You are banned until I see fit that it is safe for you to learn again'"

Bruce caught a glint of mischief entering Marinette's eye and a smirk grew upon her face.

"Perfect!!! You're banned from the equipment for baking. I'll use the equipment then and you can still be in the kitchen then. Bending is working with the rules and looking for where they are flexible and looking for loopholes. Alfred for example according to you said baking. Well baking is different from cooking. So technically you could cook. Though as it's Alfred I'd probably give it a miss."

"Yeah, I don't fancy getting on the wrong side of Alfred."

The pair started to walk to the kitchen to bake with Marinette leading.

"The Parisian's superheros used that technique a lot. The police there weren't particularly welcoming in the beginning so they followed the rules the police set out and twisted them to work best in their interest. It's something you see business people do too. Something I'm sure you'll encounter when you're older sadly."

"How did they get their names? Paris's superheros"

Marinette smiled ruefully as she got the ingredients out for cookies.

"I told you that I was friends with a blogger at the time"

"Uh-huh" Bruce nodded.

"For the most part she named them. I believe, from what I remember her saying, is that Chat Noir introduced himself as that, but Ladybug, she focused on the task at hand and ignored the media for the most part at the beginning and they named her. The blogger from what I recall named her and then created the blog 'the ladyblog' as a pun on the name. Lesson to learn there is that if a hero doesn't want to be named by the media they should have a name ready to provide and introduce themselves with. Winning the media and public over made the job easier from what I could tell"

"And what made them superheros Mari?"

"They had powers mon poussin. Police, firepeople, doctors and nurses. They are all hero's fighting to protect others everyday. All within the law. These superheros had powers. They had magic."

Bruce looked at Marinette in awe.

"Magic?"

"A curse and a blessing, magic is Bruce" Marinette in such a serious way that was so out of character it startled Bruce.

"There are so many types of magic out there Bruce. For the most part it's benevolent, neither good nor evil just existing in balance. Old magic though. Old magic tends to come at a cost. Yes it can help but there is always something required to balance it out. A negative payment. Hawkmoth, he used the magic in a negative way and it cost him his family. His life as well.. Ladybug and Chat Noir they both had to use their powers to balance the other one out."

Bruce absorbed the information like a sponge. He loved when Marinette forgot his age and just spoke her thoughts. Her memories. He was learning so much from her about these heroes when she drifted to narrate the past. Superheroes. If Alfred let him he was going to look this blog up on his computer later.

With such melancholy Marinette continued.

"Hawkmoth turned out to be my friend's dad. His dad was awful so it wasn't a huge surprise. But, his misuse of the magic caused the death of my friend to balance it all out. Magic isn't inherently bad, it's the side effects that people forget about and neglect to think."

Marinette let out a big sigh.

"These cookies are going to taste sour with this sad mood growing. Mon poussin, what superpower would you want if you could have one?"

She enquired trying to lighten the mood about the past as she put the cookies into the oven to cook.

Bruce mulled over the question.

"I'm not sure Mari. What you said about magic and powers seems like a bad idea. If I had a superpower, what would it cost me? I don't want to lose Alfred or you. I'd want to do it without powers''

*Chuckling* "Oh mon poussin. That's what you got from what I've said. Mon chéri, you won't lose us. You're family now"

Marinette stated before booping his nose with a floury finger.

"But you said people were heroes without powers Mari! I wanna be like that."

"So a secret ninja hero with lots of gadgets then."

Matinette giggled at the boys antics "Remember secret identities are key. No-one but your selected trusted support network can ever know them so you are all protected as well."

"Hmmm ok Mari that's good advice"

They both sat in silence after that. Marinette, still trying to recover from the memories of losing Adrien, Bruce pondering what Mari had said.

"How'd you train to be a ninja Mari?"

"Hmmm ninja training I guess Bruce."

"What's that though"

"I guess ninjas train in martial arts, gymnastics and stuff like that. Maybe in weapons. I don't really know Bruce. I've never met a ninja before."

Marinette smiled at the small boy. He reminded her of Manon with all the questions on heroes and Alya with her obsession in her teens. She never remembered being so fascinated with them but many of the children she had babysat especially in Paris had a huge fascination with them. It was times like this she missed Paris and her family there. Nonna recommending her to Alfred was a stroke of luck. Bless Tikki. She was starting to feel like she had a family over here now too.

Bruce mulled over the information Mari had given. Maybe he would get Alfred to sign up for martial arts lessons. That would help towards getting skilled enough to bring justice, even if it didn't bring his parents back.

When Alfred returned back to the manor, he found the pair giggling in the kitchen. Cookies cooling on the side as the pair pretended to do silly ninja moves while watching ninja warrior clips on Miss Marinette's phone. Alfred smiled to himself while craftily snapping a photo of the pair. Miss Marinette was an excellent babysitter and was slowly bringing happiness back into the manor. Bruce's sour moods from grief definitely improved with her presence.

Gina's recommendation was perfect.

…………………………………………………………..

Marinette had almost become a permanent feature in Bruce's life. She was round at least once a fortnight. Sometimes once a week and had been for the last 9 months and he had grown to see her as almost an Aunt or cousin or something more than a babysitter. She was becoming family. He desperately missed his parents still but having Mari and Alfred he didn't feel quite as alone on the bad days.

The pair were both doing homework in the garden while Alfred was out when Mari's phone rang. She switched to another language on answering. Bruce paused from his work and watched. He didn't know the language and felt left out not knowing what was being said. He would ask Alfred to sign him up for language lessons when he returns. The martial art lessons were awesome in the boys eyes. Language lessons would help connect more with Marinette. And help in spying and his secret hero training.

Watching her though she seemed to flit through a range of emotions in quick succession which were a blur to interpret before they went. They disappeared from her face. He couldn't read what she was thinking or feeling. Bruce knew he was fairly good at reading adults. It was helpful to avoid getting into trouble at school (and with Alfred). It was amazing and scary to not be able to do so with Mari.

"Mari…?" Bruce gently asked when the call had ended "How'd you do that?"

"Hmmm.. do what mon poussin"

"Hide your feelings. How'd you do that?"

"Hide them?" Marinette mused over what Bruce was meaning. "I didn't really hide them mon chéri. I just sifted through them as I felt them and checked if they were helpful to me or not. If it wasn't helpful I parked to deal with it at a later date so I could focus on the call with a clear head. Given who I was talking to, getting upset, angry or frustrated wouldn't benefit me at all. Why do you ask?"

"Can you teach me?!" Bruce demanded with enthusiasm. To be able to be able to do that would be so cool. To do it in games with peers and hide what he was feeling and therefore thinking would be awesome.

Marinette laughed at her temporary charges determination.

"It takes time and patience to learn mon poussin. And I started by learning to meditate and recognising my own emotions. Learning what I'm truly feeling and working out what I need to do to process it.

If we complete our homework soon I'll teach you some basic mediation and we can go from there if you like?"

"Yes!! But don't have to do homework first….. can't we skip it pleeeeeeease"

Marinette just raised her eyebrow, in a very Alfred manner, at the boy who ducked his head in return.

Much to Alfred's surprise he came home to find the pair sitting in the garden as Miss Marinette took Master Bruce through a guided meditation. He hoped that this may be the start of Bruce starting to openly process his grief.

#maribat #maribat au #ml x dc #dc x ml #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #ml crossover #marinette x bruce #marinette x alfred #plantonic #friendship #babysitting #found family

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