#astral clock tower is so cool

[loadingbones]

Day 17 - Clock ✨

#astral clock tower is so cool #finding a clear ref tho is hard #bloodborne #bloodborne fanart #bloodborne art #inktober #inktober2023 #art #digital art #drawing #illustration #fanart #artists on tumblr

[sweet-star-sketches]

WIPs from June 27th and March 12th, 2023 I'm in one of those mind states where it takes me literal hours to make myself upload my WIPs, even though that's the entire point of this side blog :') Not that I dislike these, rather I received some bad (but unrelated) news today/yesterday and that always ramps up my insomnia. I'm up WAY too late again and my mood has been awful all day, so this was inevitable

It's been a while since I uploaded a completely new design for Starglass Zodiac (as in a completely new character rather than just a redesign of an already made one) and I'm not entirely sure why. Like the last one was over a year ago??? I still have way more to do so I'm not sure why I stopped for a while, even when I was still doing art for this project rather than switching to another. I have a massive folder of WIPs still so maybe I got decision paralysis or something, idk. These are far from done but I did come up with some cool new scenes with them so that's neat!

The less specific or more basic constellations are usually the most fun but also the most challenging to tackle, because it can be hard to make the concepts interesting if there's no pre-existing mythology associated with them, which is the case for both of these and many others. A lot of the constellations, even among the official 88 modern ones, boil down to an astronomer somewhere being like "put a [thing] in the sky" without anymore specificity or reason. Custos Messium is a defunct constellation to boot, but the idea of a "harvest keeper" gives me a lot of cool visuals to work with at least. I'm particularly proud of their sickle and scythe arms that form a C and M, respectively. Plus with the defunct constellations I get to design their symbols :D Not super happy with the bodies for either of these yet, but I like their heads so that's a good start. Horologium is inspired by those awesome looking astral clock towers with multiple faces, but with that in mind I want to make its body more tower-like. In the story, it's the constellation of the clock that was given artificial life after being lost and corrupted by void magic, so I want it to look like the pieces of the tower itself got transformed into this hulking beast over time. Overall I just want to have more non-sapient creatures inhabiting this world for variety's sake and to create bigger threats for the cast as stuff ramps up in later chapters. Defeating Horologium in particular is going to be quite the feat, but I am excited to finish writing/drawing that part of the comic at least!

#my rambling got a little long so i put it under the cut lol #art #artists on tumblr #sketch #oc #character design #creature design #wip #Custos Messium #Horologium #Starglass Zodiac #SGZ

[sherbovania]

For the Dashboard Osmosis: Give us your Dark Souls rundown

there are cool little guys everywhere aaah so scary

i know a tiny bit more about bloodborne there's a bunch of eldritch monstrosities and you have to beat their ass epic british style. lady maria of the astral clock tower is also there i like her 👍

#i know jack nor shit about da soulsborne games. my osmosis skills are very poor on this one #the inbox #txt

[fantomette22]

Single character: Lady Maria

Duo: Father Gascoigne and Old Hunter Henryk

I'm going to begin with them because I would have a lot of things to say about Maria later.

I think they're really cool characters with quite a tragic fate. They had everything... they were so close to escape this nightmare when you think about it... and they lost everything. But it's too bad we didn't get too much info on that (need to read more fic I guess). It's really the first big not too much implicit thing you can understand too.

So I don't ship them too but people can do what they want. For me they have huge bbf/bro vibes. They were hunt partner from awhile. So really close friends.

I'm not sure Henryk was really related to Viola but he was considered like a "grandfather" by the little girl. Like a member of the family so he was sure really close to all of them. (the cute family stuff would be the fluff case)

About our dear Lady of the Astral Clock Tower now (thank you for asking as well !) :

Alright so like some of you might know I really love Lady Maria (she's like in my top 3 I guess?!) I can't stop making stuff about her. She's my favorite boss of the entire game too ! I just love it. Look at this beautiful dance.

She's so mysterious and her story is so tragic T_T... (and her aesthetic 👌please bring it back I want the same clothes) There's a lot of different interpretations about her too. She might have been quite different in real life to what we saw during her fight ! But you know it's complicated & people argue about it smt, but anyway.

I'm not going to develop everything too or I'm never going to finished XD

Wasted potential : it's more about what we were rob of. You know the cut extra npc dialogues content :) (I will always be mad about it. It's the cut content the closest as canon for me ok)

So if we look only at the boss fight yep she's scary. And I'm not going to marry anyone so it's a joke ok XD she's one of the few video game female characters that made me go : "M'am ! O_O"

About the "oh it's me" / "project my issues" : Well it's been a while I'm feeling much better in my life (even if I still can get anxious fast and still working and self confidence). But some years ago it wasn't easy. So I guess that could help me to understand/interpret how she was.

(I was not feeling good bc of Mergo at some point. And thanks to this and a comic&fic... I think Maria might had a similar reaction the the Fishing Hamlet and all that stuff) We're different but really similar at times I think. Oh and it helps me for her potential backstory as well (& relationship with her family). It's much more drama than a really thing too. But apparently not as much as some people here imagined XD

#character bingo #father gascoigne #old hunter henryk #lady maria #bloodborne #I need to draw her more too but I already did quite a lot of fun things already #for the fam thing it's more like : guys I love you but I need to do my life far from here

[wanderinthedeep]

Need to dump all the stuff I’m writing for my D&D character in one spot so:

In the Trade Ward of Waterdeep, at the end of a narrow alley, crowded in by nearby buildings jostling against it and yet managing to soar gracefully above them, is a narrow, four-story rounded tower made of pale grey stone. Cool in the summer and isolating in the winter, this slender needle of a building is home to Ophelia Achernar, scholar of the stars. The doors open into a comfortable entranceway, with a few worn armchairs, a small fireplace, and a staircase that winds its way around the interior of the residence.

On the second floor, a study. Walls covered in shelves of books, scrolls, and other scholarly paraphernalia, leaving no scrap of stone exposed, parting only around tall windows of dark glass studded with bits of reflective material that give the impression of bright twinkling stars even at high noon on the sunniest of days.

On the third floor, a bedroom. Everything has the feel of worn-in comfort. Everything has a reason for being there, all extraneous belongings either shoved into the crowded study, or simply thrown out in the long years of Ophelia’s solitary occupation. A scent of the deep sea, and moss, salty and humid and intoxicating, fills the air, and the most observant might be able to pick out the telltale trails of Ophelia’s most-walked paths, as the slight perpetual moisture dripping from her Water Genasi figure has eroded away the stone floor every so slightly in the places she spends the most time.

On the fourth, and final, floor, an observatory. More glass windows, clear this time, occupying most of the walls, along with a telescope, heaps of star charts, divination materials, remnants of meals eaten without thinking during astral contemplation. The telescope, as it almost always is, has been pointed out towards the sky over the ocean bordering Waterdeep.

In her study, we see Ophelia. Round, soft, attributable largely to her fondness of the bakery down the street, still with a heartiness and strength born of her Genasi ancestry, but certainly acclimated to the ease of living in Waterdeep. She wears brightly-colored colors in blues, greens, and purples, reminiscent of some tropical aquatic creature. Her iris is a deep purple with dark reflectivness in the center, and when she enters her starry form, they go to a purple so dark it is almost black, with twinkling starlight hidden in its depths.

Unlike many druids, she does not share a complete aversion to all things of metal, recognizing it's place in nature and particularly in the expanse of the cosmos. Small accents of silver jewlery stud her appearance, and she carries always a silver ball that swirls with purples and glints, a map of the stars and her druidic focus that only she is capable of unlocking.

When we meet Ophelia, she appears to be in her mid-50’s. (In my mind, Genasi heritage is kind of similar to a lot of Asian cultures where you look very young for a long time and then suddenly look very old). So her skin is just beginning to crease and wrinkle, worry lines mostly. A little grey starting to weave its way into her long, mossy green braid, but not super noticeable yet.

But if we turn back the clock, nearly 35 years…

A much younger Ophelia, freshly arrived in Waterdeep, having finally broken away from her hometown of Leilen to the north, is undecided in her life’s path. Growing up in the small mining town of Leilen, she felt… Outcast is not the right word, but somehow, unincluded. The dance of life in a small town, courtship and weddings, house-raisings, festivals, the work in the mines, the rebuilding after storms, none of it resonated with her. Her family and neighbors were always kind, but a deeply internal sense of separation kept Ophelia from fully integrating into the community, and in time, raised walls between her and the town that became impossible to overcome. Her desire to leave for Waterdeep came not from any love of the big city, but an understanding that it is possible to vanish in a population that size. The discomfort and intrusion of constantly having everyone know you and your business, and yet not feeling like one of them; all of that can be washed away in a city so large that you can isolate yourself more completely than in a small town like Leilen.

Leilen is also where Ophelia first encountered Druids. There were frequent clashes between the Druids of Kryptgarden Forest and the miners of Leilen, and while it rarely came to violence, there was something about these Druids and their conviction, their isolation, and their just inherent difference from the urban, industrial Leilenites that planted a seed in Ophelia’s mind, although it would be many years before that seed bloomed.

But! Childhood discomfort cast away, Ophelia made her way to Waterdeep, submerging herself quickly in the hustle and bustle, taking temp jobs where she could, keeping herself afloat. Over the first couple of years she found a teacher, a wise gnome of advanced age, who upon realizing her interest in the stars, those distant celestial points which were such a comfort to her growing up, and stoked that flame. They spoke late into the night about the constellations, the forces of the cosmos, the ties the stars hold not just to the natural world but to celestial beings and deities, and their constant nature in a world full of upheaval and change.

Then awakening early the next morning and rushing to whatever temp job she was working, Ophelia was able to make ends meet and pursue her studies. It was a busy life but it brought Ophelia a sense of internal completion that she had always lacked.

Until one day, while working in the Heroes Garden as a groundskeeper for a few weeks, she encountered a handsome Tiefling who she would come to know as Aanjali Kangkar, a local adventurer-for-hire. A chance meeting and a mutual spark of interest led to coffee dates, then dinners, then nights spent in his small apartment, curled up together and talking long into the starry night. Her studies suffered a bit during this time, but what aspect of academia can withstand the torrential force of infatuation? Ophelia was enthralled by his stories of the lands he had traveled to. Waterdeep opened her mind to the richness of the city; Anjali opened her mind to the world.

For several years Ophelia was happy, or at least content. Occasional disagreements would arise between them, usually from Anjali’s long absences when on the job. Ironic that the very qualities that attracted her to him also began to place the first strain on their relationship, as Ophelia’s desire to keep her life small and routine and comfortable chafed against Anjali’s need to be out in the world, risking his life and seeking thrills. But for the most part Ophelia was more content than she had ever been, thoughts of Leilen long since put away.

Then…things began to break down.

Longer and longer journeys. Less time together in Waterdeep. Louder and more intense disagreements that always ended with Ophelia folding in on herself in silent disappointment as Anjali stormed out to go drink or engage in some foolhardy behavior with his adventuring party.

At 32, seven years after she first met Anjali, things broke apart for good.

O - “I just don’t understand why I’m not enough! Why this isn’t enough! Please, Anjali, we’ve been so happy here together, please…please don’t take that away from me.”

A - “I’ve told you a hundred times, I don’t want to take it away, I want to bring you with me! There’s so much out in the world, so much to discover, how can you be happy just staying in one place, how can you be content with so little!”

Ophelia’s face becomes dark, her irises deepening into a black hole of need and resentment and bitter resignation.

“Go then. If I am not enough for you, if this is not enough for you, then go and look for something else.” Her voice becomes deep as she begins to manifest her starry form for the first time, and her words have the ring of prophecy. “In all the cosmos, this moment will never come to pass again, and you are a fool for giving up what you have in search of something new.”

Anjali leaves without another word, tears running down his face. Ophelia, alone in her apartment, sits incredibly still, her mind cast into the stars, driving out all of the love, all of the need, everything that she saw as weakness. She never wants to hurt this way again.

A stormy night, a knock on her teacher’s door, and he sees a stone-faced Ophelia. She has never given up her studies but they have been less of a priority for several years, but not longer. She pours herself into the work, crafting star charts, divining the omens of the constellations, finding solace in a universe that is too large to care about one individual, one moment, one heartbreak.

Five years later, Ophelia inherits the astronomy tower of her mentor after he passes away. She begins to become more and more reclusive. Time has soothed her somewhat, and she is not unfriendly to her neighbors, but the isolation of being alone in a big city becomes more and more firmly rooted, and she spends more and more time casting her gaze up, choosing not to engage in the bustle of the city but instead on the natural world. She remembers the Druids she saw in her youth, and how strong they were in isolation, and her way of life is heavily informed by that. Not having been formally trained in the wild as a Druid, she does not share all of their aversions to the Urban, but the belief in nature over people, of forces over individuals…these are things that resonate deeply within her. And so she stays in her tower, living a small life of routine and contemplation, fully convinced that this is how she will spend the rest of her life; she is too afraid of pain to open herself up to humanity again in the way she did once.

And perhaps that is exactly what would have happened, if certain unforeseen events had not come to pass… *cue beginning of the campaign*

#creative writing #personal #dnd character #circle of stars druid #Ophelia Achernar #text #she’s gonna be in Curse of Strahd sooo the trauma is only gonna ramp up

[five-rivers]

Marriage of Opposites (More Similar Than You'd Think)

For @ecto-american, @idiot-onion, and @aj-itated.

.

Danny bounced into Long Now, even less constrained by walls and doors than usual. He'd been saving this revelation. Clockwork, with his numerous and unclear time powers, didn't startle easily.

Not that Danny wanted to startle Clockwork.  Just… surprise him.  Show off his new power.  Get a little praise for having the forethought needed to conceal it long enough to get Clockwork with it– which wasn't easy at all.  Hiding it from Clockwork meant not mentioning it at all. Then, he had to wait for the right moment.

Clockwork didn't sleep nearly as often as a human.

Danny spiraled through the clock tower, lingering in places he was usually barred from.  If he had a fatal flaw, it was curiosity.  But his goal today wasn’t to sate his curiosity, so he moved on.  He might not be vulnerable to much in this form, as far as he’d been able to tell, but he didn’t want to push things today.  

Finally, he found what he was looking for.  Clockwork’s bedroom.  

Danny had never been in here, and he was, momentarily, taken aback by the space symbolism, by the planets and stars carved into the brass and blue gears.  It was beautiful, each placement and symbol precise, organized, and carefully stylized, but it also shared striking similarities to the guest room Clockwork had prepared for Danny.  

Clockwork curled on the bed, violet covers curled and knotted around him.  His tail twitched.  

Ha!  Danny had timed this right.  Clockwork was going to be so surprised.  And impressed.  Probably.  Maybe.  Danny wasn’t going to get his hopes up.  It was sort of pathetic how much he wanted Clockwork’s praise, but…  Sometimes it felt like Clockwork and Frostbite were the only adults who looked at him like he wasn’t a complete screw up.  

He circled Clockwork.  He’d only done this a few times, now, and never with Clockwork as his target, of course, but he was pretty sure he understood how it worked.  Still, he vibrated with nerves.  

This was, maybe, a slight breach of privacy.  However, Clockwork had access to Danny’s entire life, and Danny was just going to pop in and out.  He didn’t intend to poke around and intrude, just to stay long enough for Clockwork to notice.  

He took a deep breath, and dove into Clockwork’s dream.

A moment of darkness gave way to a long gallery of pointed arches.  The air felt cool, humid, with that hard-to-describe softness that made Danny think of summer nights spent outdoors.  The stones under his feet were arranged in patterns of dark and light, though the color was strangely hard to see.  

Danny turned in place, and caught sight of Clockwork standing where the walls between the arches gave way to open air, deep blue and purple foliage spilling onto the archway.  Clockwork looked out, his back to Danny.  

With some difficulty, Danny suppressed his urge to giggle before he rammed, affectionately, into Clockwork.  

“What–” said Clockwork, breathlessly.  He was surprised, then.  Success!

“Clockwork!  It’s me!  Guess what!  I have a new power!”  He swung around in front of Clockwork, still half leaning on him, and looked up at Clockwork’s face.  

On taking in Clockwork’s stricken expression and the eyepatch over his left eye, Danny froze, abruptly much less sure of his position.  

“Clockwork?  Are you alright?”

Clockwork blinked, once slowly, then twice more, rapidly.  He shook his head, as if throwing something off.  “Daniel?  What are you doing here?  This… you should not be here.”  Clockwork frowned.  “No, you cannot be here.  I am dreaming.”  He said this last with significantly less certainty than Danny was used to.  

“Yeah!” said Danny, recapturing some of his earlier enthusiasm.  “I got a new power!  I can astral project and go into people’s dreams that way, kind of like that time with Nocturne, except I’m getting sleep this way, too.”

“Oh,” said Clockwork.  “Oh!  Oh.  I see.”  He put his hand on Danny’s shoulder.  To Danny’s surprise, it was shaking.  

“Clockwork, were you having a nightmare?”

“Not as such, no,” said Clockwork.  “However, I must ask you not to do this again without my permission.  Unless it is an emergency.”

Danny let go of Clockwork’s cloak.  “Okay,” he said.  He looked down.  

“Daniel, how long have you had this power?”

“A couple weeks?  I wanted to surprise you.”  He glanced up.  “Were you surprised?”

Clockwork forced a smile.  “Yes, I rather was.”

This had not gone the way Danny had wanted at all.  Clockwork was really upset with him, wasn’t he?

The floor shuddered.  

“What was that?” asked Danny.  

“Oh, no,” said Clockwork, looking out through the garden.  

A tree fell, crushing something that may have been a building.  Slightly closer, more vegetation was crushed and felled.  Clockwork grabbed Danny’s arm and pushed him behind him.  

The last barrier of leaves was pushed away, and the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep towered above them.  

Danny tumbled out of bed, his hold on his projection broken.  That was… unexpected.  

A blue spark lit the empty space in the middle of the room, and a portal rippled into being.  A frazzled-looking Clockwork flew out.  His eyes first went to Danny’s bed,but quickly found him on the floor.  

“Daniel,” he said.  “That was not entirely a figment of my imagination, I see.”

“Um, no,” said Danny, picking himself up.  “Sorry.  I should have said something, I just…”

“It is…” started Clockwork.  He sighed and patted Danny’s shoulder.  “It was a learning experience.”

.

“Clockwork,” said Danny, “is… something wrong?”

“No,” said Clockwork, folding his hands in front of him, “everything is fine.”

Danny nodded, but leaned around Clockwork to see a duplicate in furs hurtle across a doorway.  There was a bang and shouting.  “Are those Observants?”

“No,” said Clockwork again.  “Now, I believe that last time we were about to look into the recent history of Agartha?”

“We were talking about Mahoroba, I think, and the Fifteen Empires of Japan.  But that was a sort of tangent.”

“Hm,” said Clockwork.  

“Clockwork you must–” There was a thump.  

Yes, that had definitely been an Observant.  Only they could manage that precise, annoying, tone.  

“I can come back later,” offered Danny.  “If you’re… busy.”  Or doing something that he didn’t want Danny to see.  Danny could understand that.  He did things like this enough.  

“You do not need to.  Everything is fine.  Normal,” insisted Clockwork.  

Danny bit his lower lip.  “Did you get enough sleep?” he blurted out.  He bit down on the last word, embarrassed.   

“I am quite alright.”

“If you’re sure.”

They went to the library, where Clockwork dithered and fidgeted over the books.  He didn’t, quite, drop anything, but it was close, and Danny felt like he might be cheating by rolling back time to erase real fumbles.  

It was worrying.  

“Clockwork?  Are the Observants…”  Danny struggled to put his question into words.  He’d never been sure what the relationship between Clockwork and the Observants was.  He knew they had some kind of hold over him and that they butted heads frequently, particularly over Danny, but Clockwork had never really gone into depth over it.  “Are they threatening you or something?  Making you do something?”

Clockwork laughed, making Danny jump.  It wasn’t a very happy laugh, strained and too high-pitched.  “No,” he said.  “I am fine, as I said.  Now, we were looking into the Horai and Penglai mountains, yes?”

Danny cringed.  Clockwork’s attention must be really divided.  “Maybe we could just take a break?  We can always pick things back up next week.”

Clockwork practically sagged in relief, but he seemed to rally himself.  “Daniel, we cannot neglect your education into ghostly history.”

“I know, I know,” said Danny, with a tiny touch of desperation.  “But it’s just this once.  Please?  I think we - I - need a break.  Please?”  He turned on the puppy dog eyes.  

“Oh, alright,” said Clockwork.  “We can take a break, just this once.”  He settled, curling his tail, on the armchair across from Danny.  “A small break.” 

“Sure, sure,” said Danny.  

The break evolved to be neither small nor particularly restful.  There was too much banging and yelling from the Observants for that, but at least Clockwork rested.  Danny was going to count that as a win.  

.

To Danny’s extreme discomfort, the strangeness of the week didn’t stop there.  

For one, there seemed to be Observants everywhere.  None got completely close to him, but that didn’t make their presence any less uncomfortable.  They had tried to make Clockwork assassinate him, once upon a time, and, good reason or not, Danny didn’t trust them at all.  

Plus, they were being mean to Clockwork right now.  To the point of making him a nervous wreck.  There was no reason for that.  

“It’s been quiet lately,” said Tucker, pensively, twirling a pencil between his fingers.

“What are you talking about?” asked Danny with a scowl.  

“You haven’t had to run out of class since Monday.”

“So?”

“It’s Thursday.  The teachers are starting to give you funny looks.”

It was true, on the surface, but, it was hard to appreciate the reprieve with the people who had taken out a hit on him watching him constantly.  The ghost he’d run out for on Monday had been an Observant, too, and Danny hadn’t exactly dealt with them so much as a Clockwork duplicate had materialized out of nowhere and clotheslined the Observant into another dimension.

“Not just the teachers,” said Sam, leaning in.  “I think maybe you’ve established too much of a pattern.  Everyone’s on edge.”

Danny crossed his arms and glared out the window to see, yep, an Observant down the street, flying towards the school.  A bus passed by, and the Observant disappeared. 

“Me, too,” said Danny.  He lowered his voice.  “Remember what I told you about stalkers?”

“What, they’re still here?” asked Sam.  

“They’ve been here all week,” said Danny.  “Clockwork keeps chasing them off, but I haven’t been able to talk to him, either, so I don’t know what’s going on.”

“He didn’t say anything over the weekend?  No mysterious hints?”  Sam picked up her notebook and put it on her knees, pen ready.  

“No.  He was acting weird, though.”  So had the Observants, in retrospect, but Danny had a tendency to file all his memories in the Pit of Oblivion until they became relevant to Problems.

… That’s probably why his friends called him Oblivious One and Clueless One.  

Unfortunately, all thoughts were banished from Danny’s head as class started.  English.  The bane of his attention span.  The Odyssey wasn’t terrible, but the version of it that had survived on Earth was far from the best.  Especially in the elderly translation Casper High had been able to afford fifty years ago.  

(Danny was not exaggerating about the books’ age.  He’d found one with Poindexter’s name in it.)

Plus, ugh, thematic analysis.  

Danny amused himself by watching the tag sticking out of Mr. Lancer’s collar.  It was third period.  How was it he hadn’t noticed it yet?  Had no one told him about it?  That was a silly question, if someone had told him about it, he would have done something about it.  Maybe Danny should tell him about it.  But would he be embarrassed by having it pointed out to him in the middle of class?  No, surely walking around with it out all day was more embarrassing.  Danny raised his hand.  

His ghost sense went off.  

Observants poured through the walls.  

“1984!” exclaimed Mr. Lancer, reaching for a bottle on his desk.  

Danny, thinking quickly, shot up out of the desk, caught his pant leg on the metal basket underneath the desk, and face planted.  

Well, his secret identity should still be intact after that.  

Mr. Lancer, meanwhile, was screeching.  He wasn’t the only one.  Except for himself, Sam, and Tucker, everyone was screaming.  Everyone, oddly enough, including the Observants.  

Wow, Danny had no idea whiteboard cleaning spray was that effective against Observants.  Or that Mr. Lancer had such good aim.  Observant after Observant went down, clutching their bulbous, green-shot eyes.  Danny was in awe.  He had to get Mr. Lancer some ectoweapons.  The guy might actually be effective.  

Speaking of ectoweapons– He fumbled for his bag where he kept a small blaster, for emergencies, and his thermos.  He started firing.  

This would definitely get him into trouble.  Sam and Tucker, would be, too, with their own weapons.  They weren’t supposed to bring anything that fired ammunition to school.  But between suspension, letting the Observants catch him, and revealing himself, he knew what he would take.  

But there were a lot of Observants.  Mr. Lancer ran out of white board cleaner, then out of both erasers and markers to throw, the ‘full’ light on the Thermos came on, and the sprayed Observants began to recover, restraining Mr. Lancer and most anyone else who had tried to fight.  

“Enough!” shouted one of the Observants over the screaming students.  “We did not come here to fight.  You!”  The Observant pointed a clawed finger at Danny.  “We need your help.”

The class fell silent.  

Danny’s jaw dropped.  “Are you serious?” he demanded.  

“We–”

“You tried to kill me!” 

“For good reason, boy!”

“There were so many things you could do before jumping to murder!  What makes you think I’d help you?”

The Observants looked at one another.  Evidently, they hadn’t considered that Danny would object to helping them.  Well, joke was on them.  He didn’t blindly help just anyone for anything.  That would wind up hurting people more than it helped!

“Why would ghosts want to kill Fentoenail?” said Dash at a volume far too loud to be a whisper.  

“Have you forgotten who his parents are?” asked Paulina.  “Duh.”

“Pariah Dark has been freed again,” said the Observant.  

Oh.  

Well.  

Yeah.  Danny would help with that.  He’d have to.  Odds of Pariah not attacking Amity Park were practically zero.  

But he didn’t have the suit this time.  

Heck.  

“Fine, I’ll come with you.”

The room exploded in protest and confusion.  

“Danny, you can’t–” started Sam, still aiming a wrist ray at an Observant.  

“I’ll be fine,” said Danny.  “I’ve got someone looking out for me, remember?”  He grinned, weakly. 

The Observants didn’t deign to wait any longer, seizing Danny and flying out and up. 

“Okay, who let him out?” asked Danny over the wind.

“We are unsure.” 

“Aren’t you guys supposed to have surveillance as a superpower?”

“Pariah Dark was released eight days ago.”

“Wait,” said Danny, “is that why you’ve been the only ghosts in town this week?  Everyone else is hiding?”

The Observants looked at each other.

“You’d better not lie to me,” said Danny.  

“We believe that may be a factor,” said one, younger-sounding Observant.  “However, Pariah Dark’s release has not been made public knowledge at this time.”

They dragged him through a shaky green portal and Danny transformed. “You mean he isn’t running around trying to conquer everything he looks at?”

“Unfortunately,” said the lead Observant.  

“Then what is he doing?”

“We are unsure.  When we attempt to find out, Clockwork stops us,” the last was said with incredible bitterness.  “Much like how he has been preventing us from speaking to you.”

So that’s what he’d been doing when Danny had visited him last, the reason he’d been so nervous.  

But why wouldn’t he tell Danny about Pariah Dark waking up again?  Why would he keep the Observants from watching Pariah Dark?  The timing of everything was strange, too.  That dream Clockwork had been having about the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep… could it have been a premonition of some kind?  Or maybe Clockwork having a nightmare about something he’d seen coming?  

Danny’s grades might have been trash, but he wasn’t stupid.  For some reason, he’d been actively hiding this from Danny.  Why?  Would Danny somehow have a negative impact on the outcome if he got involved, this time?  Was Clockwork trying to protect Danny?  That made sense, if he knew the Observants would contact and try to recruit Danny…

Still, he could feel the edges of a missing puzzle piece.  

“Have you talked to Clockwork?” asked Danny.  “Asked him why?”

“We have tried, but Clockwork is with the tyrant,” said the Observant.

Danny twisted, wide-eyed.  “Ancients, you could lead with that.” 

Clockwork being held hostage– Had Pariah been in Long Now at the same time as Danny?  Or was Clockwork only anticipating–  Why didn’t Clockwork escape?  Did Pariah have something over him, like the Observants did?

It didn’t matter!  What mattered was that Clockwork was in trouble and Danny had to help him.

He pulled sharply away from the Observants, ignoring their protests (where had they been taking him, anyway?) and flew for Long Now at top speed.  Even if he was wrong, even if the Observants were wrong, he should talk to Clockwork first.  Even if Clockwork couldn’t tell him anything.  Just to put his mind at ease.  

If nothing was wrong, the Observants could catch up later.  

Danny reached Long Now.  The doors that usually swung wide the moment he approached stayed stubbornly shut, even as he pushed on them.  The sick feeling that had taken up residence in Danny’s chest pushed higher.  None of this was right.

He landed on the threshold and transformed, his stance wavering slightly as the ground beneath him rippled, dithering on whether or not it should hold him.  He had never tried this on Long Now before.  He’d never needed to.  But it had to work.  

Putting his hands in front of him Danny stepped forward.  To his relief, his hands sunk into the thick doors as if they were an illusion.  He crossed the doors quickly, emerging into the great entry hall.

Shadows played against the walls, the light of his rings briefly providing greater illumination, but the hall soon fell dark again, leaving Danny’s uncertain, anxious aura as the main source of light.  Danny supposed Clockwork must only turn the lights here on when he expected guests.  It gave the room a much more foreboding atmosphere than it usually had on Danny’s visits.  

Which was stupid because Danny was a ghost.  He liked the dark.  

… Except the lights had been on when Danny had come in while astral projecting.  

Something was really wrong.  

Danny held his breath, listening.  Ghosts could be utterly silent, and Long Now’s gears, pendulums, and bells weren’t quiet, but conversation always made noise.  So did fights.  Danny couldn’t imagine Clockwork as a cooperative prisoner, anyway.  

Cautiously, Danny drifted forward, hyperaware.  If Pariah was here, attacks could come from any direction.  

He picked open doors at random and followed hallways by instinct.  Half an hour in, and Danny started to wonder if Clockwork was even there, if Pariah Dark hadn’t literally spirited him away, if Pariah hadn’t somehow trapped Clockwork in a prison like the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep.  

But then he heard something.  A clink that certainly wasn’t from the machinery of the tower, then something like a murmur.  Deep voices.  

He was off like a bullet from a gun, twisting down halls and through doors at speed.  

As much as he liked to forget, as much as he pushed it down and away, Pariah Dark had nearly killed him.  He wasn’t going to let him hurt anyone else.  Especially not Clockwork.  

He barreled into a room he’d never seen before.  A long table set for two sprawled across the space, the silverware glimmering in flickering candlelight.  Roses spilled over every surface, their petals flecked with wax from the candles floating above them.  

Pariah Dark sat at one side of the table, looming large and angry - although he was smaller than he had been the last time Danny had seen him - with knife and miniscule fork clenched in his hands like weapons.  Somewhat hysterically, Danny noted the crumpled remains of slightly-larger forks to the side of the plate.  

On the other side of the table was Clockwork, sitting small, hunched, defensive– but not looking particularly frightened.  

Whatever.  Clockwork was usually good at hiding his feelings.  It was annoying.  

Danny landed on the middle of the table and fired several ectoblasts at Pariah Dark in quick succession.

Pariah, perhaps predictably, batted them away.  

“Was your earlier victory not enough, child, that you must seek me out within a week of my freedom?”

“It has been more than a week,” snapped Clockwork.  “Perhaps if paid any attention to time–”

“Oh, now it’s my fault that someone has broken into your lair.”

“I’m not the one who’s broken in, king jerk!” said Danny, ignoring the fact that he had, in fact, broken in.  That was fine.  He had a standing invitation.  “Leave Clockwork alone!”

“Would that I could, child, but he makes it rather difficult to do so.”  

“Daniel–”

Danny threw a small iceberg at Pariah, and was gratified to see him swept off his feet.  

“Come on, Clockwork, we have to go–!” said Danny, turning.  

Clockwork had not gotten up.  If Danny didn’t know better, he looked rather defeated.  Or perhaps hunted.  

“Clockwork?” asked Danny, hating how weak his voice sounded.  His fear had, it seemed, caught up with him.

“Ah, I see now,” said Pariah Dark, freeing himself from the ice with a crack.  “I see why you were suddenly so eager to formalize our divorce.”  

“Divorce?” interjected Danny.  Maybe it meant something else to ghosts?

“You haven’t even told the child-” the word was said in a much different tone than before, “about us?”  He gave Clockwork a rather nasty grin, then looked at Danny.  “I will take my leave, as you insist.  We will, I think, finish this in court, dearest.”

“Wait!” shouted Clockwork, stretching out a hand.  

Pariah Dark pulled his cloak around him and vanished.  

That… hadn’t been what Danny had expected.  At all.  But it wasn’t what was important right now.  He flew to Clockwork’s side, even as Clockwork collapsed back into the chair.  

“Are you okay?” asked Danny, checking Clockwork over visually.  “Did he do anything to you?”

“Nothing he has not done before,” said Clockwork.  “Curse him.”

“Okay,” said Danny.  Then his brain finally caught up to what Pariah had said.  “Clockwork?  Did he…  Did he make you marry him?” he asked, horrified.  

“What?  No.  Despite his uncountable negative qualities, he never crossed that line.”  Clockwork’s tone was so bitter it made Danny’s mouth go dry.  “I was… Once, many years ago, I was quite willing to love him, more fool I.”  

“I don’t understand,” said Danny.  “He– You were married to him?”

“Unfortunately, I still am,” said Clockwork, slumping further.  “Curse the man.  And curse the Observants.  I was so close–  I assume they told you Pariah was out?”

“Well, yeah,” said Danny.  “They were kind of worried about, you know, the all-conquering tyrant king of ghosts getting out.”

Clockwork scoffed.  “Even in defeat, he was so self-aggrandizing.”

There was so much to unpack there.  “Clockwork, how did he get out?  And why did you decide to do…”  He gestured at the room.  “Whatever this is.  Is it really that important that you get divorced?”

“Oh, Daniel,” said Clockwork.  “You have no idea.”  Clockwork patted Danny’s hand.  “Perhaps I should have told you before.”  He laughed without humor.  “Then this could have been avoided.”

Danny sucked in his lips.  He’d never heard Clockwork sound quite like this.  “What happened, Clockwork?” he asked.

Clockwork covered his eyes with one hand, but, nonetheless, began to speak.  

.

Eight days ago…

.

Clockwork returned to Long Now and sunk to the floor.  What bad timing.  What poor luck, that Danny would stumble across that particular dream, even if it hadn’t quite taken the usual form. 

Perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised.  Daniel did tend to warp probability into fantastic shapes, most likely a product of Clockwork’s time powers rubbing off on him.  Bonded ghosts tended to share powers, consciously or otherwise.  

Speaking of powers, when Clockwork was less unsettled, he would talk with Danny some more about his latest power.  It was one of his own, unique.  Neither Clockwork nor his… nor any other ghost Daniel was bonded to had something like that, although it was possible that Clockwork would develop one now; the sharing effect did not flow solely from parent to child.  Hah, he could just imagine Nocturne’s face on learning that Clockwork had such a power.  

He imagined other, less safe faces learning about such a power.  About Danny's power.  He imagined what they would do, what they could do with such a power.

It could not be allowed to come to pass.  

Clockwork sprung up.  He would need to make certain arrangements to even have a chance at success.  He flew from room to room, increasingly manic.  

The Observants would have to be managed.  They would see an acceptable risk and an unacceptable one, but they did not know him like Clockwork did.  

Daniel could not be involved.  Doubtless, what Clockwork was about to do would put strain on their relationship, but it was for the best.  If he became aware of Daniel…

The Observants would try to drag Daniel in, though, and Daniel would want to visit.  Barring him from doing so for as long as this would take would do far worse to their relationship than simply lying to him.  Daniel understood the importance of lies.  

He would have to be in two places at once.  At least.  Spacetime had to be maintained throughout all this.

Time twisted, folded, tore, and an even dozen of Clockwork's not-quite-duplicates popped into being.  He took a moment to close his eyes and ease away a slight dizziness.  

The amount and quality of sleep he'd managed before Daniel interrupted him were far from sufficient.  Nonetheless, he would have to make do.  Until he eliminated the problem he'd identified, there was no chance of him sleeping again.  

All the more reason to take care of this quickly. 

He dismissed his duplicates to their respective tasks and turned to the doors.  The place he was going had been engineered to reject portals, even his.  

Especially his.  

.

Although Clockwork had almost certainly been one of the beings in mind when the defenses of Pariah's prison were constructed, they did little to slow him.  Few traps were unavoidable, given proper timing, and Clockwork’s timing was impeccable.  As always.  

Far too soon for his liking, Clockwork looked up at the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep.  It looked exactly like it had in his dream, unsurprisingly.  His dreams were, if not always coherent, then accurate in terms of symbolism. 

He closed his eyes, steadying himself.

The next barrier here was the key.  Clockwork had not bothered to get the Skeleton Key before he came.  There was no point.  The key had been here in the past, and therefore, for Clockwork, it was here now.  He held his hand up to the keyhole and tugged the key forward through time, just for a split second.  Neither the Daniel nor the Vladimir of back then would notice, each one too absorbed in their own worries.  

The lock clicked.  

Smoke poured from the crack between the lid and the back of the sarcophagus.  The hinges creaked, groaned, screamed.  

After Daniel defeated him, and he lost the Ring of Rage, the Crown of Fire, and, most importantly, the Mandate of the Infinite, the right of rule, Pariah Dark had lost much of his power.  Should have lost much of his power.  Clockwork would be more than capable of containing him.  

That did not make this any less nerve-wracking.  

The lid slammed the rest of the way open.  Clockwork stood his ground, even as Pariah, in his most annoyingly, overdramatically large form loomed over him.

“Clockwork, my dearest betrayer,” said Pariah, through gritted teeth.  The language he spoke had been dead so long that even in the Ghost Zone, few spoke it.  “What a surprise.  To what do I owe this dubious honor?”

The moment of truth.  

Clockwork took a deep breath.  “I want a divorce.”

.

“Why now?” asked Pariah, dangerously soft.  “Hundreds of years I have been imprisoned.  Why do you only seek me out now?”  He reached towards Clockwork’s face, but Clockwork batted his hand away with his staff.  

“Perhaps,” said Clockwork, “I only now feel safe enough to do so.  I have no desire to be your plaything again.”

“Please,” said Pariah.  “If anyone was playing it was you, Master of Time.  Playing with my trust, my heart.”

Clockwork bared his teeth.  “And you are stalling.  Will you divorce me or no?”

Pariah sneered and strode away from Clockwork, examining the room.  “You seem awfully eager for someone who has waited so long.”

“I do not want to drag this out.  Or resort to the court.”

“And I do not want to be forced back into that box as soon as you get what you want,” snapped Pariah, whirling and jabbing a finger at the sarcophagus.  “Is that not what happened last time, dearest?”

“Only you would think that any of that was something I wanted.”

“You certainly fought like it was.”

“I fought for my freedom,” said Clockwork.  “Do you really want to drag this through the court?  Put our futures in the hands of the judges?”

“For my freedom?  You can be assured of that.  But,” –he found a piece of rubble and sat on it as if it were a throne– “perhaps I can be convinced otherwise.”

.

Unsurprisingly, no one was happy about Clockwork’s decision.  Not Pariah.  Not the Observants.  Not even Clockwork himself.  He had never wanted this.  Preferably, Pariah would have been left to rot.  

“You must see reason, Clockwork!” said the Observants, again and again, whenever he was forced to interact with them through duplicates.  “Throw him back in the sarcophagus!  You are capable of it, now that he is no longer king!”

Clockwork didn’t answer, the last time he had listened to the Observants about Pariah had not ended well, either.  

At least Daniel did not know.  At least Daniel did not press.  

.

“I want you to tell me why you betrayed me,” said Pariah.  

“I did not betray you,” said Clockwork with ill grace.  They were repeating things now, and had been for days.

“I would say the years have made you dishonest,” said Pariah, “but you were always that way, even if I could not see it.  A treacherous little seducer.”  His lips curled.  “At least you kept your looks.”

Clockwork skin prickled with sickness.  He did not want to know that Pariah still found him attractive.  

“What do you want, Pariah?” asked Clockwork.  “You cannot possibly still want me, for all your,” he wrinkled his nose, “comments and denials.  But you have not even made a counteroffer.”  

He had been convinced that Pariah would demand his freedom, demand that Clockwork would swear off any support of future attempts to put him back where he belonged.  But instead they  had been having this labyrinthine conversation, over and over, pausing only when one or the other stormed away.

“What would you do, I wonder, if I did still want you?” asked Pariah, resting his cheek on his fist.

“That is hardly conducive to a divorce,” said Clockwork.  “Nor do I believe that is what you want.”

Pariah's eyes met his.  "Give me a reason, Clockwork.  Tell me why."

"Why what?"  Clockwork's hands tightened around his staff.  

"Why any of it?  Why help the Observants?  Why begin this divorce farce now?"

"I told you already," said Clockwork.  

“The corner of your mouth twitches when you lie,” said Pariah.  

Clockwork, stupidly, put a hand over the lower part of his face.  Pariah laughed.  

“What if,” said Pariah, standing to circle Clockwork, “I wanted it all back.  What we once had.”

“Impossible.”

“Impossible for the Master of Time?  How often have you turned back the clock?”

“Not my own,” said Clockwork.  

“Oh?”  Pariah’s finger tapped the glass door set in Clockwork’s chest.  “Perhaps I could help with that.”

Clockwork backed away, quickly, tail lashing back and forth.  “I think not.”

“Not even for just a day?” said Pariah, tone wheedling.  Clockwork was forcibly reminded of times past, when they were courting, when things had been happier.  “A memory of better times?” he asked in an echo of Clockwork’s thoughts. 

This.  This was why he needed the divorce.  This was why Pariah could never find out about Danny, could never be allowed that power.  

“A day as we once were,” said Pariah.  “Then, I will… acquiesce.”

“I could throw you back into the Sarcophagus,” said Clockwork.  

“Resorting to threats, hm?  No, I do not think you will.  You want this enough to let me out in the first place, and…”  He smiled, slowly.  “And you are in a hurry, my dear.  Let me have my fun.”

Clockwork hissed.  He hated the idea of even pretending to love Pariah Dark again.  “Surely,” he said, “you have other demands.”

“Oh, to retain my freedom? I have no illusions about whether you would truly agree to that.  You are a slippery little thing, and you would find the smallest loophole to slither through.  This, at least, I will get.  I think… that dinner we had, after the surrender of White Mountain.  I think that would be a good memory to revisit.”

“Very well,” said Clockwork stiffly.  “I will… begin the preparations.”

“See that you do, my dear.”

.

“And I messed that up,” said Danny.  

“It is not your fault.”

“Isn’t it?”

“I should have told you,” said Clockwork.  “This is my doing.”  He rubbed his hand across his eyes.  

“But… I don’t really get it.”

“Which part?”

“Well, a lot of parts, really.  How you and Pariah Dark could ever be a couple, for one, but also… I don’t understand how he has a- a bond with me at all.”

“My fault as well,” said Clockwork with a humorless laugh.  “I was… I never wished to deal with him again.  I thought I could continue as I had been.  I thought I could reach for the future without facing the past.”  He pushed a strand of hair back from Danny’s face.  “Alas.  Your bond with him is through me.  As I am still linked with him as his husband, your core could sense it, and forged a link of its own.  I did not think it would ever be relevant.”

“It…”  Danny hesitated, because this really was a crappy situation, and he couldn’t deny that.  “You were trying to do what you thought was right.  I mean, it isn’t any worse than some stuff I’ve done.  I guess I get it from you?  I sure don’t get it from him.”

“Goodness, Daniel,” said Clockwork with a bit of a laugh.  “I certainly hope not.”

“So… what is he going to do now?  Can you see?  He’s not going to run around and start conquering places, is he?”  

“As I said, he was substantially weakened by his defeat at your hands, so I doubt he will seek out any battles.  Unfortunately, the… closer I am to someone the less clearly I can see their future.  But from his comment, I would assume he is taking the matter to the courts, who will oversee our divorce.”

“And by overseeing, what do you mean?  Do you guys have, like, ghostly bank accounts?  He’s not going to try to get half of Long Now, is he?”

“There are certain assets that ghosts, when divorcing, must divide, and often there are conditions and such, bargaining for fairness, but the main purpose of such courts is severing the associated bonds, and determining if they should be severed.  Normally, both bonded must agree to the severance.  In any case…  I am more worried he will attempt to gain custody of you, Daniel, than for any of my other possessions.”

“But that’s the Observants, right?  They wanted me to come fight him, so I don’t think they’ll help him, right?”

Clockwork’s grimace spoke volumes. 

.

“Clockwork and Pariah Dark - the ghost king, Pariah Dark - are about to have a custody battle over you?” asked Jazz, after cleaning out her ears.  

“Maybe,” said Danny.  It had been a couple of days since he’d found out, and he’d been trying to figure out what to do about it, and he’d finally come up with something, but…  He needed Jazz’s help.  

“But didn’t you say the Observants wanted you to fight him?  Why would they let him sue for custody?”

Danny leaned against the bathroom door and folded his arms.  “Apparently it’s a different group that does family court.  Not Observants.”

Jazz lowered her head to rest against the counter.  “On one hand, I can understand that.  On the other…”

“Yeah, I know.”  Danny sighed.  “So, anyway, I’m going to try and find him before any trials start.  Mom and Dad should still have his ectosignature on file, but I need help with the boo-merang.”

“Find him and…?”

“Beat him up.”

“Did you talk about this with Clockwork?”

“Not really,” said Danny.  

“Danny…”

“I know, I know, but Clockwork is really torn up about this whole thing.  I don’t want to make it worse.”

“Pariah nearly killed you, Danny.”

"I know, but he's weaker, now.  I think I can take him."

"And then what?  He's already in the Ghost Zone."

"Put him back in the Sarcophagus?" suggested Danny.  

"Won't he still be able to learn your power like that?  If he's still… bonded?"

"Yeah, that's the term Clockwork used."

"Bonded to you."  She made a face.  "I don't really like the idea of all these ghosts making 'bonds' with you and then saying they have custody of you, you know."

"It's just Clockwork."

"Who didn't tell you that you'd be bound to Pariah Dark through him.  I don't suppose you know if ghosts have anything about the emancipation of minors."

Danny straightened, aghast, and let his arms fall to his sides.  "No, I don't know," he said, "and I don't want that, anyway."

"Okay, but you can use it as a bargaining chip.  In case things don't go Clockwork's way.  How much do you know about the Ghost Zone's legal system, anyway?"

"How much free time do you think I have?"

Jazz sighed.  "I don't know.  I thought Clockwork might be teaching you something about it."

"We're mostly going over history."

"Great.  Do you even know where to find this stuff out?"

"Clockwork's library?"

"Okay, then.  As soon as Mom and Dad are asleep, we're going."

"W- what?  But Pariah could be there!"

"What happened to you being able to take him?"

"Yeah, but you being there is different!"

"How?"

"Because then you're there, and you could get hurt!"

“He could very well come here, too, couldn’t he?  He dragged the whole town through, last time.  This way, I’ll be with you.”

Oh, sometimes he hated how easy it was for Jazz to argue with him.  She knew him too well!

He groaned.  “Fine.”

.

Jazz chewing out Clockwork made Danny, in a word, uncomfortable.  If he got two words, then he’d say anxious and uncomfortable.  

He pulled out another book and skimmed over the title, not entirely registering it.  It might have been on ghost law… but probably not.  

“You metaphysically bound my little brother to a murderous megalomaniac!”

Danny itched to help, but…  He wasn’t nearly skilled enough to stop the argument, and he wasn’t sure what side he should take.  None of this really seemed fair.  

But maybe…  “Guys?” he called.  “I need some help over here!  I don’t know what I’m looking for.”

A pause.  Silence.  

“This isn’t over,” said Jazz, quietly enough that Danny could hardly hear her, even with his sharper-than-human ears.  

“Quite,” replied Clockwork.  

.

“So, it’s just based on the judges’ opinion?  There’s no- no precedent or rules?”

“Ultimately,” said Clockwork, “all social laws are a matter of opinion.  That those with the power to enforce them think that they are right.”

“Or they’re agreed on,” said Jazz.  

“Is agreement not simply a method of expressing an opinion?”

“But it shouldn’t be too hard to convince the judges that you’re better off divorced and that I’m better off with you, right?  Everyone hated Pariah, right?”

“Hm,” said Clockwork.  “Not exactly.”

Oh, that did not sound auspicious.

.

In the end, Jazz and Danny went home unsatisfied and tired.  There really were no loopholes or tricks.  It was simple, almost brutal in its straightforwardness.  

Danny… he couldn’t say that he wasn’t worried.  Clockwork had spoken at length about ‘interregnums’ and ‘old loyalties’ and ‘sleepers,’ and Danny knew that he was trying to be reassuring as well as truthful, but it hadn’t really worked.  

There didn’t seem to be anything he could really do, however, until the trial started.  Both Clockwork and Jazz were in agreement that Danny facing off against Pariah was a bad idea.  

So, he went to sleep in his bed.  

He woke up somewhere else.  

He blinked at the light his tired eyes were assaulted with.  Flashes of green and red danced beneath his eyelids.  This wasn’t the first time he’d woken up in a strange place with no memory of how he’d gotten there, but it sure was annoying.  

“Ah, the point of contention wakes.  What is your preferred name, little apple?”

“Mh?” said Danny, squinting at the ghost floating in front of him.  

“A strange name, to be sure.”

“What, no, that’s not my name.  Who are you?”

“I am the one who presides over matters of failed love,” said the ghost.  She smiled, rather toothily.  “You may call me Eris.”

“Uh,” said Danny.  “Okay.”  He pushed himself up in the chair he was sprawled in and looked around the room.  

It was medium-sized.  Almost cozy.  It was roughly divided into four sections.  One was raised up a bit, with a long, altar-like desk on it.  Two of the other sections were separated from one another by the fourth, the one that Danny was sitting in, and walled off.  

Clockwork and Pariah Dark were sitting inside them, arms crossed and sulking, inside spherical, glittering, golden shields.  Mirrors of one another.  

“Um,” said Danny.  

“We’ve been at this nonstop for a few days now,” said Eris, circling around behind Danny and then leaning forward so that her golden hair tickled his shoulder.  “We’ve gotten them to agree that they despise each other, but each of them wants you.  My favorite circumstances.”

“Nonstop?  A few days?” asked Danny.  “But, Clockwork, I just saw you yesterday.”

Clockwork shifted guiltily inside his bubble.  “I did not want you to worry,” he said, “and there is little point in being able to duplicate if one does not use the ability.”

“Ha!” said Pariah Dark, pointing.  “So, you admit to being untruthful to our child!”

“My child!”  

“Soon to be my child!”

“Don’t act like you had anything to do with raising him!”

At this point, they shifted into a language Danny didn’t know.  However, from the tone, Danny could conclude that the ‘conversation’ was pure invective.  

“Now, now,” said Eris, gleefully, “we want our little apple to be able to understand what’s going on, now don’t we?  Let’s keep it to English, shall we?”  She floated away, and settled behind the raised desk, just slightly off center.  “So, little apple, what is your name?”

“Danny Phantom,” said Danny, finally getting himself sitting up straight.  He looked to his left, then his right, at Clockwork and Pariah, both of whom were glaring venomously at one another.  “Look, I don’t want to go with Pariah Dark.  I don’t know him.  I don’t like him.  He tried to kill me once.  Can I go?”

Eris raised a hand and tilted it back and forth.  “A truly moving speech.  Alas.  It is, how should I put this?  Insufficient.”

At this point, a side door, one that Danny hadn’t noticed, opened and a ghost wearing a dress made out of peacock feathers floated through.  “The child is awake, then?” she asked, before sitting next to Eris.  

As she spoke, the door behind her smoothed back into a wall.  Danny looked around.  The room had no doors.  

“Yep, I’m awake,” said Danny.  “Awake, and wanting nothing to do with Pariah Dark.”

“Danny Phantom, Hera.  Hera, Danny Phantom,” introduced Eris.  

Hera frowned, her brow wrinkling.  “You want nothing to do with your other parent?  One of the two who nurtures your soul?”

“Nope,” said Danny.  “Barely know him, plus, he tried to kill me.”

“A grave accusation indeed,” said Hera, turning sorrowful eyes on Pariah.  “What say you?”

“At the time,” said Pariah, “he was yet to be bound to my once-beloved.  But he proved himself a worthy adversary, and I found myself intrigued.  In any case, it has been difficult, getting to know him whilst locked away.”

Clockwork hissed.  “As if you weren’t locked away for good reason.”

“Oh, dear,” said Hera, raising her hand to cover her face.  “What anger between two ghosts bound in sacred matrimony.”  

Was she crying?

“I know,” said Eris, grinning.  

“What a horrible disconnect between parent and child!” Hera wailed.  “This is why divorces are such terrible things, and why we should all work towards blessed reconciliation.”

“Not my parent!  He’s really not my parent.  Even if Clockwork weren’t here, I still have two perfectly fine human parents!”

“Oh,” said Eris, “should we bring them here as well?”

“NO!” shouted Danny, Clockwork, and Pariah.  

“Eris, dear, we only have dominion over the affairs of ghosts.  What happens between humans is beyond us.”

“Oh, alright, alright.  You never let me have any fun.”

“Wait,” said Danny, pointing at Pariah, “why does he care about whether or not my real parents are here?”

“Your parents were the ones to build that suit, yes?” asked Pariah.

“Yeah,” said Danny.  

“Because they are insane, that is why.”

Danny scowled.  He got that from everyone in Amity Park.  He didn’t need it from Pariah Dark, too.  “That–”

“Perhaps this child can mend what we cannot,” said Hera, interrupting.

“I hope not,” said Eris.  “But, sure.  Let’s give him a chance.  What were you thinking?”

“The child should know both sides of the story,” said Hera.  

“Yeah, okay, that sounds like fun.”

Hera nodded solemnly.  “I think it is something we would all benefit from.  Including these two sadly estranged lovers.  Perhaps by seeing the other perspective, love will again blossom in their hearts, and they shall reconcile.”

“If we have not done so yet,” said Clockwork, audibly gritting his teeth, “we are not going to do so now.  We have been going over this so-called ‘other perspective’ the entire time we have been incarcerated here.”

“And what do you know of incarceration?  You’ve been running free with those pests you call a legal system for centuries, while I have been imprisoned, and for what?”

“You know for what, you tyrant!”

“Now, now,” said Eris, “if you go like this, he won’t understand.  You two have to start from the beginning.”  

.

Shadows played across the Zone as Clockwork led his merry band of traitors forward.  He, the very image of Delilah, had told his accomplices all of his lover’s weaknesses, and intended to make use of them.  His forbidden powers would serve them well in the coming battle.  

Behind them, a pair of lesser ghosts carried the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, the dread prison that would–

.

“That’s not the beginning,” complained Eris, leaning back to examine her nails.  “That’s not even the beginning of your breakup.”  There was a glint in her eye that indicated that she was far more invested in this than she was acting.  

“Well, it was the beginning for me,” said Pariah with a huff.

“I cannot believe that you would continue this farce of not knowing what you did even after all this time,” said Clockwork, leaning forward out of his seat  “It’s infuriating!”

“I’m not a mind-reader!  How am I supposed to know what you think is justification for stabbing me in the back?”

“Fine.  I will start, if you cannot manage to reflect on yourself.”

.

Clockwork paced anxiously through the galleries of the palace.  It was far from any of the battlefields.  Safe, Pariah had said.  But distant, too.  Distant, and isolated.  How long had it been since Clockwork had seen anything beyond its walls?  How long would it be before he would be able to travel beyond them?

He lifted a hand to feel the expertly tooled leather of his eyepatch.  How long?  How long would he be forced to be like this?

“Prince-consort,” said a familiar voice, making Clockwork jump, “may we have a word?  There is something you should–”

.

“That isn’t the beginning, either!” said Eris.  “You guys are bad at this.  No wonder you’re breaking up.”

“Then what do you think is the beginning?” asked Clockwork.  

Hera sighed.  “The beginning is the beginning,” she said.  “The beginning of you.  As a couple.”

“Yeah,” said Eris, holding up a finger on each hand, “in order to split, you have to be together,” she brought her hands together, “first.”  

“So,” said Hera, “please, start at the beginning of your relationship.”

.

Clockwork twitched at his slate-gray robes.  It was an honor to be here, to be chosen from all the other seers to accompany their speaker at the convocation of lords.  But he was nervous.  His order was growing weaker, he knew, the Observants gaining favor, and his performance here would determine much.  

He could see several outcomes, closing his eyes, both good and ill.  It was impossible to tell which one would win out.  

The meeting place was a huge, circular atrium, pointed at both the top and bottom, the attending ghosts in balconies inset in the sides.  Clockwork floated to the middle, behind his mentor, and cast his gaze about.  His eyes lingered here and there, catching first on Lady Pandora, then the intimidating Lord Thunder, and finally a relatively young ghost with milk-white skin and long curving horns.  That last ghost met Clockwork’s eyes directly, and he looked away blushing, before–

.

“No,” said Pariah.  “That wasn’t you!”

“What do you mean, that wasn’t me?  Of course it was me!”

“You looked completely different!”

“So did you!  I still knew who you were!”

“I don’t think meeting eyes across a crowded room counts as the beginning of a relationship unless you’re Romeo and Juliette.  Try again,” said Eris.  

“I will do it this time,” said Pariah Dark.  

.

He pressed his lips to Clockwork’s passionately–

.

“Oh, Ancients,” said Danny.  “No.  No, that is not a beginning, and I don’t want to hear this.  Oh my gosh.”

“You didn’t think our relationship started until we kissed?”

“What else starts a relationship?”

“Oh, I ought to–”

“Friends,” said Hera.  “Perhaps you ought to begin with when you first started courting?  And why?”

“Oh,” said Clockwork, “that’s easy.  We were formally introduced during Pariah’s ascension ball.”

“That’s the term you translate it to?  Ball?”

“What would you translate it to?”

There was silence.  

“Yeah, Pariah, what would you translate it to?”

“Just go on,” grumbled Pariah.  

“We were formally introduced then, and the Observants had just launched an attack on my order, so us remnants were very interested in alliance and protection with the new king.”

“Wait, are you telling me it was entirely political?” demanded Pariah.  

“Of course not!  You are– were also possessed of various… qualities.”

Danny covered his face.  This was the worst thing ever.  All of this.  

“In any case, that is when we were introduced, and when Pariah started to pursue me.”

“And your opinion of things, Pariah?” asked Hera.  

“He was attractive, at the time.”

Eris cackled.  “That wasn’t too hard, was it?  And how did things progress?”

Pariah opened his mouth.

“Not with a child here!” interrupted Clockwork.  

“Wow, that is already more information than I wanted,” said Danny.  He wondered if brain bleach actually existed in the Ghost Zone.  It had to.  Please.  He wasn’t sure he could half-live without it.

“And then what happened?” asked Hera.  

“Then I found out he was only using me for my foresight!”

“Using you?  I gave you everything!”

“You shut me away in a tower and stole my eye!”

“You gave it to me!”

“For one battle!  One!  And then you never gave it back!”

.

It looked like a jewel under the shifting light of the ghostly firmament.  Pariah Dark raised his gaze from it to the ectoplasm-covered hole in his lover’s face.  

“Clockwork…”

“It’s fine,” he said.  “It’s fine, my love.  But… You will need this.  For the next battle.  It will let you see what is to come.”

“It is your eye, Clockwork.”

“And if you will not let me be by your side, at least let me send this token with you.  You need it.  One battle, then come back to me.  Promise?”

“I promise,” said Pariah, swallowing back unease.  “One battle.”

Clockwork smiled, then hissed, covering his empty eye socket.  “I will need to get this covered, hm?”

.

Pariah Dark rode out to battle.  Once.  Twice.  Again.  

Clockwork could not see, but he could still hear the words of messengers, still listen to the news brought by travelers.  He knew that Pariah had broken his promise, but… there had to be a reason for that.  

A battle he could not leave.  A foe so great as to be insurmountable.  

.

He left the palace in the night.  If Pariah would not come to him, he would go to Pariah.  

He traveled in the dark, in shadows, under assumed names and faces, across countless realms.  He traveled, unceasing, to the side of his love.  To the one ghost he knew would always love him.  Who had sworn to always do so.  

He stood by Pariah’s tent, having come this far undetected.  Pariah’s sentries left something to be desired.  

He stepped past the door, his love’s name on his lips.  

Pariah whirled and pinned Clockwork to the rocky ground by his throat.

It lasted a split second, but the rage painting Pariah’s features branded themselves in Clockwork’s remaining eye.  Pariah released him, and called for the guards to take Clockwork back to the palace.  

This was no place for him.  

.

“And with my eye, he knew I was coming,” said Clockwork.  “He knew, and still he attacked me and put me away.”

“I sent you back to where it was safe!  And do you know how many times I was attacked by someone impersonating you?  I had to develop reflexes for it eventually!  There were reasons I didn’t want you on the front lines!”

“Excuses!  You sent me to a prison where you did not have to put your eyes on me!”

“If only I could put you in such a place now!”

“And what was this time like from your perspective?” asked Hera.  

.

Pariah’s head ached.  Was this how Clockwork saw the world at all times?  It was too much.  Reason enough for Pariah to understand why the seers only taught the secrets of foresight to those trained for it.  Pariah would be glad to return his eye to him after this battle.  

He put the eye aside and sighed in relief.  He could not sleep with it whispering visions directly into his mind.  

When he woke, he sought the eye out, but it was gone.

.

Clockwork was gaping.  “You mean to say, all of that was because you lost my eye and didn’t want to tell me?  How stupid are you?”

“I did not lose it!  It was stolen!  And I… did not wish to lose you, with it.”

“You would not have lost me over that,” said Clockwork, then he seemed to remember himself.  “But you have certainly lost me now.”

“Oh my gosh,” said Danny, burying his face in his hands.  Neither of them could admit they’d messed up, could they?  No wonder they’d broken up.

“Wow,” said Eris, echoing Danny’s thoughts, “no wonder you guys broke up.”

“I was going to get it back,” said Pariah.  “That’s why I needed you to wait.  Instead, what do you do?  You stab me in the back!”

“I did wait!  I waited years upon years as you ignored me and kept secrets from me and became crueler and crueler to even peaceful peoples!”

.

“Prince-consort,” said a familiar voice, making Clockwork jump, “may we have a word?  There is something you should know about.”

Clockwork turned away from the plant he was pruning to face Frostbite, emissary from the Far Frozen. 

“Something I should know about?  You know I have very little power.”

“You are the last of the true seers.  You have more power than you think,” said Frostbite.  

“Not anymore,” said Clockwork, resisting the urge to touch his eyepatch as he stood.  “What do you wish to speak of?”

“King Dark launched an attack on Caer Crys a fortnight ago.”

Clockwork stilled.  Crys was an ally.  Had been an ally.  What Frostbite said was far from impossible.  

“They are not the only ally he has attacked in the past months, claiming that they betrayed him, or that they are hiding his enemies.  We believe he will break his faith with us within the next month.”

Clockwork spread his hands.  “What do you expect me to do?  As I said, I am powerless.”

“We have opened a dialogue with the Observants.”

Clockwork bared his teeth.  “Those faithless monsters who murdered my kin?”

“Most of those are gone, now,” said Frostbite, “but they wish to speak with you.  They say they have something of yours that you may wish to regain.  Something that Pariah traded to them for their loyalty.”

This time, Clockwork didn’t stop himself from reaching up.

.

“And you believed that?”

“Frostbite did, and I saw no reason to doubt him,” said Clockwork.  “Perhaps, if I had word to the contrary from you I wouldn’t have believed it!”

“Hey, little apple.  You’ve been quiet through all of this.  What do you think?”

Danny looked up.  “I think you haven’t said anything about why you were attacking your allies.”

“Oh, yes.  Well.  I did that.  But that has no bearing on our marriage or my relationship with you, my child.”

“Still not your child.”

“You kind of are, though,” said Eris.  

“Oh, come now.  You expect me to believe you didn’t have a reason after all of that?” demanded Clockwork.  “After all your other excuses?”

“Ah, you defend your husband, your other half.  I knew you could heal the rift between you,” said Hera, clasping her hands.  

“I take it back,” said Clockwork, throwing himself back down into his seat and shifting into his ‘infant’ form.  

“Ah!  That!” said Pariah pointing. “He always does that when he wants to put me off!  Shouldn’t we talk about that, instead?”

Danny narrowed his eyes.  Something about the flow of the conversation…  “Did you… attack your allies because you thought they were hiding Clockwork’s eye from you?”  No, that would be too ridiculous, even for this stupid couple.

“No,” said Pariah, drawing out the word unconvincingly.  

“Unbelievable!” hissed Clockwork.  “You did!  You caused this whole mess because you couldn’t be honest and say you made a mistake.  You could have gotten help!”

“Who would have helped me?”

“I would have!  Your allies would have, if you were not so intent on turning them into enemies and destroying your own work!  Everything gone to ruin and for what?”

“It was for you!  Because I loved you more than any hope at empire!”

Clockwork blushed a deep green.  “It was for your own pride!” he spat.

“Why did you even think your, um, allies had it, though?” asked Danny, curious despite himself.  

“I had intelligence that indicated it was so.”

“Intelligence from who?” asked Clockwork.  “No one trustworthy, obviously.”

“Obviously, since they joined you in stabbing me in the back.”

“Oh my gosh,” said Danny, “are you saying you were taking cues from the Observants?”

Pariah Dark opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.  “They were getting their information from the Observants,” he said.  “That makes so much sense.”

“You’ve had literal centuries to think about this and come to this conclusion,” said Clockwork, incredulous, “and obviously more information than I had.  What have you been doing?”

“I was asleep.  It is called the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, not the Sarcophagus of Nuanced Introspection.”

“You were both taking cues from the Observants,” said Danny, with something in-between awe and disgust.  

Clockwork sniffed.  “I did what I thought was right to stop a tyrant.”  

“I was no tyrant, I–”

“Clearly you were, if you attacked innocents for such little cause,” said Clockwork, but Danny could tell that his heart wasn’t entirely in it.

“Okay,” said Eris, “I’ve heard enough, I think.  Split them up, but also split custody.”

“But the only problem they’ve had is miscommunication,” said Hera.  “They should work together to repair their marriage.  We should help them with that.  I hear that humans have something called ‘marriage counseling.’”

Clockwork and Pariah Dark started shouting.  

“Huh,” said Eris.  “Actually, I’m coming around to your way of thinking.  Guess they should come back here?  Air their grievances?”

Hera smiled.  “Oh, I knew you would come around to my way of thinking, dear.  We’ll be seeing all three of you in a week, yes?”

.

Next thing Danny knew, he was floating in the green of the Ghost Zone, next to Clockwork and Pariah Dark.  

He heard Clockwork inhale, and, explosively, say, “Fu–”

Pariah slammed his hand onto Clockwork’s mouth.  “The child, Clockwork!”

.

Danny went home.  Before he did this, he had to convince two stupidly powerful and combative ghosts not to follow him home.  

.

“Danny!” said Jazz, running down the stairs to greet him.  “You’ve been gone for days!  What happened?”

Danny groaned. “Ghost adoptions suck.”

.

Six months later…

.

Danny followed the pull of his core through the Ghost Zone.  This was the time of the week he was able to visit Clockwork and learn about the Ghost Zone… and cuddle.  He had to admit he really liked the cuddling part.  

Apparently, that was part of the ‘bond’ thing.  Danny really would have liked it if Clockwork had told him about that before the whole ‘custody battle’ thing.  As it was, he sort of understood why he didn’t.  Pariah was scary, and Clockwork had clearly been traumatized by his experiences.

But as he flew on, he noticed that the bond wasn’t pulling him towards Long Now, but somewhere else entirely.  Somewhere that had become far too familiar to him over the past few months.  He noticed, also, that the weaker bond he shared with Pariah pulled him in the same direction.  He groaned.  

‘Marriage counseling’ had a horrible and unfortunate effect on Clockwork and Pariah, and although they were insisting on being ‘separated,’ well…  

If Danny ended up at Pariah's Keep while trying to visit Clockwork one more time, he was going to go insane.

Pariah’s Keep came into view and Danny sighed.  Insanity here he comes.  

As Danny flew closer, he began to hear shouting, and Clockwork flew out.  

“So,” said Danny.  “Date night not going well?”

Clockwork wiped a sour look off his face.  “As well as can be expected, I suppose.”

“You have some lipstick on you.”

#danny phantom #phic phight #aj-itated #ecto-american #idiot-onion

[secret-engima]

Okay, now I'm imagining one of the 'verses that Zack-Noctis, Aerith-Luna, and Cloud-Prompto (+Ignis and Gladio) trip into, is an /FF7/ verse. When Cloud was just a cadet and Zack was /even more/ of a hyperactive puppy.

hgfdhgf TOTAL CHAOS.

Adorable Chaos.

Gonna just yet the ff7 timeline into the stratosphere because I Do What I Want for this. But basically this is a Happy Ending AU were Stuff Happened so that Gen never degraded/defected, Angeal never defected, Seph is mentally stable, and while Shinra is still a thing to be dealt with at least nobody is calling down meteors on anything else. Cloud is a little Cadet person who accidentally caught Genesis’s eye and so is not the Poet’s apprentice, and Zack is as hyper as ever.

...

-The five of them trip into the FF7 verse and we’ll make them teenagers and stuff for this, Noctis (15), Luna (19), and Prompto (15) all insta-recognize it and freak. Ignis (17) and Gladio (18) take their cue from the freaking and are very cautious. They don’t ask why the three know so much about this strange place or are so agitated but Ignis is Fussing and Gladio is ready to hit something. Luna softly says hey’ll just- have to avoid “everyone important” and the Astrals will undo this as soon as they can.

-Their luck being what it is, they are somewhere in the slums of Midgar and while killing monsters for gil to stay somewhere that isn’t an alley for the night (WHY DO THE MONSTER BODIES DISAPPEAR Ignis hisses the first time the monster he was inspecting for potential recipe material disappeared into thin air, leaving coins and junk behind), they hear someone else fighting monsters and having Trouble.

-Reacting on their Good Guy instincts, they race around the corner and find a Whopping Freaking Behemoth growling it’s way through a street way too small for it, chasing two someones that Noctis doesn’t really pay attention too in his haste to fling a fireball in the Behemoth’s face to slow it down. The beast slows and Cloud rockets by, his sword a flash of silver light as he hops up the dingy wall and somehow (Nif experimentation strength, adrenaline, and magic) beheads the thing in one massive strike (Gladiolus, watching from the entrance of the street where he’s guarding Ignis, Luna, and the people that Behemoth was chasing, quickly acknowledges his jealousy and lets it go, because Prompto is just Like That).

-Prompto lands on the dead body of the Behemoth and flicks the blood off his blade as he looks around (escaped experiment from the labs he’s betting, and the thought of it makes his blood feel very cold). Noctis nods grimly at him, coming to the same conclusion and reminder.

-Then, from the head of the alley, someone breathes, “That, was ... SO COOL.”

-Prompto, looking over Noctis’s head from his perch, goes dead white. Noctis knows what he’s going to see the moment he turns around but somehow can’t stop himself from looking anyway.

-Bright-faced and energetic, innocent in a way Noctis has never been able to fully pull off, is one SOLDIER Second Class Zack Fair, staring at the two of them with hero worship in his eyes as he dusts himself off and bounds past a startled Gladio to all but vibrate in front of Noctis and Prompto, “How’d you do that? You just- WHOOSH and SHING and it was DEAD. I didn’t think anyone but a SOLDIER First could do that!”

-While Noctis tries to wrap his head around himself (had he really been that hyper? No wonder Angeal called him Puppy), Prompto blinks past Zack (ghost ghost bloody-tired-ghost-rain-blood-steel-you-are-my-living-legacy-) he sees the second person standing there being fussed at by Ignis and almost loses his grip on his Fusion Sword.

-Cadet Cloud Strife is watching Ignis with a touch of hero worship in his own eyes as the older teen expertly applies a potion to the scratches and cuts, never letting on that he’s spotted the eerie similarities between Prompto, Noctis and these two strangers.

-Their attention is dragged back to Zack by his waving arms as he chatters a mile a minute, then rapidly snagged by the sound of approaching footsteps from the far end of the street, the direction the Behemoth had come from.

-Noctis already knows who is running around that corner. His nerve breaks and he BOLTS. Zack yips a protest as Noctis rushes by, Prompto on his heels, trying to escape before HE can come around the corner and see them. Gladio sees the look on his prince’s face and starts herding Iggy and Luna away-.

-Genesis rounds the bend in front of them the exact moment Angeal rounds the corner behind. Both of them having rushed to the scene to try to save their apprentices.

-Noctis can only hear static. It’s ... it’s different from seeing Angeal in his new body, his reborn self. This- this is a ghost of the man he adored and looked up to as a father, this is a perfect memory of the man he was forced to KILL. This is- this is ANGEAL. Noctis cannot deal.

-Ignis ends up doing all the talking on the group’s behalf while Zack makes things ... worse unintentionally by excitedly recounting the story of how Prompto one-shot the Behemoth.

-Genesis confirms it with Cloud.

-Both men, honorable in their own way, insist on paying for a Proper Hotel for the group as thanks, which means taking them above plate. Ignis makes up a story of how they are Hunters (which ... they are technically, just not in this world) and were just visiting the city when they heard the sounds of fighting.

-They get dropped off at the hotel and Noctis and Prompto spend a good hour sobbing in the bathroom over their respective ghosts while Luna hesitantly tries to explain why to Ignis and Gladio without ... SAYING why. After that, the group put their heads together to make a plan, because Noctis and Prompto are SURE that SHINRA will come sniffing around soon.

-By morning, Noctis and Prompto have composed themselves and gotten ... sorta enough sleep.

-Prompto is not surprised how, the moment the clock turns to “reasonable hour of the morning” there is a knock on the door. He is less surprised when he opens it to find a Turk on the other side.

-He promptly shuts the door again.

-He makes a rude gesture at Ignis’s back when the older teen sighs at his bad manners and opens the door to let the devil man in with a murmured apology and vague excuse that Prompto doesn’t handle mornings well. The Turk is Tseng, because of course it is, and he’s come to formally thank them for their assistance the other day in saving the lives of two of their employees (Read: here to investigate how a group of unknown teens showed up out of literal nowhere, how one of them used a fireball spell without seeming to have any materia on his person and how the twig-blond one-shot a Behemoth like a SOLDIER First).

-Ignis and Luna handle all the talking because Noctis is oddly quiet (afraid of being too like Zack), Prompto has gone straight non-verbal, and Gladiolus is a bit busy trying to keep his two friends on a sane keel.

-Tseng notices all of the interplay, but isn’t sure what to make of it. He notices the way the black haired one seems agitated in his presence and how the blond has flickering mako shine in his eyes as he folds in on himself and shuts down at the sight of Tseng’s suit. He notices he way Ignis and Gladio are neutral to him like true strangers would, but the gentle girl named Luna watches him with an old, eerie sort of knowing fondness.

-They are not what they seem, he thinks to himself.

-But what are they?

-Anyway long ficlet made slightly shorter, Tseng talks them into coming to the tower to receive a thank you gift from SHINRA and maybe give a demonstration to some of the cadets while they were at it, as a ... show and tell from an outsider perspective. They don’t have any choice but to agree, and Noctis shakes off his uneasiness to be a more muted version of energetic to help Prompto cope.

-The SOLDIER Firsts and their apprentices are there too, because of course they are, and Noctis slides into his element showing off for the cadets with Gladio’s help while Prompto spaces out at the nearest wall. Angeal comes over to talk to Noctis and thank him and stuff and Zack is already trying to acquire another blond buddy (Prompto slides back into non-verbal blank looks and is ... dimly surprised by Cloud coming to his defense with an innocent, “Take it easy, Zack, he’s shy.” before smiling. Prompto doesn’t remember smiling as Cloud. Not like that. Easy and friendly and innocent.)

-SOMEHOW. Genesis ends up picking a fight with Noctis. Because Genesis. Prompto, eager to burn off some tension, intercedes on Noctis’s behalf and ends up flattening Genesis in three moves.

-...Oops.

-Genesis gets up with a manic look in his eye and Sephiroth is staring like a cat that just spotted a bird. Angeal’s eyebrows are up to his hairline and Zack is “ooo”ing in awe.

-Genesis tries again, Prompto flattens him in five moves this time.

-Ignis steps in before a real fight can happen and politely excuses the group because they have places to be.

-Prompto has never been more grateful for Gentiana’s timing than the moment they step out of Shinra’s office and slide into the crowd. In between one heartbeat and the next, one shifting of the large, busy crowd and another, she arrives and whisks them home.

-The Turks have no idea how they lost the group of teens, but they never find them again.

#SE asks #anon asks #Secret Engima Rambles #Clouds and Moonlit Skies verse #ffvii #ffxv #xover

[darkpuck]

Dark Parables

Curse of Briar Rose

On the day the princess was born, the king held a great festival and invited all but one godmother, who was strong in sorcery yet wicked at heart.

Upon hearing the news of the festival, the Evil Godmother placed a curse on the newborn child. Later in life, the young princess came across a spindle in a dusty old room in the castle and pricked her finger. The inhabitants of the castle instantly fell under the power of a sleeping spell while briars burst from the ground and enshrouded the castle.

One day, a daring prince braved the thick vines and ventured into the castle. Upon finding the princess, he gave her a kiss, which was foretold to free the princess from her curse.

Though the kiss removed the briars and awakened the inhabitants, the princess never rose from her eternal slumber. Many years have passed and the truth behind the sleeping princess has been forgotten. What remains is the tale passed down through generations as "The Sleeping Beauty."

As decades and centuries passed, the tale has been assumed to be a myth, with only a handful of beings knowing the reality of the situation. The thorns continually returned to the castle, as though they were weeds that could not be completely eradicated. Two of the original godmothers, the Godmother of Rose and the Godmother of Ivy, worked diligently over the years to contain the curse of the thorns. Through their tireless efforts, eventually the curse was contained for the next thousand years.

One day, unexpectedly, the curse returned. The thorns rapidly re-grew, filling the long-abandoned castle with hundreds of deadly vines. Perhaps their long dormancy had built up their thirst for vengeance. Such a bizarre occurrence did not simply go unnoticed. A top detective agency, in fact, detected the anomaly almost immediately. Sensing the potential for paranormal danger, they sent one of their top agents to investigate.

Covertly entering the city around the castle, the young ace detective inspected the area. She took special care to ensure that her investigation was surreptitious, so as not to instigate greater panic, for the people of the city had seen what happened but had no idea what to make of it. The detective managed to secure some samples of the thorny briar and returned them to the agency.

The agency's top scientists analyzed the samples. They concluded that the vines were growing at such a rapid rate that they would overwhelm the entire city within seven days. Furthermore, it was clear that modern technology was unable to eradicate these plants. Although public officials for the city had already taken steps to organize the necessary (in their minds) equipment to remove the vines, the agency knew such measures would be ultimately useless. The agency decided they needed to learn more about the mysterious castle and the plague of thorns.

The young detective returned to the scene. Relying primarily on her wits, she searched for a way past the castle gates. The briars had not completely barred entry into the castle, b ut it was not an easy task. Fortunately, the detective was patient and made her way into the castle grounds. Once she was in the courtyard, she searche for a way into the castle itself. While exploring the grounds, a creaking sound drew her attention. The sound belonged to an old swing.

As she approached the swing, a spirit came to greet her: it was the spirit of Briar Rose. The detective remained cool and calm as the spirit approached.

"Please help me," the spirit of Briar Rose whispered. "My body has been asleep for centuries because of a curse placed by a wicked, vile woman. She is the Evil Godmother. Her spirit seeks to find my sleeping body, to possess it, and to wreak havoc upon the world she despises. You must find my body and awaken me before it is too late. I can already feel her spirit stirring, in search of my body. So far, the denfenses placed by my good godmothers have held, but I feel their power waning. It is only a matter of time before the Evil Godmother is able to steal my flesh."

Seemingly unperturbed by the apparition, the detective replied, "Where is your body? How can I find you and wake you up?"

Briar Rose's aura shimmered slightly, as though fading from reality. She looked very tired and unfocused. "I lack the strength to maintain this astral projection," she whispered, almost inaudibly. "Please, help me." With that, the spirit dissipated completely.

With a nonchalant sense of calm, the detective continued probing for clues. She made her way inside the castle. She explored the various rooms, and there were many, for the castle was as complex as a labyrinth. There was dust on every shelf an there were cobwebs in nearly every corner. Still, the detective diligently checked every room she could in her search for Briar Rose.

Eventually the detective encountered a gargantuan spider, giant enough to be able to eat a man. But this detective was no man! She was undeterred by this abomination. She found a torch and used the flame to keep the repulsive creature at bay. The detective thereby gained access to more areas in the castle.

Pressing on, the detective found an expensive laboratory. It was an alchemist's lab, and there were many unusual contraptions within the room. Most startlingly, she discovered a functioning teleportation device. The device transported her to a hidden chamber, where she found a remarkable journal.

The journal contained many interesting notes that the detective would use in her quest. There were instructions on how to concoct a unique "Rose Potion" which would cure the sleeping beauty and awaken her. According to the notes in the journal, the potion was devised well after the Godmothers Rose and Ivy contained the curse. Everything she needed to create the potion was in the lab. There were also directions on what to do with the potion, too.

There was still the matter of actually finding Briar Rose. Like many things in life, it was a complicated task. The detective felt lost, at times, in the labyrinthine castle, which was filled with unyielding obstacles and maniacal puzzles. At one point, in order to explore one of the castle towers, she had to search for a shield. Once she obtained it, she placed it in the grasp of the statue of a knight.

Mechanisms within activated and heavy gears churned, moving the statue aside to provide an entryway into the tower. Performing task after task, the detective relentlessly pursued the whereabouts of the sleeping Briar Rose. Though there were instances when she felt like quitting, she always found an inner strength to persevere through her trials.

Finally, after solving a challenging puzzle involving a life-size marionette stage, she earned a rusty old key. With this key, and using other clues she had obtained, she unlocked a secret passageway in the graveyard, which led down to an underground chamber.

The sleeping princess was there, waiting to be awakened.

There was also a special machine in the room, which required the Rose Potion to activate. The machine would wake the princess and end the curse forever. Once the detective injected the potion into the machine, however, the spirit of the Evil Godmother confronted her! Hiding in the form of a wretched crow, the Evil Godmother's spirit had been monitoring the detective throughout her investigation. Red smoke seeped out of the crow's eyes in rapacious anticipation of hijacking Briar Rose's body.

The detective did not panic. Utterly composed, she coolly punched in the correct code sequence and the machine emitted a keen scent which awakened Briar Rose from her mystical enchantment before the Evil Godmother could possess her. Once the princess awoke, the Evil Godmother's spirit had nowhere to go and was dispelled out of existence.

The princess slowly got up. After such a long slumber, she obviously required some time to acclimate herself, not only to the world, but to living again. The detective helped the princess return to her traditional bedchamber in the castle, which, amazingly, remained in pristine condition.

Looking out a window, Briar Rose marveled at her second chance at life. She marveled at the fantastic city that had grown up around her castle. She marveled at the heroine who had conquered an epic curse.

The detective, satisfied that she had completed her job, returned to the agency. New missions awaited her.

#blue tea games #dark parables #curse of briar rose #the detective is female

[nikanono]

Lady Maria of the Astral Clock tower is still the best boss fight in any FromSoft game.

Hands down my favorite boss, the blood effects are so cool ;-;

[pk-majora]

do all the zelda asks if you dont mind!

hell yeah, so glad someone finally send me this ask lmao. full disclosure all of my experience is in the 3d zeldas lol.

Goddess Harp: Favorite piece of lore

one piece that always stuck with me was during the tutorial in majoras mask when youre learning how to z target right before entering the clock tower in termina. and you see the like dried up dead deku scrub and navi says something about how like sad it feels/looks and how similar you look to it after getting the deku mask put on you... always kills me. also i love any love quest lmao kafei/anju in majoras mask and hudson and his super cute gerudo wife in tarrey town in breath of the wild ahh so cute. 

Ocarina of Time: Favorite song (whether it is playable or just background music) 

hands down the theme of the astral observatory in majoras mask. its my ringtone too lol.

Empty Bottle: Best thing to put in it

Oh i loved putting fish or bugs in them in ocarina of time and majoras mask. poe souls just looked cool in them too lol. idk if i had the choice it was always like aesthetically pleasing or cool things lol. 

Hookshot: Favorite way to travel in any of the games

Riding whatever was physically possible in breath of the wild. the spinner in twilight princess had a lot of fun although limited uses too.

Fairy Bow: Favorite type of arrow

oooh probably light arrows, just love the aesthetic and the idea

Fierce Deity Mask: If you could add any kind of transformation mask to any of the games, which would it be?

oooh torn between the goron mask and the zora mask from majoras mask. what games id put them in hmm. maybe one of the 2d ones? itd probably introduce some cool new elements. definitely have more experience with the 3d realm tho so... idk i think it could be kinda fun in wind waker lol. can you imagine wearing the zoras mask and swimming fast under water? in wind waker? in between sailing? god that sounds so fun!

Mirror Shield: Which character do you relate to the most?

i like the powerful women in some legend of zelda games. literally any iteration of zelda, impa, tetra, even malon/romani/cremia are all just super relatable to me. ooh especially riju. 

Master Sword: Favorite version of Link

i dont really think i have one? they all look cool in different ways. but i guess majoras mask or ocarina of time since those are the two i spent the most time playing as lol

Light Arrow: Favorite version of Zelda

probably breath of the wild or skyward sword zelda. she has so much personality in both games, especially if you collect all the memories in breath of the wild. 

Lens of Truth: Favorite version of Demise/Ganon

probably in ocarina of time just bc of how interesting the fights with him were and just how cool he looked. 

Whip: Most attractive character in your opinion (if applicable)

man this is a hard choice. i love all of the gerudo, the rito, the zora all like super hot right? cant just be me... also literally every female legend of zelda character lmao.

Horse Call: Favorite companion character (Fi, Navi, Tatl, etc.)

Probably navi or tatl since i spent a lot of time playing the n64 zelda games

Picori Sword: What do you feel is the most underrated game in the series?

most underrated? probably twilight princess. i feel like it got some flack but i thought the game was really beautiful and had some really fun diverse gameplay elements. 

Zora Tunic: Favorite species

i like the kokiri in ocarina of time, mainly bc the idea of a race of people who dont age past a certain age paired with the fact that link very obviously ages in the time that passes is just super interesting. i also love the koroks, rito, gorons, gerudo, zora, man its so hard to choose lol.

Goron Tunic: Favorite area of any game

the fishing area in ocarina of time lol i actually loved the fishing mechanic. follow up is zora domain or gerudo valley in breath of the wild...both are just like so pretty? 

Gibdo Mask: Favorite monster

i like the stall children in majoras mask bc even tho their enemies and killable lmao they also have their own like lines of dialogue and personality if you wear their mask around them. also loved chasing captain keeta.

Giant’s Mask: Favorite Boss Battle

probably super predictable but does majora count? the creepy movements, the optional use of the fierce diety mask, all the different like iterations of majora. so fucking cool.

Captain’s Hat: Favorite Mini-Boss Battle

gotta be dark link from ocarina of time. that shit was so cool.

Red Potion: Go all offensive, or play it safe?

go all out offensive and die multiple times trying lmao

Green Potion: Do you prefer magic or stamina? Or would you like to see both implemented at the same time?

magic for sure. but i can definitely see both being implemented. 

Blue Potion: Most useful item

definitely the hookshot in games that let you use it freely for the most part. besides that maybe the bottles. 

Lantern: Scariest area of any game

probably a basic answer but youre first time seeing the shadow temple in ocarina of time? terrifying. follow up? when you go up to the moon in majoras mask and see the little mask salesmen...

#anonymous #anon #anon ask #anonymous ask #anon asks #anonymous asks #ask #asks #thank you for sending this in #i appreciate every ask i get

[everly-kindred]

Eve’s Diary - Entry #92

Date: 6th of March, 2028

Dear Diary, 

So much has happened that I have to tell you about! I’ve been so scattered and busy with school and friends and the task coming up that I haven’t had a chance to write, but I’ll try to where I can! 

So we had Hufflepuff Hangout, and I talked to Marigold, Siren, Caitlin and Quinn about my worries with Bobby and Ruby. Well, they basically said that I could be worrying myself over nothing, and that I should just talk to Ruby and see how he actually feels. So I did! And we also made chocolates, I made mine in the shape of bunnies and frogs. 

Anyways, I talked to Ruby in the library. Told him he was my best friend and I love him but also that I fancy him, and Bobby too. He seemed supportive and didn’t say anything about feeling the same way! Seemed like he was just happy for me, which was great. I felt much less stressed out about it. So I gave him my chocolates and everything was good! 

And then I went to talk to Bobby in the caves. I told him I do fancy him and I guess we’re gonna just see what happens? It’s all exciting and makes me feel like I’ve eaten butterflies. Swallowed them whole, anyways. I don’t like the thought of chewing on them. I bet it tastes gross and feels weird, plus, that’s sad. But yeah! We haven’t kissed or anything, just on the cheek and stuff. And he calls me little fairy? Which makes me ridiculously happy. I wish I really was a fairy, still, and spring is coming which means they’ll be hatching soon! Oh, he calls me little egg, too, speaking of hatching. I just find that nickname funny. 

Oh and we had Defense Against the Dark Arts, and met a fifteen year old vampire named Ricky! He was just turned a year or two ago when he was fourteen! And he had pale blond hair and these huge red eyes, and he talked to me a lot during class when we were all asking questions. I think he was flirting with me? And he asked me if I wanted to live forever, so I was kind of an idiot and wondered about what would happen if the sun swallowed the earth, would all vampires just become stars? But then!! He wrote me a love letter! I’ve never gotten a love letter before! Anyways, I’ll clip it here. 

Ever-lina, 

Fitting name for a girl who might want to live forever. 

I'm off now, but I'll keep your precious face in my heart, when the nights go from mystical to haunting, and from thrilling to lonely.

One day, some day, one night, some night,

We will meet again.

Look to the stars and think of me.

Yours,

Ricky

[The diary entry picks up again in a different shade of ink, and Eve’s handwriting is a little more calm and less messy.] 

I never finished my last entry, but, we had the task! We all went out to the lake into this stadium, and it was in a big ring and then we could look into the water like it was a television. The champions had to get into the water and it turns out they had to rescue people! Lars wore this mask thing, and Cardan rode a shark which was pretty cool. Everyone got really emotional, though, because it looked like the captives were drowning or something. But anyways, it was all okay in the end. Oh! And the Durmstrang Headmaster, the one who died? He’s back, but he’s a ghost! Apparently Jamie took it really hard and he doesn’t understand why everyone cries when he’s around. I think it’s kind of cool, to be honest. I wonder if he’ll stay at Hogwarts, or if he’ll haunt Durmstrang when it’s time to go back? 

We also had another Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and we talked about hypnosis, which made me think about astral travel, lucid dreaming and how that might work together. Like, if you could just project your soul out of your body to avoid being hypnotised. How would that work? 

Oh, and I lost my parent’s engagement ring, which is making me really sad. I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find it! I hope my mum and dad don’t notice. I mean obviously they’re not married anymore, but it had my birthstone in it, and I’ve never not worn it! 

[There’s another break before the entry picks up once again in another shade of ink. Eve’s handwriting is messy and some of the words are splotched from tears.] 

Everything has gotten… Bad. I don’t even know where to start, because I want it to just be a bad dream. 

I was talking to Ruby in the clocktower, and we started talking about my family. Somehow, he didn’t know that I was a halfblood and… He scared me really badly. He started freaking out, hurting himself, told me I lied to him and I just wanted to steal his magic and it was just like his guardian told him, that everyone was trying to trick him and I… I don’t know, it all sounded absolutely mad. I begged him to go to the Hospital Wing with me, but he kept trying to get away from me, and tried to cast everte statum on me twice. In the end, he accidentally broke his wand and then pushed me to the ground. I got a big splinter in my hand, I think from his wand. 

So I ran away. I ran all the way back to the common room, and Bobby was there, and he held me and bandaged my hand and we ended up falling asleep in the common room. I really hoped that when I woke up today, it would just be a bad dream. That it wouldn’t be real. I don’t know what to do now knowing that it is. 

It just doesn’t make sense to me. All I can think about is how Ruby and I used to explore the summer before Hogwarts, or how we made promises to each other under the new years fireworks, or when he held me when I cried because of what had happened with Octavia. And he threw all of that away because of something I have no control over, and all this mad paranoia stuff that I don’t understand at all. 

He kept calling me the M word. Not even halfbreed. He went straight for… Mudblood. And he said he hated me. I’ve never felt this kind of pain before. It’s like my Ruby is gone and I don’t know where he is but he’s been replaced by a stranger. I can’t imagine living in a world where Ruby and I aren’t friends, even less so a world where he hates me and wants to hurt me. 

I don’t know what to do, but… I’m exhausted. I’m glad yesterday was Friday. I think I might just sleep today. I’m scared to leave my common room. I don’t want to see him. The clock tower used to be my favourite place in the school, but now it’s just like a graveyard where our friendship was murdered. That sounds really dramatic, but it’s how I feel. 

Much love, Everly

[ Eve’s Wiki Page ] 

[ Flickr ]

#harry potter #hufflepuff #diary #witch #magic #hogwarts #secondlife #second life #mischief managed #journal #roleplay

[swoodthis]

50 Headcanons: the Happy Mask Salesman

1. The Happy Mask Salesman is benevolent. This one comes first, for obvious reasons. 2. He is the last living Ancient One. 3. The Ancient Ones were not always an empire of magically-genetically-engineered people, but they were demonized for the actions of their last few kings. 4. Majora was their greatest and most terrible emperor. 5. The Ancients had a rigid caste system of 3 groups of 13 subcastes. Ironically, the Salesman is of the 23rd caste, son of a household servant and a scribal clerk. 6. The Salesman took the soul mask of Terminus, Termina's equivalent to Hylia, from the temple as the Imperial City was being destroyed by the Forces of Light to try to save his dying sister and his playground friends. So he's Termina's Zelda as well as Termina's Link. 7. The Clock Tower is sacred to Terminus. It was also built by pre-imperial Ancient Ones, but that tends to be glossed over in favor of jingoism. 8. The Salesman was ten when he became the avatar of Terminus, and never aged. His true form... is a child. This is why he can traverse the Lost Woods so easily. 9. ...Except when he got nearly killed by Light spirits due to the warping timelines in OoT. And Majora's Mask's warded box's wards started to fail. He was trying to renew the wards when a Skull Kid showed up... and due to Majora's influence the rest is history. 10. The Salesman took Majora's Mask in the first place because the post-imperial and defected Ancients sealed it inside a warded tomb. When the Ancients were wiped out, the wards could not be maintained properly, and our tiny wizard took it upon himself to take the Mask to try to find a way to destroy it. Imagine if Frodo had no idea what Mount Doom looked like, where it would be, or if there even WAS a Mount Doom in the first place... 11. The Salesman rescues Link when he runs out of time. 12. The Salesman met Mynos when Mynos was nine. He had escaped from Fierce Deity cultists and was half-starved, injured, and had stumbled into Kakariko Village, where little Mynos convinced his family to take care of him. They've been friends ever since. 13. The Salesman as you see him is about 40% clothes. 14. Like all Ancient Ones, the HMS has vaguely feline behavioral qualities, but while Majora is reminiscent of a snarling, psychotic tiger, the Salesman is more of a playful, cuddly little kitty. 15. The Salesman went to the astral realm of Koholint to get his current form. 16. And he also had his name erased. Like a cross between the reasons of L and the Doctor. 17. Speaking of whom, the Salesman is a friend of multiple Doctors. Occasionally the Happy Mask Shop is covered with TARDISes. 18. The HMS lives in Smashville, thanks to Master Hand and Crazy Hand. 19. Much like in ancient Rome, it was a capital offense for anyone not of the upper castes to wear purple. Having your culture overthrown has its upsides if you have an illegal favorite color. 20. The HMS collects anything old/historic/magic/cool/shiny... Though, granted, destruction of art and history has been a very real problem for him, so... 21. The HMS has a mechanical horse. His name is Brass. 22. The Salesman loves eating anything sweet... or weird. I mean, what else do you do with all that leftover demon flesh when you're out hunting? Mmm, sinfully delicious. 23. He does this so much that he wrote a wizard cookbook called Chicken Soul for the Soup. 24. In case you haven't noticed, the Salesman is a bit crazy. 25. His glitchy movements are an illusion put in place around himself so he can have a head start against anything trying to kill him. 26. The Salesman is asexual and aromantic. 27. He named his giant piano Elouise. 28. He is the trolling champion of the multiverse. 29. He taught Defense Against the Dark Arts at Victorian-era Hogwarts under the name Hieronymous Nemo. 30. His infamous, often-creepypasta-ized temper is only present with too much stress or not enough sleep/cake. But the Salesman will often go for long periods of time without sleep... 31. As a result, there is a "Designated Defenestration Area" next to his shop. It's so nobody gets hit when he throws a jammed blender out the window. He also has some very Mythbusters-worthy methods for appliance vengeance. 32. The Salesman is actually good friends with the Skull Kid, much to the Skull Kid's surprise. 33. The Salesman's ears move a lot. 34. He makes 'dad jokes' that are actually funny. 35. People will often go to the Happy Mask Shop with grave misconceptions about magic and paranormal hunting, and end up telling the Salesman that what he does is blasphemous. After a bit of awesome you-got-rekt comebacks after his science-magic explanations, they leave, and are sent on their way with "Have a nice day, hail, Satan!" See headcanon 28. 36. The Salesman loves memes, Youtube Poop videos, and other things such as Gifs With Sound. 37. His taste in music is very eclectic, and he surprisingly likes crazy rave music, a few rap artists and he LOVES heavy metal. He will often jump around blaring Judas Priest like a caricature of an 80's teenager. 38. Watching a horror movie with the Salesman quickly turns into an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. He will point out stupid things and mosconceptions, and once you've heard his witty commentary, you can never take the movie seriously again. The same goes for badly-done action, drama, and romance. 39. The Salesman is quite talkative usually, often going off on weird, magic/history/trivia-related tangents. 40. The Salesman can sometimes be seen having tea with the Lutece twins (Bioshock Infinite) and the G-man (Half-Life 2) 41. The Salesman will act as a protective mentor or father figure to anyone younger than him... which is to say, everyone. 42. There is a scale of Salesman laughter, from 'vaguely amused' to 'maniacally cackling like the Wicked Witch of the West on speed'. 43. He would be voiced by Richard Horvitz. 44. The Salesman's collar thing is actually an adamantine gorget. 45. The Salesman will often discuss morbid or esoteric topics hilariously casually. 46. He has been writing to Akira Himekawa, writer of the Majora's Mask manga, and Jadusable, writer of the BEN Drowned creepypasta for years asking for a formal apology. 47. 'Fetish' originally meant a magical object or totem of some kind. This means that Link and others had to give the Salesman the "gay means homosexual now, grandma" talk. 48. The Salesman's basement looks like Merlin, a witch doctor, Sherlock Holmes, a steampunk inventor, Leonardo da Vinci, and Willy Wonka decided to pool together all of their worldly possessions. 49. Magical beings like genies, familiars, and fairies will use the Happy Mask Shop as an employment agency. 50. The Salesman will often push himself too far. When he's hurt or tired, he tries to protest at friends helping him to try to reassure them... but inside he LOVES being hugged, cuddled, and generally cared for. Awwww!

#headcanons #maxverse #happy mask salesman #majora #majora's mask #Legend of Zelda #termina #cute #smol #smol wizard #magic #team as family #protective #hurt comfort #Addams family vibe #fun #spooky #ancient ones #stone tower #ikana #song of healing

[millepara]

idol time pripara episode 15 spoilers (MICHIRUMICHIRUMICHIRUMICHIRU)

I’m watching a super bad quality stream because I can’t handle waiting the 30 or so minutes it’d take a decent one to be uploaded......

I feel like... last week’s ep was so good and it’s still a while till Time 3 starts so Michiru’s probably not gonna perform this week though.... we’ll see I guess... but at least we’ll see her in pripara and Pitsuji will definitely hatch!!!

oh... so it looks like Michiru’s pripara persona comes from this weird princess Mi~chiru character that Aroma made up. I guess that explains why Melty Lily looks the way it does then! finally, an answer

Nino is such a good girl, encouraging Michiru to stand up for herself!! I like Nino way more than I was expecting to. it’s kind of weird how she only got a personality beyond Sports towards the very end of/after her plot though

ahhhh Michiru liked Aroma’s design for her so much that she’s convinced to try going to pripara!!! so good!! I love this ep!!!!! 

also does this mean that Aroma also designs for Melty Lily!!! cool she’s like the next gen Cosmo!! ... oh she is the designer, neat!!!

SHE DID TURN INTO MI~CHIRU!! OH MY GOD I ALSO LOVE MI~CHIRU!!! WONDERFUL!!!!

according to Michiru, Yui was a dragonfly in her past life... Nino was a softball

Meganee: “You can now perform, but you need a manager.”

Michiru Mi~chiru: “In that case, let everyone here be my manager!” I LOVE HER

I LOVE PITSUJI TOO!! CUTE

I guess I’m confused as to why Michiru’s not celeb-type now? well whatever she’s about to perform for real

Michiru’s catchphrase: “Even in your dreams, stay awake all night with me... tonight, you’re going to astral project.”

I LOVE HER SONG!! HER MAKING DRAMA IS THE BEST!! MICHIRU IS THE BEST!!!! THANK YOU PRIPARA FOR EVERYTHING

... and now she’s formed a cult. wow

uughghghh this really bad stream keeps freezing up as they go to investigate the harp sounds in the clock tower. why

I kind of can’t believe they were able to just get in and look at Falala. according to Meganee, Meganii is investigating her? ok

THERE WAS A FOREIGNER (’Angelaさん’) DANCING IN THE ED... I can’t believe they accepted a submission from someone outside japan

MIMIKO BECOMES AN IDOL NEXT TIME!! I’m so excited..... I can’t handle this many good eps in a row

#NEW FAV! NEW FAV! NEW FAV! #im so sorry that i basically yelled everything in here

[londemsadventures-blog]

April 2018:  RECAP PT 1

Ok, so I will try my best to recap most of the things that happened in April (that I remember). I may do a later TBT post going into more detail and including specific anecdotes from my TopDeck Adventures. Anyhoo, here goes;

From the 1st to the 7th of April I went on my first solo holiday. I had to leave the house at 4am in able to catch my early flight to Prague, Luckily the TopDeck app allows you to message people so I had arranged to meet up with 2 other girls who Katherine (a Canadian teacher) and Sarah (an Ohio arts student). I am only now realizing that those are the first and middle names of my sister....But anyway. We all arrived in Prague a few hours before we met with our tour group and so we found our way to our hostel and had a deliciously decadent supermarket lunch of bread, brie and berries (plus multiple ciders because its so cheap!!!!!). In Prague we did all the typical things, walked the Charles Bridge, saw the Jewish quarter with the hauntingly beautiful and creepy cemeteries. We climbed the massive hill and walked around the castle, ate chimney cakes (which are delicious AF), took photos of the Tin Church and the Astral Clock, although the latter was completely covered with a cyc showing what it would actually look like due to restoration. We also made a trip to the oh so colourful Lennon Wall. There was much alcohol to be drunk, food to eat and cobblestone to tread (a broken half of which I stole from a street in old town for my collection back home). And after almost two days, it was time to board the bus and head off towards Germany.

We stopped off in Dresden which was completely different to how I imagined it would be. I had always pictured it as some sort of country town with lots of green, fenced paddocks - kind of like the country side in the Vicar of Dibley. But it was a beautiful city. The wall that has all of the rulers of Germany on it (I forget it’s name because it’s already past my bedtime) was spectacular. And in this city, I tried my first Currywurst. It. Was. Amazing! But after our little stop, it was then on to Berlin, which is such an amazing city too. So rich with history, it was great to spend time in, but I can never imagine living in a city with such a visible historical past. We had a lovely driving tour after we stopped off at a memorial which I again am blanking on the name, and then went to our hostel which was super trendy and cool. That night, we walked the East Side Gallery before having a most delicious dinner at the Hostel. The next day we visited the memorial to the murdered jews of europe before going on a free walking tour of Berlin which was really informative. We then just spent the day wandering around. We went to museum island and ate lunch (again currywurst) on the grass as it was a lovely sunny, warm day. Then we again wandered until we found ourselves at the Berlin Victory Column, stopping along the way for icecream and a long chat about our families and lives, etc. When we left the monument, we decided to walk home. It ended up taking 3 hours, but was one of the best moments on the trip. We stopped along the way for dinner (Kebabs) and to stock up on food for the bus the next day and pre-drinks for that night. As it is open-carry in Germany, we drank as we continued home, and stopped on the steps between the East Side Gallery and the water’s edge. It was beautiful. we stayed there and watched lightning in the distance, chatted and listened to music. We eventually made our way to our Hostel, still in time for happy hour and drank a bit more before going to a nightclub just across the street. I stayed for 2 hours and left because clubs are gross - but that is another story.

As for Amsterdam. I will say, “when in [Amsterdam]”. Our free day was pretty great, just another wander day. I ate waffles (normal and stroop), went to the IAmstersam sign, lounged on a hill at Vondel Park, sat in the sun on the edge of a canal. The previous day we had gone to a cheese and clog factory, so I was still elated over getting to pet cows and eat/buy much cheese. Amsterdam is a lovely city that I will definitely be going back to - mainly because I couldn’t get tickets to the Anne Frank Museum, and that may or may not have been a big driving factor for my want to visit Europe....

But at some point the holiday must end, but with a lovely wander around London looking for an Indian Restaurant somewhere. We ended up around Tower Bridge and stayed out until about 11pm. We then said our goodbyes and I came home to a house that would be all my own for the next 5 days until the rest of my housemates came back. 

The next week were still school holidays, but I spent most of my time in bed reading or netflixing as I was exhausted. I went to a Vision Teaching lunch on the Wednesday where I met a lovely, newly-arrived Melbourne couple, and together with Ethan and another Vision teacher, stayed at a pub down the street from the restaurant until like 8:30pm. On the Friday I was called in to work, which was actually alright (because it’s become a nice local school that I will now be at once a week for the rest of this term). So if you have gotten this far. Well done! I think that is a general overview of the first 2-ish weeks of April, and my school holidays. Stay tuned in the next couple of days where I will try to keep posting until I am back up to date.

#LondEmAdventures #topdecker #VisionTeaching #backposting #terrible memory