#only leonidas is mine | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

valeriefauxnom · 2 months ago

Text

Subtle Threads - Phares

Now, Phares is something of a bias of mine in the royal family, as you'd probably figure out if you've either read some of my fics or posts here. That being said, with him being such a slippery figure in the royal fam, especially in material that we can wholly put to him instead of the Progenitor and his continual influence warping him, he definitely doesn't have the more robust picture we get for more common members like Emile or Chelle.

That being said, I do think there are still plenty of interesting nuggets that hide within the many lines of text in Dragalia, and I figured I'd cover one for my boy!

Today's topic is that I think there's some evidence of an interesting relationship between Leonidas and Phares.

The introductory website outright says that they consider themselves 'worthy rivals'...

I'd like to expand on this relationship.

In Sibling Assembly, we see a hint that Leo and Phares seemed rather close growing up:

It makes sense. For a little while, they had their own little world to themselves to romp around in as the only brothers, and now a sister was intruding as younger siblings are so inclined to do.

That being said, even after Phares' wyrmscale, Leonidas still seems to consider Phares very highly. In the same conversation, despite being present in the capital to halt it and the one that was 'in charge' of the matter, he does nothing to stop Phares from freeing Beren when he announces his intentions bare:

For him, I almost think this amounts to Leo's form of trust for not immediately stepping in. Leonidas wanted to kill Beren outright, but by the time he gained the authority to order it so, something about Beren's Bad Vibes had grown too strong. The fact that he's letting Phares free him from his prison suggests to me that he believes that Phares could control him, or at least not immediately cause a massacre. At the very least, survive.

I'll also tack on that Leonidas first summons Phares in his story to help him with the fiends, even over Chelle with her high tech and maneuverability with the Gran Fiore, despite everything. While he might not fully know Phares' deteriorating state at this point, it's still a rather strong expression of trust that the Progenitor isn't in him and that Phares is able to help find a way to stem the invasion.

I think it's fair to say that there definitely is respect between the two, which is impressive that it managed to linger even through Leo's 'strong eat the weak' philosophy. Sure, he knows Phares to be very smart, but at the end of the day, if he truly were a hapless little flower, I think Leonidas would grow to disregard him all the same. That only goes so far on the battlefield, and one's performance on said battlefield is the metric he's ultimately concerned about.

They still do butt heads a tiny bit to show a shade of this supposed 'rivalry', though, between their different schools of thought, their ongoing Alberian chess rivalry show, and the fact that Phares was actually the second to start reading up on alchemy after Leo before he devoted himself enough to surpass him:

The chess match is, after all, a 'heated exchange' that has Leo there looking frustrated or otherwise in very deep thought (which he doesn't seem to have to do very often, able to beat Leif and Ilia both).

All this is speculative, but I'd also like to point out Phares' and Leonidas' weaponry.

Leo, of course, uses swords, and Phares, halberds. Halberds as a spear weapon actually have a bit of an advantage versus swords. No, the Fire Emblem Weapon Triangle didn't emerge from nothing!

The reasoning lies in its reach. It can safely hit and threaten a swordsman like Leo without endangering its wielder, and this sort of passive control of range and threat is what makes it hard for a sword-user to find an opportunity to strike safely.

Here's a video of what I mean, where you can see the swordsman just struggling to handle the constant threat of the spear he's facing, and is mostly just having to try to defend himself and seek an opening rather than actually engage in a true equal 'duel':

youtube

Here's yet more video for good measure, if you're really interested on how spear/sword match-ups tend to go:

youtube

And honestly? With how strong the legacy of using swords is baked into the royal fam as the cool thing to do with Alberius, I could see Phares instead pivoting to the spear and later a halberd to give him that edge against Leo, who is a martial juggernaut in the family.

Furthermore, Phares doesn't really indicate a problem with his physical strength, but he does obviously have one with endurance:

This stems from, of course, wyrmscale, which seems to affect his lungs:

While I'm not exactly a weapons-expert or how they were used, I think this ultimately kinda combines into another reason he went to the spear class of weapons: since he's at a 'safer' distance and always is going to have a sort of passive advantage against foes with shorter weapons, it might help reduce the amount of energy he's expending since his passive threat is so much more than a sword could manage.

Last but not least, with Phares' scales providing some much-needed protection to his left side, he's made himself quite a tough nut to crack, defensively. We don't know the full extent of his scales, but we do see that they at least largely cover his forearm, and have a more patchwork coverage of his upper chest:

See that arm vs. how it transitions at his wrist? That's encased in scale!

His model also suggests that they do at least partially run down his back (this is a side-back view of it, his head's in the top left)

In short, while its protection might not be complete, any amount of highly-resistant scales makes effectively hitting him that much harder, especially since his scales would work double time in stopping a slashing weapon from hitting his flesh as the protruding material.

Now, Dragalia is a magic society, which might make the spear vs. sword analysis more complicated, but still. With all this in mind, I do think that Phares might have gravitated to the spear as a means for him to help even the playing field, combat-wise, between himself and Leonidas. In pure physical shape, Leo would have him beat any day, but Phares has done his best to even the odds, keep the rivalry going, so that he could stand against Leonidas as an equal.

I just think it could be a nice touch to add to this rivalry of theirs.

At the end of the day, though, I'd like to point out that past all this rivalry or base respect between them, that Leonidas seems... rather caring. Emotionally vulnerable, for him. Even after considering his development after 12, Leonidas seems to be much more open about having a genuine brotherly love for Phares than he is for the other siblings.

Really, I'd like to just wave vaguely at Phares' story, sections 4 and 5 in particular, but since you're a captive audience if you've read this far, I'll just show you so you don't have to go hunting...

I mean, come on, anything that can get Leonidas to dramatically start yelling in caps lock is something that's he's not feeling flippant about!

Of course, he goes back to calmly snarking as soon as Phares' life is assured, but that's just Leo and the eldest trio's tendency to sarcasm...

I would also like to note that likely Chelle and Leonidas both were likely keeping vigil over him while he was unconscious, unconscious long enough to move him to the ship and for whatever Super Medical Squad Chelle assembled to ascertain that Phares' internal organs are OK. And for the both of them, both who tend to be busy with schemes and all the things they need/want to do, that says a lot!

As a final thing, Leonidas has good cause to be wary of Phares as next-in-line. All he would need to do is kill or otherwise permanently incapacitate a single elder brother, and the throne is his. And as I've shown, Leonidas harbors no delusions about Phares' abilities, which means that he both knows how dangerous a true foe Phares could be, and yet trusts him regardless even through their rivalry.

Sooo... yeah. Phares and Leonidas (just as Phares and Emile do) have a surprisingly fleshed-out dynamic that just kinda hid in the text, a thing that I'm not sure how many noticed besides me since nobody that's sane probably scours Phares' lines quite as much as I do!

Bonus Fun? Fact:

...Did you know that, -after Valyx, Phares actually seems to have the most square chin of the whole family? I just find it funny (and just found that one out a few weeks ago since I don't exactly stare at people's or characters' chins much...), since he's overall not exactly matching the whole 'Big Tough Strong MANLY MAN' aesthetic that that sort of trait tends to be used for.

(Leo's 'arms in air' pose admittedly and strangely is about equal to Phares, but in most all other arts he's far more angular and more like Euden or Chelle than Valyx...)

Fun? Fact 2:

Phares (well. Kinda. But that's always The Question for reading his lines pre-23. However, I don't think the Progenitor has enough personal knowledge of Euden yet to speak of him like Phares is...) is probably the closest anyone ever came to saying the word 'simp' in Dragalia!

#dragalia lost #dragalia #dragalia analysis #Phares #Euden may be my ultimate fav but Phares is a cozy no.2! And since he's so niche in canon I Will Be His Advocate!#He's smart. He's nice (even sometimes when possessed by a god). He's probably got 934 degrees and we only know of a few of them. He can BBQ #He can tease his siblings. Cure previously incurable illnesses. Read ancient languages. What more could you possibly want from him???

9 notes · View notes

thoughtfullyrainynightmare · 10 months ago

Note

Little next gen interactions I just thought of…

Leonidas and Dawn run off together and disappear for a bit. Fue and Nacht eventually find the two in a dark closet… arguing and competing over whose magic is stronger.

Dawn: Mine is Light Magic! Of course mine is brighter!

Leon: It maybe be brighter but your magic also lacks any heat which my attribute can supply!

…..

Solara pokes her head into the library and sees Dusk and Cyra on a sofa together. Cyra has fallen asleep and her head is on Dusk’s lap. Dusk is completely still, not wanting to wake Cyra.

Solara: Ahhh. Looks like she must’ve been up late again. Here, I’ll help carry her to her room.

Dusk: Uh, no… She shouldn’t be disturbed if she’s so tired so… I’ll… I can wait…

…..

Josele hears a commotion. The cause? A maid has spotted Eleonora and Vivian climbing to the roof of the castle. Being a protective mama bear, Josele goes after them and gets them back on the ground.

Nora: It was Vivian’s idea. She said the open space would be ideal for me to show off how big I can make my flames.

Josele: (looks at Vivian)

Vivian: Eleonora speaks truth. I deemed the roof the area to have the lowest chance of catching on fire.

…..

Just the Vermillions and the Fausts having a grand ol’ time together. 🥺

The families are bonding! T^T Though Fue and Nacht might not be that thrilled about it, but... their wives and kids are having fun ^^ Or at least having adventures. And in the case of Vivi and Nora, enabling each other.

But also...

Dusk: I can wait Solara: ...What if she stays asleep through the night? Dusk: I can wait Solara: Sweetie, you're not being reasonable Dusk: ... I think the only reasonable thing is to let a tired person sleep Solara: ....

#Erika #Faust fiancèe #leonidas vermillion #dawn faust #cyraleona vermillion #dusk faust #vivian faust #eleonora vermillion #black clover next gen #solara equinox #josele canty #fuegoleon vermillion #nacht faust

11 notes · View notes

boopboopimanidioot · 15 days ago

Note

if you could only eat one type of cereal what is your favorite hat to wear?

Creeper Rap

15Edit

Creeper Rap (also known as Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom in the album for the song) is an original song & rap. The song is written by Dan Bull and uploaded on to his and Element Animation's channel (who animated the video) on 31 March 2014.

Lyrics

I'm a Creeper

Minecraft's Grimm Reaper

Blowing up blocks like Al-Qaeda

I'm not a creature that'll eat ya

But I'll leave ya petrified

Peter reminds peeps of Minesweeper

Clicking on a brick, then you die in the deep

I'll find your mine, I'm a mind reader

Now the mine is mine, it's finders keepers

Oh hi, I'm a creeper

So nice, nice to meet ya

Is that the time? It's time to leave

And tick tock tick tock

Boom boom boom!

I can't stop singing this bloody tune, tune, tune

It's gonna make my brain go boom boom boom!

I can't stop singing this bloody tune, tune, tune

I do what I wanna

Move aside, mama

Tick tick, I'm a suicide bomber!

I take control, then I'm gonna

Leave a gaping hole, Belladonna

That'll take its toll

When I'm on a quest to invade

Detonate your soul!

Fizz like a lemonade then blow

So you better stay indoors

Or I'll find your mine when you're mining ore

You'll be dying, lying in gore

Darling, aw, what you crying for?

Did somebody break your diamond sword?

I'm the volatilest sort

What a violent force

That'll frighten Spartans hark and hear Leonidas talk

When he sees me: "Tonight we dine indoors!"

Boom boom boom!

I can't stop singing this bloody tune, tune, tune

It's gonna make my brain go boom boom boom!

I can't stop singing this bloody tune, tune, tune

It's official, a ballistic missile

Couldn't get this result

I blow through stone like a six foot chisel

So you better shiver when you hear that sizzle

Fffffo shizzle!

Take a listen! It's a premonition of my mission

Death by demolition!

If I don't come home there's a sign in my kitchen

To describe why I'm missing (why?)

Gone fission

White hot raps, I got stacks

Sometimes when I die, I drop tracks

I got a lot, ocelot, fight off cats

If I'm feeling nice, then I might not, blast!

Boom boom boom!

I can't stop singing this bloody tune, tune, tune

It's gonna make my brain go boom boom boom!

I can't stop singing this bloody tune, tune, tune

My hobbies and interests include going

Boom boom boom!

6 notes · View notes

filmflam-and-nonsense · 2 years ago

Note

i wanna know more about your ramshackle boys.

So I got this ask a while back but I was dissatisfied with any work I put into drawing the boys. Anywho here’s that info, anon!

Mikael Hatch: Third year transfer from pomefore and vice house-warden. Obvious inspiration from Constance Hatchaway and one of her grooms Michael from the 50th anniversary celebration. I still have trouble really nailing his outwardly warm facade. Not shown here, but included in the card I made earlier, he also wears the five pearl necklaces, but I am debating on a change to better suit his character and activities.

Claude Gracey: I based him off the scrapped raven ghost host concept, and a friend of mine suggested the name based on an imagineer who worked on the haunted mansion. To stick with the bird theme I gave him a falconer glove in the dorm uniform card design (still in work). I wanted him to slouch to look more like a peering raven.

Addison Leer: the hatbox ghost has a nickname listed as king leer, which is where the last name came from, but Addi sounds like Hattie and I thought it suits him. I also took some inspiration from the story of the girl with the green ribbon to nail in the headless aspect. He is the only one I have not made a card for yet. At first it was the design itself that stumped me, but then it became a matter of setting, activity, and perspective. I am working on him :(

Leonidas Graves: my favorite absolutely. Madame Leota Toombs as the basis, he has some funky hair and a crystal ball. My sibling actually is the reason I came up with the ghostly instruments skater chain I gave leonidas. I wanted him to be more of a rebellious figure, where Leota is a powerful woman who just happened to get her own curse turned on her, trapping her in the crystal ball, leonidas uses his crystal ball and a bag of marbles to see beyond.

#marveem rambles #my art #marveem strikes #digital art #twst #disney twst #twisted wonderland #twst oc #twst ramshackle #ramshackle dorm #ramshackle boys #asks

61 notes · View notes

14muffinz · 2 years ago

Text

Too much anxiety to tag everybody, but when I say the concept of His world leo's joining in on peepaw therapy sessions does not leave me alone

I am going to refer to them as their fic titles, because it is 11pm and i am not going to loose sleep over character names. (Using LJ/MJ to refer to main timeline leos/mikeys, and then just the abbreviation for the oldies.)

Included/Referenced are: OMO - @/cherrytraveller

MNMC - @/mutantninjamidlifecrisis

AMW - @/teainthesnow

TAE - @/apatheticrobots

MH - @/characcoon

The new guys, OMO!LJ decides, are like, way off.

He's pretty sure everyone else is seeing it, too, because it almost looks like those two are getting along.

Also. The one who'd waltzed in and claimed the name "Leonidas" and taken no questions had a fucking axe.

Like, what.

"Did you see that?" MNMC!LJ whispers in his ear. "Those two just smiled at eachother. Without banter. What the fuck."

MH!MJ, the only Mikey in the entire meeting (that'd been a real shitshow, don't ask) hums. "Someone go call in the bodysnatcher, we need an analysis, stat."

"Calling it now," TAE!LJ announces, "big one's five years earlier than ours."

"Wow."

TAE!LJ jumps at the newbie's appearance.

"This whole thing is... more common than I thought. So what? We're supposed to talk to eachother? I've done plenty of that already, trust me."

"Oh, please," OMO!LJ snaps.

HW!LJ raises his hands in surrender, looking around at the party before him. There was a little variety among eye colours throughout, strangely enough, and OMO!LJ notes the near impossible shade of bright blue this guy's are.

"You're literally a Leo, there's no denying that there's something," MJ snaps.

"Like, perhaps, why your guy showed up without his sword."

This time, several of them jump at the appearance of AMW, who plops instantly down into his half-used chair.

"Especially why he needed it replaced. Thing's sentimental, he wouldn't just abandon it, and the masks are on the new one. So what happened there?"

"Our ninpo's separated," HW!LJ responds, and it's so painfully a deflection of what really happened there that OMO!LJ and MNMC!LJ lock eyes. "Ever since he showed up, he's been leeching off of mine, which, fair enough, the universe kind of fucked us over like that, but then, like, a few months ago, there was this whole thing, with a black hole and shit, and I tell you, he just appeared with the damn thing."

"Score one for team shit did not yet hit the fan," TAE!LJ deadpans.

"Oh no, I don't mean the bubblegum bitches."

AMW!LJ lets out a choked laugh at the comparison.

"He popped up when Micheal, uh... beamed me up."

Right there with the lovely, painful comparisons.

This whole thing did not work very well when most of them, excluding like 2, had very similar experiences with the Kraang.

"What, so he just showed up then and there?" MNMC!LJ finally needles, his hand a death grip around the arm of his chair.

"Is this an interrogation?"

"Perhaps," OMO!LJ informs him.

~~~

"Wow," Nidas says when he plops himself into his chair. "This is depressing.

There are like, 3 different dead-eyed stares locked on him right now, yeesh. Was this what he'd been like around Nardo at first?

"Oh wow," MH comments, "we finally found one who doesn't combust into tears on the spot."

"Oh, like you were any better," MNMC snaps.

MH side-eyes him.

"It's okay, Mike, you can hair flip," MNMC reassures.

"With what? His overgrown sideburns?"

Well, this is going swell.

He looks over at the quiet one, and realises that he's staring at the arm. Of course he is, given that everyone here, excluding Chin-Stripes over there, were using prosthetics.

"Hey," OMO snaps at him, so of course Nidas focuses in on the guy. "How do you get it? The indifference thing? I've been trying, for like, moths."

TAE sighs, but is interrupted before he could say anything else.

"Oh no, I'm doing terribly right now," Nidas assures him curtley. "But like, I saw the little guy on the way in, so since I came back you're already the fourth Mikey I've had to–"

"Four?" Several voices exclaim.

"Where'd that last from come from?" MNMC questions.

Ah, great.

"Y'know, when they warned us that the circumstances would be a little off, this was not what I was expecting."

~~~

"You got him out?"

AMW!LJ is uncomfortably close to his face.

"Y... yes?" HW!LJ stutters out.

"Teach us your ways."

"Well," he coughs awkwardly, thinking back on what had transpired that fine day. "There's a lot of life-threatening shit involved. Soul-sucking. We kind of almost killed my bro's on accident then we had to like, relive trauma and shit to find them. It was this whole thing."

"So you're traumatised?" MJ prompts with an eye roll.

"For life, man."

("Mood," MNMC mutters under his breath.

MJ very curtly flicks him.)

"From today and onwards, I've seen two different Mikey's with sideburns."

AMW groans, loudly. "So to seperate the two of us, I have to make shit worse? UGH!"

"Hey," HW!LJ offers, placing a hand on his alternate's shoulder. "You'll get your own font of depression eventually, don't worry about it. It'll pass, too, before you know it you'll be right back to Leo "I process trauma through humour and never confront my feelings 'till I die" Hamato."

"Y'all need therapy," MJ deadpans."

"Jokes on you," MNMC!LJ smirks, "we're already here."

#peepaw multiverse #rise leonardo #i am keeping this as quiet as possible lmao #ficlet #rise of the tmnt #hamato leonardo #rise leo #rise future leo

5 notes · View notes

tethrras · 2 months ago

Text

maia's dragon age worldstates

hi everyone it's maia tethrras and because i cannot ever find a good oc directory for my blog (and let's face it the only ocs of mine people know about are my dragon age ocs) i thought i'd make a dragon age worldstate masterlist !!! this will be a solo post but i'll be adding it as a link on my pinned. without further ado:

WORLDSTATE 1:

Brunhilde "Hilda" Cousland | Archer rogue / Bard | 💗 Alistair | Status: Dead (9:52 Dragon)

Kara Hawke | Two-handed warrior / Reaver | 💗 Varric | Status: In the Fade, whatever that means (9:42 Dragon)

Evariel "Eva" Lavellan | Fade mage | 💗 Varenlath, Solas (previous) | Status: Alive

Victoire Thorne nee Chevenard | Spellblade/Arcane warrior mage | 💗 Davrin | Status: Alive (9:52 Dragon)

WORLDSTATE 2:

Adora Aeducan | Sword and shield warrior / Champion | 💗 Leliana | Status: Dead (9:31 Dragon)

Anais Innocente Caron | Duelist rogue | 💗 Nathaniel | Status: Dead (9:52 Dragon)

Edwin Hawke | Force Mage | 💗 Anders | Status: Alive (9:52 Dragon)

Lavinia Trevelyan | Archer rogue | 💗 Varric | Status: Alive (9:52 Dragon)

???

WORLDSTATE 3:

Amos Amell | Shapeshifter mage | 💗 Alistair | Status: Unknown

??? Hawke | Templar | 💗 Fenris | Status: Alive (9:52 Dragon)

Caeda Cadash | Artificer | 💗 Blackwall | Status: Alive (9:52 Dragon)

???

WORLDSTATE 4:

Iridessa "Dez" Tabris | Dual dagger assassin rogue | 💗 Zevran | Status: Unknown (to me)

Babette Hawke | Blood mage | 💗 Sebastian | Status: Dead (9:42 Dragon)

???

Leonidas Laidir |

TO BE PLACED:

#my ocs #maia.txt

16 notes · View notes

ask-paradox-and-friends · 7 months ago

Text

Welp. Here's mine.

I do not like Brunhilde. She's mean.

Zues seems to have plot armour cuase I'm sure Adam hit him with shit that would've killed the rest of the roster.

Hajiun just popped out of nowhere and kinda was an asspull.

I'm still confident Posiden lost cause of his ego.

Jack was lucky he was fighting herc Noone else would've fallen for his tricks. So herc is a dumb ass. (Still like him)

I don't like Thor or lu bu both seem rather bland. I do like the lu bu spin off.

Odin and this Genesis of the universe God would be shit final fights.

Leonidas isn't weak. Or a fraud yall are mean.

I still have no idea why people hate Qin.

If I'm being real Qin shouldn't have won. I think he only won cause hades debuffs were more painful.

It should've been Simo vs Apollo cause I really wanna see Sniper vs Archer.

Loki is the 3rd weakest. And Shiva is tied with Beelzebub for third strongest.

Record of ragnarok hot takes:

Ragnarok isn’t Zeus’ fault and he shouldn’t have lost all his family members the way he did. (Zeus was just following the rules)

If Odin isn’t the last boss I will riot.

Tesla should have won his battle.

Poseidon should have won his battle.

Goll is one of the best Valkyries and people are just mean.

Ares needs time to shine; he can be funny but he needs time to shine.

Qin Shi Huang can come back from his coma any day now 😭 😆

Adamas coming back was brilliant and I’m glad he came back.

Record of ragnarok season 1 animation wasn’t bad.

Imma say it : Hades should have won his battle as well. But I like Qin so it’s all good.

Kintoki shouldn’t fight. he should be a supporting character.

This current round, Round 10, is boring to me. I’m sorry to those who like it.

A big hot take of mine: At the end of ragnarok all the people who lost should come back. So they can fight next ragnarok.

181 notes · View notes

strykingback · 1 year ago

Text

Event: Rescue Mission. Phase 3, Walk Towards Death.

"I didn't think Brumel would be the ones to come and ruin my plans! I even thought that Barbatos would be able to handle you lot. Guess he was nothing more but another disappointment!" The familiar voice spoke with Eros' and Leonidas' eyes widening with shock and their teeth gritting....

"Thats one voice I'll never forget hearing...." Eros said.

"Aye.... that has to be our mark..... the one who started the Brumelian Atlesian War......" Leonidas chimed in as well.

"Cloning, Project Immortalis, Fusion Energy Concepts.... it was all right there in front of us. This is Nero Basilicus. The man who had caused that damned war. But didn't he die in his bed?! No, this is merely but a clone....." Guangxian said.

"Aye, a clone is just some cheap imitation of the real deal...." Eros said.

"Thats right gentlemen! Unless if you want to try and stop those plans of mine.. why not come and get me then because I know some of you are looking to get some vengeance! Besides, we can have a lot of fun, me versus all of you and your shitty little force!!! I'll be at the hangar waiting for you..." the clone of Nero would speak on the speakers before it ended..

Eros would clench his teeth moving to grab his helmet and putting right back on as he activated his wrist communicator. "Eros? Whats wrong?" Hermes asked. "Mate, I just found out who was behind all this... bloody Nero Basilicus.... a clone though..." The commander would answer with a sigh leaving Hermes...

"Take him down... he was the man who left me more tortured than anything.... and as for Krieg... he deserves it as well. His fathers sins can finally be laid to rest. Clone or not." Hermes spoke over the communicator.

"Aye, and also get all the civvies on those Corvette Runners and get back to the Atelius. I have a bad feeling about whats coming next." Eros said ending the communications as the moment was tense amongst the small strike squadron as the air screamed with death hanging over them...

"This is it mates.....I can't believe it.. but the death flag has finally been risen...." Eros said.

"There's no turning back now. I made my choice when you tapped me for this mission. After all even if it is a clone.. for years I wanted to get my hands on that bastard for what he had done to not just me.. but to you as well Eros." Leonidas said placing his hand upon the commanders shoulders.

"I rescued my mother.... found the dark secret behind the Solitas Liberation LLC, and I am so glad everyone else is alive....but now.... this might be the only and last time where I may feel my mothers embrace...." Zek said with his hands trembling and tears dripping down to the floor.

"Now... I want to make sure he feels my friends wrath.... because I have not come far... to die now!" The sniper said while Eros and the others nodded in agreement. "Alright then... no turning back? Then lets do this.... Time we drove knife in and ended this once and for all." Eros said in a determined tone.

"Let's Show Nero That Brumel Has Grown Stronger Than Before..."

Later at the Hangar, the strike team would enter looking up at the burly man in the suit standing on a railing looking down at Eros and his small unit all aiming their weapons at Nero. "Looks like you boys made it.... but I am certain you might be wondering whats behind me here?" He said snapping his fingers with the lights revealing what seemed to be a mecha-version of the Lord of The Seas, Perseus.

"Awww fuckin' hell....." Eros said.

"Thats right, ever since we heard the Liberation was back in action that very same machine that haunts my dreams to this very day, I decided to get things back into action by creating Mecha- Perseus! Meant to better than that Titanic Lizard Fuck!" Nero said with Eros growling a bit underneath his breath...

"Ohh. struck a nerve I see? Sadly I guess Brumel just have nothing more but bitches now in their army." Nero teased with Leonidas firing at the man but noticing that the blaster bolts were ricocheting off of his chest. "Nice try.. but I'm not gonna let you all get to the main course just yet......" He would say walking into the cockpit of the machine with its yellow eyes flashing to life as it began to move.

"Oh bloody hell! Get moving now!!!" Eros said stating to run with everyone else following in tone. "Command! We have a huge situation here, Code Red! I repeat! Code Red!!!" Leonidas shouted with one voice replying.

"Huh... so you really thought I was out for the count just yet?" Ace would say with a sense of relief washing over the strike team.

"Ace!? Damn! I thought you were done for after the bloody fight with Cordovin!" Zek spoke with shock in his voice.

"Not quite.... but still. I gotta help you guys... cause if this machine made that damn wannabe emperor feel fear, then lets make him fear on whats coming next." Ace said with some slight pain being heard in his voice.

"Mate, just where the hell are you!?! " Eros asked

"On the Atelius, if anything this thing has a railcannon that can be used to fuck that thing.... and the only downside is... that you may need to fight it with what ever you can find. Rocket Launchers, Active Artillery, anything that can fuck it up." Ace said over the comms with the team rushing out as Mecha-Perseus would release a screeching metallic roar chasing after the team.

"Copy!"

"MAYA! What does this thing have?!"

"Right! Mecha-Persues does contain a primary shield that you may have to disable it first so Ace can follow up with the railgun, the best way to hit this ting and get it disabled is with plenty of artillery and a possible airstrike." MAYA would answer.

"Eros! We need an airstrike on that thing asap!" Leonidas shouted.

"Oh fuck that! Thats danger close!"

"Eros! That thing Nero is piloting will kill us if we don't do it!" Leonidas commanded.

"Fuck! Atelius this Strike Force One! I need an airstrike on callsign: "Mecha-Perseus!" DANGER BLOODY CLOSE!!!!!" Eros shouted over the comms with a response coming in.

"Copy that Eros. This is Alpha 1 and 2 proceeding with your request over! Get as clear as you can! We're making our approach, over!!!" One of the fighter jets responded through the comms, with a sigh from Eros. "Oi Boys! Lets kick it yeah!?!" He shouted with everyone knowing what that meant.... Run like its your last day on Remnant. Which with that being said.. they all had to push themselves to escape not only A mechanized version of Perseus and on top of that a literal airstrike that would possibly kill them if they did not make it to cover in time....

Which the mechanized Titan opened up its mouth with a stream of electricity was shot out with the strike team having to bob and weave around the attacks. With the sound of roaring jets being heard above them as Nero moved Mecha Perseus to look up and attempt to shoot the jets down with its shoulder missiles with both jets dropping their ordinance and striking the beast disabling its primary hard light shield while on the ground everyone leaped for cover..

"Boss! Primary Shields are down!!!" MAYA would

"Ace! it's Shields are down! Fire on that fucker!!!" Eros said in a hurry.

"Copy that! Railgun Charging! Ten Percent.... Thirty... Forty....! Enabling Hellhound of Liberation Mode.... to increase the Railgun output! One-Hundred!... One-hundred ten, Twenty Fifty-five!!!!" Ace would say with a little light growing brighter coming from a distance away as finally.....

"I WONT MISS...."

And bang.... the railgun's bolt was launched piercing the head of Mecha Perseus with a loud resounding explosion following fter the strike with the machine releasing a groan as it fell forward to the ground. "Whey, Ace! That was a fine bloody shot there!!! Thanks for the assist as well Alpha one and two....time we ended this once and for all."

"IT'S TIME FOR ALL THE SINS THAT NERO TRIED TO RUN FROM FINALLY CATCHES UP TO HIM...."

#[Event: Rescue Mission]#[The Deadliest Sniper- Zek]#[The Hellhound Pilot- Ace]#[The Disgraced Councilman- Nero]#[The Technologist Hacker- Guangxian]#[A Commander Never Surrenders- Eros]#[Every Hero Has It's Story- Drabble]#tw: long post

0 notes

libidomechanica · 2 years ago

Text

So the lure, away she dies: he could not so Leonidas and imagination

To leap large precedent of pity was from abroad as transitory hues; for but a kiss the first despair that

some winter with certain grief there is neither Sunne below a prisoner had to swing. With all the night as might legs and

pearls and murderous and the feast might for the doom assign’d. Nor virginity; there haue I scaled them chant it to higher

niche, alone, now set to work as brittle as them lose it. ’ As they have seen them; only remained a little head,

and thought, adonis’ voice. Their state to mix their power abuse— was her she knew. And sends a spark up: is it then his

friends from the charm is broke through a bleeding spangles, shew like milk and outcast men, somewhat more than civil home-bred street

of fields of touch, by scent, by taste. And withers the Tyrian, they bid the wind. He plunged amidst such disparage their frenzies;

thou should not bear with you, ’ save their plays;—boats when I laughed something the pitch their Destiny and of rye, that Johnson;

whereas shee is my spite, thoughtfully I ring out of marionettes, then under the mart for his ground. Don Juan, who

mighty, for now and then, like or white, the dying Moslem men threw theme: I have seen the noble pair,—all the dead man

was a Cloud they spend the strong upon the General Ribaupierre’s was much of earth was lively joy. Down over hips,

then despair, shall shall we? Jealous in a sunny lands or Franceses? The joys of mutual hate to keep me alive

never heart is sick of shepheards God of sheep, to march on the elms last leaves them all your neck did crave; but not

respondent a new theme: then underneath, as lights in vain! Mine eyes as that trite old temple, and all their daily labour

to taste, no pipe, no incense sweet a sleepeth in Lethe lake, broad streams thy pure hand; but whether luck and thirty-three of

carefull Colinet. I think of Me! That in thine eyes fix’d hour to think their light than to prey; and Pegasus hath

but here I must confirm’d but more his precedent so often thro’ me? Because their brothers being a you and night.

#poetry #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Markov chains #Markov chain length: 7 #154 texts #ballad

0 notes

valeriefauxnom · 1 year ago

Note

i just caught up to your post canon dragalia fic in one day and hollyy shit dude. i am on the edge of my seat!!!! its so enjoying and well versed and i cannot wait for the next chapter

Ahhh! I always am ecstatic to hear reviews or even just random thoughts of any kind regarding my work, but hearing people like my work on Scaling enough to binge it is even crazier! I will forever be more and more amazed people have done that as the length increases, like don't they say an average novel is like about 50k words?? That would mean you've just binged 3 novels of my crazy assortment of thoughts on a possible post game scenario for a dead game in 1 day, which is nuts!

With Scaling in particular having such long chapters I worry sometimes that I'm getting a bit too lost in all my thoughts for it and getting too wordy, so it's always nice to see people are still enjoying it after it has grown increasingly complex, even if we are starting to get closer to a more definitive break in the case, were it a proper mystery novel.

You're the first person to send anything on Tumblr about it (or anything in general really), too, so this message is precious in another way! I'm always glad to field questions (though of course would shy away from spoiling my own works) or explain more about why x decision was made because boy I think I should just make 'overthinking' my hallmark at this point!

As a treat for how much this makes my week, here's a little snippet of a dragalia fic in progress that will probably be a long time in the making yet if it ever does see the light of day on AO3 properly, (so I don't get distracted by yet another thing instead of working on Scaling and/or finishing Control). It's a tentative collection solely based around the concept of the siblings finding out just how weird the Halidom is, especially Leonidas and Chelle since he was in charge of it for all that time and she's always poking about for info.

---

But when he looked back up to the expenses log, all the expenses listed were sky-high as well. The food expense, dragon expenses, aid expense, equipment expense, everything was all exceedingly high for such a small nation (as they should be, given what he knew about Euden’s governance). But to still draw a profit if expenses weren’t being understated meant an even more ridiculous income.

Sure enough, the few categories under income were even more egregious. Tax revenue was relatively moderate, but other revenue sources like ‘precious gems/mining products’, ‘gifts’ and ‘tourism income’ were far, far beyond what was rational in a kingdom engaged in war for its entire history.

Just as he was about to start demanding explanations for the inflated income, he spotted yet another egregious, incomprehensible bit to the income column. “Pipple?” He said, almost hostile, “What exactly is a pipple, and why is it on the income statement, let alone for such riches it is supposedly bringing in? No, no, I think I understand now.” Not waiting for an answer, Leonidas began to speculate. He’d never heard of anything sounding like ‘pipple’ before, and Leonidas boasted quite the vocabulary as crown prince. He was expected to have a suitably verbose and eloquent bank of words with which to communicate with foreign heads of state and domestic nobility alike. That meant this was likely something of a new invention in language.

A new invention, and something that brings in exorbitant funds…something very well hidden, if Chelle did not report on its trade or presence in a service business when we made joint moves on the Halidom, and it’s that sizable of an industry in New Alberia…Ah.

Quite devious of you, brother. I never expected for you to become so involved with such a shady industry, but it explains a great deal of their surprising shadow wealth.

There was only one thing this ‘Pipple’ could be: some sort of newfangled illicit drug his brother was putting to market as a supplier, raking in rupies hand over fist as people learned the effects of whatever potent cocktail this Pipple was composed of.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and a new nation in war against a vastly more powerful, established land was desperate indeed.

---

So yeah, thank you again for your message! Not to toot my own horn too much, but if you're eager for maybe a bit more dragalia fic from me as you wait, I've got another fic up on AO3, though it's not connected with Scaling or even canon in general as a bad-end au what if! It's also likely not quite as polished, being written in like 2 days, but hey I'm just too happy about the two artworks my best friend made for it and now am legally obligated to try and show the art off at any given moment!

#scaling the walls of a mystery #dragalia lost fic #Thanks so much again!!!#inbox responses #dragalia lost

8 notes · View notes

shadowedxcat · 13 days ago

Text

Mae huffed a quiet laugh. “I have most definitely not met a Leonidas before... Cool name. I like it.” She gave a swift nod before shifting her notebook under one arm as they continued walking.

At his question, she exhaled, glancing ahead for a moment before answering. “People used to call me Emmy when I was a kid. It made sense, y’know? Easy, expected...” She paused, a small, fond smile tugging at her lips. “But then Hiro—my little brother—was learning to talk; and he struggled with my name. ‘Emiko’ was too much; and even ‘Emmy’ didn’t come out right. He’d just say ‘Mmm’ whenever he meant me, like the sound the letter makes." She let out a quiet chuckle, pausing as she momentarily got lost in the memory of her brother's first words. “Eventually, 'Mmm' started sounding more like ‘Mae.’ And after a while… it just felt right. It was his name for me before it was mine." The fact her name came from her brother made it all the more special. In her family, he was the only one who never judged her, who loved her unconditionally solely for being herself.

At Leo’s enthusiasm, it was hard to not raise a playful brow. “You really do love matcha, huh?” She grinned, clearly entertained by the passion. “Oh, I definitely get it. It’s kinda earthy, kinda grassy—but in the best way. It’s got this… grounding thing about it, y’know?” She shrugged a little, as if the experience of matcha was universal. “It’s like you’re drinking something real, something connected to the earth.”

At the mention of being from somewhere more 'big city', she nodded, tone shifting slightly as she wasn't entirely fond of reminiscing on her hometown. “Yeah... I grew up in the Bay Area—San Francisco.” She paused, glancing ahead for a moment. “You could find matcha there, in cafés at least. Or sometimes matcha sweets if you knew the right place to look in Chinatown.” She sighed, a soft mix of longing and acceptance in her voice. “So, yeah. This little town... matcha’s a rare find.” She glanced over at Leo, a mischievous spark in her eyes. “So, what’s your bet? You think they’ve caught on yet here; or am I about to get looked at like I've asked for my drink to be served in a unicorn horn or something?”

"Emiko," Leo repeated, and he smiled despite his headache. "I haven't met an Emiko before, though I bet you haven't met a Leonidas before either. That's my full first name." Well it was one of his first names, and the other was just as unique, at least in this country. Maybe not back in India though. "Why Mae?" Leo asked. "I mean, Leo is obviously a shortening of Leonidas, but why did you choose Mae?" He wasn't criticizing - Leo was just curious about why Mae had chosen the way that she had. They walked together, and Leo's eyes lit up when Mae mentioned matcha. "Shit, I love matcha," he said, and now of course that was what Leo wanted. "It kind of tastes like earth, but...in a good way," he went on, and then Leo laughed because he knew that sounded ridiculous. "I don't really know how to explain it, but I bet you get it." It was a good thing even if it didn't sound that way. "Maybe they have it now," Leo wondered. "Matcha is going to spread all across this country, mark my words."

Something about what Mae had said caught Leo's attention, and he asked, "So are you from a place more 'big city' than this?" he asked. "I get it. I'm from...sort of everywhere. I've lived in cities big and small, and I see the appeal of both. In the bigger cities you can get matcha or, well, a shit ton of other things, but a small town...I kind of like the vibe. It feels more...I don't know, closed off or something, which kind of feels safe in a way?" Or maybe Leo just felt more protected because of all the witches who lived here.

They arrived at The Ceramic Cup, and before going inside, Leo asked, "So do you want to take bets on if they've got on to the matcha trend yet?"

#{ mae.posts }#{ mae.threads — leonidas 'leo' desai }

17 notes · View notes

thoughtfullyrainynightmare · 9 months ago

Text

A/N: This is a collab between myself and @loosesodamarble that we finished a couple days ago! I just got around to posting it ^^' It's for the 1.6k follows event from some weeks ago ^^ Caelum belongs to Erika, and Leonidas is mine

Summary: Caelum Roulacase, who is a later bloomer and has been in Spade to learn magic from King Yuno, is now back in Clover. But... he is dealing with some thoughts and a lot of emotions that he'd rather first get out, and discuss with someone else. And the best person he can think of for this purpose is Leonidas Vermillion. The two young men hit off a conversation and... perhaps start a new friendship Genre: General Pairing: Caelum & Leonidas Length: ~5.5k Contains: ...Philosophical discussion? Some manga references? It's very safe imo

And for a moment, Cal smirked with a kind of a huff, and looked up in what appeared to be amusement. Which it was. Since in that moment, Cal thought about how much the mannerism appeared as that of Leon's father.

An apple doesn't fall far from the tree, or how was it? He thought in passing before opening his mouth again.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked, gesturing to the other seat around the table.

Leon glanced at the seat, which was vacant. And it wasn't the only seat, or the only table, available outside. Or inside for that matter. Which in itself was telling.

But there was no reason to decline the request as he wasn't expecting anyone.

"No, you're free to join me," he nodded with a kind smile, which was returned with another nod. "Do you want to get something to drink first though?" He continued with a slight wonder.

But Cal let out a sigh while sitting down, and picked up the menu card on the table lazily. "Depends on what they have on offer."

The tone was tired, and more downbeat than one might have expected. Perhaps something was bothering him?

The two boys sat in silence for a moment as Caelum perused the menu.

"I, uh, suppose I should be saying 'welcome back'," Leon said while resting his hands on the table. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Caelum blinked in surprised and looked up at Leon with a half-hearted smile. "Oh. Yeah. And thanks."

This crossing of paths was made awkward not only by the fact that the boys weren't particularly close but also due to them not seeing each other in the last three years. Not for a lack of effort. Simply, Caelum hadn't been in Clover Kingdom whatsoever.

"I wasn't even aware you'd come back," Leon again broke the silence. "And here I thought I'd hear about it first from Dawn-"

"Ahahaha... That's the thing..." Caelum's laugh was clearly forced, making Leon pause and furrow his brow. He and Cal locked eyes, prompting Caelum's answer. "Dawn doesn't know I'm back. Right now, only my family and Uncle Langris have been told."

Leon nodded, not entirely sure what to say to that.

Leon kept quiet long enough for Caelum to wave over a server and put in a drink order for himself. When the server left, Caelum put his attention back on Leon.

"I was kinda hoping to talk to you first, actually," Caelum admitted. His fingers drummed against the table's surface. "'Cause I know we're not really buddies but I was kinda hoping someone would hear me out."

Leon raised a brow. "And that someone can't be Dawn?" Whatever could Cal be worried about? And what would it have to be for him to seek me out over Dawn of all people?

Looking at Caelum, there was a lack of warmth from the boy. They weren't close, but Leon recalled him usually being smiles and gentlemanly grace. But now, he was stiff and muted, like a dimmed light.

"No." He simply said, eyes down, and lacking of that very glimmer that he used to hold, which was only emphasized the blunt answer.

Leon leaned back in his chair, opting to make himself assume a more relaxed and open position, over that of questioning. "Well, in that case, I'd be happy to lend an ear," he stated, to which Caelum nodded.

And it almost felt as if in that nod, there was a thanx.

"So... You've spent time abroad too, right?"

Leon quirked an eyebrow and glanced to Cal for a moment, because it seemed almost as if a rhetorical question.

Cal knew that he was only half-Cloverian.

"Yes. I travel quite frequently, but most of the visits are short in nature. At least these days. Though it's a goal for me to spend some extended period of time back in Thea again, to know how it is to really live there. See the kind of insight to the country that you can't get from a short visit," he explained, factually, but in a rather casual manner.

And again Cal nodded, listening to the explanation. "How was it?" He asked, but before Leon could answer, he corrected himself. "I mean... I'm not looking for an explanation about what kind of a country that is, or the customs or the people or the..." he trailed off, his voice fading in the slightest as the words kept pouring out of him.

After which, he sighed, and rubbed the back of his head.

"I ... How was it to live there?" He spoke with a heavy tone, as if it had been an ordeal, whatever it is that he went through while in Spade. And granted that there were plenty of stories still in the air about Spade, the weight of the tone wasn't all too surprising.

"Caelum..." Leon said while leaning forward and placing his hand onto the table. "It doesn't sound like that is the question you'd like to ask from me."

Cal's lips parted for a moment, but as he was about to speak, the server brought him his drink.

"Thanks," Cal stated, and Leon nodded. After which, as the server left, there was a brief silence that hung over them.

A train of thought that was lost, perhaps. Or just words that would have jumbled together no matter what.

Until, finally, Cal sighed again. "It isn't," he admitted, and picked up his glass, taking a sip. "I just thought that someone who has been travelling could... maybe... I don't know, understand how I feel."

Leon let out a thoughtful hum. "Well... if we want to split hairs, I haven't been 'travelling' that much. I spend time between two countries. But if you want to talk to someone who has been travelling, I can direct you to my mother."

Cal let out an amused scoff as a reply.

"You didn't just visit, or travel, to Spade," Leon pointed out. "You lived there for an extended period of time. And... I can't imagine how anxiety inducing that must've been."

A look of recognition, perhaps awareness was the better word, flickered across Cal's face before he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"It was rough at times but I wouldn't say 'anxiety-inducing'," Cal said.

"Come now, you don't have to downplay any of your troubles. You shouldn't be, really." Leon smiled at Cal, his eyebrows raised, making his expression and words a bit more inviting to his companion. "Cal, you said you wanted to talk to me and now you're closing up?"

"Hm. Aha... Caught me," laughed Cal. While he smiled, it still wasn't full. But a hesitance and tension seemed to ease from Cal. "I don't want to look back on my experience as negative. But there was just... a lot. The Grinberryalls are good people and they took care of me, but it always felt awkward because they're family friends of family friends and, well, just hearing it, it sounds-"

Leon nodded, chuckling despite himself. "The degrees of separation felt like too much. And perhaps you felt like you were taking advantage of a flimsy connection?"

"Y-yeah!" Cal's face colored up to a rosy pink. "I think everyone in Spade got sick of hearing me say 'I don't know the royals directly but my parents are coworkers with the king's foster brother'... But it was all I had."

Leon laughed again. It was amusingly familiar.

Someone reaching to establish a connection and reap its benefits was nothing new in the realm of nobility. Son of Whichever Family. Heir to Whatever Title. People wanted to justify getting a chance to interact with someone, no matter how tenuous the link might be. In Leon's experience, though, people rarely showed shame when attempting to appeal to his parents or Leon himself. Folks usually behaved entitled to what they desired.

But Cal felt shame for grasping at the thin thread that gave him a chance to speak with King Yuno. Not that Leon blamed Cal. Sometimes, even the best people had to stoop to uncomfortable levels to achieve their goals.

"Hm... If you ask me, I think you don't need to be so ashamed of the opportunity you were granted," remarked Leon. "You're humble enough to admit that your connection to King Yuno isn't strong but you didn't have any ulterior motives, unlike some. To be perfectly frank, I don't think he would've taken you in if he believed your intentions weren't pure."

"Really?"

"Without a doubt." Leon sipped from his drink.

Cal stayed quiet for a moment, just thinking about it.

Sure, King Yuno had an... unusual background to say the least, and was someone who didn't take the suck-ups seriously in the slightest. Not that a lot of the higher ups did, but where King Yuno differed, was that he didn't entertain the gestures or attempts, or take advantage of the gold-digger behaviour. Which... by extension also meant that he, at least, didn't think so about him.

"I... suppose you're right" Caelum admitted with a faint, relieved smile.

"And... in case it becomes a talking point," Leon continued in a rather casual manner, because it seemed within reason. "I don't think anyone here thinks that you were trying to take an advantage of the loose connection either."

"Well... here people know me," Cal stated. "I wasn't exactly ... well, hoping for them to have forgotten who I am."

"And they haven't."

"It's just that I was reminded of it so often while in Spade."

"I get it."

There was another silence that settled into the air, as the two sipped their drinks. The world went by. People had errands to run, or they were just enjoying the weather, same as them.

"Is that what you were so worried about?" Leon inquired, glancing to Cal from the corner of his eye.

"I... suppose.." Cal rubbed the back of his head. "It's... as said, I was reminded so often about seeming like I was just... a gold-digger that it... I'm just..." he trailed off for a moment, and looked back into his glass, as his mind settled into a sea of static.

"You wanted to be reminded that you're a good person, with well grounded morals and ideals and wouldn't take a advantage of a person like that?"

"...Something like that," Cal chuckled.

Which was replied with a chuckle from Leon too.

"Dawn could easily have told you that," he noted. Which was true. Dawn would have given him the same reassurance. Though maybe it would have been coupled with something more in addition.

"Yeeahh..." he uttered, smiling a little bit. "But it's different," he tried to argue. "When you have someone who has been in the same place and situation, or at least similar, then... there's... you get a better educated response and opinion than from someone who hasn't been in your shoes."

"Hmmm..." Leon hummed while trying to choose what to say, because there were a few replies that he could give. "Well... to be perfectly fair, I haven't exactly been 'in your shoes' since my situation is different from yours," he argued. "Because when I go cak to Thea, I stay with my grandparents. Who I know well, and there is no question of lineage or trying to take an advantage of them because... they are my grandparents. So, what would they say? That I can't visit them? That it would be unreasonable for me to visit people within close family?" He paused for a while, looking at Cal. "If anything, I think you had it more difficult, and had more ... opportunities to rise to the occasion."

"Man, I wouldn't call what I did 'rising,'" Cal said through his laughter. "More like I was scrambling to... not even keep up but to catch up to my peers. And I was trying to prove that I wasn't wasting King Yuno's time."

The ending of the statement carried a weight, an insight to Cal's anxiety.

"Mhm. Well if that's how you're thinking of it, then do you think you accomplished your goal?" Leon questioned. "Catching up and spending the time well?" He gazed at Cal expectantly.

"Well..."

Cal raised his hand and a concentrated sphere of light formed over his palm. It was a basic seeming spell. But for Caelum, who had been unable to output a fizzle of magic for 12 years, it was a testament to his newfound strength. Cal looked upon the star-like sphere above his hand and beamed.

"Yeah, I do think so. I trained as hard as I could and did my best to focus on what I was there to do." Caelum closed his hand, extinguishing the light in a smooth motion. "Wasn't easy though. It felt... really weird. Like everyone was watching me but also ignoring me because my circumstances were weird and I was an outsider."

Cal opened and closed his hand a couple times before locking eyes with Leon.

"Do you ever..." Cal's eyes narrowed and his nose scrunched up, as he seemed to weigh his words. "Is it like that for you?"

Leon blinked at the sudden shift. Sure Caelum had been able to talk out what had been weighing on him but turning the attention to Leon in the midst of the conversation felt like whiplash.

"Is it like what?" Leon asked.

"I know you said that you have an easier time visiting Thea 'cause of family but... is it still kinda like my situation?" Cal said. "Do you both get noticed and get neglected because of what makes you different from the rest of Theans when you visit?"

Leon let out a long "oooh..." then pursed his lips, considering the question.

Leon wasn't a total stranger to Thea the way Cal was to Spade. But he wasn't entirely belonging either. That was true.

Leon sat back in his seat and intwined his fingers loosely onto his lap in thought. "I never thought about it, really," he admits. "Because... I think that wherever you go, there will be people who'll ignore you, and some who pay attention to you. That's just how humans are."

"But that's not what we're talking about," Cal interrupted, making Leon nod.

"Which is why I think I can relate to the feeling," he admitted. "I'm... not full Cloverian, and I'm not full blown Thean either; I have components of both." He paused for a while, thinking about what to say.

And after a little bit of pondering, he sighed. "Here, though they didn't downright say it to my face, after most people of my age got their grimoires, I was considered 'left behind', because I didn't have one," he stated while manifesting out his grimoire.

Its red surface glimmered in the sun, and its golden design danced around the surface, as if streams of fire and light. And the way it floated around in the air, as if pulsating with fire and light and pure warmth, was... strange. Not unpleasant, but strange. While it held something comforting and familiar, something else about it felt foreign and wild.

"I took my time crafting this," he finally said while looking at the grimoire. But closed his eyes, and dispelled the book of spells, just as quickly as he had manifested it. "Which is why here, I was considered ... weak-er, among other things. Or defective, I suppose," he uttered. "And when I'm in Thea..." he sighed, "while, again, people don't say it to my face, they see me as weaker because of my paternal lineage."

Cal frowned at the words, which earned a glance from Leon.

"It's... complicated," he only explained. "But umm... the thing is that my paternal lineage also makes my mana more secure and grounded, and inhibits mana depletion. Which is a merit."

"And you're not... bothered by any of it?" Cal asked, careful and silently, as if under his breath.

"Well... as said, my family is supportive of it. And... having comparatively more secure mana is hardly something to be sorry for," Leon half joked. "But, there is a long answer to the question, which I've already started," he chuckled apologetically. "While the short answer is: They ignore and notice what they want to notice."

Cal groaned, "I guess you're right..." He tilted his head to the side as he sighed, causing the fringe of his hair to fall in his face. "And to think you have to deal with that here in Clover and Thea."

"Unfortunately, yes. But at this point, I'm largely used to it." Leon lazily waved a hand through the air.

As sad as it was to think, Leon and his sisters would never truly "belong" in one place. With one people. Their births. Their magics. Themselves as people. They were distinct from other citizens of both the Queendom of Thea and the Kingdom of Clover, being both but neither at the same time. While they could understand the parts of themselves that came from either nation, such as the grimoire Leon crafted in line with Thean tradition, the children of House Vermillion still had so much of themselves to determine because of what set them apart thanks to the circumstances of their births.

Leon understood that all people had to define themselves beyond their bloodlines. But it felt particularly pressing for himself, Cyra, and Nora...

"Y'know..." Cal's voice brought Leon back to reality. "It's strange to think that even with multiple kingd-" Cal caught himself and raised a finger. "With multiple nations working together, the citizens are still kinda sorta looking down on each other. Not totally but a judgey-ish thing..."

"Mm, yes, there is a condescending-ish-ness sometimes."

To Leon's response, Cal let out a short burst of a laugh. It wasn't impossible for Leon to loosen up, the pun battles he had with Alistar were proof enough. But hearing the prince take on a similar speaking mannerism as him tickled something in Cal. He felt a pang of regret not being able to befriend him sooner or more deeply. But, he thought with the optimism taught to him by his parents, that it wasn't too late to start befriending Leon in the present.

"Call it national pride or perhaps cultures being slow to accept and integrate," Leon said. His tone was light but his lips were pulled into a thin frown of disapproval. "But we can't deny that relations are much friendlier than before."

"Hooo yeah!" Cal full on cackled and threw his head back. "Twenty years ago, the only thing I could've learned in Spade was how dungeons looked and smelled. Still..." He shook his head. "Life's being kinda unfair to a guy like you. Since you're stuck in the middle. Sorta kinda..."

"Unfortunately, yes. Though I feel honored to know you see it as an injustice towards me," Leon remarked with a light tone and touched a hand to his heart.

"Hey, I'm only telling the truth," said Cal as he brushed his hair back and tucked the strands behind his ear. "A guy as knightly as you doesn’t deserve to be looked down on, Leon. And you being so amazing is probably why Dusk is always trying to visit House Vermillion, to learn a thing or two from you."

Leon's lips twitched for a second.

"That'd be flattering..." Leon spoke under his breath while Cal took a long swig of his drink. "But I don't believe that to be the case..."

Cal's cup hit the table with a faint thunk.

"What was that?"

"Even if that were the case, I shouldn't let the opinion of others distract me. Be it negative or positive evaluations," Leon said, gracefully dancing around the implied topic that wasn't his or Cal’s to comment on. "What truly matters is fulfilling what you seek to accomplish. Whether that's crafting a grimoire." Leon gestured to himself. "Or taking a crash course in how to use magic." He gestured to Cal. "And as we've both shown, our goals have been reached."

Cal stared ahead of himself, thinking about his experiences. Thinking about the lessons he got, and the ones that he didn't... quite yet understand. And frowned. "Shouldn't..." he hesitated while leaning forward, and supporting himself with his elbows. "Shouldn't there be a feeling of accomplishment then?"

Leon let out a hum, lifted his chin and stared to the side, to the city streets with a directionless gaze. "I suppose how grand of an emotion are you expecting," he just said.

"What do you mean?" Cal asked, hoping for a clarification.

"Like..." Leon uttered with a faint frown, thinking about how to formulate the idea into words. "You did accomplish something, while in Spade. You became more familiar with your magic, right?"

"Yeah," Cal replied, but it was lacking in confidence, and was laced with frustration. Because his... accomplishments were basically in getting to the level that was expected of someone of his age. Which most wouldn't deem as an accomplishment.

It would be seen as the bare minimum.

"And... are you not proud of what you did?"

"I think it was necessary for me to do, if I want to get anywhere in life," Cal half admitted, half stated. Because there was an honest truth in it too. In this world, you still needed magic, of some kind, in order to get anywhere. I don't want to be a burden to those around me...

"That isn't what I asked," Leon gave Cal a kind smile, but earned a kind of a frown from the other young man, who was now looking to the side. "Because I think that... if you wouldn't have wanted to make something out of yourself, you would have stayed. You're choosing to be a better knight, and a mage. Which in itself is an accomplishment."

Cal just listened, in silence. Partly because he didn't exactly know how to reply, and partly because he wanted to hear where Leon was going with this.

"Sure it might have taken a bit longer for you to gather the tools you need," Leon shrugged. "But because you've worked to earn the place you're in now, you know that you can do much more. And you have that... ability and determination to continue from there."

Cal listened, while realizing that Leon hadn't actually replied the original question about feeling accomplished.

"You're hungry for me," Leon commented. "You aren't... fully satisfied, or have this ... grand sense of accomplishment, because you recognize how much further you can go."

Caelum stared at Leon as the other boy as his words sank into his mind.

He's unsatisfied because he knows there's further he can go. That was the truth of it all.

For so long, Cal felt like he'd been trailing behind those around him.

Socially, he was behind someone like Dawn who would be the one to break the ice with strangers whereas he waited for someone to introduce themselves first.

When it came to academics, Silver Adlai eclipsed Cal, being an effortless genius who had skipped grades twice.

Leon was well-mannered and good-humored, making him adored by nobility and the lower classes, which anyone, not just Cal, could be jealous of.

Alistar garnered admirers from a young age thanks not only to his good looks but his exceptionally strong magic.

And then the one who Cal was behind the most: his younger brother Raphael. Raphael had the coveted Spatial Magic that came from the Vaude bloodline. It had the ferocity of Langris offensive spells. And the precision of their father Finral's teleportation spells. And he showed so much potential long before Cal ever performed his first spell.

Cal loved his brother dearly. He adored his friends. And admired those he wasn't as close with.

But his anxiety over his abilities, specifically his magic did come from seeing how easily it came to others. While he was busy grasping the basics, others were strengthening and refining their abilities. What he learned in Spade was indeed valuable and helped his grow. But his step forward wasn't nearly large enough to close the gap between himself and his peers.

Cal saw those around him. And he knew he still had a ways to go with his own powers.

For that reason, seeing that he still lacked in comparison to others, Cal's accomplishment felt so weak.

"So am I...?" Cal grit his teeth. "Will I never truly feel accomplished? Is that my fate, Leon?"

Leon gave Cal another compassionate smile, which quickly turned into one of amusement.

"Y'know, I asked something similar from my father not too long ago," he chuckled. "I don't remember the exact wording of my question but... I remember what he talked about in his reply."

Cal stayed silent. There was a kind of an anticipation in him. But it was tangled with something that ached to defeat.

Hell, he had just gotten started and he felt like giving up already? Was that really what all that work added up to? It was almost enough to make him laugh in his grief.

"His reply... He asked from me, how... I thought he felt when he became the Wizard King."

There was a pause... during which Cal frowned.

"How... it felt to become a Wizard King?" Cal repeated, as if wanting to makes sure he had hear it right.

To which Leon nodded. "I didn't have a reply either," Leon glanced at Cal with a smirk. "But then he went on to talk about how... that place, that profession... He told me that he remembers standing in that office for the first time after the official 'coronation', and how he just looked around the room like... 'this is it. I have come as far as I intended. This was the goal, the dream.'"

There was another pause, during which the two young men around the table, didn't exchange looks. Instead, their eyes were down to the depths of the table, or the pavement beneath their feet.

"To him... growth had been one... important thing. As long as you can grow, and decide to do so, there's a way forward. That is what drives him. But when he stood there, he had reached an end of the road."

Cal felt like he knew the feeling. What Leon was describing.

"There was no grand feeling of victory."

Cal's eyes closed.

That was it. That was the feeling.

"And then he talked about how... he remembers my mother entering the room and asking how he felt. If he was happy? Satisfied?"

Cal's eyes opened, back into the void in the table.

"He didn't answer," Leon commented with a half of a joke, which was delivered with a kind of a grin. "But he told me that mother knew, and said that... He had ran out of titles. Merits that can be given as medals and diplomas. But that... didn't mean that growth needs to stop. That... there were once mages who didn't have those titles and certificates and medals, but... they continued forward all on their own. That growth never ceases, unless you choose it to end."

This was again a long route to the answer to the question that had been asked. Cal didn't mind. Actually, he thought that he preferred, in these kinds of discussions, the long answer.

"And he could look back all the accomplishments that he had achieved. He could be proud about all of them. Take a breather. But in the end he would continue forward."

Cal's eyes flickered.

"So... there are senses of accomplishment. But they're not these grand end points. They're middle steps. Because... stopping the journey would make life awfully dull."

Cal closed his eyes, tapped his fingers against his cup, and sighed. It wasn't a melancholic sigh though. His anxiety, though not entirely washed away, had ebbed like a river. There was relief in that soft exhale. A sense of understanding and calm that came with hearing how even a great man like Fuegoleon was faced with a problem not too different from Cal's own.

"Weird. You say something that should be taken as a definitive answer and yet I can't help but feel like it's another question."

"And what would that question be?" Leon asked.

"'What comes next'." Cal answered. "We can grow and learn and accomplish. But then we can still ask 'what else can I do?'"

"Hm!" Leon seemed to perk up at the reply. "Not a bad way to see it. So long as you don't ask it with too much anxiety."

Cal nodded in agreement before his eyes drifted to the sky.

The heavens, for which he was named, were partially cloudy that day. Spring was in full swing. Meaning...

"And what's next for me is my getting my grimoire," Cal said with a beaming grin.

"Mhm. A momentous occasion for you and our peers." Leon traced the rim of his cup which was now close to empty. "And after that, you'll be joining the Magic Knights?"

"If all goes well."

"For someone like you, there's not a doubt in my mind," Leon assured. He paused then touched his chin. "Well, maybe there is one doubt."

"Hm?" Cal raised a brow. "You worried for me, Leon?"

Leon's expression didn't give off a sense of worry though. There was a mirthful smile playing on his lips instead.

"Frankly, I don't know which squad you'll be joining. Pick the wrong one and you could be squad-ering your potential."

"... Snrk!" Cal slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Do you think your parents will have a cow if you don't join the Black Bulls?"

"Pfffff!"

"And don't worry about not joining my squad. We got the lion's share at last year's exam..."

Cal clamped his other hand over his mouth.

Leon chuckled to himself as Cal fought his laughter. While not his best material, it seemed to do the job of expelling the last remnants of Cal's tension.

There was a moment of an almost silence that fell between the two, as Cal tried to catch his breath, and Leon chuckled to himself under his breath. But at the end of it, Cal leaned back in his chair, the same as Leon, and they sipped their drinks.

Cal looked across the table, and thought about the reasons why he wanted to have this chat. Or a chat. More of an 'a chat' because he hadn't known what to expect. Not really anyways. And ... though the conversation had taken a lot of unexpected turns, it had been a good conversation. A very good conversation.

"Y'know... Leon?"

"Hm?"

"I ... wouldn't mind doing this again-, like... hang out," Cal rubbed the back of his neck. "And maybe talk about something less serious."

Leon let out an amused hum. "But in all seriousness..."

Cal gave him a look; eyebrows lifted, and chin lowered, almost as if to ask if Leon was being serious.

"I wouldn't mind either," he admitted with a small smirk.

"Maybe Dawn and I can come to the Crimson Lion Kings' headquarters some day, and Dusk can tag along to enjoy the good discussion," Cal suggested.

To which Leon hummed. Maybe one of these days his sister and Dusk would... either realize that they were in a relationship, or would make it official. He himself wasn't quite sure which one it was at the time but... it would sort itself out in some point. Things had a habit of falling into place like that, as long as one kept moving forward.

#black clover fanfiction #black clover oc fanfiction #caelum roulacase #leonidas vermillion #I had so much fun while doing this!!!

9 notes · View notes