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pikawarrior · 1 year

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Welcome back to reaper talks bitches, i just finished my first playthrough of Shadows Over Loathing and have already started on my second and

Oh.

My.

Gods.

I fucking love this game. I mean its made by the people who made of my favorite games ever, West of Loathing so yeah im gonna enjoy it.

But this, this is new, this limits me in sooo many different ways but also opens up the game in ways i couldnt have imagined

[Alot of spoiler filled ramblings of a mad man slightly broken by a weird time/dimension loop that are only vaguely understandable under the cut]

Okay first off, not picking you class right at the very very start is great weirdly enough, atleast for me.

It gave me time to see the world through the basic unfiltered lens of someone who has an idea whats to come cuz of me playing the previous game but also no clue as the game hasnt given me any story yet.

Literally, it starts off with you having a copy of LOOK magazine on your face. You also get to really choose your look or well hair situation mainly, you're a stick person hair and accessories are all you got and its early game soooo

But anygays, it doesnt give you story till thr bus ride and even then you dont know your class or if there will even be classes!

I choose pigskinner or whatever my head is running at a million miles per hour rn cuz this hyperfixation is really new and free so double the speed of thoughts

And yeah i could have tried something new especially since 2 out of my 3 wol saves were that game's pigskinner class (cow puncher(?)) But come on, i like my familiar class also i suck as magic/effect heavy builds outside of my spamming of stuff like bleed or on fire

But anygays, the uncursing stuff is super fun tho pretty confusing. Thankfully you cant mess them up to my knowledge, they really test you puzzle skilss and you remembering that most things in this game are interactable (very very important)

Also omg i love any chance to piss a narrator and there are some great ones, the main ones that i can remember rn is the one about you working at all these different places and even being employee of the month despite you either being super young or not born at that time. And the one about you digging wet globs of hair out of sinks, mainly at frat houses. Gross i know, but i fucking dug through every single spittoon in wol, nothing can stop me anymore

The narrator def regrets following this dumbass (me) around but they cant leave so HA

But back to the uncursing, the sickle curse was actually super scary. Like that scarecrow was after ME, not the person i was currently in the body of, no he was after ME, my character also nick come on buddy you dont take loans/favors from The Shadows, thats like rule #265, your ass deserved a lawnmowing.

Also wtf i got sent the lawnmower i made with a note that said "see you in 66 years" or something like that. Like HELLO???? WHICH BITCH GOT MY ADDRESS AND WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ME AND MY LAWNMOWER

Seriously the sickle curse was hands down the scariest part of a game ive played in years and ive somewhat play resident evil 7

Also gods i love the to do list, don't get me wrong i loved asking my companions for reminders but this is super convenient and go for when my companion cant you know, accompany me somewhere

Plus being able see everything together and whats a main quest vs a side quest helps. And making my own notes in game helps since i still havent gotta a notebook for my gaming notes yet

Also the whole thing with the mob was great, 10/10 i love being chaotic and getting paid the big bucks for it. Seriously its worth it and theres even some more pacifist options in those quest lines to. Im very much a nice person to my core despite my nature darkness and chaos, so being able to handle things nicely or well with limited blood shed is nice. Also helps with you, like me, tend to avoid battles you dont gotta fight. Its also a nice puzzle sometimes cuz i cant just shove like 9 different thing down my throat and kick ass. Its one potion and one food at a time.

The combat is definitely different but more in a "its harder to be able to wipe everyone out in seconds" then a "heres a whole new system to learn good luck"

In wol its stupidly easy atleast for me to become a lesser god and wipe out half the map basically even during early game. Tho thats mainly cuz of my past experience and cuz i was raised really good and weirdly so my skills work with this-

But in sol the fights are actually pretty tough, i found myself really rationing my items out even in late game but also heavily relying on them and effects

Which btw go fucking on items and stuff that cause effects like bleed and on fire, trust me its actually kinda necessary

Also the last(?) fight (and the optional golem fight) are like stupidly hard even with all tbr help (finale(?)) While the golem is apparently a push over yet also god number two idk im working on it, apparently they didnt play test it and honestly it kinda shows (neutral)

ALSP WTF IS THAT BITCH AT THE FUNAL LIKE HOKY HELL DO NOT BE AFIARD MY ASS THAT A BIBLICALLY ACCURATE ANGEL WITHOUT WINGS RIGHT THERE AND ITS ABOUT TO SEND ME TO HELL PERSONALLY

Also i fucking lost, i can go back but i decided to learn from my mistakes by starting fresh instead of fixing them after they've already been made

AND im gonna help more people, im gonna save those two kids from that monster that haunts their family, im gonna help rufus find my past/other self from the first game, IM GONNA HELP EVERYONE I CAN ESPECIALLY THE ONES I FAILED BEFORE

Reaps now signing off to work on MEP parts see yall in like another 6 months

#reaperspeaks #shadows over loathing #i need to buy all my friends a copy of wol and sol now like 100% now not just a maybe some day if i convince them #no thats the main gift option this year

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antiloreolympus · 2 years

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WAIT SO AFTER ALL THAT DRAMA AND SHIT WE DONT SEE ANY CONSEQUENCES OF MINTHE BEING TURNED INTO A PLANT NOR NOTHING ABOUT PERSEPHONE STRUGGLING TO TURN HER BACK AND MINTHE ISNT EVEN MAD??? AND IS STAYING WITH PERSEPHONE WHAT

This is why I hate the timeskip as ten years is a too long for a story like LO. We rarely got timeskips before and those were typically about the war or before Persephone came to Olympus. LO for the most part was day by day and actually needed time skips then but now, there's flashbacks basically every episode so far 😭.

About the Minthe Stuff:

Consequence wise, I think something should've change on Minthe's body. The only reason I can think of why nothing is there because Persephone needed to fully restore Minthe so if she did have any changes, Zeus wouldn't even consider lifting the punishment. However, I like to think she didn't get uncursed perfectly.

Also, to be fair, Minthe was probably furious with Persephone but there's so much time in between now and when Persephone got banished that we can't get an idea on how they feel about each other.

Praying that she still doesn't like Persephone but tolerates her for the sake of peace. I don't want Minthe to be converted to Team Persephone 😭.

As much as I'd like some kind of redemption for her, I don't want that to basically be her taking blame for every single thing and then becoming besties.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of her and Minthe being friends but more so in a fanon way tbh.

#anti lo #anti lore olympus #lo critical #lore olympus critical

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meili-sheep · 1 year

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I wake up and choose angst 🗿👍

So this is like Wanderer's situation but sprinkles a bit more angst

Because speaking of Anime, in Re:Zero S2...

Rem is put into a coma, because her name and memory got eaten. Imagine Traveler's face when they mention Diluc and Paimon is like "Huh? Who's Diluc?"

I don't know if Kaeya, Zhongli, and Venti will remember Diluc or not but if they do, man they need a hug, especially Kaeya. He just lost someone precious again, but this is way too cruel because damn, nobody remembers Diluc and he's in a freaking coma.

(Light Novel spoiler alert: Rem will wake up although idk how long time pass, probably months cause I don't read the LN but she doesn't remember anything)

When your name got eaten, your existence will be forgotten.

When your memory got eaten, you won't remember anything.

So if both are eaten, you'll be in a sleeping beauty state and not even a kiss can wake you up. Because why are you even here?

So it's taking a minute to get to this because I was confused until I remembered I can't read and pull out my tts.

Ah, but anyway, I've never seen Re: Zero. I'm not a big Isekai person tbh. I did get into "So I'm a spider, so what!" But it lost me when that show went away from the spider to the kids. And I do need to what "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" because Rimuru seems like the vibe and NB rep I need in my life.

ANY wAY.

There is my thing about how I think time works in genshin. (I have a feeling this is gonna be a lore theory post) It is one path. One big unchanging stream. Like. Wander and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. They both still happen, and they still exist in the world. Time was not changed. Just the memory. Because the brain does this thing where it fills in gaps when you don't remember, and that's what Irminsul doesn't control time, just the memory of it. And when The Wander and Greater Lord Rukkhadevate erased their memories. The events still happened, and Irmisul just made up the spaces. Which is why there is still a sixth chair in the harbingers.

And it clearly still works on the Archon. So I think Venti would react much like Nahida did, with a sense of something missing. I Feel Kaeya would also have the same reaction because I think the Irmisul is good at filling in large missing gaps, but a small single person would be hard. So Kaeya would have memories that don't make sense unless someone else was there.

Do remember he is still a part of the world even as a Khaenrian, maybe even more so since he seems to be an uncursed Kharnrian (ie he can age).

But you know who besides the Traveler would remember?

Alice.

Alice is most likely another Descender. Given she knows about things from our world and knows Aloy or she at least has a special distance from the Irminsul.

And you know who she promised to treat as her own? Diluc. You can't tell me she wouldn't be upset and personally seek out the traveler to help her.

#diluc #diluc ragnvindr #genshin theory #I've mentioned some of this before #but still #alice #alice genshin impact

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none-prob · 1 year

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I write about a character per day

Day 19: Lilith Clawthorne

I just have this special place for Lilith, since she's the aroace rep of the show, and I found out I'm aromantic in February.

I just think Lilith is neat.

I want what Lilith and Hooty have so much. Just me and my pet and no one else.

Lilith got a really interesting redemption, one that is not the same as Hunter or Amity in the sense that, her damage was irreversible. And even worse, it's on her own sister. She got her punishment for it as well, the negligence from her parents, and the betrayal from Belos. But no other character had such a drastic change in personality from S1 to S2 as much as Lilith, from the right hand of Belos to historian cool aunt and finally Isles' engineer.

Just imagine the dynamic Lilith and Eda could have had in their full power. Oh boy, Lilith is only slightly weaker than Eda, and in my opinion Eda in Season 1 is probably the strongest witch of the show, covenheads included, not just in power, but also in strategy. One combination that had never happened because of the curse, but that's okay because we got two cool harpy witches. (Oh we also got robbed of that because the show got cancelled prematurely? Hmm, oh well)

I really think Lilith wasn't completely ill-intended even from her first appearance. After all, she believed what she's doing was for the good of her sister. Even when Luz trying to uncurse Eda like Lilith wanted in the first place, Lilith still believe not doing so is better. She was duped by Belos so hard, and I don't blame her for that, Belos is an excellent manipulator. Belos got that close into erasing Lilith's one of her first ever purposes when joining the Emperor's Coven, which is to heal her sister. But once Lilith recognized it entirely, it's time for redemption. A redemption that came entirely from her. A moment of confession later and she's flying away with her owl sister.

Regardless, the countless attempts to redeem herself for Eda was recognizable. She was in the sense that she had to do something for Eda to redeem herself for decades of pain Eda's been through, even sharing the curse of Eda to her. Eda helped her get used to the new life, powerless and cursed, but not useless. Eda being incredibly generous to her sister helped Lilith not feeling too guilty and adapting her new life so smoothly.

Lilith studied quite a lot in her sister's house. She got a cool niece who taught her things, went to adventures, and got to punch her old boss (that she didn't acknowledge of), and honestly I'd love to see more of Luz and Lilith, they got a long pretty well. King is fine with Lilith even before the petrification, and that scene when King and Lilith speaking about the absence of parental care was quite depressing. And speaking of that...

Lilith was an indirect victim of parental negligence. It is hard for Gwen and Dell to look after her as much as Eda for obvious reason, for a reason that Lilith committed to even. But only by living in Eda's house did Lilith saw her mom for the first time in years. It is painful that even then she was still pushed away by Gwen because Gwen still prioritize curing Eda's curse more. I don't think it's fault for anyone, and it genuinely is nice that Lilith went home with her mom, to rebuild the broken, and to know that her parents still love her after all those years, even if she told them the secret about the curse.

But by far the biggest gift in Eda's house is Hooty. And by god these two are so precious. Hooty being Hooty and handling Lilith on his own, single-handedly squashed the entire army in the morning, but in the afternoon being the eyewitness of the greatest redemption he has ever seen. Lilith wasn't too fond of him, but one mission later and a few fire bee stings on Hooty helped them bond together. The scream when Lilith saw puppet Hooty was so touching I don't know how to describe it. They loved being around each other (platonically), protected each other, inspired each other, and genuinely so awesome.

Why is there only 2 episodes of Lilith and Amity together? (And other mysteries of the Isles that wouldn't be explained because of that reason) One of them was before their redemption arc, and the other was in the last montage. The teacher-student dynamic is quite strong for this one, and I would love to see more of them.

Lilith is so special to me. She's aroace. She's a nerd. She punched Philip. Historian. Engineer. Cool aunt. She had it all. I'll miss her so much.

#the owl house #toh #lilith clawthorne

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ratsoh-writes · 1 year

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Later, Pop and E are hanging out at the tree. E is back in her work uniform as she had to pop into work for a bit now that Pop was uncursed, but she hadn't a moment to change back before seeing Pop on her way home again.

"Hey, question-"

She tended to start conversations like that when it was relatively important. But 'importance' could be a lot of things, like what someone wants for the holidays.

"I wanted to ask earlier, but uh, obviously you couldn't answer very well at the time- but uh, figured if we'd be dating long enough I should probably ask this, so here I go, uh, kids? Do you ever want to have kids like ever?"

She quickly interrupted herself. "Not now! Obviously. But. One day. Like ever. Doesn't matter 'how', to have, foster, adopt, whichever- I don't care either way, but one day I'd like-" a quick breath. "I'm just getting older, I mean, I know you're older, but like for my species I'm older- and-" she seemed stressed.

"I just want to know if that's even something you'd even want. To raise a kid at all. Because some people don't. And that's okay. -But I realized this might be a question I should have asked sooner than later."

Pop freezes at the question and tilts his head thinking about it

Pop: sure why not? If we ever get married I kinda assumed we’d have one?

Well that was easy

Pop: I’d want two though. Being an only child is lonely I heard. I heard on this podcast that-

He starts rambling about the psychology of single children vs small family units, vs a house full of children weighing the pros and cons of all of them lol. You learn from pop that if he ever did have kids, he’d prefer his own but isn’t opposed to adoption either.

Pop is one of those who is shy around other people’s kids, but would be fine having his own. He also wouldn’t care if it’s him or his partner carrying too. He’d have a harder time connecting to a child he isn’t related to at first though cause of his being shy around other people’s kids thing. He could adopt, it would just take more effort on his end

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sofhtie · 2 years

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oh MAN have i been catapulted RIGHT back into cami,

#nothing like the reminder that people are Leaving for me to get upset about her for the first time in a While!#i forgot how. oh BOY are people leaving‼️#i. jesus christ people sure are leaving!#cami Dedicated herself to this city and she doesn’t regret it and she thinks it’s exactly her duty to do so.#and she was ready to die for it and she still is!#but. man. she thought if she did it would be with the four most powerful people she knew fighting with her.#and now. every single of them them has left or will leave except fásach! a new insanely powerful person showed up and is now also leaving!#and fásach nearly died and onlu Just got uncursed.#so. well!#i think there’s something very interesting in. unity as cami applies it unity as Responsiblity whether you want it or not #she is just So insane about things…#because it’s. like rhest was On Everyone because as soon as we knew we had to do something. and like sorc deaths are not only on cerise #they’re on All Of Us for not thinking enough about the dragon #if uberta falls (and cami yknow. lives) it will be on All Of Them! leaving doesnt allievate responsibility in her mind!#and she understands. greater responsibilities and Other responsibilities and having to chose but. still never gets Rid of the other #just outweighs it.#she’s absolutely never going to actually switch subclasses bc i don’t think it’s as interesting as her staying unity #but man. if she was. would this be a time to switch from unity to war #and like no one take that too seriously because i always have to sort through several layers of just being Upset in cami’s head before i get #to her Real reactions and emotions but. MAN‼️#no one take any of this post Too seriously tee be aych. i am just processing. but also i’m right maybe #crop #dnd hours

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juicywritinghoard · 2 years

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trope with a twist writing prompts

car wash fundraiser argument leads to soapy sponge fight

enemies to lovers...but they were childhood friends

theme park employees...one wears a stupid mascot suit and the other is crushing hard

one made the other a special meal but it was absolutely awful and they may end up going to urgent care

person who usually has their hair up takes it down and the person watching walks into a wall

person scared of thunder is hiding in the bathtub during the storm. other person tries to comfort them and accidentally turns the water on

slow dancing in the kitchen turns to giggles when a cheesy ad comes on over the music

every single kiss so far has been a disaster but it's really funny

"what could go wrong" + something immediately goes wrong but it keeps happening

academic rivals to lovers but they're still rivals also

cheesy romantic hotel suite but they can't take it seriously enough to get spicy. for real, a heart shaped jacuzzi??

one meets the other's parents and it goes so poorly they ask the parents point blank for a do-over

date at the arcade becomes almost dangerously competitive

super-powered rivals but they're both villains

they got the same gift for each other...again

finding out the other has plans to propose and vibrating waiting for it to happen but they get faked out so many times they just propose instead

mermaid that definitely eats people. human is into it

royal and commoner fall in love and take down the monarchy

adopting a cat together and crying about it

very special package goes to the wrong address please explain everything they cannot rest until they understand

movie night in shambles after cuddling incident

partner that works in the circus is so flexible and won't stop doing acrobatics in normal situations

honeymoon antics lead to near-arrest but what could be more romantic than running away from the cops together

got lost and has to hold the other's hand now

coffee shop au but the barista hates their guts

teacher and another teacher who teach wildly different things

college au but both are full ass adults going back to school to get out of their shitty dead end careers

werewolf au. both of them are werewolves

fake proposing for free stuff leads to fake marriage for free gifts leads to friends with benefits situation that's going off the rails with denial

roommates but they're both secretly assassins trying to appear normal

loopy confession after waking up from anesthesia is a lot harder to pass off as a joke the third time

haha that sexy costume is so funny, well this person is about to be hilarious

this group project is either going to end in homicide or polyamory

alien and another alien and both think the other is human and also that they're doing a great job of pretending to be human

bed sharing at this airbnb gets more complicated when the cat gets involved

actual full biblical be not afraid angel and incredibly normal human holding hands

making a deal with the devil is the best thing that could have ever happened to them, actually

playing dnd together and the falling in love part is taking a backseat to a sudden gender/sexuality crisis

oh no this organization they've infiltrated is starting to feel like home but that paycheck tho…

getting stuck on the ferris wheel was cute for a few minutes but it's been like an hour and they don't want to play I spy anymore

you know what, maybe they ARE tired of being nice. maybe they DO wanna go apeshit.

they're secretly in the mafia and instead of freaking out their partner is a little too okay with it

it's starting to look like this road trip is a cover for something, actually

deep existential crisis put on hold for ice cream date

the human bones can be forgiven but if they load the dishwasher wrong one more time,

don't have a one night stand with your coworker on the spaceship

the wizard who lives in that tower might be an asshole but how else are you going to uncurse your dumb ass

please don't call an ambulance, they can't afford it, but can they give you a Starbucks gift card for a ride to the ER? there are at least 7 dollars on it still

they just found out they're magical and shit keeps going so wrong

famous musician really chill actually, happy to pay the rent of the person that saved their life and be friends maybe? please??

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zane-romeave · 2 years

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MCD Zane Headcanons for @romeat

(tw religion)

- zane served as an apprentice to the previous high priest for a few years until they left suddenly to pursue science and grow a sick mustache

- zane and garroth are less than a centimeter apart in terms of height, but garroth's build and hairstyle makes him appear taller than zane

- zane might not have viewed vylad as a brother, but he did serve as an optimal guinea pig. most of zane's childhood expieriments were vylad tested until zianna eventually noticed.

- primarily he/they

- zane has magicks!!

- bday is 19-6, the date of his first ever appearence in anything ever

- yeah sure rebirth zane is cool and all but i personally subscribe to the og zane method of appearing kinda harmless and whipping out the evil when necessary. public perception is important to the high priest of that goddess who's whole schtick is healing and being good.

- due to garte's political pawn over person parenting strategy, zane sucks at forming connections with others and socializing outside of buisness matters.

- zane found esmund's relic when they were twelve or thirteen.

- "Zane Killed Prince Garroth" is a semi-popular conspiracy theory in okhasis, especially among non-zane stans.

- owns a fainting couch.

- even though his morals are lacking, its still zane's duty to uphold the standards of an Irenian priest. Every rule break is either a last resort that he has a solid excuse for (ex. the eastern werewolf tribe's plan to assassinate zane was treason against the alliance, and conspiracy against okhasis/irene hereself! there was NO other option but to set the while village on fire and stab everything in sight, just in case :3) or done with no witnesses who can snitch and be taken seriously (ex. falconclaw)

- zane doesn't have any house staff. he's generally a neat person, his house isn't big enough to warrant it, and its an easy way to ward off snooping.

- one of the major reasons zane is so infatuated with irene (and the divines in general) is because of the whole "unconditional love" thing. he's not sure why but the notion of some higher power who genuinely cares about your wellbeing with no consideration to her personal gain, who doesn't use love and affection as a weapon to mold you into what she wants you to be and demolish every little trait she doesn't like, who doesn't use her status as goddess to turn you into her own personal pawn, and wont totally abandon you to fix every single problem facing your family/village/region because she doesn't want to take responsibility for anything is nice in a way that he can't really describe, nor wants to unpack right now

- attention whore <3

- the two guards who are always standing behing him ended up getting married and settling down a few years after zane dissapeared into the void. they have a cat, so its like zane never left in the first place

- left handed

- weak constitution

- zane used to routinely straighten his hair, but stopped once he got more invested in the irene project and that war with scaleswind/pd started picking up

- has either the most or the least common sense in the room at any given time, no in betweens

- imitates the Lord of Scaleswind for funsies

- zane only knows what his funky cursed jewelry does 60% of the time, and whether or not it'll work can only be done through experimentation.

- funky jewelry that zane's tested and deemed perfectly "uncursed" and safe for general use are repurposed as actual gifts. sometimes he is wrong, like that time he gave away werewolf creating pendent that he deemed a safe dud because "i pricked my finger a few months ago and nothing happened"

- used to keep all his notes in garroths room when they were younger and lived with their parents. garroth spent a good chunk of the year at the guard academy, so there was plenty to time to rip up a floorboard or make a false drawer bottom without getting noticed.

- "lost" his communication amulet a few months before coming to pd, so he's not allowed to leave okhasis without guards. garte refuses to let him make a new one because "losing a communication amulet that can contact the entire okhasis elite is a prime example of how irresponsible he is" and he "has to earn trust" and "daughter of pikoro" and "takes after his mother" and "this is exactly why garroth is the hier"

- aaron stole it

#mcd #zane ro'meave #aphmau zane #zane romeave #garroth ro'meave

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five-rivers · 3 years

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Tales from the Edge: Mail Run

First Edge Institute short story! I hope you like it. :D

“Where are you going?” Deer asked, looking up from her soup to glare at Johannsson with suspicion.

“Mail just came in,” said Johannsson, gesturing at the mail light. The Institute’s driveway was long, and the mailbox was at the very end of it, so, to prevent extraneous trips, they had a sensor in it that sent a signal when the mailbox was full. It was a recent addition. “I’m going to go get it.”

“No, you’re not,” said Deer.

“What? Why?”

“Johannsson, when was the mail light put in? I can tell you right now that it wasn’t forty years ago.”

“I’m not going to touch the sensor!” protested Johannsson.

“Don’t want to risk it. Besides, this is why we have interns.”

Zoe, on the other side of the break room, looked up with an expression of betrayal on her face. “What?”

“Mail,” said Deer. “Go get it.”

“I work for Research.”

“You’re an intern. You work for everyone. Besides, half of our mail is for research in the first place.”

Zoe scowled and spitefully shoved the rest of her sandwich into her mouth. “Fine,” she said, spraying crumbs. “I will. But if I get kidnapped on the way there, it’s your fault.”

“You’re just walking down the driveway,” said Deer. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Your fault,” repeated Zoe, stabbing a finger at Deer as she walked through the door.

A few seconds later, she was back. She strode across the room to steal a loaf of bread and left again.

“What was that about?” asked Deer.

“I think bread is supposed to help against fairies,” said Johannsson.

“Really? Why don’t we use that?”

“Some fairies,” amended Johannsson.

“That makes sense,” said Deer.

It was a beautiful day. Really.

Unfortunately, kidnappings tended to happen on beautiful days. Zoe squared her shoulders before stepping from the nice, air-conditioned lobby into the scorching outdoor heat. She sighed and trudged out into the parking lot.

Her palms sweated where they touched the plastic bread bag, and she kept switching it back and forth between her hands in an attempt to make it less uncomfortable to hold. There was a breeze, but it was only barely strong enough to make the wheat planted on either side of the driveway rustle and whisper.

Stupid grass. Stupid internship.

She reached the mailbox and groaned as she saw the package shoved in it. Packages were supposed to be driven all the way up to the front door. Especially packages that didn’t fit completely in the mailbox. What if it had started raining?

The sun beat down on her, indicating exactly how likely that was.

Okay, so this was more about the inconvenience to her, personally, than anything else. If Johannsson had come back complaining about having to carry one measly package, she’d have teased him. A lot.

With some effort, she yanked the box free and frowned at the places the cardboard had been pinched and warped by being squeezed into the mailbox. Hopefully, there wasn’t anything fragile inside.

The box was heavier than expected.

She shifted the mail, bread, and box around in her hands, trying to find a comfortable way to hold the items, before giving up. The driveway wasn’t that long.

About halfway back, she adjusted the box in her hands. If she didn’t know better, she’d say that it was getting heavier. Maybe she should start weight training again. But it took so long. Ugh.

Speaking of long… She looked over her shoulder, back at the mailbox. The unpleasant heat really was drawing this out, wasn’t it?

Yeah. No. This had gone on for too long. She broke into an awkward jog, her eyes staying steady on the front of the building.

It wasn’t getting closer. She stopped and pulled out her phone. No service. Not even wifi. Typical. She turned around and walked back to the mailbox.

At least, she tried to go back to the mailbox. It wasn’t getting any closer, either. So much for messing with the mailbox sensor to send an SOS.

The box was heavy.

Okay. She wanted words with whoever had gotten the obviously cursed thing sent through their regular mail. That had to be against Institute regulations.

She knelt, settling the box on her lap. She could open the box, but direct contact tended to be contraindicated in the case of most cursed things. So. Time to try to figure out what it could be and how to get rid of it.

Yay.

Well. She did work for the Research Department.

Something that grew heavier the more you carried it… The only thing that came to mind were the false children of the ubume, a Japanese yokai. But those usually looked like children until you stopped, and, to the best of her knowledge, they didn’t have any space-warping properties.

Going at this from the other data point… Ugh. Too many things warped space. She didn’t even know where to start.

Good thing she wasn’t planning on putting this on her resume.

Question: Would it be safe to just yeet the thing into the wheat?

She made a face. It would probably be better to avoid the yeeting for now. She didn’t want to lose the thing, in case she had to kick the hell out of it or something to get it to stop trapping her. Chucking it as far away from herself as possible would come later. She put it down on the side of the driveway, where some weeds were starting to come up. Hopefully, this wouldn’t turn out to be one of those cursed objects that punish the victim for trying to get rid of them.

She walked away, towards the Institute.

Ten minutes later, she almost walked by the package. She groaned and glared at the offending object. Great.

Another option she had was just waiting until someone sent out search parties, but she might be in a pocket dimension or something stupid like that. There were too many incidents out there where a person disappeared, only to reappear in their last known location but dead from exposure.

Andi, her parent, could probably find her despite that. They always managed to find her in faerie, which was… Not anything like a pocket dimension, once she got down to particulars, but still. On the other hand, Andi would definitely give her grief for getting stuck in a pocket dimension on a mail run.

No, wait, there were other things she could do first. Like walking into the wheat.

Stupid grass was going to poke her so much. She’d probably wind up with half a ton of seeds in her socks.

This whole thing was so inconvenient. She could be doing so many more useful things.

She renewed her promise to have a discussion with whoever had put this stupid thing in with the regular mail. She turned ninety degrees and stepped off the road.

Ten minutes of walking through grass later, she stepped back onto the driveway. Honestly, she hadn’t expected that to work. Whatever.

Time to peel this baby.

… She was actively cursed. If she wanted to make fun of the unboxing event from hell, she very well could.

She knelt again, asphalt hot under her knees. She brushed away a bit of gravel that pressed against her skin.

Why was there so much tape on this?

Some old person packaged this. She just knew.

Finally, she tore the cardboard open to reveal—

Newspaper.

She rolled her eyes and pulled it back aaaaaaand okiedokie. That was creepy. That was a freaking stone baby. A… What was it called? A lithopedion. Calcified unborn fetus.

Totally haunted. Yep. A ghost this close would normally set off the alarms in the Detection Department, but they missed things, sometimes. Like the Great Fae that kidnapped her last month.

Provisionally, she decided to blame Mark, the Institute’s ghost expert and a member of the Containment Department, for this.

“I’m not your mom,” she said, hoping that would settle this. “Or your dad. I’m not old enough. Well—” she rolled her eyes “—technically, physically I’m old enough, but I’m not, like. Emotionally ready for a kid. Or to die trapped in the driveway at the place I work on a mail run. I mean, really. That would be a sucky way to go. I mean, I’ve been in sword duels with faeries.”

She stood up.

“Let’s try this again.”

Ten minutes later she saw the creepy stone baby on the ground in front of her. Stubborn thing.

“Like, I’m more than willing to stomp the hell out of you if you don’t uncurse me,” she said, putting her hands on her hips.

That wasn’t one hundred percent true. If this was a ghost, breaking its vessel might break its power, or it might free it. Ghosts tended not to know that, though.

“One more try,” she said.

Ten minutes later, she was in exactly the same place as she was before.

Time for stomping. She raised her foot.

A fairy dove out of the grass to fight her. He had a sword. She smacked him with the loaf of bread, which did nothing, and glared with disgust at the stone baby. It was just delaying. This whole thing was an illusion. Stupid illusion rock baby thing. She’d probably break it and find out that she’d bypassed the Institute entirely and was standing in a stupid field somewhere. Or maybe she’d been going in a loop, considering that she was still near the thing.

The fight with the ‘fairy’ turned into rolling on the ground and hair pulling. This was by design. Eventually she got within grabbing distance of the stone baby, grabbed it, and brained the ‘fairy’ with it. Then she slammed it on the ground. It splintered, shards cutting into her hand.

The ‘fairy’ vanished.

Zoe took a deep breath. Cool. That was over then. Yay.

Now she’d—

Oh, no.

The mail.

Deer looked up from her desk as the door opened, saw it was Zoe, and looked back at her email before doing a double-take.

“What happened to you?” she asked, standing. “Are you okay?”

Zoe raised a single finger. “I want to know,” she said, “who is sending cursed stone babies through the regular mail.” She dumped a bunch of rock on Deer’s desk.

For several long moments, Deer stared at it. “We’re going to need another session on our shipping policy for hazardous objects.”

“You think?”

#edge institute #tales from the edge #original fiction #my fiction

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drabbles-of-writing · 4 years

Text

Can We Keep Him? (pt 3)

This is part of my Uncursed AU

AO3

Masterpost

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

For the first few weeks, their routine worked.

Eda would open the portal to the human realm, warn King to be careful, and have him go at it for about an hour before reopening the door and sorting through whatever he had collected.

The first day King mostly only got food, and Eda could barely sell any of it. Half because it was too disgusting by Boiling Isles standards and half because King kept eating it.

The second day King grabbed anything he could that looked vaguely like a crown. Eda made him sell each and every one, much to his distress. She did, however, save a silver and blue plastic tiara that she gave to King, who was thrilled. Even if his crowns never lasted very long, it was worth it to see him so happy.

The third day King didn’t make it back to the portal because he had been caught by the human version of animal control and Eda had to break him out.

But aside from those hiccups and a few others, it went fine.

So fine, in fact, that Eda was nearing enough money to finally get a place of her own instead of crashing at Lilith’s and sometimes her dads when Lilith accidentally locked the doors.

Things were starting to look up...almost.

King was absolutely, positively, not worried.

It was un-kingly like for the King of Demons to be worried about a witch.

No, he wasn’t worried.

Simply...curious. Wondering. Questioning.

“Have you seen Eda?” King exclaimed, jumping up onto some poor unsuspecting witches table, scaring the life out of them. “She’s tall, I think, with hair that looks like a rats nest on fire, usually causing trouble and scamming people?”

“Beat it, you overgrown rat!” A second witch at the stand snapped, swinging a broom at the demon.

King yelped and leapt off the table, hitting the ground awkwardly before scuttling further into the marketplace.

“Have you seen Eda?” He asked a passing cyclops, clinging to his leg. “The witch who sells human collectibles? Looks like she probably stole your wallet?”

“Get off!” The cyclops demanded, kicking out his leg and sending King right back to eating the dirt.

King sprung right back up, fiddling his paws together as he rushed down the marketplace, asking any witch, demon, or vaguely-sentient being if they’d seen Eda. Most brushed him off, others only shook their heads.

Normally, King wouldn’t be so worr--er, inquisitive about where Eda was. She had a new place she set up shop every day, and it was always fun to hunt her down in the morning.

But Eda had told him where she was going to be this time. Right smack in the middle of the marketplace, so to sell more stuff today.

She wasn’t there. Or anywhere, for that matter.

Not a single sign, disgruntled customer, nothing. Eda rarely missed a day to sell. And whenever she did, she would always make sure to tell King beforehand. He had to be extra careful with his crown of the week when she wasn’t around to replace it, after all.

King swore he’d searched the whole marketplace from top to bottom three times around. He couldn’t find Eda anywhere.

It was nearing afternoon, and he was getting tired.

“Aw, I’m sorry to hear that, sweetie,” his most recent inquiry said sympathetically. “Maybe she was just sick today. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“Yeah...yeah! That must be it!” King said. “Eda’s just sick. I’ll see her tomorrow.”

“There you go,” The nice lady smiled. “Run along now, you look tired.” “Oh you have no idea,” King agreed. “Thanks, random minion!” He called before turning and trotting back through the marketplace.

Of course Eda was sick! It made perfect sense. She wouldn’t dare to come near the King of Demons if she thought she could infect him. No subject would wish that upon their ruler.

Still, he’d make sure Eda found him the best crown tomorrow. He broke his weird circle crown yesterday and was anxious for a new one.

It wasn’t long before King made it out of the marketplace and began making his way to the playground. It had become his kingdom, since it was close to the marketplace and he got to survey his land from the top. Though the small raiders were always a nuisance.

The things King put up with for that witch.

As he wandered down the street, he passed a row of old broken benches. Not many people took this route towards town, since it had yet to be fixed from a rogue Slitherbeast attack and was faced with only the backs of houses.

So King was rather surprised when he saw a witch sitting on one of the benches, knees curled up to her chest and face hidden under a nest of orange hair.

Wait a second…

“Eda!” King cried, racing on all fours across the ground to the bench. “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Eda jerked her head up, strands of hair rumpled and sticking out everywhere. Her eyes were wide and...King would dare say hurt.

King paused, one jump away from leaping onto the bench beside the witch. He blinked up at her, now noticing that her face was very damp.

“...Eda?” King asked, quieter now.

“King! Ah, sorry, sorry,” Eda sniffled and quickly wiped a sleeve over her eyes. “Took me a minute. I, ah, I missed opening the shop, didn’t I?” She said, giving a small strained smile.

King thought he preferred her old smile better.

“Missed it? It’s noon!” King exclaimed, crawling up onto the bench beside Eda. “I thought you were sick or something.”

“Sorry, pip-squeak.” Eda said, her voice hoarse. “I didn’t realize the time.”

King sat in silence for a few moments, his little legs splayed out as he looked at the stone street before looking back at Eda. She was staring off again, arms crossed on top of her knees with her chin resting on them. She looked like she was about to cry.

“Not that I’m worried or anything, but...” King hesitated a moment before placing a paw on her arm. “Are you okay?”

Eda gazed down at King for a moment before sniffling and a fresh wave of tears spilled from her eyes.

“...no,” She said, shoulders hunched as she buried her face in her legs again, trembling with choked back sobs.

Well this wasn’t something King was prepared for.

King flinched back, looking around for anything that could help him. But nobody else was around. Just the open, broken street.

So, with nothing else to really do, King pushed his head underneath Eda’s arms, startling her. He wormed his way into her lap, which was a very cramped space at the moment, and lay across it. His limbs were hanging off at an awkward angle, and his head was smooshed between her legs and body, but it didn’t feel right to complain.

“Is, uh,” King glanced up at the young witch. “Is this better?”

Eda stared before she let out a weak chuckle, the shaking of her body jostling King a bit. She lowered her legs, freeing King of his prison, and wrapped her arms around him instead, bringing the small demon closer to her chest.

“Yeah, that helps.” Eda said quietly, stroking a hand down King’s back.

King was stiff as cardboard before, worrying any movement would mess it all up. Once he felt Eda petting his fur, however, he visibly relaxed and became loose like a noodle.

“Oh, this is nice,” King purred.

Eda giggled slightly and brought one of her arms underneath King to hold him steady and pet him with her other hand, smiling as he curled closer to her to get more pets.

“Thanks, King.” Eda said softly, scratching at where his skull met his fur.

“Don’t mention it,” King said, still happy from the pets. “...again, not that I care, but,” King paused again and flicked his tail. “Did something bad happen?”

Eda went still for a moment. King, admittedly, got worried again. Fine, so maybe he cared. What of it?

“Just my dad.” Eda said, stroking her hand along King’s back again. “He thinks he knows everything and...well, he thinks I’m doing things wrong. Just an argument that got out of hand. I can always crash at Lilith’s, anyway.”

“I thought you liked your dad?” King looked up at her, turning over on his side for Eda to pet there.

“I do, I do.” Eda agreed, relentining in scratching his stomach, making him twitch and kick out a leg happily. “But...he sometimes...isn’t all that great. ” She said, eyes glazed over in thought.

“He’s a good person...but sometimes I wonder what it would be like if my mom was still around.”

King opened his eyes from his momentary bliss, and Eda’s hand slowed as well. He squirmed in her arm a bit so he was sitting up and lay his chin on her shoulder in an attempt of being comforting.

“Sorry,” King said quietly.

“Don’t be. I’ll be alright.” Eda lay a hand across his back to hold him there. “If anything, I should apologize to you. I don’t normally info-dump my life to demons I work with.”

“I don’t mind,” King said, standing in her arms and placing his paws on her one shoulder. “I mean, I am the King of Demons. It’s only natural that I must inspire my subjects when all seems lost.” He said, placing a paw on his chest.

“Whatever you say, weirdo.” Eda rolled her eyes.

She looked away for a moment, staring off at the silence and nothingness around them both.

“But I guess I’m a weirdo too, huh?” She said, giving him a smile.

“Eh, everyone’s a little weird.” King shrugged, laying back down in her arms once more. “You sell human junk and refuse to join a coven, I live at a very small kingdom, that one weird lady down the street calls herself Tiny Nose--”

“A small kingdom?” Eda cut in, sounding amused.

“Yeah, back where you gave me my first crown.” King explained.

“You live at the playground?” She gasped, all amusement lost in an instant.

“I prefer the name ‘King’s Kingdom,’ thank you.” King said. “Wait, that doesn’t sound right…”

“Alright, that settles it.” Eda said, picking up King from under his arms and holding the demon in front of her face. “I have seen what nightmares those kids are at the playground, and if I’m being honest, I feel really guilty letting you sleep on the streets.”

“My kingdom is not ‘the streets!’” King grumbled. “But continue.”

“I’m going to be buying my own place soon, and at this point, I’ll likely be living with Lilith for the next week or two.” Eda said. “So, as a…” She thought about her words for a moment. “A token of my gratitude, how would you like to sleep with an actual roof over your head?”

“I get to live with you?” King blurted, wiggling happily from his place in the air.

“I take that as confirmation that you want to?” Eda laughed, setting the demon back down on her lap.

“Yes! I always wanted to see what the inside of those houses looked like!” King jumped up and down in her lap. “Is it true you have fresh uneaten food?” He asked, his eyes practically sparkling.

“Bud, you don’t know the half of it.” Eda said, picking up King again and getting to her feet. “But it’s only just past noon. Why don’t we try and sell the scraps you got from yesterday first?”

“Fine, if you insist.” King muttered, huffing as Eda began carrying him back to the marketplace. “But I deserve two new crowns, you hear me? I spent all morning looking for you! It was exhausting.”

“Of course, of course.” Eda nodded. “Anything for a king.”

Getting Lilith to let King stay, however, was going to be a lot harder than selling a few human trinkets.

Which is why Eda didn’t plan on letting her know right away.

“I am a king! Why do I have to be smuggled in like some common thief?” King huffed, hiding in Eda’s arm in a cloak she had been recently using to hide from any nosy guards.

“Because Lilith isn’t keen on getting a third roommate.” Eda replied, walking down the roads towards Lilith’s Emperor Coven mandated flat. “She already complains enough about getting food for the both of us.”

“If it’s such a hassle, why does she let you stay?” King wondered. “You said she was in the Emperor’s Coven, didn’t you?”

“She may be annoyed by it, but we’re still sisters.” Eda said. “She promised that when we made it to the Emperor’s Coven, we could get a place of our own. We love our dad, he’s not exactly...well-off.”

“But you’re not in the Emperor’s Coven. Didn’t you say you were covenless?” King pointed out.

“Eh, dreams change.” Eda shrugged. “Now keep quiet. For now, you’ll hide in my room. I’ll just have to warm up Lilith to the idea of you.”

She stopped in front of the door of one of the small, stone houses. It was far too close to Emperor Belos’ castle for her liking.

Luckily for her, she didn’t have to stick around for too much longer.

Eda held the front of her cloak closed with one hand, holding King under her arm with the other. Taking a deep breath, she opened the front door, which was thankfully unlocked, and slipped inside.

She barely made it ten feet into the door before she was hounded.

“Eda!” Lilith exclaimed, bolting from around the kitchen corner and rushing over. “I heard what happened with dad,” She said and Eda visibility recoiled. “I’m so, so sorry. You know he didn’t really mean it, right?”

“Maybe not that harshly...but I think a part of him did mean it.” Eda mumbled, stepping around her sister. “What are you doing back? It’s barely dusk.”

“I managed to get in a good word and cut my training short,” Lilith said. “I should be free tomorrow to help you sell that junk at the marketplace, too.” She said happily.

“Excuse you,” Eda huffed, tightening her hold on King as he squirmed. “I prefer the term ‘human collectibles.’” She said with a teasing glint in her eye. “Helps sell it a lot easier to suckers off the street.”

“Whatever makes you feel better.” Lilith rolled her eyes. “Are you hungry? I got some bloodrain noodles from the pitstop a few streets over.”

“Oh, uh, actually...I already ate.” Eda lied, looking everywhere but at her sister. “Hey, remember when I mentioned I met a funny little demon two weeks ago?”

“Yeah…? Why’s this come up? You haven’t spoken of him since then.” Lilith said, raising a brow. “Did he get you in trouble?”

“No, no, not like that at all.” Eda insisted. “But, what if, hypothetically, he didn’t have a place to stay? And I could, I don’t know...share my food with him?”

It was a long shot, she knew. But hiding King of all people in a flat as cramped as this would be next to impossible without trying it the easy way first.

Lilith narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, glaring at her sister.

“What’s in the cloak, Eda?”

“What? Pssh, nothing, nothing at all.” Eda said, pulling it closer around herself as King stiffened up. “I was just wondering what you’d think. Testing the waters a bit, you know?”

“Take off your cloak, Eda.”

“Why? It’s my cloak, and I can do what I want with it.” Eda said, stepping back and giving Lilith a firm look. “And you can’t make me.”

Lilith uncrossed one hand and drew a circle in the air. Eda’s cloak suddenly lit up before going flying across the room and out of her grip as it hit a wall before sliding to the ground.

King, who was currently being carried like a football, blinked at the sudden light and craned his neck to look up at Lilith.

“Huh, I guess wild hair runs in the family.”

“Edalyn!” Lilith accused.

“What else was I supposed to do? Let him live on a playground full of screaming kids?” Eda demanded, re situating King so he was curled up in her arms like a baby. “Come on, Lilith, he’s not even that big!”

“Eda, I understand your worries,” Lilith exhaled, pressing her hands together in front of her face like she was trying to steel herself. “But I can’t extend my generosity to random stray demons you find.”

"Hey!” King cried indignantly. “I’ll have you know I am the King of Demons! You should be honored to house me.”

“And you found a delusional one, too?” Lilith groaned.

“Alright, hey, that’s a bit harsh.” Eda defended, laying a hand over King. “So what if he’s a little weird? I am too! Besides, he’ll only be here to sleep. The rest of the time he’ll be helping me sell in the market.”

“Edalyn, please,” Lilith rubbed at her temples. “I’m having a hard enough time at the Emperor’s Coven, I can’t worry about a demon you’ve gotten attached to.”

At that, King looked up at Eda, almost seeming surprised. Eda sighed, shoulders sagging.

She got a sudden idea and perked up. She slowly held out King like a doll in front of Lilith’s face, a smile growing on her face.

When Lilith opened her eyes, she was immediately greeted with a confused King staring back at her.

“But he’s so cute,” Eda whimpered, giving her sister a pleading look.

“I am not cute!” King squeaked, kicking about as Eda giggled.

“You should hear him when he’s mad,” Eda said, lowering King but still holding him. “He’s got a squeak of rage. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” She grinned.

“You can’t buy me with cuteness,” Lilith crossed her arms and turned her head away.

“Aw, please?” Eda tried, sliding up beside her sister and holding King in front of her again. “I promise to take full responsibility for this little brat.”

“Responsibility! Ha! As if I cause trouble everywhere I go.” King snorted.

Eda knew very well how true that was, and thankfully had enough self-control to keep her mouth shut.

Lilith cracked open an eye, and Eda gave the biggest puppy-dog eyes she could muster.

“Please?” She begged. “I’ll be moving out soon, anyway. You won’t even know he was here!”

Lilith curled her lip and glared for a few moments. Her eyes shifted between Eda’s begging face and King’s naively hopeful one.

Lilith sighed and uncrossed her arms, letting her head hang back.

“Fine,”

“WOO!” Eda pumped a fist in the air, almost dropping King. “You won’t regret this, Lily. I promise!”

“I better not.” She warned, though her tone held no real malice.

“Huzzah!” King cheered. “Does this mean I can have uneaten food now?”

“Buddy, you can have as much uneaten food as you want.” Eda grinned.

“From your share, Edalyn.” Lilith sternly reminded her.

“...you can have almost as much uneaten food as you’d like.” Eda corrected herself. “C’mon, I think I have some scream bars in the pantry.”

“I have no idea what those are, but I am ready!” King agreed as Eda set him down and raced into the kitchen, the demon following after her.

Lilith watched her sister vanish around the corner, talking excitedly with the demon as she took her own food to feed to him.

As much as Lilith didn’t want another mouth she’d inevitably be feeding…she couldn’t help but feel happy.

It was worth it, if only to see that smile on Eda’s face.

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slayers-testament · 3 years

Text

Continued - @glory-hasnoplacehere

Walking the realms, mostly riding her chair actually, is tiring. And so Siren had stepped out in a place that seems safe enough. Only just Enough. A version of Earth she’s never seen, it’s scarred and strange. Not utterly alien in any sense, but there’s an air of grief and darkness. She wants to ask what’s happened, but seeing as there’s no way to know. She gets over it and manages to get food and drink. Only needing a little magic to return a few items to a long lost form.

After making certain her gains were safe and wholly uncursed, she simply has to find someplace to enjoy them. It’s difficult with the old death and destruction, but she manages. Halfway through the meal, a soldier with a dauntingly wild aura walks through, singing. Chair slowly rising, she walks it over near him, and stares. Sandwich in her mouth for a moment.

“You.... are real. For a moment I thought one of the apparitions around here had gotten....mm, stronger. Your singing voice is lovely by the by, ....pleasure to meet you.”

The sudden voice had triggered his fight-or-flight response, with him whipping around and gripping his Super Shotgun tight. He is met with... someone clearly not human. He got a certain feeling from her that he got around other creatures that weren’t completely human, much like himself.

She didn’t seem like an obvious threat to him, but the Slayer wasn’t about to let his guard down on account of simple looks. He kept his shotgun gripped tight in one hand as he examined the new person. She used a mechanical chair of sorts to get around, and seemed to be quite the opposite of himself in terms of physique.

It was interesting to him in a way, seeing someone who looked so ragged, yet still pushed through despite this, given the things he had been through. But this begs the question... what is she? She doesn’t seem to be with the UAC, she’s definitely not a demon or Maykr, otherwise she would have attacked him... the more he thought on it, the more unsettled he was.

Despite being spoken to, he doesn’t respond right away. When he finally does however, it’s with a single, gruffly spoken word.

“Thanks.”

#glory-hasnoplacehere #;The Doom Slayer (IC)

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ranma-rewatch · 3 years

Text

Episode 13: A Tear in a Girl-Delinquent's Eye? The End of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Welcome back! It’s once again that time for me to watch some more Ranma 1/2, in doing so looking at it with fresh eyes and a different perspective from when I was younger. We’re already up to episode 13, and with it the end of Kodachi Kuno’s introductory arc. I’m guessing this is going to be almost a full episode of fighting, but how good that fighting will be, I don’t recall. But by next paragraph, I’ll have rewatched the episode, and I can talk about it just a bit better. See you then!

That certainly was almost a single fight for the entire episode. Now, unlike the full episode fight against Ryoga, my summary is going to be a lot shorter. There’s a lot fewer moving parts here, and I feel like going blow by bow would be boring.

In general, the idea of the fight is that the combatants lose if they go outside the ring, and they get a foul (though the exact penalty isn’t made clear) if they hit each other directly without using tools or weapons. Besides that, there are no rules. Kodachi and Ranma both have new items thrown to them when they need it, but Kodachi is obviously the one who stretches the rules the most. Most of the fight is her pulling new insane things out of nowhere that Ranma has to work around.

When it comes to actual plot stuff, the first big thing is when Kodachi mouths off again about how much she loves Ranma and can’t wait to date him and stuff. Ranma gets annoyed, and Kodachi interprets this as Ranma loving, well, Ranma too. Kuno jumps into the ring at that (By which I mean Tatewaki Kuno. I know they both have that last name, but when I say ‘Kuno’, assume I just mean him), and demands to know if this is true. Instead of denying it or playing into the idea, Ranma takes a third option and says something that’s technically true, that he and Ranma are one in body and mind, because of destiny.

Of course, the two rich folks immediately interpret that in some serious ways, though exactly what they think that means isn’t spelled out. Do they think Ranma and Ranma bang or something? Anyway, a little after that, Genma shows up looking like a panda in the stands, carrying a kettle of hot water. Whether that’s for him when he decides he’s done being a panda or for Ranma to use after the fight, I don’t know.

The problem is, by this point, Ranma and Kodachi have entered the stage in the fight where they’re using their ribbons to grab stuff from outside the ring and hurl it as each other. Kodachi takes the kettle, and notices immediately how scared Ranma and P-chan are. Oh, yeah, Ryoga is still chained to Ranma, and he does what he can to try and make Ranma lose every so often.

Kodachi uses a pretty clever trick of slicing the kettle in mid-air to soak Ranma and Ryoga, and they change back in mid-air. Luckily for them, Akane saw that coming, and enters back into the gym carrying a fire hose, with water cold enough to turn them back into their cursed forms. It also means Ranma has to swim for dear life to stop from getting knocked out of the ring, but it works.

A bit later on, the show cuts to a group of teenage girls somewhere dark, and we get a nice little break from the fight as they chat amongst themselves. But when it gets back to the fight, Ranma is able to finally knock Kodachi flying, far outside the ring’s boundaries. But all she has to do is whistle, and the ring gets up and moves across the gym so she still lands inside it. Ranma quickly puts together what’s going on, and destroys the floor of the ring, exposing the girls we saw before, who run away.

Now there’s no place to stand except the four corners and the ropes, but Ranma is fine with that, pointing out that he has an advantage in aerial fights. Too bad that he forgot Ryoga is still attached to him, and his rival goes extra far in trying to shake him off. The chain is broken, but Ranma doesn’t have any tools left to fight with. So instead of getting a foul by just getting Kodachi, he kicks the post she’s standing on, sending her sprawling to the ground for a win.

After the match, she tearfully agrees to abandon her ‘present’ love for Ranma Saotome, and everything seems to have worked out great. At least, that is until later, when Ranma and Ryoga are taking a hot bath together. Ranma complains about Ryoga’s attempts to sabotage the fight, which he defends with a reminder that he wants Akane himself. Then he uses cold water to be P-chan just as Akane calls for him, leading to another case of Ranma running into Akane’s room and getting assumed a pervert as he chases Ryoga.

After that, Ranma gets back to back flowers from each Kuno sibling. He sees Tatewaki uncursed, and Kodachi cursed, so each gives the bouquet to deliver to the Ranma that they love. Leaving Ranma holding a bunch of flowers and having to contend with the fact that he now has two Kuno’s to worry about, long-term. Kodachi defends her continued pursuit of Ranma by saying she abandoned her ‘present’ love and developed a new one.

So, what is there to say about that episode? Well, a lot, actually. It didn’t necessarily blow me away, but I do think it was a stronger fight than the last time a whole episode was centered on a battle, since this one doesn't have nearly as many cutaways to unnecessary plot points. There was a short scene of just listening to the announcer describe the fight while we just saw outside the school, which felt a bit chief, but on the other hand I really liked the little bit we got with the gymnasts under the mat. Those minor characters got more definition than they necessarily needed, and it made the coming cheat more fun than the others.

This is also kind of a big first for the series. Namely, it’s the first time Ranma has fought someone who practices a strange, ultra-specific kind of martial art and did so while following all of that school’s rules. Sure, Tatewaki Kuno fights with a wooden sword, but those were all basically street matches, as was Ranma’s fight with Ryoga. But this is an official match, and Ranma obeys all the rules wherein and still wins.

That is something that will be incredibly common from here on out, in manga-adapted stories and anime-original stories. I’ve yet to see it mentioned in-series, and I can’t recall it doing so later on, but it’s generally accepted as canon by fans that this is for a reason. Ranma and Akane’s school, Anything Goes Martial Arts, isn’t called that for no reason. They are supposed to fight other styles, learn from them, and take what’s useful to use themselves. It’s a great way to add more moves to the protagonists’ repertoire, and get them into fights with silly fighters.

This specific fight was...okay. Actually, I feel like I’m a bit of a grump for saying that, it was good. There were some neat moves, lots of back and forth with stuff, it was enjoyable to see. It wasn’t anywhere near what I think this series can do at its best, but it was a good way to end this mini-arc. I do feel like Kodachi, as a character, doesn’t get the same level of badassery even her brother does from the story, and that feels kind of lame. It seems like, in general, Ranma 1/2 saves all the cool stuff for the guys.

To continue what I was talking about with Kodachi last week, I do think it’s really interesting how different she is in each language. It’s a strange case of part-translation and part-acting, but the english version of the character definitely hits different, and not in a good way. It’s actually making me reevaluate her a little, just because the version in the original Japanese is so much better. It feels a lot less like “she’s crazy!” and more “she’s a highly driven and amoral rich girl!”

This was a good episode. I am once again pleasantly surprised by this arc, and it’s raising my hopes that further stories will be better than I recall. As for where to put it in my rankings exactly, I actually think I’ll put it one step above the last single episode of just fighting, and right below that emotional episode about Akane’s feelings for Dr. Tofu. What can I say? I like the feels. That puts the current ranking at:

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’

Episode 12: A Woman's Love is War! The Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 9: True Confessions! A Girl's Hair is Her Life!

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 6: Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know

Episode 13: A Tear in a Girl-Delinquent's Eye? The End of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 8: School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga

Episode 11: Ranma Meets Love Head-On! Enter the Delinquent Juvenile Gymnast!

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 5: Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

Episode 10: P-P-P-Chan! He's Good For Nothin'

Now, if you’re watching this series on Hulu like I am, you might think the next episode is the first part of the Martial Arts Figure Skating arc. And while, wow, I sure wish it was, that is actually wrong. I don’t know why, but some of the arcs are in the wrong order on Hulu, but I’m watching the series in the actual order. Which means, instead of watching one of my favorite arcs in the series, the next episode is actually “Pelvic Fortune-Telling? Ranma is the No. One Bride in Japan”. My hopes...are not high. See you all...then...I suppose...

#episode 13 #A Tear in a Girl-Delinquent's Eye? The End of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!#ranma 1/2 #ranma saotome #akane tendo #kodachi kuno #tatewaki kuno #ryoga hibiki #anime analysis #anime rewatch

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