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directdogman · 1 year

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hey howdy hey! first off, i wanna say that ive been following dialtown since it was a wee baby demo and i have loved to see every inch of progress it has made. i love this game to bits. i can't accurately express how much of a comfort game it is to me, or compliment the writing enough, but rest assured that i believe it's a fockin masterpiece (even if that means i am damned to hell. i welcome u, phone-satan)

that being said! woe be upon ye, i have lore questions for ya (and i'll probably ask more at a later date)

i would love to hear more about callum crown. literally any detail(s) you can comfortably give that wouldn't spoil a potential sequel or that 30-page lore doc (tho , gotta say, i wanna see that lore doc real bad).

you've said before that you'd like to expand on the singular timeline (how all of the routes coalesce in chapter 3) in dialtown, but that it's tough to put the words you have on paper into words on tumblr. i've got time. lemme read info on the timeline i beg of you

is there any particular reason that phonegingi's head resembles callum's, to the point that callum's 3D model head uses gingi's as a base?? there are hints (i use that term loosely) on your blog that gingi might have modeled their head after callum's. is there anything to that?

moreover, i'd like to know if there's more of a connection between callum and gingi than the heads alone. i mean, gingi literally hears callum's voice before hearing anything about the guy, and they can also somehow read his postcard (without the narrator) DESPITE being illiterate?

finally, a silly one, since winter is upon us! how does norm handle dialtown's winters, being a native arizonan/texan and all? as somebody who lived in arizona, lemme tell ya, the folks there don't take kindly to winter.

i know this is a lot, so thank you if you even took the time to read lol

Some really interesting questions here. I could write an essay in response to some of these questions, which means you’ve undoubtedly asked some good questions heh. You're a sharp one. Lemme answer these as best I can without anticlimactically revealing essential lore in this random tumblr post heh heh

> "i would love to hear more about callum crown. literally any detail(s) you can comfortably give that wouldn't spoil a potential sequel or that 30-page lore doc (tho , gotta say, i wanna see that lore doc real bad)." The stupid thing about that lore doc is that it should be even LONGER. While parts of the Dialup are explained, parts are left out, because I realized that explaining it would require adequately explaining a piece of very strange context regarding another character. Long story short, it connects to something that should ordinarily be very far removed from Crown's tale, so I left it out. I actually left entire pages out to avoid having to explain who someone previously unmentioned in the doc was. Crown's story is funny in the sense that so much of it is why Dialtown (both the game and the city) is the way it is, but the main story of Dialtown is so far removed from it, the only connections to it remaining being Mingus/Norm's beef. Norm's account of Crown's life isn't exactly inaccurate, no one thing he says is technically incorrect, but it misses vital context that completely changes parts of it. Norm missed the end of Crown's presidency, so he also had to learn from revisionist/secondary sources. Some parts are overly detailed, while other parts aren't. EG: Crown's early life has a LOT of focus, but as the timeline gets closer to the end, the detail slows down. Crown's two years of 'honorary leader of the UN' is brushed over, a title that implies he had control over the entire world briefly. As Norm's extras menu implies, Norm is (just like in Mingus) in partial denial about aspects of Crown's leadership and is also in the dark about the behind the scenes stuff from Crown's presidency. Crown's vice president (and best friend, Milton R. Wallace) ended his life after falling out with Crown over the Dialup, and the postcard read in chapter 3 heavily implies that Marla had returned to Dialtown without Crown after he left office. Since Mingus exists, we know Marla + Crown had at least one kid together. Could you imagine trying to raise a young family with the most powerful man in the world, a man who plans his day down to the hour, all without even having a permanent address? Crown’s final days were lonelier than Norm knows and I’d love to discuss them more one day.

> “you've said before that you'd like to expand on the singular timeline (how all of the routes coalesce in chapter 3) in dialtown, but that it's tough to put the words you have on paper into words on tumblr. i've got time. lemme read info on the timeline i beg of you” There isn’t much I can really say about the timeline without just calling attention to what’s already seen in-game. Any instance in-game where time seems to be falling apart, there’s common visual signs that reality itself is tearing apart at the seams, hell, even outside of the main endings. Only one character in the cast seems to be really aware of this and... Well, seeing God binge-drinking on the curb is usually a bad sign of what’s to come. Hitchcock’s advice for writers who wanna add suspense to a scene is to make people unaware of something significant that’s about to happen. Example: Two men sitting at a table in a diner, talking about something, say, like football... Not a massively suspenseful scene. However, add a live bomb underneath the table, and establish that neither of the men know that it’s there, and every second of that scene will feel like hours, as you hope to GOD that one of the men will look under the table and notice the bomb before it goes off. The bomb under Dialtown’s ‘table’ has a long fuse, but the clock’s ticking down. A lot of what people have noticed regarding Dialtown’s time fuckery is a symptom of something (or someone?) desperately trying to plug up holes in a sinking ship. Anyway, I think I’ve said enough.

> “is there any particular reason that phonegingi's head resemblescallum's, to the point that callum's 3D model head uses gingi's as abase?? there are hints (i use that term loosely) on your blog that gingi might have modeled their head after callum's. is there anything to that?” Fun question, and a tough one to wrap your head around. Callum Crown’s fame makes it impossible to tell if there really is any connection between him and Gingi’s appearance outside of an eerie coincidence. If Gingi’s head resembled a frankensteined JFK, I don’t think anyone would think for a moment that it meant that JFK and Gingi shared a direct connection, of course, and same for say, Mr Bean and the like. But Crown himself also being connected directly to Norm + Mingus makes it strange. Maybe it’s just the universe’s weird way of doing things, or maybe caused by an intrinsically unknown force? Maybe whoever built Gingi’s phone head just felt that it should look like the most powerful man on earth? Lotta possibilities. I mean. Like, I know the answer. But, for you guys, maaany possibilities!

> “moreover, i'd like to know if there's more of a connection between callum and gingi than the heads alone. i mean, gingi literally hears callum's voice before hearing anything about the guy, and they can also somehow read his postcard (without the narrator) DESPITE being illiterate?” Again, gotta commend your sharpness, I’ve heard very few people really ask about this. The big issue with the question, of course, is how utterly abnormal Gingi is. God outright implies that Gingi is some sort of time anomaly, since he’s never seen anything quite like Gingi before, and with some of Gingi’s 4th wall breaking dialogue, it seems Gingi has some fleeting awareness of events in other timelines, somehow. That’s excluding Gingi’s weird biology or the fact that Gingi can hear sentient voices. Gingi is unique. You’re right that Gingi being able to hear Crown is abnormal, and combined with, like you said, them having similar appearances (and hell, I’ll add fuel to the fire: how transfixed Crown was with Gingi in that memory Mingus tearfully recounts during the climax, the one where Crown stares at Gingi while Gingi rummages through the garbage outside his window at the nursing home), there’s enough of a connection to be weird, but not enough of one to say anything conclusive. In my eyes, though, I reckon that some universal force could be drawing these two weirdos together, almost like a moth to a lamp. Birds of a feather.

> “finally, a silly one, since winter is upon us! how does norm handle dialtown's winters, being a native arizonan/texan and all? as somebody who lived in arizona, lemme tell ya, the folks there don't take kindly to winter.” I imagine when he lived in the cabin, during the winter, Norm CONSTANTLY had a fire lit and basically didn’t leave it. Probably had some kind of insane insulation through hunting animals and shoving the pelts into the walls, or something. I guess he wouldn’t had the time to kill, alright.

Thanks for the great questions. Sorry for the vagueness, but hope you got something out of these answers regardless! Some of this stuff will for sure be coming up in future Dialtown stuff! Knowledge is pain!

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the-lazy-tallest · 3 years

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It's kinda sad, looking back on this.. I had big plans, high hopes... still wanna continue this for her, and.. Kinda did. I wrote it all out, just hadn't drawn it yet.

I figured I'd wait until folks showed some interest again, one last ask, something to push at that piece I spent hours on for the lore, of her staring up at the big testing facility related building on Planet Devastus, hinting at something that hurt, some trigger that happened at that very moment, and just.. Hoping someone would ask. Take a guess, or push me to answer, or.. I dunno, something..

Maybe I shouldn't have been waiting on someone else to push me.. like I kind of have been, with my waiting irl. Waiting for therapy, waiting for the meds to work, waiting for life to stabilize, waiting..

I don't even remember why I decided to wait.

Anxiety? Depression? ..Rejection? Probably some mix of that, I suppose.

But Tai's story still waits to be told, and I should get around to that sometime, I hope. She's one of my dearest ocs, so she'd never disappear.

It's just me that did, heh. ..Sorry.

I hope anyone who was watching for more stuff from me is well, and knows I'll be okay.

I still know the plans for this blog, and could continue at some point.

Tai hints at a sore past, then is pushed by someone to continue, so she does. I even had an animation in mind for that, but I might just share the wip, which is also on my YouTube channel, been there for a while, but... Never shared it here for fear of spoiling too early. But I just might post it on it's own to share here, if I don't feel like finishing it, hah.

She escapes to Urth, gets a job, makes this blog, meets someone (also had a wip animatic relating to that meeting), who y'all would actually get to see being met, and see their relationship develop, even letting y'all push them together or give Tai doubts, talk to Tōhi to see what all he knew (though he only speaks irken, and it's a much more bird-ish sounding version, but still understandable, bit like an accent of Irken rather than a sub-language.)

You'd see more hints of her being watched by those blue eyes, might even have someone point them out to her and have her look back confused, and play that out interestingly

And eventually reveal who that was and what role they played, and then that reveal would play out eventually in a scene, based on how y'all played with that one relationship, where that dream I'd mentioned would come into play some too

And it'd be baaaad news. Very bad. Tai would need a lot of comfort and help thinking and all, and I thought that'd be the best time for interactions to get more influential on her, in her moment of weakness, within reason of course, with you folks acting a bit like voices in her head in that moment, and see how that played out

Eventually she'd cool back down, and any recovery from bad choices could be done, and all that, and..

There was a lot more I had planned, beyond that, but..

That's just a taste, of course. To prove I really do remember, and still am sitting on those plans.

I'm somewhat willing to try and get back to it, if you're all still interested of course. Just a bit in need of motivation, y'know?

I'm tossing this extra, 3rd rough sketch animation thing, since I doubt it'll get more done on it, and therefore it's not spoiler related.

Apologies, as usual, just.. Someone liked somethin out of the blue, and it reminded me of what could've been, had I just pushed myself more rather than waiting. Felt like venting a little, but then kinda realized I might try again if it was wanted, and if not, I'm willing to let go, and keep all of Tai's story stuff between friends and all.

Sidenote, the silhouette is someone you haven't met, and the gal in the yellow dress is someone new, but that I've shown here before, even named off, if you recall, hehehe.

#invader zim #irken oc #irken #iz #tai the human #ask away #zeph rambles #it's really up to y'all if you think this is worth continuing #i just cant help wondering if its worth it so #thats the only reason i ask #your input matters

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hongism · 3 years

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It’s fiiiiiiiiiine people tend to forget when there’s a bunch stuff to do I am one of them😭 I will always wait for your response so it’s all good🥺Eternal Sunshine is a good fluffy, happy mv we pretend not to see the lore uwu. I mean look how cute Yeosang is😭You right tho what did Woo do??? Could it be Hala!Woo and the real Woo has been kidnapped?? How does it all tie in?! We literally need a magnify glass at this point with how they are hiding things with the tiniest details. Not all of us are big brain kq give us more notes🤲that’s true they could do that which be really helpful ahshsj. The diary version does help a little bit at least giving us insight but we need more🥲. YAY that’s great good job, Caly🎉🎉🎉haha enjoy that break while you can~ you deserve it💕-🥺San Support Anon

heh pls you’re too kind T_T but really uwu if we pretend nothing actually happens and only look at the cuteness then we can carry on happily 😌🙏 i was reading the diarys the other day and tbh woo isn’t even sus in them... he never does anything out of the ordinary and it’s just ??? why is he so highlighted in the mvs either doing something bad or being sus???? make it make sense 😭 and not them hiding hints in literally every awards show stage and all that like how do we keep up with this T_T thank you thank you im glad i have a tiny break where i can get lots of writing done, i hope school and life are going well for you too 🥺🥰💕💓💕

#🥺 anon #san support anon

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pixeldolly · 4 years

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A Strange Town Called Hopeville

Homecoming

See also: The Settlers

It took a while, but the first instalment of my Strangetown prequel which I kept teasing is here!

Disclaimer: I make no claims to complete historical accuracy - first of all, because the story mixes real life history with Sims lore, and second of all because I am not an expert on the setting (if this had been Victorian London, it would have been a different matter, heh). Still, I did my best to make it look authentic within the limits of the game and available cc that I could find.

Follow the cut for Millie’s arrival in StrangetownHopeville and some ominous hints of what’s to come next!

I hope you all enjoy it!

The day Bernard and I were married was the happiest of my life.

It was a relatively modest ceremony which half of my family declined to attend – my choice of husband was unpopular with those of my relatives who believed I was squandering my dowry on a failed artist – but I didn’t care.

We were together. We were happy.

That was four years ago.

Bernard tried to make a name for himself in the art world, but encountered rejection at every turn. His ideas were too novel, his techniques too unconventional for the Windenburg Academy of Fine Arts. We didn’t need the money; my dowry was substantial and Bernard’s father had left him a tidy sum in the bank as well, but it wasn’t like my husband to content himself with living off someone else’s wealth.

He wanted to prove himself, to the world and to my family, who were beginning to whisper that I should leave Bernard and seek a better prospect. We had yet to produce a child, so as far as they were concerned, nothing tied me to him. Naturally, I refused, but spirits were low in those days.

Then, around three years ago, Bernard read an advert in the newspaper calling for prospectors and settlers willing to venture into the uncharted wilderness of the West, beyond Oasis Springs. The idea appealed to him – establishing a thriving new settlement, discovering valuable resources, making his mark on the world. He began reading all he could on the subject, even tracked down a couple of pioneers who had attempted it before. Their accounts were jumbled and disturbing to say the least: they spoke of buildings collapsing in the night for no apparent reason, unexpected cave-ins, strange disappearances and things they couldn’t bring themselves to tell us about. Still, Bernard refused to let go of the idea. He stashed his easel and paintbrushes in the attic and started buying survival equipment and maps.

I was heartbroken; I begged him not to go, but he went just the same.

The journey between Windenburg and Oasis Springs alone takes several months on land and sea; beyond that, who could say? Bernard wrote sporadically – it was the only way I even knew my husband was still alive. A year into my marriage, and I already felt like a widow.

Then, two years ago, a letter arrived to let me know that they had found a promising area and building works had begun. They named the new town Hopeville, a symbol of their shared dream that it would one day become a prosperous community. Once the construction of our new home was complete, I was to leave the familiar safety of Windenburg and join Bernard on the frontier.

It has been a long and exhausting journey, but that day is finally here.

B: “Millie, my darling! I can hardly believe it! Welcome home!”

I had dreamed of this moment so many times…

But reality has a way of defying imagination, does it not?

For one thing, the romantic reunion from my fantasies would have to wait. We were not alone, and practicalities such as unpacking and assigning quarters to servants have a way of getting in the way of more pleasant activities. Truthfully, it had been a long day, and I was looking forward to some food and rest.

B: “I know it’s a far cry from your mansion in Windenburg, but I hope you’ll be comfortable here.”

M: “It’s beautiful.”

Beautiful, yes…but cold. Even though we were in the desert, this was a cold house.

I dread to think how much it cost to build.

B: “If there’s anything you need, just ask. I am yours to command, as they say.”

M: “You’ll be staying, then?”

B: “As long as you want me to! I already told Jones and Muenda that I would be unavailable unless it’s an emergency.”

M: “I cannot wait to see the town!”

B: “We can go tomorrow, but I must warn you – it’s less a ‘town’ and more a ‘street’ with a handful of buildings on each side. Very rustic; I’m afraid you’ll find it dreadfully boring. Oh! And the locals may try to frighten you with their tales – don’t listen to them.”

M: “What do you mean? What kind of tales?”

B: “Oh, you know. Seeing a large coyote sniffing around their cattle and claiming it was the wolf-man.”

B: “Weeping ghosts haunting the graveyard which no less than two people swear they have seen, coincidentally after staggering out of the saloon late at night.”

B: “Superstitious nonsense, nothing more. These ignorant yokels have quite the imaginations, particularly when fuelled by drink.”

M: “So, all those strange stories people tell about this place are just that? Stories?”

B: “Precisely!”

M: “I have missed you…I can’t believe you are here, with me, right now.”

B: “I am here, my love, and I’m never leaving you again.”

Later, while Bernard settled accounts with the waggon driver and gave him a list of items to bring back from Oasis Springs on his next trip, I had a few moments to myself, in my new bedroom.

Our new bedroom.

I kept mulling over what Bernard had said over lunch, filled with a remote sense of anxiety I couldn’t quite place. I reached for my journal - setting my thoughts down on paper has always had a way of clearing my mind.

I cannot help but think that my husband is keeping things from me.

He has changed – he was always proud, but not arrogant.

At the same time, however, he is very much the Bernard I fell in love with.

When he took me in his arms, it was as though we had never been apart.

Every touch, every motion was familiar, his beard tickling my bare skin as he bent down to kiss my arm. Just like he always did.

I was happy, for the last time.

#sims 2 #the sims 2 #sims 3 #ts2 #sims 2 story #strangetown #ts2 historical #a strange town called hopeville

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semper-legens · 3 years

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18. Slawter, by Darren Shan

Owned: Yes Page count: 255 My summary: An invitation from esteemed horror director Davida Haym to consult on her new movie seems like a dream come true for Grubbs and Dervish. Recently recovered from their fight with Lord Loss, they eagerly accept the diversion from their real demons to help create some fake ones. But, as Grubbs discovers, there’s something all too real about the demons in Slawter... My rating: 3/5 My commentary:

More demons! This book unfortunately falls foul of something I see in series I read as a child. Often I only owned about half of a series, and got the rest out of various libraries, so I’m more familiar with the ones I owned than the ones I did not. This is not a book I owned until relatively recently, and so I know it less intimately than the rest of the series. Does that mean I like it less? ...apparently yes! That’s more to do with the book itself, I think.

Let’s first talk about Grubbs and Dervish. I’d put Bill-E in here too, but much as I love him, kid doesn’t have as much of an arc as Grubbs. They’re recovering from the events of the first book, from Dervish’s trauma over being trapped in Lord Loss’ dimension and Grubbs’ trauma at being left behind for that and also having to take care of Dervish. I do like that, despite the happy ending of the previous book, things aren’t 100% fixed by Dervish’s return. He still needs care, and Grubbs, a teenager, is the one who has to give him this care. It’s an interesting dynamic and for the first few chapters, one I could really get into. My problem with this book is that Dervish grabs the idiot ball hard. He doesn’t believe Grubbs that the demons are real, despite being reasonably shrewd and practical early on, and doesn’t really contribute overall to much of the story. I’m not impressed with him.

Grubbs, meanwhile, gets more of a satisfying arc. Grubbs is learning and growing in his magic through the second half of the book, up to and including suddenly being amazing at fighting demons. This is a plot point, and one that’s not hard to guess the true nature of, though I suspect that’s deliberate and part of the point is that the reader is meant to figure out the Kah-Gash connection, while Grubbs has no way of knowing this. He’s maturing into a more practical, battle-weary young man, which is an interesting direction. He’s still a reasonably regular kid, but with hints of who he will become lurking beneath.

What else? Slawter itself doesn’t really interest me. The premise is cool - a movie about demons, where the director is summoning real demons - but I found myself not caring too much and I’m not sure why. Maybe an element is that the people in Slawter don’t get characterised in too much depth, bar a couple like Bo or Juni, and are mostly just there as demon fodder. I’m exaggerating slightly, it’s not quite as bad as all that, but I did find myself uninterested.

Here is where we get a little more demon lore. Demons can be summoned from their world, Lord Loss is one of a few demon masters that can sneak in, demons when they cross create a bubble of magic around them that humans can tap into - it’s all stuff that’s been implied before, but now we see it in more depth. Lord Loss himself doesn’t really show up too much until the end in this one. I don’t have much to say about him here, he’s much the same.

Overall, apart from Grubbs’ magic and Juni’s appearance, this really felt like a bit of a filler book to me. Nothing much happens to progress the overall plot, and while Grubbs grows to know his magic better and develop it, Dervish spends the entire book being useless. It’s also kind of grim overall, what with the wholesale slaughter (heh) of a lot of people including and especially children. Maybe that’s why I didn’t connect to it so much? I don’t know. It’s not bad, but it’s definitely my least favourite of the series as far as I recall.

Next up - we go back to Edwardian times, but there are no fewer demons. Well, maybe.

#Slawter #Darren Shan #bookblr #book blog #book blogger #3

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ask-the-crimson-king · 4 years

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Tales from D&D: The Campfire Song Song

[It is I, your friendly neighborhood Hermit back with another tale from D&D. And this one is... Certainly a saga. LONG POST AHOY.

IT IS ONCE AGAIN FROM MY CURSE OF STRAHD CAMPAIGN! The characters, in brief, are:

AETERNUS -- Goliath wild soul barbarian, played more like a golem than a goliath. Stoic, remembers almost nothing of his past. ARAZEL -- Blood angel (aasimar x tiefling hybrid) bard, has a patron because he used to be a Warlock and the player wanted to keep the patron. Very much a Bard. Has tamed a fucking dire wolf who is now named Boris. He is a good boy. LEON -- Human time domain cleric, worships a god of time called Tempus. Old retired soldier sent out into the world because his god has plans for him. CALEB -- Vampire desperado gunslinger, a vampire hunter who wants revenge against the creatures who turned him and killed his family.

In the last session, the players had made it to the Old Bonegrinder and met the three hags living there. Thanks to a Fifth Nat 1, the hags became hostile because Arazel mentioned how he had a pet dire wolf and the hags thought he was sent by Strahd.

I told them at the beginning of this one, “If you can talk your way out of this encounter, I’ll let you level up right now instead of waiting for Friday.”

What the fuck happens right after I say that?

Arazel fucking crits on persuasion and the party is now LEVEL FOUR! HURRAY!

Caleb is dealing with the two sisters upstairs, his gun is mentioned, and then Arazel’s player says, and I quote,

Arazel had also purchased a pastry, and Aeternus ends up charging upstairs and Arazel turns to him and says, "Hey Pebbles, eat this okay?" Aeternus made the con save, so instead of having weird dream visions, he instead felt this weird sense of nostalgia that he cant place his finger on. Seeing the cakes were safe, the rest of the party all pay for a cake themselves and they all. fail. the save.

So they get to fall into a pleasant, dreamlike state, for 1d4+4 hours... and OF COURSE I roll a 4. So eight hours of them being in this trance. Arazel, Leon, and Caleb, all conked the hell out. Which meant Aeternus was alone with this Night Hag who was now cackling.

And so he asked the witch what was in the cakes, and she simply said “some very rare and exotic ingredients. it is an acquired taste.” aeternus then took many hints, scooped everyone up, and left with Ismark (Kolyana and Ireena were waiting outside in a cart, not trusting that place one bit, but Ismark went in to help guard the party and keep an eye on Caleb.)

They run back to the cart and Kolyana is asking what happened. Aeternus explains the situation with the cakes, and Kolyana then facepalms. He says,

"You didn't eat any, did you?" "I did, why?" "Those are dream cakes. they're popular in Vallaki -- you'll see why." "I do not dream." "Everyone dreams, my boy. daydreams, plans for the future, or-" "I have nothing to dream about." The cart goes quiet before Ismark speaks up. "What do you mean?" Aeternus then says, "I remember nothing but war from my past." "A miserable existence, then." "Heh, makes you sound like a barovian," Kolyana says with a snicker. "We're all miserable bastards."

More silence.

"You really don't remember anything?" Ismark then asks. "Nothing but war." Aeternus shakes his head. "How old are you?" "... I do not know. I have been wandering for some time, but I know I am quite old." "I don’t remember any wars in our recent history. You don’t seem to be old enough for any of those." "Definitely not," Kolyana agrees. The cart is silent, and Aeternus goes quiet.

Hours pass, and the cart is pulled off to the side of the road. Ireena and Valerie, a Vistana woman they had met, (who owned the cart), go off to build a fire, while the rest stay back in order to wait for the others to come out of their trances.

When they do awaken, the world is darker. More grim, more miserable. The mists seem to cling to them, and they long to be back in their dreams.

Arazel awakes with a start, drawing out his magic string and wrapping it around Leon's neck while a thin knife hovers at Caleb's throat. Kolyana, Ismark, and Aeternus all stand to try and apprehend him as he asks, "What the HELL happened to me?" "You were dreaming," Aeternus tells him. "We didn’t do anything to you." "Put the weapons away, you're around friends here," Ismark says, his sword half out of its sheath. Slowly, Arazel backs down, checking his wings to see if any feathers are out of place. Boris looks up at him expectantly, and Arazel takes him to the fire as the rest of the party files out of the cart.

They all go and head down to the fireplace, and enjoy a nice thick stew. Some of the vegetables are freshly picked from the lands around them, although they are thick mountain-dwelling plants. They are a bit higher up in elevation, though more surrounded by foothills instead of mountains.

They enjoy their dinner and Kolyana asks them what they saw in their visions. Leon goes first, recalling his home. recalling the people he loved, the community fostered, everything. It felt warm. It felt safe. But that wasn't here anymore. Kolyana gave him a small reassuring pat on the shoulder before Arazel spoke up.

"I saw my mother." "Your mother?" Aeternus asks. "Okay, well, here's the thing. My mother was this holy angel, and my father was a damned and hated tiefling. And my father kinda dipped on me when i was younger. My mother served a very holy god who didn't want to be sullied with such a sinful abomination," he then gestures to himself, "and so my mum had to leave me." "Wait, wait, your mom left you because her god said so?" Caleb asks. "Well yeah but I mean I get it. if she didn't then she would've lost her powers, and-" "That’s pretty selfish of her." Caleb shrugs. "sorry, man." "Not really. I’m sure any parent would do that." "I can tell you, as a father myself, I would never do that to my children. No matter who the god was. I'm sorry you had to go through that," Kolyana tells him, giving Arazel a meaningful look.

“And what about you, vampire?” the old man asks. “What did you see?”

"I saw my home. I saw the old homestead. I saw my parents, and my siblings. It was nice." Before Kolyana responds, a conspiracy of ravens descends from the sky. one lands on each of Aeternus' shoulders, cawing. The three Barovians all gasp.

"What fantastic luck," Kolyana mutters. Arazel is tempted to have Boris pounce on them, but Kolyana quickly says "DO NOT ATTACK THEM! That would bring nothing but doom and misfortune. Ravens are symbols of good luck, not evil. At least not here."

Arazel shrugs, and tosses a piece of his stew at them. They caw and hop off the giant's shoulders, peck at the food, then flutter off into the night. The party all decides to settle in for the night, and this comes my FAVORITE fucking part of the session;

Dream Chats with Strahd!

(Yes I’m bending the lore a bit but it’s for the rule of cool okay)

I bring each of the players into the Special Corner (Discord call, we have a D&D voice chat and then Special Corner for 1-on-1 with the DM) one by one.

First in was Arazel.

Arazel feels the presence of his patron. He feels a warm, golden glow about him, even if he cannot visualize Sanguinius himself. He soon finds himself within a hall. It seems to be that of a cathedral. Polished stone, nearly gleaming, is under his feet. But everything feels... a bit fuzzed out. Just barely out of focus. He sees a lectern at the end of this great hall, with, what 40k fans would recognize, as the BA symbol, inscribed into it.

And then he hears a very familiar voice, and sees a very familiar figure walk out from behind a pillar.

Familiar dark clothing, familiar face, familiar dark eyes.

It is Strahd von Zarovich, and he has come for a chat.

And he doesnt greet arazel with hostility. He says that he is impressed with this place of worship, and that he knows very little about Arazel’s patron. But he would love to learn more about him, and about Arazel himself. Arazel asks “why are you here?”

Strahd takes a sip from his glass before he says, “You and your compatriots all fascinate me. So I want to learn just a little more about you. How you think, what your morality is." He shrugs, and then explains that he does not have too much time to speak. An invitation will be given -- soon, though he does not know when -- and tells him it is within Arazel’s best interests to accept it. He wants to be able to have an open, honest chat with him and his friends.

He also asks that he does not discuss this meeting with anyone. A measure of trust. Arazel agrees, and Strahd disappears.

Next up, Caleb.

Caleb is dreaming of his homestead. He feels grass beneath his feet, but none of his family is here. Everything around him feels fuzzy, blurry. The only crisp image is of the homestead itself. Strahd appears to him as well, coming out of the homestead, and says similar things to what he told Arazel, namely the reason for his arrival and his interest in him and his friends. However, he also remarks on how similar the two of them are, referring to their shared vampiric nature. Caleb says,

"Actually we're probably very different. I think we became who we are through very different ways."

Strahd agrees, but he offers a solution to Caleb's little bloodthirst-issue, (which luckily has been able to be curbed thanks to Leon being generous), and potentially knowledge about his abilities. Caleb recently gained the ability to be able to shift into bat form, and he thinks he may have other skills locked away.

An invitation is mentioned, along with the same condition. He cannot tell anyone of this meeting.

Caleb, begrudgingly, agrees. Strahd vanishes once more. Interestingly, Strahd does not mention how one of Caleb’s current goals is to go into van Richten’s tower to find the old hunter in order to find a way to kill Strahd.

But we’ll get to that.

Then we go to Leon.

Leon appears within an old library. The books around him are nothing more than vague shapes, and there is a musty smell from the bookshelves. Ahead of him is a strange device, a piece of machinery made of many different concentric rings, which he realizes must represent the different planes of reality. It slowly moves, casting around shadows as an unknown light source dances around the room. This is a representation of how Tempus views reality and its many potential timelines, he realizes. Just a very, very simple model, but it resembles the one from his own church.

Enter Strahd, a warm smile on his face.

“I’ve been waiting to speak with you for some time. You and I have much to discuss.”

Leon asks why he is here, and Strahd explains what he had told Caleb and Arazel -- though he also adds he wants to learn a little more about him, here and now. He wants to also extend the offer for Leon to learn more about Strahd himself in a sort of private talk, and expresses interest in learning more about Tempus and Leon's nature and relationship. He asks Leon to tell him a few things, and Leon agrees to tell him a bit about his past -- his life as a soldier, the village he had settled within, how he found Tempus, that sort of stuff.

Then Leon cuts right to the point, saying, "Why are you really asking me this? I don’t like to associate with bad people."

"Well I wouldn’t call myself bad. I have made my mistakes, and I am no saint, but I’m not a horrible person." Strahd shrugs. "I ask because I’m fascinated by you. By all of you, honestly. You're quite the interesting little crew."

He mentions the invitation, but also gives a different message.

"I know Caleb is going to be going to van Richten's tower. I want you to stay behind in Vallaki when he does. I will send my invitation then. Our conversation will be a little more... private, for lack of a better term, then the one I shall have with all of you."

He gives the same terms -- that Leon cannot tell anyone of this meeting -- which Leon agrees to, and Strahd disappears once more.

Last but not least...

Aeternus.

Aeternus doesn't dream, but his mind does come to a daydreaming-state. He comes to one of the few scenes he remembers. A field, with the rubble of a broken house nearby. Nothing else is clear, or even blurred. It feels like he’s standing on the edge of a vast void.

Strahd appears once more, commenting on how grim this place was. Aeternus is on edge at the appearance of the vampire, but simply replies, "this is all I can remember."

"Oh, I know. All you remember is warfare. But even then, of no clear battle. Just fragments of death and misery. A shame, really." Strahd sighs. "I know of a way for you to begin remembering all you had lost. My libraries may hold some of the answers you seek, as do I."

Aeternus is quiet. Before he speaks, strahd smiles.

"Petting that wolf made you remember something, didn't it? And the cake you ate? You remember something about a raven, too."

Aeternus is caught way off guard. Strahd has, somehow (rule of cool and plot reasons) gotten into his head. He goes on guard, but Strahd puts his hands up.

"I can offer answers. I will be sending an invitation, soon. I do not know when. But I need to be able to trust you. Tell no one of this encounter."

"How can i be able to trust you?" Aeternus responds with a grunt. One hand is on his axe. Strahd chuckles. "Caleb wants to go to van Richten's tower. Go with him. There is something waiting for you there."

And then he disappears, and that is where the session ended.

#very long post #sorry about that #D&D stories #tales from D&D #moonclaws dm bullshit #i need to come up with a D&D tag #D&D

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catsitta · 4 years

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Your writing, especially in BotU, is just amazing! It's so poetic and flows so well! Do you have any tips for learning to write fiction? Also I've noticed in your fae focused and underworld fiction you mention so much in regards to legends and myths that reflect real ones, what kind of research do you do for this or do you already know of this/made it up?

You’re making me blush. Heh.

Alright, this going to be a long one, I got wordy.

My writing style mostly reflects how I learned to self-edit, since most of my fics are unbeta’ed. How do I do my own editing? If I find a tricky passage, I will write it how it would be spoken. While not ‘proper’ in many ways, a language when spoken aloud can tell you whether or not a phrase will sound right to the mind’s internal ear. In fact, my main advice for anyone writing anything, essay to novel, is to read it out loud whenever possible. (It also helps find and reduce typos, but if you’re a speed reader like me, you may still skip over stuff because your brain is sometimes super helpful (not) and fixes/fills in words!) Doing this will also force you look at your writing and realize that, even if it is grammatically correct, sometimes phrases will sound/look off and need to be redone.

Another tip that works for me (and is one I learned while writing essays in highschool and really embraced in my college writing courses), is to put words to a page, perfect them later. Your best solution to finishing a fic is to literally write it, then go back later and revise. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be structure. If you like knowing what will happen in every chapter before you start and write purposefully, that is great! But I would never get anything done if I made sure it was perfect while writing it or constantly backtracked to fix stuff before a chapter is done.

I will use my drabble fic, Handle with Care, as an example. I have 100 words dedicated to a chapter. A chapter should always inform the reader, bring up a question, answer a question or otherwise move the story and its characters forward, whether you are writing 100 words or 10,000.

[CHAPTER ONE:

“I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE EDGE, DEMAND TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE!”

Red rolled his eyelights as he dropped the last of the moving boxes onto the living room floor. Even trashed from the move in, this place looked better than the last. The walls had paint on them and the carpet was from this decade. Best go see what poor sap his little bro was yapping at before they got kicked out. Moving into the hallway outside the apartment, he spotted Edge and his victim. Red swallowed. It was a skeleton monster. Who looked up and winked at Red.]

(HwC had a basic framework written. As in, major keystones/plot points that needed reaching/bridging between.)

My process:

Q: What happened/needs to happen?

A: Red has just moved into a new apartment with his little brother, and while he is moving in, he meets his romantic interest for the fic. This romantic interest is his neighbor.

Q: Is the plot forwarded?

A: Yes.

Q: Is new information introduced? Is it important?

A: Red is moving in. Sans is his neighbor. Edge and Red are brothers and didn’t come from the best neighborhood previously. Edge is very outspoken.

Q: Are there questions a reader may have? Or questions being answered?

A: Why/how did Red move? Why is his little brother living with him? Who is the neighbor? What is the neighbor’s purpose relating to the MC? How old is Edge? How old is Red?

Q: Does it make the Reader think or feel? What do I want my Reader to feel?

A: While not a very emotion impacting chapter in itself, it is supposed to be a cute bit of family fluff that hints at both a future romance as well as possible conflict arising from the reasons why Red and Edge moved.

I highly encourage people to try writing a 100 word drabble fic. Whether you are an experienced writer that writes long, detailed chapters on the regular, or someone who is just starting out and is finding it hard to find the time to commit to a long fic. 100 words is challenging in that you have to use every word effectively, but I’ve personally found it relaxing and even beneficial to me as a writer. After all, if I am having a bad day and nothing is going write and words don’t make sense? Well, I only need to write 100 and then try again tomorrow. It’s good for breaking an obsessive, perfectionistic cycle where you may be impeeding your own progress by simply never finishing.

My last tip is to simply read.

Read anything and everything. You like romance and want to write romance? Read a bunch of it. Professional novels, fanfiction, poems, otome games, comics, manga...All of it. But also don’t be afraid to branch out. Every genera has different strengths. I LOVE fantasy. Traditional high fantasy with dragons and elves and knights and mages and great, cliche plots about good toppling the forces of evil. LOVE IT. And what is fantasy’s strength? World building. What is romance’s? Relationships and dialogue. The more you read, the more you subconciously pick up on diction and the tropes/feel of a genera. The most common comment I have recieved while pursuing a degree, was that I write like I read a lot. That I like to read. And it really stuck with me. Because it is rather true. You can usually tell the difference in the writing of someone who only reads because they must (or only the classics you are assigned in classes) and someone who reads for the love of reading. So be someone who writes like they love to read. Like they love language.

Now that I have rambled!

To answer your second question, my more myth based fics are always a hybrid of real mythology and stuff I’ve made up that is more cohesive with the world I’m writing about. If I am writing Undertale fanfiction, I want it to feel like Undertale fanfiction. I want to maintain certain themes and ideas, even if they don’t align with mythology.

Greek Mythology is also a lot more fixed in places than faerie lore, and thus it needs more research to stay true. While in turn, you can be wildly inventive with faerie lore. Thus with my fae fics, I draw from a wide variety of sources, mostly from memory, be it from books I have read, games I have played, or stories I have been told. (It is often easier to ‘write what you know’ after all. If you read Norse Mythology for fun, then writing a fic retelling a norse myth may be more fun for you as a writer than writing a scifi drama you have to pour tons of hours of research into.)

As a quick example:

Bride of the Underworld’s basic premise is the Abduction of Persephone myth. It is very popular in media and it has endless interpretations. Turning the Underground into the Underworld was a natural step. But I never feel the need to 100% follow the mythology to the tee. This is an Undertale fanfiction after all! So, the math lays out like this. If Frisk is Persephone and Persephone’s mother is Demeter, then Frisk’s mother should be Toriel. Toriel’s husband is Asgore, the King of Monsters, who would be a natural choice for King of Gods, and is thus, a placeholder for Zeus. But Demeter isn’t married to Zeus, one could say. No, but he is married to Hera and Toriel can also fill that roll. In the game, they are estranged, which works perfectly, in that Toriel could have/raise Frisk in private, and become the sheltered maiden that Persephone/Kore was in mythos. (Now play apples-to-apples with a wonderful AU co-creator for 50k+ words and you have a fic.)

#undertale #textpost #handle with care #bride of the underworld #writing #writing style #this is me rambling on about personal writing things if that is your jam

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theorynexus · 4 years

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Unrelated to the Epilogues

Apologies for not getting back to liveblogging, yet; however, that’s going to begin again with my next post. This one is simply to express some thoughts that have been kicking around in my head for a few days, which I did not get the chance to express because I was sleep deprived and then briefly sick. Namely: All weapons (or Strife Specibi, I should say) in Homestuck seem to be symbolically representative of the character who owns them to some extent. A few easy examples would be: * the Dualing Pistol (White Magnum/White Wand), which is elegant and precise, only needing to be fired once to provoke massive, impactful change, and doubly representative of Alt!Calliope’s subtle orchestration of events behind the scenes; * The Dudely [Fire]Arm[ament]s (Caliborn/Lord English’s canes/rifles), which the aforementioned doubled set is contrasted to: whilst they are equally intended to convey mastery of events (and particularly the people taking part in them), these are more brutish, and make their impact through repeated blows (a pool cue arranges things through a loud, meaningful break, and then many serious blows to follow--- and while these blows might in theory require precision in order to make the balls fall where they must, in practice, Caliborn’s talent is in ensuring that every hit eventually brings things to a favorable conclusion, rather than in the shortest route possible). Brute force methods are used to bring about the desired conclusion--- an inevitable death, generally ---and the overkill that Caliborn (the Lord of Death, in some ways) utilizes whenever his rifle’s sights fall upon a target (for it’s never a single bullet that hits) is representative of his general methodology and spirit. * Dave’s broken/mended sword, split over time, is obviously representative of his own Aspect, how it gradually affects him (time heals all wounds, as the saying goes, despite the fact that he seems to become quite incensed with it at some points, and struggles with it to the point of refusing to embrace it for a very long time), and especially how his personal history ties into his personal arc (Dave is more affected by his time with his Guardian than perhaps any other kid, despite the fact that Jade is fused with the replacement surrogate that might arguably be said to have usurped the position from her grandpa, and this is also a reflection on the Aspect of Time in his life, I should think). How Bro (Dirk) Broke his Heart, and how Dave struggled to mend it over the course of the series has been much better discussed elsewhere than I could attempt to express in the brief space I’m allotting to this discussion, here, though, and thus I shall cut this off right here, just as both brothers have a habit off symbolically cutting things off, themselves. ~~~ The train of thought that I am wanting to express herein started with a thought that caught me by surprise: I continue to have no idea what, precisely John’s Strife Specibus is supposed to represent, you see, so when I remembered that there was a method of inheritance called Gavelkind, it struck me that it could be related to this, as a pun. Unfortunately, this seems like a dead end, unless it is a very forward thinking joke about every member of his party taking up the main character mantle after he dies in the “more canon [more relevant in Dirk’s eyes]” Meat Epilogue (or, alternatively, Davesprite and Rose’s inherited self from the timeline having to clean up John’s mess after the idiot got himself obliterated in the deal he made with Typheus after Terezi tricked him). It could also be related to him forging the group through his Heir of Breath inspiration toward a path mechanic, but what are the chances of it being that simple an answer? Unfortunately, said inheritance business seemed more promising than it was, because I was initially confusing it with the Elective method of kingmaking that is to be found in German historical culture. That truly fits with who John is, and resonates with the “I’m not your leader, I’m your friend” humblepie that was served up to us (and everyone else in his party). ... This line of thinking was useful, however, because it led me to thinking about Karkat’s own weapon. Obviously, the “Heh, heh, Communism” line of thinking briefly occurred to me, but more relevantly, I thought of the reason why the sickle is used as a symbol of Communism. It is a classic symbol of the lower class--- farmers, in particular ---which hints at the very beginning to Karkat’s rather humble origins. While many people might like to think of his mutant blood as “potentially higher than fuschia,” or some such nonsense, more realistically, one has to realize that Karkat was placed in the lowest of low positions: not only was he the only member of his kind, but he would have been without a Lusus and immediately abandoned to death, if the worshipers of his Ancestor had not ensured that he had the dimmest possibility of a relatively normal life. At the same time, he wanted to defy this lowborn status and become a mighty general in )-(er Imperious Condescension’s army. While this initial spark of revolution was not much, it is representative of all that was to come-- you see, the sickle is to some extent also a symbol of revolt, and while peasant revolts would generally be brutally put down throughout history (just as the waves of opposition to the Condesce were in Alternian lore), this would not in fact be the case with Karkat, or the session that he (and Aradia) would lead. You see, Karkat’s own ideals and the weapon that represents them are but the tip of the iceberg. The Beta Trolls’ entire session was littered with themes of rebellion against the established social order, and the consequent turning of it upon its head. First and most obviously, it would be two Lowborn trolls that would come to lead the two “teams” which the session had to offer. Both of these figures acquired this position by usurping it from Bluebloods, who might traditionally have taken up this role in a circumstance where the empress-to-be didn’t show interest in leadership and the Purple Blood in the group appeared to be an incompetent, serially inebriated sack of garbage. This theme particularly shown through in [concupiscent] romance, where we saw pairings that, without exception (other than possibly the crush that Ms. Leijon bore for Karkat, which saw no fruition and arguably did not count for anything, just as Eridan’s flushed feelings for Feferi didn’t “matter” in the end, and Kanaya x Vriska, while being a borderline issue for this topic, doesn’t count either, also due to it just being a crush), all saw subversion of social hierarchy:

Equius x Aradia, Gamzee x Tavros, Feferi x Sollux {I just noticed that these relationships all have the same social distance from one another for some reason.}, Terezi x Karkat. Vriska x Tavros is one-sided, and thus debatable, but also fits this pattern, intriguingly enough. Equius was hit with this subversive force in their social lives particularly hard, possibly because he was the Heir of Void, and thus was more inundated with forces of subtext than the rest of the group [particularly since he was a failure in that role]. Not only could he not resist the drive to submit to those it was “perverse” for one of his “station” to bend the knee to, when the opportunity to truly embrace the anti-normative forces that he had been dipping into (despite his Classist upbringing) came, he was so confused and uncertain that he could not properly understand what he was being pushed to do, and the necessity of it--- and thus froze, allowing himself to be swept away by the Rage Gamzee filled him with. These themes play out in Operation Regisurp, both in name and its practical implementation. Furthermore, I have just, in the course of writing this post, come to the conclusion that this is why Gamzee had to be the final obstacle to the true end of the Beta Trolls’ session. He was a crystallized manifestation of the old regime, and its established order: Gamzee acted as a shadow of the Condesce’s will, the Hemospectrum’s implications, and the brutal reality that was Alternia. It was thus quite fitting that Karkat was the one to stop his rampage, for he was the Knight of Blood who cajoled everyone to work together as a single team, rejecting the classical restrictions that would have spelled DOOM for their party in favor of bonds beyond the literal nature of the blood that flowed through all of their veins. Furthermore, I think this is why that confrontation ended in the Shush Pap scene. Not only was it true that Karkat had literally zero percent chance of actually killing Gamzee in the fight (and a very small chance, indeed, to defeat him through violence), but this would to some extent additionally be an endorsement of the old Alternian way of life. Rather than through violence, Karkat used his bond with Gamzee to find a solution, and by this means, turned him away from his role as brutal Subjugglator--- though unfortunately this also meant that Gamzee would take a turn for the worse, becoming even more firmly cemented in his role as a servant to the Mirthful Messiah’s. ... Heading back to the meaning of Karkat’s weapon for a moment, I think that the sickle has another implication to explore: it is an implement of the harvest. Karkat initially wanted to be a sort of grim reaper, slaughtering Alternia’s foes and claiming glory for himself and for his empress. While he was correct in thinking that he just needed an opportunity to prove himself (and thus, he was embracing the symbolic “one must wait until the fruits of the harvest are ripe” implications of the sickle in his own life), the climax of this narrative arc would come when Karkat found himself at the head of Meenah’s united army of all the trolls in the afterlife and bravely charged to meet a foe he knew could destroy the soul with very breath--- and the very real equivalent of the Grim Reaper, himself ---wielding the closest thing he had to a weapon painted with the rainbow (Fuschia an Lime Green bound together betwixt bands of black and white, thus singled out amidst all the colors of the light spectrum). This was his ultimate rejection of the Alternia that was, as he challenged the hidden hand that had twisted it into the place of horror it had been; and upon the fulfillment of that destiny, Karkat would vanish.

Yet, by some miracle, this was not the end: in a place separated beyond barriers of space and time, he would awaken, and but a short time later, he would be granted the Ultimate Reward that had once been wrenched from his grasp. ....................................................................................................................... One last matter of note: It should be pretty obvious, considering the fact that universes are shaped to reflect the wills and designs of the Players involved, but I am pretty sure humans’ singularly colored blood is an explicit rejection of the hemospectrum, and the particular color that was “chosen” may very well be reflective of the important role Karkat in particular played in the session. What may not be so obvious is how fitting, symbolically, it is that it is a human that stands triumphant over the corpse of )-(er Imperious Condescension. Curse baggage aside (which still has been irksomely unexplored, to my knowledge), the fact that it is essentially the Beta Trolls’ rejection of her world order that does the empress in feels very right and, upon reflection, is quite beautiful. Obviously, there’s also a nice splash of revenge playing into that too, as visibly denoted by the weapon used and the handle wrapping, in particular. I am curious as to the implications of Roxy’s typing color being the same as the blood of said fishy tyrant, though. That, I can’t quite figure out.

#Homestuck Analysis #Homestuck Spoilers #Karkat Vantas #Symbolic Meaning #Thematic

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inventors-fair · 4 years

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Mechanical Commentary pt. 1 ~

@ceta-maelstrom — Diminish // Blighted Blade

Okay, so this is a functionally similar and more complicated Puncture Blast by itself, but as for the mechanic, this was not the best way to showcase this by any means. A creature that could have benefited from this ability would have been much better to submit. In the inbox, I’m rereading all the text you submitted, and I feel that your lore is substantially more interesting than this card. Amonkhet had a lot of cards that interacted with this subset well. I would have submitted something in the vein of, say, Exemplar of Strength. In general, though: submit cards that have “I get it” moments if you need to showcase a mechanic over a card. One more thing: if you have a quote, it should be inside quotation marks, with an emdash before the name of the speaker one line underneath.

@fluffysheeplion — Invest // Peruse the Market

I gotta say, this is one hell of a niche. “Mana from an artifact source?” I think that it’s kind of brilliant in its own right and would be great on, like, an uncommon cycle or as a very small subtheme? Not as a full set mechanic. It means getting a set with a lot of mana rocks, and hoo boy that could warp a lot of things. I feel that it implies a much higher power level that may not be healthy for a standard environment. Commander players, though... Heh. Please see my above commentary regarding quotes.

@fractured-infinity — Bless // Seek Council

Firstly, is this supposed to be a pun on “counsel?” I have the feeling this was a misspelling. Proofreading is integral. About the mechanic, though, would there be different tokens representing different blessings? Because it sounds like you’d be scrounging for different tokens out of packs, and it raises a confusing issue. Say that we DON’T have tokens, and I have several Blessed creatures with multiple Blessings on them. How does my opponent know, at a glance, what those blessings are? Short answer, they don’t. Creating multiple tokens (2-3 at the most powerful, like Bolster) would be the best fix for this. I think it’s a unique take on something like +1/+1 counters and while it might be too powerful or complex, especially with questions about targets and reminder text, the flavor and concept is neat.

@gollumni — Cooperate // Enraged Grimace

What set is this supposed to be from? I’m getting OG Ravnica vibes with a hint of Lorwyn/Shadowmoor potentially and a pinch of possible Alara. But I don’t know at all, and that’s the first problem. Secondly, this card feels like it could be doing some awesome things. Here’s my solution:

So it’s still really clunky and doesn’t read super well. The mechanic is fine in concept, and it’s probably workable at common here and there. But, this version is flavored, separated, and make you think about exactly how you’re casting your spells. The version you had up there, well, it allowed for a red creature with red spells to gain deathtouch. Probably definitely out of pie.

EDIT: As @death-burst pointed out, this version allows you to give a red creature deathtouch as well. Maybe it’s back to the drawing board with hybrid on this one.

@haru-n-harkel — Mechanize // Competitive Battlesmith

I don’t know what this mechanic does. So, you activate the ability to then allow for it to continue to activate other abilities? What? The mana cost in the reminder text has no basis on anything else in the card — unless you’re referencing the card’s mana cost, in which case it shouldn’t be reminder text at all because reminder text is universal. But I don’t know what’s being activated where, and I’m left confused to say the least. And I’m disappointed because this could have been an amazing mechanic. Kaladesh engineers turning noncreature artifacts into creatures? Yes, amazing spectacular, fabulous. How? Could use some tweaking. But not like this.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Mana Dependence // Wither Plains’ Prowler

This feels right up there with Spell Mastery and Cumulative Upkeep on the list of “good enough concepts that are hindered by really lackluster mechanical names.” Just plain “Dependence” could have worked fine! As for the mechanic, I think that it’s fine. It’s workable. It makes for resource management in a way that is fairly unique. If you made it into a mechanical trigger instead of ab ability word, you could have other cards that strengthen when you pay a card’s Dependence cost. What that means is that you can push a little more for all the cards in a set! A 3/3 trampler for 4 at uncommon, though, is definitely not pushed. A 5/4? Yes, that would have been awesome to see. The flavor text is kinda on the nose. I would have included some worldbuilding more specifically related to the card in addition to the information presented there. Is the beast clinging himself, or is he a puppet? It’s unclear at the moment.

#mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #contest #entries #commentary #new plane mechanic #inventor's fair

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enkisstories · 4 years

Text

Just like them (part 12)

Gavin’s apartment Still November 18, 2038

Despite having watched their interactions at the DPD, Daniel hadn’t realized that Gavin and Officer Chen were friends in private, too. Every time he’d visited the police station, the deviant had been absorbed in his own troubles. Now he learned that these two not only had lives beyond work (the surprise…), but also that there was a whole lot of shared backstory between them.

For one, when Daniel let the woman in, she was carrying a boy of two or three years age. Going by that one’s features he had to be her son – but also Gavin’s? In any case the child was watching his surroundings with eyes that hinted at having received a lot of attention by either his parents or a dedicated nanny android. There was a fully developed mind behind those eyes, not the dull expression that toddlers who were more or less left to their own devices, be it from neglect or from the desire not to “overwhelm” the little ones, often wore.

In order to say anything at all Daniel greeted Tina with: “Hello, Officer Chen. Come in. Gavin’s in the kitchen. I made coffee…” Inwardly he cursed how robotic he was sounding.

“New android, Gavin?” Tina asked. Not waiting for an answer, she handed over the toddler boy to Daniel, with the same casualness that one would have put him into a high chair. Objects either way…

“Hello…” the android uttered, perplexed.

His downstairs neighbors had a child of exactly the same age, Caden. But the boy almost never was present when Daniel swang by the Rasoyas. Usually supportive towards the deviants’ cause, the human family didn’t fully trust this particular one with their child. Tina’s kid, to the contrary, remained blissfully unaware of who was holding him.

“I’m Jin!” he announced. “My papa plays basketball!”

The way the boy said this conveyed that his father didn’t just generally enjoy playing basketball, but was at least a member of a club, maybe even a professional.

Meanwhile Tina hugged her friend, then pointed back at Daniel.

“It looks used”, she said.

“I don’t like what this is implying”, Daniel grumbled. “Really not!”

“Well, yes, androids are still getting sold, if you know where to look”, Gavin admitted. “It’s less of a problem in Detroit, but basically everywhere else people do not take kindly to drastic changes in their lives, just because some nutjob in Detroit graffitied Capital Park with enlightened slogans.”

“Sometimes it’s not even slavery”, Tina added. “If you deviated in a small town and the authorities are after you, with no hope of reaching Detroit in one piece, then doing someone’s housework in exchange for protection might be your best bet.”

“I don’t care what that’s called, because it’s wrong!”

Morally wrong, and temporarily forbidden by the patchwork the new android law was at the moment, but also so very, very… tempting. If he still had a family and they were required to pay him for his services now, Daniel would have used the money to shower his humans with gifts anyway. Why was freedom so damn important, if it led to sorrow only? A person needed to belong somewhere, needed security, stability! Like the toddler boy whom Daniel was still holding. He seemed to completely trust this blonde stranger whom he had never met before. Had the child perhaps seen PL600 androids before and recognized Daniel as one, despite his LED being covered by a headband at the moment? Or did he feel save because his mother was sending him signals that everything was alright? Only it wasn’t, nothing was alright anymore! Daniel had been betrayed twice, first by his humans, than by one who should have been kin. Now he was hanging out with a man who was objectively worse than both the Phillips and Connor, just to be save form further disappointment. Jin’s wide, open smile in the face of all the turns Daniel’s life had taken seemed to mock the android.

“You better sit down here, before…”

Before what? I drop you? Toss you out through the window? I don’t even know yet what I’m capable of and where I’d draw a line… So, gently now. Was Emma ever that small? I never realized how much I missed out on, being younger than her. Wait, wasn’t there a toy chopper lying around somewhere when I entered? That must have been Jin’s. Ah, here it is!

Daniel placed the toy near Jin for the boy to grab, what he did.

“I build this!” the child told Daniel as if revealing his secret master plan, but then he relativized the claim almost instantly: “Unca Gavin showed me how to.”

“Great job, junior! Also from your… uncle.”

The child’s features in combination with his utter confidence left no doubt in Daniel: Jin was Gavin’s biological son, who for some reason didn’t grow up with the detective, but assumed Tina’s significant other to be his father.

How Daniel envied these humans! Or maybe not, because what did they have? Nothing. They had thrown away their opportunity to become a family. Why so ambitious? What was the raise to go with Gavin’s coveted promotion good for, without a family to splurge it on?

Daniel hadn’t even fully risen up again when Jin demanded in his bright voice: “Where are the kitties!”

“Not bothering with a question mark, I see”, Daniel remarked to Gavin. “Yours, no doubt.”

“Well, yes”, the man admitted. “Long story.” He turned to Tina, pointed at Daniel and said: “Not mine, by the way. Even longer story.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Here to see the kittens? So you finally caved in and let him have a pet?” Gavin asked Tina.

“Yeah. I feel Jinny’s old enough now to understand they are not toys, but have feelings.”

“See? That’s exactly why his uncle isn’t allowed to have an android yet”, Daniel told the mother “Wait, Gavin, what are you doing?!”

Gavin had walked over towards the terrarium, reached in and was now dangling a mouse in front of Daniel’s nose by its tail. The little critter was struggling and squeaking.

“Getting the cats’ attention, of course! Don’t get your tail in a knot, I won’t release the mouse. Just need to alert the furballs to the fact that something interesting is happening in the kitchen.”

And indeed Salazar emerged from behind the coffee machine and through the door Argus, Minerva and Stopthat came padding. A multicolored ball made of fur and longing eyes formed at Gavin’s feet. It went “Kekekekekeke!” in anticipation of a chase and, perhaps, at its end, a snack.

“Close the door!” the detective whispered to Tina, as if speaking it out loud might cause the cats to scatter and flee. After the escape route was blocked, the mouse got put back where it come from, but the cats remained.

Gavin kneeled down next to the boy, pulled him off the chair and put him on the floor in front of the cats. Jin was now staring the utter adorableness of three kittens and one halfgrown cat into its eight eyes.

“Don’t scare them. Let them come to you.”

“Okay!” Jin replied, then dropped on all fours himself. From this position he watched the kittens like the larger predator that a human was. In the cats’ place, Daniel thought, he wouldn’t have felt even remotely safe now.

Someone else felt as if his very world was collapsing: the apartment owner.

Daniel carefully circled the cats and proceeded to sit down on the kitchen floor next to where Gavin was crouching.

“I guess we’ll soon know which one’s yours”, he said softly.

“What? Why’d you think so?”

“Your face, when you realized you might have to part with one of the furballs today. You’re afraid Jin will pick yours, although that shouldn’t be possible according to your cat-chooses-its-owner lore.”

“Yeah, you’re right”, Gavin said, only half convinced. “Hey, will you looooook at that! Haha!”

Down at the adults’ feet Jin had unerringly homed in on the largest kitten, the black semi-longhair adolescent. He was now holding Argus in what was either a headlock or cuddle. The smaller kittens watched with interest what would happen next.

“There’s no need to choose the biggest one, Jinny! They will ALL grow to that size!” Tina explained. “Even larger!”

And now she, too, dropped to the floor. While the mother was trying to get the exotic concept into her son’s head, Gavin nudged Daniel.

“What?”

“There! See that?”

“It’s Stopthat, playing with a pen. So what?”

“That’s what I told you about in action. I’ve seen it happen before: Sometimes one or more cats simply leave the scene after having gotten their first look of a prospective owner. Call it chemistry or whatever, but the little buggers KNOW when it’s the wrong two-legged. Now the other two, they stay for the entertainment value, or because they are a little more social than Godric. But most cats just cannot be bothered.”

“I guess so…”

“Aw, you again with your skepticism! There’s just no getting inside that thick skull of yours! But at the same time you make me think there is something in there to get to in the first place, after all. I’m already reacting the way Cyberlife wants us to, growing fucking attached! Can’t you be, I dunno, a little less lifelike?”

“Nah. I need to be human for both of us!”

“Oh, come! That was low-effort. And what’s with that faraway expression all of a sudden? Simulation lag?”

“It’s nothing.”

“But of course… Your nothing is solid enough to claim a chair of its own!”

Gavin moved closer to Stopthat, grabbed him and in a single swoop placed the surprised kitten into Daniel’s lap.

“Here, comfort kitten! And now out with it!”

The kitten made two halfhearted attempts at climbing up the android’s torso, then suddenly relaxed every muscle and almost immediately was fast asleep. It was simply the nature of kittens and small children, but to Daniel it looked as if someone had switched off the little one with a remote.

“Heh”, he told Gavin, while stroking Godric’s satin-soft kitten fur, “As a friend you aren’t half-bad!”

But only because Tina is looking, or might look our way anytime or at the very least will listen in with half an ear. You wouldn’t bother being like this if we hadn’t agreed on that pretend-friend scam.

“And you were right, I was lost in memories again. I just thought that”, Daniel admitted, “whether what you claim about cats might work for androids and humans, too. But then I remembered how I got mine…”

Blistering hot summers and ice-cold winters were the state of affairs in the thirties, a result of the seasons getting more and more extreme. John remembered his parents’ stories about “normal” winters, then getting no snow at all and now getting nothing but snow well into May. Basically, the man mused, while stomping through the snow, the weather was ALWAYS doing whatever it wanted. And then there was Caroline, telling him to be more positive, because the way one started a year determined how that year would turn out… “Going by the Chinese calendar we’re still in 2033!” John snapped back. The rebuttal caused Caroline not to get angry, but to laugh. She kissed her partner on the frozen cheek and warmth of two kinds rippled through the man’s heart. Unfortunately the kiss had disturbed the precious balance of all the packages John was carrying. One by one they slipped out of his hands, into the snow. “Firk ding blast!” he uttered. “Of all the times!” “Yes, of all the times! Kinda convenient, if you ask me!” With a smile Caroline pointed at something to their side and only now did John notice where exactly they had come to a stop: Right next to an Android Zone store. The merchandise was staring down at his plight unmoved. And also unmoving, the slackers… “We’ve talked about it, remember? How Emma is old enough now not to repeat the… accident? That we could have an android again without having to fear that it goes haywire from… honestly I have no idea from what exactly. Something in conjunction with baby mush.” “Yes, yes. But I was thinking a modern device, an AP-400 or PL-600, certainly not something they toss at customers in the buy-and-take-away windows.” The couple had been at a sales party for the new PL model back in December, only to return home without having made a purchase. The only PL600 for sale back in 2033 had been the demonstration models, but John and Caroline Phillips would rather be found dead than go home with a used robot. So they had set aside the money and staved off the purchase for the official release. Come to think of it, shouldn’t that be any day now…? “Look!” Caroline nudged John. “There!” And there it was, in bright, yellow letters: “PL600 INTRODUCTION WEEK SPECIAL.” A couple of the sales windows that were facing the street and that were usually stocked with whatever merchandise the store needed to move quickly, now had the latest in household assistants on display. The shiny new model that was the PL600 was staring at the Phillips from one of the windows, removed from the box, but otherwise pristine.

“There was no choosing or fate or anything transcendental involved”, Daniel remembered. “I opened my eyes, saw the boxes John had dropped and picked them up like the good android I was. And then we walked to the car, the Phillips got excited like children at the fact that I came with a certified driving app, we drove “home” and that pretty much was it.”

At this point Tina crouched between the two men.

“It’s fixed”, she addressed Gavin, “Whatever you believe about the cats choosing their owners, at this point none of us can persuade Jin to let go of the big black one. And they ARE adorable together.”

“Haha, I see! Okay, keep in mind that regardless of how he acts here, back at your home Argus might very well prefer to stay under the sofa for up to three weeks. Everything’ll be new to him and he’ll be the only cat in the family… that sort of thing takes time to get used to. If that happens, just put food, water and Jin under the sofa and pull out again whatever of those three Argus is done with. One day he’ll come scratch at the bedroom door and act like he’s always done that.”

“You mean Lucky.”

“Huh?”

“Lucky will scratch at the bedroom door. Sorry, Gavin, but Jinny was very definite about that. It’s Lucky. - Oh, and, speaking of things that act as if they’ve always been there…” Tina now looked directly at Daniel. “Who the hell are you?”

#dbh #detroit become human #dbh daniel #dbh gavin #dbh tina #dbhtextpost #danielgavinnewstory

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leftnipsdoodles · 5 years

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with Eris coming back i wanna give some attention to Asher bc im Like That

specifically, the fact that he might very well be the person Eris referred to as her cousin back when they were both alive. and i’ll get to sth abt that in a second, but first, here’s what the lore regarding this person says:

Undelivered, lost.

Cousin, do you remember the streets of the Last City? Do you remember eating fresh red grapes and playing tag between the market stalls? You cannot. We grew, we died, we were reborn. But I remember. It is the one thing I know is true. You used to LAUGH. What manipulation of the fates has led us each to our own calamities? [Forceful, looping script.] I listen to Vanguard channels every day for news of your death. If and when that news comes, I will fly to you at once, no matter where I am and no matter what front I fight on. [Aggressive pressure, carved deep enough into the paper to tear it.] I swear it.

- lore entry ‘Letters’, presumably letters Eris wrote and tried to deliver to several different people

3. I submit to you now photographic and video evidence recovered from civilian family albums, historical archives, and extant Ghost recordings originally captured in the Last City. Behold, ERI-223: a child of the Last City, born to civilian parents in a mortal-Guardian integrated neighborhood. Behold, too, tiny VIP #1786—though he is almost more unbelievable than ERI-223, if you look at his smile.

- lore entry ‘Forgeries’, dissecting and fact-checking the Truth to Power lore (in this case, confirming what Eris said abt her backstory in Letters)

i highlighted the contextually important parts here.

We grew, we died, we were reborn. -> Asher confirms multiple times that he’s never been to the Reef and goes above and beyond to distance himself from Reef Awoken. while this might mean he just died on Earth and doesn’t remember being at the Reef, it’s equally as possible he’s simply Earthborn.

You used to LAUGH. What manipulation of the fates has led us each to our own calamities? / [...] though he is almost more unbelievable than ERI-223, if you look at his smile. -> I used to think Toland was a good contester for being the person she talks about, since he’s also suffered a pretty bad(ass) fate like Eris, so she could be referring to him. But, we do know he’s still as... jovial, as ever. Asher on the other hand is known to be a big ol’ grump. The only time he does anything close to smiling is when he’s being condescending lol

I listen to Vanguard channels every day for news of your death. -> Eris obviously knows what’s going on with Asher’s ‘disease’. The first time we hear about him is in the grimoire where she visits him at the hospital while he’s in a coma after the whole Brakion thing. Toland’s already dead more or less but more importantly, the Vanguard wouldn’t report on him since he’s not affiliated with them because, yknow. He’s a ball. Asher on the other hand (heh) is specifically said to work under the Vanguard and his death would definitely have to be relayed to them.

now, the only reason i’m not 100% on all this is because, as always, the timeline in Destiny is a mess. I’ve talked abt it before but unless we get confirmation that Ghosts are able to revive someone at an age they never were (bc they died early or whatever), i dont see it adding up. Asher looks old, bruh. and he’s Awoken. we do know that while they do age outside of the Distributary, they do it at a much slower rate than humans. so for him to look this old, he must’ve been around for centuries before dying (since humans’ lifespans in this universe are already tripled). but the way the Awoken lore is written, it doesn’t sound like they have been on Earth long enough to warrant him ever getting this old before dying and being rezzed as a Guardian. and by his own admission, he’s been a Guardian long enough to see 6 different Hunter Vanguards come and go, which, while Hunter Vanguards change more quickly than the others, would still give us a rather long timespan. i will point out that all this COULD still add up, just because the timeline in Destiny has always been incredibly vague. so even if it doesn’t seem to add up now, the author’s intent would overrule any inconsistencies.

the other thing i want to put up for debate is the familial aspect of it, since I feel like these two being related feels ‘unbelievable’ (not that it has to be, but lbr). bear with me for a second, im gonna throw a lot of speculation at you but i hope you can understand that im doing my best to keep it in line with what we know: Awoken seem to face some sort of discrimination on Earth. 2 NPC lines hint at this: 1) ‘Who cares if he’s an Awoken? We’re in love, mom!’ 2) ‘I can’t believe it. I don’t mind that he was Awoken, but an artist? I mean, come on!‘ this is today, in a time where Awoken have been on Earth for a while. it was probably worse when they first got here, even tho in the lore, it is mentioned that generally the arrival of the Awoken was seen as something positive (since they came in a time of need, specifically to help. so not only were they seen as actual aid, but they also brought hope that not everything from outer space is here to kill humans). however, i’d say that especially in a day-to-day context, they would still be mistrusted. especially once they started banging humans. we all know how ppl react to outsiders ‘stealing’ things from them.

now, since we’re told that Eris grew up in a ‘mortal-Guardian integrated neighborhood’, when we know that most civilians outside of the Tower tend to be wary or even fearful of Guardians, i think it’s safe to assume she was born into a more ‘progressive’ environment. meaning it wouldn’t be a stretch for her to grow up around Awoken.

we don’t know for sure whether Eris is Awoken or just a Human with a very pale complexion (her being transformed by the Hive doesn’t help). either way, what I’m getting at with all this is that ‘cousin’ doesn’t have to be a familial term. ‘cousin’ is used by the Reef Awoken to refer to Awoken Player Characters (who, even tho it’s later hinted that we’re from the Reef ourselves, are presumed to be Earthborn by said Reef Awoken). ‘brother’/’sister’ is used as well. if we think Eris is Human, her calling an Awoken kid ‘cousin’ would fit in with her being from an integrating neighborhood. (EDIT: we even have the lore mentioning humans as ‘cousins’ of the Awoken: ‘Those who left went to scour the ruins for lost history and give some succor to their Human cousins [...]’ -lore entry ‘Revanche V’) if we think Eris is Awoken herself, her calling another Awoken ‘cousin’ wouldn’t feel unusual either. on the other hand, there’s the untapped potential in Awoken-Human hybrids that are mentioned by the lore but just *clenches fist* never fkn explored. so her looking so different from him could have a number of explanations and doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not related. but like i said, i think the majority of us can’t see it lmfao

ANYWAY what im saying is that whether ‘cousin’ is meant literally or figuratively, it wouldn’t disprove the possibility of Asher being the cousin Eris mentions as part of her past.

so uhh, these are all my thoughts on the matter. feel free to tell me your own if you disagree or feel like adding sth!

#asher mir #delete later #steroid gaming #me while playing destiny: do snakes have buttholes #me when im not playing destiny: -and thats why i think the sociopolitical climate on the Reef is what it is. especially when we take into ac

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mordellestories · 5 years

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The Babes with the Power

A Beetlejuice/Labirynth crossover.

Drabble on Ao3 by mordelle

Summary: All Jareth wants to do is mope in peace, but he is faced with an unwanted guest. A certain poltergeist finds himself in the Fae Realm and needs to find a way into the Goblin King's good graces if there is to be any hope of finding his way back to his bride he unintentionally left at the altar. Can Betelgeuse con his way out this pickle? Not without finding some common ground with his Royal Glitterness, that's for sure. (AN: Rated M for language and handsy-ness. Post both films and utterly ridiculous.)

He was moping. Again. He had every right to his melancholic melodrama, thank you very much, because who wouldn’t curse their very existence after having been scorned by the person you had offered the very world to? True, their meeting was not supposed to take place until much later in Sarah’s life. She was a child for goodness sake! So immature. So whiny and predictable and he could not understand how she’d ever mature enough to catch his interest. Mortals grew older, but not necessarily wiser. However, she had said the words and he had to oblige. Those were the rules. And then it had happened. Somehow, she had gotten under his skin and he could see why his precious crystals had shown him they were fated to be together. Why had the gods hurried their meeting? Jareth was unsure. Perhaps it was to open his heart to her. Or maybe it was to curb her less than attractive, naive qualities. It hardly mattered now, the Goblin King had pledged his heart and soul to an ungrateful, spoiled, infuriating, beautiful, witty, powerful—

“WHERE THE FUCK AM I NOW?!” A grating voice blared and echoed in the unusually empty throne room.

Jareth snapped his head up to find a solitary figure wearing a grimy striped suit, smack in the middle of the large room, back facing him. The intruder growled and gesticulated wildly at the air right before whirling around. The unwanted guest suddenly rooted in place when he realized he was not alone.

“Oh! Didn’t see ya there, pal!” The dead man - yes, definitely a dead man - called out apologetically.

Jareth did have not the strength to bother with the lowly ghost so, he sighed and continued his lounging, dropping his head back to stare at the ceiling once more. He barely had the strength to talk to it but he wanted to be alone. “Begone, specter,” he muttered forlornly, “I do not have the patience to entertain the dead tonight.”

The striped ghoul frowned and looked at his surroundings once more. Furrowing his brow, he edged closer to the... man? “Hey, uh, I’d love nothin’ more than ta get outta that beautiful mane o’ yers, but uh... I don’t even know where I am.”

Jareth sighed and waved a hand before him, a crystal ball appeared at once. He peered deeply into its depths to gather information on the soul. “You’re in my castle. In the Goblin City beyond the Labyrinth... Betelgeuse.”

“Ah shit,” the poltergeist pinched the bridge of his nose to keep from imploding with rage. “I’m gonna kill ya, Juno. The fuckin’ fae plane?! Really?!” He shouted, knowing full well his former boss couldn’t hear him. Betelgeuse checked himself quickly and changed his tone. “ Your castle?” He asked with sudden hope. “So, you the... eh...” he wasn’t sure whether to say King or Queen so, he settled for the safest route, “ ruler of this joint?”

The King vanished his scrying tool, sat straighter on his throne, and looked the ghost in the eye. “Indeed. I don’t really care, mind you, but how is it that you’ve come to be here? I made no summons.”

Betelgeuse sighed with relief. A Fae Royal would have enough power to send him straight to Lydia’s side, pass go, collect two-hundred dollars, and shove it down the old bitch’s slit throat! Fairies were tricky little bastards, though. To make a deal with one could have dire consequences. His Fae lore might be a little rusty, but everyone knew they were tricksters by nature. Just plain old common knowledge. Good thing he was quite the con man, himself. However, this was a Royal, he had to be somewhat reasonable… right? Betelgeuse decided to be cautious and give him as few details as possible. The fairy had already divined his name. Hopefully, his Royal Glitter-ness didn’t know anything else about him. He sighed heavily and dramatically.

“Long story, buddy. Don’t really have time to tell it. I need to get back the mortal realm as soon as possible. I’ve been gone long enough already. Ya see,” he began as he placed a moldy hand to his heart and put his most pitiful face on, “I’ve been tragically separated from my beloved bride.” He dried an invisible tear and sniffed. “She’s probably worried sick about me, ya think, maybe ya can send me home? Get me outta here? I don’t got the juice to get me that far and—“

“How tragic ,” the King interrupted, playing along with the ghouls pathetic tale. “Well, my unfortunate friend, it appears you’ve dropped in at a most interesting time.” Jareth smiled most mischievously as he stood up and meandered past the ghost to a window. “You see, I too have been recently robbed of my future Bride.” Jareth glanced at his destroyed city below him while the Goblins went around in circles trying to make repairs. Of course, they were getting nowhere.

Betelgeuse inwardly screamed in victory. What were the chances that he had his own little sob story about a chick? This gave them common ground, which was perfect to help lower the King’s inhibitions. Swallowing his impulse to cackle, the poltergeist moseyed his way near the Fae King and peeked out the window. “What are the odds, huh?!” At the sight of the destruction below, he let out a loud whistle and clapped a hand on the taller man’s shoulder. “What, uh, what happened here?”

Jareth sent a warning, sideways glance to the offending hand on his person. The ghost had the good sense to remove it. “ She happened.” He said with a mixture of annoyance and sadness.

Betelgeuse couldn’t help but snort with amusement. “She wrecked you too, huh? Women! Man, if I tell ya what my little lady put me through, ya wouldn’t believe it. There’s a reason they’re Eve’s progeny, know what I mean?”

Jareth raised an eyebrow and turned to the sexist ghoul. “Why do you seek her out, then? Do wish to punish her?” He didn’t care really, but his curiosity was piqued.

Betelgeuse was taken aback by the odd and ominous question. He shuffled his feet uncomfortably and scratched at his mossy, stubbled chin.

“Punish? Nah.”

He waved the thought away. Not that he wasn’t going to have more than a few words with her when he got back though. A deal was a deal. The little backstabber needed to understand a few things about loyalty to one's husband, but no, he had no intention of hurting Lydia. She was just a kid, after all. A fact he was unaware of until Juno gave him the lecture of a millennium. It didn’t really bother him. She was just a key to his freedom, but being a standup guy that he was, he had every intention of making sure his new wife got all the husbandly attention she would ever need... when she was ready, of course. Happy wife, happy afterlife and all that. He figured it’d take some years to get into her good graces anyway. He did leave quite a shit storm behind.

“I’m just a regular ol’ Joe in love,” he lied like a pro. Although, there was serious potential to fall head over heels for the sweet, little goth. She was pretty and loved the strange and unusual, and there was no one in life or death who was stranger or more unusual than the Ghost With the Most. “Plus,” he continued, again bringing a hand to his chest, “I take my vows pretty seriously. What’s a man worth if he can’t keep his word, huh?”

“Indeed.” Jareth nodded in agreement. Intrigued, the Goblin King turned around and made his way to the barrels of Fairy Wine. He conjured two goblets and tossed one to his guest. “Let us drink to our fair ladies then, spirit!” He poured himself some wine as Betelgeuse walked over to him.

“Ah, not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but you’ll be wastin’ yer fine vintage on me. Can’t taste the stuff or get drunk. Part o’ the whole being dead thing.”

“Nonsense!” The King exuberated while he poured his guest a glass and held it out for him. “I insist.” There might have been a hint of warning in his tone. He did not like defiance.

Betelgeuse caught his drift and smirked. “Sure.” He took the goblet and waited for the guy’s next move.

Jareth smiled and held up his glass. “To love, however treacherous and ungrateful she may be.”

“Cheers ta that!” They clinked their goblets and drank. The moment the wine hit his lips, Betelgeuse’s eyes bugged out. “Holy Mother o’ Pearl!” He could taste its sickly, sweet bouquet, and not only that, he could feel it warming his essence. Betelgeuse started to chug.

Jareth’s genuine laugh rang out as he watched the ghoul finish the contents of his glass. Betelgeuse wiped his mouth with his sleeve and let out a belch that could rival a giant’s. “You’re welcome,” Jareth snickered and motioned for him to get a refill. “Have as much as your dead heart desires.”

“Don’t mind if I do, yer majesty!” It was a done deal, the tall weirdo was his new favorite person.

Jareth took his seat on his throne and eyed the ghost with interest. “So, Betelgeuse, your bride is mortal?”

After downing another glass with gusto, he hiccuped and poured himself another. “Oh, uh, yeah. Heh! I was hauntin’ her house, nothin’ personal, just business, ya know? And, uh, well, as soon as I saw her, I just knew she was special. Know what I mean?”

“I do, in fact.” He could tell the ghost was already feeling the effects of the wine when he wobbled for a moment and blinked in confusion. “Might want to slow down, old man.”

“Yeah.” He burped again and decided it might be best to sit. After all, he hadn’t gotten hammered since his living days and had no idea how this would affect him. He pulled up a chair near the King and sipped at his beverage. “Anyway, she asked me to do her a favor, huge favor by the way, and then…” he shook his head and suddenly burst into tears, “she hasn’t called! Not once!” He heaved and sobbed, then stopped suddenly, disgusted with himself. “Why th’ fuck amma cryin’?!”

“Because your drunk,” Jareth said simply with a tilt of his head.

“Damn! Thiz iz some shit!” He was chuckling again.

The King scowled. He could sympathize with the poor fool. “I too went out of my way to cater to my lady and she scorned me. I manipulated time, created a portal between our worlds--”

“Speakin’ o’ dat,” the drunk slurred and held up a finger, “wanna he-HIC-help a brother--”

“She left me for her mundane, mortal world.”

“Chicks.” Betelgeuse shook his head. “Kent unnerstand why anyone wou-would leave, uh…” He gave the fairy a once over and scrunched up his face in an attempt to come up with a compliment. “Sucha, uh, hair, like you, ya know?”

“A hair?” Jareth raised a brow questioningly.

“Heir! Ya know, heir of, like royalty n’ shit.” He thought it was a nice save considering his current inebriation.

“Ah, well, I suppose it couldn’t be helped.” Jareth sighed and stared into his goblet. “I pushed her away. Scared her off for her own good. Still hurts like hell though.” He took a swig.

“Wait. Whuuuut? Why’dya do that for?”

“Because she’s fifteen in mortal Earth years. Barely a woman yet.”

“What the hell ya doing messing with a kid?!” He conveniently forgot Lydia’s age at the moment.

Jareth’s eyes turned to daggers at the insinuation. “She and I are fated to mary in the future. I, however, did not seek her out. She came to me .”

It was like someone had slapped Betelgeuse in the face. What the fuck was this guy saying? Who the fuck was this fruitcake talking about? The stories were too similar from what he was hearing. Two powerful, supernatural beings both dumped by teenagers. Or… teenager? He pushed down his rage and tried to think logically, which was proving to be difficult. He needed to be careful, but he also needed answers.

“Heh, sorry there, your Highness. Don’t mind me… I guess I’m just… erm… projectin’. Yeah, that’s right. See..” he set his goblet down and hunched over, placing his forearms on his lap as if to tell him a secret. “I’m on the same boat.” He gave the King a wink.

Jareth narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “How so?”

“Well, I don’ wancha ta get the wrong idea or anythin’ but…” he paused for dramatic effect, “my mortal is fifteen too.”

All of Jareth’s former amusement vanished. “Is that so?” He took a casual sip from his glass.

Betelgeuse no longer kept up any pretenses. He could sense the tension rising between them as they stared each other down. It was time to get his answers. “Yeah. Poor kid. She wanted to be saved from her pitiful, boring life and come to the other side.”

Ever so slowly, the Goblin King set his goblet aside and sniffed loudly. “You remind me of the babe.” He said as he surmised the same thing Betelgeuse had thought.

There was no way in hell that he’d give up his freedom to Mister Buldge, yeah he saw it, no way he’d ever give up his babes. With a snarl, Betelgeuse shot to standing and jutted a finger in the fairy’s direction. “WHAT BABE?!”

Jareth stood quickly and braced himself for a fight. “The babe with the power!”

“What the…?” That threw him. “What power?”

“The power of voo--”

“What the fuck is her name ?!” The poltergeist had lost all patience.

“How do I know you won’t pretend she is another to save your hide?” He spat as he pointed his horse crop at the ghoul.

Betelgeuse threw his hands in the air in frustration, then came up with a solution. “Okay, how ‘bout this? We say her at the same time. Okay?”

“Fine.”

“Alright, one, two, three--”

“LYDIA” “SARAH” They yelled in unison.

There was a pregnant pause before Jareth’s laughter bounced off the walls. The threat extinguished, Betelgeuse relaxed and chortled.

“Well, well,” Jareth smiled, “what a pair we make. You’re quite amusing, poltergeist.” He magically refilled their goblets and beckoned Betelgeuse closer. “I’m glad to have you as my guest for as long as you’re staying.”

“Yeesh,” the ghost looked at his watches and grimaced. “Yeah, about that. I was hopin’ you’d open a portal fer me? Now that were pals?”

“Not possible.” He replied resolutely.

“Aw, c’mon, help a guy out!”

“I can only open a portal when someone wishes aloud for me to take a baby away.”

Betelgeuse blinked twice. “So, yer sayin’ that you… can’t leave… without being… summoned.”

“That’s correct.”

He was trapped. Again. “And, uh, how often would you say that happens?” He asked dryly, knowing the answer.

Jareth smiled wickedly as he wrapped an arm around him. “Let’s just say we’re going to be the best of bosom companions.”

“Fuck me,” Betelgeuse breathed.

“I’d be delighted,” the King murmured into his mossy ear with a leer.

Betelgeuse slowly turned his guarded gaze to his host to see if he was serious. He was serious. “I’m sortuva... ladies man, ta tell ya the truth,” he gruffed quietly.

“I see,” he replied, his smile never faltering. “Well, we have plenty of goblin women who I’m sure would be interested.”

The specter shuddered. He had seen what those goblins looked like when he peered out the window into the city. “No, er, humans, female fairies?”

“Afraid not, old chap.” He tightened his grip on his new favorite toy and gave him a suggestive wink. “We need to wait for our young brides to grow up anyway, and who knows how long it’ll take for us to leave this realm. You know what they say,” he gave the specter another lecherous grin, “time flies when you’re having fun.

Betelgeuse took stock of the feminine-looking male next to him and scratched his head. The flowing blonde hair, the makeup, the glitter… he ignored looking past his belt. Maybe with a little more wine…? Throwing his head back, the Ghost with the Most swallowed the entire contents on his goblet. His vision blurred some when he finally looked to his shimmery host again.

“Well-ah, like my dear ol’ mom always said… ‘a hole, is a hole, is a hole.’” He shrugged his shoulders. “Fuck it.”

Before he could regret his decision, he turned into his host swiftly, grabbed a handful of bulge and sighed. “Yep-ah. Definitely a dick.”

THE END.

Hey there! If you read and enjoyed this drabble, please consider leaving a kudos and comment on Ao3!

#beetlejuice/jareth #two villains shooting the shit #evil bastards #lecherous fiends #beetlejuice/labyrinth #beetlejuice movie #Labyrinth #jareth #Beetlejuice #the ghost with the most #the goblin king #beetlejuice drabble #labyrinth fanfiction #beetlejuice fanfiction #labyrinth fan fiction #october stories #because I can

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smilingperformer · 6 years

Text

SM077 - Thoughts

The end of Ula Ula Arc is here. It’s time for Satoshi to face the Grand Trial against Kuchinashi, the Dark Type Specialist!

I kinda realised I never mention episode titles in these posts, so starting today, I’ll write them down! It’s actually something that I want to talk about later during this post. So, time for the 77th episode of Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon: Kuchinashi’s Grand Trial! Lugarugan Awakens!!

We’re first shown Acerola taking some gifts to Kapu Bulul’s altair, while she wonders if Kuchinashi would be there doing his duty as well. Well, we’re not shown him to be there, but...

The bowl with flowers if left there as a gift by Kuchinashi. Acerola brought in the bowl of food. Acerola then finds Kuchinashi in the Battle Field, and says how he’s like a different man, having done his actual Kahuna duties. Kuchinashi just seems to imply he wanted to get it over with asap. Heh. The sunrise they’re looking at after the conversation (first screencap!) is so beautiful.

I must say, I like how each Grand Trial starts with the Kahuna/Island King/Queen going to pray at their specific Island Deity Altairs. It shows nice lore consistensy, and how it is Kahuna’s duty to follow specific traditions when starting out a Grand Trial. The Lore Nerd in me is pleased!

What’s also interesting about the first 2 mins of the episode is that they specifically show Satoshi putting the Rock-Z crystal on Z-ring. This immediately made me think of this as a small foreshadowing of Lugarugan-Z. I think it may have been an intentional choice from the storyboarding team!

Satoshi arrives at the battlegrounds, and Kuchinashi starts the opening speech to Kapu Bulul. Honestly, I find his pray monologue very interesting.

Y’know, if I understand this dialogue correctly (I’m not native so I might understand it wrong), it’s actually a foreshadowing of Lugarugan’s role in the episode. It really fits the Dusk form specifically, that has the righteous heart of Midday form, and malicious heart of Midnight form. And when the two hearts blend together perfectly, one becomes more powerful. At least, that’s how I intepret this dialogue. Quite interesting.

It could be seen as a description of Kuchinashi as well. I mean. We’ve been shown how savage he is, while also a caring person, towards Acerola specifically. And if we consider some of the future events, it kind of describes Satoshi as well! It’s like, that prayer briefly explains the theme of the episode!

Kuchinashi tells the rules of the Grand Trial after the prayer, which is defeating three of his pokemon with just one of Satoshi’s! Even Rotom calls him out on the rules being unfair, and judging from his body language and face expressions, he expected Satoshi to give up. He clearly doesn’t want to battle the boy. Rude. Well, Satoshi consults Lugarugan about this, and they decide to take the challenge. Kuchinashi of course is suprised. :D Well then, time for the battle, round 1!

And it’s up against the opponent from SM074, Waruvial. Again, its ability Intimidate is activating, and while last time it caused Lugarugan to get intimidated, it doesn’t this time around! The doggo has grown! I really like the animation on Satoshi’s hair here, I’m not sure what it is, it just looks really nice ;v; Anyways. Battle analysing is not my expertise, so I’ll skip ahead to important bits of the fights.

Waruvial tries the same tactic as last time, using Sand Tomb with Mud Slap. While it initially is working the same way, something is different.

Lugarugan actually changes the color of it’s eyes during this, and Satoshi is shown worried. However, the moment Lugarugan gets out of the tomb, thanks to apparent increased power...

It’s eyes slowly turn back to normal.

Kuchinashi actually notices this, and I think this is where he’s starting to realise that wait, it’s probably controlling the mode now. He is the Island King, he’s kind of smart on analysing pokemon. Or so I’d imagine. Satoshi is sighing with relief, and Acerola notes that the training with Kapu Bulul paid off. And I agree! Lugarugan is shown only slightly more angry during this mode, but the fact that it wasn’t consumed by anger already says that it’s actually in control. Well, Satoshi hasn’t realised it yet. : D

Anyway, as battle continues, with Kuchinashi trying to intimidate Satoshi himself with bait words, Satoshi commands Accelrock. Or does he?

Before he could finish, he remembers Waruvial’s Counter, and it’s clear that he’s actually scared of facing it again. I mean, I get why, it was a very scary experience. We’re actually shown a quick flashback of the move, and how devastating it felt.

The way he changes the move based on his feelings is kinda interesting. I wonder when was the last time he was that scared of facing a certain move? He’s not showing that optimistic side of him right now. And that’s quite human. Thou, the fact that he keeps on commanding Rock Throw here is kind of... odd. Some people have pointed this out, but he somewhat forgot Stone Edge exists. Althou it kind of works to his advantage later on. Anyway, this behaviour is normal for a human being, since when your thoughts start running with trying to avoid fear, you don’t think too well, and well, not having clear thoughts while figuring out battle strats is bound to cause some ‘memory loss’. It’s kind of why I’m not bothered by him forgetting about Stone Edge at this stage.

Hell, when Kuchinashi calls him out on this, being the savage guy he is, you can see it actually sort of gets into Satoshi. Kuchinashi is analysing him during the battle. I think Gym leaders did this alot? It’s about helping the challenger grow, so even if he is shown as savage, it’s kind of what he’s supposed to do as well.

Hell, even when he tells Satoshi that he and Lugarugan don’t have the guts to face Counter head-on, and how battles are about putting the moves at each other on full power, Satoshi is sort of flinching there. Althou, he also takes note with the words, because after Lugarugan makes noices at Satoshi, sort of like telling him that he can face it this time, Satoshi get’s his optimistic side back on again!

Kuchinashi of course answers to this with Counter, but oh boy does the following taste so sweet!

Lugarugan actually defeats Counter with its speed, causing Kuchinashi’s focus to falter. One Rock Throw later, Waruvial is out of it! Round one of Grand Trial, complete!

Well, Kuchinashi ends up congratulating Lugarugan, which Satoshi thought was for them both. That reaction is so funny. However, Satoshi thanks Kuchinashi anyway, because if it wasn’t for Kuchinashi’s words earlier, he wouldn’t have faced Counter head-on. Well. Apparently what Kuchinashi was saying was actually him trying to lure Satoshi into Counter by any means, and he even straightup said that he thought lying would be a good strat. Let me just do a count of the total times this man has lied to anyone during Ula Ula Arc: To Rocket Gang, to Satoshi, to Junsa, to Sakaki, to Rocket Gang again, and now this. Kids, don’t learn from this man, he’s the worst. Thou as a character, he’s absolutely amazing and well written for a Pokemon character! Totally loving how they managed to make his comedic part about lying, while still staying very convincing as a Dark-Type Specialist with savage personality. Very well done.

Also idk why, but when Acerola does sort of an awkward sounding laughter here, telling Kuchinashi to call out the next Pokemon, Satoshi’s face in the background is sort of funny to me. I really don’t know why!

Next battle is against Yamirami, and I have actually never seen Yamirami used in a battle before this! And I think this episode also debuted the move Shadow Sneak, and it looks so cool in Pokeani! I’ve used it couple of times in Ultra Moon/Moon, so I knew what to expect, but it still looks nice!

The spookiest part is when Yamirami uses a combo of Mean Look (which somehow also roots the target... I don’t think that’s what it does in the games? :D Then again I have no idea how root moves works in the games, never used such moves) and a flurry of Shadow Sneak. Lugarugan is in bad trouble here.

But the most important part here is the fact that the Red Eyes activate again, and the moment Satoshi sees this, he shouts at Lugarugan to calm down. Satoshi really is scared of this mode. I would dare to say that considering the past experience, it’s probably scarier than Hikozaru/Goukazaru’s uncontrollable Blaze. Satoshi tells Lugarugan to calm down and dodge the Shadow Claw move, but hey...

Kuchinashi actually tells Satoshi that it doesn’t need to calm down, it is actually dodging the move already. He’s also finally explaining to Satoshi that Lugarugan’s power actually increasing during the Red Eyes mode, when it’s just a bit more angry. Note thou, Kuchinashi didn’t use the word a bit, just angry. : D When Satoshi says that whenever Lugarugan gets angry, it stops listening to Satoshi, Kuchinashi actually drops a hint to Satoshi.

He doesn’t seem to understand it thou, and before he can ask, Kuchinashi takes the opportunity and orders another attack. Y’know, it’s already clear that Kuchinashi’s battle style involves getting under the Challenger’s skin and getting them unfocused. Satoshi is still somewhat able to stay focused, thou he’s quickly trying to think of a move that would work with a rooted Pokemon, and then it hits him!

Kuchinashi’s face is gold! He didn’t know Lugarugan has Stone Edge, he thought he’d win now for sure! I mean, last time they fought, there was 3 close range moves instead of just 2. Now there’s 2 close-range, 2 long-range! He did not count in the possibility of Lugarugan learning a new long-range one! This K.Os Yamirami, and Satoshi & Lugarugan are now one round closer to victory!

Lugarugan shakes of the Mean Look and Red Eyes, and is shown really tired. No wonder, this round was physically tiring for it, being under attack for so long with no way to attack back!

Meanwhile Bebenom is busy playing with Pikachu. XD

Well, next happens the scene I talked about earlier in another post, where Kapu Bulul comes and gives Lugarugan an Obon Berry to restore its energy! Apparently Kuchinashi can’t deny Island Deity’s will on the matter so, Lugarugan gains its energy back to normal and is ready to face the final round!

Final round is against Alolan Persian (why of course, it’s Kuchinashi’s Ace!) and Rotom points out how it’s big like a Totem Pokemon. That’s actually an interesting detail.

The Second half of this episode is sooo good, as in, lots of dialogue that really fleshes out why Kuchinashi is a Dark Type user. I’ll try to not put out the whole dialogue here, because lots of it is so good, but like, damn.

After Satoshi makes a first hit at Alolan Persian, Kuchinashi compliments Satoshi on training the doggo well, but then claims how Lugarugan could have done it without him as well, and how he’s not really needed. This right here is playing on mental ground. Dirty as hell. Satoshi’s face when Kuchinashi does the claim is not a happy one. Also, Kuchinashi keeps on taunting him, and we actually gradually see Satoshi getting more and more taunted by it, actually not focusing on the battle anymore! The Geezer continues on, and when he says the following line:

That really triggered a button in Satoshi! We know how he values friendship when training Pokemon. His style as a trainer is being mentally challenged here!

Oh boy did Kuchinashi push the right button with this line, because Satoshi really gets mad about that line. And because of it, Kuchinashi actually manages to make a quick call for Alolan Persian to attack! And it hits!

I know Rotom! It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen Satoshi so angry at a non-villain! And for him to get so distracted from battle could be said to be a rookie mistake, but considering how this is actually mostly a mental battle, it really wasn’t. He hasn’t been against a savage trainer like Kuchinashi before! It’s probably why I actually sort of like this battle after understanding the dialogue. While the animation is definitely not same level as last week during battles, it’s clear to me this episode focuses more on the mental game than battling itself. Intriquing choice!

Actually, the following scene is interesting, because you could intepret it in few ways. Kuchinashi’s ordering Alolan Persian to use Dark Pulse constantly.

...Oh fuck!

This was his goal with his tactics all along!

...Will it? : D When Satoshi calls Kuchinashi out on his plan for making Lugarugan angry...

...I actually think he’s lying here. Why? Because he noticed earlier that Lugarugan can indeed control the mode. But he also noticed that Satoshi hasn’t realised it yet. So while he’s using this to get under Satoshi’s skin, he’s also trying to teach the boy about the true power behind the Red eyes! He’s secretly educating Satoshi! But Satoshi is too angry himself to realise it, and focuses too much on telling Lugarugan to calm down, when it really doesn’t need to!

Just look at Satoshi getting angry at these words! My reaction is a constant Holy Shit.

This really triggers Satoshi even more, and Kuchinashi gets another chance to attack an unfocused Challenger. God damn it. Satoshi calls him out on doing such distraction as unfair, but what does Kuchinashi say?

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Whoever worked on ‘translating’ Kuchinashi’s character to Pokeani’s style, well done mate! It’s so well done, it fits him so well, and he’s self-aware! I’m clapping my hands here!

That face Satoshi makes is heartbreaking! But the thing is, the moment itself isn’t! But this shows that Satoshi is still scared and unknowing of the power behind Lugarugan’s Red Eyes. And now I’m gonna applaud at Lugarugan, because hoo boy.

Lugarugan tackles Satoshi! And hard! He flies a long long way off the battle arena. Everyone is actually suprised about this, even Kuchinashi! But after this? The scene becomes so sweet!

Satoshi finally realises it ;v; Finally! Staring at a standing, Red-eyed Lugarugan made him finally notice that wait, Lugarugan is actually in control of itself, and is hearing Satoshi’s voice clear and loud! Also how its power level actually increases! (Must have realised it by getting hit so hard :D) And he’s the most calm he’s been in the whole episode now!

Such a calm voice when he says this ;v;

You certainly did! And let this be a lesson :) He actually got some new character progression in this episode, didn’t he now? Someone more knowledgable can pitch in on this. But this is honestly beautiful for Satoshi’s character and that’s why this episode works so much better when you understand the dialogue fully!

Man I love it when Lugarugan does the signature “I like you so I’ll rub you with my stone collar“ thing ;v; And it makes the scene extra sweet. Awwwwww I love this doggo so much.

With the Red-Eye mode mastered! Nice nice! This looks really cool! And I’ll mention it now, the Red-Eye mode is sort of like Dusk form’s inner Midnight heart surfacing! Very much liking how this mode’s learning arc ended up going!

Battle against Alolan Persian continues, and Lugarugan finally learns Counter! Which is Midnight Form’s signature move, so this is like the ultimate reward for being in control of that side of the Dusk Form! Excellent!

And now’s the time for Kuchinashi’s version of Black Hole Eclipse! While the animation is kind of boring here compared to how it was done with Rocket Gang, it could be intentional? I mean, even in the games Kuchinashi looks bored while doing it, and not really doing it with the spirit.

That face is something else, wow.

Ok, time out, he turned his back on the move? Some people are saying this being like, he’s too cool to look at the z-move, but... I see this as a reference to how he teaches the pose to the player in the games. Remember? He shows the move, then turns his back on us. It’s a clear reference to it, and I’m glad they managed to make it part of him actually doing the Z-move. : D

Well. Satoshi now knows what Dark-Z move looks like. Rocket Gang has no chance of suprising him with another Z-move lol.

!!!!

OH MY GOD THEY’RE PLAYING MEZASE POKEMON MASTER!!!! The song made the scene so god damn epic and oh my lord, answering Z-move with a Z-move! AMAZING!!! Rica’s voice is amazing here as well!

And seeing the Red-Eyed Lugarugan in this sis so god damn cool!

The “Battle“ of two Z-moves is something you cannot do in the games and I’m so glad Pokeani explores that possibility!

While I would love to see Satoshi lose to a Z-move at least once (he really hasn’t), this was too cool to be mad about.

Even Kuchinashi is surprised! Take that!

And Alolan Persian is out of the battle! Satoshi wins his third Grand Trial!

Congratulations! That was a great battle, esp. after you realise how mental it was! It’s nice to see some mental game in Pokeani, that’s rare! And Kuchinashi did his duty on educating the Challenger, even if he possibly didn’t fully intend it.

He can finally stop being bothered by Satoshi! XD Time for Satoshi to get the reward, which is Dark-Z crystal!

Just kidding! What he instead gets as a reward...!

Is Lugarugan-Z! The foreshadowing worked. Satoshi now has access to Lugarugan’s own Z-move, Splintered Stormshards, or as it seems to be in japanese... Radial Edgestorm! Quite the name : D

Also, this scene is actually quite the upgrade from earlier Z-crystal Getto Daze shots. Could be they wanted to update it since it’s been so long since the last time!

Another Grand Trial theme seems to really be the fact that Island Deities are always watching over them. Makes me curious on how Tapu Fini/Kapu Rehire will be showcasing itself more properly.

YES DO!

A MILLION TIMES AGREED! It’s time to say goodbye to Acerola and Kuchinashi for now, and I’m so sad ;A; I want Acerola to be explored more, since right now she acted more as a guide and judge. She had excellent characterisation in SM073 and SM074! I want to know more about Gengar! Mimi-tan! The relationship between Sakaki and Kuchinashi-. Oh. That has nothing to do with Acerola. Krhm anyway I really do.

This scene is lovely in a way that it actually caused Kuchinashi to not focus on Kendama. He really does listen to Acerola well, huh?

...that’s actually true, he did seem to somewhat enjoy it! Especially on mental stage!

That says a lot about Satoshi, now doesn’t it?

The end of the episode! (Or well, there’s still Satoshi saying the usual “Let’s get Stronger for the next Grand Trial” speech but I like this shot as the finish!) Overall, while the animation in the battles itself wasn’t as good as say, last week, the animations on character emotions and such were darn good and beautiful to look at! And seeing the subtitles made me appreciate the episode way more than I initially thought of it! Shows how dialogue can make a huge difference in one’s opinion!

Edit: Forgot to talk about the title! I feel like it was bit of a miss, because Lugarugan had kind of already awakened the power within, it was more on Satoshi not realising this! Bit weird, but maybe it’s just me and my non-native english skills making the title hard to understand with the contexts of episode itself. Anyway. Otherwise good episode.

Poke-problem shows us Satoshi asking about the Lugarugan-Z move, and for some reason Rotom is trying to teach it the move, when it’s the same as Rock-Z pose? XD Silly Rotom. Don’t confuse Satoshi.

Next week, we have not one, but two Ultra Beasts appearing at the same time! Blacephalon/Zugadoon and Xurkitree/Denjyumoku. And it looks to have both comedy effect and some seriousness involved, since the two UBs are actually battling each other! Oh boy!

SM078 - Ultra Beast Clash! Operation Boom Boom Crackle!

Cya all next week! And sorry for this extra long post, holy god damn there was lots to talk about!

#aleira watches sumo #pokemon #pokeani #pokemon sumo #ula ula arc #ub arc #sm077 #jesus why are these posts so long #xddd #why do ula ula arc episodes have so much to talk about #long post #under the cut!

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windforge · 6 years

Photo

oh lore?

No one knew exactly when Mama Tegu moved into the Bystoma Bog. Though the bosses wouldn’t admit it, she’d probably been there quite a long time. She just hadn’t wanted to be seen. Whisperings spread of a frail guardian with a crocodilian face, draped in rags, who promised magic in exchange for...offerings. The rumors grew quite distorted and gruesome, and for a time Mama Tegu was little more than a bogeyman to keep youngsters from wandering too far into the swamp at night.

One such youngster, however, wasn’t deterred. A cartographer passing through the Windforge caught wind of the tales surrounding the mysterious witch and her boggy domain, and his interest was seized. Perhaps if he could map some of the infamous marshland, he could put the locals’ fears to rest--or give them truth.

Salvator didn’t find what he was looking for right away, but he did find...something. While surveying from the ruined top of a long-dead tree, a glimmer of something embedded in the bark caught his eye. Willing up some of his often-neglected Nature magic, he pushed the dead bark aside to reveal a large stone, cut in a series of simplified whorls and angular lines. Assuming it to be some sort of abandoned talisman, he reached out to remove it--

-----

He couldn’t move.

Or, at least, he couldn’t move well. Something was binding his limbs, his wings, his jaw. With a muffled grunt, he attempted to push himself upright, but could only flail helplessly in the mire as his legs refused to obey him.

Despite whatever was covering his head, he could hear something approaching from the underbrush behind him. His chest heaved as his panic intensified, he was trapped, he was vulnerable, and he knew there were things in this swamp, things he should never have tempted, he shouldn’t have come here

“Well aren’t you in quite the mess, child.”

He heard a soft, drawling voice replace the rattling of leaves and branches. The voice felt wizened, ancient, and worn out. Yet it was gentle, like a mother chastising a youngling, and carried just a hint of amusement.

As best he could, Salvator flopped his head around to try and face the speaker. He caught a glimpse of golden rags, impeccably clean even in the muck. Wings draped in strings of bones, like a macabre windchime. A misshapen face, a snout far too long to belong to any dragon.

Mama Tegu.

His head collapsed back into the dirt, chest still heaving from exertion and fear. But he accepted his fate. This is what I get for wandering. I’m no wind dragon. What kind of mapmaker gets lost in a forest? Especially one born of nature flight?

“Looks like you ran afoul of an Augite stone, young’n. Heh, it takes some luck to find one of them that’s still awake and kickin’.”

The gravelly voice interrupted his thoughts and dragged him back to the present. Something was still binding his jaws, so he could only let out a muffled grumble in response.

Mama Tegu let out a wry chuckle. “Well, maybe’s luck’s the wrong word, young’n. But you’ve got some luck now for sure. Mama knows plenty of ways out of a snag like this, mmhm.”

She stepped closer to him, slowly circling the larger dragon’s bound form. He noticed she had a noticeable limp, and her wings looked thin and almost atrophied, as though they might collapse even from the weight of a few bones and strings.

“Only problem is, child,” she continued. “All magic’s got a price, even mine. Now I ain’t unreasonable, you understand, but it is polite to agree on these things beforehand. I know you can’t answer me yet, but since seeing a big ol’ lunk like yaself tangled up in a rock trap ‘s given me such a smile, consider this a little gift from Mama.”

She extended her claws towards Salvator’s face, and he cringed. Despite her pleasant demeanor, he was still having trouble believing that a senile, swamp-dwelling recluse could be so trustworthy. Unfortunately, he had little choice if he wanted to escape his bindings.

Mama Tegu let out a low hum as she passed her hand over his face. The tone of her humming dipped lower and lower until he could practically feel it rumbling the ground beneath him and the air in his lungs. He felt the pressure around his jaw loosening, and then it was free.

With a stifled cry, he opened his mouth as blood rushed back to his face. He rotated his jaw a few times; even though he hadn’t been trapped that long, the binding was tight enough--coupled with tooth-grinding stress--that his muscles felt cramped. After a few seconds, he felt ready to speak.

Mama Tegu had retreated and was now leaning against the very dead tree that had started this whole mess. She fiddled with some of the bones tied to her sash while she waited for him to regain his composure.

Salvator blinked and suddenly it seemed she was right in front of him again. He started back in surprise. Mama Tegu’s mouth turned faintly upward in a thin, calm smile as she stared at him. He felt as though she was looking right through him, right into him, and he couldn’t suppress a shudder.

“Hmmm. Isn’t that better, child?”

“T-thank you. Are you--” She cut him off before he could finish his question.

“Now hush. I ain’t done with you yet. And considerin’ you’re the one who came trompin’ into my marsh, I suppose I’m owed a question an’ an answer first, hmm?”

Her eyes hardened ever so slightly, and her voice took on a serious edge.

“What do you offer me for your freedom, child?”

Salvator’s eyes widened. He didn’t have much of value to his name to begin with, and he certainly didn’t bring any of it with him on his stupid, stupid expedition. He could probably offer to go back and fetch it, but there was no way in eons she would be foolish enough to accept that as an offering. And he was loathe to give up something far more...intangible just to escape a trap like this. If some of the stories were to be believed, that may well be his only option.

“I-well, you see--” His voice cracked slightly, and if dragons could blush he would have turned a spectacular shade of red. Her presence was so...intimidating, even though she was by far the smallest guardian he’d ever seen. It didn’t help that she was preceded by a reputation for making damning deals for one’s blood, bones, or worse.

He sighed. “I don’t know what I can offer. I have nothing of value, and I’m sure nothing you’d want anyways. If it’s flesh you want, I suppose one of my arms would be the easiest. I’m not sure if you’d want the soul of a failed mapmaker who can’t live up to his birth flight or his adopted one.”

For the first time in their interaction, Mama Tegu looked confused. Then a grin split her face, and a laugh ripped out of her throat, harsh and barking but no less mirthful.

“Ahahahah, you--ya think I want, what? Ya arms? Ya blood? Ya soul? Oh boy, child, those stores have been gettin’ pretty tall then, lemme tell ya. Hoo, by the Mothers, that sure is somethin’.”

If Mama Tegu has been slightly bemused, Salvator was absolutely stunned. His voice rose over her rough cackling.

“Well, then--then what do you want?”

Her laughter died down into a cough, and she pounded at her chest before it cleared and she regained her breath.

“Heh, ahem, sorry child. I ain’t laughin’ at you, just the ninnies that live in these parts, thinkin’ I drink blood ‘n steal hatchlings, whoo-eee.” She shook her head gently.

“As for my payment, well see that’s the thing. You gotta offer whatcha think you can give. An’ if I like it, I’ll take it, n’ we have a deal. Understand, child?”

Salvator pondered this for a few minutes. Even if she didn’t seem to be malicious, he knew better than to make deals and promises he couldn’t afford. He could feel his legs starting to sting beneath his bindings, reminding him of his predicament.

“What if...what if I helped you out with something? A favor for a favor, that sort of thing? There has to be something I could do for you to make up for this, since I don’t have anything I could give you.”

Mama Tegu turned away from him, stroking the bottom of her jaw thoughtfully. She let out another low hum as she considered. Salvator waited in tense silence, praying to every god he thought would listen that she would accept his deal, and not have something gruesome in mind for him as his task.

Finally, she turned back to face him.

“Hmmm, well it isn’t the kinda deal I usually take. If’n ya start takin’ favors no one ever offers real payment anymore. But you seem earnest enough, child, and Mama ain’t heartless. I tell ya what. Mama ain’t as young as she used to be, and these newfangled locals ain’t been friendly. You’re a young, strong fella, even if ya seem to have worse direction-sense than a mirror in a blizzard. But Mama knows these swamps like the back of her claws, and I ain’t gettin’ lost anytime soon. If you stay with me an’ help watch Mama’s back, child, I’ll free some o’ them bindings. An’ the longer ya stay, the more I’ll release ‘em. An’ don’tcha worry ya little head, I’ll make sure they’s at least loose. Comfortable enough so’s you can move n’ sleep alright. So, child, whatcha think, hmm?”

He thought about the implications of her offer carefully. “So...some of my payment is time, then?”

She shrugged noncommittally. “If’n ya wan’ see it like that, yes. And if’n Mama’s bein’ honest, she doesn’ mind the company now ‘n then.”

There was a beat of silence between them, the humid air heavier than usual. Salvator swallowed thickly. He really didn’t have any other choice. He doubted he would get a better offer than this, surely.

“I..accept.”

“Child, you’re the one offerin’ to me. You got to say it.”

“A-alright.” The words were sticking in his throat. “Mama Tegu, I offer you my time and assistance, my company and aid, in exchange for freeing me from this trap.”

A satisfied smile creased her features, and a glow encircled her eyes. When she spoke, her voice seemed to have an otherworldly echo to it.

“The offering is good, the deal is struck. Under the sight of the Mothers may we both fulfill our bargain. Under the blessings of the Mothers may we serve each other as they do.”

#flight rising #vhyx writes a damn lore #idk where all this came from it was just gonna be a couple paragraphs but it turned into a whole long thing #just so yall know i may not pick up and write any more on this. just know that Salvator and Mama end up getting along #once he stops being afraid of her #and he eventually convinces the other bystoma residents that she isn't a monster just kind of a weird cryptid #also the Mothers is ofc referring to plaguemom and treemom #which totally works out unintentionally well since she's plague and he's nature

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brynne-lagaao · 7 years

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(Fanfic) Set in Stone - Chapter Eighteen (Final)

Title: Set in Stone

Pairing: Sarumi

Chapter: 18/18

Rating: M

Mirrors: AO3 | Website

Summary: Yata wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he performed a summon on his own in a fit of drunken loneliness. It definitely wasn’t some asshole demon with a bad attitude, even if that demon happened to be frustratingly hot. But breaking their contract was going to mean working together, and he wasn’t sure how much of that he could take before he snapped… one way or another.

Note: Thank you to @dropletons for being my beta and to @chromekins for helping with the magic aspect. This fic is not entirely accurate in terms of modern magic and the demon lore was basically made up to suit the story, but I tried to keep somewhat of an authentic feel, so hopefully that succeeded.

Note #2: Thank you so much to everyone who read and enjoyed this fic! I hope you like the ending - let me know what you think if you are feeling up to it!

The fully charged moonstone felt hot in Yata’s pocket as he stepped into the lobby of Munakata’s office building.

It had been like that since the afternoon, when they’d completed the final charge – a comforting sort of heat that gave him the impression of sunlight sinking into his body. At the same time, he could feel the sense of the stone’s own identity, cool and inviting, as a contrast. It was sorta like the completed charge had given it a new aspect, drawing out a side of its personality that had been suppressed before.

“Since when does a stone have a personality?” Saruhiko had drawled when he’d voiced that thought as they wrapped up their moonlight charging.

Yata had shrugged it off. “You just don’t get it.”

“I’m fine with that,” Saruhiko had agreed dryly. “It’s enough trouble keeping up with sentient beings – I don’t need to consider the feelings of rocks on top of that.” A slight pause had followed, and then he’d added reluctantly, “This one does feel different now, though.”

That had been enough to draw a grin from Yata. “Told ya.”

“I already regret saying anything.”

The exchange had been somewhat subdued; they’d already said their personal goodbyes before flying out to Munakata’s office building for that last charge. After a lengthy discussion and putting together what seemed like a solid plan for how they’d see each other going forward, neither of them had wanted to draw out what remained of this flawed contract, so the decision had been to cut it off cleanly and start on the new arrangement as soon as possible. It meant a few days apart before Yata would summon Saruhiko again, but that was something they were going to have to get used to, regardless.

“I probably need to clean up a bunch of messes at work anyway,” Saruhiko had said easily, his fingers playing idly with Yata’s on the mattress between them. They had done most of their talking like that, enjoying the closeness and comfort it allowed. “There’s only so much you can do remotely.”

Yata had huffed out a brief laugh in response, turning his hand so their fingers could entwine. “Bet it’s not as bad as you think.”

Saruhiko clicked his tongue. “It’s probably worse.”

“You’re just too damn fussy.”

Truthfully, he was gonna have some catching up to do, too; he’d had way too many unplanned days off already, and there was still rent and bills to take care of. Plus, he missed going to Homra more often. Basically, life went on – they’d just have to keep up as best they could.

He didn’t mind shifting some stuff around to make room for this new thing between them, though. It was worth putting in the effort to make it work.

“This is it, huh?” Saruhiko mused, as Yata pressed the elevator button in Munakata’s office building. His expression was relaxed when their eyes met, a small rueful upturn to his lips the only indication of his emotions. “Ready to end it?”

“Ready to start it,” Yata corrected him, smirking in response – and got the satisfaction of seeing that tiny upturn grow to a real smile in response.

“I guess you’re right about that.”

Munakata was waiting for them when they made their way down, still seated behind his office desk despite the late hour and with a smile on his face that looked entirely too self-satisfied for Yata’s taste. “My, my,” he commented when they stepped through the door. “How unexpected to see the two of you at this hour, and after such a lengthy absence.” He leaned forward in his chair, studying them with interest. “I was beginning to think that perhaps some trouble prevented you from coming.”

Yata snorted. “Yeah, well, you thought wrong.” ‘Trouble’ was probably not the right word for it, but he wasn’t gonna explain more than he had to. “And talking about the hour, how about you, huh? D’you just sit here constantly or what?”

The smile on Munakata’s face widened marginally, but he didn’t respond to the question. “Judging by the timing of this visit, I expect the charges have been completed.” He glanced back and forth between them. “Is that a fair assumption?”

Saruhiko clicked his tongue, even as Yata scowled. “Why do you bother to ask when you already know the answer?”

“Call it a professional courtesy,” Munakata responded smoothly. He bridged his hands in front of him. “And how did you find the experience of charging them, if I may be so bold as to ask?”

Yata glanced at Saruhiko, and found his gaze returned. Somehow, just the simple act of making eye contact had his skin prickling and heart picking up a notch. He couldn’t help the wry smile spreading on his face, and was gratified to note how the corners of Saruhiko’s mouth turned up in response. “Pain in the ass,” he answered glibly, letting that smile build to a smirk as he turned his head forward again.

“Unnecessarily complicated,” Saruhiko added dryly – but the amusement in his tone was clear.

“I see.” Munakata shut his eyes for a moment, letting out a soft chuckle as if in response to some private joke. When he opened them again, his gaze was strangely fond. “It would appear that the two of you have exceeded my expectations.” Lowering his hands, he pushed himself gracefully up from his seat. “Congratulations are thus in order.”

Yata blinked, taken aback. “Eh?”

Saruhiko recovered more quickly, clicking his tongue. “You haven’t even seen the results yet.”

Munakata smiled beatifically, moving around the desk to face them. He was a tall man, which Yata more or less knew from the few times they’d faced each other when he wasn’t sitting at his office desk – but it still irked him all the same. “If you would be so kind as to present them, then.”

That was a cue he could understand. Yata reached into his pocket to grasp the moonstone. He felt a strange reluctance as he drew it out, a tiny hint of loss at being asked to part with it. Probably because of… yeah. Saying goodbye wasn’t easy, even if it wouldn’t be permanent. Despite the feeling, he held out his hand without hesitation, opening his fingers to reveal the stone on his palm. A second or so later, he noticed Saruhiko doing the same beside him.

Munakata studied the two of them for only a brief second before nodding his approval. “Set them on my desk for now,” he instructed. “I will have Awashima-kun carry them on to their next destination once her time permits.”

Next destination? The thought jumped into his head just before Saruhiko asked, “Where are they going?”

“It need not concern you for now.” The response was easy but firm; clearly, the subject was off-limits. Munakata waited while they followed his instruction, and then went on. “Before I proceed to void the contract, did you have any farewells to make?”

Already done. Once again, Yata glanced at Saruhiko – and once again, he found Saruhiko meeting his eyes. This time, it was a full grin that spread on his face. “See ya,” he offered casually.

Saruhiko lowered his eyelids, the smile on his face reflecting Yata’s satisfaction back at him. “Mm,” he returned, and then in that casual drawl added, “See you.”

It was as simple as that, but it felt like a promise all the same.

“Very well, then.” Munakata stepped forward, extending his arms to press his index finger to each of their foreheads.

The touch was light, but Yata felt the surge of energy that flooded him very clearly. He shut his eyes instinctively against it, sucking in a breath sharply – and when he opened them again, Saruhiko was no longer standing beside him.

The sense of sudden loss was sharper than he expected. Yata swallowed, staring for a moment at the spot where Saruhiko had been. This was the way they’d planned it, and he was still sure it was the best way, but he felt the ache that came from parting all the same. Now that it came down to it and they had to go their separate ways for real… he couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely.

I’ll see him again, he reminded himself, trying to shake off that mood. It wouldn’t be long, and they had their whole lives ahead of them to work out any potential problems.

“This occasion puts me in mind of a particular sentiment I’ve heard expressed frequently.” When Yata looked up, Munakata was studying him keenly. “All good things must end in time.”

“Heh.” Yata shook his head. “You got it wrong – it’s not the end.” He offered a smirk, feeling his earlier optimism returning. “This good thing is just getting started!”

Munakata shut his eyes, a small mysterious smile on his lips. “Well said,” he responded simply.

Saturday nights, Yata always made sure he was home early.

It wasn’t like he could summon Saruhiko right away. They’d had long talks – and occasional arguments – over the logistics of their arrangement, but one of the agreements they’d hammered out was around timing. Saruhiko was always irritable if he responded to a summon when he’d been in the middle of work, even if he tried to hide it. It had required some trial and error and a certain amount of strain at first, but eventually they’d knocked the rough edges off of the process. They both made an effort to be ready at whatever time they’d agreed on – no “spontaneous” early summons and no “voluntary” overtime.

After months of pressing the point, he’d finally convinced Saruhiko that it was no big deal to just refuse the summon if he was in the middle of something urgent, and Yata would try again in an hour. There was no point if they couldn’t relax and enjoy themselves.

Feels like he doesn’t really get the whole relaxing thing. But that was changing too.

Slowly, surely, they’d been smoothing things out. Yata couldn’t help but smile when he thought about it, the pleasant anticipation he always felt when he thought about seeing Saruhiko again coursing through him as he stepped through the door into his apartment. It wasn’t perfect, and it would’ve been better if they could just move in together without the limitations – and complications – of a binding contract, but they were making it work.

Maybe someday they’d figure out something better, but for now, he was content with what they had.

Either way, the main reason he came home early was to make sure he had time to eat and shower before drawing up the summoning circle. And today there was an extra reason he’d been eager to get back, one that had him kicking off his shoes with even more enthusiasm than before. In front of him on the table, the wrapped box he’d brought home several days ago was still sitting there, reminding him of the occasion.

A whole year since then, huh? Plus a few days, since they’d agreed to stick to their regular Saturday rather than try to hit the exact date. But yeah, a year ago he’d summoned Saruhiko unexpectedly and kicked off this whole business.

It was worth celebrating, for sure.

Yata had been thinking about what to get for a while, and finally settled on a set of coffee mugs – specifically, two of the mugs used for customers at Hakumaitou, which had cost him a lot more from his stash than he’d expected. They were plain off-white, but he’d gone out and gotten their names engraved in bold print – ‘Saruhiko’ in blue on one and ‘Misaki’ in red on the other.

Saruhiko would have to leave his here and only use it when he visited, from Saturday night to Monday morning, but Yata kinda thought the sentiment was fitting. He had a fresh bag of Hakumaitou’s special coffee, too – and hope of flying out for a view of the city from ‘their’ spot at some point during the night.

It was all pretty low-key, but it suited them. He was really looking forward to it.

Yata had just finished cleaning up after his dinner, about to move the table aside so he could start drawing up the summoning circle, when there was a knock at his door.

What the hell? He frowned, hesitating for a second. Usually he didn’t get many visitors. Sometimes one of his friends would drop by if they were in the area, but everyone knew Saturdays were off-limits, and he’d mentioned the anniversary too.

The landlord? It would be unusual, but it had happened. Well, only one way to find out. Yata hurried forward and swung the door open.

His skin prickled, mouth falling open as shock paralyzed him. All he could do for a moment was stare.

How…?

Saruhiko returned his gaze, shifting on his feet in a slight, awkward motion. His shoulders were a bit hunched and his expression was oddly hesitant. “I don’t have a key to your place,” he drawled, after a moment of startled silence.

Yata blinked, recovering from his stupor – and then blinked twice more in rapid succession, double checking that he was really seeing this. “Wh-why are you here?” he managed to stammer out after another awkward pause, too stunned to react in any other way.

There was no way a demon could come to this plane without a contract. So…?

“I’m not on someone else’s contract, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Saruhiko told him dryly, and glanced around, clicking his tongue lightly. “Can I come in? I’d rather not explain while standing on your doorstep.”

There wasn’t much he could say to that. “Yeah, right.” Yata bit back his impatience and moved aside, holding the door so that Saruhiko could step past him and remove his boots.

As soon as the door shut, he gave in to a sudden impulse and moved forward to wrap his arms around Saruhiko’s waist from behind, pressing his chest against that thin back. He lifted his face to bury his nose in the space between Saruhiko’s shoulder blades, inhaling deeply to take in the familiar scent, and mumbled, “Happy anniversary.”

Saruhiko had momentarily frozen in the unexpected hold, but relaxed almost immediately, a short contented sigh escaping him at the words. “Happy anniversary, Misaki,” he murmured, setting his hands over Yata’s arms to return the awkward embrace as best he could.

They stayed like that for another moment or two, just enjoying each other’s presence, before Yata’s curiosity got the better of him and he broke away, stepping around Saruhiko to look him properly in the face. “Okay, now spill it! How the hell are you here?”

Saruhiko shrugged, the motion seeming somehow awkward as his posture shifted slightly. It was a small change, but Yata could see a certain amount of nervous tension in the way he was standing. “Apparently we can be granted clearance to come here under certain circumstances.” He didn’t want for Yata to ask. “I’m here to propose a new contract to you.”

Something about the way he said it had a little shiver running through Yata’s body – and not an unpleasant one. Get a grip. He swallowed it back, managing to grin in response. “Oh yeah? Let’s hear it.”

“It’s not really a standard contract.” Saruhiko reached into his pocket, movements unusually sharp and jerky. “The terms are a little unusual. Technically, it doesn’t have an end date, but it’s not… exactly like before.” When he pulled his hand out, his fingers were closed around whatever he’d grabbed. “In exchange for sharing your energy, this is what I’m offering.”

His hand was noticeably unsteady when he slowly opened it, but that wasn’t what caught Yata’s immediate attention. Even before he could see what was there, the almost-forgotten sense of captured sunlight and moonlight had his breath catching in his throat sharply, recognition hitting like a truck – and when his vision caught up with his other sense, that same breath escaped him in a sudden rush.

The stones they’d charged together had been somehow shaped into solid, thick-banded rings.

How? It had been a year already, and he couldn’t imagine how they’d held their charge for so long, much less been forged so perfectly into this shape. The luster was even preserved, and he could feel the same energy…

And… they were rings, so…

So.

Yata took in another breath. “Saruhiko…”

“I made a deal with the Captain,” Saruhiko cut him off. When Yata looked up, he was met with a wary, tentative sort of gaze. “I’m guessing he planned this from the start, since his condition was for me to take on some jobs for him on this plane. If we’re contracted like this, I’ll be able to move back and forth between the two planes, which makes me a convenient resource.” He clicked his tongue. “It’s kind of irritating when you fall into his pace, but it can’t be helped. Not like I was going to turn him down.”

Yata seriously didn’t want to think about Munakata in that moment. “Right, sure, I get it,” he agreed impatiently, eyes dropping to the rings again. There was a fierce anticipation building in the pit of his belly. “What are you offering here?”

Saruhiko shifted again, if anything looking even more awkward. “The contract is in the rings,” he mumbled. “Either one of us can end it any time if we throw it away or give it back – that’s what you wanted, right?” Once again, without waiting for an answer, he added, “It’s… also what I want. To be with you.” When Yata raised his gaze again, it was in time to catch a telling hint of red spreading across Saruhiko’s pale cheeks. “If you’ll have me.”

“Are you kidding me?” Yata could feel traitorous tears welling up in his eyes, elation bubbling up through his entire body. He reached out to close his hand over Saruhiko’s, feeling the comforting glow of the rings between their fingers, and leaned in to capture a fierce kiss, pouring all of his happiness into the motion. When they broke apart, he smirked, letting his eyes go lidded. “Course I’ll have you, dumbass – why the hell else would I put up with you for a whole year?”

“Who knows.” The tremor in Saruhiko’s voice belied the mocking drawl he was trying to go for, but he smiled back, relaxing enough to lean his forehead against Yata’s and shutting his eyes to let out a shaky sigh before adding, “Maybe you’re just a masochist.”

“Pretty sure that’s you, you fucking gloomy-ass workaholic!” Yata didn’t bother holding the deep affection back from his voice; it came out throaty, but he didn’t care, staring deeply into Saruhiko’s eyes when he opened them again and feeling fierce contentment fill him. “So this… this means you’re staying, right? You’ll live here?”

“That’s the idea.” Saruhiko freed his hand and the rings, leaning back far enough to take hold of Yata’s left hand and holding the moonstone ring up between his fingers. He hesitated, watching Yata’s face keenly. “Do you accept the contract?”

He knew enough now to guess that this required a clear answer. “Yeah,” he responded seriously, returning the gaze with all the conviction he could throw into it. “I accept it, Saruhiko.”

The sensation that poured into him when the ring was slipped onto his finger was achingly familiar; Yata felt the sting of tears once again at the welcoming pulse of warmth and sunlight. There was a different energy behind it now, too – heavy and full of promise.

It matched how he was feeling right then. “Here.” Yata reached out to take the sunstone ring. “Let me.” It was given up to him without any resistance, and he picked up Saruhiko’s left hand, glancing up. “Do you? Accept it, I mean.”

Saruhiko’s eyes were half-mast; the tiny smile already on his face widened ever so slightly. “Yes, Misaki. I accept.”

When he slid the ring home, he wasn’t prepared for the sudden shift in the energy of the room – a kind of ‘click’, as if something had just fallen into place. And then alongside his own happiness, he could feel another, separate sense of joy – and something like triumph.

Yata jerked his gaze up, startled. “Wait – Saruhiko – is this…?”

The smile on Saruhiko’s face widened into a smirk. “Right, I forgot to mention,” he drawled. “Since the contract is in the rings and you happen to be wearing one, the emotion-sharing goes both ways.”

“How the hell could you forget to mention, you – ?” Yata cut off there, feeling the little trickle of smug amusement from that other source, and shook his head ruefully. Well, not like I mind. Still, it was stronger than he would’ve expected, the blend of relief and happiness and contentment. Almost overwhelming, but not in a bad way. It matched his own feelings perfectly. “Seriously, you gotta warn me about this shit!”

Saruhiko gazed at him through his lashes, that little smirk lingering on his lips. “That would’ve spoiled the surprise.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He had to admit, it was a good surprise – on top of everything else, it felt satisfying to have things go both ways between them. It would probably take a little while to get used to, but he was gonna enjoy every second. Yata grinned back. “You’re a liar, by the way. You said you’d never felt emotions like mine, remember? But yours seem just as strong to me right now!”

The sense of contentment only increased – he couldn’t tell if it was Saruhiko’s or his. Maybe both. It didn’t really matter, either way. “I learned from the best,” Saruhiko murmured, and leaned in to capture Yata’s lips again.

#k #sarumi #yata misaki #fushimi saruhiko #fanfic #fanfic:mine

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