#I’ve never been so excited!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shorthaltsjester · 3 months

Text

there are literally no standouts in downfall because everyone sat down at that table and said hey you wanna see something cool and proceeded to Become their characters but idk if it’s because they’re beside each other and that aids the dynamic or just because it’s the delicious similarities and insurmountable distance between the god of death and the god of (in various ways) life but ayden and emhira’s interactions were so chewy and delicious. i’ll be thinking of their exchange fairly early on after ayden cast lesser restoration on that old man and emhira not cruelly but just simply stating “you cannot heal everything.” and ayden’s equally simple reply “we can always try.” emhira seeing the family trist has built and wondering at the presence of children, “surprised there is laughter in such a horrible place” and i know she’s speaking of hawk’s hill but i wonder if she is also speaking of exandria itself in some ways. the delicious space between in and out of character that only really happens in improv stories where as brennan is narrating and says “in this dark room” and nick interrupts and adds “it is not dark.” brennan’s incisive point in the cooldown that while the love that ayden and trist have for mortals and for exandria is warm and the kind of love someone would likely Want from gods, there is something maybe more honest or whole about emhira who says . actually these mortals are little shits that will kill you not because they fear you but because they hate you. whose very existence should be (and still often fails to be) a reminder that the gods can be usurped by mortals. the insight nick shared in the cooldown that ayden does not forget emhira’s origins but in a way dismisses them, that the god of death is a different beast. ayden wanting to find. way to save the people of aeor, insisting that the prime deities Win if they can find a way to do so. emhira reminding everyone that death is inevitable (and she does not add anything to clarify that she intends such a statement to only exist for mortals) as she argues for them to work to take down aeor and the people in it. the fact that the god with the most present connection to mortality is also the one given the most explicit clarification that she Is the god we know as SILAHA calls her the matron, brennan’s narration clarifies purvon is her champion, taliesin as asha asks for clarification on the recognition of emhira as a god and prompting the familiar spectre of a woman in a white mask.

i want to be very clear that when i say there are no standouts i Mean it because i’ve been awed and endeared and intrigued by every single character choice everyone made and as always brennan’s narration is so incredibly well suited for the mission impossible greek tragedy vibes that comes with this story and i’m so fucking delighted by the fact that laura, ashley, and taliesin are playing gods that their characters have known quite well in the past. i’m incredibly excited by what we’ve already gotten to see from abubakar, nashir, and nick and cannot imagine what other greatness is to come. i’m psyched to see the relationship between asha and the law bearer and am delighted that (perhaps for now perhaps for the whole arc) it is being seen through the lens of “my wife promised me a visit with apples and all i got was a rock ice emissary”. i also have many incoherent thoughts about the fact that, of the players who appeared as the same character in the opening and the story, taliesin’s ash and asha are the ones whose name remains the most unchanged.

i’m obsessed with the fact that this creature sent as a stand in by the god of law and duty believes his primary gift is love. while there is a certain mourning and sadness to every god we see, that SILAHA has a certain playful whimsy and jofyful curiosity about the world. that the only one of them who has been mortal before stops to steal an imp necklace from the neck of a drunk on the train (and that moment between brennan’s narration that this man will be dead by morning but, with death standing invisible in front of him, he is incapable of seeing it coming, and then laura as emhira breathing in deeply and brennan having that spark a coughing fit. they are Story Telling). asha seeing the erased image of a god, of a family member and saying “there’s a hole in all of us.” brennan narrating “this is a place where they tried to kill a story. it’s a very frightened thing to do.” (and god. the motif of fear. especially given the very present fear felt by the gods in current day exandria. they’re doing insane things in the critical role 3 part departure).

trist reminding ayden “he never tells the truth” and asha contesting “he only tells the truth, it’s just rotting.” emhira and asha both as perhaps the less Good™ much more neutral but doing so in such different ways, asha as bitter and hungry while emhira seems uncomfortable but there’s a familiarity and a certainty in her discomfort with mortality (the law bearer would also be included here but the emissary seems much more like trist and ayden (for now) than emhira or asha). something as insignificant as trist and her husband speaking to their children and affirming that little lies are okay while trist has lead a significant part of her life likely dishonest about who she is. the fact that there’s a certain childlike quality to the emissary who they’re all charged with ensuring makes it to the end of things even if they cannot. the fact that nahal (unclear which god they were, and i’m assuming it’s the first god of death but regardless still an absolutely compelling development in a short amount of time) in those opening moments is horrified by the concept of away which is unfamiliar to them only to soon after look upon their family and say. maybe away was better. Especially if those were words spoken by the god who would one day be replaced. these three episodes are going to haunt me and i’m excited to meet the ghosts.

#this 3 part series was made to target me specifically #it’s going to kill me and i’m going to love every second #i like everyone else am not immune to the poetry of laura bailey as the raven queen who was once called a raven bitch as liam obrien asked #for his character to be taken instead of laura’s .#nor am i immune to taliesin being the god that caduceus asked to put the soul back into molly-turned-kingsley and who Listened and did so #nor am i immune to ashley playing the god that pike will someday build temples for and bring back into import #i’m screaming i’m crying i’m pissing i’ve never been so excited #even for calamity i was invested but i think just as a consequence of like. These Are The Gods We Know (and don’t know as much)#is making me so deliciously excited. and also the already obvious. ludinus is a stupid bag of bricks and #like much of the fandom who sympathizes with him. has no media literacy (or any literacy at all ig)#critical role #cr downfall #cr spoilers #cr3 #emhira #asha #trist #ayden #SILAHA #the emissary

388 notes · View notes

skyward-floored · 2 months

Text

Swapped (Part 4)

Finally an update haha. Back to the first group again! And we finally see what’s up with Legend :)

Mild body horror warning, but it’s very brief and not too intense.

First | Previous | Next (coming soon)

————————————————————

Everything was so loud.

Warriors adjusted his grip on Legend as he walked, wincing as his nephew breathed in his ear. He resisted the urge to curl up on the ground again with his hands to his head, but it was a close thing.

He didn’t know how Twilight handled it. He could hear every step he and Wind took, every rustle of their clothes, every distant footstep. He could even hear Legend’s heart beating, and Wind’s too if he focused really hard.

And that wasn’t even getting into how he could smell twice as many things now either.

Warriors breathed in, and out again, trying to let the noise fade to the background. Things weren’t as bad as they were when he’d first woken up, but he still felt raw, every sense overly sensitive, and achy from the whole turning into a wolf thing as well.

...he was still trying to wrap his head around that.

Warriors hiked Legend up on his back a little further when he slipped a bit, his nephew’s head flopping against his shoulder. Wind was jogging beside him, face pinched with poorly-hidden anxiety, and when he saw Warriors adjust his brother, the worry only grew on his face.

“Why do you think he’s still asleep?” he asked in a low voice. Warriors appreciated that.

“I don’t know.” Warriors sighed as he ran a hand over Legend’s head yet again, feeling for an injury that wasn’t there.

Legend had been entirely unresponsive ever since the explosion, though his breathing was steady and he bore no injuries that Warriors could find. He was just pale, and wouldn’t wake up, no matter what they did. Warriors wouldn’t have expected Legend of all people would be so sensitive to an energy pulse like they’d experienced, but he supposed it made sense it would hit some of them harder than others.

Sort of like how the smell of every single sweaty guard we sneak past is hitting harder than other smells. Ugh.

Wind and Warriors reached a stairwell, and paused to make sure nobody was coming through the door before slipping through. The elevator technically would’ve been faster, but it didn’t afford them as much maneuverability in regards to sneaking around.

Plus while Wind had managed to get Time’s powers under control for the moment, Warriors wasn’t too keen on being in a small, easily-destroyable space with him right now.

“I hope he’s okay,” Wind said quietly, gently touching Legend’s head as they slipped into the stairwell. “You don’t think this is... permanent, do you Warriors?”

“No. I bet he’ll wake up soon,” Warriors said with well-practiced confidence. “It just must have hit him harder than us for some reason.”

He had some theories about that actually, but wouldn’t know for sure unless Legend woke up.

When he wakes up. When.

Wind nodded, then hesitated, his expression looking as worried as it had when Warriors had first woken up. “...do you think our powers got swapped permanently?”

Ice slipped into Warriors’s stomach, but he shook his head as they began to climb. “No way. if they can get swapped like this, then they can get swapped back.”

They have to.

Wind didn’t say anything further, and they climbed in silence up the stairs. The building didn’t have too many floors, and Warriors did keep in shape, but carrying a teenager up several flights would leave anyone a bit breathless. Especially someone who was still trying to shake off the effects of having his powers stolen and replaced.

No, not replaced, just switched, he firmly reminded himself. We’ll get them back.

Something beside their own footsteps suddenly caught his attention, and Warriors motioned for Wind to stop, listening intently.

His nephew froze, and Warriors pricked his ears.

...Footsteps.

Headed their way.

Warriors hissed under his breath and resumed climbing, Wind hurrying after him. He had no measure for how far off the steps were, but they were getting louder.

He heard a voice above them say something about intruders, and Warriors grabbed Wind, pulling him through a door that led to the floor below the one they were aiming for. The same voice shouted behind them, and he and Wind ran down the sleek hallway they’d found themselves in, picking a random door and trying to run inside.

It was locked though, and Wind gave Warriors a panicked look.

“Use the powers, see if you can pull it open,” Warriors said, and Wind moved in front of him, scrunching his face up as he concentrated. It took him much longer then it would have taken Time, but eventually his eyes began to glow, and markings stretched across his face as he grew in height, and Wind grabbed the handle of the door, giving it a sharp yank.

It broke off in his hand, but the door cracked open, and Wind jammed the handle back in the hole before he and Warriors bolted inside.

Wind carefully shut it, and the two held their breath as footsteps pounded past mere moments later. But apparently the guards didn’t think to check a room they’d thought was locked, and soon enough even Warriors couldn’t hear them anymore.

“I think they’re gone,” Warriors said softly, and Wind exhaled, leaning against the wall as he dropped Time’s powers.

“Good. I didn’t really want to fight them.”

He slid to the floor, looking tired, and Warriors remembered suddenly that Time’s powers were rather wearing on the user. His brother was used to them, so he didn’t often think about it, but Wind had had them for less than an hour.

Warriors sighed and sat beside him, gently pulling Legend off his back and holding him in his arms instead. Legend didn’t react, and Wind looked down at him, worried and tired.

“C’mere,” Warriors said at the look on his face, and Wind scooted closer to him, resting his head on his shoulder. “Chin up, kiddo. We’ll give those guys out there a few minutes to leave, then make our way to the jerky scientist who did this. And make him fix it.”

Wind nodded, a determined look on his face, and they rested in silence for a few minutes, Wind and Warriors catching their breath, Legend still unmoving.

“You really think he’ll be okay?” Wind said quietly.

“I do. A hundred percent.”

Footsteps rang out again, and suddenly there was a pounding on the door, shouting coming from the other side.

Warriors flinched at the noise, and quickly pulled Legend back up onto his back as he stood. Wind jumped to his feet, looking anxiously at the door, and Warriors scanned the room they were in, hoping for something useful.

It looked like they’d just landed in some kind of conference room though, unused at that, and there wasn’t so much as a potted plant they could use to their advantage.

“Warriors?” Wind said in a voice he was obviously fighting to keep level.

“We can take them,” Warriors reassured, ignoring the way each noise from outside made him want to tear his ears off. “We handled those other guys, we’ll be fine.”

A loud bang came from the door, and Warriors flinched, unable to resist covering his ears.

“What’s the plan?” Wind asked, a determined look settling on his face, and Warriors looked around, mind going into overdrive.

That was an excellent question.

The room had no other exits, apart from the giant window behind them, but that wouldn’t end well since they were several stories up. The vent in the ceiling would only work for Wind— Warriors was too big, and Legend would be nearly impossible to pull through. The door was their only way out.

“...Looks like we’ll have to fight our way through.”

Another loud bang came from the door, and Warriors flinched and stood next to Wind, getting into a ready position. He glanced back at Legend, wondering if he should set him somewhere safe, but then Legend moved.

Warriors and Wind both froze.

“Legend?!”

Legend’s eyes shot open with a gasp, and Warriors nearly dropped him, the abrupt noise making his ears ring.

“Legend!” Wind gasped, but neither he nor Warriors had the time to try and talk to him, since the door finally got beaten down.

Guards began to pour in, but before anyone could do anything, Legend made a strange noise, almost choked-sounding. Warriors jerked his head around to look at him, but then Legend let out a loud cry, and a blinding light flashed in the room.

Warriors was sent reeling from both the noise and light, and the guards were stunned by it as well, startled by the brightness. Spots flickered in Warriors’s vision, and he blinked rapidly as they faded, trying to clear it. He gripped tightly to Legend so he wouldn’t fall off of his back, and looked around as his vision finally began to clear.

Then he stared at the other Legend sitting and blinking in front of him, outfit a bright blue.

“Oh my gosh. He got Four’s,” Wind breathed beside him.

Warriors gave a quick look around the room, spotting two more Legends lying prone on the ground, purple and reddish-pink. There was one more on his back still, but Warriors didn’t have time to check the color since the guards had recovered.

They went back to charging at them, and Wind jumped in front, already using Time’s powers to keep them away.

“Keep him safe!” Wind cried, voice echoing, and Warriors nodded, then harshly shook his head, trying to focus past the cacophony of sounds ringing in his ears.

“Don’t need to!” the blue Legend shouted back, then stumbled to his feet, glaring at the guards. “I’m fine!”

His statement was proved wrong seconds later when he immediately toppled back to the ground, and Warriors jogged over to him, offering him a hand up.

The blue Legend took one look and slapped it away. “I don’t need your help freezer-burn!”

“You can’t walk and we’re trying to get out of here, take my hand,” Warriors snapped. He didn’t want to be short with Legend, especially with the state he must be in at the moment, but his head was pounding more by the minute and the sooner they all got out of here the better.

Blue Legend glared, but finally took his hand, allowing Warriors to help him up and support him. They quickly moved over to the purple Legend, who was struggling to sit up, flexing his fingers with a confused look on his face.

“I have a lot of questions,” he mumbled, and Warriors nodded.

“I’m sure you do, but right now we need to get—”

The pounding in Warriors’s head grew to an impossible degree, and he stumbled to a knee, hissing through his teeth as he felt the rest of his powers trying to activate. Oh come on not now, please not—

Warriors’s vision went dark, and his body twisted and cracked itself into a different configuration. His face elongated as his body shifted, fur sprouting up and spreading over him as he held back a cry. It was only a few seconds, but Warriors still had to catch his breath as it finished, his bones aching.

He raised his head, panting, and saw the purple and blue Legends staring at him.

“...I now have even more questions,” the purple Legend said in bewilderment.

Warriors growled, hoping it would be taken as an it’ll have to wait, and gestured for him and the blue Legend to get on his back.

Either they didn’t want to argue with a wolf, or finally realized just how messy the situation was, because neither of them argued as they climbed up onto Warriors’s back. The other Legend was still up there as well, and Warriors made sure all three weren’t going to fall off before he trotted over to the reddish-pink Legend.

This one was shivering as he stared at his hands, chest heaving with frantic breaths, and at Warriors’s soft bark, he jumped, eyes teary.

“Twi? I don’t kn-know what’s going on,” he whimpered, and the blue Legend snorted.

“Join the club! Anyone want to explain why are there four of me? Or why you’re a wolf? And why are you pink?” he yelled, and Warriors couldn’t help his whine, pinning his ears back at the noise.

“I don’t know!” the pinkish one wailed, and Warriors woofed, trying to get him to calm down. Oh, what is it that Twilight always does...

Warriors moved forward and nuzzled him, and the pinkish Legend stilled, sniffling a little as he looked at him.

“Why’s Twilight blueish?” he asked as he gently stroked his fur, and the blue Legend grumbled.

“It’s not Twilight, it’s Warriors, and no I don’t know what’s going on. Get up here.”

The pinkish Legend petted Warriors for a moment longer, then wobbled to his feet, using Warriors to support himself. With all of the Legends accounted for and relatively safe, Warriors turned his attention back to Wind.

Who seemed to be having absolutely no trouble beating up the guards.

One went flying past them, crashing into the table and landing in a motionless heap, and Warriors stared. Wind was fighting with an unusual ferocity, teeth bared and eyes glowing.

He took out three guards at once with a swing of his fist, and snarled when another tried to charge him. Knocking the weapons out of two others hands, he then smacked their heads together, sending them crumpling to the floor.

The single man who was still left standing slowly backed away, then bolted out of the room.

“...Whoa,” one of the Legends whispered.

Warriors cautiously trotted his way over, the room almost weirdly silent now, and Wind turned around and looked at them all, his eyes blazing with light.

“That’s not Dad, is it,” the purple Legend said quietly, and Warriors nodded.

He was silent for a moment, Wind still standing motionlessly in front of them, and Warriors was running wildly through different plans in his mind, wondering what he could do to snap Wind out of the power rush he was doubtlessly experiencing. Why couldn’t he talk as a wolf?!

“Link,” the purple Legend spoke up, and Wind panted as his gaze shifted to him. “Relax, they’re done.”

Wind swallowed, and abruptly dropped Time’s powers, wobbling a little but staying upright. Warriors quickly moved to support him as well, and they all just stood there for a moment, catching their breath and processing what exactly had happened.

“Thanks,” Wind whispered, and Warriors chuffed softly in reply.

“So. Wind is Dad, Warriors is Twilight, and this just keeps getting weirder!” the blue Legend yelled. “Not to mention whatever is up with me!”

“You mean us,” the purple one corrected.

“Ugh whatever!”

“Our powers got swapped,” Wind said, still gulping in air. He looked a little dizzy, and Warriors gently nuzzled him. Wind petted him in return. “The scientist screwed things up with that explosion, if you remember that.”

“Ah... yeah that would explain some things,” the purple one said, and the pinkish one moaned, slipping off of Warriors and burying his head in his knees.

“I don’t want to be four people,” he whimpered.

“Well I don’t either, suck it up,” the blue one snapped. “How is this even possible?!”

“Quiet down, Warriors’s hearing is extra-sensitive,” Wind said with a glare, and though the blue Legend glared back, he did lower his voice when he spoke again.

“How do we fix it?”

“We were working on that,” Wind huffed, toeing a guard’s arm away from him. “We were going to head to the top floor and hope we ran into the others on the way. And make the scientist give our powers back.”

“We got separated, huh?” the purple one asked, and Wind nodded, and explained about the radios being out as well. “Hm. That makes things difficult.”

“You’re telling me,” Wind sighed.

Warriors barked then, catching everyone’s attention. Once he was sure they were all looking, he jerked his head in the direction of the door, giving his nephews a pointed look.

“You want us to get going?” Wind asked, and Warriors nodded. They shouldn’t stick around in one place longer than necessary.

“Good idea. That straggler was probably going for reinforcements,” the purple Legend said with a grimace, and Warriors heard a groan from his back. “Oh, the green one’s waking up.”

“Took him long enough,” the blue Legend grumbled.

Wind moved over to Warriors’ back, and Warriors heard another groan from behind him. “Legend? Er, green Legend? You with us?”

“Y... yeah...” a voice mumbled, sounding pained. “Wait, why... green Legend..?”

“Because I’m blue and he’s purple and that one is pinkish,” the blue Legend said with a smirk.

Warriors couldn’t see the green one’s face, but he knew Legend well enough to guess at the expression he was making.

“And there’s... four of me now... why?” he asked slowly.

“Our powers got swapped. You got Four’s, I have Dad’s, Warriors has Twi’s, and we’re on our way to stop the jerky scientist who did it,” Wind summarized.

“...oh.”

Warriors let out another pointed woof, and Wind nodded. “Right. We need to get going. Are you guys all... okay?”

“I’m fine,” blue Legend said, and slipped off Warriors’s back. Warriors didn’t miss the way he stumbled though, and he frowned. All the colors of Legend that he could see were still pale, and even the purple one, who seemed the most steady of the group, looked rather shaken. Maybe they should leave Legend hidden here while he and Wind went and faced the scientist...

“I know what you’re thinking, you’re not leaving us here,” the purple Legend said, giving Warriors a look.

Warriors huffed, wishing he could argue his point. Unfortunately his head was pounding so much he knew he wouldn’t be able to focus enough to turn back so he could speak, and his skill in that area was still a little shaky anyway. So he settled with giving the purple Legend a small growl in return.

“We’ll need their help, Warriors,” Wind pointed out. “And leaving them here wouldn’t be very safe either. It’s better they come with us.”

Warriors couldn’t help the soft whine he let out at the thought of taking a splintered and weakened Legend into a dangerous fight, but he knew Wind was right. They couldn’t leave him here alone and vulnerable.

Though, would it even technically be leaving him alone since there are four of him?

“He’s right... you’ll need us,” the green Legend said, voice a little stronger, but still weak.

“Darn right. And I want a chance to wail on this jerk,” blue Legend snarled, pounding a fist into his palm. “He can’t just swap our powers around and expect us not to fight back.”

“I want to help too,” the pinkish one chimed in. “And I... don’t want to stay here alone.”

Warriors sighed, and gave them all a nod. All right, all right. I guess we’re all going.

But I don’t like it.

He tilted his head towards the door, and Wind helped the pinkish Legend stand up, the blue and purple ones joining him as they headed towards the door. Warriors felt a hand gripping tight to his fur, and he looked back at the green Legend, his face pale but determined.

Warriors swallowed, and followed the rest of the group back out into the hallway.

Please let this not be a mistake.

#linkeduniverse #Incredibles au #Incredibles au fic #IAU Warriors #IAU Wind #IAU legend #fic #writing from the floor #hehe I’ve been so excited for this chapter #gosh this fic is getting long it was never supposed to be this long 😭#I hope you all are enjoying it at least

62 notes · View notes