#. i was going to change the name of ren's card to something cooler but i think i'll just keep nekomancer

[divinebastet]

need to mess with these more and make cooler art but. WIP

[miamaroo]

Northern Migration- Chapter 18 (Notes + Preview)

This is an extra long chapter because I not only felt like treating you guys to something special, but also that splitting it up would’ve definitely ruined the pacing. Either way, there are now even more things I have to say about this than normal, so let’s get started. 

Spoilers Ahead!

So here we are with the very last Ren/Taako flashback scene. I hope this has lived up to expectations. Because I was not about to write another Wonderland sequence, I cheated and used the games and format from the show. Since Ren and Taako had a year of adventuring together, I feel like Monster Factory is a sensible match for them anyway so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. But if you think I only did it to avoid having to write through a bunch of games, you'll be right.

Charmed Person is a scary spell. I originally was going to have Taako press the button before using a spell to launch Ren onto the platform, but Wonderland has this whole thing about the person doing the thing being required to go through with it, so I presume the button to escape is exactly the same.

I think Ren also has a high charisma score, hence why Taako had to hurt her before she was distracted enough to fail her save.

Fun fact: originally, Avi and Davenport's game was going to be a round of poker where they had to bet using sacrifices from the wheel on their teammates, but this was cut for a variety of reasons-- that idea was originally for a hypothetical campaign I will never run, I failed to establish Davenport's love of card games and gambling in the story, and I really wanted to use the fact that they're both engineers.

After I wrote the Johann/Sloane scene, I went onto the Adventure Zone wikipedia and realized that Sloane's weapon is a whip. But I already sort of fell in love with my harpoon/gauntlet idea, so I'm just going to take creative liberties.

I know everyone knowing each other is annoying, but Avi's connection to Sloane has been planned since the beginning! I can't quit it now!

Also, hey! It's taken me forever to write a scene with Johann as the main focus. I can finally shoe in one of the themes for this story. I can also miss my opportunity to casually drop the fact that Johann has a MASSIVE CRUSH ON AVI ONCE AGAIN but I'll fix that next chapter.

Okay, time to break down that train scene. This is going to be a lot.

So with the atmosphere, I really was trying to convey in the least amount of words possible something similar to the dream funeral scene in Heathers. If you haven't seen that movie yet, don't worry about it.

I know Griffin is against the idea of Davenport's first name being Drew (or in this case, Andrew), but I really like what the idea of him having this sort of forgotten first name means for his character. The fact that no one, not even Merle, calls him Andrew and yet the illusion of his mother does (and the reaction he has to that), is important and demostrates a lot of how closed off he is emotionally to everyone he cares about.

Don Burnsides! In case it wasn't clear enough in the text, this is Magnus's dad. I have to grand scheme in my head of what the two-sunned planet (Tusolia) is like, what everyone's backgrounds is, and how the Starblaster mission came to be. I have plans for doing an entire chapter in as a flashback that will basically walk us through Barry's life story, starting with him first joining IPRE at eightteen and ending in his forties when the Hunger comes. If you can't tell already, I'm very excited for it and I couldn't resist including just the tiniest bit of reference to it. Unfortunately, that chapter is still a long ways off so don't get too excited just yet.

And yes, I know Travis said that Magnus is an only child but that's stupid. Magnus has an obvious case of middle child syndrome, and I will make him have eleven brothers and sisters. No powers on earth will change my mind on this.

If having a harpoon in his shoulder isn't obvious enough, Avi saw an illusion of Sloane on his train. She wasn't too happy with him.

And finally, that cliffhanger. Next chapter will feature more details about how that sacrifice has resulted in Davenport becoming the wordless one. That explanation, however, is a spoiler so I'm not going to reveal it just yet.

Most of the chapter titles for this fic is going to be meaningless, but I like this one (In Which Davenport Hears His Name) since it shows that each of the turning points for the chapter correlates with when his name is spoken out loud, whether it’s being called captain by Avi or hearing his first name for the first time in years. 

Also, do note that back in chapter one, when I rewrote the seven birds speech and gave everyone new titles, Davenport's never changed. That's right. I've had this planned since the beginning. I'm sorry.

Next chapter is going to take a bit longer to get out since I need to work on some other stuff for a bit, so please enjoy this short sampling from the next chapter to staunch your appetite. 

“Here’s your lunch,” Johann says, placing the plate on top of the splayed pages.

“Uh, thank you.” Sildar adjusts the clunky glasses on his nose, giving a smile that wants to be at ease but is mostly strained. “Did you make it?”

Ren made it, making sure to mark on the side of the container how to reheat it. She doesn’t trust anyone to cook without her around. Johann shrugs in response, burying his hands in his pockets as he starts to walk away.

“Hey, wait.” He hears how Sildar shifts in the bed, setting aside both the book and the plate of food. “Can you just open the window please? It gets pretty stuffy in here and everything and—”

“Yeah, dude. Sure.” Johann marches back to the window, pretending not to notice how Sildar scrutinizes every inch of his skin. He unlocks the window and slides it upwards. Cooler air floods the room.

“Shaving accident?”

“What?” Johann says.

Sildar points to the junction of his chin and neck—where the bandage sits on his neck. He drips with earnestness as he says, “Looks nasty. I’ve never been good at it myself.”

Johann places a hand over the bandage, feeling a new flush travel from the tips of his ears down the column of his neck. “Yeah, dude. Sure.”

There’s a loud shout—distant, but harsh. Following it, the nasty crash of glass shattering into a million pieces.

Johann looks out the window, pressing his cheek as close to it as he so that he can look directly down. An inconspicuous battlewagon sits with its motor still running in front of the store. A couple of thugs in familiar looking black leather jackets linger by it while others file inside. The ruckus of whatever they’re doing to Leon follows it.  

“Shit!” Johann races out of the room, ignoring Sildar’s shouts of confusion as he bolts into his own bedroom. His violin sits on his bed, and he’s quick to grab it and its bow before making his way back into the living room. He makes it just in time to see the door to the stairs burst open.

Johann sticks his violin under his chin and plays a powerful note.