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sciencespies · 2 years ago

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The Webb Telescope Is Just Getting Started

https://sciencespies.com/news/the-webb-telescope-is-just-getting-started/

The Webb Telescope Is Just Getting Started

BALTIMORE — So far it’s been eye candy from heaven: The black vastness of space teeming with enigmatic, unfathomably distant blobs of light. Ghostly portraits of Neptune, Jupiter and other neighbors we thought we knew already. Nebulas and galaxies made visible by the penetrating infrared eyes of the James Webb Space Telescope.

The telescope, named for James Webb, the NASA administrator during the buildup to the Apollo moon landings, is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. It was launched on Christmas one year ago — after two trouble-plagued decades and $10 billion — on a mission to observe the universe in wavelengths no human eye can see. With a primary mirror 21 feet wide, the Webb is seven times as powerful as its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. Depending on how you do the accounting, one hour of observing time on the telescope can cost NASA $19,000 or more.

But neither NASA nor the astronomers paid all that money and political capital just for pretty pictures — not that anyone is complaining.

“The first images were just the beginning,” said Nancy Levenson, temporary director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, which runs both Webb and the Hubble. “More is needed to turn them into real science.”

A bright (infrared) future

The Webb Space Telescope’s mid-infrared view of the Pillars of Creation, which showcases the telescope’s ability to detect dust, a major ingredient in star formation.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Deep in a cloud of dust and gas, a star is being born. At the center of the hourglass light from a spinning shrinking protostar leaks out the top and bottom of a thick disc of matter feeding it and illuminates surrounding gas and dust clouds.NASA, Esa, Csa, and Stsci, J. Depasquale (Stsci)

For three days in December, some 200 astronomers filled an auditorium at the institute to hear and discuss the first results from the telescope. An additional 300 or so watched online, according to the organizers. The event served as a belated celebration of the Webb’s successful launch and inauguration and a preview of its bright future.

One by one, astronomers marched to the podium and, speaking rapidly to obey the 12-minute limit, blitzed through a cosmos of discoveries. Galaxies that, even in their relative youth, had already spawned supermassive black holes. Atmospheric studies of some of the seven rocky exoplanets orbiting Trappist 1, a red dwarf star that might harbor habitable planets. (Data suggest that at least two of the exoplanets lack the bulky primordial hydrogen atmospheres that would choke off life as we know it, but they may have skimpy atmospheres of denser molecules like water or carbon dioxide.)

“We’re in business,” declared Bjorn Benneke of the University of Montreal, as he presented data of one of the exoplanets.

Megan Reiter of Rice University took her colleagues on a “deep dive” through the Cosmic Cliffs, a cloudy hotbed of star formation in the Carina constellation, which was a favorite early piece of sky candy. She is tracing how jets from new stars, shock waves and ionizing radiation from more massive nearby stars that were born boiling hot are constantly reshaping the cosmic geography and triggering the formation of new stars.

“This could be a template for what our own sun went through when it was formed,” Dr. Reiter said in an interview.

The Cosmic Cliffs, a region on the edge of the gigantic, gaseous Carina Nebula, as seen by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Annotated views of the Cosmic Cliffs, indicating some of Megan Reiter’s observations.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Between presentations, on the sidelines and in the hallways, senior astronomers who were on hand in 1989 when the idea of the Webb telescope was first broached congratulated one another and traded war stories about the telescope’s development. They gasped audibly as the youngsters showed off data that blew past their own achievements with the Hubble.

Jane Rigby, the project scientist for operations for the telescope, recalled her emotional tumult a year ago as the telescope finally approached its launch. The instrument had been designed to unfold in space — an intricate process with 344 potential “single-point failures�� — and Dr. Rigby could only count them, over and over.

“I was in the stage of denial,” she said in Baltimore. But the launch and deployment went flawlessly. Now, she said, “I’m living the dream.”

Garth Illingworth, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who in 1989 chaired a key meeting at the Space Telescope Science Institute that ultimately led to the Webb, said simply, “I’m just blown away.”

At a reception after the first day of the meeting, John Mather of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Webb’s senior project scientist from the start, raised a glass to the 20,000 people who built the telescope, the 600 astronomers who had tested it in space and the new generation of scientists who would use it.

“Some of you weren’t even born when we started planning for it,” he said. “Have at it!”

A wayback machine

A deep-field image from the Webb telescope includes Earendel, the most distant individual star ever seen. Its light took 12.9 billion years to reach Earth.NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

A close-up of Earendel, indicated by the red arrow, and the Sunrise Arc galaxy.NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

Thus far the telescope, bristling with cameras, spectroscopes and other instruments, is exceeding expectations. (Its resolving power is twice as good as advertised.) The telescope’s flawless launch, Dr. Rigby reported, has left it with enough maneuvering fuel to keep it working for 26 years or more.

“These are happy numbers,” she said, as she and her colleagues rattled off the performance statistics of their instruments. Dr. Rigby cautioned that the telescope’s instruments were still being calibrated, so the numbers might yet change. Prepare to recalculate your results at the push of a button, she told a group of astronomers in the lobby: “Otherwise, you will hate your life.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise from the Webb telescope so far involves events in the early millenniums of the universe. Galaxies appear to have been forming, generating and nurturing stars faster than battle-tested cosmological models estimated.

“How did galaxies get so old so fast?” asked Adam Riess, a Nobel Physics laureate and cosmologist from Johns Hopkins University who dropped in for the day.

Exploring that province — “cosmic spring,” as one astronomer called it — is the goal of several international collaborations with snappy acronyms like JADES (JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey), CEERS (Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science), GLASS (Grism Lens-Amplified Survey From Space) and PEARLS (Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science).

Webb’s infrared vision is fundamental to these efforts. As the universe expands, galaxies and other distant celestial objects are speeding away from Earth so fast that their light has been stretched and shifted to invisible, infrared wavelengths. Beyond a certain point, the most distant galaxies are receding so quickly, and their light is so stretched in wavelength, that they are invisible even to the Hubble telescope.

The Webb telescope was designed to expose and explore these regions, which represent the universe at just one billion years old, when the first galaxies began to bloom with stars.

Left, an observation made by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, or GOODS, in 2016. Right, the JWST NIRCam image of the GOODS South field, with four confirmed high-redshift galaxies.Left, NASA, ESA/Hubble; Robertson et al., arXiv:2212.04480

“It takes time for matter to cool down and get dense enough to ignite stars,” noted Emma Curtis-Lake, of the University of Hertfordshire and a member of the JADES team. The rate of star formation peaked when the universe was four billion years old, she added, and has been falling ever since. The cosmos is now 13.8 billion years old.

Astronomers measure cosmic distances with a parameter called redshift, which indicates how much the light from a faraway object has been stretched. Just a few months ago a redshift of 8, which corresponds to a time when the universe was about 646 million years old, was considered a high redshift. Thanks to Dr. Curtis-Lake and her colleagues, the record redshift is now 13.2, corresponding to when the universe was only 325 million years old.

Dr. Curtis-Lake and her team had aimed the telescope at a patch of sky called GOODS South, looking for galaxies that Hubble had been unable to detect. Sure enough, there were four of them, specters in the heat-fog of creation. Subsequent measurements confirmed that they were indeed way back in time.

“We didn’t want to say we believed it — publicly,” said Brant Robertson, a JADES member from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The record is not expected to last long. The CEERS collaboration has reported a candidate galaxy that could have a redshift of 16, from when the universe was only 250 million years old.

Experts are already arguing about whether these overeager galaxies reveal something fundamental, and overlooked, in current theories of the early universe. Perhaps some field or effect juiced up gravity back then and sped up the growth of galaxies and black holes. Or perhaps the discrepancies merely reflect scientific uncertainties about the messy details — the “gastrophysics” — of star formation.

For the last 20 years, astronomers have honed a solid “standard model” of a universe composed of dark energy, dark matter and a smidgen of atomic matter. It’s too soon to break that model, Dr. Curtis-Lake said in an interview; Webb has perhaps three decades of observing ahead of it. “We’re in early stages,” she said.

The closing talk fell to Dr. Mather. He limned the telescope’s history, and gave a shout-out to Barbara Mikulski, the former senator of Maryland, who supported the project in 2011 when it was in danger of being canceled. He also previewed NASA’s next big act: a 12-meter space telescope called the Habitable Worlds Observatory that would seek out planets and study them.

“Everything that we did has turned out to be worth it,” he said. “So we are here: This is a celebration party, getting a first peek at what’s out here. It’s not the last thing we’re going to do.”

#News

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marmotish · 3 years ago

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Oooo oooo ooo! Umm…. Duncan x Freyja for 9????

9. How do they react to the other not realising danger? (e.g. oncoming traffic)

Freyja -> Duncan

Duncan doesn’t recognise danger to himself because … well, he’s a ghost. He’s not aware of anything that can harm him, and neither is Freyja. Once her initial misconceptions are cleared up, anyway.

Duncan -> Freyja

In my SQ, Freyja has actually walked into oncoming traffic in as per the question’s example. Duncan’s reaction was to try and pull her back, but ended up taking over her body instead. So I guess you could say his reaction is to forget that he can’t actually interact with the physical world and try to intervene as though he’s still alive?

#hogwarts mystery #hphm mc #freyja young #duncan ashe #duncan sq #character dynamics asks #it’s not the only time that duncan saves freyja’s live during the xmas SQ #the second time actually occurs later that same day and involved an apple drop going down the wrong way #and discovery of a new ghostly ability #ask #anonymous

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xadoheandterra · 2 years ago

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Series: still waters run deep Title: Transitive Existence Fandom: The Sandman (Netflix + Comics semi-fusion), Danny Phantom Chapters: I | II Enablers: @demigodorion @azthedragon @kbobrian (because you three litereally went “do it” soooooo….) Characters: Death of the Endless | Teleute, Time, Clockwork, Danny Fenton Pairings: Night/Time (historical) Tags: Discovery and Ignorance, Death Is Nosy, Clockwork Is Cryptic, Referenced Dream in the Fishbowl, dichotomy of existence, Death is a good big sister, introspective Summary: A New Endless is born, a new sibling of the Seven, a new child of Night and Time. This, predictably, has consequences. Not that Danny really cares. He’s just here to live his life and maybe make friends with these people who’ve been at this whole ‘Endless’ thing longer than he has. And okay maybe the idea of older siblings that aren’t Jazz is an interesting prospect and maybe being accepted by someone who understands is on that list somewhere.

Oh, and there might be something about rescuing a cosmic entity in there but whose counting?

Danny twisted lightly in the air as he floated in the sea of empty green that made up the Ghost Zone almost aimlessly. He'd been sent off by Jazz with a smile and a bag and a kiss to the forehead. There was the promise and threat to return to Physical once his business in the Zone had been done since Danny knew Tucker, Jazz, and Sam had all planned some sort of birthday celebration. Maddie and Jack weren't home, thank the Ancients, otherwise it would have taken more work for Danny to even get into the Zone for this visit.

With a grin Danny twisted to fly on his back as he stared at the expanse. He wondered what Clockwork had to tell him now that he was seventeen. It'd been almost a full year since Clockwork came into his life, nearly three full years since he'd died and revived in equal measure in the lab accident beneath his home. The older ghost had been a godsend after their initial and rough start; his knowledge helped so much in Danny's own growing grasp of his abilities and then his many questions and ever growing curiosity about the Zone. Now Clockwork specifically asked Danny to visit on 'the day of your arrival as a being in the Physical,' which was Clockwork-speak for birthday, apparently. Compared to, 'the day of your making in the Realms,' which apparently was the day of the lab accident. Danny didn't know why Clockwork phrased it like that, but that was the ancient ghost for you.

Not that Clockwork was actually a ghost; Danny had to be blind to not realize there was nothing 'ghostly' about Clockwork, but he lacked the context for what Clockwork is other than a mysterious time-based entity of unfathomable power who had an extreme fondness for young 'Phantoms' such as Danny. Dani did not find Clockwork so fond, but Danny was certain it was merely a lack of exposure that would correct itself in time. After all Clockwork handled everything in the aftermath of Dani's near de-stabilization and Danny hadn't had to worry about Vlad showing his ugly mug ever since! Danny considered that a win in his book, all things considered.

The sound of a ticking clock drew Danny from his thoughts as he leaned his head back and slowed his flight. He passed by a singular, floating clock as the landscape around him began to darken. Jagged bits of earth and rock formed small pathways that dipped through slight hills into peaks and valleys. Danny drifted over to one that he recognized, marked by a signpost with a night-sky purple clock decorated in little stars that looked vaguely like some sort of art project Danny had made when he was three. He always found it a little odd, but then he chalked it up to something that his parents had accidentally dropped into a natural portal that Clockwork eventually found and took a liking to. It at least served as a decent guidepost to being in the right area of the Zone.

With a twist Danny landed his booted feet upon the path, hiked his travel pack that Jazz had shoved at him a little more centered on his shoulders and began to follow the path on foot. It was rude to fly through another ghost's area of the zone unless you had previous permission, and while Clockwork had long given Danny permission to fly if he needed to, Danny preferred being polite. The first few disastrous meetings of the various denizens of the Zone because of his social faux pax made him more than leery of pissing of a being far more powerful than himself.

The remainder of the walk was rather peaceful as this area of the zone began to darken into something more like twilight, the distant lands looked little more than stars in the night sky. Danny always liked this view of the Zone best, and always found the shift and change from endless green to endless night fascinating. His love of it might have had to do with his love of space, but it wasn't wholly because he once dreamed of being an astronaut. The idea that the various lands in the Zone could be likened to small planets or stars had always appealed to him. The Zone was a lot like Space in that way--vast periods of emptiness, inter spaced with small budding galaxies of landmasses that orbited one another. Of course that implied there was some sort of logic or order to the Zone and there wasn't, but Danny thought the comparison was apt.

In the distance the Clock Tower rose up over the edge of the hill. It stood tall as a skyscraper, but as with most things in the Zone the closer you got the smaller it really appeared. By the time Danny was to reach the front porch the Clock Tower was the size of nothing more than a rather tall and thin house instead of the towering shape it appeared in the distance. Danny tilted his head when the door to the Tower opened and out stepped the rather familiar figure of Grias. The strange Observant-attendant ghost was a weird one, not like the rest of their kind that apparently worked to govern this world in the absence of a caretaker. For one thing Grias was kind, for a given measure of what kind meant.

They wasn't an asshole like the others, Danny amended silently as Grias came to a standstill in front of him. Danny remained quiet and watched as the ghost fidgeted with clawed fingers for a moment before they dipped their head with a short, "Lord Phantom."

Danny put on a smile and waved with a short, "Heya, Grias. 'Sup?" He earned a slightly hesitant fanged grin in response from the ghost before it was wiped away into blankness a second later.

"Forgive me, my Lord," Grias said carefully. "Your time with Clockwork will unfortunately be far more brief than previously hoped."

Danny frowned, fingers tightened on the strap of his backpack. He didn't know what Grias meant; he had no idea how long this entire meeting between him and Clockwork was supposed to go anyway, let alone what Clockwork wanted to tell him about that was so important it had to wait for this day specifically. Cautiously, slowly, Danny drew out a soft, "Okay?" and Grias inclined their head.

"You have four hours, my Lord." Four hours? Danny blinked, surprised at a given length of time for this meeting. There wasn't ever really a time put upon Danny's visits with Clockwork in the past, and if something were to be short Danny would anticipate it at being something closer to thirty minutes and not four hours. If Grias considered that brief Danny wondered how much time Clockwork really wanted to have with him. "After that point I am afraid I cannot keep the news from the Council. I am sorry."

Grias bowed once, and in Danny's stunned silence slipped past him and away. Danny blinked after the other ghost with another, quieter, drawn out, "Okay?" followed by a short, "What the fuck?" because nothing of that interaction made sense. After a second Danny shook his head and decided it didn't matter. He turned, marched up to the Clock Tower's door, and pushed it open with a cheerful call out to its resident.

"Hey, Clockwork!"

Clockwork looked up from where he stood, half bent over his own staff which he grasped tight enough to render his knuckles bone white, and graced Danny with a smile.

"Hello, Daniel."

Yeah, Danny decided as he felt that core in his chest tremble with emotion at the clear fondness from his ghostly mentor, whatever Grias was on about didn't matter.

...

Daniel was a curious and often creative child, Time learned in the years he spent with his gaze on his child. The youngest-oldest of his Endless children was so frighteningly like his third child in many ways that more and more often Time let his gaze drift in the direction of Morpheus. A part of him shattered every time he saw his little dream curled into a ball, ignoring the world around him. A part of him worried about the humans who held onto the drops of Dream's power, who used and abused gifts that were stolen. He may have, silently, tweaked a few bits of timeline in a sense of revenge--aged some, forced others to stay younger...but that was not the point. Time drifted back into the here-now to look at Daniel whose lips were pursed at the bombshell of information Time had just lain at his lap.

You are not alone in this universe, Time had uttered softly. There are seven others just as you are.

"Well I guessed as much," Daniel eventually said into the silence. He peered at Time over his knees and pressed his cheek against the bone there, and Time waited patiently. "I mean...Vlad and Dani exist, right?"

For a long moment, Time stared at his child almost uncomprehendingly. The form of it unfolded beneath his gaze with those simple words--things that Daniel should know but treated as unknowable. Ah, the poor boy feared his nature, didn't he? He kept the knowledge from himself to fit himself into the mold of a human when he wasn't. Time sighed deeply and leaned forward. He placed his hands upon his knees as he looked at Daniel with a narrowed gaze.

"Daniel," Time said, and his voice rumbled in this place with barely constrained power, he knew. This must be delicate; a careful extraction of the truth that Daniel willfully denied as ignorance. "What do you see when you look upon me?"

"An ancient and very powerful ghost," came Daniel's prompt reply, and when Time raised his brow Daniel flushed slightly before he mumbled, "I mean it's easier, isn't it?"

"Is it?"

Time watched as Daniel's brow furrowed, as he tried to think of what Time wanted him to acknowledge, before finally Daniel sighed softly.

"Not always, I guess," Daniel whispered into the air, and his words echoed faintly with something on the edge of his grasp. Daniel looked to him then, eyes a bright teal that overtook even the sclera and pupil. It was like looking into the edge of the aurora borealis, a twist of blues and greens that shimmered almost in the way of galaxies but not quite. A hint toward his cosmic parentage, but evidence toward his own unique nature.

"What do you see, child," Time urged softly, and waited for Daniel to look, to put words into what he truly saw before him. Daniel breathed out slowly, and Time let a smile cross his lips as Daniel looked to him with his nature--with the truth of it in his eyes.

"You are older than ancient," Daniel said slowly, words with that echoey quality to them. "From before a moment when things exist. When there was only darkness, and only time, that stood upon a vastness and an emptiness. You will exist even then, always shifting and moving from one moment to another, to another, to another...." Daniel blinked, and his eyes cleared back into bright green that they took upon this form. "You are Time," he said finally, his voice clear. "All of Time made manifest."

"Yes," Time said, and found himself pleased especially with the wide-eyed, awed way that Daniel now looked to him. It looked as if the child truly saw him for the first time.

"Has your hair always been this red?" Daniel asked, voice suddenly bright as he shifted and dropped his knee down. He leaned forward and grasped at the small bit of braided hair that had fallen from beneath Time's hood.

"When I am this young, yes," Time agreed lightly, smile on his lips.

"Oh," Danny whispered, as his gaze darted to Time's face. "Clock, your eyes...."

Time nodded slowly. "Now, little one, what do you see when you gaze upon yourself?" There is a moment, and then Daniel turned his head to the side for a moment. Time watched as he turned that gaze inwards, and his heart broke a little as the next second Daniel jerked away from him with a stricken expression. "Daniel?" Time asked, leaned forward slowly to place his hand upon one thin shoulder of the teenager before him.

"....I'm not human, am I?" Daniel whispered, and looked at Time with that unfathomably Endless gaze. Time smiled sadly in response. "What...what am I? What are you?"

With the care of a parent, even out of practice as he had been and with only the ability to observe the world around him and rarely to interact with it, Time drew Daniel into an embrace as he spoke in soothing cadence, "You are my son, Daniel, and we are Endless." He stroked a hand down Daniel's back, tried to sooth the teenager whose own truths laid bare before him--they had time to wait until Daniel had processed before Time brought up his siblings once more. There was much they needed to go over, in the moment granted to them. Much Daniel needed to know before--Time closed his eyes and breathed slowly.

It did not matter. None of it mattered in the face of his children.

...

The knowledge that he was something other had always been there, Danny knew. He'd always known in the way that he just knew things and in his boundless curiosity on how each item was put together, the workings behind it. His endless fascination with all things space and expanding--Daniel knew he was different. He and Jazz had spent hours and days just talking about it sometimes. Jazz said he might be something called autistic, or have some other developmental difference that made him just a bit unique compared to everyone else. He might also have been adopted, they speculated, given how vastly different to his parents he looked. He had hair that was as dark as the night sky after all, nothing like Jack's dark brown that bordered on black. His eyes were the complete wrong shape too, and the exact shade of blue was not quite the same as the Fenton's, either.

In the end Danny and Jazz had long concluded it didn't matter because Danny was Jazz's brother and Jazz was Danny's sister and Sam and Tucker were his friends. Even becoming what he was now--not half-ghost, Danny knew that was just a story to tell children, something to clarify the differences between him and the others, to ease the knowledge that Danny was other because Danny was other. Each of his 'powers' could easily be pulled from the reality that he was a child of Time and Night, of cosmic beings older than the universe, older than the oldest of universes by any rights. He had the ability to drift among the Physical because he was Endless, much as apparently the others in this family he didn't know about could. He could be seen if he wanted, or unseen if he didn't, and Danny knew he'd always been able to do that. Had always done that. The invisibility, intangibility, had only been something he'd taken up after the Fenton's various discoveries and his own worry about his nature.

Danny stood on the precipice between different species of being. Humans that he most resembled, that the Endless oft appeared as, and then whatever the Infinite Realms demanded he be. The white, the glow, the 'ghostly abilities' and 'ghostly core' were all aspects that pulled from the Neverborn. They weren't 'ghost's' per se, but manifestations of concepts of events, of common discoveries because the Infinite Realm was an Infinite Realm of Discovery, and it was all Danny's. Every thing discovered or learned and everything lost appeared there in one way or another--and in that way everything in the Realm was Neverborn but not necessarily Ancient like Clockwork--like Time.

It mattered in a way Danny didn't understand, except then Clockwork stood to his feet and offered Danny a hand and spoke in that soft, deep bass of his, that he wanted to show him something important. So Danny accepted the grasp and followed Clockwork down the winding halls of the Tower which grew and shrunk as it was needed. He followed Clockwork with red hair and blue eyes and pale-as-death skin with his core in his throat and his world partially upended. He grasp tight to that hand and felt just the slightest bit unmoored, untethered and so young. Youngest of eight--the idea that Danny had siblings just as strange and different as him made him the slightest bit giddy with everything.

The room Clockwork took Danny to was a bare, blank space filled with colors and small nebulae that resembled the sky untainted by light pollution. Danny gaped at it, spun in a circle as he let go of Clockwork's hand to take in everything. There were columns and pillars that wrapped around the room, and set in the center a series of items placed in a semi-circle.

"Your siblings call such a room their Gallery," Clockwork said softly, and drew Danny's attention over toward where he stood in front of a golden ankh. Danny watched how Clockwork stroked his finger along one of the wristwatches that littered his arms as he looked to it, and gestured Danny to come over. "They've built up rules among themselves, ways to conduct their interactions based upon mine and their mother's opinions of such things, and later to bind themselves as Family when things began to...sour, in our absence."

"Why have you been absent?" Danny asked as he stood next to Clockwork--he tried valiantly to again ignore that Clockwork had called himself their father in all things. He would rather unpack that little bit of information at another time, when he could properly decompress and hopefully have Jazz there to mitigate the freak out that was bound to happen. The freak out that he was barely able to stop right now as it was.

Clockwork looked to Danny then, just a sideways glance as he spoke. "I am old, Daniel. I am ancient."

"Yeah your basically dust," Danny quipped back and then winced as Clockwork blinked at him slowly. "Sorry."

"I am not offended," Clockwork chuckled. "You are not wrong. Cosmic dust I may be, yes, and yet...my children had their duties, a hand in their affairs. They did not..." Clockwork paused, lips pressed together.

"You felt like they didn't need you," Danny said and for the longest moment Clockwork nodded his head.

"It did not help that your mother and I had a bit of...well, that we chose to go our separate ways," Clockwork placed the words delicately out there before he turned from them completely. "As it was they did not need us, now fully formed and conscious of their actions. They had no need to be coddled or cared for any longer." He paused for a moment, stared at the wristwatches on his wrists--and Danny counted eight of them, when he'd thought once there were only seven. "I am always with my children, Daniel, even if they cannot see me. I am always watching."

"Yeah but...but you need them too, right?"

Clockwork looked to Danny with eyes that were so sad that it hurt and Danny wasn't sure what he could do to make it better. He opened his mouth, but Clockwork interrupted softly, "It is more complicated than that, child." When Danny went to counter the statement Clockwork reached out and grasped his hand and tugged him forward. "Here, grasp this."

Danny closed his mouth, breathed through his nose, and then grasped at the golden ankh with a roll of his eyes as Clockwork began to explain the workings of the Gallery. Why the Gallery was in the Clock Tower Danny didn't know, but he bet it was just some weirdness about the Zone and not that this was actually located in the Clock Tower at all. He wondered if anyone in the Zone could find him here, if he found his way to this place. Were the Observants aware of Danny and Clockwork in this space? Were the Observants aware of what Clockwork was? Danny doubted it; he doubted they would bother to try and order around a literal cosmic entity of Time like Clockwork was if they knew.

"Are you listening to me, Daniel?" Clockwork asked, and Danny blinked and then rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He thought he heard a sound, faint and in the distance that reminded him of wings, but he did not let himself dwell on it as he replied to Clockwork a bit embarrassed.

"No, sorry. Got lost in my thoughts."

"Be careful with that; ones thoughts can be a dangerous place to wander off alone in after all!"

Danny whipped around, surprised enough to drop the ankh in his hand as it clattered to the ground. He did not miss the wince that crossed the woman's face in front of him, the ways she glanced to the ankh and then to Clockwork before finally her gaze landed on Danny. Her lips tugged up into a wide grin, and she seemed for a moment as if she would open her arms before she thought better of it.

"Felt you holding on to that for a while without saying anything and figured I should stop by and see what was what," she said brightly.

Danny looked down to the ankh, and then scrambled to pick it up and place it back on its pedestal with a faint blush and a mumbled, "Sorry."

"It's alright, little brother," Death said with a soft smile. "I'm not busy at the moment." She glanced once more to Clockwork with a raised brow, and Clockwork peered back at her from beneath the hood of his cloak. "Got to say I'm surprised to see you here, father."

Danny looked down and mumbled, "He was showing me this place."

Death arched an eyebrow. "Was he?" For a moment Danny could almost taste the way the air got tense, and then Death stepped forward and smiled reassuringly at Danny and said, "Well then, what has he told you about this place?"

Danny blinked at her, and then looked to each of the pedestals. "This is a...Gallery. A way to contact...contact my siblings." He stumbled over that, calling them siblings because while that is what they were, Danny was still new to the concept of it.

"Yes," Death agreed. "Did he tell you of the rules?"

Clockwork shifted, and then wrapped his arm around Danny's shoulders. Danny could feel the edge of his cloak brush past his knees and almost touch Death with the motion. "I had not gotten that far before you interrupted, daughter."

Death snorted. "Of course not." She righted her own sigil, and Danny watched her do so as she began to speak and explain the rules to him softly. "We are not allowed to interfere in each others business. It helps keep the peace between our sphere's of influence, you know? I wouldn't want Destiny to mess around with the souls I lead to the Sunless Lands, just as I am sure Destiny would not want me to meddle in his affairs, either."

Danny blinked, said cautiously, "Destiny?" and Death smiled at him in response as she gestured to the book on the first pedestal.

"Destiny's sigil," Death said softly. "It leads to his own Realm, The Garden of Forking Ways. Destiny, Potmos, tends to be rather solitary." Death moved on to the ankh. "This is mine, and leads to the Sunless Lands. I am Death, or Teleute," here Teleute winked and Danny flushed faintly even as his eyes widened in realization of her Function. She moved on to the next, a strange mask as she gestured and spoke. "This is my younger brother, your older brother, Dream's sigil. It leads to the Dreaming." She lingered here, and Danny watched her curious before she moved on to the next sigil, a sword, which Death stared at for a long lingered moment before she only said it belonged to Destruction and then moved on.

Following the sword was a glass heart that belonged to Desire, leading to The Threshold. After that was a hooked ring for Despair and a place called The Gray Realm. A swirl of colors apparently belonged to his older sister Delirium and a location known as Madness. Danny took all of this in for the moment before Death looked him up and down and then rocked back on her heels. Clockwork still stood at his back, hand upon his shoulder as a comforting presence in the middle of all of this new knowledge about his life.

"What about you, little brother?" Death asked, and Danny looked up at her in surprise. "I've talked about each of us," and she had, even if she glossed over Destruction rather quickly, "so tell me a bit about you and this place of yours." She smiled reassuringly at him, and Danny scuffed his feet for a moment before he looked to Clockwork who nodded slowly in response.

"I'm..." Danny breathed out slowly and then straightened his back as he looked at Death and said, "I am Discovery, and this is the Infinite Realm."

Death smiled even wider, and with a soft laugh wrapped Danny into a hug as she said, "Welcome to the family, little brother." Hesitantly, surprised at the action, Danny wrapped his own arms back around Death in a hug, and then let a small smile cross his face as his core hummed, rather pleased with the acknowledgement of family.

...

It was hours later, after Death had finished explaining the Rules that she and the others had put together to keep things civil--hours of wandering out of the Gallery and back into the Clock Tower which had left Death a bit surprised by all the time related items here, and then the admission from Clockwork, Time--which Danny was still processing that little revelation--himself that he had been in this Realm for some time now--settled into it, was well known to it--that had resulted in a rather flinty eyed gaze from his--his older sister. Teleute, as she whispered to call him if he felt more comfortable--

"Call me Danny, then. Or Phantom when I'm....like this. Uhm. Unless you prefer Discovery?"

"Any of them is fine, little brother, but what do you mean by 'like this'?"

--and then she made her excuses, that she had some work to do, but she told him not to be a stranger and if he needed help to always ask. The worst she could do was tell him she was too busy in the moment, but she promised if it was dire she would be there. Danny didn't miss the way Clockwork's lips pursed at that, or miss the way Teleute's breath hitched when Danny and switched from being 'Ghost' to 'Human' and that she mouthed a name that made his chest ache. Perhaps it was part of his 'Function' to notice the little things, to put together the secrets that were otherwise attempted to be kept from him. At any rate once she was gone he turned to Clockwork--to Time--who stared at him patiently and waited.

"What was she not telling me?" Danny turned and asked Clockwork, once she was gone. "About...about Destruction and Dream?"

Clockwork sighed heavily, and then gestured for Danny to follow him. They went from the Gallery to the Room of Windows which was an area that opened up viewing portals to various points in time. Danny had been there before, when Clockwork had punted him into the future to learn about--about himself, he supposed. He wondered now about the evil future him, Dan, and how he had been twisted in such a way as to be that.

"Your brother Destruction," Clockwork spoke softly, "grew rather tired of his Function and decided he wanted control of it no longer. So he left, and cut off ties to rest of the family."

"But...but destruction is necessary," Danny frowned. "Without it creation can't exist."

"And I am sure you can see that both exist well and good without your brother actively working," Clockwork pointed out with a small smile, and Danny nodded with a furrowed brow. "Destruction did not truly leave his post, merely....stopped placing his hand in things. There have been consequences, but not near so dire as there could have been."

One of the Windows showed a red haired man in some sort of art class working on a sculpture. Danny blinked and then looked to Clockwork who winked at him for a moment before that Window closed out.

"As for Dream..." Clockwork's lips thinned and he nodded toward another of the Windows. Danny turned to look, and then all of him froze. He felt his core stutter in his chest--felt the burning ache of anger began to boil somewhere deep within him. It was a rage he was familiar with, one he felt when Jazz had been hurt by an ex-boyfriend of hers years and years ago. He clenched his hands into fists as he stared at a dark haired, blue eyed, naked man in a fishbowl. He couldn't articulate himself, just looked to Clockwork whose gaze was focused on the Window and so--sad.

"Your brother has been trapped in this way since the early twentieth century," Clockwork spoke softly. "This has had...consequences, upon the Physical." He motioned toward another Window, a pair of Windows actually set beside each other. One was of a vibrant, almost fantastical land--the other that same land in ruins. "And it has had consequences upon the Dreaming, as well."

Danny swallowed heavily, and then asked, "Why has no one helped him?" almost hoarsely.

Clockwork looked at him, for a long inscrutable moment, and then said, "Because he has not asked," and Danny blinked because--right, the Rules that Death had told him about. The stupid agreements between the siblings. Danny crossed his arms and scowled back.

"Could he ask?" Danny demanded, wanted to know if this older brother of his was stupid enough not to ask for help when he needed it.

"No," Clockwork agreed, and then Danny nodded once, sharply.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get him out!"

Clockwork smiled, a slow and sad thing and Danny didn't know what this smile meant except that it made his core curl and twist uncomfortably. It wasn't reassuring, but it also wasn't terrifying. Yet Clockwork still nodded slowly to Danny's request--his demand--and with a twist of the hands of a clock a portal opened for them to step through. Before Danny did so Clockwork placed a hand upon his shoulder.

"Stay out of sight," Clockwork said softly. "Do you understand?" For a moment Danny said nothing, then nodded once and slipped into that spectrum of space between that was Invisibility and Intangibility--a step toward Oblivion. Then, both of them stepped through the portal and into the basement of the Burgess Estate in Wych Cross.

#fanfic #fic: still waters run deep #fic: transitive existence #danny phantom #clockwork #time of the endless #death of the endless

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dr-ladybird · 2 years ago

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I’m sure this isn’t a new discovery, but I just found a new easy mode for Elden Ring bosses:

Give your mimic a healing spell. Now there’s a weird silver duplicate of you spamming all your strongest moves at the boss at random and *not dying*. Even worse when you also give it blackflame. Would you like a ghostly friend who can call upon the powers of death itself? without fighting Alecto or messing around near the Haligtree? blob is here to help

Definitely a power to be used responsibly, lest it make the game un-fun… but when you really want to kill something you’re way underlevelled for? or just sick of that one fucker who’s squished you 50 times despite your best attempts to git gud, and won’t get out of the way?

blobfriend is here to help. with Blob First Aid abilities. and death flavoured fire.

#elden ring #mimic tear #elden ring gameplay #original content

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zeynatura · 2 years ago

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This is a very niche topic but whatever i need to rant.

I saw this tweet about an idea of a collab for the Paladins game that i play, and it’s not a bad idea.

My only issue was that it was a skin for the new champion Kasumi as Light.

In sumary for context she is a vengeful ghost and her weapon is a doll that she stabs with a needle to inflict damage to enemies.

Now this person’s idea makes sense, he wants the skin to be Light with his Death Note as the weapon instead of the doll and a pen instead of a needle, making the attack animation writing on the notebook, but i don’t think it’s gonna work because the stabbing is really fast and idk how well it will translate to a writing animation. Also out of all the characters you had to choose Light!? Couldn’t you go with a shinigami at least!? you know make it be another japanese super natural being not just some guy.

So i gave my two cents about it: (spoilers about Death Note Another Note)

And here is where my love for Beyond Birthday comes to play.

Listen Death Note was a big special interest in my teens, my disappointment for Takeshi Obata (that’s another topic i could talk about), the fandom and the discovery of my next special interest Tokyo Ghoul brought it to an end but that doesn’t mean all the knowledge, feelings and opinions about the series disappeared. So i have a lot to say.

Beyond Birthday (BB) is the B in the alphabet of kids raised to become the next L, he stars in the novel Death Note Another Note and i even made a study paper about him for my Crimilogy class in University. So i know A LOT about him.

And this is my reasoning why he would be a better skin for Kasumi:

The appearance: he’s an L lookalike with bright red eyes, both he and Kasumi have black short hair and super natural powers linked to death.

The lore: he really hates L, he wants to both become him and surpass him so his desire to be the better L is all the story is about, he comiting the perfect crime L can’t solve, murdering multiple people.

The weapon: it would still be a doll and a nail, why? because the signature of BB in all of his crimes was a number of dolls nailed to the wall (bonus points if the doll is L)

Kasumi’s abilities and ultimate: she leaves dolls as traps to teleport and fear the enemies and the ultimate is basically a curse that inflicts fear, dmg and gives her stacks to boost her dmg. BB was born with shinigami eyes, so he having some kind of other shinigami powers could explain the abilities of Kasumi’s kit for the skin. (which wouldn’t make sense for Light to have)

Voice pack: Kasumi is all about vengeance, killing, souls and is clearly Japanese inspired, the voice is creepy, ghostly, spooky and supernatural. Her ult Line says "あなたの魂を私のものだよ！" which translates for “your soul is mine” and as i said in the tweet, BB’s line could be something he says to his victims or even an indirect against L and the rest of his voice pack matching the vibe of Kasumi would be easy, cause he not only is a serial killer, unhinghed, hateful person, he also jokes around, can change his tone so fast, is charming and smart.

I have nothing against OP, his idea is just the most boring and mainstream there is and is not even the best one based on his reasoning.

I’m so fed up with the Death Note fandom being so anime centralized they’re missing so much not reading the manga nor the novels.

[If you want to know about my paper about BB i got a perfect grade, and it was an analysis of him, his personality, his crimes, his methods and a psycological evaluation. The assigment was “choose a serial killer be it fictional or real and make an analysis” it had to be a unique one so all my classmates got the best real ones like Jack the Ripper so i was like hmmm maybe i should do a fictional one and remembered BB.

For those of you that don’t know i’m a criminalist and love forensic sciences]

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catflowerqueen · 3 years ago

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I feel like a Danny Phantom/Assassination Classroom crossover might be interesting.

Like... we know Danny’s grades suffer in canon, so if we just shifted things(like the setting, considering they take place in different countries--unless this is a situation where the Fentons move to Japan for some reason) and had his accident happen to him a year earlier, that would probably be enough for his grades to place him in E class. And then he would have something of a personal beef with Korosensei since he claimed credit for the moon explosion, and we all know Danny’s feelings about space.

Then you could play around with things like Danny’s thoughts on assassination and death in general, considering his own circumstances, and trying to balance ghost fighting with all the E Class shenanigans. He probably wouldn’t be able to keep his secret from Korosensei for very long, but I can see some angst happening upon discovery considering that Karasuma works for the government.

Not to mention that Korosensei would probably have some very strong and negative opinions about the whole thing, considering his own experiences with labs. Sure, what happened to Danny was an accident, but one that would have been preventable had his parents been paying more attention--in addition to the fact that Korosensei would know first hand that there really is a danger that someone might take him in now for experimentation purposes (considering that Shiro had no problem with using another child, Itona). And he would not be happy about the Fenton adults’ general attitudes about ghosts and Phantom specifically, not to mention Vlad’s shenanigans--especially if the cloning debacle still happens.

Korosensei would likely be very helpful in getting Danny some better training with his ghostly abilities, too, and it might be interesting to see how ectoplasm and his ice and whatnot interact with Korosensei’s unique biology. Would it be more or less effective than the anti-sensei stuff?

Probably the easiest way to merge the two would be to either have Shiro/someone else at the lab call the Fentons in to provide a different angle on the initial anti-matter experiments being run (without making them aware of the human experimentation aspect, of course) or bring them in directly after the moon explosion due to their expertise with ectoplasm and other weaponry in the hopes that it might possibly work against Korosensei (perhaps the anti-sensei material really is just a different form of ectoplasm molded into the knives and bullets and stuff--which might also bring in some angst potential if it gets found out and everyone starts to wonder exactly how ethically sourced it is).

Danny’s grades would put him in E class (and Jazz would probably just be in the high school portion), and he would be there from pretty much the beginning--possibly right after Karma’s introduction, at the latest. And, of course, both the adults and kids are keeping things a secret by state mandate--Jack and Maddie (assuming they actually know the full situation) wouldn’t tell about the situation because they don’t want to worry their kids about the possibility the world will end (or else they are just so out of the loop and divorced from reality that they just assume Korosensei is some kind of weird ghost creature and are just really bad at explaining their work/the kids just automatically tune them out whenever they blather about ghosts that Danny isn’t catching the hints that they’re talking about his new teacher). Danny on the other hand is keeping the assassination thing a secret due to state mandate--since none of the other parents seemed to be aware. He probably at least tells Jazz, though. Possibly also Sam and Tucker, though it’s likely they wouldn’t actually be in Japan with him, and he may not want to stress them out too much i.e. the possible end of the world.

On the other hand, he may have them working on some contingency plans in case Class E doesn’t manage to kill Korosensei by the time limit. Mainly involving mass migration plans to the Ghost Zone. (which would probably still be fine if the Earth exploded? Honestly I’m still not really clear on how stringent the whole “Ghost Zone and Earth each affect each other” thing is, especially when taking into account things like natural portals being able to open up into the past and such).

...And there would probably be at least one Phantom Planet reference via someone briefly bringing up the idea of just turning the Earth intangible once the time limit hits so that Korosensei’s attack misses before it immediately gets thrown out as being too nonsensical/logistically impossible.

It would also be pretty cool to see Ritsu and Tucker collaborate.

There would probably be fewer ghosts in Amity with the Fenton portal closed, though I could see there still being some weird shenanigans if Vlad was still in town as mayor/decided to leave his portal open for whatever reason and the ghosts came though. In either case, Danny would not have to worry overly about being constantly attacked like he was at home. At least until someone (like Skulker) deliberately comes searching for him--which is probably how the secret would get revealed to whoever it is getting revealed to here.

There are a lot of possibilities for that--is it just the students who find out initially and try to help him hide it from Korosensei? Is Korosensei the one who finds out and tries to hide it from Karasuma? Do they all find out and then Karasuma has to decide whether or not to inform the Japanese government/his parents?

I feel like Cujo would also probably show up at least once, and Danny would have to wrestle with some moral and otherwise ghostly quandaries. Like... I can see it being something of a taboo for ghosts to deliberately kill humans. Danny is in kind of a grey area with Skulker, since he is part ghost, but if I recall correctly his initial plan was actually just to capture Danny and put him in some sort of zoo equivalent, so there are certain lines he won’t cross (which makes me wonder if he would also try his own hand at hunting Korosensei, actually). Since the nature of ghosts not originating from the Zone (like Frostbite) is that they, you know, died, I can see it being some sort of ghostly code or compulsion that they never deliberately cross that line and inflict that agony on someone else.

Not to mention the fanon that Danny’s obsessions are protection and space--meaning that Danny would be at war with himself and might not have an easy time reconciling things. On the one hand, killing someone is usually antithesis to the idea of protection. On the other hand, killing Korosensei protects the entire world from being destroyed. And then on a third hand, the space obsession might mean that he would literally be out for Korosensei’s blood given that he’s the one who claimed to blow up the moon. (Which might also mean that they have to hold Danny back from going after Shiro once it is revealed that it was actually his fault with the mouse experiment).

I also really like the idea of Korosensei having to restrain himself from righteous fury upon the Fentons once the whole, you know, lab accident and trauma from worrying that his parents/some sort of government agency might try and dissect/vivisect him at some point comes out--heightened by the fact that Korosensei has not only himself but also Itona to further highlight that possibility.

Also, I feel like the whole Dan thing wouldn’t get brought up at all unless it was part of Danny wrestling with those ghostly taboos (both culturally and obsession-wise) considering that Dan killed people. Like... it wouldn’t be him necessarily thinking it’s a “Dan symptom,” as it were, but more that it highlights his status as a human/ghost hybrid and not fully on either side, and more proof of just how horrible Dan was in general that he was able to kill humans so easily.

And then, of course, Korosensei or one of his classmates would highlight that outsider’s perspective I posted about earlier, and how Dan isn’t just Danny, but also Vlad.

Also, if the spaceship thing happens then Danny is totally going to be one of the ones going up into space--either seated in the stolen shuttle, or flying alongside it as a ghost.

Anyways, that’s just some thoughts.

#danny phantom #assassination classroom #long post #lengthy post

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bryancage · 8 months ago

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worldlSpooky Season: Embracing the Haunting Beauty of Digital Artistry

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foximator-blog · 3 years ago

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I'm still working out the details for how they work exactly, but I have ideas for the primary power up items from my Mario AU. As one may expect, they are ingested to activate, and ultimately are temporary, some have buffs and some don't. And an odd idea of mine is that some characters have power-ups or a combination of power-ups they prefer, which in turn results in some lingering effects rubbing off on them. This is how some characters gain their magic related abilities if they aren't inherently magic already.

Fire Flower: gain temporary pyrokenisis and throw fireballs. You can also charge the fire for a powerful blast like Mario's iconic final smash. The fire's color varies among users.

Ice flower: Similar to it's firey cousin, but instead you gain cryokenisis, allowing you to freeze enemies with a ball of ice, or skate along the ground by freezing the ground beneath you as you move along.

Thunder Flower: gain electrokenisis and throw bolts of lightning that stun foes and power or overload machinery. Similarly to the Fire flower, the lightning bolts come in varied colors among different users.

Bubble flower: hydrokenisis allows the user to trap foes in bubbles, and push them into hazards or other foes. The user can bounce off of these bubbles for extra height.

Super ball flower: an artificially created flower created and grown by E. Gadd to be a substitute for oil in the production of rubber products. The magic ability to produce and launch bouncy rubber balls is a recent discovery that has peaked the scientist's interest. The rubber balls also vary in color among users.

Cloud flower: Areokenisis allows the user to create whirlwinds and clouds to primarily aid in exploration and platforming. Clever usage can also trip up or confuse enemies.

Stone mushroom: gain a rocky form and temporary geokenisis, allowing the user to form into boulder and bowl over any and all in their path.

Metal mushroom: a new metallic form increases the user's density and durability. The user also gains minor magnetism related powers when certain conditions are met while the form is active. Oddly, the hue of the metal varies among users.

Poison mushroom: much less of a power-up, due to the fact a high tolerance to poison is required to safely eat it in the first place. Most users get terribly sick after eating it, but it's rumored to give the ability to spit toxic acid.

Ghost mushroom: the user gains a ghostly form and the benefits that come with it, like minor flight and intangibility. The effect wears off prematurely when exposed to light, and is amplified in darkness. Thankfully it's not permanent.

Magma mushroom: growing primarily in the volcanic lands of the koopa kingdom, this mushroom grants a volcanic form with complete immunity to fire and magma. The user also leaves a burning trail and can create flaming shockwaves when ground pounding.

Slime mushroom: Gain a slime transformation that allows the user to slip through gaps and grates. The user can also stick to certain surfaces and walk up them, however the form prematurely subsides upon contact with water or fire.

Power star: the premature form of Star crystals. Made up of pure cosmic energy, the user in temporarily enveloped in a powerful cosmic aura that grants invincibility once the star is absorbed.

Power heart: an item only created by Princess Peach's magic. It is like a Red mushroom and Green mushroom combined, restoring both the physical health and vitality/stamina of the consumer once absorbed.

Super vine: when eaten, the user can grow a long and twisty vine from their arm, and use it as a whip to attack foes and latch onto things.

Super leaf: when consumed, the user gains an animal-like transformation unique to each user with varying abilities.

Power orb: Kamek's magical powers infused in a pearl-like sphere. The user can temporarily cast spells to transform enemies and objects in the environment. Though if the user isn't naturally magic themselves, they can't really control what things turn into.

Whiskered Eggplant: a magical crop grown in a secret location and greedily hoarded by Waluigi. It's properties are unknown, but many believe it's the secret to some of his strange reality bending powers, such as swimming through the air, creating dark and unnatural twisting thorns, and minor hypnosis and illusions. Luigi tried a single bite once, and he began to hallucinate vividly for a few minutes.

I might come up with more later or go in depth to how each one effects different users in a different post as this has already gotten a bit long. Hope these peak a little intrest. ^^

Also I can't figure out how to cut it off on mobile, so I apologize for it's length.

#super mario bros #mario bros #super mario #mario au #super mario bros au #super mario power ups #fire flower #ice flower #thunder flower #invincibility star #cloud flower #super ball flower #whiskered eggplant #mario #luigi #waluigi #princess peach #professor e gadd

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alterrune · 4 years ago

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ALTERING THE OUTCOME: BIO CARDS, ACHIEVEMENTS, ETC.

COLLECTED BIO CARDS:

🔺 Alterrune (TOPPAT) - One of the first recruits Henry and Ellie grabbed due to his combat prowess. His real name is Kyle Cross, but he hasn't revealed that to anyone else in the clan (other than his fellow higher-ups), and he doesn't intend on telling them anytime soon. The clan knows that he's still a force to be reckoned with, though.

💜 Violet Wolfsbane (SOLO/TOPPAT) - A former member of the CCC, and a cousin of Alter. Wields a heavy-duty sword named "Leadhead" that can cut through any material, and it also has electrical-based powers that allow her sword to absorb any electrical energy and empower her abilities even further...but she tends to hide these abilities from anyone who hasn't earned her trust yet.

🔵 Henry Stickmin (TOPPAT) - The current leader of the Toppat Clan. He's already completed his own mission, thank you very much, but he's still more than willing to help Alter complete his mission.

💕 Ellie Rose (TOPPAT) - Henry's Right Hand Lady. She's been married to Henry for about a year since the station launched, and although she hasn't been fighting alonside Henry like she used to since then, she still knows how to whack someone hard with a road sign.

✍🏼 IRL!Alterrune (N/A) - Kyle Gibbons, the Canadian-born creator of both the Altering the Outcome askblog and its' story, has finally joined the game himself! He has no ties to any of the major factions, as he is normally behind the computer monitor, not on it. He's still a force to be reckoned with, though, no matter which side of the monitor he's on.

🎩 Reginald Copperbottom (TOPPAT) - The previous leader of the Toppats. He once considered betraying Henry, but after Henry put himself on the line to save the Toppat Clan, he now knows the clan is in good hands with him.

🛠 Right Hand Man Reborn (TOPPAT) - After getting beat up by Henry in the Airship, he gained some new enhancements, and powerful ones at that. He's helped Reginald and Alter make some quick escapes.

🐁 Carol Cross (TOPPAT) - Alterrune's fashionable green and black-clad mother. She's one woman that you don't wanna cross, which many of the Toppats have learnt the hard way. She also has her own personal army of white mice at her disposal, which have proven to be advantageous to both her and her fellow clan members.

🛡 Clarence Cross (TOPPAT) - Alter's deceased father. He was captured by the Wall and killed by Dmitri when Alter was a kid, but has now, after 13 years, come back to the family as a ghost. When he was still alive, he was a loving and caring father to Alter, and he always had a genuine smile on his face, taking care of Alter whenever Carol couldn't. Now a ghost, he's back to doing all those things, now with ghostly abilites atop that.

🥼 Dr. Vinschpinsilstien (TOPPAT) - After losing her boat to the government, Henry and Ellie offered her a job as the Toppat's lead medic, which she gladly took. She knows how to quickly and thouroughly treat every wound the Toppats may come across. Most of the Toppats call her "Dr. V", as her full last name is incredibly hard to pronounce and spell.

🚁 Charles Calvin (GOV'T) - The government's top pilot, and one of Galeforce's best recruits. He has a bit of a personal vendetta against the Toppats for taking Henry, and can be a bit hyperactive at times, but he can still hold his own in a fight.

🏅General Galeforce (GOV'T) - Even though the Toppat raid backfired hilariously, his discovery of the Alter Rune didn't, which led to a massive promotion. He's a gentle giant, but mess with him and you'll be scrubbing his entire quarters with only a toothbrush.

🎖 Commander Galeforce (GOV'T) - After the Alter Rune raid backfired, he was discharged honorably from the army. One of his higher-ups managed to land him a spot as one of the head commanders of the FBI, and now is known as Commander Galeforce. He doesn't mind still being called General, though.

❄️ Dmitri Johannes Petrov (WALL) - Henry ruined his reputation and caused him to take a stop sign to the face, causing him to talk with a lisp now. He'll take out anybody who tries to get in the way of him killing Henry, and without any hesitation.

🌨 Dmitri Johannes Petrov Reborn (WALL) - After being shot back in the temple, the Wall staff was able to revive him and give him some cybernetic upgrades similar to RHM's. He now has a personal vendetta against both Henry and Alter.

💪🏼 Grigori Olyat (WALL) - His arms were in casts for weeks after he got hit by one of The Wall's own trucks, but he eventually healed up, despite how slow that process was. He and Dmitri have planned to kill Stickmin for a very long time...

🦾 Grigori Olyat Reborn (WALL) - Even though he took a more fatal bullet than Dmitri did back in the temple, Dmitri was able to revive his most trusted aide, at the cost of Grigori's head being the only non-robotic part of his body left. Now with a robotic body with a ton of functions, he's just as dangerous as Dmitri is.

🪃 Samuel Mundy (SOLO) - He's been contracted for the police and government before, but has been off-duty ever since the Toppats went into orbit. That doesn't mean he's no longer using his Sniper Rifle, though, he's still got a few headshots left in him.

⛓ Dave Panpa (TOPPAT) - He was locked in the Toppat's brig for two years until he decided to join the Toppat Clan to free himself. He's never been more proud of that choice.

🔫 Rupert Price (TOPPAT) - After being reunited with his old partner, Dave, he officially quit the government and joined him in the Toppat Clan. He's never actually liked the government, to be honest.

💟 Jacob Wolfsbane (SOLO) - Violet's incredibly shy brother. While he's grown as a person with the help of his older sister, he still has his moments of cowardice. Violet and the rest of the team always help him overcome those obstacles, though.

🦼 Drake Wolfsbane (SOLO) - Violet's father. He's been wheelchair-bound for his entire life, having no feeling in his legs at all. That didn't stop him from becoming a botanist and teaching a young Violet all his tips and tricks.

🌂 Clair Cross (SOLO) - Carol's sister, and Violet's mother. Personality-wise, she's the opposite of Carol. She's a very gentle woman, and only goes on the offense to protect her family.

🔷 Nicholas Cross (TOPPAT) - Alterrune's navy blue-clad older brother, codename "Zinger". He's a gentle giant, but mess with him or his brothers and you'll wish you were never born.

🟡 Justin Cross (TOPPAT) - Alterrune's mustard yellow-clad younger brother, codename "Atlas". He's quite hyper for being a year younger than Alter is, and tends to be unpredictable (which works in his favor during battles with the Toppat clan)!

💞 Jacob Rose (TOPPAT) - Ellie's brother, whom unfortunately lost his life from one of the enemy factions planting a bomb near him. Despite resurfacing as a ghost, he's still got his snarky yet sincere personality he had when he was alive.

😈 Terence Suave (TOPPAT) - The Toppat Clan's leader before Reginald came in. He is hated across the board, he always did things for his own selfish gain, never listening to anyone in the Clan who objected to him.

🚜 Texas Jack (SOLO) - The Texan owner and bartender of the tavern just down the road from the Wall. His real name is Jackson Cooper, and he considers trading the heat of Texas for the Russian blizzards to be the best decision he ever made for his buisiness, as he and his tavern are more popular here than they ever were back home.

💉 Corporal Earl Grey (GEOGRAM) - The head soldier of the GEOGRAM army, and the overseer of all the tests that GEOGRAM runs on the ColorStreak Battalion's beast forms. He always carries a thermos of chilled earl grey tea on him to stay hydrated.

🔥 Laurence Burnway (GEOGRAM) - A man who has suffered a lot, but he has finally turned his life around (with help from Kyle, of course) and finally feels at home.

🎀 Kynn Lee/Lily Burnway (GEOGRAM) - The younger sister of Laurence Burnway and daughter of Aaron Schaffer, Lily died after being accidentally shot by Laurence, but through Hack!Anon's help, Lily was brought back as Kynn Lee. Now Laurence, Lily, and Aaron are finally back together again as a family, and Lily is the head ass-kicker of it.

🧀 Fredrick Muenster (TOPPAT) - The only Toppat who has a top hat made of edible material. He does enjoy having a snack available on his head at any time, but lately, he's been having trouble keeping his cheesy hats fresh.

👩🏻‍🎤 Matilda Ivy (TOPPAT) - An irish Toppat member with a crazy pink hairdo that everyone agrees is the best out of the whole clan. She's been known to get drunk off of Irish whiskey, which normally leads to someone getting stabbed with a broken bottle.

🧹 The Witch (TOPPAT) - The Toppat's original herbalist, and currently learning new ways to use herbal materials from Violet Wolfsbane. She's one of the only members of the clan who wears a hat other than the standard top hat.

💎 Gene Fredrickson (TOPPAT) - Originally a mayoral figure, he was found to have committed voter fraud shortly after Henry stole the Tunisian Diamond. He's had to grow accustomed to working with Henry, though it's still awkward for both parties.

🚂 Mr. MacBeth (TOPPAT) - The man in charge of the Toppat Clan's cargo train operations. He loves his job, and hates being seperated from being on the rails. He's gotten used to being compared to an ape since the station launched.

💸 Stu Pendles (TOPPAT) - An unfortunate higher-up who still hasn't paid a debt he owes Carol Cross yet. It's not like he isn't trying, he simply doesn't have an easy way of getting the money!

🛰 Burt Curtis (TOPPAT) - The Toppat Clan Orbital Station's overseer. He always wears a pair of orange headphones with his top hat for easy message relaying. He's not the biggest fan of his job (it can get pretty monotonous at times), but the Toppat Clan pays nice, so he doesn't mind doing it.

COLLECTED ACHIEVEMENTS:

Stock achievement set:

Not Failing This Time! - Get through one of the AtO pathways without failing. Only counts on your very first attempt, so make sure you choose wisely!

Dreamed By Bone - Looks like bonedbybone's dream came true...though I have no idea how many times I've ACTUALLY answered him, to be honest, so let's just say that it was 10 like his dream said.

Double Duelist - Win the friendly 2v2 duel with the Phantom Squad.

Rank: Wallbreaker (WB) - Get the true ending for Chapter 1 - "The New Protaganist(s)".

Rank: Quintuple Threat (QT) - Get the true ending for Chapter 2 - "The First Fight(s)"

The Right Move - You made the right move with Alter...but at what cost...?

No Way Back - Witness Lily Burnway's death.

A Strange Reunion - Learn who Kynn truly is and the person she once was.

True Happiness - Reunite Laurence with his sister, Lily.

Forgiveness - Successfully find peace in Laurence.

Alter's Dalmatian - Meet Alter's pet Dalmatian dog, Damien!

Fate - Destroy the remains of the Heaven Incursion.

Anarchistic ColorStreak Rainbow - Have the AtO team join in on the Grand Festival festivities!

"Beastly Beauty" achievement set:

Beastly Rage - Complete Alter's monster test

Beastly Fear - Complete Violet's monster test

Beastly Pain - Complete Henry's monster test

Beastly Sorrow - Complete Ellie's monster test

Beastly Sickness - Complete Kyle's monster test

The Perfect Lab Rat Group - Get 100% completion on all 5 monster tests

"Party Animal" achievement set:

Party of Rage - Complete Alter's party test

Party of Fear - Complete Violet's party test

Party of Pain - Complete Henry's party test

Party of Sorrow - Complete Ellie's party test

Party of Sickness - Complete Kyle's party test

The Life of the Party - Get 100% completion on all 5 party tests

"Faded Color Gang" Achievement Set:

Killer Knox - Turn Kyle (TK!Alter) into Knox.

Violent Victoria - Turn Violet into Victoria.

Harming Harold - Turn Henry into Harold.

Evil Emma - Turn Ellie into Emma.

Klever Kelvin - Turn Kyle (IRL!Alter) into Kelvin.

Two Sides, One Coin - Turn all characters evil (IRL!Alter isn't required for this achievement).

BONUS MESSAGE: I hope you won't be needing your little quartet anytime soon, IRL!Alter, because I have plans for them. -Adam

"Thicker Than Water" Achievement Set:

Cousins Forever - Succeesfully have Alter calm down Violet.

Brothers For Never - Sucessfully get Kyle's brothers to retreat.

All In The Family - Learn about Justin and Nicholas’ recruitment into The Trinity of Fate.

The Son - Listen to Aaron’s confession with Laurence.

Never Alone - Show Laurence that he isn't alone on his endeavours.

"The New Enemies" Achievement Set:

The Old Soldier - Gain info on William Arase and his group.

Not One Of Us - Gain info on Sarah Kelso and her group.

Phasmophobia - Gain info on Phantom 1 and his group.

Pulled To Darkness - Gain info on Laurence Burnway and his group.

A Dreamer's Space - Gain info on Albert and his group.

The Enemy Within - Gain info on Terence Suave and his group.

For Your Sake - Gain info on Justin & Nicholas and their group.

"Operation: Prowling Spider" Achievement Set:

Should've Gone For Silver - Successfully complete Part 1 of Operation: Prowling Spider and give Laurence Burnway a taste of his own medicine.

Data Unavailable - Successfully complete Part 2 of Operation: Prowling Spider and syphon the data back from Laurence's servers.

A Pheonix's Birdcage - Sucessfully complete the final part of Operation: Prowling Spider and finally put a stop to Laurence Burnway's plans.

Zulu Security Gone - 100% complete all parts of Operation: Prowling Spider and weaken the Trinity Of Fate.

"Operation: Hounds Slumber" Achievement Set:

House Of Blackjack Cards - Successfully complete Part 1 of Operation: Hounds Slumber and weaken Kyle's brothers' forces for the first time.

One Pair - Successfully complete Part 2 of Operation: Hounds Slumber and find out just how skilled Violet can be with a sniper rifle.

Two Pair - Successfully complete Part 3 of Operation: Hounds Slumber and detoxify the toxin with a recipe from Laurence Burnway.

Three of a Kind - Successfully complete Part 4 of Operation: Hounds Slumber and destroy the Blackjacks' drill machine.

Royal Flush - Successfully complete Part 5 of Operation: Hounds Slumber and sic a trained dog on the Blackjacks.

Full House - Successfuly complete the final part of Operation: Hounds Slumber and save Nick and Justin from having to take any more of Arase's fury.

"Operation: Twilight Gate" Achievement Set:

Edge of My Mind - Complete the prelude to the Operation and have Adam Schaffer give William Arase a literal taste of napalm.

Monochromatic Victory - Complete Section 1 of the Operation and begin the push towards Albert.

Double Freeze - Complete Section 2 of the Operation and show Albert that cold temperatures and two-on-one battles won't slow you down at all.

Tripled Trouble - Complete Section 3 of the Operation and show that even when three things go wrong at once, you can still handle all of them.

Quadruple Quarrel - Complete the final section of the Operation and finally show Albert he doesn't know everything about the team.

"Operation: Emperor's Abyss" Achievement Set:

Sewage Blast - Complete the first part of the Operation and prove that not even raw sewage will stop you from reaching your goal.

Beach Party - Complete the second part of the Operation and enjoy some well-deserved fun in the sun.

"Anniversary Events" Achievement Set:

One Year Older - 100% complete the scavenger hunt for the Altering The Outcome 1st Anniversary Event.

Two Years Older - Enjoy some time off for the Altering The Outcome 2nd Anniversary Event.

CHARACTERS AVAILABLE FOR ASKS:

🔺 Alterrune

💜 Violet Wolfsbane

🔵 Henry Stickmin

💕 Ellie Rose

✍🏼 Kyle Gibbons [OFFLINE]

🔥 Laurence Burnway

🎩 Reginald Copperbottom

🛠 Right Hand Man (RHM)

🐁 Carol Cross

💟 Jacob Wolfsbane

🛡 Clarence Cross

💞 Jacob Rose

🎀 Lily Burnway/Kynn Lee

👾 harmony (aka paruko)

🐟 SYNTH

ALTERNATE STORY CHARACTERS:

- PMD!Kyle (Currently unavailable, will return in December for the Alternarune event)

- Squirtie (Currently unavailable, will return in December for the Alternarune event)

ANY QUESTIONS SENT TO THE BLOG WILL BE ANSWERED WHENEVER IT IS MOST CONVIENIENT. DO NOT WORRY, YOUR ASK WILL BE ANSWERED EVENTUALLY.

NEW INFO WILL BE ADDED WHENEVER ANY NEW DATA FOR THE GAME IS COLLECTED.

ENJOY THE ALTERING THE OUTCOME STORY.

#lorebuilding #bio card list #achievement list #available asker list #altering the outcome

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holy-honeybees · 4 years ago

Text

Snowdrift

AO3

Rating: T+ (for swearing)

Summary: Three friends and their dog get lost in a snowstorm while investigating the paranormal. Amidst swirling flurries of white, some lose their way and get lost in their memories, others lose sight of their friends and loved ones, and an unforgiving winter quickly fills in the footprints one would follow to get back home.

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter One

Chapter Nine

It wasn’t long before the trees had closed in behind them as Vivi and Mystery headed deeper into the dark forest. The blue-haired girl trudged forwards relentlessly, ignoring the snow that trickled into her boots, making her socks cold and wet. With the heavy canopy of clouds overhead blocking out the moonlight, the trees melted into the inky black night. The only source of illumination was the flashlight Vivi held, the white snow it reflected off of almost blinding in comparison to their dark surroundings. Normally she would have been thrilled to be exploring spooky woods in the middle of the night, but now, her sense of unease over her missing friend was only compounded by the unsettling atmosphere.

“Arthur!” Vivi called. Her words were quickly snatched away by the wind whistling between the tree trunks. Mystery quietly padded through the snow beside her, vigilantly observing his surroundings. He scented the air frequently for a trace of the missing mechanic, but all they had managed to find was their way deeper into the foreboding woods. She couldn’t believe how much things had changed since yesterday, feeling almost foolish for how they had frolicked and played in the snow which now seemed so menacing.

“Arthur!” she cried again, hugging her friend’s abandoned hoodie closer to her chest. She could only hope that the howling winds would carry her words to the mechanic rather than further away from him.

“We’ll find him,” Mystery said, but Vivi could see how his ears were pressed back, flat against his head. A clear sign he was worried, despite his assurances.

“I know, I know…” Vivi said, trying to summon her confidence, “But what if we don’t? We have no idea how long he’s been gone. We don’t even know where to look. What if…?”

“It’s not like you to doubt yourself so much,” Mystery replied.

“It’s just…What are we even doing out here?” Vivi said, “We’re only out here because I wanted it to be like before. Before the cave. Back when our friendship was easy, when everything was easy. With road trips and ghost hunts that usually didn’t have any ghosts at the end and Arthur and Lewis were best friends and everything was okay. But it’s not okay.” Mystery regarded her thoughtfully.

“I too wish things could be different,” he replied, “I know our experiences have been very different over the past year, though painful for us both. It’s easy to look back on something to say it was okay then when it isn’t now, regardless of how true that may be.” By the faraway look in his eyes, Vivi knew Mystery wasn’t only thinking of the cave just then. She wondered, not for the first time, just how deep his roots with Shiromori had run.

“Not even I can turn back time,” Mystery continued, “All we can hope to do is to learn from that which haunts us and use it to keep moving forwards. While it won’t bring us back to yesterday, you may find yourself with a new kind of ‘okay’.”

“That’s just it,” Vivi said miserably, “I haven’t learned. I’m supposed to be the leader, but all I ever do is lead everyone into danger. First the cave, now this!”

“Don’t punish yourself for not knowing then what you know now. I have centuries more experience dealing with the supernatural than you do, extrasensory abilities far above your own, and I missed it too. Yet you don’t blame me.”

“No, I don’t,” Vivi agreed softly, “It’s just… Am I selfish? I know Arthur gets scared so easily, yet I’ve been pushing him to go on these ghost hunts for years. He and Lewis are still trying to get used to each other again, but now I’ve dragged them out to the middle of nowhere, just because the memories of what we were are so fresh in my mind and I want it back so bad.”

“I don’t think you’re selfish, no,” Mystery replied evenly, “Bold about what you do and don’t want. Passionate about the things you care about, including your friends. Exuberant in wanting to share what brings you joy with others. But you’re not forcing anyone to do anything or be anywhere they don’t want to be. They love you, Vivi, and Lewis and Arthur would do almost anything for you. They are capable of making their own decisions though. They want to fix this as badly as you do.” Vivi sniffled, blaming her runny nose on the cold and her stinging eyes on the wind that still whipped about.

“I can’t lose them again,” she said, “I just got back our memories together, I just got them back.”

“I know,” Mystery said, “And that’s why we’ll keep searching until we find him.” Vivi nodded vigorously in response, turning away from the kitsune to resume her scan of the surrounding forest.

Despite her earlier protests, Vivi was glad Mystery had accompanied her in the search for Arthur, his familiar presence comforting. She wondered if she would have been as open with her concerns had it been Lewis by her side. She was certain her ghostly friend would be supportive through whatever insecurities she voiced, but Vivi struggled to balance vulnerability and leadership. Sometimes it felt as if everybody expected her to be happy all the time. She was thankful that, frequently, she was, but sometimes it felt like she wasn’t allowed to not be okay. As if she had to carry on like nothing was wrong and be the same bold, brave, bubbly Vivi she always was. How could she be anything but when someone else needed her to be strong? Mystery was always there for her though, even when she couldn’t muster up her usual smile. Despite her outgoing nature, she had at times struggled to fit in and make friends, considered to be too strange or unusual. But Mystery would be at her side, ready to comfort her, whenever she felt sad or lonely. He was a great listener, even before she knew he could talk. She remembered hours spent quietly confessing her worries to her pet dog late at night, running her hand through Mystery’s fur as she talked, curled up on the couch with a mug of hot tea and B-rated horror movies playing in the background. Vivi shook her head, willing her focus to return to the task at hand. The harder she tried to pull herself out of her recollections though, the further she found herself sinking into them. She was back in her childhood home, curled up cozy and warm on the old couch in the living room, rain hammering on the windows as thunder rumbled in the distance. She hugged Mystery tight as she described her latest encounter with the mean girls at school, the static of the falling snow in the forest and the TV screen blending together.

---

“I know, and that’s why we’ll keep searching until we find him,” Mystery said as he continued to pad through the snow. He wished he could take more time to reassure Vivi. It was rare for her to be so plagued by self-doubt, but he too was worried for the mechanic. He hadn’t told the others, not wanting to frighten them further, but Arthur’s scent had already begun to fade by the time they had discovered him missing. Mystery couldn’t be certain how long the mechanic had been gone, but with the frigid temperatures, any amount of time could already be too long. I was so sure they were safe this time, he thought, I was so sure I would keep them safe.He wondered at what point he had come to care for humans so much. As a young fox kit, he held little appreciation for humanity and their short lives. Meeting Mushi and being bound to the service of the Yukino family had done nothing to change his mind at first, but over time, he’d gone from reluctant guardian to best friend of an excitable, blue-haired little girl. Mystery refocused his attention on his surroundings, straining all his senses for a sign the mechanic had passed this way. While the tree branches hung low with their heavy burden of snow, the kitsune had yet to see any that had been broken or left askew to indicate someone had passed this way before them. His sense of smell was overwhelmed by the color white, and Mystery had little hope of being able to detect the mechanic that way. Even Vivi’s presence, less than ten feet away, was clouded by the supernatural snowfall. His ears were pricked, but all he heard was the howling of the winter winds.

Mystery came to an abrupt halt as he realized that he was no longer hearing the crunch of snow under his companion’s boots.

He knew before he even turned around that something was wrong, but seeing the confusion on Vivi’s face confirmed it. Mystery wondered if she was having another memory lapse. While she had regained her memories, occasionally something slipped out of place. Sometimes she remembered things slightly wrong, or there was a blank space where there hadn’t been before. Despite her progress with recovery, Mystery knew it frustrated the blue-haired girl to no end. Still, the lapses were getting less frequent, and the problem usually corrected itself shortly after discovery with some gentle encouragement and prompting from her friends.

Something was different this time. Something was off.

“Mystery, where… Where are we?” Vivi asked, looking around with a puzzled expression. The fox spirit regarded her uneasily.

“Are you having a lapse?” He asked.

“I…yes? No? Maybe, I don’t know. What are we doing out here? How did we get out here?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Me and Arthur are getting together to plan Lewis’s surprise party. He’d be turning 23 this year, and after everything that’s happened, I think we deserve a break.”

Mystery remembered that night. It had been almost two months ago.

This wasn’t just a memory lapse, it was memory loss.

“Vivi, try to remember. Last week, you gathered everyone together to look into a new case—”

“Last week? But Arthur said the repairs to the van might take a month or more after we dealt with that creep with the tarot cards. He couldn’t have fixed the van already.”

“Vivi, it’s December,” Mystery replied. The color drained from the girl’s already pale face.

“No,” Vivi said, vigorously shaking her head, “No way. I can’t be missing that much time!”

“Try to remember. Last week, you met with Arthur and Lewis at the Pepper Paradiso to look into a new case to investigate. You and Arthur ordered milkshakes, and Cayenne spiked his with hot sauce again.” The kitsune told her everything he could about the week leading up to them wandering in the woods, hoping it would trigger her memories to return. He talked about planning and packing for their trip. Arthur seeing something in the road. The almost car crash, the snowball fight, and getting snowed in. Arthur going missing. As Mystery finished his tale, Vivi suddenly doubled over, her face screwed up in pain and her hands clutching her head. The kitsune was by her side in an instant.

“What’s wrong?” Mystery asked, alarmed, “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m okay. I…remembered. Ugh, it feels like brain freeze but worse. Stabbier,” Vivi groaned, massaging her temples, “Mystery, what was that? That didn’t feel like a lapse, not a normal one at least. I didn’t just forget something about the cave or Lewis, that was a couple of months just gone.”

Vivi peeled her head away from her hands, looking up into Mystery’s face, her worried eyes searching his for answers.

“What’s wrong with me?”

“I… I’m not sure,“ Mystery replied honestly.

“It was so strange. One moment I was here in the woods with you, but then the temperature dropped suddenly, and it was like I was transported somewhere else. Back to my childhood home.” Even as she spoke, Vivi had a pensive, faraway look in her eyes, and Mystery feared she would slip away again. The choice he had to make settled like a lead weight in his stomach. Even with the possibility that Arthur could be only ten feet in front of them, he would put Vivi first, as painful as that decision was to make.

“We should return to the van,” Mystery said. Vivi immediately straightened at his words, glaring at the kitsune.

“Absolutely not! Arthur’s still out there, we can’t just leave him!”

“Vivi, something isn’t right, and I don’t know what it is,” Mystery said urgently, “I don’t want to stop searching either, but we can’t help Arthur if we don’t first help ourselves.”

“We don’t have time! He could be in danger right now, or hurt, or—!” Vivi cut off abruptly with a violent shiver, curling in on herself tightly with a gasp. As Mystery watched, a thin, silvery wisp escaped from the girl’s mouth, disappearing into the night. When Vivi lifted her head again, the kitsune saw that the furious expression she’d had on her face just moments ago had gone curiously blank.

“What…?” The blue-haired girl mumbled. She looked around at her surroundings as if seeing them for the first time.

“Vivi?” Mystery said, padding forwards cautiously. The girl’s eyes snapped to his as soon as she heard his voice, the beam of the flashlight moving to shine on him like a spotlight. Vivi gave a yelp of surprise when she saw the kitsune. Stumbling backwards, she tripped over the thickly piled snow and landed on her rear. She continued to scramble further away until her back was pressed against a tree, refusing to take her eyes off the large fox spirit before her.

“What… What are you?” She asked, her shock tempered by curiosity. The kitsune was frozen in his tracks, too stunned to answer. He’d always dreaded this moment. Worried that the humans he had come to love so dearly would turn away from him if they found out the truth, feeling frightened or betrayed. In some ways, the events of last year had been a blessing. The frantic situation between Shiromori and his own possession had left little time for hurt feelings to surface over his secret, and the joy of having survived and reunited had swiftly washed away the worst misgivings. At the time, Vivi had quickly accepted him for what he was and just as quickly moved on, more focused on his immediate well-being than long-held secrets. He wondered if she would be so blithely accepting this time. Mystery was so preoccupied with his thoughts, he missed the look of recognition that had settled on Vivi’s face.

“…Mystery?”

---

“What…” Vivi said breathlessly, “What are you?”

The large white beast stopped advancing toward her. Had she been standing instead of sitting in the snow—when on Earth had it even begun to snow?—her head would have been at shoulder-height on the wolflike creature. Condensation billowed out of its muzzle, and she could just see the razor-sharp teeth peeking out of its mouth. Its coat was plush in appearance, with a mane of red and black fur erupting from the creature’s head. On second thought, she decided it was more foxlike in appearance, with a narrow snout and long, fluffy tails. Tails? Kitsune, then, her mind helpfully supplied, drawing on the knowledge her granny had imparted with her stories about fox spirits. Despite the creature’s size and what she could see of its fearsome set of fangs, the kitsune standing before her wasn’t all that scary. It seemed almost sad somehow. The fox spirit’s ears were drooping, and his tails hung limp, swaying in the wind. Even his brow was pinched, giving him a worried expression that looked almost human. Vivi continued to scan the creature before her with her flashlight, pausing for a moment when the beam of light glinted off of a familiar golden tag adorned with a question mark.

“…Mystery?” She recovered from her shock quickly, and Vivi couldn’t help the grin that began to spread across her face.

“I knew it! I knew you weren’t just a normal dog. I knew you were special!” She gushed, “You’re a kitsune, right? What am I saying, of course you’re a kitsune! Just look at all your tails!”

“Vivi—”

“And you can talk! This is incredible!” Vivi struggled to stand up from the deep snowbank she’d fallen into, eager to get a closer look at her kitsune companion. She must have seriously spaced out to not realize how nasty the weather had gotten or how late it was. She always had been a little scatter-brained, but the news of her father’s new job and their impending move to Tempest or Cadence or whatever this new town was called had her even more distracted than usual.

“What else can you do? You have to tell me everything!” the blue-haired girl continued as she approached this larger, fluffier version of Mystery, “Well, maybe once we’re out of the cold. It’s freezing out here! Where are we anyways?”

“Vivi, you have to remember.”

“Remember? Remember what?” She was only half-paying attention, instead eyeing Mystery’s fur, eager to know if it was as soft as it looked. She paused when she saw a large scar on his side. It was almost completely obscured by his thick fur, but she was certain it hadn’t been there before. Maybe it only appears when he takes this form, she pondered with a small frown.

“We’re in Nebraska right now, on a ghost hunt. Lewis was driving the van when—”

“Nebraska? Ghost hunt?” Vivi repeated, bewildered, “What are you talking about? Who’s Lewis?” She was so confused. None of this was familiar or made any sense, yet Mystery looked stricken by her response.

“Look down at your arms,” Mystery responded, looking at Vivi hopefully as he padded closer to her, “That hoodie, do you recognize it?”

“What hoodie? Oh!” Glancing down, Vivi saw she was clutching tightly to an orange hoodie. She hadn’t even noticed she was holding it. She examined the soft fabric and its yellow star pattern carefully.

“The only person I know who would wear a color this bright is mom, but I don’t remember ever seeing her wear this,” Vivi replied. A heavy pulse had begun in her head, and Mystery’s intense, worried gaze was starting to frighten her.

“Vivi, you have to try to remember.”

“But I don’t know what I’m supposed to be remembering!” She cried.

Mystery bowed his head so he could look her in the eye. Then, in a voice she could only just hear above the sound of the wind, he began to speak. The kitsune’s voice settled into a steady rumble, the sound washing over her, as he recounted the last few years of Vivi’s life. Years she thought she had not yet lived. The kitsune spoke of a little town in Texas called Tempo, and the life Vivi had made for herself there. Everything Mystery said felt unfamiliar, like he was talking about someone else entirely. With every word, the pressure in her head built up more and more until it was almost unbearable. Her hands clutched at her temples, as if that would keep her skull from splitting apart. She wanted to tell Mystery to stop, but she couldn’t keep from grinding her teeth in order to do so. Vivi felt as if her head might burst at any moment. Still, the kitsune continued to murmur to her, his voice low and melodious, though it had taken on a frantic edge. He talked about the friends she had made, Arthur and Lewis, and how she had started her own paranormal investigation group with them, the Mystery Skulls. The kitsune spoke of the adventures they’d had together, and he only hesitated for a moment before he began to tell her of the cave. The mention of that fateful night felt like an icepick driven into her brain. With a cry of pain, she collapsed to her knees in the snow. She thought she heard Mystery calling her name, but she could scarcely hear him over the keening sound in her ears. With her eyes squeezed shut against the snowy landscape, she saw the last few years of her life pass before her eyes in flickers and bursts.

It was over mercifully quick. One moment, Vivi didn’t remember, and the next, she had. The excruciating pain that had accompanied the return of her memories was subdued to an aching throb, and slowly, the world came back to her. She first became aware of a cold, wet nose poking at her face. Opening her eyes, she blinked away spots as Mystery and the snowy landscape came back into view. Vivi didn’t think she’d ever seen him so worried.

“Are you alright?” The kitsune asked. She nodded her head wearily, letting out a shaky breath.

“I…I remembered,” the blue-haired girl replied.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Mystery said softly. The fox spirit’s eyes were filled with such gentle concern, Vivi couldn’t help it as her lower lip began to tremble.

“I can’t do this, I can’t lose my memories. Not again,” she sobbed, her voice wavering as tears spilled down her cheeks, “What if… What if I don’t remember next time?”

“I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Mystery vowed, “But first we need to go back to the van. It’ll be safer there.” Vivi was caught in indecision as she looked down at the orange hoodie still clasped in her arms.

“But what about Arthur? We can’t give up on him. Not yet, not ever.”

“We’re not giving up on him,” Mystery soothed, “But if we endanger ourselves now, we may not be able to search for him later. We’re just returning to the van so we can regroup. Once we’re better prepared, we can resume our search.” Part of Vivi still wanted to argue. She couldn’t help but feel like she was letting Arthur down or leaving him behind. She knew the kitsune was right though. This new experience with memory loss was terrifying, and they would never be able to progress in their search if Mystery had to keep reminding her of who she was and what they were doing every step of the way. Wiping at her eyes with her mittens, she conceded defeat.

“Okay,” Vivi mumbled, trying to convince herself she was making the right choice, “Okay, let’s go back to the van.” Mystery gave a slow nod in response. He watched her intently as she climbed back to her feet, bracing her with his shoulder when she stumbled.

“Are you hurt?” He asked.

“Just a headache,” Vivi replied, rubbing at her forehead, “And a little dizzy.” The kitsune regarded her for a moment before lowering himself to the ground.

“Here, get on,” Mystery said. It was a rare offer from the fox spirit. His stubborn pride typically prevented him from even considering giving any of them a ride, not without a hefty amount of bribery or pleading first. Normally, Vivi would have taken the opportunity to tease him about it. As it was, she only nodded mutely and swung her leg over the kitsune’s back, storing her flashlight in her coat pocket. She was sure her lack of response would only worry Mystery more, but he didn’t comment on it as he stood back up from the ground with the blue-haired girl on his back. Vivi swayed as he did so, her head pounding. Her shivering increased as the already freezing temperatures seemed to plummet even lower and static began to encroach on her field of vision.

“Ugh,” Vivi groaned, “It’s happening again!”

“Hold on tight,” Mystery said, “We’ll be moving fast.” She buried her mittens into his thick white fur, desperately clinging to the kitsune’s back and the memories she could already feel sliding away. Mystery began to sprint back the way they’d come, agilely weaving between tree trunks that disappeared in a blur as they quickly lost the progress they’d made journeying into the woods. She could already see the clearing through the trees, and in the blink of an eye, they had left the forest behind and were dashing across an empty white field of snow.

“Hold on, Vivi!” The kitsune called over his shoulder.

The static in her vision worsened, and a painful shudder passed through her frame. She could just make out the shape of the van in the distance.

“Hold on!”

Then her vision whited out entirely and she knew no more.

#mystery skulls animated #msa #msa fanfic #mystery skulls animated fanfic #arthur #lewis #vivi #mystery #arthur kingsmen #lewis pepper #vivi yukino #Snowdrift

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crazyclouds5281 · 4 years ago

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Royal Knights AU Chapter 1

Inspired by @deroko-sinnermode‘s art

The Pale King was not an explorer. He never set out into the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on his shell and what provisions he could fit in his bag, camping out in the uncivilised tunnels of Hallownest. He may have memorised the official maps of his kingdom, but reclusive as he was, he’d never actually gone out and seen most of the sights for himself. He’d left his adventurous days behind him, along with the decaying corpse of his original Wyrm form, and secluded himself in his Pale Palace, rarely leaving.

As such, there were many things the Pale King did not know of his land. Tunnels and passages that were not recorded on any maps, dens and nests of vicious creatures that killed all who trespassed, such that there were none alive who knew of their presence. The lair of Nosk, the treacherous mimic of Deepnest, was hidden from his light. The vile experiments of the Soul Sanctum were unknown to the one praised as all-knowing. The surface town of Dirtmouth had never occupied his thoughts in anything more than passing wonderance. And at the crown of Hallownest, far above Crystal Peak, was the statue of the Old Light, which the Pale King would surely have blown to smithereens- if only he knew it existed.

The Pale King, nowhere near as omniscient as his subjects believed, also did not know that there was more than one way to escape the Abyss.

---

The Vessel could not get the burning pale light out of its mind. So painful to those eyes born in darkness, yet so entrancing, enticing, calling it to ascend from the pit, heedless of the hundreds of its siblings that fell to their death around it. The dozens it itself sent tumbling back into the pitch black, thinking only of removing any obstacle in its climb. Others had similarly tried to bring it down, but this Vessel was stronger, battering them off the nearest ledge and continuing on its way.

Strong though it might have been, it was not the strongest. Not the fastest. By the time it had reached that metal bridge, hanging desperately onto the edge, so close to the pale light it could almost reach out and touch it, another Vessel was already there. Before it stood the embodiment of the pale light, and it heard the words of the Pale King.

“You shall seal the blinding Light that plagues their dreams. You are the Vessel. You are the Hollow Knight.”

The Pale King turned and left, followed by the Hollow Knight, who glanced back at the struggling Vessel. For a moment, their dark eyes met, and though it was designed to be without emotion, the Hollow Knight felt some measure of pity for its struggling sibling- not that it knew what the slight pain in its empty heart meant. However, the Hollow Knight was more compelled to follow the pale light of its sire, which was getting further and further away the longer it dallied, so it turned its back on its sibling. The first of its kind to ever escape the Abyss.

It would not be the last.

The great doors slammed shut, sealed by the King’s Brand, forever locked, and the Vessel fell down, down, down, back into the place of its birth, the graveyard of its less fortunate siblings. Resigned to its fate, the Vessel went limp, understanding without understanding that only death remained. It simply waited for the moment when its shell cracked open on the corpse-covered ground, to become yet another in a sea of broken masks. It was not expecting to be caught on the way down.

Hundreds of eggs, thousands of grubs had been sacrificed to the Void by the Pale King in his now-finished search for the Hollow Knight. He thought them truly empty, unable to feel emotion, to think for themselves, little more than automatons. Not alive, just the reanimated corpses of his children, puppeted by Void.

What a fool he was. The Vessels were the progeny of the Pale King and White Lady, beings of Mind and Life. Powerful though the Void was, even it could not devour the godlings without their eggs being dropped directly into the Void Sea. Instead, by exposing the eggs to the miasma of the Abyss, the darkness had seeped into them, mixing with- not consuming- what was inside, creating a unique species.

Shells of hardened Void, masks of solidified Soul, organs of twisted Root, and brains of shaped Mind; the Vessels were an amalgamation of the four mystic elements. They were alive, they could feel and think, even if they did not know what emotions or thought were. Young as they were, the Vessels were driven purely by instinct. And that instinct told them to follow the pale light, for it would lead them to their father, who would pull them free of the darkness. Instead, they were cast down to their deaths, by their siblings or by their own missteps.

Root and Soul gave physical form. Mind gave mental form. The Void, alongside physical form, also gave the Vessels spiritual form. From the thousands of broken masks rose a legion of Shades, pitch black ghosts with Soul-white eyes.

The Shades would not let the last living Vessel in the Abyss join their ranks. Hundreds of them flew together, melding into a floating blob of Void, and the final Vessel dropped into the undulating mass. It bounced once, then lay there, dazed.

The combined Shades lowered the Vessel onto the shell-covered floor, dispersing back into their singular forms and crowding around it. They nuzzled against the sole living creature, ghostly black masks somehow making contact. The Vessel was jostled upright, standing on stubby legs. It stared blankly at its dead siblings, mind far gone, still entranced by the glimpse of the Pale King.

It had to get to him. There had to be another way out of the Abyss, another way to reach that pale light, even if it would not reach for them.

---

Time meant nothing in the Void. The Vessel searched and searched, enlisting the help of the Shades, and would have kept looking for eternity if it had to. Along the way, they found many strange things.

Through a tunnel, there was a towering structure, which bathed the Void Sea in yellow light, quelling the bottomless depths. A corpse lay in the top, of a creature unlike any of the siblings. It didn’t do anything other than lay there, obviously, so the siblings quickly lost interest in it.

Halfway up the pit was a dais with a glowing blue rock in it- a locking mechanism for the door beyond it, most likely. It couldn’t be opened, just like the door sealed by the King’s Brand. The siblings moved on.

Far beyond the lighthouse, across the Void Sea and through a stretching tunnel, was a fountain of overflowing Void. The Vessel, curious, jumped in, and attained the ability to warp into a Shade for a moment, passing through all obstacles before reverting back to its original form. It thoroughly startled both the Vessel and its siblings the first time it happened.

On the opposite side of the Abyss was a chamber filled with stone faces, mouths wide open, as if they were screaming. Overcome by an otherworldly voice, an Abyssal Shriek ripped out of the Vessel’s throat, sending a cacophony of Soul and Void into the air, shaped like the wailing visages surrounding it. It shouldn’t have been possible- the Vessels did not have vocal chords. They were not designed to have them. But, such was the arcane nature of Soul (or magic, as many ignorant bugs would call it).

It was in that same room that the Vessel found what it had been looking for. The force of the Abyssal Shriek shook the stone chamber, making dust fall from the ceiling in a heavy cloud. After it cleared, the Vessel noticed a portion of the wall was littered in cracks. Another Abyssal Shriek (and subsequent dust tornado), this time closer, completely shattered the weakened section of fossil stone, revealing a tunnel behind it.

Excited, the Vessel rushed in headfirst. Currently, there were only two Shades with the living Vessel, the others scattered about the rest of the Abyss, searching for alternative avenues of escape. The two ghostly siblings glanced at each other, coming to a decision. One followed the Vessel down the tunnel, while the second returned to the Abyss proper, to inform their siblings of their new discovery.

How unfortunate, then, that not soon after, the weakened foundations of the room collapsed, once more sealing the Abyss off from the rest of the world.

#hollow knight #royal knights au #hollow knight fanfic

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gottawriteanegoortwo · 4 years ago

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“Second Draft” - Rewrite the Story, Rework a Character!

I’ve been exploring the idea of the Actor and how best to write him lately. While doing so, I grew curious about the possibility of him slightly altering Damien during the time the ‘DAMIEN’ animation is set. So this is considering the idea that Mark still exists, but the Actor is the mask he wears and the role he plays.

Word Count: 1,522

This world - this place where neither death nor time exist - is a WONDERFUL setting for one as creative as the Actor! It was like the days in theatre, where the stage was empty yet filled with possibility. It was a blank canvas where any colours could be thrown on to help create something unique. It was the humming of a melody that could become a prelude to a great symphony. Here, anything could happen, if he so wished.

Somewhere in this timeless place hid the twins. Neither were attached to their own bodies, so they drifted deeper than most would. It must be through sheer carelessness, or even recklessness! The only one who could save them from the peril was Actor himself… But Celine had worked to make it impossible to properly locate them. He wanted to find Damien, but he only ever found Celine brandishing a weapon. However, she was only in a certain area that was hidden by an impassable wall. Unfortunately for her, it only brought about a curious Actor to see what lay in the area he now couldn’t reach.

In the time this game of ‘cat and mouse’ took place, Actor made an interesting discovery about the younger twin. Unlike Celine, Damien was simply chucked out of his body when it was possessed - his soul was still alive. Actor still had an opportunity to tweak Damien’s ‘character’, which he needed to. Damien couldn’t stay here, he needed to get back into the world! Not only that, he had to experience change to ensure further survival. Damien would perish in the world beyond the ‘bubble’. As he was, Damien was unsuitable to survive in the world Actor wanted for him. As it was, it was very good, but it was akin to a first draft that needed editing. It was unsuitable for the tale Actor had in mind. If he played his cards right, he could make the perfect plan to set in motion the new changes in such a subtle way that none would notice. What better way to help set the scene?

Deep within the abyss, there lay an empty pocket, like a chamber. The "walls" slowly expand and contract to bring a sense of life to the timeless place. When Mark first stumbled upon the room, it terrified him. Now, it calmed Actor. How could it not? That slow pulsing matched the rhythm of deep breaths that one would take to try and shake off the nerves. Perhaps the ones that resided in this place wanted Actor to succeed and granted access to a space that was ideal for the creative process! Actor closed his eyes and with a breath, waved his hands.

The walls trembled and pulled back to double the space available. Before him manifested a ghostly figure of the Mayor, brought forward by the memories within the body he now owned. Actor's eyes snapped open to the sight with delight. What a great starting point! It was a perfect replica, but this was not the final result. Oh no! This was merely the start, the blueprint! He snapped his fingers, and a projection of a list shuddered into existence on a screen. It was an information sheet, like when Mark used to work on characters for projects he worked on in better days. Basic facts about the Mayor appeared, but were pushed upward as Actor flicked his wrist. This wasn't what he wanted. Repeating the action manifested the Mayor's personality, neatly summarised and categorised into positive and negative traits:

Positives - Charming, Polite, Trusting, Honest, Loyal

Negatives - Short-Tempered, Proud, Stubborn

"Such a neat, balanced character sheet. But we can't mess too much with your characterisation," Actor murmured as he began to pace around the apparition. "No, no… We cannot afford to lose your charm. I want the audience to love you, flaws and all. I want them to feel conflicted on their opinion of you… If you are too heartless, you become flat and little more than a parody of yourself, and I care about you too much for that." He paused as he eyed the list again, only to shake his head and resume pacing. "You may be doomed to fail against the heroes, but the audience should want to feel some sympathy or care toward you - or love to hate you, whichever works. But right now… Oh Damien, you are just too -" Standing in front of the figure, Actor rested his weight on one leg. His left hand propped the other arm, and his right hand clicked fingers together as words escaped him. "- How is that fans refer to someone like you… 'Soft'? 'Babey'? 'Cinnamon roll'? That isn't a good starting point for any villain, and you deserve better than to merely be a tragic character."

That comment made him pause and step back. That did describe Damien rather well, didn't it? Mark had always thought Damien a sensitive soul, one who didn't deserve the pain that the world was keen to throw at him. Why condemn him to an eternity of suffering behind that wall and whatever was going on there? An outsider who had no trained abilities or experience in a place like this would be broken and shattered before they could return to the world beyond the void. Mark knew Damien well enough to know that if Damien was able to escape, he wouldn't mentally survive the transition back with his "still-living soul". Plus, it was likely Celine that was the only reason Damien still "survived" to this point (if he could assume that was why she kept hunting him). But Damien wouldn't survive like that forever. The moment Celine's powers ran out, they would both be doomed. Damien would be caught under the control of the creatures that lurked unseen or would be driven mad, while Celine… well, that wasn't something Mark wanted to dwell on.

It might not be the 'right' thing to do, but Mark didn't have any better ideas. They had long crossed the point of solving things amicably (body theft might have burned that bridge rather spectacularly). If Damien had to adapt by playing a role that didn't belong to him… so be it.

He took a slow breath to gather his thoughts and regain his focus. Then, Actor stepped forward.

"I'm afraid your personality needs to be tweaked a fraction. Not too much to lose your sense of self, but enough to allow hunting me be a sensible option." After all, what good was a villain that had no drive? Damien was always a gentle soul. He would avoid causing hurt or bother to another. That needed to change. So then he needed to be strong-willed and focused, but to the point where it would be a detriment. He pulled a pencil out of his pocket and began scribbling on the screen floating before him until the list now read thusly:

Positives - Charming, Polite, Trusting, Honest, Loyal

Negatives - Short-Tempered, Proud, Stubborn, Obsessive

If Damien still believed there was a chance of good in his old friend, he might lose that drive to escape. Actor needed to be sure that Damien wouldn't fall so easily and blindly trust.

His hand reached out again to make another addition, only to freeze. Mark forced himself to hold back, to the point of once again breaking character. These were merely the bare bones of Damien's personality, but he couldn't remove another positive trait. Despite how he tried to convince himself otherwise, this felt… wrong. If it were anyone else he wouldn't feel this bubbling guilt. It wasn't right to alter Damien like this. But if he wanted Damien to escape and survive as he was, then he couldn't make another change. If he wanted Damien to live, then Mark would allow himself to become live bait that Damien could hunt. Love might be a force stronger than human nature, but so was hate. That could be his driving force.

He waved his hand and let the list disappear. The illusion of Damien shivered and faded away as the minor changes passed to the slumbering mayor. It was only a temporary solution, really. The beauty about people was that they weren't characters on a page. Their personality wasn't confined to some choice words in neat lists. People were far more complicated and nuanced than that. He hadn't erased the word "trusting", which meant it could be rebuilt over time.

"You can do it," Mark continued his thoughts aloud, "I know you can. Time and time again you defied the odds and emerged victorious. Do it this one last time, old chap. And anyway, you won't be alone. I'm sure you could find our dear Will if you are stuck, but the Attorney will be there waiting for you. They can help you through the changes and bring that light back into the world."

It all seemed so simple and perfect, as Mark once again put back on his mask and left the chamber with a merry hum. It would be perfect once Damien was reunited with his dear Attorney!

A shame he was unaware of their fate...

#writersofmark #who killed markiplier #actor Mark #mark doom #Shattered Heart (Mark Doom)#Broken Reflection (Actor)#(it probably isn't perfect but shhh I'm trying :P )#(read-more is for tidiness! :D )#(I'm trying to challenge myself a little when writing the Actor. I try to change the narration style so it might read a little funny #as I try to have it like he himself is telling the story; sorta)

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