#attacked emon

[mayapapaya33]

Allura Vysoren and Gilmore better be level 20 by now so help me Matt Mercer. After he allowed the M9 and Essek to just skip straight to lvl 20 after only 7 years in which some of them had been RETIRED FROM ADVENTURING for the admittedly very fun one shot for C3. Allura and Gilmore have been helping save the world on and off for well over 30 years. They BETTER be level 20 or I will simply pass away from the sheer disrespect. They have EARNED level 20. Also Kima as well because she's definitely not letting Allura go into battle alone if she can help it.

This might have already been revealed somewhere lol. If it has, good. If not, come on Mercer, Allura and Gilmore have fought way more battles than the M9 by now! They must help save a city/ a continent at least once a year and all of Exandria at least once a decade (and that's my conservative estimate!) Especially Allura, adopting chucklefuck adventurers left and right, taking them under her wing. She's totally getting dragged into adventures off screen too lol. That and her eternal mom friend duties of apparently having to go rescue Yussa from his nonsense every so often, you just know that's dangerous and exhausting lmfao. Level 20!

[fairymonk]

KIKI ACCIDENTALLY HURTING VAX NO

[your-turn-to-role]

took you two long enough to get to this one! but there it is!

(the og line was after the first dragon attack in emon)

[burr-ell]

What do you mean by 'trying to mighty nein-ify vm instead of having actual character moments'? Not intending to be hostile or aggressive, I just saw those tags and got curious.

That's okay! Mighty Nein-ification is a bit of a misnomer (especially because it's unnecessarily hostile to the Nein). The problem isn't so much making Vox Machina like the Mighty Nein (all indications are that VM was just as rough around the edges as the Nein were when they were starting out), it's that I think they retreated to old shorthands they were familiar with that work well with the Nein and don't work with VM in the time they had.

So when we first meet Vox Machina in the stream, they're already established and respected adventurers at level 9 sent on a quest by a member of the Council of Tal'dorei. They've already killed Brimscythe and the Dread Emperor and saved the Sovereign and his family; while we see their scrappier beginnings in the Origins comics, it's purely backstory in the campaign. With the Nein it's the opposite, where we actually follow them through their low-level adventures as they get to know each other, watching them argue and mistrust each other and slowly build up both their friendships and their clout within the political factions of Wildemount. We watch them go from a gang of slapdicks who no one likes or respects and are constantly fighting to a strong and cohesive team of movers and shakers.

Here's the problem: the cast is now producing an animated adaptation of Vox Machina's campaign, which is almost universally agreed to really pick up around episode 24, the beginning of the Briarwood arc. Between the slower-paced first 20 episodes and the red dragonborn in the room, the Briarwood arc makes the most sense as the starter story. We can't just jump right into that without taking some time to establish VM as a party, right? That's what the opening two-parter of season 1 is for: they need to establish who Vox Machina are as individuals and a party so we have a baseline understanding of them before following them through an iconic storyline. There are different ways they could do this!

And the way they chose to do it was "gang of slapdicks who no one likes or respects and are constantly fighting".

This would have been fine if they weren't starting with the Briarwood arc and leading into the Conclave arcs, which both require VM to have some rapport with each other and the Tal'Dorei Council to work. Instead VM are still on thin ice with the council and honestly don't give anyone a reason not to think of them that way even before everything goes wrong at the feast. (Like, I don't think Scanlan's antics in 1x03 are funny; I think they make him look like a dumbass and they make VM look like dumbasses by association.) Allura and Kima barely tolerate them and Allura is reluctant to speak in their defense when the Sovereign puts them under arrest. I can understand that they thought this kind of conflict would be more interesting, but this is the lead-in to the Briarwood arc. There's PLENTY of conflict here to be interesting! Why not try to build up Vox Machina as a competent party with friendly allies who struggle with but still overcome a difficult challenge, maybe straight-up open on them killing Brimscythe and then lead into a truncated Kraghammer arc?

Because this doesn't just make for a lackluster opening two-parter. Emon being so hostile to the party means they have very little investment in or connection to the city, and then for the Briarwood arc they spend the rest of their time in Whitestone. As a result, when the Conclave attacks, it lacks emotional weight. Keyleth has a line in season 2 about their home being destroyed that falls flat because Emon wasn't their home; they were kicked out of every tavern and multiple people pointed out how bad their reputation was. The lack of friendship with Kima and Allura makes their meeting in Season 2 Episode 5 very jarring, because they greet each other like old friends when they're not. (I think Seasons 2 and 3 did a good job developing Allura and Kima's friendship with VM, but this is work that should have had its foundation laid sooner.) When Keyleth asks the question of "why are we even together", it's never really answered in the emotional sense in which it's asked. Why are they together? Because at the eleventh hour they finally started acting competent, I guess. Don't get too attached to the idea of that theme, because it's not gonna come up again all season.

You see what I'm saying here? They didn't go for what would most efficiently tell the story in a way that made sense; they went for tropes—archetypal stories of scrappy underdogs pulling together for a common goal. And while it seems like a quick fix that solves the problem of distilling the first twelve levels of Vox Machina's campaign into a 12-episode season, in the long term it undercuts what the show intends to do later because the groundwork they laid was too focused on using familiar adventure story imagery to try to push audience reaction buttons. That's a problem that has hung over this show for three seasons now, and I think the metapigeons have come home to roost.

[utilitycaster]

Something I haven't really gotten the point of is the weird resurgence of focus on whether Vex is aware that Vax is in the marble and arguing that it's against her characterization to not be there. I think it's actually entirely possible that, as a kindness, Keyleth hasn't told her. What could Vex meaningfully do here? I don't think she can just break him out, and even if she could, that, as Keyleth says, destroys their ability to travel to Ruidus and potentially stop the Vanguard. She'd be telling Vex her brother is suffering endlessly and they need to keep him there, which is only going to hurt her. And even If Keyleth has told her, isn't it more effective for Vex to focus on amassing Tal'Dorei's political power and ensuring the country is prepared for disaster? I mean, I'd love to see Vex, but the idea she's in Emon, as a key figure in Tal'Dorei's government, makes perfect sense. It feels like the desire for Vex to be there comes from the idea that the only valid way to show affection or loyalty or grief is through physical presence.

More generally, I think it's worth pointing out that Vax choosing to protect Keyleth in the way he did is why the Ruby Vanguard's plan succeeded and why she was attacked in the first place. It's not portrayed as a good thing that he visits her like this—in fact it's pretty explicitly portrayed as unhealthy for both of them. It's inhibited her ability to move on, whereas Vex, while she will always grieve, seems to have adjusted much better to her loss in the 30 years since Vax's death. I think the "better version" of post-Campaign 1 is not one in which Vax is constantly sending ravens to Vex; it's one in which he lets Keyleth have the distance she needs to process and heal.

[kilarthmac]

Let's talk about Caelum.

I'm gonna preface this with saying that everyone is entitled to their opinions, and if once you're done reading this you decide you don't want to follow me or you want to block me, that's completely up to you. I'm not trying to change your opinion or attack anyone who has a different one than mine, I just wanted to put my two cents out there.

I also wanted to say that whatever your opinion on the matter is, it's yours and yours alone, and you should respect the opinions of other people even if they don't match up. I personally do not sexualize Caelum, but I do think he is an adult with childlike characteristics, and those two statements are not mutually exclusive. He can be an adult, but he also doesnt have to be put in adult situations.

It's okay to have strong feelings one way or the other about this topic, but it is not okay to harass people or go on a witch hunt for those with the opposite opinion to give them shit about what they think. If you disagree with someone and do not want to see their stuff on your timeline, just block them or scroll away. You alone are responsible for your own dash, you cannot make other people responsible for what you see on your timeline.

All that being said, I do not like how the fandom treats Caelum and Empathy Daemons in general.

My stance on the matter is that Empathy Daemons as a whole are adults, but because of how E'Laetum created them, they tend to have childlike characteristics. Those who say that Empathy Daemons are ALL children blatantly ignore the fact that Regulus is an Empathy Daemon as well, and that he has been shown to have adult tendancies (his BA, getting possessive over his charge, etc) while also maintaining his childlike characteristics (telling his charge a bedtime story to sleep, having a very one dimensional view of himself and his charge, etc). This is where I have a problem whenever I see people try to say that all Empathy Daemons are children. Regulus is clearly an adult. There is no "reading between the lines" about this.

Caelum is also an Empathy Daemon, but he is a very different character than Regulus. He is a lot more childlike compared to Regulus. He gets his words mixed up, he likes sweets, he likes hugs, etc. But in his most recent video (Your Bakadere Empathy Daemon Friend Visits You), even he says that he almost went down a path similar to Regulus' until Delphinus stepped in and assigned him to Freelancer, and that stopped him from falling (timestamps from 2:40 - 3:18, and 8:45 in that video). It may be uncomfortable for some people to think of Caelum as going down the same path that Regulus did, but this video clearly shows that he had the potential to. Caelum and Regulus are not as different as one may think.

Erik has also said himself that D(a)emons step out of the Elision Well as adults and they do not age. Of course they don't know everything so they still have to learn, but that's not the same as being a child. On top of the most recent Redacted 101 video, take this screenshot from Wonderworld (previously Redacted Records, when Erik was still in the server) from 2020, where Erik talks about how D(a)emons coalesce.

He even mentions how in earlier Caelum videos he didn't know what he wanted the d(a)emon life cycle to be yet, and that's why he had Caelum state that he was a "kid daemon" at one point.

Not to mention the fact that in the official timeline, it shows that Caelum coalesced in 1999, and is even older than Damien.

At the end of the day, Caelum is a fictional character. Whatever someone ends up deciding to make of him is their choice, this is a fandom after all. If it really bothers you to see what certain people make, block them and move on. DO NOT berate them for their headcanons or fanart or whatever else. People are allowed to have their own headcanons, make their own fics, and draw their own fanart. This is a fandom space, and people are allowed their creative liberties.

Anyways, that has been my two cents. Feel free to voice your opinions in the comments if u want to, but please please be respectful and don't attack anyone.

TLDR; I don't sexualize Caelum but I do think he and all Empathy Daemons are adults (ex: Regulus), everyone should respect everyone else's opinions and just block what they don't want to see on their timelines, and the fandom needs to chill out lol

[anonymousonlyanonymoud]

The Lost de Rolo

"I wonder... if you will ever find... Ciara?" Ciara de Rolo. Fourth-born child of the de Rolo Family, younger sister to Percy de Rolo, older sister to Cassandra de Rolo, and was believed to have been killed with the rest of the de Rolo family the night the Briarwoods attacked. But, Delilah Briarwood had choked on her blood to spit out those words. Whether to send them on an impossible search for someone who had survived the massacre, or send them on a goose chase for someone long dead.

TW: Death and murder

Next Chapter

Chapter One: At the Start

Vox Machina had defeated an army of the undead and killed a vampire and his necromantic wife which stopped them from unleashing an entity they called the 'Whispered One.' They had avenged Percy's family and liberated the people of Whitestone.

And helped rid their friend of his literal inner demon.

They had returned to Emon via Sun Tree teleportation thanks to Keyleth and cleared their names to Uriel and his council.

Afterward, they were allowed back to their Keep, given a parade, and seats on the Sovereign's Council. The taverns and brothels were once again open to them and they were awarded a small fortune for their work against the Briarwoods.

The Sovereign had even taken Percy aside and apologized to him personally for bringing the Briarwoods to Emon. And while Percy stiffly accepted it, the rest of the team could see that much still weighed on his mind.

He returned to his workshop in the Keep and began work on a gun to replace his original pepperbox and an electric glove he had dubbed 'Diplomacy.' The metallic clang of his hammer echoed from the basement, louder than before they had left for Whitestone since he kept the door open and did not lock himself in.

But as his creations took shape, his mind became more tangled as Delilah Briarwoods' last words rang in his thoughts. In all of theirs.

"I wonder... if you will ever find... Ciara?"

Ciara de Rolo.

Fourth-born child of the de Rolo Family, younger sister to Percival de Rolo, older sister to Cassandra de Rolo, and was believed to have been killed with the rest of the de Rolo family the night the Briarwoods attacked. 

But, Delilah Briarwood had choked on her blood to spit out those words. Whether to send them on an impossible search for someone who had survived the massacre, or send them on a goose chase for someone long dead.

Either way, Delilah Briarwood had found a way to haunt the siblings until they died.

Percy and Cassandra had spoken on the matter for hours before Vox Machina left Whitestone, on the possibility that their sister was still alive.

The siblings agreed that since Cassandra would be staying in Whitestone to help rebuild and lead the people, Percy would look for any sign of Ciara.

But, there had been an agreed-upon deadline of three months. Cassandra had insisted on it,

"You've spent your life devoted to avenging our family, Percival. While I do wish for our sister to be alive and have her found, I don't want you to be devoured by this quest either,"

He could not fault her worry, and agreed, asking that the three months only began when he had replaced the weapons he had lost.

That bargain had been struck, and now, with Percy carefully placing the four-barreled pistol on the table before him and staring at the jeweled glove on his left hand, he knew it was time.

Originally, Percy had intended on going alone as he felt that his friends had done enough when it came to his family. But, when he declared his intentions to Vox Machina the next morning, Percy was met with disagreements from all sides,

"You honestly think we would let you do this alone?!" Vex questioned in disbelief as Trinket growled from where he sat,

"Vex... Look, I appreciate everything you have done-"

"You better fucking be! We've fought zombies, vampires, and even a fucking demon!" Scanlan exclaimed while Grog piped up,

"Yeah! And I let you shoot me!"

Pike put her hand on Grog's arm and turned to Percy, "What they mean, is that you shouldn't expect us to let you do this alone,"

"They're right, Percy," Vax nodded, his tired gaze meeting the equally exhausted eyes of Percy,

"I mean, it's like Scanlan said, we just defeated an army of the undead. So how hard can finding one person be?" Keyleth asked with a slight laugh.

Percy sighed while placing his hands on the table,

"Given the fact that no one has seen her since, the Briarwoods attacked, and all we have to go on is the dying words of Delilah, very hard, Keyleth,"

The druid's expression fell at his words as Vax rolled his eyes,

"Well, Percival, if you were planning on doing this alone, what was your first step?"

Percy didn't have an answer,

"Could scrying work to find her?" Pike questioned, "I've never attempted to do it myself, but we could ask someone at the Temple of the Everlight. Or Lady Allura?"

"Yeah, but, I think we don't exactly have the best relationship with Allura?"

"What? C'mon, Scanlan!" Exclaimed Grog, "She totally likes us!"

Percy sighed and glanced at Pike, "If, you are willing, would you go with me to the temple this afternoon?"

The gnome smiled and nodded, "I'd be happy to,"

A hand was placed on his shoulder as Vex said, "You're not going through this alone, darling. We won't let you,"

Agreements were heard around the table as Percy sank into his seat, disbelief crashing over him.

He'd thought that, after what happened, they would agree to let him go on his own.

What happened at the Ziggarut was a bit of a blur, but most prominent was when he'd pointed the pepperbox at his friends. As the barrel spun, and that thing showed him name after name in fiery lettering.

The names of his friends, and Cassandra.

The only family he had, this new one he had built and what remained of his old one, and he had almost killed them! 

But each of them was willing to put their trust back into him.

Percy didn't think he deserved it, but he would not squander this second chance. He didn't know what would happen if he lost it.

Again,

"Thinking about your sister?"

He looked up at Vex's question, realizing that everyone else had left the room which left him and the ranger by themselves,

"Yes," He sighed, placing his head in his hands, "With Cassandra... I, could at least begin to understand what she went through. Since the two of us were kept together before our attempted escape. But, Ciara, I... know next to nothing,"

Vex carefully reached out, grasping Percy's gloved hand, and held it tightly with silent encouragement,

"The last time I saw her, was at that, damned dinner," Percy hissed, "She was standing next to Julius. She'd... Ciara had..."

The ranger squeezed the hand she was holding as Trinket nuzzled against Percy, placing his armored head in the gunslinger's lap with a huff,

"Darling?"

Percy slumped further against the table, his free hand resting on Trinket's head as he returned the grip Vex had on his fingers,

"They killed our parents first. A sword through the chest for my father, two bolts to the neck for my mother," The hand Vex held was shaking, "Julius saw what happened and tried reaching us. But, he had been next. Ciara had been standing next to him, his blood hit her face, and she froze. I..." Percy glanced up at Vex, "The last I saw of her, was when our sister Vesper grabber her and Whitney's hand, and ran out of the room,"

The kitchen was now silent as Percy's arms shook while he attempted to gather what fragile grip on his emotions he had,

"Then I saw Whitney being, tossed onto a pile with Ludwig and Oliver as if they were nothing more than trash and then- Vesper..." His glasses fogged from the tears as he forced out, "I heard her scream, followed by her body hitting the courtyard,"

Percy's voice fell into a broken whisper, "I never saw Ciara's body. But I'd...

Vex closed her eyes, once again imagining the horrors her Percy had faced before pressing her lips to the cold metal on his left hand,

"If Ciara is alive, we'll find her, Percy,"

"And what if she's dead? What if she'd been killed?"

"Then we find who killed her, and give them the same treatment as the Briarwoods,"

The determination in her voice brought a small smile to Percy's face, but it fell as quickly as it appeared when he asked,

"And what if it was the Briarwoods who killed her?"

The ranger, as if expecting this question, answered quickly,

"Then you and Cassandra mourn Ciara. Without either the Briarwoods or Orthax hanging over your minds,"

Trinket let out a light grunt as he licked Percy's hand, then nuzzled the man hard enough that he fell into Vex's side as she wrapped her arm over his shoulder,

"One way or another, Darling, you will get answers to what happened to her,"

"I... Thank you, Vex'ahlia,"

[unicyclehippo]

spare some vexleth? maybe? "i don't believe this"

‘i don’t believe this. i don’t believe you. you should have told us.’

‘and when was i - ow - supposed to do that? how? maybe when you were all the way across the continent in emon organising the armies, doing exactly what i was trying to do? maybe i should have - ah - told you then! can you please stop trying to make me sit!’ she growls at her helper—someone left behind by her right hand, who doesn’t deserve to be growled at, but if they touch her one more time… her growl deepens.

they scurry to the door, yanking it shut behind them to “give the tempest time with her guest” she hears from the antechamber.

across the room, vex purses her lips to keep from smiling; she’s upset, still, about keyleth’s wounds and finding out from esqoult of all people—whom vex considers an “idiotic blowhard tight-fisted hateful byblow of a rock” at the best of times—and the attack at the red centre and vax. unceasingly she is upset about vax. unceasingly, his death follows them both like feathers in their hair; he is their constant, dark companion. keyleth’s near death, however, is far more recent and unclosing wounds is a new and hellish experience that hurts them both.

anger crackles in her gut. she hasn’t the energy to shift forms but smoke curls in tendrils out of her nose, sparks smoulder in the one fist she can actually close. her other hand aches, split to bone.

‘sending stones aren’t working. our earrings aren’t working. sending—‘ she takes a moment to breathe. it hurts. ‘sending spells aren’t working, not that i have that anyway. and a bird,’ she grunts, propping herself against the headboard, ‘would take days at the very least. so tell me, lady vex’ahlia, when exactly was i supposed to tell you?’

‘i don’t know! but when you’re nearly dead, you make the effort!’ vex commands.

it looks good on her. keyleth can admit that in very private thoughts and fever dreams. maybe a death bed. she stares across at vex, who has only ever grown into her considerable beauty, and manages a shaky smile. command has always looked good on vex.

‘missed you. if that - i don’t know - helps.’

vex snorts. ‘yes, darling, i missed you too. obviously. i’m furious with you that you nearly died, oh and also we really must meet up when the world isn’t alarmingly close to being obliterated.’

‘brunch?’

‘girls day. i’ll invite pike.’

‘i thought - just you and me,’ keyleth says, trying on a flirtatious smile. it’s been a long time since she wore it last, some fifteen, twenty years. it feels weird so she stops trying. ‘ignore that. ignore me. i’m- death bed propositions.’

‘stop it. you’re not in your death bed.’

keyleth glances around the room. it’s empty, just her and vex, so she can admit, ‘feels like it.’

vex softens. she always does. she gets angry first, angry and scared, because she’s lost a lot in her time and she learned early and harder than most that the only way to stop that was to fight back with everything, anything. she does bitter and snide and bitchy and mocking better than anyone keyleth knows, but that’s because vex is better than anyone keyleth knows, and it all comes from the same heart. vex softens, and she comes to sit lightly on the side of keyleth’s bed.

‘what can i do?’

‘nothing. nothing. it’s all - there’s people helping me already. cursed flowers and potion stuff. bells hells.’

vex starts. ‘the ones who came to us? with her?’

‘did you -‘ she can move, a little. it hurts but hell, what in life doesn’t hurt? she covers vex’s hand with hers. ‘did you talk to her? i saw her - alive this time. she’s…sweet. strange but sweet.’

‘i know. at least, i thought so.’

keyleth slid her fingers over vex’s. ‘you gave her your ring.’

vex laughs, bitter-edged. ‘yes, and it made up entirely for all the shit that poor girl has been through.’

‘not your fault. it isn’t,’ she insists, when vex goes all stone-jawed and stubborn. ‘didn’t you - tell percy that? it’s true for him too. isn’t it?’

vex rolls her eyes to the ceiling. makes a wet, disgusted noise. ‘i suppose.’ after a long moment, she says, ‘how did she look? delilah’s doll?’

‘don’t call her that.’

‘my lookalike.’

‘she doesn’t look much like you,’ keyleth tells her. it’s a lie. she looks so much like vex had, like vax does in their memories. young. ‘i don’t know. they’re due back today, maybe tomorrow. stay. you can - ow - talk to her.’

vex nods. strokes keyleth’s clenched hand. ‘i’ll stay until you’re well.’

‘you’re a hero, vex. you’re needed elsewhere, i’m sure,’

‘keyleth, it’s war. the treasury is open. they don’t need me for that—they need my very expert clerks, gods bless them. i’m here with you.’ the stubborn look resolidifies. vex tilts her head in such a way that keyleth is sure her heart is about to fall right out of her split-open chest, and leans forward to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth. pulling back, she searches keyleth’s eyes; whatever she finds there makes her nod, quite satisfied, and she smiles. ‘besides, your assistants are going to need a hero to keep you in bed and resting. i volunteer, as it happens.’

[free-boundsoul]

Okay I got some thoughts after finally listening to Hush's newest audio (I have no excuse from delaying it) and I've thought of a crack theory that came to mind because I like thinking of bois sharing listener character.

So I've seen the theory that Avior is Hush's brother. And Brachium. What if his brother is Caelum? He's been absent for so long what if he rifted to the Meridean on accident? It wouldn't be the first time he stumbled into someone else's story.

M'nara and E'laetum use Caelun as a frame to build Hush. Hush's priority is to free the Drove Sovereigns so M'nara and E'laetum can absorb them into the Meridian to prevent what happened in the Imperium. Caelum was chosen because he had a connection to E'laetum.

Caelum senses that part of Hush that is linked directly to the Sovereigns, that ancient fragment that a d(a)emon would instinctively know to fear after being enslaved. The last time that Caelum had felt that sort of power he'd been beaten until his bones broke and his charge was threatened. He attacks out of fear.

Now to the idea of characters sharing listeners. It'd be so crazy if Doc was Freelancer. (It's definitely not plausible but I think it'd be neat). Freelancer hearing the sound of fighting, they stumbled upon someone with a similar appearance of their little brother daemon they hadn't seen in awhile and immediately go to defend him. Freelancer would help protect a stranger from a demon, they'd stood against Vega. Freelancer took a special interest in healing and would try to repair the damage Hush had experienced. Doc just always made me think of an older Freelancer.

When Hush had them put their hand on his chest, Doc thought they were going to Bridge. They answered Hush's questions because they were used to Caelum asking all kinds of questions.

If Doc was Freelancer, imagine Hush coming to them about killing Vega. This strange entity with Caelum's face telling them he killed Vega and now he was going to revived them. Their questions about Vega being mad at Hush more protective when they knew how powerful Vega was. They're ready to put up a ward between them the moment Vega showed any aggression and shocked that Vega asked them for their opinion of Hush.

[selene-lunette]

Comparison between Shadow of the Colossus and Dororo

I've been a Dororo fan for years now and I just recently played Team Ico's games for the first time. So, here I'll try to list things that Shadow of the Colossus and Dororo have in common. My theory is that Fumito Ueda was inspired by Osamu Tezuka's work and, vice versa, Ueda's works inspired the 2019 anime adaptation of Dororo. Now, if this was common knowledge, then my bad! If that's not the case, these will be just lots of comparisons. Spoilers ahead!

First of all, both Wander and Hyakkimaru have a goal, and they are determined to reach it, no matter what. Wander wants to bring Mono back to life, while Hyakkimaru wants to collect his bodyparts, that were taken by evil spirits at birth due to a contract his father made to gain power. The demons in Dororo are 48, which is the number of Colossi Ueda initially planned to have in his game.

Now, we know that within the colossi lie severed segments of Dormin's body. As Hyakkimaru defeats a demon, he collects a body part back. So, both the fiends in Dororo and the Colossi in Shadow of the Colossus hold a piece of body. But while in Dororo once these creatures are slayed the body part goes back to its original owner, in Shadow of the Colossus Wander is the vessel of Dormin's body, which is collected through those dark trails that pierce him after each battle.

At the beginning of Dororo's original manga from 1967, Lord Daigo, Hyakkimaru's dad, enters a shrine and finds various devil statues. Here, he makes a contract with the evil spirits, the 48 devil gods. He seeks power, but the price to pay is the body of his own child. Doesn't that sound familiar? Wander also enters a shrine adorned with various idols, where he asks Dormin, the being that controls the souls of the dead, for Mono to be revived. But Dormin warns him that the price he'll pay would be heavy. Both the evil gods and Dormin, while promising what the human desires, ask for something important in return. They are also kind of making fun of the mortals for their requests.

I'd also like to add that, as the Dororo manga continues and picks up with Hyakkimaru now being 14 years old, his lover, Mio, is already dead. We just see her through flashbacks, as the boy tells his story to Dororo. We don't know what's the relationship between Mono and Wander, but it's clear that he deeply cares about her, either as a lover, friend or sister.

(While I'm not sure if this is simply fan speculation or not, wasn't an alternative ending gonna feature Mono come back to life but blind, and she would've slowly regained her eyesight? If this was an actual scrapped ending, it would literally reference a core theme in Hyakkimaru's journey).

As for the rest, the two stories are completely different, but the beginning is pretty similar, at least in my opinion. I feel like Ueda could've been influenced by Osamu Tezuka's work. Back in 2019 a Dororo anime remake aired, a retelling of the story. Just like all the other Dororo adaptations, a lot of things were changed from the original manga. The 48 demons were cut to 12, and another major change is the additional grey morality that envelops the entirety of the show. In the original manga, Daigo wanted to be a powerful ruler and gave his son away without regret. Here, he seeks help from the demons to archieve that, yes, but his lands are being destroyed by famines and epidemics. While he has egoistical ambitions, he's also helping his people. As you watch the anime, you start to question: who is right and who is wrong? Who is truly evil here? Which are questions we all asked ourselves while playing Shadow of the Colossus. While you play, you know why you're slaying the Colossi, but you do start to wonder if you're really doing the right thing. They are just giant creatures, some peaceful if not attacked, and are the only inhabitants of the Forbidden Lands. Is Wander the true villain, is it Dormin, or is it Emon? Is there even a true villain at all, or just characters at cross purpouses?

In Dororo, you root for Hyakkimaru, deprived of his own body. But, as he kills more and more demons, the lands are yet again subjected to droughts and floods. And, on his first encounter with Lord Daigo, his father asks him to stop collecting his body for the sake of the lands. The morally grey character of Hyakkimaru, I feel like, could be inspired by Fumito Ueda's work. There's a major difference in the ending though. As Wander's journey makes him loose his humanity, Hyakkimaru's is the opposite. Withing him, he also has bits of evil spirits enbedded into his soul, much like Wander.

But while Hyakkimaru is plagued by doubts, and sometimes lets the demonic part of him loose, he ultimately reaches his goal to be whole again. With the death of all the demons, the natural disasters stop, starting a period of peace. He gets his humanity back, something that Wander only archieves after being reborn.

Also, this is totally just speculation, but the thing about Hyakkimaru's demon slaying causing illnesses and epidemics might be a reference to ICO. In the PS2 manual (at least in the italian one I own) it is stated that the horned children are believed to be cursed, bringing misfortunes to befall the villages. Another thing added to the 2019 anime adaptation of Dororo is the fact that with each evil spirit Hyakkimaru kills, the idol that represents it at the shrine (where Daigo made the contract) breaks. Which is literally what happens in Shadow of the Colossus.

I'd also like to add that Dororo also has a videogame adaptation for the PS2 called Blood will tell, that contains 48 fiends to defeat in order to retrieve Hyakkimaru's body parts. It came out just a year before Shadow of the Colossus did, and it's such a fun game. It has some amazing looking fiends and, fun fact, Blood will tell's japanese cover art is also a beautiful drawing (made by Hiroaki Samura), while the western box art is a 3D rendition of the main character, much like ICO. Though, not as ugly ;)

I can't tell if this game actually influenced Shadow of the Colossus or not, but it's pretty fun to spot the similarities between the two. The final boss, Behemoth, is the biggest out of the 48 fiends, and its fight is divided in various sections. In one of these, you have to stand on Behemoth's hand so that it can bring you close to its face to attack. It reminded me of the Malus fight.

In another section, you have to climb the fiend's back to destroy its weak spots, which are horns with a very familiar blue tint that shoot lightings. This reminded me a lot of Pelagia (but also of Basaran and Quadratus).

And the last section features Behemoth charging at you while it flies, which of course reminded me of the Avion fight.

Thank you for reading all my yapping about pieces of media I love deeply! After not being able to find many comparison between Dororo and Shadow of the Colossus online, I just had to make one myself. This is my first time making a post like this, so I hope this isn't worded too badly—

[mayapapaya33]

Things they better put in TLOVM in no particular order pt 4 of ?

Senokir! The fire Genasi jeweler they met in the City of Brass when they were trying to get Pike's armor. He's one of my favorite weirdos! I love him. I love his laugh, I love his stilted cadence, I love that he's never quite making eye contact. He's so fun and morbid and strange and truly like someone who's from another plane of existence. I love that he WASN'T a bad guy after all! He just enjoyed messing with them! He loved his wife. I need to see him in all his animated glory. (Voiced by Matt!)

The Aasimar children Vex saved from the slave market, Hunin and Kyor. This would be an easy thing to skip but I REALLY hope they don't. I think it's a good Vex moment for a variety of reasons I shan't get into. I also think it's a good way of deepening Salda Tal'Dorei's character. Because they skipped ahead so much and cut straight to the Briarwood arc, Uriel and Salda kind of got short changed story wise a tad. Her taking Hunin and Kyor in is one cannon moment for her that I think would be nice to keep. They already cut out her and Gilmore in the basement of his shop, these are the only two times we talk to her that I remember after the dragon's attack Emon.

I also want this to happen because I want to see the debate Vex had about adopting them be animated. Salda stepping in to take care of them because Vex was clearly busy slaying Dragons. I want the art of Hunin and Kyor babysitting their little De Rolos cousins.

I can't stress this enough but MORE Gilmore and specifically more VAX AND GILMORE. I said it before, and I'll say it again. We all know Vaxleth is endgame, we know we know. blah blah blah. Give us our Vaxmore lol. But more seriously, it is deeply important to the character of Vax that he cares for and loves both these people, and he deeply regrets hurting Gilmore's feelings and leading him on. You need to set it up TLOVM! Come on, load that chekov's gun of feels, we have a rakshasa and a "Whispered one" tower to see animated, and it's not going to hit right if you don't GET ON IT!

[ravenhive555]

The attack on Emon

[luckthebard]

Ok so here's the second half of my meta thoughts on C3E51 and encounter design, focusing on the powerful NPCs (former PCs, if you will) (first half of this meta is HERE):

It's so fun and makes narrative sense for Caleb and Beau to be there but I don't think they were ever going to stop Ludinus, no matter how Liam and Marisha rolled. The low rolls meant they got captured as opposed to assisting the Hells more, but once they were captured I kind of breathed a sigh of relief? Not a huge one because I figured Matt wouldn't cross that line, but it was confirmation that they have some degree of plot armor. If Matt wanted Beau and Caleb to truly be in danger of dying without their players controlling them (imo, a breach in ttrpg etiquette unless there were serious conversations about it), Ludinus would have killed them right then. Instead we got a full: "Now Mr. Bond, it would be smarter to kill you, but you must be here to witness my triumph!" Which I love, to be clear - monologue your heart out, Ludinus!

So yeah we don't 100% know what happened to Caleb and Beau in the aftermath, but if they weren't killed earlier there's no way they were killed off screen. And the players are clearly thinking about checking in - Liam called out "who has the sending stone to Caleb" before the ended the episode so it's likely we'll get someone trying that out and rendering any speculation moot soon anyway.

Regarding the other former PCs, Keyleth's role in the encounter was very similar, in that of course she would be there, but this is not her story. So she was more of an encounter beat and an important piece of the narrative, and not as active of a presence. Same goes for the Champion of Ravens, who functioned more as a plot device.

And all of this, really, is related to how this is Bells Hells' story, and not any other party or character's. Keyleth and Beau and Caleb and Vax are there, sure, but they're there to raise the stakes or add texture and tension to the world or, in Vax's case, to be a plot device. They're not active in the way Bells Hells are, even though we know and love them. They're not centered here. It's like how Allura had her own history with Thordak, but even with that she was never the one leading the charge against the dragons, and Vox Machina spent a while not even knowing if she survived the initial attack on Emon.

What is centered in this encounter design and the narrative that comes from it is Bells Hells. They are the active movers in the narrative that unfolded, and they will be the most active pieces moving forward - because we're following them, even as the world continues around them! They did enough damage to somehow mess with Ludinus's plan. There has not been an immediate negative outcome on a planet-wide scale to the machine turning on, although one is surely coming. And Bells Hells are now taking a lot more information (what is powering the machine, the knowledge to target Otohan's Echo machine to weaken her, etc.) into future encounters.

[mansionofhaunts]

So: thoughts on this batch of Legend of Vox Machina, and the changes they make from the stream:

The original streams were over 100 episodes, many of them four hours or longer. I don't have any way of guessing how many twelve-episode seasons they're planning to do: let's assume, for the sake of argument, that we're maybe looking at five, maybe six seasons. That's compressing like...four hundred plus hours down to like...25 hours, at the most.

Everyone knew, going in, that that meant there were going to be cuts and changes (nobody is mad, for instance, that Tiberius isn't in the show, and that Pike is in storylines she wasn't in). However, there are some parts of the story that are load-bearing and/or iconic that have to be there. Vex has to die, so Vax will make his deal to bring her back. The dragons have to attack Emon. The Briarwoods have to die so that they can retake Whitestone. The dragons have to die, because they're an existential threat to the world.

There are other things, however, that can be rearranged or removed. We love Kash because we love Will Friedle, but if Kash is gone...does anything load bearing change? Now, we've got a death that might stick, of a character that we love, that we didn't expect. We know Scanlan comes back to life before he leaves; being knocked into a coma is, in effect, the same thing as being dead in the coming fight, for what it means to him and Kaylie. Delaying the catharsis of killing Ripley? That works for me, as well; it means that freeing Percy from Orthax is now a story to run, when they can.

What all of this does for this season, is it has raised the stakes going forward, as they hunt down Raishan. They're down two members. Their allies are decimated. Both of their home bases are in ruins. What does that do for the coming fight? What do they do to prepare for the fight with Raishan?

More than anything, it's cool to be surprised by what happens in this show.

[peach-the-owl]

May I request for NPC month a Cassandra De Rolo with child reader. The young child was left orphaned after the Chroma Conclaves attack on Emon but fortunately scooped up by Vox in the escape to Whitestone. Child takes a liking to Cass and manages to continually sneak away from their host family to be near them [Cass]. Little ones sneaky little antics bring a certain joy to Whitestone castle that hasn't been felt in ages. Cass falls for little one's warmth and decides it might be best child stay with her.

Please and thank you.

Another fic finished! Cue the fanfair! 🎊 I was sorta hoping I could get more done but honestly 2 fics in one month is a record for me at this point in time so I’m happy with the results. (Also I sadly couldn’t think of a title for this one, but if anyone else does I’m open to suggestions, it’s fine if not.) I hope you all enjoy 😁

Cassandra & Child!Reader

What was happening? Why was it happening? Everything was happening too fast for your brain to grasp any of it, all you could remember was watching the king’s speech to all Emon, bells, people panicking, losing sight of your parents and being grabbed and hauled away by someone. It was a blur to your mind, making you feel as though reality itself had disappeared from you, so the absolute whiplash you felt when you came to your senses only to find yourself in a new city was immense. Some close friends of your parents had taken you in for the time being, and while it took a bit to confirm for sure, they had to break the news to you that your parents had perished in the attack on the city. You ran off that night, not wanting to believe any of it, your little legs carrying you right to Whitestone castle at the perfect time that someone else was stepping out for some air.

Cassandra just stepped out to cool her head, a lot was going on in a short amount of time and all she wanted was a second to breathe. She was shocked to find a young child sobbing just outside the castle, especially this late into the night. Unsure what to do she slowly approaches the kid, noticing some recent scaring from burns, one of the refugees.

“Are-are you alright, little one?” She mentally slaps herself for sounding so uninterested.

“Ahh!” You jump back in surprise at the sudden voice, not realizing someone else was there with you. You look up at the woman with teary eyes. “N-n-n…” You couldn’t even get a word out as another sob wrecks through your body.

“No no, shhh, it’s alright. You’re safe from danger here.” Cassandra tries to soothe, her efforts in vain as you continue to cry. “Hey hey, it’s okay. What’s wrong?” The words sorta slipped out without much thought put into them, but it did seem to encourage an answer.

“I-I want-*hic* I want my mom and dad. *hic hic* I wanna go home.” You cry, pulling your legs to your chest so you could curl yourself into a ball.

“If you got yourself lost we can easily…” Cassandra trails off when she sees the look on your face. That pained look of loss and suffering she knew all too well. She kneels down next to you, gently placing a hand on your back, your body flinches away for a second before resting against her hand again. “I understand how you’re feeling. Loosing your family at such a young age is not an easy experience to go through, nor seeing your home get destroyed from its former glory. I’ve been where you are, just a kid forced to go through a horrible experience.”

Your sobbing calms slightly to more of a whimper, you wipe your tears on your sleeve but more still fall, looking up at her again to see she was staring off into the distance in thought. You rise onto your feet and tug at he shirt gently to regain her attention, when she looks over you raise you arms up to her in a silent question, she looks at you perplexed for a second before catching on and lifting you into her arms where you then hug her. You feel her tense before relaxing and her free hand rests itself on your back once more. It was a nice moment, you felt a little more relaxed and calm for the first time since everything happened, too bad it had to be cut short.

“(Y/n)! (Y/n), where did you go!? Please, answer!” You could hear your foster parents calling for you.

“So, you’re name’s (y/n), is it?” You look back to the woman who gave you a slight raised eyebrow in curiosity, making you realize neither of you had introduced yourselves.

“Y-yeah.” Your voice comes out small and still a little shaky from all the crying. “Wh-what’s your name?” This earns you a soft chuckle from her, guess she realized the same thing you did.

“I am Lady Cassandra de Rolo, but just Cassandra is fine, it’s a pleasure to meet you (y/n).” She gives you a small smile, you offer one back and are about to say something when your foster parents show up.

“There you are, (y/n)! Don’t go running off like that, you had us worried sick!” One scolds. “And finding you with a stranger? These are dangerous times child, you could’ve gotten hurt or worse!” They continue, you just avert your eyes away from them, unsure what to say.

“We’re very sorry… Oh! Lady de Rolo! *ahem* We apologize greatly for any inconvenience this young one may have caused for you.” The one in place of your father bows as he apologizes to Cassandra, taking you into his arms now, you didn’t bother fighting it, you were exhausted.

“It’s no problem at all. In fact, they offered good company while here.” Cassandra waves off the twos apologies.

“Of course, my lady. Thank you keeping an eye on them.” The “mother” bows before turning her attention back to you. “Now let’s get you home and in bed.” You give her a sleepy sigh and nod.

“Night Cassan...” You give a sleepy wave as your voice trails off, unable to finish your sentence as you quickly pass out.

Giving a wave to your disappearing figures, Cassandra decides to head back in and get some rest for herself, tomorrow’s gonna be another eventful day.

It’s only been 2 days since your little episode and you really missed Cassandra’s company, sure the two of you didn’t say much or know each other for very long but there was something comforting about her that your foster parents just didn’t seem to have. So, without thinking too much about it you check to make sure the coast is clear before sneaking out of the house and dashing off towards Castle Whitestone. You hurried as fast as your legs could carry you, while also making sure not to bump into anyone, soon enough the crowded streets thinned in numbers and the castle wasn’t too far off. You did take a second to wonder how you managed to run here the first time as you already felt exhausted once you finally reached the large doors., you shake the thoughts away, you made it to your destination now you just had to find a way in, you could always try climbing the wall, you were a pretty if you do say so yourself.

“Hey kid! You lost?” You’re startled by the sudden voice of a guard walking over. “Come on kiddo, let’s get you back where you belong.” They walk over, ready to escort you back where you’d come from but in a flash you dash around the other direction, leaving the guard stunned for a moment. “What the!?”

Today just seemed to be a zero thought just action kinda day as once you felt far enough away from the guard you latch onto the wall and start your climb. It was tricky getting a good grip and foothold but not impossible and by sheer luck and determination you managed to make it to the window, adding to your luck the window was partially open too.

“Hey kid! Get down from there!” Looks like your guard friend caught up, a little too late though as you push open the window and hop inside. Victory! Now what? You basically broke into this big fancy castle and we’re certain the guard wasn’t just going to sit and take it, and all for what? To see the lady who comforted you on a whim? Yes, that’s exactly what it was and you weren’t giving up on the task. Hurrying down the many halls you realize you have no idea where you’re going yet you continue forward, managing to find yourself in a kitchen, it was empty aside from one cook who was hard at work. Thinking they were distracted you try sneaking by.

“Now what’s a youngin’ like yourself doing here all alone?” You turn to the chef who was giving an amused look.

“I uhhh… I wanted to visit a friend.” You tell them.

“I see.” They reply with a nod. “And just who is this friend of yours?”

“Uhh… Ca-Cassandra. At least that’s what she said her name was.” You fidget with your fingers awkwardly, not sure how wise it was to just trust this person with that information.

“Ah! So you’re the kid she mentioned the other day.” They say thoughtfully. “You’ll find her down the hall third door on your right. Can’t miss it.”

“Thank you!” You give them a bright smile before racing off. By now most of the guards seemed to have been informed of your little intrusion to the castle and were attempting to catch you. Thankfully for yourself they were just trying to grab you over using an actual weapon to stop you, making it a bit easier to wiggle around them and finally reach your destination. The second you place your hand on the door handle and twist it a guard catches you, the door opens and your both stumble to the ground.

“What is the meaning of this?” A man’s voice asks a little annoyed. You look up and give a big smile when you see the person you’ve been looking for.

“Hi Cassandra!” You wave happily at her, completely ignoring the other people in the room. She looks stunned at first but her expression changes to one of recognition.

“Oh! It’s you. Hello again, (y/n). What are you doing here?” She questions as she walks over.

“I wanted to see you again!” You beam. You’re suddenly hoisted off the the ground and now dangle in the guards grip.

“Apologies for the intrusion, this youngin’ here is a slippery one.” The guard apologizes. “I’ll escort them off the property right away.” You start to struggle against him after hearing that, you came this far you didn’t want to go back now.

“That won’t be necessary, I’ll take it from here.” Cassandra says, making you brighten up. The guard sets you down, to which you stick your tongue out at them in victory as Cassandra walks you out of the room full of confused onlookers. Once outside the room she kneels down to your height. “Do you mind waiting here a second? I’ll be out again shortly, I promise.” You give her an enthusiastic nod, making her smile a little before heading back into the room for a moment. You can hear murmuring through the door so you scoot closer and press your ear against it to listen in on the conversation as best as possible.

“Wha… child doing here?”

“Remember the… told you about the other…?”

“…but why are they…? We have… matters to deal… just some kid.”

“Honestly… stunt they pulled… impressive.”

“…e’ll have to work on strengthening… a child… past them.”

“You’re... the point… only came here… take responsibility for this.”

You weren’t sure what was going on, you try straining your ears to hear better but instead of talking there’s footsteps approaching the door. You jump back quickly to avoid getting hit in the face by the door and to hide the fact you were trying to listen in. When Cassandra walks out and looks to your totally not suspicious expression she chuckles lightly.

“You weren’t snooping, were you?” She jokes.

“Ummm… nope! Not snooping. I was just looking around at stuff.” You lie, acting as if nothing as wrong. It’s too bad your a terrible actor, but at least Cassandra got a good laugh out of it.

“You quite the wild card, you know that.” She says, you have no idea what that’s supposed to mean so you just nod along. “Say I have an idea. Why don’t you show me exactly how you got in here without getting caught by any of our guards.” You eagerly agree, grabbing her hand and tugging her along as you explain your quest in great detail.

Now of course your foster parents eventually showed up, having been worried sick when you ran off again and they couldn’t find you in the city, only to be told by a guard your whereabouts and you were in a lot of trouble for not saying anything or even leaving a note. You argued you still weren’t good at writing but that was barely an excuse and you were grounded for a week. Sadly for them that wasn’t going to stop you, even before the whole dragon attack you were always finding ways to slip past your parents to go to your favourite spot in Emon. To you, slipping past your foster parents to go to your favourite place in Whitestone and hangout with your new favourite person was no different, if anything it brought familiarity and joy to you once more in these bleak times. It wasn’t just you either, as time went on, your continuous escapades to Whitestone castle brought a sorta merriment to their lives. You easily made friends with that chef who helped you when you first snuck in, they’d give you some food to snack on whether it was because they had extra or tried something new and wanted you to be the first to try it, enjoying the reactions you’d give whenever you liked what they made. And while the guards were irritated by your constant breaking most of them eventually came to tolerate you decently and at least a few of them actually warmed up to you, finding these little moments helpful in strengthening their defences.

Cassandra couldn’t wrap her head around it, you had one heartfelt talk when you first met and she thought that would be it, you’d move on and adapt to the new status quo, the last thing she expected was you showing up again and again and again just to see her. Whenever you were happy or excited about something she was the first you run to and tell everything about, it made her feel a joy that she didn’t think possible in these trying times. Whenever you were upset or sad she was the first you go to for comfort, it made her feel protective of you wanting nothing more then to make those sour memories or thoughts disappear so she could see you smile again. Whenever you accomplished something she was the first you’d brag about it to, a feeling of pride washing over her whenever you explain what it was you achieved. It’d be so much easier for you to stay home and tell these things to your foster parents but every single time you’d go out of your way to head to the castle and tell her instead. The moments where your foster parents would show up apologizing profusely for your misbehaviour and take you home for a scolding were getting harder and harder for Cassandra to watch. She couldn’t keep going at this routine anymore, it was taking away valuable time, she had to do something about this and soon.

You giggle to yourself as you walk the familiar path to Whitestone castle, your foster parents really thought getting a new lock for your window was going to stop you, unlucky for them the rouge and ranger Cassandra’s brother was friends with taught you some neat tricks when their group came to visit. The smile you had grows as you approach the doors, two guards on duty see you approach, one sighs while the other gives a small wave.

“I know that meek wave anywhere. How are you Heath? Is your arm still hurting?” You greet with a wave of your own.

“Hey kiddo. It was my shoulder, not my arm but it’s doing a lot better.” You give a nod to this.

“Sooo… may I come in?” You ask, already knowing the answer.

“No you may not!” You jump a little at the, that’s not what you were expecting at all. “(Y/n), this is the last straw.” Oh shoot, you know whose voice that is. You turn around and sure enough there’s your foster parents, angrier then ever before.

“What’s the big deal? I left a note this time.” You whine.

“Writing ‘Your windows can’t hold me down’ isn’t what we meant by a note! Honestly, are you trying to give us daily panic attacks? You’re lucky we’ve caught onto the pattern.” One places their arms on their hips.

“More like unlucky.” You mutter.

“Listen, (y/n), we know you’ve been having a hard time adjusting to things since your parents…” They trail off a bit, you look away from them sombrely. “It’s been hard on all of us and we just want the best for you, but you make it very hard for us with you constantly running away from us. Do you understand?” You fidget with your hands and look back at the guards who were stuck having to awkwardly stand there and watch this unfold, if anything you felt bad for them. “Come along now, say your apologies to the guards and we can go home.”

“Go home? But you just got here.” The sound of Cassandra’s voice immediately perks you up, spinning around you see her coming over and go to give her a hug, which she returns with a soft chuckle.

“Ah! Terribly sorry for the disturbance, Lady de Rolo. We’re sure you have more important matters to deal with so we’ll be taking our leave.”

“You’re correct, I do have important matters to deal with, and they involve this child in your care.” You look to her confused, she gives you a smile then looks back to your foster parents. “If my intel is correct you were fostering (y/n) out of respect of their parents correct?”

“They were close friends of ours for many years. We didn’t want (y/n) to be left completely alone but we knew we weren’t exactly ready to take full responsibility yet, as shameful as that sounds. So we swore we’d care for them as best we could until we found someone we knew could give them the care they truly deserved.”

“Then I’m sure you’ll be happy to receive this.” Cassandra hands some papers, you look between the three of them unsure of what was going on.

“Are-are you sure M’Lady? We’d understand if you-”

“No need for any of that. I made up my mind and I’m certain it’s the best choice for all of us.”

“Best choice of what? What’s going on?” You ask utterly lost, why did people have to be so vague about things sometimes. Cassandra kneels down and lifts you into her arms, you weren’t complaining but that didn’t make anything less confusing for you. You foster parents offer you a smile and a small bow.

“We hope you’ll behave yourself a little better here, young de Rolo.” Wait what?! Did they just…

“Huh? But I’m not…” You trail off and your eyes widen when the pieces start clicking into place, shifting a little to get a better look at Cassandra. “Really?” She gives you a nod and you can’t help but hug her. She sets you down giving you the chance to hug your, now former, foster parents. “Thanks for looking after me, even if I did give you trouble.”

“You promise us you won’t go sneaking off on your new family and we’ll call it even.”

“Deal!” The two take their leave while you wave to them with Cassandra. When you can’t see them anymore you look up at Cassandra and she looks back down at you, holding out her hand. You happily accept and the two of you walk back to the castle, the guards open the doors for you.

“Welcome home, (y/n).”

[babyrayblue]

Some recent screenshots ♡

These ones of Emon have got me cryinggg lmaoo Why's he being attacked by bees in the bathroom ??