#maybe it’s just damage control. I don’t see Luna and Knight getting on well

[fierykitten2]

I’ve said it before that I’d love it if there was a way to battle yourself from the opposite version (I have both Scarlet and Violet and put a decent amount of emphasis on Rose, my player character in Scarlet, and Lavender, my player character in Violet, being different characters but still alternate universe counterparts to the point where they have the exact same team structure - their starter (Quax the Quaquaval and Spriggie the Meowscarada), their version’s Fire Knight called Char (an Armarouge in Scarlet and a Ceruledge in Violet), their version’s “Paradox Leader” (Luna the Roaring Moon and Knight the Iron Valiant) and then their version’s Paradox Legendary trio in National Dex order (Blueberry the Walking Wake, Apple the Gouging Fire and Lemon the Raging Bolt and Cherry the Iron Leaves, Orange the Iron Boulder and Passionfruit the Iron Crown)) but now I’m thinking of other ideas for stuff it would have been cool for them to do in SV to allow you to hang out with yourself if you have both versions - specifically picnics and Tera Raid Battles

Picnics: literally the same as a normal picnic only you have both player characters and all of their Pokémon on their teams plus Koraidon and Miraidon there. You will probably need to connect a second (set of) joycon(s) in order to do it so that you can control both player characters. Camera probably follows the player from the current version being played (eg if I’m playing Scarlet when I set this up, the camera will follow Rose). Sandwiches probably work in a similar way to how they do in normal multiplayer idk. Koraidon and Miraidon can have a unique interaction with each other because that would be cool

Tera Raid Battles: half dealing with the issue where the Mewtwo raids are unable to be solo’d this is a nice way to fix things if you don’t have NSO assuming of course the Mewtwo raids ever rerun. I think I’m mainly doing this though because it would be a nice quick and easy way of getting the raid boss in both versions at the same time instead of having to swap versions. As an extra bonus, I could have a picnic with both versions at the same time afterwards to celebrate (good luck identifying which raid boss is which if I swap the raid boss into my team though). You control both of your player characters and the two of them are in the middle of the four characters taking on the raid, with the one from the version you’re currently playing being in the normal position (eg if I’m playing Violet when I do this, Lavender goes in the normal middle right position while Rose goes in the middle left position) and the camera stays in its normal position. The player in the normal position is the first of the two to get asked if they want to catch the raid boss (in this example, Lavender gets to choose first and regardless of her decision Rose chooses second. Their catching animations probably play at the same time and both are shown on screen). Obviously if one or both of them is ineligible to catch the raid boss (they’ve already caught it or have no box space) they’re ignored as normal and you’re warned before the battle that they won’t be able to catch it. Not sure if the NPCs should both be from the version you’re playing (Violet in this example) or one from each (if you’re taking up two slots there’s two left for the NPCs), with the one on the outer right being from the version you’re currently playing (Violet in this situation) and the one on the outer left being from the version you’re not currently playing (Scarlet in this situation) but I think it would be funny imagining a situation where Rose and Lavender meet up and Lavender is like “okay I brought some kid named Gianna with me, she has an Umbreon and wants to help us beat the raid boss. Hey, is that Logan, the guy with the Arboliva who always ruins my attempts to use a Future Paradox Pokémon by setting up the wrong terrain on repeat? Why’s he wearing your uniform???” apart from the fact that Rose wears the New Uniforms now so Lavender probably wouldn’t be able to recognise his school’s uniform that easily. Also this means if the best option for a defender for a certain raid is version-exclusive (like Miraidon for the Walking Wake raids) I don’t have to worry too much about struggling to battle because I can bring them alongside a probably more support-based option. Also that reminds me, it would be fun if I could use this to get a Walking Wake in Violet and an Iron Leaves in Scarlet

[cynthiaandsamus]

Custom Toonami Block Week 77 Rundown!

Code Geass: So since Shirley’s dead, Lelouch has a similar thought to Cornelia and blames the power of Geass itself instead of her actual murderer. So instead of using the Geass Order like he planned he decides to say fuck it and burn it all to the ground, completing his Darth Vader transformation by not only killing the men, but the women AND THE CHILDREN AND THE SCIENTISTS (Science is the fourth gender, look it up, it’s in Dr. Stone). But yeah half of this episode is just murdering scientist who granted were making child supersoldiers but also don’t have any weapons, like they have zero security no wonder Cornelia was able to walk right up to V.V. And the Black Knights are pissed about killing civilians but I feel like once the horde of children starts making them shoot each other they should get the picture. Rolo murders all his friends, C.C. murders all her former supports, Dietard puts a ninja hit out on Ohgi and Viletta also wants to kill Ohgi, poor Ohgi the dude has like nothing going for him and just ended up in this fucked up chess game and he’s just some dude that fell in love when he saw Viletta naked (didn’t we all)  but anyway V.V. pilots Jeremiah’s Pumpkin Battleship and before Lelouch can make Rolo kamikaze himself for killing Shirley, Cornelia wipes him out anyway in probably her most badass moment in the series, using the Pumpkin Battleship’s Byakugan Blindspot to bring it down. V.V. is dead like five times over but Charles comes out to drag Lelouch into the Spear of Longinus so he can do Human Instrumentality or whatever.

Inuyasha: Naraku’s kidnapped Rin so Sesshomaru will kill Inuyasha for him and Sesshomaru hates two things more than anything: being implied he likes humans, and being told what to do, so he tells Naraku to fuck off and goes to fuck him up. This being one of Naraku’s plans of course Sesshomaru doesn’t actually have a choice in this and the battle is a farce so he can spread bits of himself all over and absorb Sesshomaru like Super Buu did to Mystic Gohan. However Inuyasha’s new powerup lets him throw a wrench in that by breaking his barrier and Kagura has to pretend to fight him even though she just wants the doggy brothers to fuck Naraku up. Also Kohaku and Rin have a cute little interaction while he’s holding her captive and Kohaku sees Sango again which triggers his selective amnesia shit. Like you get the feeling Kagura probably would’ve been a better guard for Rin but Naraku only has so many named demons and Kanna isn’t allowed to do anything so might as well throw Kohaku in there to get bonus mental damage to Sango which only works out if you know they’re going to split up like that. But again, this is one of Naraku’s plans so it’s like 50% torture, 50% just trolling people to fuck with their heads.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Younger Toguro faked his death and ambushes Yusuke’s date with Keiko because the plot just doesn’t want this relationship to happen. Toguro pulls up on a motorcycle which is just kind of weird to see and he takes Yusuke somewhere, idk if they walked or if Yusuke got on the back of the motorcycle but Toguro either tossing his motorcycle away to go walk to a car park with Yusuke or Yusuke holding onto Toguro’s waist while they ride are equally hilarious images. Anyway Toguro demolishes the parking garage while still breaking all the rocks that are about to crush Yusuke just to literally flex on him how much stronger he was than when they fought. It’s weird because Toguro seems to kinda be mad about having to fake a loss but also respect Yusuke as a fighter which is strange since Kuwabara was the one that put in the effort for that fake win. That doesn’t matter though cause it’s DARK TOURNAMENT TIME BABY! One of the most iconic anime arcs ever is about to begin and it’s kinda funny they yadda yadda over a two month training arc like there’s like three minutes of Kuwabara training with Hiei and Kurama (where Kurama is the bad cop ironically enough) and Yusuke training with Genkai again before it’s like “Okay let’s just get to the tournament” like I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anime where they announce the tournament and then go sign up for it in the same episode, usually they milk that shit to really sell the preparation but they go with “Here’s a few scene and Yusuke’s a lot stronger now, take our word for it” which is a funny way to start one of the most epic tournament arcs ever.

Fate Zero: This is an episode I’ve heard a lot about, Iskandar, Saber and Gilgamesh fuck around drinking, the whole thing kinda reads like a fanfiction or a Ghost in the Shell episode since 75% of it is just talking. Gilgamesh is basically like “Yo, see that shit? All that shit is my shit, even if I don’t know what it is, it’s mine, so fuck off.” Iskandar’s like “What could the man who once conquered the whole world want? To conquer the whole world TWICE!” and Saber’s like “Hey my whole country got destroyed cause I was thrown into a role I was grossly underqualified for so, maybe not that?” and this pisses Iskandar off because her regret and martyrdom isolates and enfeebles her, he sees the downfall of nations as inevitable and leadership as something to form a community that emulates their leader, not to isolate the ruler as some lone pillar. Also Kirei’s Assassins jump them and Iskandar uses Unlimited Dude Works to stomp them all. Basically it’s the whole Ling/Bradley discussion from FMA but with more nuance, rulers have to benefit their people but they can’t be so dragged down by it that it destroys everyone involved once that pillar collapses. So Iskandar’s like “Yeah you have a really toxic way of looking at things Saber, I’m out. Stop beating yourself up about what’s already happened.” And Gilgamesh is like “No, let her keep beating herself up, this fun, I’m having fun.” So Saber has the admiration of the villain and the disdain of the hero which is an odd situation to be in.

Konosuba: So this one is an OVA or something I think so we don’t get closure on the whole “Kazuma is going to jail for horny and non-horny crimes alike” subplot but we do get a cute little story about Kazuma slowly getting murdered while basically doing the Higurashi Punishment Games on everyone. Ironically he’s not pervy enough for Darkness or Aqua because he’s just a voyeur for Darkness and Aqua he apparently has no sexual attraction to whatsoever. It’s kind of interesting because a few times one or two of them heavily imply they’d just straight up take his virginity if it’d help and he doesn’t go for it, I don’t know if that’s better or worse than what he actually does but once again the ‘principled scumbag’ archetype comes into play and it’s always fun to see what Kazuma will or won’t do, it tends to be just enough that we’re willing to see him punished but not enough to make us hate him, it’s a surprisingly good balance. Anyway, Darkness is boobs, Kazuma may be a lolicon for Megumin, Yunyun and Wiz are also boobs, Aqua is boner repellant and Kazuma dies anyway because the real wish was the friends we made along the way but real friends are the ones that murder you when you’re a scumbag… or something. On to Season 2 next week!

Sailor Moon Crystal: I’m kind of  loving the Evil Tuxedo Mask aesthetic, like the bishie face with the red eyes and the suit is really cool-looking. Anyway Tuxedo Mask is evil now and seduces Usagi all over again with the power of evil and video games. There’s probably a message here about girls falling for toxic boys but that’s the subtext over a lot of Sailor Moon that there’s lots of bullshit out to get teen girls and they shouldn’t waste their energy on it. Usagi’s kind of having an existential crisis over evil Tuxedo Mask and Luna’s feeling bad about calling him evil before and now that he actually is evil she doesn’t know what to do. Anyway he finds Zordon’s Tower by hypnotizing Makoto and we do the full transformation scene and speech for four of the scouts so you really know they were stretching the plot with this one. Usagi gets over herself but it’s too late, Evil Mask has the crystal and summons Queen Beryl by… flapping his cape, guess calling her was that easy, man you’d think they coulda just stomped these guys a long time ago but oh well.

Durarara!!: We leave off where Shizuo just crushed someone with a car door, good times. Celty takes the knife they had, believing it to be Saika but is so superstitious about it she doesn’t even see it’s a crappy Pampered Chef knife that’s like two years old max. Then Haruna, the reporter’s daughter reveals not only did she have a weird relationship with the teacher hitting on Anri but she’s also controlling all the Saika zombies around the city because to swords cutting people is loving them like how sharks bite things to see what they are. She sics her army on Anri and Shizuo separately and goes after her teacher who was just coming to sexually harass Anri again so… yay? Anyway Shizuo says fuck you to being in a polyamorous relationship with hundreds of sword zombies and Anri reveals that Haruna’s Saika isn’t the real Saika because HER Saika is the real Saika, we got katana school girls here folks, it really is an anime after all.

[calligraphist-artemisia]

The Sun Prince (Chapter 2)

Summary:  It was an accident. A simple misstep that sent him plunging into the darkness and waking an ancient magic. Now Prompto has to deal with the consequences of making a deal with an Astral and learn how to control the magic blooming inside of him.

Also posted on AO3 and fanfiction.net under the username “kishirokitsune”

2. Power Within

With his belly pleasantly full and his hair still damp from a satisfyingly long shower, Prompto belly-flopped on the cheep motel bed and wondered if he could get away with not moving for the next twenty-four hours.

Noctis grunted as he got up from the foot of the second bed and stretched his arms over his head, causing his shirt to rise up slightly. “Right, now it's my turn. Did you save any hot water for the rest of us?”

“Nope. Used it all,” Prompto joked. “You'll save me from Iggy's wrath, right?”

“Not a chance,” Noctis responded with a slight grin.

Prompto buried his face in the pillow. “Some hero you are. I thought prince's were all about rescuing the innocent?”

“You, innocent?”

“Mean,” Prompto said without any bite. He turned his head to watch Noctis walk into the bathroom, tempted to throw a pillow across the room. He didn't though; both because he was unable to muster up the energy to do so, and because Gladio would get involved and thoroughly trounce them. He yawned and rolled over onto his back. “I hope you weren't holding out for a round of King's Knight tonight, 'cause it is lights out for me.”

Noctis paused in the doorway. “I'll be sure to keep it down. You get some rest. You deserve it.”

Prompto closed his eyes. “You're the best, Noct.”

He heard Noctis chuckle and the squeak of the bathroom door shutting, but kept his eyes shut until the shower cut on and he knew he wouldn't be interrupted for a while. Prompto rolled over and sat up before pulling his emergency bag from the Armiger. He glanced at the door connecting their room to the one Gladio and Ignis were sharing, hoping he was correct in his assumption that either of them would knock before entering.

As much as he wanted to burrow under the blankets and sleep like he told Noctis he was going to do, first he needed a better look at the crown.

It was still warm when he removed it from the bag. The tiny gears shifted beneath his fingers, effortlessly moving as if by magic. (Which, he realized, it probably was.)

The crown really was a thing of beauty and Prompto couldn't understand why Rhyos just handed it off to him like it was no big deal. Clearly it was a very big deal. The biggest!

“Why me?” Prompto whispered.

Ancients, why did he accept the crown? Why did he have to touch that stupid sun? The one that was obviously – in hindsight – the set-up to a cliché trap. He wished he'd never fallen into that hole. Sure, getting to sleep in a bed instead of on the hard ground of a haven was nice, but was it really worth it?

Prompto took a deep breath.

There was no point in dwelling on “what if's” that would lead him nowhere and only cause him anxiety. He needed to focus, if not for himself, then for Noct.

(Why was his life such a mess?)

He ran his thumb over the gleaming sun, idly wondering what sort of gemstone it was made from. It didn't look like any of the others Dino sent them to search for, but that could be because they were rough, uncut pieces. In a way, the stone reminded him of the meteorshards up at Exineris, shining with its own ethereal light.

Prompto wished he knew more about Solheim; more about the Astrals and Messengers; more about anything that would help him understand what was happening. What he needed was someone who could help him learn.

Ignis was the smartest person he knew and was bound to know something about it, but there was that nagging feeling that he'd become suspicious of why Prompto was asking such things and ask too many questions of his own. Questions that Prompto wasn't ready to answer yet.

Lady Lunafreya was another option, but she was so far away and even once they found their way to Altissia, where she was waiting, he doubted she would have time to talk to a simple pleb like him. She and Noctis had more important things to do; things like forming covenants with the Gods and purging the world of the starscourge. Important stuff.

Impulsively, Prompto hopped out of bed and walked over to a round mirror hanging on the wall. He carefully placed the crown on his head, just to get a look at how completely ridiculous it made him look.

He felt like a little kid playing pretend.

He should take it off and forget the whole thing ever happened! Or find Rhyos and force him to take it back! Or... or he could dig a hole out behind the motel and bury it there!

Prompto groaned.

All of those were awful ideas.

He needed something better. He needed to understand what it all meant, but he didn't see any place to find the answers he needed, except...

Rhyos.

Rhyos would know. Maybe if he asked politely, he would be willing to answer. The only problem with that was that Prompto had no clue how long it would be before Rhyos showed up again. It could be days. Weeks. Months.

What if it was years before Rhyos came to find him?

A familiar rush of panic swiftly built up, and Prompto looked away from his reflection and took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down. He couldn't think like that. Rhyos said he'd find him when the time was right, (whatever that meant) so he'd have to believe that.

Without looking at his reflection again, Prompto carefully removed the crown and spent another minute looking it over as if it held a clue he was missing. He was too lost in thought to notice the shower stopped running, and it was only when he heard the rattle of the doorknob that he moved again, leaping for his bed and cramming the crown into his bag, kicking it off the bed just in time. He yanked the covers up over his head, his heart hammering in his chest.

Noctis said nothing and Prompto started to relax, sure that he hadn't seen anything. Any minute, Noctis would pass out in the other bed and wouldn't wake up until late in the morning.

“Prompto, I know you're awake.”

Damn.

Prompto slowly lowered the covers to the amused expression of his friend. “Uh, hi?”

“Any reason why you're pretending to sleep?”

An excuse. He needed an excuse.

“I just, uh, didn't want you to know I was playing King's Knight without you.” (That sounded weak even to his ears.) “You know, after I said I was going to crash for the night.”

Noctis didn't look at all convinced, but he shrugged and let the subject drop, also choosing not to remark on Prompto's odd behavior.

It made Prompto feel ten times worse for lying.

He squirmed under his blankets, trying to get comfortable and convince himself that it was just a tiny, harmless lie and they'd both forget about it by the morning and also hopefully Noct didn't think he was avoiding him or anything like that and--

Out went the lights and a stillness fell over the room.

“I wasn't really playing King's Knight without you.”

There was a sigh from Noctis and the rustling of blankets. “I kind of figured, since your phone's charging across the room. Do you need to... talk or... something?”

Prompto bit his lip. “I don't know. Probably? Something weird happened while I was underground and I'm still trying to process, that's all.”

The light clicked back on and Prompto turned his head to watch Noctis sit up and run a hand through his hair. “I thought you said it was just like all of the others.”

“Well, not exactly...” Prompto winced as he revealed another lie. He hated keeping secrets. Too many, and he'd start to crack under the pressure of holding them all in.

The skin beneath his wristband itched.

“You know how all of the others have been dark and creepy and filled with all the creepy crawlies? Well this place didn't have any monsters. No daemons either. And all of the walls and stuff were intact. It was like the ground just swallowed it whole and didn't damage anything,” Prompto said.

“Maybe it was made that way,” Noctis suggested.

“Nah,” Prompto said, shaking his head. “It was covered in pictures of the sun. Or symbols, I guess. Doesn't really seem like something meant to be underground.”

Noctis frowned, his brow furrowing as he thought deeply about something. “The sun? Like a dedication to the sun god?”

Prompto's heart beat a little faster. Maybe he'd get an answer to one of his many questions without needing to ask.

But it didn't seem like Noctis had anything else to say about it, and after a few minutes Prompto assumed the conversation was over.

“No one knows much about Solheim. The only sun god I can think of is Ifrit, so it could have been hidden on purpose after he turned against humanity. Or it could've happened before then,” Noctis said at last. “Luna would know more than I do. Next time Umbra shows up, you can send a message to her.”

“You'd really do that for me?”

“Sure, why not? If it helps put your mind at ease,” Noctis responded nonchalantly.

Prompto took a moment to debate whether or not to specifically ask if Lady Lunafreya had heard of an Astral named “Rhyos”, but in the end decided against it. “Thanks, Noct,” he said with a yawn.

“It's really bothering you that much, huh? I don't think I've ever heard you express interest in the Astrals outside of class,” Noctis remarked.

“I guess falling in that place gave me a new perspective on things. I mean, you've got those covenants you're making with the Six and I still don't entirely know what any of that means, except that it's important. I know normally I'm more of a 'go with the flow' kind'a guy, but this feels like something I should know more about, yunno?”

“Seems logical enough. I can help with that, if you want. I don't know as much as Luna, but I remember some of the stories she used to tell me,” Noctis offered. “Or you could ask Ignis. He'd be better at explaining it than I am.”

Prompto rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, trying to get comfortable. “Wouldn't wanna worry him by suddenly showing an interest in academia. He might think I'm getting sick. On second thought...”

Noctis chuckled sleepily. “In the morning then.”

“Yeah,” Prompto agreed.

The light clicked off one last time.

His whole body burned from overuse as he ran, pushing himself well beyond his limit. He ha to keep going. Couldn't stop. Lives were in danger!

The landscape blurred, unfamiliar to his eyes. Water and rubble surrounded him, crowding in. Gunfire in the distance. Screams. Prompto didn't know what was happening or what he was doing there, except that there was some place he desperately needed to be.

Darkness began to consume the edges of his vision, but he pressed on.

Hurry.

Hurry!

He slipped, plunging into water, but it did nothing to ease the heat racing through his veins. It grew worse instead, like he was standing too close to a campfire as it spat up sparks.

He sank deeper and deeper, struggling o resurface.

And there suddenly – Lady Lunafreya, stumbling away from a pitch black figure, clutching her side as red spread across the white fabric of her beautiful gown. He trident slid from her hands as she fell, and Prompto screamed in horror.

“No!”

Something grabbed at him through the darkness, pinning him in place as he began to struggle. “No!”

“Prompto, wake up!”

Prompto gasped, his eyes flying open. His heart thudded painfully in his chest, so loud that he wanted to reach up and cover his ears to muffle the sound, but with his wrists restrained all he could do was moan in pure misery.

“Gladio, fetch a cool rag,” Ignis ordered. “Noctis, sit down if you're just going to hover like that. Prompto is fine. It is likely just a fever dream.”

Prompto tried to focus on what Ignis was saying. A fever dream? Yeah, that explained why he felt like he was on fire, but he couldn't remember getting sick. There should have been signs, right? There were always signs. He was pretty good at recognizing them – or he thought he was, but maybe with all of the fighting and running around, he didn't notice.

“Here, Iggy,” Gladio said.

Something freezing cold touched his forehead and Prompto whimpered and twisted away, but Ignis persued with the wet washcloth, carefully wiping down his face in hopes of cooling him down.

“S'cold,” Prompto slurred.

“Yes, it's meant to be,” Ignis said patiently. “Prompto, you have a high fever and I need to bring it down.”

Prompto did his best to hold still, but heavy shivers wracked his body, making his teeth chatter. After moment, Ignis quietly withdrew to talk to Gladio and Noctis.

“He will have to rest for the day. Moving him will only worsen his condition,” Ignis said.

“Do we have the funds for that?” Gladio asked.

At that reminder, Prompto struggled to sit up, but his arms refused to support an ounce of his weight. “I'm okay, really.”

Noctis looked over and raised an eyebrow. “Clearly.”

“Ugh,” Prompto gave up on trying to get up. He couldn't even muster up the strength to flip off Noctis for the sarcastic remark. “I just need a minute.”

“Regardless, Gladio and I will go look into what hunts are available in the area. Should you miraculously recover from your cold by the time we return, we can be on our way. If not, we can afford one more night here and I expect you to rest the entire time,” Ignis said, reaching up to adjust his glasses. “Noct, you will remain here with him and ensure that he gets proper rest. No King's Knight.” His tone left no room for argument.

“Sure. Fine,” Noctis agreed.

“Unless you would prefer going on a hunt with Gladio?”

“No! No, I'm good with staying here.”

Prompto drifted back off to sleep to the sound of Ignis and Gladio playfully teasing Noctis.

He had no more dreams. No more nightmares. Or at least, none that he remembered. Prompto drifted in and out of sleep for a while, aware of the low hum of the AC running and Noctis trying to stay quiet while he played around on his phone, keeping busy while the others were away.

Prompto turned his head to blearily watch his friend for a few minutes. “How long have I been out?”

Noctis visibly startled at the sound of his voice and set aside his phone. “All day. How do you feel?”

Prompto took a moment to evaluate. He was no longer shivering and he was pretty sure he could sit up without his arms giving out as though they were make of overcooked noodles, so that was a good sign that he'd moved on from the worst.

His stomach growled at the thought of food.

“I'm starving. I don't suppose Iggy left any food for us?” Prompto asked hopefully.

“Even better. He's down in the kitchen making soup right now. Something about him and Gladio taking on a hunt at the request of the owner, and as part of the payment, Ignis gets full use of the kitchen,” Noctis explained. “I just hope it's not vegetable...”

“I'll eat yours if you don't want it.”

“That hungry, huh?” Noctis sounded amused.

“I feel like I could eat a whole Garula. No, one of those – what are they called again? Cobble-somethings? The big things down in Alstor Slough?”

“Catoblepas?”

Prompto nodded. “Yeah, that one.”

Noctis hummed thoughtfully. “I don't think Ignis is making that much food, but there should still be plenty for everyone. Knowing him, it's at least enough to last until he's sure you're better.”

“Do you think if I tell him I feel absolutely, one-hundred percent better, I won't be on some crazy soup diet for the next week?” Prompto asked.

“He'll make it two weeks if you do that,” Noctis warned jokingly.

Prompto groaned good naturedly, and the two enjoyed a few minutes of playful banter back and forth, coming up with more and more ludicrous ideas for the lengths Ignis would go to in order to ensure proper healing.

“Seriously though, I feel like I could go on a five mile run and barely feel winded. Must've been some weird, twelve-hour bug,” Prompto said. He sat up and adjusted the pillow behind him so he'd have something comfortable to lean back against.

“I dunno, Prom, you were pretty sick this morning,” Noctis said, his tone serious.

Prompto shrugged. “Whatever it was, I'm fine now.”

“Maybe, but Ignis would kill me if I let you get out of bed to go running.” Noctis said the word as though it was something distasteful. “Just... just rest tonight, okay? You had us all worried.”

Prompto honestly didn't see what the big deal was. A high fever and a terrifying nightmare sounded pretty standard as far as a flash sickness went, and he was willing to chalk the severity of it up to a combination of spending several hours in a damp, underground ruin and the anxiety of the aftermath.

Stress.

It was just stress.

He did feel bad that he made everyone worry and resigned himself to staying in bed until Ignis gave him the all-clear.

“Yeah, alright,” Prompto agreed. “Hey, so I know Iggy said no King's Knight, but...”

Noctis grinned as he stood up. “I'll get your phone.”

The rest of the night passed without incident, and Ignis said nothing about the two of them playing a game once he and Gladio returned from the kitchen with food. Prompto flushed under Ignis's scrutiny, but in the end it was determined that his fever had dissipated and if he was still feeling well in the morning, they would be on their way.

Prompto dove into the bowl of soup that was handed to him, trying his best to savor the flavorful broth and pieces of tender chickatrice, but his hunger got the best of him after the first two spoonfuls.

“We should go over our itinerary for tomorrow,” Ignis said in a manner that let them know it wasn't a suggestion; they would discuss it and he would accept no complaints.

That didn't stop Noctis from groaning, hunching in over his bowl as though Ignis would take his food away if he tried to refuse.

“Well, we've cleared out most of the hunts around here and we returned the dog tag to Dave, so we're good to move on to the next outpost,” Gladio said.

“We're not far from Caem, I was thinking we could stop there and check in with the others. Perhaps Monica has heard from Cor recently,” Ignis said.

Gladio grunted as he set his spoon in his bowl. “That's at least a half day's drive. No havens along the way either and there isn't much to the west, so would we double back through here? Seems like a waste of time to me.”

“It depends on whether or not Monica has news for us. However, we have not spent much time west of here and I have heard several of the hunters mention odd rumors about Malmalam Thicket. It's nothing they have been able to confirm, as they have some sort of agreement to not bother the wildlife there, but it sounds like it would be worth checking out.”

“Huh. You think there could be a royal tomb?” Gladio asked.

“It is possible.”

Prompto's spoon scraped across the bottom of his bowl and he glanced down to find he'd already finished. He must have made some kind of sound to indicate his sadness, because Noctis wordlessly took his bowl and passed it to Ignis, who refilled it and handed it back.

“What do you say, Noct? Shall we look into it?” Ignis asked.

Noctis shrugged. “Yeah, fine by me.”

Gladio held out his bowl and wiggled it slightly, which made Ignis roll his eyes. He refilled it anyway and looked to Noctis, a silent question of whether or not he wanted more as well.

Everyone's bowl was filled a second time and conversation resumed.

“So it's agreed, we stop at Cape Caem and then head on to investigate Malmalam Thicket,” Ignis tried to confirm.

Prompto had to admire him in that moment; his persistence to make sure Noctis was involved in the decision making, no matter how reluctant their prince was to take part. Prompto knew that Noctis appreciated it more than he let on.

Noctis grunted in agreement and the topic easily shifted, with Gladio taking control to explain he'd need some help checking over their camping gear once they reached Cape Caem.

“Don't want anything failing in the middle of the night,” Gladio said.

“Like the chair that broke when I sat down in it?” Prompto asked.

Gladio scoffed. “The only reason it broke is because you and Noct were fucking around.”

“Were we?”

“I do seem to recall you saying something along the lines of 'check out this cool new move' right before it happened,” Ignis said teasingly.

Prompto pouted. “I'm sick and you guys are going to pick on me like this? Not cool.”

“That's weird. I could have sworn you told me you felt like you could go run five miles and be okay,” Noctis remarked, joining in on the fun.

Ignis frowned in clear disapproval.

“That so?” Gladio asked, raising an eyebrow. “I was going to carry your share of the equipment, but if you're feeling well enough to talk about going running...”

Prompto whined and leaned back against his pillows.

He should have said “no”.

The moment Noctis started to drop hints about wanting to go down to the coast to do some fishing, everyone else had come up with an excuse as to why they couldn't go. Or in Talcott's case, point blank refused, citing that it didn't sound like much fun, which had at least gotten a chuckle from Noctis.

Prompto had no excuse, and a single pleading look from Noctis and the promise of riding chocobo's to their destination had him caving in and agreeing to accompany him there.

They promised Ignis they would return before sunset and then they were off, riding down the road and through the tunnel before they were able to take the path down to the shore. Prompto made note of how long the journey took, so they would be sure to have enough time to get back before night fully set in. The last thing he wanted was to get cornered by a bunch of daemons when it was just the two of them.

Noct's smile as he set up his fishing gear was worth it.

He had a beautiful smile and it wasn't one Prompto had seen much of since the fall of Insomnia. Which was understandable. Prompto didn't feel much like smiling either, but someone had to try and stay positive with everything happening or else they'd all fall to despair, and he figured he was pretty good at lightening the mood.

Prompto lifted his camera and snapped a quick series of photo's before the moment was lost.

He didn't often let himself take the time to admire Noct. Not anymore. It was too risky. Not because he was afraid of Noct figuring out his secret crush, but because of how damned observant Ignis and Gladio were. Neither of them said anything, but sometimes Ignis would raise an eyebrow at a casual arm across the shoulder that lasted too long or Gladio would smirk at how easily he caved to what Noct wanted to do.

Yeah, they definitely knew.

But Noctis was marrying Lady Lunafreya and that was a union looked forward to by all – well, almost all – of Eos. He wouldn't get in the way of true love and nor would he jeopardize their friendship.

Friendship was all he could have and Prompto was okay with that, even if sometimes it made his heart ache.

Prompto closed his eyes and tried to redirect his thoughts to Cindy instead. Gorgeous, charming Cindy, who was a delight to talk to once he got over his nerves. Cindy, who wasn't at all interested in him (or anyone else), but seemed to genuinely enjoy his company and his ability to mostly follow along her car-talk. Cindy, who had pulled him aside to give him permission to continue flirting, so long as he kept it appropriate and stopped if she ever asked.

(No one else needed to know about that little agreement of theirs and Prompto was still confused about why she trusted him to keep his word, but he wasn't going to complain. Maybe he just gave off a trustworthy vibe?)

His love life was a bit of a mess, to say the least, but hey, he was young. He had plenty of time to figure things out.

Noctis called out to him in delight, holding up his first catch of the day, and Prompto automatically snapped a picture, trying not to stare at the way the sun glinted off his dark hair and brought out the blue in his dark eyes.

He was unfairly beautiful.

They spent the rest of the evening like that. Noctis, showing off what he caught and Prompto trying not to let his thoughts lead him too far down the proverbial rabbit hole. Before too long, the sun began to dip dangerously close to the horizon, and Prompto began to get ansty.

“Noct, we need to get back.”

Noctis looked around, checking the position of the sun and then the time on his phone. After a moment, he agreed and sent his rod and tackle back to the Armiger before joining Prompto in the sand.

“No chocobo's?” Prompto asked after a minute or so of walking.

“Figured we could use the exercise. We'll still get back in time, unless... Are you still feeling alright?”

“Uh huh.” Prompto got a little tongue tied at the show of concern and cursed himself for letting his thoughts wander too far. It was going to take at least a day to recover from his daydreams. “Walking sounds good. Great!”

He could feel Noct's eyes on him.

“Sorry, just thinking about some stuff,” Prompto said, answering the unasked question with a wave of his hand, hoping Noctis wouldn't push for anything else. To his luck, they walked in silence, following the faint trail back to the road.

It wasn't an awkward silence, but comfortable and peaceful, born from years of friendship. Prompto liked that about Noct. They didn't have to constantly talk when they were together. Sometimes they could just... be.

Prompto frowned as they exited the tunnel to find it darker than expected and automatically moved closer to Noct, his eyes scanning for danger.

They hadn't taken into account the treed that blocked much of the light.

“We need to hurry,” Prompto said, his voice tight with fear.

If anything happened to Noct on his watch...!

They hastened their pace, both hoping to reach the safety of the lighthouse cottage without incident. Shadows chased their steps, spurring them on, but before they could reach the car park, a haunting groan caught them off-guard as inky blackness bubbled on the pavement and a massive form began to breech the surface.

“Iron Giant,” Noctis whispered, looking pale. “Run, Prompto!”

But there was another problem.

An angry shriek pierced the air as a Bomb careened out of the tunnel behind them, rolling between them and aiming a burst of fire at Prompto, who barely dodged out of the way. His guns materialized in his hands and he fired off a few rounds until the Bomb dropped and began to fade.

“Noct?!” he called out in panic, frantically searching for his friend. He found him soon enough, pinned down by the Iron Giant, which reared back to take a swing with its gargantuan sword, and with a burst of speed Prompto didn't know he was capable of, he put himself between Noctis and the daemon, raising his hand as though that would be enough to stop it.

Prompto braced himself, prepared for agonizing pain from his foolish mistake.

Instead, a bright flash of golden light illuminated the area, and the daemon toppled back, screeching in agony as it popped and fizzled away. Prompto stood and watched in shock, hand still outstretched and his mind blank, unable to comprehend what was happening.

There was a hand on his arm, pulling him towards the car park. Noctis, speaking to him in a low voice, telling him to move.

Prompto stumbled as his legs unlocked, letting Noct push him towards safety, and once they were under the bright lamp posts, he finally looked at Noct, who looked just as terrified as he felt.

“What the hell was that?”

[megamanx1994]

Captain Falcon: The Last Mimeosome Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Stasis Pod (Disclaimer! I own nothing of Smash Bros or Xenoblade X!) I woke up after another all nighter and headed down to the lab. “Good morning Nicholas,” said Professor Elvin, “Burning the midnight oil again?” “Yeah, sure looks like it,” I said. “You’ll make yourself sick if you keep doing that you know,” said Luna walking down, “So how are things with you and Sakura?” “Pretty good,” I said, “She’s traveling to train up for some martial arts tournament and Daisy’s off for some convention, so looks like I’m on my own.” “Well you got me and Dad,” said Luna. “That’s true,” I said. “It’s a good thing we have you at the labs, because of your healing factor,” said Professor Elvin, “No matter what injury you get, it heals up in a hurry.” “Thanks to you,” I said with a grin. I noticed something under a cover. “What’s that?” I asked. “Just something I’ve been working on,” said Luna. “Is it an upgrade for my armor or more of a….. self project?” I asked. “It’s a little of both,” she answered. I was about to take a peek. “Uh uh,” she said. I got a text from Colleen. It read ‘You free? I could use your help on a mission.’ “It says I should meet her at B.L.A.D.E HQ,” I said. “Need a lift?” asked Luna, “I’m going that way to hand some tools to my friend Alexa.” “Might as well take it,” I said. We made it to Blade HQ. I was helping Luna carry some of her stuff. I was also busy bumping into others. “Sorry,” I said, “Pardon me.” “Watch where you’re going,” said someone. I bumped into a table and their rifle dropped. “Great,” said someone, “Would you be….. careful?” I got a good look at him. It was my old pal Gwin. “Gwin?” I asked. “Nicholas!” he said as he greeted me with a hug, “Oh my god!” “Its been years,” I said. “Come with…. Actually wait right here I’ll be back.” He went to get something. “I’ll see you later Nicholas,” said Luna, “I’ve got a date with the training grounds.” Luna met up with Alexa at the Training Grounds. “So do you have your thing ready?” asked Alexa. “Indeed I do,” said Luna, “Its something I’ve been working on for a while.” “Is it some kind of skell weapon?” asked Alexa. “Its armor,” said Luna. “Aw, lame,” said Alexa. “You’ll be taking that lame back once you see it,” said Luna, “Ta-da!” She took out some kind of watch.  “Um…….” Said Alexa. “Wait for it,” she said. Luna pressed a button. A strange liquid went around her body forming armor. “Holy shit,” said Alexa. “This exo skeleton armor is made from a liquid is known as Labranyum, and is controlled by my brain,” said Luna, “This armor coats around my body while granting me enhanced endurance and strength.” “Shut up,” said Alexa amazed. “Not only that, but in battle the armor also repairs itself,” said Luna, “While allowing me to enter environments that no human could survive in.” “So if its advanced, couldn’t it make you vunerable to it?” asked Alexa. “True, that’s why I made this neuro transmitter,” said Luna, “It means I maintain control of it.” Gwin had something for me. It was a cake. “I made it myself with the help of Irina,” said Gwin. “It looks great,” I said. “Nicholas?” asked Irina, “Hey, how have you been?” She gave me the cousin kiss.  “So where can I find Colleen?” I asked, “I was asked to accompany her on a mission.” The three of us were walking by the combat arena. This is where Blades train and hone their skills. “That bald guy over there is Boze Lowes,” said Gwin, “Just try to stay on his good side.” “He’s one strict dog,” said Irina, “Last guy that ticked him off ended up not being able to sit for months.” “Ouch,” I said. He looked at me. “Nicholas Shay I presume,” he said. I was surprised. “How do you know my name?” I asked. “I know more than just your name son,” he said. “So this is the infamous soldier who took out the Slipknot army,” said a blade soldier, “Not bad, or was it all just luck?” I was looking at a soldier with blonde hair. “Look lady I’m just here to meet my partner Colleen,” I said. “Lady?” asked the soldier. “That’s a dude,” said Gwin. “But what about the hair, and that dress?” I asked. “It’s a Tunic.” “I think Zelda’s gonna win this one,” said another soldier. “My name is Link Jackass,” said Link. “Wait…” I said, “You’re Link as in….. hylian army link?” “That’s right,” said Link, “The one who took down Volga’s army single handedly.” “……..but you’re a runt,” I said. “OH YEAH CAN A RUNT DO THIS?!” he shouted. He grabbed a ball and chain and threw it at me. I quickly evaded. “Now you’re in for it,” said Irina. He got out his sword and started to attack me. I countered with my robotic arm that now had a blade installed. “You wanna get nuts?” I asked, “C’mon, let’s get nuts!” I read his movements to see when the right time was to counter. Link kept coming at me without breaking a sweat. “Not bad,” I said. “I could say the same about you,” said Link. We kept clashing. Link them saw an opening and hit me by the knee. I quickly got back up and did a sweep kick knocking him over. Boze blew his whistle. “A fine example of a fight,” he said with a grin. Colleen saw me. “What’s I miss?” she asked. “A lot,” I said. A white haired woman was behind her. “Who’s the other woman?” I asked. “My name is Elma, leader of the Skeleton Crew,” said Elma, “And you must be Nicholas.” “I am,” I said, “So what’s this mission?” We were all in the debriefing room. Elma’s commander Vandham was briefing us. “We’ve heard rumours that C.H.A.O.S has a hidden base in this area,” he said, “If we can find anything that’s useful we may have a shot at fighting them.” “Looks like S.M.A.S.H isn’t the only group hunting them down,” I said. “That’s right,” said Vandham, “So the mission is simple; go in, find anything useful then get the hell outta there.” “You can count on me,” I said as I transformed into my armor. “Me too,” said Colleen. We were heading to the said location. There weren’t any guards around. “Its gotta be a trap,” I said, “I say we scan around the perimeter and see if anybody is there.” “Good strategy,” said Elma, “No wonder you asked him to come along.” “Well he is my best friend,” said Colleen, “Let’s split up.” “Roger,” I said as I activated my thermal visor. Colleen, Elma and I searched the entire base to make sure there were no guards. “Clear on my end,” I said. “Clear on this end,” said Colleen. Elma was still looking around.”Elma, what’s your position?” asked Colleen. She saw some kind of capsule. “A stasis pod?” she asked. She examined it and saw something inside of it. “Someome must be inside of it,” she said. She pressed a button and the stasis pod started to open. A blue haired boy came out of it. “Looks like you’re still in one piece,” said Elma. The boy started to come out and almost fell. “Careful,” she said as she helped him up. The boy looked at Elma. “I need to ask you something….” He said. “What is it?” asked Elma. “Come closer,” he said. “What?” asked Elma. “……..Will you go skating with me?” he asked. “Um…… yeah,” she said, “Why not?” Colleen and I met Elma at her location. “Did you find anything?” I asked. “This young boy,” said Elma, “He was stuck in this stasis pod.” The young boy was starting to walk better. “It’s a good thing that I found you,” said Elma, “My name’s Elma. You wanna tell me your name?” The young boy tried to think. “What is my name?” he asked, “I…. I don’t know.” “Wait,” I said, “You’ve forgotten who you are?” I asked. “Yeah,” said the boy, “I remember being placed inside this capsule, and everything going dark and then nothing….. I can’t remember a thing past that!” “You can tell us everything later when we’re back at HQ,” I said, “But first you’ll need a weapon.” I gave him an extra rifle. “You’ll also need this for close combat,” said Elma. She gave him a longsword. “These look familiar,” said the boy. We headed back to Blade HQ. “So it looks like the place was abandoned,” said Commander Vandham. “Unfortunately,” I said, “But we did find somebody locked up in it.” Elma showed him the boy we found. “He’s lost his memory, probably from the stasis hangover,” she said, “We told him we would help him rediscover it.” “I see,” he said. The boy was looking at some weapons at a store. “You seem pretty intrigued by what we have here,” said Alexa. She pointed at a laser sword. “That is what we call a photon saber,” said Gwin, “Used by the Galactic Knight class blades. “He can be in your care for now Nicholas,” said Vandham, “Elma can help you.” “As you wish sir,” said Elma. We were walking around Blade HQ. “Wow,” said the boy, “Its so cool how you’re able to cross a sword with lasers to make such a cool weapon.” A few minutes earlier he got a facial tattoo of a cross on his face. It was a pretty nice touch, and gave me an idea of what to call him. “If you say so,” I said, “How about you come with me and do some errands? Maybe you’ll start to remember something Cross.” “Cross?” he asked. “I gotta call you something don’t I?” I asked, “Like the name?” “Yeah,” he said, “Cross, its great!” “Well let’s head out,” I said, “I gotta deliver some stuff to Dr. Light.” It Comes Back to You from Smoke+Mirrors 4 AM beside myself And what I think of mental health All the things that worry me All the things you don't believe I've been told just what to do Where to look and point my view All the things that I could be I think I learned in therapy Am I just a shadow you drew? It comes back to you, it comes back to you All the things that you had lost will find their way to you It comes back to you, it comes back to you Looking back into the past and I can see it through We were at Dr. Lights lab delivering some tools. He was repairing the damage did to Guts Man. “Dr. Light?” I asked. He saw us. “Oh hello Nicholas,” he said. Rock and Roll were assisting him. “Nicholas, welcome,” said Roll, “Keeping out of trouble?” “Yeah,” I said. “And who might this young man be?” asked Dr. Light. “This is Cross,” I said, “I’m helping him regain his memories.” It comes back to you, oh, oh [3x] It comes back to you Mocking birds and diamond rings Oh, I have thought of greater things All the things that fly by me All the lives that I could lead Maybe I was born for that Or maybe I was first to last You could call it cowardice But leave me to my studied bliss Am I just a shadow you drew? Cross was looking at the armor. “Amazing right?” asked Rock, “He created all of these.” Dr. Light cleared his throat. “My name’s Thomas Light,” said Dr. Light, “I’m the creator of these robot masters, and of Megaman. “You’re his father then?” asked Cross. “In a sense yes,” he said. I laughed. It comes back to you, it comes back to you All the things that you had lost will find their way to you It comes back to you, it comes back to you Looking back into the past and I can see it through It comes back to you, oh, oh [3x] It comes back to you I then went to visit my friend Madelyn Olivia Alanzi whom I call “Hope”. “Hello Nicholas,” she said, “How are things going?” “Pretty well,” I said, “This is Cross.” “Hi,” said Cross. “Its nice to meet you,” she said. “He’s lost his memories so I promised him I’d help get them back,” I said. “Well if anything is troubling you, please feel free to come to the cathedral,” said Hope, “Its all part of my duty as a mediator to help those who are lost to find their way.” Cross smiled. "Thanks again for the lunch yesterday," I said, "It was delicious." "Even when you're not hungry, you have to remember to eat you know," said Hope.