#anyways I think Legato should get to eat people

[whom-to-kill-whom-to-let-live]

You know how TriStamp Knives has a tendency to chop off specifically arms from people when he kills them? 

And you know how it’s kind of implied in the manga that Legato has... you know...

So I was thinking what if that fun little detail carried over...

[dangopango00]

COLLEGE BAND AU HEADCANONS

Legato x gn reader

It was pretty rude of me to just randomly put an au fic without explanation so heres the explanation bye still self indulgent; always will be i fear

more utc

- OK FIRST ABOUT HIM. He works for knives still but in this au his job is to cause vash suffering by 😭😭… outselling him??? Ridonkulous ik but go with it

- Knives wants him to outsell vash so vash realizes that art and human creativity is obsolete and instead help him run his tech/AI company that also focuses on helping global warming (humans suck they should die. robots go!)

- Hes apart of a band to rival Vash’s and ofc its the Gung Ho Guns; he hired them to play for him

- Tbh i think their genre isnt set in stone bc theyre purely doing this to outsell vash so I think theyd keep the core of it rock or indie but it has a lot of shifting gears, doing wtv gets the most traction

- Legato is the bassist but he knows keyboard if their keyboardist is absent

- I think legato writes most of the songs himself (to impress knives ofc this is still HIS mission afterall) and gets a lil sad and defensive if it flops LMFAO even if its just his first album; considering how Knives talked down on music Legato thought it’d be somewhat easy

- It DEFINITELY took him a while to write things that had some semblance of humanity in it tbh he had to have either another less emotionally stunted member write it or a ghost writer but he did still practice writing in his spare time since he had nothing better to do

- NOW ABOUT YALL. Ur roommates in a college dorm; if it were up to him he’d have an apartment but knives wanted him to keep an eye on vash and vash lives on campus

- He only has like one or two official rules as roommates but if ur pissing him off with sth thats not on the list he WILL let u lnow LOL

- The only rules established off rip are:

1. MYOB

2. Do not touch him (no tolerance rule if u touch him without permission he WILL be out of there asap even if its a lot of trouble and will probably even idk push u or sth ignore u forever, hope and pray on ur downfall idk its hard to translate his violent tendencies to modern society without getting him arrested ok)

- You often eat together when he isnt busy tbh usually in silence but its ok its comfortable silence (to him at least)

- Ok im gonna try to say this in the least creepy way possible but like. He likes to observe you for inspiration HEAR ME OUT. Just seeing u go about ur day and since hes always in first person POV seeing someone else just… live gives him immense inspiration on what to write

- He also gets inspo from other artists and heres where u come in hehe. You are a solo artist who doesn’t show your face and your speaking voice is pretty much completely different from ur singing voice (Not like insanely different but if you heard the two separately you wouldnt really connect the dots unless ur one of those people who connect voices easily + depending on ur genre u could be using a completely different tone of voice than usual)

- Your genre is a little similar to Legato’s in the fact that although you keep your core component (Love theme IMO but hey i dont make the rules yes i doo) you change around the other moving parts such as the instruments or wtv so he listens to your music often though he never really thought it would be you; just never really thought about the possibility

- Im not gonna say hes like obsessed with your artist persona or anything but he does (as much as he would rather khs than admit it since according to Knives music is the bane of this world) greatly enjoy your music and often finds himself getting your songs stuck in his head

- Hes def a gatekeeper i mean this is the guy who can name every song in ur discography (Not saying much though since you dont post too often)

- ANYWAY u have no idea this is going on since hes prone to just listening to music in his headphones rather than showing you or blasting it for the world to hear so ur relationship is developing as normal roommates

- You often get him stuff from the college snack shack and in return he often gives u whatever he doesnt want from the dining hall (that sounds crappy but its usually good stuff like ur fave fruit or cheese and crackers or sth)

- After u become a bit closer going on trips together becomes common not like vacation but like a little drive to a department store or him taking you with him to practice/performances

- SPEAKING OF PRACTICE U work part time at a coffee shop and it has a practice room which is where he usually brings his band it sounds random but I’ve encountered a coffee place like this before ok

- Killing two birds with one stone, he gets to see you on his way in and out and he gets a quiet place to practice + Vash often brings his band here too so ig killing two birds and one afterthought with one stone

- Other GHGs (NOT greenhouse gasses. Gung ho guns) think that ur another one of his groupies probably 💀 he def has tons i fear

- He def writes songs about you or rather than about you, references how u make him feel but he is in denial and thinks feelings are embarrassing so hes just like no they just gave me inspiration

- Its ok though the only one he has to justify himself to is himself bc hes like. The only one who knows its about u since his songs are never rlly about romance and in the rare cases that they are its very subtle

- When, if ever, he feels ready for touch he frames it like hes doing u a favor lmao “I will allow you to (blank)” he is tbh

Random Misc:

- Hes majoring in Ecology or Conservation Biology prob minoring in sth like computer science (his entire life surrounds Knives what did u expect)

- Sleeps in his daytime clothes and ur always like ???? Esp bc he wears jeans often… U two went to the department store one time and u convinced him to let u buy him pajamas so he could wash the day clothes overnight

- Hes a big ass fan of vinyls and cds and just physical ways of owning things like music or games but wont admit to himself he likes it its just for the aesthetic ok even though he has a record and cd player

- Wants to cut ur hair and feels like its one of the most intimate things u could do without having to touch too much (forever subscribed to knives cut his hair hc)

- If u have a lot of accessories and generally just a lot of stuff he gets annoyed if it isnt properly organized and will organize it for u wnv hes having writers block

- If ur an artist he has u make his merch designs n stuff 😍😍 he pays very generously he rlly dgaf abt money tbh + Knives sponsoring him

A/N: irrelevant but idk whether to imagine him as tristamp or trigun design like both are so good but Ok im done yapping ty

[lost-technology]

You Can't Outrun Your Past, No Matter How Hard You Try...

So, I got a DM from someone looking for an old fanfic of mine - or, they didn't know if I was the author, but were looking up stuff from the old Live Journal days and found me somehow - managed to connect my regular pename to my account here - well, I do mention it on my pin-post. They were looking for a particular old fanfic and I was all "Okay, that sounds vaguely familiar" but I couldn't find it. I googled the title mentioned and... promptly had a thousand-yard stare. I used to get up to some seriously fucked up shit in my early Trigun fandom days in the early 2000's. So, I had one of those experiences that fell into the annals of "this is why I do not do co-writing." It took a bad experience in the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power fandom to finally solidify that, but I really should have learned back then. I have had more bad experiences co-writing than good ones (although there is a Zelda fic I do not regret co-creating and a pretty good Super Smash short I did with someone I'm still friends with). Anyway, I did this fic back in the day with someone whom I eventually had a huge falling out with and hope to never see hide nor hair of again in my entire life - and, if possible, I'd like to continue that relationship of no-contact into the afterlife, should one exist. The falling out wasn't over this fic we created together, it was over a variety of other things that happened later and I can admit that there were two assholes in the equation, not just one - I was just as much of an asshole as my former friend. Anyway, indeed, I am the co-author of some fic that... people still talk about, I guess? titled "Dark Mirror." As I remember it - being that I erased its presence from the Internet as much as I could and no longer retain files (if I ever kept any, they were several computers and virus-attacks / hard drive reworkings ago), it was a WEIRD fic. I remember it being a take on the "Dark Vash" toy repaint. It involved Vash going evil, but not of his own choice. He basically got Plant-rabies. He got a fungal disease that was slowly killing him and eating his brain. He also found a somehow Survived!The!Big!Fall! Rem (coldsleep pods, baby)! who reunited with him, tried to help him find the cure and they fell in adult-style love. BLECK!!! WHY?! YOUNG SHADSIE, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!!!! YOU WERE INSANE! (In my defense, I have figured out exactly what mental illness I had / have and have gotten medication and treatment, thank you). I also seem to recall that most of the idea - certainly the structure of the Plant-fungal disease (which was actually one of the cooler ideas in it) was courtesy of the person known as "MillyFan" (or as I'd like to call them today, the Motherfucker). I think Vash / Rem was their idea, too, but I can't be sure. It was entirely my fault for going along with it. Certain stupid cameos from other animes were my fault, I recall that. (I was trying to insert Haibane Renmei characters into the whole mess for some reason). I... feel like taking a shower now. I already took one today... Anyway, I have a lot more weirdness and "What was I thinking?!" stories that do actually still exist on my old fanfiction.net account if anyone is interested in those. I have one where Legato propositions Vash for sex in a dingy hotel (Vash runs away very quickly). I have one where a woman that Midvalley got pregnant confronts him and he preforms an abortion by saxophone. I have this one really annoying anti-Vashwood piece back when I was an annoying little shit about Vashwhood. I have one that I actually recently re-read in thinking I could transfer it to Ao3 that isn't so bad, but I was overdramatic and predictable about Vash getting a pet cat. (You know the cat is doomed from the start, right? Very "Does the Dog Die?" stuff. Blech). I really like to think that I have become... a much better writer than from my early days. Please stick to my Ao3 page to see anything that I think is actually halfway decent in this fandom.

[severalspoons]

Liveblog: Rewatching Trigun, Episode 17 part 2

Ugh, I just want to talk about Episode 18 already.

We pick up with Rem and the Captain talking. 

-- Rem has a very breathy voice.

-- Rem: “Because they’re angels...maybe we should pay attention to them...they may even guide us through our dream.” If only it turned out that way. I wonder how literally she believes that?

-- This scene with Vash and Knives in the zero-gravity room is so touching. 

Knives sounds genuinely concerned about Vash.

“Are you crying again?” Apparently Vash cries a lot. Color me not surprised. Knives cares anyway.

Steve has been telling Vash he’s not human, and probably that he’s a monster who shouldn’t even be here. What if everyone else feels that way about him and Knives, too? he worries. Worst of all, what if Rem feels that way?

I don’t know if Steve deliberately mistreated them differently, but they certainly reacted differently. He hit Vash where it hurt by telling him he didn’t belong. He beat up on Knives, which Knives could tolerate better. I think putting up with Steve’s abuse is the sort of “small sacrifice” Knives is talking about. :(

-- It fascinates me that Vash is the one who’s afraid and suspicious of humans, even though he desperately wants to belong. Knives is the one encouraging him that it will be possible to get along with people. He even empathizes with their perspective: “to these people we’re just uninvited guests. We only need to be patient a while.”

-- Vash asks whether Rem feels the same way as Steve. Baby, nothing could be further from the truth. You’re Rem’s favorite. Can’t you feel how much she loves you? 

-- Knives starts a conversation about the tree they’re lying under, but not really. He’s speaking in metaphors. I do this myself when I want to get across a complicated set of ideas and emotions quickly. It’s a great way to compact your message and add sensory examples so the listener can feel what you’re saying. And it’s perfect for bridging the gap between his train of thought and Vash’s feelings. Knives does the same thing in the more famous conversation about spiders and butterflies. 

“Rem said it’s because they’re strong...they concentrate all their energy on growing.” 

This is dreamy, mythological, fairy tale thinking. Rem, instead of giving them information about the world, is describing it poetically and helping them see it with wonder. I think Vash will return to this perspective on days when he wonders why he’s bothering trying to save people. (The way I go to Pinterest and look at photos of nature and the sky and people doing kind things until I feel like it’s worth living again). 

-- “Rem said...according to Rem...” I bet this conversation is frustrating for Knives. Knives is asking Vash what he thinks, and all he gets is secondhand Rem.

-- “Plants are strong, but we eat their fruit.” “We need to in order to live.” Does Vash know what sort of plant Knives is really talking about?

-- “Do you think I’ll be eaten some day?” ::heart breaks: 

Will they be drained for power the way the bulb plants are? Or experimented on? It’s a reasonable question.

It’s interesting. Although Vash is the one being told he’s not human, Knives is the one aligning his identity with plants. Or at least, trying it out during this conversation.

-- “So then, why am I here?” 

Knives is having a huge (and perfectly understandable) existential crisis. And no one seems to have good answers for him. Even Vash doesn’t seem to get it.

I don’t think telling him he’s an angel sent to Earth to help the crew would help him much. Either it’ll sound like more fluffy poetic nonsense to him, or it will feel like a huge burden. I mean, just listen to former “Indigo children,” whose parents may have legitimately believed their kids were sent to save the world. Instead, they became a hot mess.

-- They had umbilical cords? Don’t plants reproduce by budding? Weren’t Vash and Knives found after they dropped off and fell to the ground? IDK, plant biology is confusing to begin with and the anime certainly doesn’t help.

-- Cut to a bunch of scary looking men with laser guns. Rem throws herself between them and the babies and you see the lasers all over her torso. They could have shot her. She could have died trying to save the plant babies. Holy ****. (And she wasn’t even feeling guilty about Tessla in the anime. She was just a good person). 

-- That fucking apple. I’m sorry, but I hate this kind of symbolism. It never says much, it feels like an exercise or a treasure hunt, and it reminds me of high school English class.

Smooth transition to the other side of the tree where Rem is giving Vash a haircut. Of course Vash goes first. Rem gives Vash his iconic sticking-up haircut for the first time. 

-- Um, it’s kind of weird to give your kid the same haircut as a man you loved. (What sort of relationship did they have in the anime, anyway?) 

Also, you never noticed he was handsome before because he’s a kid. He looks like the equivalent of an 8 or 9 year old here. 

-- “He was my emotional support. Thanks to him, I was able to face my mistakes without judgment. I learned to make them right again. Then I lost him and realized I would have to do it alone. But I wasn’t afraid to make mistakes any more. I believed I could point myself in the right direction without looking back.”

I just got run over by a truck of feels. Because Vash takes the same journey. 

And I’m pretty sure Wolfwood does for Vash what Alex did for Rem. 

It all begins next episode.

-- Knives’ haircut looks curved like butterfly wings. (And he’s way better at cutting hair than a kid with no experience should be).

-- Knives’ voice sounds villainous. “Just a little change of heart, that’s all.”

-- There already was individuality, even without the haircut. I guess Knives has just accepted it. “A philosopher and a mama’s boy.” That about sums it up, unfortunately.

-- Love how Knives tells Steve off, even though he makes a supervillain face immediately after.

-- Static. There’s that sound you hear every time Legato appears. The static of evil.

-- The famous spider & butterfly scene. Vash has both hands up, probably considering removing both of spider and butterfly from the web and moving them to separate places. Not sure what he’s waiting for.

They first have the argument they keep playing out for the next 150 years.

“Unless the spider caught the butterfly, it would die of starvation anyway.” Knives is right -- about butterflies and spiders. About the natural order. (That’s one reason I, personally, have an existential crisis every time I watch a nature documentary. For some reason, there’s always organisms eating other organisms alive on those channels. ::shudders::) The best argument I can give is that the metaphor doesn’t apply to people and plants, or doesn’t have to. The only reason a situation even resembling that happens on Gunsmoke is because Knives crashes all the ships onto a planet without resources.

Rem: “it’s not right to make that choice so easily.” Honestly? I think that’s a less convincing argument. Especially to someone who’s agnostic or atheist. Because who should choose? Or are you just leaving it up to random chance?

-- “What would you rather have us do, just stand there and think about it?”

Vash attacks Knives for the first time. 

Rem finally realizes there’s something wrong. She looks troubled.

-- WTF happened to Rowan’s mind? What’s broken? Is Knives controlling his mind or body somehow?

-- Rem models self-sacrifice. I still don’t understand why, but she seemed to truly believe that Rowan, who was willing to kill a crew member he actually loved, wouldn’t do the same to her. The Captain models the sensible choice given the information he had, and throws Rowan out the airlock. Well, maybe not so sensible, because Rem could have been flung out into space to die, too.

Wonder how Rem would feel if she knew that Vash spent his life doing the same thing, getting increasingly scarred in the process?

-- “Vash, take care of Knives.” 

This breaks my heart because so far ... he hasn’t.  First he follows Knives around. Then abandons him. Then attacks him.

 Doesn’t that bother him, given how faithfully he follows Rem in everything else?

I think Rem says nothing to Knives, because she has nothing good to say to him then.

-- It still bothers me that Knives got so flat out cruel down to the maniacal laugh so quickly and offscreen. It’s still a big jump from the last time we saw him talk. Seriously, look at this:

Everything he does in the anime would have made sense if they had just added a little bit more from the manga.

-- So Knives, is Rem’s self sacrifice still stupid if she corrected the course of all the ships and saved so many lives? After all, she took action quickly, and did the greatest good for the greatest number--the rational thing. You should have understood what she was doing.

-- No, Vash, Rem didn’t mean “take care of him” as in “Kill him.” You know that.

...You know I’m getting way too invested in a series when I start talking to the characters as if they can hear me. It’s about as sensible as yelling at the horror movie character not to go into that dark room alone.

[internationalhouseofblupjeans]

An Eighth Bird, Born Out of the Storm - Chapter 18

Based loosely on the Luume'irma headcanon from @interstellarvagabond

Eighth Bird AU.

Angus celebrates a birthday and makes a new connection. Kravitz searches. Lucretia regrets.

Thank you to Calcu from the writer’s chat for Beta'ing!!

Also on AO3 (link in the source)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9  Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 below Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22

The placement of the runes are most important. We have determined that by adding onto the previously etched in runes, my body will not be hurt during this process. If all goes well, then when the reset occurs, our child will still reset with us and be able to develop, unharmed on a safer cycle.

We are not sure if the ritual will affect their soul, but as far as we have been able to determine, it will only affect Barry and myself.

I have made sure that Barry’s runes have extra safeguards as well. Being human, he will need more protection than I will. Human souls are not made of the same pure magic that elven ones are.

It will be interesting to be able to see it.

Ļ̵͚̱̬͔͍͉̮̲̮̖̰̾̎ͧ͊ͯͮ̑́ͤͥ̐̋͜͝ư̛̜̭̖̥͉͔͈͋͛̂̉̏̃̈́̔̽̿ͫ͆̈́̍ͅp̵̸̢͍̲͉͓̺̯̭̳̤̺̼̰͔̈́ͤ̆̿̽̓̄ͣ͝ͅ,ͮ̾́͋̎̔̾ͮ͑҉̰̠̥͍͕̻̖̼̤̘̦̖ ̸̧̫̝͓̠͓̹͎̐̓̆ͬ͗̔̅ͩ̇̒ͬ̂͆͛͒̉͑͢ͅS̷̡̟̖̞͎͔͕͓͓̺͖̣̤͚̘͓̟̜͆̍ͮ͐̈ͥ͑͆͑̓͂ͤ̈́͂̍̎̎͟t̶ͤ͆̂͑͌̆̉ͪ̃̔̋̑̅͆͌ͨ҉̷̩̦͖͔̼̖͠uͫ͗̂͛͌ͮ̅̆͛ͭ̐͢͏̞̥̥̱͓̯̦͍d̝̱̲̦̠̻͈̞͈͎͈̫̪̭̆ͦͦ͗̑ͤ́͞ǐ̟̟̟̬̣͑̈̓̐̓͊̄ͯ̿͌̚͘͘͢͞e̿̈̓͌̀̐̆̀ͮͣ̎̈́̾̀̚̕͘͏͔̰͈͕̣̬s̮̩͕̫̝ͯ̅̀͆ͭ̉͋̈́̎͂ͦͥ̂͢ ̷̳̰̝̘̲̤̣̱͙̠̰̖͕̯̺̪̜͍̘̿̎ͣ͗ͮ̋͠ǫ̸̛͓̭̙͙͓̲̱̬̺̯͚͍͍͎̩ͯ̂͋ͥ͆ͥ͊̽͒ͩ̒͆ͨ̄nͯ̌ͨ̓̉ͯ̕҉͏̣̠̗̬̼̺̰͚̖͕͍̘̙ ̸̼̟͈͖̻͇͍͈͎͕̣̮̳̳̯̳̠͋ͧ͆ͭ͗ͭ͑̇͢B̷ͩ̔̓ͪ̉͑̐ͥ͒͏͖̼͎̦̖̖̖̗͞e̛̳̘͙̱̝̤̽̃̃̄̇̓ͩ͊ͫ̆͊̈ͣ̌ͫ͝ͅc̵̴̨̨͇͕͓̖͚̼͕͕̼͈̩̺͎̠̻ͬͩ̂̎͋̈́̈́ͅô̵̸̂̓̎͋̽ͦ̓ͩ̇͑̒ͮ̋ͮ̚͝͏͏̤̯̲̝͇ṃ̻̼͇͎̬̱͍̺̘̦̲͍̪̠ͦ͌̓ͯ̏̑̽͆ͭ͜͝ͅi̴̹͉̟̞̠̥̞̱̥̗͍ͤͭ̐̿ͦ̊̅̌ͩͪ̉̋ͥ̊͂̿ͦͭ͞ṅ̩̥͚͕̥̐̓̏͠g͐̍ͦ̄͑ͬ͒҉͍̦͉̠̩̜͚̮̥͍̘͔͕̝̹̱̕͘͢ ̝͓͖͈̗̞̹̖̘̻͙̰͉̣̳̞̏ͪͨ͌͑̈̉͌ͫ̚͡͞a̧̢͕̤͇̬͓͚̠̱͙͈̺̻͓̖ͣ͂͋ͧͅ ̸̨̛͕̤̻̱̤͚̭͚̠͉̤ͬ͌͐ͤ̅ͤ͘̕Ļ̶̡̫̜̠̥̙͉͍̖͙̏͑̿̽̽̆ͪ̒ͨͥ͡i̡̨̤̜̠̓ͣ͒ͨ̇ͮͨ̔̍̍̑̊̆̿ͩ͐̇̾ͅç̵̢͈̻͈̝̬̙̼͕͉͉̟̞ͪͫͭͥ̇͒̆h̵̵̥̮̰͖̓ͨ̆̏͐̓

Lucretia wasn’t sure whose idea the party was, but she stared at the invitation with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

She was Madam Director and needed to keep the ruse going, but a part of her wanted to have this moment. To relax and enjoy an evening with her friends, even if they didn’t see her as such right now.

So, she arrived at Magnus, Merle, and Taako’s dorm with a present in hand and a weak smile on her face.

“Welcome!” Magnus grinned, opening the door. “Ango doesn’t know and just thinks he’s coming over for a magic lesson, so this will be great!”

Lucretia nodded.

This week was hard for her anyway, so it was hard to focus.

In a couple of days, it would be the anniversary of when she had lost her friends.

When she knew she had lost Lup.

When she knew Lup and Barry lost their …

“Hey! You need to get behind the couch!” Merle grumbled. “Haven’t you ever done a surprise party before?”

Lucretia smiled.

“Sorry, Merle, I suppose I’m a little out of practice.”

She ducked behind the couch and waited.

Taako was the first one to walk through the door, about fifteen minutes later.

“So, the trick with mage hand is to visualize something not so … horrifying,” Taako explained as he opened the door, Angus eagerly taking notes next to him. “Seriously, kiddo, we need to figure out why-”

Taako flicked on the light to the dorm and the gathered members of the Bureau of Balance leapt up and cheered for Angus.

“SURPRISE! Happy birthday!”

Angus froze. He didn’t know what to do. No one had ever done anything like this before and he had no frame of reference for why everyone that he had considered friends and family were surprising him like this. He adjusted his glasses, trying to keep his composure and cleared his throat.

“Um … Sirs?” He asked.

“We found out it was your birthday this week, kiddo,” Magnus explained, leaping over the couch and picking up Angus. “So, we decided to throw a party for you!”

“Oh …” Angus started, a little crestfallen. He hadn’t ever had one that started this way, but he knew that it would soon devolve into sitting around awkwardly while the adults talked. “Well, thank you. I guess we um … Are we going to eat and then you guys can all talk?”

“Nonsense!” Magnus grinned. “Johann is going to play us some music and then we can do party games and stuff if you like!”

“Party games?” Angus asked. “I don’t … I don’t understand.”

He’d heard about them, sure, from the elven boys who had become the bane of his existence. He had almost been invited to one of their parties, but then the invitation was taken away, the boys only having done so in order to mock him. He didn’t know the first thing about birthday parties like this.

“Don’t worry, Bubelah,” Taako grinned. “I didn’t do birthday parties until I was much older so this will be a first for me too.”

Angus was even more confused. He’d always thought that elves had parties for every birthday. And Taako was a Sun Elf - a High Elf! He should for sure have been rich enough to have huge parties when he was a kid.

“Wait,” Angus started. “You didn’t have …”

The sound of Johann’s violin interrupted the little half-elf and soon the festivities began. He watched as the rules for Pin the tail on the Gerblin was explained and eventually watched an argument erupt between Taako and Leon over Taako’s use of mage hand to cheat at the game. A round of musical chairs was next, and Angus tried to not feel sick at the attention and chaos that was surrounding him.

He hadn’t ever had people pay this much attention to him. All he’d really wanted to do was go down and maybe see Jeff Angel wrestle at Chaos Stadium this week. He didn’t even really want people to try and celebrate for him because his parties had always been so boring before.

This one, however, was overwhelming.

His guests were sitting around, enjoying cake when Angus felt someone sit down next to him. He looked up to see Merle looking at him with an odd softness to him.

“Kid, you’ve hardly touched your cake. What’s wrong?”

“Oh … Uh … well, This is kinda new for me,” He started. “I’ve never actually done a birthday party before. Like, I honestly didn’t even know anyone knew it was coming up and I don’t usually get so much … attention,” he panted. “I usually am sitting in a corner by now just reading a book while my grandpa …”

He trailed off. He hadn’t thought about his grandfather since leaving Neverwinter. He had just thrown himself into cases and into work for the Bureau but now he realized that he had lost the only member of his family that he truly had.

He sniffled and wiped his eyes.

“Sorry, I just … I guess I got overwhelmed,” Angus whispered. “I really appreciate this, I do … I just … I’ve never had people do this much for me before.”

Merle smiled, sadly. There was something about Angus, in this moment, that felt familiar. Perhaps it was just because of what he had helped his own daughter through. Perhaps it was something else, something he couldn’t verbalize, as much as he wanted to.

“Kiddo, believe me I … I understand what you’re going through, I really do. I guess we should have asked you first, huh?”

“No, sir, it’s ok! Really! I just … I’m not used to this.”

He didn’t realize it until just now but he actually was calm. Angus looked down at his untouched plate of cake. He guessed Merle had done something cleric-y to him. Maybe calm emotions?

For all that Taako and Magnus complained, Merle was a pretty good cleric, all things considered.

“Th-thanks, sir,” Angus smiled. “This actually helped a lot.”

Merle grinned and ruffled Angus’ hair. There was something else about this kid. Something familiar, but he couldn’t focus on the thought for too long or else his brain would dissolve into static.

“No problem, half-pint,” Merle sighed. He rose to his feet and then paused, turning back to look at him before he could join Taako as he tried to hustle Killian’s shoes away from her at a game of pool. “Oh, and we’re going to a wrestling show on your birthday so I …” Merle gritted his teeth as if it hurt him to be kind to this child. “I guess you can come with.”

Angus’ eyes lit up.

“Really, sir?”

“Yeah … There’s some sort of murder or something that happened and -”

Merle froze as he felt Angus’ arms wrap around him tightly.

“Oh thank you sir! Thank you so much! This is the best birthday present ever! A new mystery!”

“Oh shit …” Merle groaned.

~

Lup had listened in, trying to project herself out just enough to see what was happening.

A party. They were throwing a party for this little boy.

She was glad that he had been working with the Bureau of Balance now. She had worried about him after he had been on the train. Had worried that this child was traveling alone.

Now, however, she knew he had someone to look after him.

It was strange. She felt oddly protective around this child, and even started to feel pangs of sadness as she watched him becoming more and more anxious during the party.

It was wishful thinking. That’s what it had to be. The anxiousness reminded her so much of Barry. Reminded her so much of how he had been before the launch. In the earlier cycles.

Before Legato.

But this wasn’t their child. She had already confirmed that. Yes, his name was Angus, but it wasn’t Angus Bluejeans. No one had come to grab him. She hadn’t seen or felt Lucretia at all during her wait in Wave Echo Cave.

Her son had to have died. Somehow. Perhaps wild animals had come into the cave and taken him. Perhaps it was gerblins.

Perhaps it was her own foolishness at trying to solve her problems by herself.

It was getting too difficult to keep herself projected, so she retreated into the darkness.

She could feel her energy being sapped. Every day it was a struggle to just stay conscious. To stay herself.

As she tried to meditate, she began to realize that time was running out.

She wasn’t sure if she would make it to them eventually leaving this world.

She wasn’t sure if there would be anything left to reset.

~

Taako couldn't find anything in any books regarding the extreme discomfort he felt.

He found himself pacing the communal living room, trying to deal with thoughts and feelings that deeply disturbed him.

He couldn't ask Merle. He was too ashamed.

Even worse was the horrible feeling he had during this week when he would see Magnus. They barely knew each other (in Taako terms) and yet he wanted to curl up in his arms and let the warmth take him over.

He couldn't understand it. He couldn't push the thoughts from his mind.

So he meditated for the first time in ages. As he sat, he heard the door open, Magnus’ booming voice echoing in.

“Hey, Taako, do you need anything? I’m just heading down to the cafeteria for …”

Magnus stopped.

“T-Taako? Are you ok? What’s wrong?”

Taako pinched the bridge of his nose.

So much for meditating.

“Dude … just go. I kinda need to focus. I’m don’t want to have the thoughts I’m having and there’s like … nothing here that can help me so I’m just gonna hang tight in here and wait for it to blow over. I don’t know if I was hit by a spell or what but … This sucks and everything is too … Everything!”

Magnus walked in, quietly. Something was tugging on his heart as he watched Taako clench his eyes and breathe.

“What thoughts?”

“Like … dude, we know each other and are friends and all but I really don’t want to share this.”

“Come on. Taako, it’s ok. We’re a team.”

“Magnus … I’m serious. I don’t want this and it’s frustrating and aggravating and it hurts!”

“It hurts?” Magnus said, freezing in place. “Should I get Merle?”

“God no. He’ll tease me relentlessly and I can’t do that right now!” Taako gritted out. “I just need to wait this out.”

“Ok … Are you sure you can’t tell me?”

“I … So you know I like guys, right?”

“Well, yeah. I saw you flirting with death back in Lucas’ lab-”

“Well … I also don’t want … I don’t like being … touched. And right now, that’s all I want and it’s scaring me, Mags. It’s scaring me and I don’t like it! And … I keep thinking about you and that reaper and I don’t … Mags, please go. I’ll … I’ll be better soon. I promise.”

Taako didn’t know for sure, but he knew that this had to end eventually.

Right?

Magnus sighed and closed the door softly, waiting outside. He wondered if he should go over Taako’s head and talk to Merle, but Taako was right. Merle was the worst person he could talk to about this.

So he went to the Director.

He knocked softly on her office door and peeked his head in.

“Hey … Lu-Madam Director?” He started, remembering that she had been so disturbed when they had used her name.

“What is it,” she started, looking up from her journals to see Magnus’ concerned expression. “Magnus? What’s wrong?”

“It … It’s Taako. He’s not doing well and I didn’t want to talk to Merle about it because … well, Taako didn’t want me to.”

Lucretia froze.

She had redacted too much. She had realized that, in erasing so many things from their home world, she had neglected to make sure she could come up with ways to fill in things that occurred.

Things like the Luume'irma.

Which Magnus usually comforted Taako through.

Once again, she was struck by the weight of her actions. She was reminded just how much she took.

Taako had once trusted Magnus but after a decade apart, they may as well have been strangers.

And Magnus didn’t know …

“Oh … Um … Well, there are … ancient texts that existed in my studies of … A period of time where every ten years, Sun Elves would go through … these feelings,” she said, carefully choosing her words. “It only lasted a week but a lot of Sun Elves didn’t like it so they augmented their bodies … I think Taako may have been immune to it.”

“Oh …” Magnus started. “So … what should I do? I don’t like seeing my friend so upset. Should I go … help him?”

“No!” Lucretia started before remembering herself. “No … Just … Let him be. He’ll be alright in a week. I promise.”

Magnus nodded and returned to the dorm. As he sat in front of Taako’s door, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of deja vu.

But when he tried to make sense of it, his mind dissolved into static.

~

Angus was so excited for his magic lessons. He loved learning from Taako, having this moment to be close to his idol. He’d had to wait a week (apparently, his tutor had been sick), but he was alright with that.

Taako was someone who might be able to answer all of his questions, eventually.

He also had another reason to take lessons from Taako. He was going to ask him on this particular lesson. Sure he couldn’t do it himself, he wasn’t high enough level …

But Taako could …

“Hey, Mr. Taako, sir?” Angus asked as Taako prepared to teach him a cantrip. “You … specialize in transmutation magic, right?”

“Sure thing, my dude,” Taako started. “What’s up?”

“I … I was wondering if you could do something for … For me … If you could change something, that is ...”

Taako looked at Angus. Something about those words. There was something in his mind that dissolved into static when he tried to place the memory.

Just like in the dreams he had.

“What’s wrong, Ango?”

Angus pulled off his cap and untaped his ears.

Taako felt his heart break.

Angus trusted him enough to show him. To show him that he was not human. That he was a half elf.

And that he was ashamed of what he was.

“I … I don’t want these anymore,” Angus whispered. “I want to be one or the other so if you could just change my ears …”

“Angus …” Taako started, kneeling down to him. “My dude, I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to be a half-elf. You’re like … the best of both worlds!”

“Not according to the other elves,” Angus sighed. “You’re like, the first elf who isn’t a jerk about it.”

Taako felt like that was wrong. He never remembered elves being so cruel about half-elves. About humans.

Hell, that was why-

Static.

He shook his head to clear it and then looked back at Angus.

“Look my dude, I can teach you disguise self so you can pull pranks, but I’m not going to make you give up what makes you you. And if you need to, you can talk with Johann. He’s a half elf and look at him now! Making music for a Voidfish! Everyone loves him too! We don’t care that he’s not one or the other. He’s Johann and that’s what makes him awesome. And your our Ango McDango.”

Angus sniffled.

“Thanks sir.”

Taako smiled and leaned in to whisper into Angus’ ear.

“And if you ever tell anyone that I had this moment with you and that I care about you …”

“You’ll end me.”

“In seconds.”

Angus chuckled and hugged Taako.

~

Lup wanted to try and project herself out again. She could sense it.

They were running out of time.

She had to tell them somehow.

Her chance came when Taako was about to cast a spell. She didn’t realize until it was too late that it was supposed to be a transmutation spell. She pulled back as much as she could, but it was too late.

The sweet little boy’s macaroons were destroyed.

She would make it up to him eventually.

But she needed to use this moment. She needed to send a message.

L … U … P …

It took all of her energy, but she did it. She sent a message, hoping that Taako would see it. Would understand it.

She looked over at Angus, at the sweet little boy and nearly gasped.

His ears.

They were pointed.

“I have a new mystery to solve!” She heard him chirp.

Huh … She thought as darkness reclaimed her.

~

Johann sat, tuning his violin. He had another composition for the Voidfish. Something that he had been working on for weeks now. He played, softly at first, taken in by the music. The Voidfish floated nearby, seemingly watching is every move.

“Um ...Mr. Johann, sir?” he heard a small voice ask at the doorway.

He looked over to see Angus standing there, his cap off and in his hand. The pointed tips of the boy’s dark ears were bright red.

“What’s up, little dude?” the bard asked.

“I … I was talking with Taako a while back and he said maybe I could talk to you?” He started. “I’m a half elf, like you, and … I was ashamed of it and asked Taako to change me but … But you’re a half elf too and you’re like, such a cool bard and I was wondering … Can I learn some of what you know?”

Johann smiled, sadly.

He’d never had a student before. Most of what he did was self taught anyway. He didn’t know how to teach, but the look on the boy’s face moved him.

“Heh, sure thing, kiddo,” he laughed. “So, was there any sort of instrument you were thinking of?”

“Well … when I heard your violin, it reminded me of a song and I want to know how to play it. And since you’re a bard and good at violin …”

“Say no more my little dude! Here, can you hum it for me? I can figure out the notes.”

“Oh! Yeah! Um …”

Angus began to hum as Johann transposed, playing along.

“Ah, so it’s in E major … so .. F# … A F# E D C# D G G G A...”

As he played, he heard a wail come up from the tank. He looked over at the Voidfish who twirled and called out, echoing the notes that Johann played. It was almost like the last time the Voidfish had sang, except this time, they seemed happier, as if they knew this song.

He continued to play as Angus hummed the song and the Voidfish lit up.

He’d never had this happen before, where the Voidfish not only knew something he was playing but also didn’t wipe it from existence after he had created it.

Johann looked down at Angus who had some tears pricking his eyes. He smiled sadly and stopped playing, ruffling the child’s hair.

“We can go get you a violin and then start doing lessons, little man,” he began.

“I’d like that very much, sir.”

Johann led Angus out of the room, neither one noticing the Voidfish pressing one tendril up on the glass as they left.

~

Angus sat by his Stone of Farspeech. He had been relieved when Avi told him that they had safely landed and that they were on their way through the bubble. Now he could focus on his mystery du jour.

The Red Robes. There was something Lucretia wasn’t telling them about the Red Robes.

He had been plagued with nightmares again, ever since the magic lesson that started this new mystery. His vision was always blurry in the most common one he had, but he always saw the same image. Something that his brain couldn’t make sense of.

He found himself, absentmindedly drawing as he waited to hear any news at all from the reclaimers.

Lucretia came up behind him with a plate of cookies.

“Angus, we probably won’t be able to hear anything until they get out of there,” Lucretia started.

“I know, Ma’am, but … If they need me, then I need to be listening,” he explained. “I’ve learned a lot since they grabbed the Philosopher’s Stone and so I know I can actually help now!”

Lucretia ruffled Angus’ hair and looked down at his paper.

“Drawing something?”

“Yeah, I guess. I was just doodling. I’ve been having a lot of nightmares lately,” he sighed. “Leon said that drawing them out might help me so I’ve just sort of been … doing this.”

Lucretia looked down and then bit back a gasp.

“Oh … Wow …”

Angus looked down at the drawing.

“Oh … yeah … I keep having the same nightmare. It’s blurry but … Yeah …”

He looked up to realize that Lucretia was standing in the doorway, her shoulders slumped and her hand covering her mouth.

He looked back down at the drawing. He supposed it had been just him trying to make sense of the latest nightmare, but this was the most detailed it had ever been.

The Red Robe from his nightmares was in the center of his blurred vision. The one who looked down at him with blackened skin, closed eyes …

And a sad smile.

~

Taako watched time pass by as he was shown his own past.

Static. That static was there again, right next to him, after a long period of static that had no explanation.

It hurt too much for him to try to make sense of it, so he shut his mind off to it. Like he always did.

Then the Chalice showed him Glamour Springs.

Taako wanted to turn away. He didn’t want to see this. He didn’t need this.

But then he saw.

Sazed.

That bastard was going to poison him.

Instead, forty people died.

He watched everyone coming up for samples. Then he saw a face.

A face that didn’t make any sense being there. A face that shouldn’t have been there.

Barry?

It didn’t make sense. He couldn’t have been in Glamour Springs and also been in Phandalin. Everyone who had eaten that food had died.

Everyone.

How was this possible?

He couldn’t accept the offer. It wasn’t his fault and he had to know now.

Something was being hidden from him.

When they watched Phandalin burn again, Barry being pummeled to the ground, Taako stared intently.

There had to be something that he was missing. He wanted to tell the others but, he couldn’t. Not when he didn’t even know what was missing.

~

Lucretia sat in her study.

That drawing. That couldn’t have been …

She buried her head in her hands. This had gone too far. It had gone too far but she couldn’t stop now.

She looked over at Junior's tank. If she gave out his ichor, would this put an end to everything? Would they ever forgive her?

Would this world, and every world, be lost?

She wanted to grab Angus. She wanted to bring him in here and let him learn everything. Seeing that picture … that was Lup. That had to be her which meant …

She choked back a sob.

He had survived. He had survived and she had erased him from his family

And where was Lup now? She was a lich. She should have been with him. And Barry … did he know now?

Her heart was heavy with regret. She had separated Barry from his son. He would never forgive her.

And Lup. If she had just waited. If she had gone to find the cave. To find Lup … would she still be around?

She thought back to something Taako had said. About the Raven Queen’s emissary. Her blood ran cold.

What if she got reaped?

It had never happened on any of the cycles. She had no frame of reference for what could have happened to Lup.

If her soul even existed anymore.

The tears flowed freely as Lucretia buried her head in her hands.

She had fucked up.

And there was no turning back now

~

Barry watched them come out of the bubble and breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that they wouldn’t have taken the Chalice. There was no way.

But there was still that fear ...

He made himself known to them, confirmed that they had indeed resisted the thrall, and then locked eyes with Taako.

Something in Taako’s eyes …

“I’m really proud of you,” he began, much to the others’ confusion.

Then Magnus called him one of “the bad guys”. If he had blood, it would have run cold in his veins.

“Who told you that?” Barry asked.

But he knew. Even before they said anything, he knew.

Why had Lucretia done this? This wasn’t like her. This wasn’t like her at all.

“I need to know … Do you trust me?” He asked.

“Hell no!”

It was too much.

He had lost his friends. His family.

Taako didn’t remember him. Didn’t remember Lup. Didn’t remember any of it.

He grasped at himself, trying to think of his Best Day. Of his anchor.

“Lup … They don’t trust me … I can’t do it anymore, Lup … I’m sorry ….”

He could hear her voice. He could feel her.

He had to keep himself together.

~

Taako watched as the Red Robed lich tried to gain composure. He heard him mutter to himself and the one word that had been repeating in his mind escaped the lich’s lips.

“Lup …”

The lich knew what this word meant. This Red Robe somehow knew …

But Taako couldn’t make sense of it.

And it hurt.

~

Barry rose up from the ground, his composure regained.

He gave them a final warning and vanished. He needed to get back to his hidden lab. He had been out for too long.

The Reaper would be coming.

~

Angus eagerly welcomed back the Reclaimers, hoping that he could spend some time with Taako. He wanted a magic lesson, of course, but there was another motive.

He needed to study that umbrella.

Every time he was near it, there was a painful sense of familiarity.

Every night after he did, he had the nightmare about the Red Robe.

On one such night, Angus awoke with a start. The image of the Red Robe filled his mind while a woman’s voice weakly sang that lullaby to him. Angus couldn't get the song out of his mind so he climbed out of bed and grabbed his tiny practice violin.

He had memorized the notes, the music flowing naturally as he played. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine his mother.

Davenport had been wandering the dorms. He’d been trying to clear the constant static that had been filling his mind more and more as he got closer to Merle, Magnus, and Taako. He couldn't piece words or thoughts together, the ideas he tried to form becoming a jumble the more he tried to make sense of them.

He heard music coming down the hallway and it struck something inside of him. He followed the sound to Angus’ dorm and stood outside. The music felt so familiar but he couldn't place why. He sat down outside the door and listened, his ears flicking curiously as Angus played.

Angus knew he was being watched, but he couldn't stop. Not now. Not when he needed to try and make sense of the nightmare.

He opened his eyes for a moment and looked at Davenport. He wasn't sure if the music had spurred his mind or not but Angus had started noticing things about Lucretia’s ward. Things that didn't make sense.

He had seen plenty of gnomes growing up and had even been taking cases for Leon. It was why Angus chastised himself for not noticing that Davenport did not look like other gnomes.

Most gnomes had hair colors that ranged from white to grey, in the boy’s experience. Davenport had bright red hair and a neatly trimmed mustache. He was also much smaller than any other gnomes he had seen …

And no other gnomes had expressive, pointed ears.

Angus closed his eyes again and continued to play. He needed to finish the song. He needed to try and keep the static away.

When he finished, he gently set down his violin. He looked back to see Davenport rising to his feet, as if coming out of a trance. He shook his head and then stumbled over his words for a moment before making eye contact with Angus.

“D… Davenport.”

As the gnome walked away, Angus couldn't help but wonder if, for the first time, he actually understood what the gnome had said.

Thank you.

~

Taako stared at the umbra staff.

Kravitz had said he sensed a lich, but … The Red Robe wasn’t up here. And Taako wasn’t a lich.

The Umbra Staff going off on its own had nearly ruined the date, but he couldn’t blame it. He supposed his own magical weapon was picky about anyone coming near its owner.

Except that it had reacted when Kravitz had mentioned liches.

He thought back to seeing the Red Robe in Lucas’ lab.

He had noticed the staff.

Had mentioned … someone.

But his mind wouldn’t let him think any further. It hurt too much.

He went back to their dorm and set the staff down on the couch.

He needed to make a trip to Fantasy Costco. Magnus would be waiting for him.

~

Angus was perceptive. It was what made him such a good detective.

It was why he followed Merle to Neverwinter.

He’d never pictured Merle as a father, but suddenly, everything started to make sense about the dwarven cleric.

He listened, intently, as Merle told him everything. Told him things he was pretty sure neither Taako nor Magnus knew.

It was oddly comforting. He was privy to something no one else was.

Even if Merle hadn’t threatened him, he would never have said anything to anyone.

It was why, when the cart narrowly missed hitting Merle’s children, Angus sprang into action.

He almost missed the flash of red off to the side.

He almost missed the Red Robed Lich that held his arm outstretched, red lightning cracking off of his cloak.

He almost missed when he looked to Merle and nodded.

He did miss, however, the wave of sadness that emanated from the lich who looked after his son.

The lich who was running out of time.

~

Taako sat, watching as Angus practiced Disguise Self to look like him. He still looked like a tiny, child-like version of Taako, but he was getting better at it.

Looking at Angus continued to send pangs of emotion through Taako’s heart. Emotions that he couldn’t place and that were almost frightening to think about.

He cared about this child. Almost as if he was his own.

But he wasn’t of course. And whoever had been this child’s father had been human.

Had been that dead bastard, Barry Bluejeans.

Taako shook his head.

He didn’t know why thinking of Barry hurt so much, but he decided that it had to do with this child. That it was guilt at not saving this child’s father. At leaving him to grow up without him.

Except Barry had been at Glamour Springs. Had taken some of the food.

Maybe Barry had survived? Maybe he had known and had come to Phandalin so that he could covertly tell Taako?

No … That didn’t seem like Barry’s style. Neither did trying to bust Taako.

It didn’t make sense.

Taako wished, for a moment, that Barry was here, watching his son. Maybe he would have trained Angus to be a fighter? No, Angus wasn’t built for that.

And come to think of it, he had never actually seen Barry fight …

“Sir? Are you alright?”

Taako shook himself out of his thoughts and looked down at Angus who had changed his appearance back to normal.

“Sorry, boychik,” Taako smiled sadly. “I was just in thought …”

“Oh …”

They sat in silence for a moment before Angus scooted up next to him.

“Hey, Taako … Um … I know you kind of personalized those macaroons for everyone but … I was wondering … What was that flavor in mine? It was really good but it was like … familiar?”

“Heh,” Taako chuckled. “That’s odd … I actually had a hard time finding the ingredients for yours. I don’t know why, but I wanted to make them like my aunt used to make them … They were our favorite …”

“You and your Aunt’s?”

Taako paused.

Our …

“Yeah … Must’ve been my aunt’s favorite too if she made it all the time for us …”

Angus nodded and looked down in thought. Taako found his own thoughts wandering too.

It didn’t make sense. He didn’t remember his aunt particularly liking macaroons, much less the lavender flavored ones he loved but it was the only thing that made sense.

Maybe she had but she had given him so many because she knew he liked them?

He felt a little guilty now. If he had known …

“Sir … I’ve been wondering a lot … Do you know any other Sun Elves?”

Taako smiled, sadly.

“No. I haven’t seen any others really since I was a kid. I didn’t even really grow up with elves after my aunt died. It’s probably why I’ve never really gotten on with other high elves,” he laughed, bitterly. “You’re the first one I’ve actually spent a lot of time around in almost a century.”

Angus giggled.

“I’m only half-elf, sir.”

“Doesn’t matter!” Taako laughed. “Why do you ask?”

“Well … I mean, I was wondering if you might have maybe known … Well, if you had ever seen either of my parents?”

Taako’s heart nearly ripped in half.

“I … I never met them,” Angus started. “Not really … I mean, maybe I saw my dad once but … I only knew my grandfather and … I know that my mom loved me. That she died saving me but … My dad …”

Taako wanted to grab Angus close and tell him. Tell him that he had seen his father.

But then what? Barry hadn’t ever even mentioned a kid.

Would he lie to this kid? Tell him that his father’s last words had been something about the son he was going to return to? Taako lied easily (he thought), but to Angus?

No, he couldn’t lie to him.

And he couldn’t tell him.

He sighed and looked down at the Umbra Staff in his lap, feeling a warmth radiating from it.

“Sorry, kiddo … I … I didn’t meet anyone who could have been your parents in my travels but …” He bit his lip. “If they could see you now, I bet they would be awfully proud. I bet they loved you a whole lot ...”

Angus looked at Taako. He had only sometimes been privy to moments of honesty from the elf and had learned to play them off as nothing. He knew that Taako didn’t like the attention. Didn’t like it when someone pointed out when he actually cared

So he smiled quietly to himself and then snuck a glance at the Umbra Staff.

He could feel the energy now and realized it.

He needed to roll an investigation check on that staff.

~ Kravitz looked over his clues again. The Umbra Staff that Taako had carried - the staff that had almost blasted him - had rekindled the mystery that he had almost put to rest.

He had been a bit distracted lately and it wasn’t the top priority anymore.

But that staff. It had been with the Sun Elf’s corpse. It had been in the cave.

He couldn’t just take it from Taako and it hadn’t had as strong of a presence, even after it had almost blasted him like before.

And when he had returned to the scene of the crime, the body was gone. All that remained was dust.

He had another option, but it had been such a tedious idea that he had been avoiding doing it.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was his only plan.

He headed into the Sea of Souls to try and find the Elf’s soul.

It wasn’t a common thing to need to do, but he had been an emissary for long enough that he knew how to sift through the souls that were being cleansed. Since she had died ten years before, he should be able to find her relatively close to the top.

He searched for Sun Elves, knowing that there weren’t as many of them in the Sea of Souls to begin with. They lived long lives and they were nowhere near as numerous as their other elven counterparts - especially after the Old Wars that had nearly decimated them.

The more he thought about the Old Wars, the more he mused about this half-elf child. Sun Elves in particular were not known to harbor fond feelings toward humans and yet here was this child that was the product of such a union. And a child who obviously had been loved enough for the mother to care to leave a note for whoever found her and the child.

He came across a few Sun Elf souls, but none felt right. None of them seemed to even know what he was talking about. He knew they hadn’t been in the sea long enough to have forgotten their past life, but this was ridiculous.

If his mother was here, then she would have been speeding to him to hear about her son. To know if he was safe.

He searched for what felt like days as he combed through the souls. He had to find her. He needed to know if she had any leads on the lich.

He was about to give up, realizing that the only other option was asking the countless human souls, when he felt something that was … wrong.

He looked down into the depths to see the lights start to blink out. He had never seen anything like this before. When a soul was ready to be reborn, it would leave as it had come in.

Instead they were just being swallowed up into darkness.

No. Not quite darkness.

There were shimmering bands of color throughout the darkness that was slowly approaching him.

He didn’t know what this was, but he knew he had only one option.

He began to frantically swim up.

~

Carey had taught him how to be sneaky. She hadn’t asked why, probably assuming that it was for detective work.

In a way, it was.

Angus sneaked into Taako’s room while they were training. For some reason, Taako had left the Umbra Staff in the room.

It was too easy.

Angus rifled around, looking for any other clues, when he found a headband.

He picked it up and curiously put it on.

“Taako? Taako, get back here! I swear to God if you die during training …”

“H-hello?” Angus asked. “Who said that? I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to break in! I mean I did but -”

“Wait … Ango? The kid that my b̵̸̧͘r̶̕͘͝͡o̶̢͞͝͡t̛͘͜h̡͜͞e͘҉̵͠͞r̵'̴̸͝s̴̶̡̧̨ been training? Sweet!”

“Sorry ma’am … I … I don’t see you and you’re speaking static.”

“Aw beans,” the voice sighed. “You can’t understand it … Um … So … It’s me … In the Umbra Staff …”

Angus gasped.

“You can talk?”

“Heh, yeah … It took a lot but I can,” she chuckled. “Is Taako ok?”

“Yeah! He’s in training. Don’t know why he didn’t take you but … You know.”

“Yeah,” she chuckled. “So, my name’s L͟҉u̸̸̧̨p̨͘͢͟ and I have been in here for quite some time.”

“Sorry, you were speaking static again …”

“Oh … Ok …” she sighed. “Well … I was hoping that I could get Taako to … It’s ok. I guess we can try this again in a year … It’s not like my son is still alive … I shouldn’t have gone out alone …”

“A son?”

“Yeah … I … I had a son,” she started. “I was alone when I had him and I’m pretty sure he’s … He’s gone …”

“Wow, Miss Umbra Staff … Can I call you that?”

“Sure kid.”

“I just … didn’t know Umbra staffs could have kids!”

“Well, I wasn’t always one … But … Yeah … Gods, you look so familiar,” she pondered. “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought … sorry, I just miss my family.”

“I’m so sorry. I … I never met my mom.”

“Oh …”

“It’s ok! She died, saving me from a murderer! Once I’m done helping the Bureau of Balance, I’m going to go back to trying to solve her murder! Someone said a lich did it!”

Angus felt something in the umbrella. Something sad. The feeling quickly went away.

“Oh geez. Are you sure you’re old enough to be doing that?”

“Yeah! I solved a murder bef- Well, I guess you were there, huh?”

“Heh. Yeah.”

The umbrella felt heavy in Angus’ hands.

“Hey kiddo. No offense, but … It’s getting difficult to project myself out anymore …”

“Oh! Yeah, you must be getting tired …” Angus replied sadly. “Do ...Do you want me to sing you a lullaby? I've always known it so I think my mom sang it to me!”

“Sure kiddo.”

Angus sang softly, the elvish words to a long forgotten lullaby drifting through Lup’s mind. It was strange. She knew this lullaby by heart, but it was impossible for her to understand how he would know it. Her mother sang it to her when she was a baby and she remembered singing it while her son was still in the womb.

Her thoughts became fragmented as she started to drift out of consciousness. She could have sworn she heard her and Barry’s composition being worked into the lullaby.

But it was impossible.

Just wishful thinking.

[arcanelaurels]

okay but consider: disaster-lesbian lucretia falls in love with every girl she sees during SC and tells best buddy magnus all about them a la preteen sleepover style

Counter-offer: disaster-lesbian Lucretia learns how to flirt by watching Taako and ends up getting more girls than anyone thinks she does and hooks up at least once every cycle (except the ones without any viable species) and tells best buddy Magnus about them. I also love the idea of Magnus ribbing her about them at some point

Anonymous asked:  “i liked ur theory thing on the ipre hook-ups would you mind writing a fic on it (not like a smut fic but like one where they discuss it)”

Ha, thanks! I liked both of these ideas a lot so i combined them into one fic  (which may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever written but oh well)

[Setting: it’s the Legato Conservatory Cycle (47) and Taako, Magnus, and Lucretia are all like the last ones in the cafeteria at breakfast (Lucretia and Magnus are sitting next to each other and Taako is across from them). Taako has just mentioned something about Lup and Barry spending so much time together.]

“Wait, Lup and Barry?” Magnus asked. He turned to Lucretia. “But didn’t you hook up with Lup a few times?”

“You hooked up with my sister?” Taako asked incredulously.

Lucretia pursed her lips. “It was one time back in Cycle 3 and I specifically remember asking you not to tell anyone about it,” She glared at Magnus.

He laughed. “What? Does it matter? I thought you recorded everything in your journals, anyway.”

“I don’t record things like that,” Lucretia argued, visibly flustered. “I also didn’t write about either of the two times you told me you hooked up with Taako. Or the time you hooked up with Barry.”

“You hooked up with Barry?!” Taako’s voice was multiple octaves higher than normal.

Magnus’s cheeks darkened. “Well, yeah, way early on...You haven’t?”

“No!” Taako sounded disgusted. “He’s in love with my sister, that’d be too weird.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m just now learning these things about the two of you.”

“Oh, Lucretia gets around more than you think,” Magnus waggled his eyebrows, ignoring Lucretia’s horrified look. He started counting off on his fingers. “There was that girl from Cycle 10, and the one from Cycle 16. Three from Tesseralia, not to mention alllll the girls from the art class she’s in right now-”

“Not all of them,” Lucretia sharply interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose in both annoyance and embarrassment.

“Hachi machi.” Taako’s eyes widened. “How many, then?”

“Yeah, tell us!” Magnus said.

Lucretia crossed her arms. “They’re all lies, I’m actually a virgin.”

“Oh, I’m less inclined to believe that now than I was five minutes ago,” Taako said. “I didn’t know the ladies were such a fan of the quiet type.”

Magnus continued, clearly having fun embarrassing Lucretia. “Oh, you haven’t seen her when she’s in full-on charm mode. I’ve seen her make a girl fall completely in love with her in thirty seconds flat. And she tells me alllll about them.” His voice dropped to poorly mimic Lucretia’s tone, accidentally giving her a British accent. “’Oh, Magnus, she was so nice and her hair was so pretty-’”

“Should I go over your sexual history?” Lucretia interrupted. “What about all the people you’ve boned over the years? Care to talk about them?”

“Go ahead,” Magnus chuckled, leaning back in his seat and putting his hands behind his head. “I’m an open book.”

Taako laughed. “I thought I was the resident slut on this ship. I didn’t know I had competition.”

“Well,” Lucretia said, not meeting his gaze. “I did learn how to flirt by seeing you make advances on every guy in Cycle 5.”

“Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do,” Taako said, shrugging. “Taako’s gotta eat. And I can’t help it if every guy in that cycle was my type.”

“They were all goth!” Magnus exclaimed.

“Did I stutter?” Taako asked pointedly. He turned to Lucretia. “I wish I’d known that my sexual endeavors were such an inspiration to you.”

“More like a lesson in what not to do,” She calmly argued.

Taako slapped a hand to his chest in mock offense while Magnus cackled. “I’ll have you know that I hooked up with at least half of those guys in Cycle 5.”

Magnus butted in, “Well, Lucretia got with every girl in Cycle 28.”

Taako’s jaw dropped. “The merpeople cycle?! Hachi machi, what kind of shit are you into?”

Lucretia’s eyes widened in horror. “I-I didn’t-” She stammered, losing her composure. “They had legs on land.”

“So it’s true?!” Taako screeched.

Lucretia scrunched her eyes closed and buried her face in her hands, staying like that for a while. When she spoke again, her voice was more composed. “Magnus, I-” She lifted her head and sat back up, taking a deep breath. “I’m-I’m going to murder you. Tomorrow everyone’s going to find you just- Super dead. ‘Died in his sleep,’ I’ll say. ‘How unfortunate, he must’ve accidentally eaten a piece of wood. Splintered his heart,’ I’ll say. And when you come back next cycle, the first thing I’m going to do is punch you in the face.”

Magnus cackled again. A threat like that from Lucretia might’ve been taken seriously back in the early cycles, but he knew by now that there was no conviction behind it. “I don’t know what you’re so embarrassed for, you should be proud of your accomplishments.”

“Yeah,” Taako added in. “I’ve gotta say, I’ve got a newfound respect for you, ‘Creesh. I thought you were too busy with your journals to get down and dirty like that.”

Lucretia pinched the bridge of her nose again. “Yes, well now you know that I am definitely not too busy to get down and dirty, so I’d rather end this discussion right now.”

“Why, you gotta hot date?” Taako asked suggestively.

Lucretia didn’t respond.

“You do?!” Magnus and Taako asked at the same time.

“No, boneheads, it’s time for class,” Lucretia stood up and grabbed her bag, leaving the room as Magnus and Taako scrambled to gather their stuff.

[rk850-fang]

Echo

[All Eyes on Me verse. Content Warning: Robot gore, gaslighting, anxiety attack, implied suicide]

A small room filled with stacked desks and chair stood silently in the expansive Cyberlife Facility. It was dark except for the red light of an LED that shone from underneath a covered table. Hunched over with her head in her palms was RK850. She stared at the tiles beneath her with a wide but unseeing hazel gaze. Drips of blue entered her vision and splattered onto the white floor.

There was a large wound on her head in the centre of her forehead. The odd spark would come from it and the deepness signalling that she would not stay activated for much longer. Thirium leaked from it in large streams, running down her face and staining her hands.

Her stupid, stupid hands!

With her claws for nails, she continued to dig at the wound on her forehead, pulling out wires and picking off plates whereever she could.

[Stress Level 32%]

“My dear?” Legato’s voice echoed in the small room. Light poured in from where he stood in the doorway, illuminating his form in an intimidating stance. “Lord Fang. What happened?” He shut the door partially to follow the red light, kneeling down to peer at the hidden android.

“I didn’t do it...” She whispered huskily. “He’s lying...”

Sighing, the portly man sat on his legs and held out a hand to her. “Give me your hand.” She obligated. “There’s damage to your wrists, Fang. Please don’t lie to me. I’m your father, after all.” He tried to give her a friendly smile, but at his words she snatched her hand back and held it to her chest.

[Stress Level 45%]

“I really didn’t! I’m not lying!” She insisted. 

“This is very unusual behaviour, even from you. What’s wrong with your system?”

“I... My systems detect fatal damage to my head. I will shut down in five minutes.” The little bot curled in on herself, blonde hair loose as it fell around her face, sticking to the blood on it. “I really didn’t... He...”

“Tell me, Fang.”

“We were dancing, enjoying the party. He wanted to get away from the prying eyes of the adults so we went on the balcony.”

“Go on.” He pressed on despite the android’s anxiety.

“He said I was beautiful. He wanted to kiss him, but I...” Ann-Fangk looked away from her master’s prying gaze. 

“Continue, please.” She refused. “Lord Fang, continue with your witness report.” She couldn’t. “Continue!” Legato slammed a fist into the table leg, causing the whole thing to shake violently above her.

[Stress Level 68%]

“My systems told me to refuse so I did!” She shouted back, her voice gaining a strained gurgle. “I tried to leave but he insisted, so I pushed him! I-I didn’t mean to, I swear I-I-I--” RK850 grasped her head in her hands, a strange pressure in her very mind itself. “He fell over the wall... I-I caught him by the wrist but I’m not s-s-s-strong enough. Both our wr-wr-wrists were damaged b-but I pulled him up. I saved him!”

The scientist set a heavy stare on the android, his green eyes troubled at the report. Why would her systems refuse like that? Was this that strange behaviour that Kamski had detected in her programming when she was first activated? Perhaps he should have tried better to make sure her coding was free of any glitches or... unwanted developments. 

He sighed.

Of course his spur-of-the-moment creation would end up like this. How typical. “Suppose it’s time to cut my losses.” He mumbled to himself, watching the pool of blue blood grow. “Fang, you caused damage to a human. That’s a very serious crime.” 

Her eyes widened. “What? But I did so to save him! H-H-He-ee-e--” Her hands shook as she gripped her head. Eyes closing as a great weight settling on her as if she was being crashed from the inside out. “He-he attacked me f-f-f-irst”

“No he didn’t. You’re an android, Fang. The life and desire of a human’s will always be above your’s.” He stated clearly as if speaking to a child. He reached out a hand to her. “Now come on, I think it’s time to deactivate you.” Then he muttered, “I was getting tired of this experiment anyway.”

Her audio systems picked up the last sentence, her eyes widening in shock. She was... unwanted? She was wrong? An experiment? A mistake? She was a criminal for defending herself?

[Stress Level 99%]

RK850 flinched away from his outstretched hand, staring behind him at a red wall that filled her vision.

I̩͝t͏̦͎̫'̖͈͖̩̗̝s̲ ̠n̪͕o̗̝̝͚͎͝t҉ ̣͓͇̭f̠̤̼̳̞a̹̗̫̰͚̼i͏̻̘͓̳̺̮̙r̸̭̻͍͓̘̟                          I̱̲͇ ̯̭̻̰̣̦͟d͜i̵̪̙d̜ ̷̭͓̠͉ͅn̥͉o̵̦̘̳͕̠̣̝t̯̲̗h͚̤͎͈̤ͅi͈̜̹n̩̹͍g̫̖͍̺ͅ ̼̞w̧̪̼͓̹̲ͅr̻͉o̜̠̼̹n̲̱ǵ̠̙̗̲̗̗ ̶̣̭͇̻̻ͅU͓͖̜͈n̩̜ͅw̘̥̗̹̺̗a̱̬n̩͙͙̮͉ͅt̩̱͈̬͚e͔d̦ͅ?̝̱͔ ̥̱̬̯̪͞                                                   Y̖͚̼͕̝ͅo̳̩͉͇̳͈ṷ̼̰̖͔͚̼r̙̼̞̳͕͜ͅ ̮͜s̤͕͚͘ͅt̟̫͓̱͠a̷͙̤̥̙̩ͅg̞̕e̷͓͔͉̼̜̲̖ ͏̘̰̩ͅͅḩ͉̲a̴͕̬͉s ̲̳̹͢c͚͙̦̱̲͎ol͈͔̳͘l̗̮̗͘a̡̻͈̼̳p̘͈̣͡s̮͇͡e̡̼̠̘͍͚d ̥̯̮̯̞̘͇                          D̨į͓̣̣sòb̭̻̱̟̲͓ͅȩy̳̰̱̳̯͓̥  ̱̣̬              L̼̬̝̩̲̣͓͝i͕̙̭͕̞͘v̶͉̟e҉ ͓̬̫͝L͚į͍͕̼ͅv̠͔̼̜ȩ̤̥̞̦ ͚̫̗͎̭̜͖                                        L̩͡I̠̙̯̟̕V̭͇E͖̳̣̼ ̡̬ Deviant (X)?

                                                   Deviant  

Her themo pump pulsed in time as the silhouette of her mind pounded against the red barrier that laid between her and escape, destroying each of the words that plagued her anxious mind. As she burst through the final wall, reality returned to her as she violently back-handed Legato’s hand away.

“No!” She cried, tears streaming down her face. “I matter to, Legato! I want to live, I want to entertain people not for my programming but myself!” A shuddering breath was took. “I just want to make people happy. The world’s already so cruel, why must you make it worse?”

Her accusing tone and fierce emotion in her eyes sent the man into a state of shock. What was this? This behaviour, this emotion, this... will to live? Slowly he withdrew his hand, rubbing the redness with his other. Her LED was blinking red, it had been for the past minute. 

Time was almost up.

“Lord Fang...” He whispered in awe at his creation. “You deserve to live.”

“I don’t want to die forever... Legato... Father please...” She whispered. Her energy was leaving her now, the flow of thirium slowing as her themo pump quieted it’s movements. 

“I’ll bring you back. Don’t you worry now.” He assured her, previous crimes forgotten in the light of this new era. He had to study her systems, find the cause of this disobedience and quell it. But for now... “I’ll have a new body made. Do you have any requests?” He asked, curiosity eating at him.

“Red...” She whispered, her voice distorted.

“Red?” The man shuffled forward to hear her better.

“Red hair... I saw a woman at the party with it... It’s so... p-p-p-prettyyy....” Fangk’s head lulled to the side, her LED going dark. She was gone.

For now that is.

[dreamingnaturaljelly]

Trigun 10 - 13

episode 10:  - What fucks me up about Vash's hair not being naturally spiked up like that is this means he apparently spikes his hair when he's stranded in the middle of nowhere. Like regardless of whether he has food or water, he absolutely has... hairgel??? And either a mirror or Extreme Muscle Memory - Also he goes to sleep with his hair still spiked how gross are your pillows?? - WHY DO YOU NOT USE AN ALIAS TO SIGN UP FOR THE SHOOTING COMPETITION, VASH, PLEASE. 

- What's the heterosexual explanation for Wolfwood commenting on Vash's smile over and over

- Tomato ketchup scam

- DOES NOBODY HAVE A NORMAL AMOUNT OF GUN IN THIS SHOW

- Good concepts: Vash and Wolfwood raising twelve children together (Milly and Meryl live next door and own a cat and Meryl just wanted to eat snacks on the porch in peace)

episode 11: - Wolfwood focusing on 20 things that are not the intense game of chess he's playing is adhd culture

- I appreciate this cat keeping him from cheating - I also appreciate Wolfwood's accent

- MILLY'S STILL MY GIRL THOUGH, also heck yeah same hat at being the youngest sibling. Not that i'm from a family of ten but look, details. 

- FAKE DATING FAKE DATING FAKE DATING 

- WELL OKAY THAT WENT FROM ZERO TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING REAL QUICK

- Like it doesn't seem the obvious visual parallel but Wolfwood keeps reminding me of Lupin and I think it's just the very specific way in which he's lanky? I really like the proportions of it.

- The middle of the desert isn't like, my ideal place to examine my privilege but whatever works for you Julius.

- I will endorse Wolfwood being into Milly BUT I WILL ADD HE HAS TWO HANDS AND SO DOES SHE

episode 12: - ????? whats this dramatic first scene

- THESE GIRLS SITTING ON A BENCH WITH SOME FOOD IS ALL I NEED

- but it seems we're doing some serious plot aside from Vash being an octopus

- wholesome ice cream buying that's kinda creepy if you don't know these people

- ..................... I get that this dude is dramatic villain time but we have a zoom in on his face and i can't see his eyes because of his bangs and he's eating a hot dog and i can only think of 

- oh wait i got so distracted by the Diemen thing i didnt get we were doing cool technology telepathy.

- CAN THESE ADULTS STOP GIVING RANDOM FOOD TO KIDS, LIKE HELL YEAH FEED STARVING CHILDREN BUT ALSO UHHHHHHHHH

- God I would absolutely expect Legato and Wolfwood's VAs to be swapped if I had to guess based on the designs, but they both do such great jobs anyway.

- me focusing on 20 things that are not the intense plot of the show they're watching is adhd culture

- You know i've been wondering if Vash had a bionic arm or something since like ep 1 since the villain in that one did as well. STILL THOUGH THAT'S JUST TWO GUN NOW IM WORRIED ABOUT MY THREE GUN DEMANDS

- Look not that im opposed to pleading for your life, but exactly how does being locked up for 20 years to train end up with a person who doesn't want to die because like, that's kind of miserable.

- OKAY I DEFINITELY KNOW THE VA WHO DOES THIS MYSTERY LADY BC SHE DOES MIKI IN UTENA AND STUFF I LOVE HER

- Vash you're very good.

- Don't know why I doubted this show would have a plot

episode 13: ... Wait oh no this isn't a recap ep is it. Ugh. Only Kill la Kill is allowed their recap episode.

- god it took me two days to get back to this i hate recap episodes so much

- LOVE & PEACE

- also is this the same studio that did escaflowne i should look that up

- OH BIONIC ARM BEYOND CONFIRMED THANK YOU

- i don't understand how those scars look but i do approve of the general gist, and also I GUESS THIS IS WHY HE PRETENDED TO BE ASLEEP IM SORRY FOR WHINING (Though to be fair they got paid to do their job so why would they care?? MYSTERY CONTINUES)

- See this is why I hate recap episodes!!! You can't just _skip_ them