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makeste · 4 years ago

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BnHA Chapter 306: the beginning of the WHAT

Previously on BnHA: Nana and the Gang were all, “hey Deku, we can read your thoughts and feelings so we should already know the answer to this, but for some reason we want to quiz you on whether or not you’d be down to kill Shigaraki Tomura.” Deku was all, “um okay, well tbh, probably not seeing as Saving People has been my entire thing since literally the start of the series.” The Vestiges were all, “yes that makes perfect sense and again we already knew that, but well, good for you buddy and I’m glad we had this talk. Anyway I guess we should ask these two cryptic fuckers in the corner to finally turn around now before we run out of -- ” and then the chapter ended. Because OF COURSE IT DID.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, WOULDN’T IT BE SO MUCH BETTER IF I GAVE YOU A CONFUSING CHAPTER WHERE EVERYONE FINALLY LEARNS ABOUT OFA, AND GOES BACK TO THE DORMS, AND THEN THE CHAPTER ENDS WITH DEPRESSED NOMAD DEKU STANDING ON A PRECIPICE WITH GRAN TORINO’S TATTERED CAPE FLOWING IN THE WIND.” Everyone is all, “???????????” Horikoshi is all, “also the parents are moving to the U.A. campus, and Jeanist’s neck is two and a half feet long, for everyone that was wondering.” Everyone is all, “WHERE ARE KACCHAN AND TODOROKI AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHO ARE THE SECOND AND THIRD USERS”, and Horikoshi is all, “:)” and fades away into nothingness like the fucking fae he is. Like a fucking imp who’s kept his end of the cursed bargain. What, the, fuck.

okay guys, so after the longest Thursday of my fucking life, during which I was secretly hoping that my spoiler containment net would be somehow be breached, inadvertently exposing me to theta spoiler radiation, so that I could be all “oh no... spoilers... there’s nothing I can do... I have no choice but to look” (which sadly did not happen), it is finally Friday and the chapter is finally out. so I’ve got my clown kit at the ready and other self-deprecating memes on standby, and I’m ready to go. and I should note that I’m also ready for Horikoshi to pull some absolute bullshit and be like, “oh you know what, we haven’t checked in with Rat Principal in a while have we” and spend the entire chapter on nonsense like that. I’M READY FOR FUCKING ANYTHING so bring it

(ETA: it would be nice if this man wouldn’t call my bluff every now and again.)

oh, right, we were due a color page! wow look at this

isn’t this supposed to be the future?? what’s with all of these staticky CRT TVs

anyway, so! is this the first time we’ve seen Tomura’s stylish finger prosthetic glove thingy in color?? because I didn’t expect it to be red. also, at some point you just have to give in and change your pants into cutoffs or something, Tomura. start a new trend of stylish villain capris

meanwhile Deku is dressed like he’s going on a journey into the desert to find a mystical oasis. actually this cape looks a lot like Gran Torino’s. I have to go back and see if Gran’s is all raggedy like this

(ETA: it wasn’t before but APPARENTLY IT IS NOW. I also forgot that Horikoshi had showed it sitting on a side table in the hospital a few chapters ago.)

lastly, AFO looks like someone’s thumb after they’ve been washing dishes for twenty minutes. you are just the ugliest dude in history, and as always, fuck you

HAHAHA SOB I KNEW IT

oh, Twowy McTwoface is finally starting to turn around? better CUT BACK TO DEKU’S HOSPITAL ROOM THEN. wouldn’t want to accidentally ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS or SOLVE ANY MYSTERIES, god forbid

well, whatever. whatever!! anyway so now someone’s knocking at the door. I say “someone” but we all know it’s Hawks

yep

they were actually standing outside the door for a while hoping they’d overhear another juicy plot conversation, but no such luck this time

lmaooo Jeanist wtf

acting all embarrassed, but you’re really just as curious as Hawks is. making him do all the dirty work for you huh

ARE YOU SERIOUS THIS IS AN INJUSTICE

so like two seconds after Katsuki gets dragged away you open the door for the rest of them!! well, fine!! I really want it to be a more private/personal moment between the two of them anyway so let the other kids check in on Deku first then

and in the meantime, time to see Hawks put the thumbscrews to All Might’s resolve lol

I wonder how much of it Hawks has already put together in the last five minutes. One for All is something connected to All for One that Tomura seems to want. Tomura was apparently targeting Deku. that’s more than enough to make a few deductions right there. I wonder how much Hawks knows about Deku’s quirk. he did watch the sports festival, and he ran into the kids interning under Endeavor that one time

okay well maybe he hasn’t put the rest of it together just yet, but Hawks is making a pretty reasonable pitch here to All Might

also this is a pretty spectacular view. is this a hospital or a hotel??

AHLKJLKJLKJ ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO TELL THEM

OH MY GOD HE IS?!?!

JUST LIKE WE ALL EXPECTED, THE NEXT TWO PEOPLE TO LEARN THE TRUTH ABOUT OFA ARE GOING TO BE HAWKS, AND BEST FUCKING JEANIST

-- LFKLKKLDK ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS. ARE YOU --

( •̀_•́ )

[sitting cross-legged on the ground pulling up little clumps of grass and letting them fall from my fingers one by one] yeah. sure. okay. fine. sure

-- OKAY, NO. NUH-UH. NO

everybody better hold tight cuz I’m about to pick up this whole chapter and yeet it into the ocean like a fucking frisbee lol

HORIKOSHI I DON’T CARE ABOUT THESE PEOPLE SITTING HERE WATCHING TV WTF

-- OH

well okay then. proceed. though lord help me if they’re about to reveal the secret of OFA to the whole fucking world skdkj

oh snap

well, there it is. pretty much what I expected, but it’s good to actually get to see this moment with him taking responsibility

though at the same time, thank you Horikoshi for not forcing us to sit through the rest of that

their fucking faces omg. okay but seriously, what nation doesn’t secretly love a good scandal

the Endeavor Pamphlets, part two. thank you for giving the country something to opine about on twitter in these trying times, Enji

so now they’re asking about Hawks and Jeanist but I cannot even focus on anything all of a sudden because what?!

is Jeanist even a real actual human being you guys?! are we sure he’s not three kids sitting on each other’s shoulders?? are you related to that one guy with the really long neck from the Jedi Council?? are you Orochimaru, bro??

so now Hawks is apologizing for the murder of Twice, and for hiding the connection with his dad

the fact that he has to give this serious formal apology and beg forgiveness for the shameful crime of Having An Abusive Father is really something else, though. just. it’s realistic, but I still hate it

moving on now to the one thing he actually does owe the public an explanation for

not to go all “Hawks did nothing wrong” on you guys yet again, but seriously. 100% facts. fandom can (and no doubt will) debate this until the end of time, but if Twice had gotten away they wouldn’t be having this press conference right now because there wouldn’t be any heroes left to give one. anyways though, I’ve already said more than enough about that in previous posts

so now some severe-looking lady with the weirdest fingers I’ve ever seen is saying that her mother was injured during Machia’s rampage

and she’s basically all “a fuck lot of good ‘I’m sorry’ does us all about now.” true true

wow she’s really getting fired up

and now Enji is basically saying that he understands that an apology isn’t enough, and what they really need now are solutions. okay, well! SO THEN WHAT IS THE PLAN THEN

hmmfsdgh

this eloquent PEZ dispenser makes a good point you guys

wait, hold up

CERTAIN citizens?? um excuse me, what??

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shit

holy shit. well, this will go over well

okay! so this tells me a number of things, though

basically the minute that Hawks learned about One for All, he realized that anyone connected to Deku (e.g. Inko) would be a target for AFO. AFO wants OFA, meaning AFO wants Deku, and one of the easiest ways to get to Deku would be to target his family

Hawks therefore realized that Inko needed to be placed into protective custody

but the fact that ALL of the hero course students’ families (and is it only the U.A. hero course, or all of the hero course students across the country?) are being given protection tells me that Hawks and co. don’t want to single Deku out as being important. so then it looks like they’re not going to tell everyone about OFA (or at least not the public. which, good). so rather than drawing suspicion by saying “we’ve got to protect everyone connected with this one kid”, they’re making it seem like all the U.A. kids’ families are getting this treatment

but since the heroes are now spread so thin, they can’t just send a protective detail to each and every family, so they’re bringing all of the families to the same place instead to better keep an eye on them

so that’s all well and good, and a very smart move. except that idk how all of this is going to go over with the general public, all of whom are probably feeling unsafe at the moment, and who will probably see this as preferential treatment -- basically just the heroes looking after their own and leaving everyone else to fend for themselves

(ETA: okay so @hanashimas’ translation clarifies that U.A. is offering their services as an evacuation shelter for everyone who wants it, not just the families of the U.A. students. that’s much more appropriate so I withdraw my previous “wtf” reaction lol.)

anyway though here’s Mitsuki and Inko

can we take this as confirmation that the two of them really are friends? that’s one piece of fanon that I’ve always hoped was true, so I’m gonna go ahead and say it’s confirmed

(ETA: also this means that Hagakure’s parents (or maybe “parents” in quotation marks) will supposedly be moving in as well. sure am curious as to how that’s going to go.)

now someone in the press crowd is asking whether U.A. can provide adequate security, which is honestly the LAST thing I expected these people would be outraged about lol. shows what I know I guess

(ETA: again though, this makes sense if the “certain civilians” thing was just a translation error.)

LMAO DAMMIT ENJI

YOU CAN’T JUST ALWAYS PULL THE “JUST WATCH ME” TRICK AND EXPECT IT TO SHUT DOWN THE CONVERSATION EVERY DAMN TIME YOU ASSHOLE

-- OH MY GOD RED ALERT

TIME TO ANALYZE THIS BECAUSE OMG

WASH CAN’T BELIEVE HIS FAMILY GROUP CHAT IS STILL SENDING HIM FUCKING MEMES AT A TIME LIKE THIS. HE DOESN’T GIVE A FUCK IF THE DABI DANCE IS TRENDING ON TIKTOK, MOM!!

FOR A MINUTE I THOUGHT MT. LADY WAS HOLDING MIDNIGHT’S TORN-UP MASK, AND BY THE TIME I REALIZED THAT’S ACTUALLY HER MASK AND NOT MIDNIGHT’S, I HAD ALREADY CONSTRUCTED AN ELABORATE HEADCANON IN WHICH MT. LADY AND MIDNIGHT WERE SECRETLY DATING BUT HADN’T COME OUT TO ANYONE YET, AND THEN TRAGEDY STRUCK, AND NOW MT. LADY IS GETTING READY TO SET OUT TO SEEK VENGEANCE. AND WELL, NOW THAT THIS HEADCANON EXISTS IN THE WORLD, I’M NOT SURE IF I’M READY TO GET RID OF IT

MIRKO HAS GOTTEN HERSELF A PROSTHETIC (ROBOT??!) ARM, NOTHING ELSE THAT’S HAPPENING IN THIS CHAPTER IS EVEN SLIGHTLY IMPORTANT!!! HELLO!!!!!

AIZAWA WITH THE EYEPATCH GOOD LORD. THE WORLD ISN’T READY. HE LOOKS LIKE HE HASN’T SLEPT IN NINETY-EIGHT YEARS, BUT SOMEHOW HE MAKES IT INTO THE HOTTEST THING EVER AS PER USUAL

WHO THE FUCK IS THIS FUCKING GUY. ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW HIM? IS THIS KAMUI?? WAS THAT THING WHICH I ALWAYS ASSUMED WAS HIS HAIR ACTUALLY A HELMET OR SOMETHING WHAT

LOL AND MEANWHILE

you tell me, Dabi! weren’t you the one who said that wouldn’t be enough to kill him? what even is your endgame here. I’m starting to worry about the villain brain cell supply you guys. I feel like Compress took most of them with him when he left

OH??

“when asked about One for All, Endeavor fucking lied through his teeth.” well, well, well

SLKDFJLSKGDJLKLKGJL THE DORMS

( ⁰ ⌂ ⁰ )

SLDKJFLKJWLKJLK

WLKDJSLKJFWKELKSDJLKHGLK

HDSMFLKGKL:GDSELK

OCHAKO’S HAND IS SHAKING OH MY GOD

THERE’S YOUR KAMINARI, EVERYONE!!

RHA’S SCANLATION TEAM REALLY THREW DEKU’S HANDWRITING UNDER THE BUS HERE HUH

HE TOLD EVERYONE!?

WHY THE FUCK IS HE WRITING IT AS A LETTER

(ETA: 9. also if he really wrote every kid in his class then that means the U.A. traitor -- or Hagakure as we like to call her around these parts -- also knows about OFA, and knows that Deku has run the fuck off and isn’t at U.A. anymore. so that’s just great!)

OH HELL NO

the hell does that mean, you must leave. leave to go where. son you are not up and leaving to go power up and lead us all into a timeskip. and I swear to GOD, if you left Kacchan too...!!

MY GOD I CAN’T PROPERLY ABSORB ALL OF THESE OCHAKO FEELS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I’M TOO TERRIFIED TO SCROLL TO THE LAST FUCKING PAGE, FUCK

I JUST GOTTA DO IT. I JUST GOTTA SUCK IT UP AND DO IT. FUCK

FUCK

WHAT. THE. FUCK

y’all I’m not even gonna waste your time with more keysmashing, JUST ASSUME THAT I AM DOING IT NONSTOP, FOREVER. and let’s just jump RIGHT IN HERE

okay so here I thought that All Might and co. had taken him away somewhere to train, but that is CLEARLY not what’s going on here. this kid is standing here in his Apocalypse Aesthetic hero costume which has CLEARLY seen better days, with Gran Torino’s cloak (GUESS THAT EXPLAINS THAT, THEN?? SO DID GRAN FUCKING DIE EXCUSE ME WTF), and a fucking backpack. this little green idiot has RUN AWAY FROM HOME. this is the absolute LAST THING ON EARTH I ever expected to happen so PARDON ME WHILE I SCREAM CONFUSEDLY INTO THE VOID

he does not look okay. you guys he doesn’t look okay at ALL. he has NEVER looked like this. this isn’t just a “I’m sad because I’m leaving all my friends behind” kind of look on his face, or even just a “Gran Torino died maybe and I’m still having emotions over it” look. this is an EXHAUSTED, dead look in his eyes. something terrible has happened

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARMS DEKU. THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING DOWN WITH YOUR ARMS GODDAMMIT

love how this random building is just straight up collapsing, like that’s just a normal thing that happens every day now. lovely

APRIL MEANS IT’S NOW FULL ON SCHEDULED ALL-MIGHT-DYING-HOURS, BUT LET’S COMPLETELY IGNORE THAT THOUGH BECAUSE FUCK THAT NOISE

“THE SECOND USER? WHO KNOWS? CERTAINLY NOT ME” HORIKOSHI I SWEAR TO GOD

“BAKUGOU? NEVER HEARD OF HIM!” HORIKOSHI PLEASE

WHERE. IS. KACCHAN

did he go with Deku?? did he get a chance to talk to him before he left?? did he get his own private letter which he read and then promptly blew up in a fit of panicked rage?? is he going to go after him?? DOES HORIKOSHI KNOW WHAT HE’S DOING TO ME RIGHT NOW?? OF COURSE HE DOES, DON’T BOTHER ANSWERING THAT

omg. though actually the fact that we’ve already jumped a few weeks forward makes me hopeful that there won’t actually be another timeskip, or at least not much of one. I’m sure that’ll be the big debate of the week, but I don’t think we can jump too far forward here. for starters because of that All Might prophecy I mentioned. and also because TomurAFO isn’t just going to wait around for months. and also because I’m 100% sure that Deku’s running-away backpack is just filled ENTIRELY WITH NOTEBOOKS and this asshole cannot possibly survive more than 3 days on his own. UNLESS SOMEONE COMES TO HELP HIM THAT IS. OR SOMEONES, EVEN. OMG. omg omg omg. fuck this chapter lmao

#bnha 306 #midoriya izuku #hawks (bnha)#takami keigo #endeavor #todoroki enji #best jeanist #all might #uraraka ochako #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

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lovelivingmydreams · 4 years ago

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A story by heroes and villains

Logan Anker: Pupil

In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.

Sweets had been gushing about 10b for two years when Logan finally caved and decided to put aside his opinion on under age heroes in training and take a look for himself.

He had to admit, he seemed to be very talented. Most people had two abilities at the most.

10b, however exhibited enhanced strength and speed, flight, several shields, projectile and close combat weaponry. And he had excellent control of all of those.

He nodded to Sweets, who called out to the young hero in training as he finished off his target practice sequence.

“Good Job 10.b.” The kid, because no one could fool Logan, this child was nowhere near finishing high school, looked around and lower himself to the ground, eying Logan curiously.

Or at least, that is what Logan gathered from his body language since the protective gear was hiding the hero in training’s face.

A child. Around Virgil’s age. He might’ve be been in Virgil’s class at some point. A boy who thinks he can face what is out there. He knows Thomas hasn’t told this potential hero about Him yet.

It was Logan’s job to make sure the hero was ready for that information, for the world.

The hero was looking him up and down. Logan had updated his disguise from his old villain getup to a more inconspicuous outfit. One he could be seen wearing in the normal world, though he had it shift colors between a friendlier grey and sometimes navy blue to the deep black he chose for the meetings in the basement. His shading and voice modulating technology had gotten even better and was now integrated in his tie and his glasses. Making for a seamless transition from entering the elevator as Logan to exiting as Brainstorm.

“10.b, this is Mr. BrainStorm. He’ll be assisting us with training and provide you with the tech you need to be the best hero you can be,” Sweets explained.

The shocked reaction was expected. 10b was on edge. Logan supposed he should make him more comfortable around him if they were to work together.

“I see my reputation still manages to precede me,” he stated as calmly as he could. Though he really whished it didn’t. It’d been well over a decade since he’d done anything that made the papers in a bad way. His creations and discoveries had gotten him more than a little credit. The new police chief was actually giving him the benefit of the doubt now, while the former chief had treated him like a criminal every chance he got.

At the end it got so bad that he’d had to hold his talisman clenched in his fist every time the man was in the same building, or even on tv.

Chief Davies was firm and called him out when she needed to. But she truly did have his back when he needed her to support his ideas.

Sometimes he wished he could publish his research under his own name. He wanted Virgil to see the good he put into the world and be proud of him. But that might lead to pesky questions. Ordinary professors didn’t work on the level he did. And he couldn’t draw any attention to himself. Lest He take notice.

On the subject of his son though. Thanks to Virgil he had connected with his students a lot better the past few years. And if he was right about this boy’s age, his experiences with Virgil might help him connect with the young hero too.

“Would it be more comforting if I told you that the initials of my moniker are no coincidence?”

A second’s silence and then an artificially deepened snicker. Success.

“I suspected you might find this funny. I came up with it when I was about your age and thought it was really clever of me. Though I didn’t actually use it until I was closer to twenty.”

Logan was glad his face was hidden, because if anyone could see the pain in his eyes now…

He’d been 19 to be exact. Freshman in college, close friends with Thomas. When Caleb…

And then Helena got the diagnosis… He’d wanted to help. Needed to help.

He didn’t even talk to her long enough to let her tell him her good news… Not until that last day. And then he’d gotten mad. He’d been hurt, angry with her and himself.

And that was the last conversation he’d ever had with his big sister…

“10.b” his new pupil introduced himself as he offered his hand.

Logan appreciated the young man’s restraint. Many would ask him all about his past given the chance. But 10b didn’t. He nodded his appreciation and accepted the offered hand. “BrainStorm.”

Training 10b was a rather interesting endeavor.

Driven was one word to describe him. That much was clear. Logan tried to make him understand that even he had limits. But so far, he struggled to find one.

10b just kept outdoing himself. He was almost tempted to let him go out. But…

“So? Am I ready yet?” Even through the voice modulation Logan could hear the hopeful tone in his voice. 10b was still far too eager for approval. And that was a dangerous thing to want as a hero.

So Logan just shook his head. “No.”

The most concerning example of his stubbornness and need to prove himself was when he kept training from noon to almost midnight with almost no breaks one late summer day.

Logan would be annoyed, he would’ve liked to spend some of the last day of summer with his son, but he was more worried.

“Go home. Your body can’t keep up with your stubbornness. I’m sure you have places to be tomorrow.”

The boy grunted. “I’m not done…” he insisted.

“I am.” Logan turned and left the campus, hoping that his absence would force the boy to quit for the night.

When he arrived home, he planned to check in on Virgil who should be fast asleep at this hour, before getting to bed himself.

But instead he was tackled by his sobbing son. It’d been half a decade since Virgil had hugged him as soon as he walked through the door. After that he had started to learn that his father was not truly comfortable with physical closeness and had made an effort to at least warn him when he needed a hug.

“You are back. I thought… You’re never out this late and… I thought something bad had happened.”

Virgil rambled as he sobbed into his shirt.

“It’s okay Virgil. I’m alright. I’m sorry, I forgot to let you know work was running late.” He hated keeping secrets from Virgil. But it had regretfully become a habit of his it seemed.

He still didn’t talk about Helena or Caleb, despite the fact that Virgil had asked about them a few times in the past already. He had a right to know. But whenever he tried to talk about them to him, his throat closed up and fear and shame overtook him.

And he couldn’t even think about telling him about his powers, his mistakes and therefore his redemption or his second job. So whenever he had to train 10b he said he had to work on a project.

He’d thought Virgil had been fine. Though he noticed that he’d gotten more quiet since he started high school. In light of recent events, that might not have been just normal teenage behavior.

He had figured, if his son was struggling, he would tell him… apparently not.

“It’s alright Virgil. I’m here. We’re both alright,” he muttered.

It took him about thirty minutes to calm Virgil down.

He brought him up to his bedroom and tucked him in.

“We’ll talk about this tomorrow when you get back from school alright? Try to sleep,” he instructed.

“Okay,” Virgil murmured as he pulled the blanket closer to himself.

Before leaving in the morning, Logan checked in on Virgil and found him curled up in his bed, sound asleep. He was about to leave when he noticed Virgil was holding something. Upon closer inspection he saw that it was the old stitch doll , wearing Virgil’s comfort blanket as a cape.

Had they been moved back to the bed at some point since the last time Logan saw them on Virgil’s desk? Or was this something he only did when he needed the extra comfort?

Logan didn’t think Virgil would tell him even if he asked. So he made a note to pay more attention to the doll’s location whenever he came up to the room. If nothing else it might be an indicator to Virgil’s mood. It would be something to consider later.

In class he had a hard time concentrating. He expected as much and apologized in advance.

He greeted each class by looking through his note cards, though after the first he didn’t need to, he found that the ritual was part of the appeal for his students.

“Good day everyone. I’m afraid I’ll be a bit off my ‘game’ today. Suffice it to say, the past night was a as you say ‘big oof’,” he held up the card and flashed it to his students.

A chuckle ran through the class and he smirked, feeling a little bit better after every time.

During lunch hour he called Picani. It’d been a while, but he needed some help and another session.

“He couldn’t breathe. He was terrified. He was… I’ve never felt so helpless,” he confessed quietly.

“Well, sounds like Virgil is certainly dealing with some things. I of course can’t be sure after just this one conversation but could you answer a few questions for me?”

Logan tugged at his hair. “Yes of course.”

Picani proceeded to list a few observable behaviors, things Logan had in fact noticed in Virgil. Small changes that just seemed logical developments from certain things he’d had since childhood. But, as it turned out…

“I would have to talk to Virgil in person to be sure. But from what you told me, he might have heightened levels of anxiety.”

Logan thought about that. That made a good amount of sense.

“Can you… I’m pretty sure he won’t want to talk about this. If he did, he would have done so already. But is there a list of some sort he could fill out? I’d like to be more certain before I bring up anxiety.”

Picani sent him a list and instructions on how to interpret them. He printed them out and was just reading through them when there was a knock on his door.

“Yes?” he called.

“Hi there Logie! How are classes going?” Patton asked as he walked in.

“Hello Patton. Classes are going satisfactory,” he informed him pleasantly.

“But…”

Logan chuckled. “Nothing gets past you does it?” Patton was a god sent. He was patient with Logan’s social ineptness and didn’t mind if he ranted about Virgil or whatever scientific article had his attention at the moment during most of their conversations. He didn’t ask about his past, he didn’t press if he didn’t want to talk about what upset him in the present. He was amazing.

Logan had fallen for Patton Bonair and hard. He felt like an idiot. Like a middle schooler unable to just tell his crush that he liked him.

But would Virgil be able to handle such a big change? Would he like Patton? Would Patton be able to handle forever having to take second place in Logan’s life?

Too many variables. Patton wouldn’t even be interested in him in the first place.

Things worked fine right now.

“Just teenage trouble. Nothing you can do about it I am afraid. How are you?” he asked. Patton nodded, accepting the change of subject.

Logan didn’t have any evening classes, and 10b had no training planned today, so he was home first and made a pot of chamomile as he waited for Virgil.

“Home!” Virgil’s voice came from the hallway followed by the sound of a closing door.

“Kitchen!” Logan replied as he poured two cups from the pot.

Virgil sat down and accepted the cup Logan handed him.

Once they both sat down Logan looked at Virgil, feeling hurt when he saw his son avoiding his eyes. When had that started? He had thought a lot about what Virgil might be going through and why he wasn’t aware until now.

He landed on the reason Virgil had given about not telling him about bullies.

“Virgil, I want you to know that you are not in trouble. I am not mad or upset with you in any way. Alright?” Virgil nodded, still not quite meeting his eyes.

Logan pressed on, speaking gently to ensure that he didn’t give Virgil the idea that he was frustrated or hurt.

“Last night… Was that the first time you went through something like that?”

What little progress Virgil had made in looking at him vanished in a second. His hands tightened around his mug. “No…” he admitted. Logan had feared as much, but still it stung to know his son had suffered on his own. Or maybe, hopefully, Janus had been there for him. Like he’d been there for the bullies.

“Sometimes I just think too much and I worry and then I freak out and… It always passes, but it’s…” His voice started shaking and Logan caught the glistening of tears in his eyes.

Logan recalled Virgil’s behavior of the night before, the thought’s he’d mentioned running through his head. Imagined being in his place.

“Frightening I’m sure.” His statement finally got Virgil to look at him. Tears still in his eyes, but more than that surprise.

“Virgil,” he began as he pushed the list and pen he’d laid ready towards him.

“I have a list for you, I’d like you to read over it and indicate next to each item how often you experience them on a monthly basis. It’s important to me that you are honest. I have a suspicion of what may be causing this, but I get that talking about it might be hard for you. Therefor I provided you with this as a way to boil it down to simple facts. Can you do this for me?” It was factual and to the point. He didn’t want to add to Virgil’s nerves by making the conversation even more emotionally charged.

Virgil nodded and accepted the paper and pen.

Logan let him fill out the list focusing on his tea. Once he heard the scribbling of the pen stop he looked up. Virgil seemed about to push the paper forward, but his whole body was tense.

His face was pulled in a frown and he was biting his lip.

Anxious about the results and his reaction?

“It’s alright Virgil,” Logan said gently. “I know I’m not always, good, at expressing my emotions, but I do love you. More than I expected to when I first agreed to take care of you. Nothing could prepare me for how much I love you and how proud I am to call you my son. Whatever you wrote down, won’t change that.”

It was a moment of unfiltered honesty and apparently that was what Virgil needed to hear.

He took a deep breath and then the paper was in front of Logan. He read it over and it became apparent rather quickly that Picani was right.

“I’m sorry you’ve been struggling with this on your own Virgil. Can I ask for how long?”

Logan dreaded the answer. But it was vital that he knew this.

“Um… start of last school year?” That wasn’t as long as Logan had feared.

“I didn’t notice it was bad until shortly after Christmas though. I was in the park and started freaking out. After that I was more aware of it I guess.” he explained.

Logan nodded, not showing his relief. When he went over external behaviors with Picani he’d come to fear that Virgil had been dealing with this for years. And perhaps he had. But he’d only known for the past eight months. Still, that was a long time to harbor such a secret from a loved one. Logan should know. Every day that he didn’t tell Virgil the whole truth about himself pressed like a heavy weight on his chest.

“Why did you feel like you couldn’t tell me this?” he asked worriedly.

Virgil squirmed in his seat. “I… I wanted to… but then I started freaking out about freaking you out and…” Logan was about to try and talk Virgil through a breathing exercise he’d researched but Virgil already centered himself with a deep breath and a slow sip from his tea to give himself time to calm down. “I just figured I could deal.”

That was understandable. Logan had certainly used similar reasoning in the past in order not to burden Thomas, or his sister… That had not ended well for him though. And he would not let Virgil suffer because of a misplaced need for independence.

He had tried to teach him to ask for help when he needed it when Remus was taken out of school. But it clearly hadn’t sunk in.

“Virgil, I think you might suffer from heightened levels of anxiety. That doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you. I would like for you to talk to someone about it though. If only to help you figure out a way to handle these attacks and the thoughts that come with this better so it doesn’t have to interfere too much with your life. Does that sound agreeable?”

“A shrink?” Virgil asked nervously.

Logan was glad he had so much practice keeping his emotions in check. He had perhaps been a bit too vigilant in shielding Virgil from his problems. “I know there is a stigma against it…” He had to do this. If he wanted Virgil to trust him on this, to open up more to him in general. Then he had to open up first. “But my psychiatrist has helped me a great deal with your mother’s death. I hope he, or one of his colleagues help you with your anxiety.”

“You… you went to therapy?” Virgil’s shock was proof that he had probably done too well of a job of seeming put together and in control at all times. He did it to assure Virgil of a stable figure to rely on. But he had deprived him of someone able to truly understand emotional vulnerability it seemed. “Still do from time to time,” he nodded, recalling the appointment he had scheduled for the weekend, making a note to announce it as such when he left. Perhaps he should have normalized his visits to doctor Picani the same way he’d normalized his attraction to men.

Virgil seemed to seriously consider his request now that he knew his father had a history of going to therapy.

“Okay…” he finally said, much to Logan’s relief. “just… can this stay between you and me?” Logan wanted to question why Virgil felt the need to hide this from Janus. Thomas he could understand. Virgil’s honorary uncle was of the helpful sort and might fuss about Virgil just a bit too much. But surely having a friend at school who knew about the potential for attacks and the ways to treat them could be beneficial?

He held these questions back though. Mental health was like your sexuality in that regard. It had to be your own choice when you told who about what parts of yourself. Including the reason you aren’t ready to tell your best friend you are struggling with certain issues.

“If that makes you more comfortable.”

“Thanks,” Virgil smiled before leaving the table with his tea to make homework in his room. Picani planned in a two hour take in session for Virgil early October.

In the meantime Logan paid extra attention to Virgil’s behavior. Trying to stay vigilant without becoming overbearing. It was hard, but he felt like he managed not to overstep.

He checked in with Virgil every night and found that indeed, Stitch only occasionally ended up in the bed. Usually preceded by a very quiet evening.

So Logan made an effort to coax Virgil into talking to him more when he seemed to hide in his own head. Sometimes he was successful. Other times Virgil asked him to let him just be for the evening and Logan backed off.

Picani managed to soothe Logan’s worries about being a bad father. Normal behavior for this age and such. They did discuss the possibility that Virgil might need some more affirmation. While they deduced that Virgil expressed his love through acts of service and gift giving. He usually paired those with clear verbal statements of his feelings and intentions. Possibly because he himself struggled to ‘assume’ that any action was made with the intention of showing love or appreciation.

The month progressed and when Logan dropped Virgil off for his first session he was probably as nervous as Virgil. He wanted to blow of some steam, but he held firm in his decision to never use that part of his abilities again. So instead he went for a run. By the time he was freshened up it was time to pick Virgil up. Sure, his son was old enough to take the bus, but he remembered how much his own first meeting with Picani had affected him and how intense the man’s idea of a good first impression was.

So he wanted to make sure Virgil was comfortable afterwards.

To his relief Virgil had ended up liking Picani. A second appointment was made for the next week and Virgil actually opened up a bit more after that. He started showing his drawings again, he hadn’t been comfortable sharing his art in what felt like forever.

And Logan must say, though he was never very creative or in touch with art, he could see that Virgil had talent. He could discern the patterns in the pencil lines and could see which sketches were made absentmindedly and which had been drawn in moments of tension. Each and every one though, without fail, was something Logan couldn’t phantom creating himself. He told Virgil as much and it made his son happy.

The name Roman started coming up in conversations again. Apparently he was Virgil’s lab partner this year and if the way his son seemed to struggle not to smile when talking about him was any indication, the crush Logan had suspected in middle school had returned. Or maybe it never faded in the first place.

10b was still training hard to become a hero and still eager to try his skills out in the real world. Logan was starting to worry he might run out of logical reasons to deny him this soon.

“We are done today,” he decided one Saturday afternoon.

“What? No! Why!?” the boy demanded.

Logan sighed and crossed his arms in front of him, taking a resolute stance. “Because, if you are going to be a hero any time soon you’ll have to learn to balance out your hero duties and your own life. School, work, friends, family…” If he’d been better at that aspect things would have ended up differently.

“Sweets and Manifestor both already left to return to their lives. You and I should do the same.” He didn’t wait for a reply and left. Virgil would be returning home from his appointment soon and Logan wanted to be there for him should it have been a difficult session.

Once he got upstairs he received a message from the front desk.

‘There is a young man who claims to be your son waiting for you.’

Logan smiled as he read this. He was glad Virgil had chosen to seek out his presence rather than just taking the bus home.

When he approached the front desk though he could hear the sound of sharp intake of breath, stuttering gasps and high pitched attempts at vocalization.

He was transported back to that terrible night and set of in a sprint.

“Virgil!” he called out, hoping his son would register and identify his voice and calm down.

He rounded the corner and found Virgil doubled over, gesturing frantically with his hand.

He rushed over and grabbed it. “Virgil if you can hear me, squeeze my hand,” he instructed.

“Fine, fine,” he gasped with a squeeze. Then he said something but Logan could only make out the words “Cant” and “God”.

“Virgil, are you having an attack?” he asked worriedly.

Much to his relief Virgil shook his head before starting to take in slow, deep breaths.

Once he had control over his breathing he whipped at his eyes smearing his running make up even more.

When Virgil looked up he had the widest grin. “You are using the vocab cards.”

Logan cocked his head, confused about why that was so funny.

“Of course. They were a gift from you, why wouldn’t I use them at any opportunity?”

How did he even learn this information?

A muffled squeal answered that question. Logan didn’t even need to look up to know who this was. Patton. Patton met Virgil and talked to him and apparently made him laugh so hard he could barely breathe. Patton had been talking about him with his son.

Virgil luckily snapped him out of his mild gay panic.

“Yes, because you were complaining about not understanding some of the things your students were saying. I didn’t expect you to actually start yeeting your trash,” he chuckled.

Now, Logan was pretty sure Virgil was aware of the nuances of modern slang. He did take meticulous care of making the cards and the updates on every gifting opportunity on top of whatever ‘real’ present he’d gotten him.

Virgil might have just been joking, with little care for accuracy. Regardless Logan adjusted his glasses and looked his son in the eye before informing him that: “Yeet is for distance. For trash I need accuracy, therefore the term used is ‘cobi’.”

And just like that Virgil was doubled over again, though this time the laughter died out on it’s own much sooner.

He straightened himself and addressed Patton with a smile.

“Anyway, great meeting you Patton. It’s good to know dad has someone so nice looking out for him.”

And then, out of nowhere he turned back to him. “You should invite him over for dinner some time. He’s a lot of fun.”

Logan felt his face flush. What? When? Did Virgil just…“Well, you two talk about that, I’m going to wash my face.” Before Logan could collect himself enough his son was out of sight. In hindsight it was foolish to think that Virgil had given up his matchmaker tendencies.

He simply hadn’t had any targets until now. Logan had hoped that after he and Thomas had a fight about the later’s attempt at setting him up with Sweets of all people for some unknown reason, Virgil had come to understand that he simply was not interested in dating anyone. Apparently not. And Virgil had just basically asked Patton out for him.

He looked over to Patton, about to make excuses for his son but then froze. Patton was blushing and playing with his sweater sleeves.

“Patton are you alright?” he hoped Virgil hadn’t made him uncomfortable? What had been said before he arrived?

“Will you have dinner with me?!” Patton blurted out.

Logan blinked in shock. “As… Like…”

“A date! I’m asking you out on a date,” Patton clarified.

Patton wanted to go out with him? “That would be acceptable,” he nodded.

Patton’s face brightened. “Great! Pick you up next Saturday around six? I’ll call you with the details,” he suggested. Logan nodded. “Yes. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Right! At work. Right here… Bye!” Patton giggled before walking off.

Logan meanwhile was trying not to lose his mind over this.

“Dad?”

Virgil had returned while Logan had stood here frozen for who knows how long.

“Dr. Bonnaire asked me on a date,” he breathed, still wrapping his head around that fact.

“I think you can call him by his first name if that’s the case.” Logan couldn’t see him right now but he was sure his son was finding this funny.

“I… I suppose…” He had a point. Not that he hadn’t been on a first name basis until now. But… Well he always called him by his last name whenever anyone else was around.

It was a habit he couldn’t quite explain.

“You did say yes right?” He must look really out of it. To be honest, Logan was starting to doubt if the last two minutes really happened.

“I… yes, I don’t know what came over me… I’ve never…” After over a decade of telling himself that he had no time… No business having a romantic relationship…

“Wait… you’ve never been on a date?” Virgil gasped incredulously.

“Not like this!” he clarified frantically as he gestured wildly. Last time…

“Last time, I was an arrogant college student who felt like he had to answer to no one but himself. Now, I am a single father, going out with a coworker. This is an adult outing. I can’t just…” How to even explain his dilemma?

“You really like this guy huh?” Virgil’s voice became soothing, sympathetic.

The flutter of butterflies and the flush of color on his face probably told Logan enough.

Logan sighs and nods with a blush. “He’s so patient and friendly and… I just never thought he could ever…”

“Now stop it right there,” Virgil snapped sternly. “Me turning out like a somewhat stable person, proofs you are awesome. And you just showed him all the reasons why he should date you while taking care of me. You’re welcome by the way. Patton is cool. He’s already met your kid and passed the test. The scariest bit is over.”

That finally caught Logan’s attention. He turned towards his son, who had washed off all make up from his face, and grabbed his shoulders to convey how serious he was.

“You’re really fine with me going out with him? With me possibly entering a romantic relationship?”

Virgil shrugged. “I mean, I’m not a fan of the change, but I want you to be happy. And if Patton is your pick… I wouldn’t have suggested he come over for dinner if I didn’t like him.”

Virgil was doing his best to sound casual about it, but Logan was filled with unmatched joy. He found that words alone were not sufficient to convey his feelings. So he hugged him tight. “I am fortunate to have you as a son,” he told him sincerely.

Virgil shoved him away, blushing awkwardly. Logan didn’t take it personally. It was his own fault that Virgil didn’t know how to react to him initiating physical contact.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever Logie.” What? Had Patton… Oh god. Virgil was much too pleased with Logan’s flustered reaction.

“Let’s go home,” he suggested with a smirk before heading to the parking lot.

Things changed over the next week. He and Patton engaged in more flirty conversation and it had his stomach in knots and his heart racing. But he didn’t mind that too much. Logan was pretty sure Thomas caught on, but he was kind enough not to mention it.

And then Halloween came around. Virgil’s favorite holyday.

They always dressed up together to hand out candy and Logan wondered if next year there would be an extra costume to be put together.

Virgil had been adjusting store bought costumes and doing their make up with enthusiasm ever since he outgrew trick or treating. He’d gotten quite good. From the start of September he’d be designing, sowing and practicing. The past two years it was the only time Logan saw his eyes light up again like they used to all the time when he was little.

This year, Virgil came home beaming.

“And so then I said ‘but ruling sounds like a lot of work’ and everyone laughed!”

Virgil was glowing as he told the story of how Roman had pulled him into a little improvisation.

“You should bring this boy over some time,” Logan suggested. Virgil’s hand, which had been turning him into a zombie professor, froze near his throat.

“I… We’re not… I mean he doesn’t…. We aren’t that close,” Virgil stammered. Logan let it go. Virgil wasn’t ready yet.

Logan had other worries that weekend than Virgil maybe trying to catch the eye of his classmate.

He was checking his tie for the millionth time and Virgil was wordlessly handing him the things he’d forgotten. Keys, wallet, phone…

He was a mess. “You look great dad,” Virgil assured him as he smoothed out his jacket for him. “He’s going to be blown away.”

“What would I do without you?” Logan wondered.

“Still pine from a distance I’m guessing,” Virgil smirked and just then the bell rang.

Logan took a deep breath, checked his pockets one last time and opened the door.

God, Patton looked so good in formal wear. He always looked charming, but now…

“Hya Logie! Hey Virgil! Thanks for letting me steal your dad for the night.” Patton winked.

“Hey Pat,” Virgil greeted.

Logan looked back with worry. “Are you sure…” he started, suddenly not comfortable with leaving his son alone for the night.

“Yes!” Virgil groaned with a roll of his eyes. “Just have a nice time. Text when you arrive at the restaurant and when you leave. I don’t have school tomorrow so don’t hurry home. Pat, steal his phone if he checks it even once during dinner.” Virgil was practically pushing him out the door at this point.

“I will,” Patton winked.

“Good, you crazy kids have fun and don’t do anything you wouldn’t want me to do.”

Logan flushed. “Virgil!” he chastised.

“Love you too!” he shouted as he shut the door in their faces.

Logan felt something twist in his stomach. Was Virgil trying to make sure he didn’t chicken out? Or… No. Virgil wouldn’t go behind his back.

“Logan?” Patton pressed gently.

He took a deep breath and smiled at his date… His date. The smile that appeared at that thought was almost painful.

“Apologies. Father instincts,” he shrugged by ways of explanation.

Patton giggled and hooked their arms together. “Don’t worry Logan. You’ve raised a wonderful boy. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“Yes, you are right. Let’s enjoy our evening.”

The restaurant was lovely, the food delicious, and the company perfect.

Patton didn’t need to steal his phone, though Logan was always aware of its presence in his pocket. They talked about much more personal things than he’d ever allowed for at work. He learned about Patton’s love for animals and his ongoing battle with the kitchen, though he was good at baking for some reason.

Patton learned about his fascination with everything space related. They discovered they both loved Sherlock.

Patton really loved his puns. Something Logan found both endearing and frustrating. But he was sure his rants about complicated subjects could be a bit annoying from time to time too. They had fun discussing a few philosophers together and before they knew it it was time to pay. Logan texted Virgil as they waited for the bill.

“I had a really great time tonight,” Patton told him on the ride home.

“As did I. I’m glad you asked me out,” Logan nodded.

“Me too.”

And then they parked in front of the house. Logan spotted slight movement at the curtain of the neighbors. Celine was a curious person but she could keep a secret. He was sure she would ask him all about Patton next time they crossed paths, but he also knew that unless he told her it was okay, her husband nor her son would hear about his new relationship from her.

The lights in his own home seemed to be off. Virgil was probably in his room.

He cleared his throat. “So I guess now it is my turn. Next Friday? There is an exhibit I wanted to visit and I would very much like for you to accompany me.”

Patton smiled. “It’s a date.”

Logan nodded and left the vehicle with a final ‘good night’.

He had wanted to kiss him. Very much so. But he didn’t feel they were ready for it just yet.

Maybe after a second successful date.

When he got to Virgil’s room he noticed that the light was still on, so to be safe he gave a gentle knock on the door. A pause. “Come in.”

When he opened the door he saw Virgil was sitting on his bed, his headphones around his neck and his hair a mess. He’d been listening to music.

“You should be asleep,” he pointed out. It was rather late. He should at least have been trying.

“I wanted to make sure I could tell you good night. How was it?”

Virgil tried to be casual, but Logan could hear how tense he was. Whether it was worry or excitement, he wasn’t sure. Either way, it told him Virgil had worried about his night going well and that meant a lot. But Logan was not going to risk keeping Virgil up even later by rambling about the date.

“I will brief you in the morning. Now you should get adequate rest. Sleep deprivation is detrimental to both your physical health and creativity.”

“Okay, night dad,” he muttered in surrender as he got up to get ready for bed.

“Night Virgil… I love you.” He’d gotten much better at saying the words over the last month and he could see Virgil appreciated the effort.

“Love you too dad,” he smiled gently. And with that Logan closed the door.

How did he end up this lucky?

@moonlightshow00 @naturallyunstablegamer @alias290 @meowthefluffy @frida0043 @angelic-cali @selenechris

5) Let them go.

Masterlist

#sanders sides #ts sides #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #logicality #mention of #prinxiety #hero au

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wildcreationmagic · 4 years ago

Text

Nozel x Oc Ophelia

Chapter 5: Lion’s Den and Eagle’s Nest

Ophelia is pushed to her limits both physically and mentally during her time with the two Royal Captain’s and their squads while also trying to balance the toll of everything thrust upon her these past two weeks.

Once a few feet from one another both Ophelia and Captain Vermillion stop as she could feel the nerves jittering all around her body. “Hello Captain Vermillion.”

Staring down at her the serious expression on his face doesn’t help her nervousness, but soon enough his brows turn up with a smile. “Hello Ophelia, glad to see you’re up so early. Although I shouldn’t be surprised with your upbringing after all.”

With his face relaxed and friendly as her own changes giving a modest nod in response. “Ah yes, I guess so. I take it the Crimson Lions have been up for a while as well?”

“Indeed we have. Those who aren’t on missions are training- come. I’ll show you around.” Turning on his heel Fuegoleon’s long legs carry him a fair distance in only a few steps as Ophelia rushes to catch up.

Entering the base is fairly intimidating as the entry is also to the Vermillion residence. Through a large iron gate and a luscious courtyard as they approach the front doors. Thinking about it, the fact they are so close to the King’s castle isn’t surprising. After all the Vermillion's are one of the royal families.

Touring the squad base Fuegoleon tells her how the squad was founded and the basic principles it created for the members to embody. Walking down the halls Ophelia glances at Fuegoleon as he speaks, even if he goes on for some time it is hard to not pay attention with the commanding boom of his voice. Since she has been quiet so long his eyes glance over to her small frame beside his own. “Do you have any questions so far Ophelia?”

“No, Sir. I’m trying to take all of this in. I still can’t believe I’m here actually.” Giving a nervous smile she is met with kind and understanding eyes as his lips turn up.

“Of course. Let me know if you need something clarified.”

Continuing down the halls of the base Ophelia can’t help but glance back hearing the padding of rapidly approaching footfalls. Fuegoleon doesn’t take notice of it though as he continues to walk unphased by the new arrival closing in. The sound of boots on tile closer until another figure slows on the other side of the Captain. Glancing over she sees a head of messy red hair the back trailing down in a single braid. Looking further she sees his eyes are a stunning turquoise with brilliant red markings around them as they meet her own.

“Oh, brother you didn’t tell me the newest member would be around the same age as me!” Grinning one of his canine teeth poke out giving him a very feline appearance.

“Leopold, she is just observing the squad for now only after she has seen the Silver Eagles and Golden dawn will she make her decision.” Glancing down at his brother while continuing to walk he simply watches the younger Vermillion interacting with Ophelia.

Arms folded behind his head Leopold maneuvers around his brother and in front as he walks backwards face to face to her. “Pretty impressive you managed to help the Captains out in that village and only being around my age!” Hearing his comment Ophelia glances away blushing in embarrassment.

She isn’t upset, but flushed with the fact she is shorter than a 15 year old boy! “Actually, I’m not your age Leopold.” Listening to them Fuegoleon smiles as Leopold blinks and glances to his brother.

“You mean you’re my brother’s age?” Eyes wide at Ophelia as her face deepens in hue.

“Well not quite, I’m 21.” Shifting her gaze hesitantly the boy stares a moment, but grins not seeming to be mocking instead he is confident.

“Even so you’re not really much older than me, and for a commoner to move up so fast getting the attention of the three best squads is something!” Supposing it is meant to be a compliment she gives a gentle nod while glancing over to the Captain who has been silent until now.

“Well, it seems you’ve been introduced to my younger brother. He is still somewhat new to the squad so I believe you both should get along well enough while you’re here Ophelia.” Being given a confident nod by his younger brother it seems to be enough for Fuegoleon as the three enter the training grounds where it seems like most of the squad is waiting.

With everyone else adorned in crimson robes Ophelia feels father out of place while trying to ignore any possible stares.

Moving to the front of his squad Fuegoleon’s voice booms out. “Alright, everyone listen up! Today I expect nothing but your best, give it your all and don’t lose focus! There will be no room for mistakes today!” Expression fierce and hand clenched into a fist in front of him, she is a little startled with the sudden shift in his demeanor.

Listening to the squad being addressed she stays put as not to bother the Captain or draw anymore attention to herself. It is a unique experience to say the least among the other members while they listen intensely to Captain Vermillion. Feeling a light tap on her shoulder she glances over to see Leopold holding out a red cloak to her.

“Uh?” Blinking she doesn’t know if she should even touch it, not being a Magic Knight and all. Hearing some footfalls she peeks over her shoulder seeing Fuegoleon returning.

“Leopold, what are you doing with that? Ophelia isn’t required to wear a squad cloak right now.” His tone isn’t roaring like it was moments ago and the squad that was hanging on his every word seem to be prepping for something.

“I forgot to tell you, before I came to see you two this morning I was told that the Wizard King said she could. That way she can get a feel for the squad without feeling singled out, she kind of stands out without the robe.”

Eyes closing a moment Fuegoleon ponders to himself. That does sound like something Julius would come up with, but it does hold merit in helping her fit in more. “Very well, if the Wizard King says so then I see nothing wrong with it.” Violet eyes turn to her as his head lifts with an expectant smile, arms crossed proudly. “Now, once you get that on we’ll be going. Ophelia, I hope you’re ready to train with us like a true member of the Crimson Lion Kings.”

Once the cloak is in place she glances to Fuegoleon who is once more at the front of the squad, but thankfully his younger brother was nearby she feels more at ease. Some of the Crimson Lion’s mount up on their brooms while others use their magic to fly. One being the Captain as he creates a flaming lion and sits atop it’s back. No one back in Carney had enough magic to do something like that so she is amazed seeing the kinds of things able to be created with the different magic attributes. Approaching her is Leopold who holds out a broom with that one tooth poking out as he grins.

“Here, you may want to use this. It will be a bit of a trip, I hope you can keep up.”

Eyeing the broom she politely shakes her head side to side seeming nervous to say the least. “That’s alright I think I’ll pass.” She has been on a broom once when younger with Miranda and ever since she dreads the thought of going on one again. “I’d rather fly under my own power anyway.”

Shrugging Leopold chuckles getting on a broom. “Suit yourself.” Kicking off as his cape flutters behind him calling down to Ophelia. “Hurry up or you’ll be left behind!” Noticing how Fuegoleon’s violet eyes watch her from atop his lion she nods not wanting to keep him waiting just for her. Shifting she soars up and without missing a beat the squad seems to move almost in unison. While traveling she stays close to Leopold and he does the same supplying conversation even if she can’t speak back right now.

After some time it begins to get hotter and hotter, much hotter than the typical Clover Kingdom heat. Being transformed she utilizes her sharp eyesight to scan the landscape making a startling realization connecting the Captain’s words from earlier and why it is getting so hot. They are heading right to the base of a volcanic area! Landing and transforming back to normal she looks to Leopold startled.

“We’re training here?” But how? The heat would burn them alive getting too close!

“Yeah, neat huh?” Grinning yet the younger Vermillion isn’t phased in the least that their training location is at the base of a volcano!

“Everyone listen up! Get ready to ascend the volcano, reaching the top is our goal and the hotspring waiting with it! Anyone who thinks they cannot make it tell me now so you can turn back!” Startled by the sudden sound of his voice Ophelia looks over to see the other members surrounded by the glow of their mana like a second skin. The sight is baffling as she doesn’t know what they are doing or how to do it herself. Too lost in thought as nerves begin to get the best of her she doesn’t even hear Fuegoleon approach. “Is everything alright?”

Whirling to face him, her eyes are wide a moment and muscles tense until she sees who it is. “Captain, you startled me.” Hand on her heart to calm it’s racing as she continues. “I’m just…” she glances to the others who seem to be ready. Firm expression relaxing a bit he steps closer placing a hand on her shoulder.

“If you need assistance let me help, that is part of a Captain’s duty after all. I’m guessing you aren’t sure what to do correct?” A simple nod is all he needs to confirm. “First close your eyes and focus on your mana. This technique is called Mana Skin, a protective coating of mana around the user’s body. It’s a basic technique that Magic Knights have all used at one point or another.”

Hearing this makes her think of another spell she uses, that must be it. That spell is essentially mana skin! Focusing mana begins to flow over her body like a second skin, and seeing this Fuegoleon steps back with a nod. He knows she is gifted, and he doesn’t discriminate against commoners, but the rapidity of her understanding with having no previous training is impressive.

“Alright let’s get started then!” Calling out to the squad with a fist in the air the other Crimson Lion King members echo their captain’s enthusiasm- especially his younger brother.

Running alongside the other members the mana skin isn’t too difficult for her to keep up. The difficult part is physically keeping up with everyone else in this heat! Glancing to her side she notices that instead of being at the front of his squad Fuegoleon is keeping pace with her! As they run she notices a few other mages using other spells to assist them and gets an idea.

“Captain Vermillion you don’t have to keep pace with me for my sake. Please don’t worry about me and run your squad as normal!”

Gauging her reaction Fuegoleon nods. “Alright then.” Within moments he quickly reaches the front of his squad as she can’t help but stare amazed at his fitness, he really was holding back by staying by her. Even from how far back she is his voice is able to be heard and picking up on their Captain’s positivity the resolve of the squad seems to increase.

Starting to get the idea Ophelia focuses her magic, but not on the mana skin instead she uses another spell, a type of reinforcement magic. Beside her appears a cute green-eyed fox, to which she extends the mana skin around so it doesn’t burn up in the ever growing heat. With the newly crafted creature her legs move faster, nimbler as she moves up through the group. Even in the heat she wasn’t letting this get to her and would try her best. Working up in the ranks she ends up around the middle from her previous and glances around noting a few grins from a group of young women making her smile back.

“Ah, I’m so relieved. I was beginning to think I was the only woman here!” Getting a couple laughs they nod in agreement.

“We all thought the same thing when we joined, it would be great having another girl on the squad!” More nods and murmurs of agreement while a young woman with an athletic build and raven hair in tight curls around her head speaks up.

“There’s only a literal handful of us so we could use some strong women here.” Grinning with a friendly wink the rest of the trek to the summit is quite enjoyable for Ophelia as she knows there would be a few familiar faces waiting. Glancing up towards the front she notices violet eyes glancing back at her with a proud grin. Giving a gentle smile back she finds herself immersed in conversation with the other members until they reach the top as the squad gathers and Fuegoleon’s eyes survey over all the Magic Knights.

Staying near her newly found acquaintances she hears the Captain’s voice booming out over the other members. This certainly isn’t something she expected, but it certainly seems like he motivates his squad members a lot!

Listening her brow raises slightly as they could have done better? She assumed everyone did alright, but this is the Crimson Lion Kings and they aren’t one of the best squads for nothing.

As if on cue a rumbling is heard from the ground below them and Ophelia swears her heart stops for a moment until a geyser of water rushes up filling a massive hole in the ground behind the Captain. Now it makes sense why there was a sense of getting there on time, this hotspring is on a natural timer more or less. One of the members uses their Earth Magic to create a divider between the men and women, to which she is grateful.

The other female members aren’t quite as shy with stripping down and sinking into the water as they wave her over in a friendly manner. Taking a breath she makes quick work of her clothes and slips into the water. The heated water offers slight relief from the scalding temperature outside it. Sadly relaxing in the hotspring only lasts so long all too soon everyone gets out, dresses, and regroups as much to Ophelia’s dismay they go back the same way they came up, her body isn’t used to this kind of training!

Returning to the base there is little time to rest as the members are paired up for further training, and since she is part of the squad for the day that means Ophelia as well a voice sounding behind her..

“Excuse me, but I’ll be your partner this round if you don’t mind.” Turning she is face to face with a man of slim build, dark brown hair, a scar on his forehead along with a stubble mustache and goatee. The expression on his face is pleasant enough as he extends a hand. “Randall Luftair. The Captain has spoken quite highly of you.”

Not wanting to disappoint the Captain she does her best not to show how she physically feels. Her mana may be fine, but her body is aching this isn’t the kind of work she is used to. “Ophelia Forestier.” Extending her hand in a firm shake she smiles softly not knowing the kind of magic he uses, but this would certainly let her skills be tested against others than bandits.

“Alright is everyone ready!?” Overseeing the whole thing is Fuegoleon who once again is eager to spur on his squad. “Begin!”

Seconds pass and Randall is floating in mid air, that would certainly limit the creatures she could use to reach him. “I’m ready whenever you are Ophelia.” Keeping a gentle smile on his face he almost seems to be meditating as Ophelia unleashes her first spell.

“Wild Magic: Gryphon’s Gift Gustaph’s Flock!

Huffing she is glad to see Randall was equally beat down as her so far, both of them have been fairly even- although his air tight defenses weren’t easy to get through. Brushing some stray hair from his face Randall actually smiles giving a chuckle. “I’m impressed! Not many can get by my defences given who I am.”

“What do you mean?” Ophelia asks in confusion while launching another attack, not even her basilisk is fast enough to get by him. It’s dragon-like head slamming into an invisible wall giving a hiss of frustration, the ripples in the air showing it isn’t enough damage to actually break the barrier. Shortly after a cutting gust of air is launched at it knocking the creature, but not enough to destroy it as it serpentines back under her orders. Not going to make the same mistake twice she uses her mana to make it rear up half its body length trying to strike him down from above. Jaws open and fangs aimed at Randall’s grimoire.

“Because, not many people could go against a Vice Captain.” The realization falls on her like a ton of bricks as he speaks so casually while launching an air palm strike at the basilisk's open mouth cutting it apart from the inside out. Thankfully Fuegoleon calls the matches much to her relief. Seeing she is still a little startled Rnadall walks up offering his hand as if in a truce. “You did well today, training with us up on the volcano and then now. You’ll make a wonderful Magic Knight if trained right.”

Shaking his hand again she nods slowly. “I only barely kept up with you all. It took me a while to figure out I could use my magic other than mana skin.” Letting it be the Vice Captain simply nods giving a knowing smile as they hear familiar footfalls.

“Alright Ophelia I’m ready to fight!” Leopold's eager voice calls out as inwardly she is dreading going another round, unsure if her body could even take more. She wasn’t beat up by Randall, no this was just friendly sparring. But the physical toll on her body is starting to add up.

Unable to say no she starts to nod, but is stopped by a strong voice and confident footfalls. “I’m sorry Leopold you won’t be sparing with Ophelia today, I will.”

All of them turning towards the voice she can’t help but feel anxiety gnawing at her stomach. Fuegoleon Vermillion stands before her in all his glory looking prideful and fierce as ever.

Randall chuckles as if he is let in on a joke. “So that is why you wanted her to spar with me, to see what she is capable of.”

It does make sense he wants to test how far she could go, and now against him. Leopold gives a huff of disappointment as his brother looks over to him. “I’m sure you’ll get plenty of chances to test yourself against her if she joins our squad.”

Hearing that it is almost like she has no choice but to join the Crimson Lions, especially seeing the hopeful glitter enter Leopold's teal eyes. However she is sure that isn’t why the Captain said that, as it seems to have calmed his brother down.

Moving to stand in front of her Ophelia meets Captain Vemillion’s eyes. Blazing violet meets wild blue as she steels herself intimidating as he is; she isn’t going down without a fight.

Quickly Ophelia realizes nothing is working as the fight begins. She knows he is a Captain, but the fact he has a fire affinity and his spells are insanely strong the only thing she can do is stall until time is up. However even that is hard as her creatures are destroyed in mere seconds, and she knows he isn’t even using a fraction of his powerful flames. The heat of them reaches her even from several feet away, and she doesn’t know which is more draining his flames or the volcano.

Barely getting a Butterfly Barrier up as she still has to move out of the way as his flames exceed well past after burning them up. Rolling out of the way her muscles ache in protest and she summons another creature.

“Wild Magic: Armored Alligator!”

Once the spell was up another fiery blast is shot her way, muscles tensing in the gator it spins in a death roll making the flames form a flaming vortex around it and past Ophelia standing behind it letting them dissipate harmlessly. The intense heat makes her sweat more, but at least that attack was avoided. However her gator while still summoned isn’t fairing much better, maw open allowing itself to pant and try to cool off. Smoke rising from the scutes over its body having been nearly roasted from the inside out due to the tough armor scales.

Seeming pleased with the result, Fuegoleon unleashes another blast this time aimed solely at the creature. Legs weakly lifting itself until it’s hit and knocked over dispelling with an airy hiss. Yet another wave of heat hitting Ophelia as she grimaces feeling her knee impact the ground gasping for breath. Not having the energy to, she doesn’t bother looking up, but thankfully it seems the Captain has mercy on her as his boots enter her line of vision.

“You did well Ophelia, be proud of yourself for today.” Hearing his voice rumble over her, she looks up seeing a hand extended down as she smiles softly taking it.

“Thank you Captain.”

Noting her condition he takes her to the common room while the others continue another round of training. “Given you’re not used to our training yet take the chance to rest while I finish up with the squad. I’ll come get you when finished.”

Departing from her she sinks onto one of the sofas tipping her head back in relief. Body aching it feels good to finally relax. Eyes fluttering close she is grateful for the silence as it allows time for her thoughts to settle. Slowly starting to drift off she is startled awake by a sleepy voice.

“You look like you could use a nap.” Before she can even get up Rhya’s head plops on her lap making Ophelia raise a brow as he sleepily grins up at her.

“What are you doing here?” Voice almost accusing as she takes a breath having been scared into alertness heart pounding once again.

“What no ‘hi Rhya’ ‘how are you doing Rhya’ or ‘good to see you Rhya?” Eye cracking open at her she rolls her own.

“My apologies, hello Rhya. But you have to admit that you have a knack for showing up in places you aren’t exactly supposed to be. I’ll have a hard time explaining this to the Captain if he comes back and sees you.”

Scoffing his dark eyes flutter closed as he stifles a yawn making himself comfy in her lap. With a fullness in her chest it’s like old emotions are trying to rekindle, but she isn’t quite sure how to feel about how they used to be. Averting her eyes until Rhya speaks up again.

“Nah I’ll be fine, besides that guy is a little too confident acting like he already has you on his squad. Are you sure you want to join this squad? I mean training like that everyday just sounds like a pain.” Not even opening his eyes it seems like he is content right now.

Making a face she pushes his shoulders up off her lap and stands while he plops down where she had been sitting. Turning to face him shaking her head as he lets his eyes drift over to her complaining about losing his pillow. “No one has me on their squad yet Rhya. Captain Vermillion is just treating me like one of his squad members so I don’t feel out of place-.”

Suddenly her vision tilts as her legs give out, but thankfully Rhya is there within seconds. Arm around her as he raises a brow with a slight ‘I told you so’ smirk on his lips. “Are you sure that training like that everyday is something you’d want? You look pretty rough right now.”

Weakly waving a hand in dismissal she shakes her head. “I’d be fine. My body would get used to it eventually…” words cutting off as she hides a yawn making him chuckle.

“You’re too stubborn for your own good.” Slowly his hands drop as Ophelia insists she is alright, legs quivering and as Rhya goes to support her again they both hear footfalls along with a familiar mana. Giving a quick look of apology Rhya disappears through a portal just as Captain Vermillion rounds a corner to see her starting to fall.

“Ophelia!” Cool flames catch her slowing her fall as he rushes over, her body nearly limp in the Captain’s arms. Watching her with a frown and furrowed brows he speaks up seeing her try to weakly lift her head before it falls lax against his shoulder. “You overworked yourself, if you were tired you should have said something.” Tone scolding as if speaking to a child while she attempts to speak.

“I...didn’t…” head falling against his chest again she fights to keep her eyes open and speak, “....want to bother...” another sigh leaves her lips. “...the squad. You-” Unable to try opening her eyes anymore she sighs out the last few words. “...busy as a Captain.”

Eyes watching her form slump Fuegoelon stands carrying her with no issue as he makes his way down the hallways of the base. Knocking twice on a door it opens up as he announces himself. “It’s Captain Vermillion.” Without a second passing the door opens as the barracks for the women opens up and they gasp seeing Ophelia. “She fainted from overworking today.” Nodding right away they help get her to an empty bed as he turns to the female squad members. “I’ll send for someone to ensure it’s nothing serious, meanwhile I want the rest of you to keep an eye on her. Is that understood?”

All assuring their Captain that his orders are understood he leaves with full confidence Ophelia will be well in their care.

Several hours pass and finally her eyes open revealing red blurrs and faint chatter. Groaning as she tries to sit up but a girl with freckles and auburn hair sets a hand on her shoulder. “The medical mage said you shouldn’t get up.” Seeing the confusion she explains. “You’re in the female barracks for the Crimson Lions, the Captain brought you here after he said you fainted from overexertion.”

Blinking several times she does faintly remember. She was with Rhya and got up from the couch before he caught her only to have the Captain show up, but after she drew a blank. Hand on her head she slowly shakes it side to side. “Sorry for being a bother.”

After being assured she isn’t a bother Ophelia ends up talking with several familiar faces from the volcano as she relaxes in their company. Eventually sleep finds her again as the thoughts of the days to come fill her mind in both worry and anticipation.

Passing through the gates from the Vermillion's to the corridor between the royal houses Ophelia spots Captain Silva waiting, watching both of them walk up with sharp eagle eyes. “You’re late Fuegoleon.”

Giving a slight smile while closing his eyes Fuegoleon doesn’t seem phased in the slightest. “My apologies Nozel, there was something I had to attend to with my squad before bringing Ophelia here.”

“Hmph, as if it couldn’t have waited until after. I’ve already had my time cut short by waiting on you.” Violet eyes stare directly into her blue’s as his chin tips up waiting on her. Getting the message as her heart beats harder she glances to Fuegoleon who gives an encouraging nod for her to go ahead.

“Thank you Captain Vermillion for this opportunity.” Smiling gently at the Crimson Lion Captain he smiles back proudly.

“You’re welcome Ophelia, I look forward to seeing your work as a Magic Knight no matter which squad you join.” Briefly both royals lock eyes and Nozel clearly isn’t pleased with the other’s apparent attentiveness.

Hearing a noise from Nozel, Ophelia looks up to find him staring at her as she quickly gets the message. Giving one last glance to Fuegoleon before crossing over towards Captain Silva. Only seconds later footfalls rapidly hit the ground coming to a stop near Fuegoleon. Beside him is Leopold blinking and holding the Crimson Lion King’s robe Ophelia had worn.

“Brother she forgot her robe!” Glancing down to his younger brother he smiles and hearing the voice Ophelia turns back seeing Leopold. Even Nozel inclines his head, although his expression is unimpressed and showing slight impatience with being kept waiting.

“It’s alright Leopold, we will hold it for her if she decides to join us.” Arms crossed he keeps his calm. Grinning back at Fuegoleon the younger Vermillion nods with a tooth poking out. If his brother is so calm then he had no reason to worry either. Turning his attention back to Nozel as he eyes his rival. “I must say though Nozel, she did the Crimson Lions quite proud by wearing our robe. She even kept up excellently with our training.”

Smiling in response she feels a warmth in her chest hearing the Captain’s praise. returning her attention back to Captain Silva, something tells her this would be quite different than her time with the Crimson Lions.

The silver haired Captain doesn’t even acknowledge what his rival says simply turning on his heel, only pausing long enough to give her an imposing glance and comment. “We’ve wasted enough time here.” Having no choice but to follow, she swiftly catches up while trying to maintain a respectable distance to the Captain as they pass through the gates to House Silva and the Silver Eagle’s base.

Taking another glance back at her Nozel notices how far she is from him, normally someone standing two body lengths away doesn’t bother him. In fact he usually welcomes it, but this… unable to help himself he looks forward again opening a door and pausing. “Do try and keep up.” Hearing his voice Ophelia’s heart nearly stops in fear as her eyes widen he wants her closer? However she isn’t given time to think as he enters the doorway and she does the same shortly after. Upon her doing so he can feel her mana is closer, just out of arm's reach, and he makes no further comment on it. Seemingly appeased.

Walking through a grand marble floored room Ophelia spots two figures in the middle of the room, both with silver hair and the Silver Eagle’s cloak. Quickly by seeing their attire as well she can only assume they are siblings to Nozel. Both with smug expressions on their faces. Holding the cloak folded up the woman takes a hand and uses the back of her palm to hide her lips coyly. “Nozel, I don’t mean to bother you. But you have a stray at your heels.” A snicker is heard from beside her.

“Yes, do you want us to help you get rid of it? I’m surprised you let it follow you this far even brother.”

The sting of their words goes straight through Ophelia as she clenches her jaw with fingers curling and nails biting into her palms. She should have expected this, but the words still hurt. However they are nothing compared to the times her own sister has called her worse. If she can handle that she can handle this from a couple of royals… right? Unable to help it she risks a glance at the Captain, and he doesn’t seem to share his sibling’s same amusement. “Nebra hand her the robe.”

“What, to her? You’ve got to be joking Nozel.” His sister, Nebra scoffs at this while his brother chimes in.

“Don’t tell me that is the girl- I know it’s a commoner village, but her?” Both siblings start to snicker until Nozel’s voice cuts them off.

“Nebra, Solid- that’s enough. I made my decision and that is final.” Holding out his hand for the robe now Nebra blinks in confusion so Nozel takes it with an irritated sigh. He’s already wasted time because of Fuegoleon today; he didn’t need this. Handing the robe to Ophelia she quickly understands taking it and putting it on fluidly as she could. As she does his eyes slide over her form as if silently appraising her, but his eyes give nothing away as he turns to walk past his siblings.

Solid and Nebra being left to stare at one another in disbelief as she follows their brother as before. Not to be left behind though they quickly follow, and since Ophelia is slightly behind their brother instead of beside him they flank her on both sides. Nebra on the left and Solid on the right as they both sneer at her smaller form.

“This has to be a joke.” A chuckle from her right as Nebra glances at her younger brother over the blonde’s head.

“Right? There is no way our brother would seriously consider a commoner, unless it was a servant for the house.” As they literally talk over her Ophelia finds herself glancing towards the Captain they may be whispering, but he has to hear them right? Her attention isn’t on him for more than a fleeting second though as their scathing comments start up again.

“Ahah that is so true. If this is why the past two weeks he’s been-.” Suddenly Nozel stops, thankfully Ophelia is paying attention so she stops as well but not so lucky for Solid and Nebra nearly bumping into their brother as a violet eye peers over his shoulder at them coldly.

“I thought I told you two that is enough.” Shrinking under their brother’s glare he continues. “I assigned a mission to you both, I would hope you completed it before bothering me.” Eye narrowing not getting an answer it’s clear Nozel isn’t happy. “Go do what you should have been doing and don’t return until you’re finished.”

Not a further word is needed as they step back and glower at Ophelia walking away side by side starting to whisper too quietly for her to hear. Turning her attention back to Captain Silva he is starting to walk so she does as well. It is quiet as the two continue to walk, so far no explanation like with Captain Vermillion how the Silver Eagles were founded or who by.

Crossing another room she can only assume that they are still in House Silva instead of the Silver Eagles with her suspicion confirmed seeing a large painting of a woman with silver hair and grand dress all in a golden frame. Below is a small side table against the wall with a vase full of flowers with a younger girl looking up at it. Her outfit and hair color is similar to the other Silva’s.

“What are you doing?” Stopping a few feet behind her Nozel must have startled her as she whirls around wide eyed.

“Oh, Nozel….hello.” Timidly her violet eyes flit to you but pay most of their attention to her brother.

“I asked you a question, don’t make me repeat myself.” Flinching back her head tips down the loose hair from her pigtails fluttering slightly as she moves.

“I was just… looking at mother.” Blue eyes shifting to the picture Ophelia is able to pick up on the resemblance immediately gazing at the other again.

“I thought I told you to stay in your room. I told you I would be busy around the base.” Face stern he clearly has had it, having dealt with enough from Solid and Nebra already.

“Yes, Nozel.” Slowly starting to walk off Nozel stays firm despite his sister’s demeanor.

However while watching this she swallows and heart pounding speaks up. “Captain Silva.” Voice stronger than she expects her eyes meet the Captain’s own sharp lavender hues. “She wasn’t a bother, what she was doing is harmless enough.”

Brow furrowing he clearly isn’t happy, and his sister stops as well a little ways down the hall turning to glance back until Nozel gives her a look making Ophelia frown.

Blood boiling she can’t believe what she is seeing, the treatment of the girl is like peering into a mirror. Here she is witnessing a Royal girl being treated the same way she is by her own elder sister. “She is your sister, and she is going to be part of your squad. You should start treating her with more respect Captain!”

Eyes like an eagle he turns towards her sharply with his face stoic yet while his voice drips with displeasure. “Where she is going has already been decided, and it will never be with my squad.” His words like a lance through her heart she doesn’t know this girl, but she knows the feeling of rejection from someone you’re supposed to look up to.

Down the hall his sister watches and listens in a mixture of shock and fear, eyes darting to the woman standing up for her as she isn’t backing down and instead standing up to Nozel.

Controlling her breathing she does the best she can not to be intimidated, is this really how the Captain is? If that is the case then… “Captain Silva, thank you for considering me for your squad but seeing this I can’t imagine joining the Silver Eagles when their own Captain treats his sister like this-” While speaking Ophelia reaches up to the robe about to remove it.

Her fingertips don’t even touch the clasp for the cloak and she’s frozen in place by a layer of mercury. Even Ophelia’s arm is held in place still partly up from reaching to undo the clasp. The only part she can move is her head leaning back from Captain Silva when he leans in mere inches from her face.

“What do you think you’re doing? Someone such as yourself has no place to interfere with matters concerning House Silva.” His tone is ice cold and chills her bones while his eyes seem to be freezing her in place instead of the mercury. “From the moment you put that robe on I am in command and decide when your time here is finished. Is that understood?” Icy mana bearing down around her, she can tell this is only a small portion of the power he holds.

Swallowing in fear she can’t simply nod so she has to speak while doing the best not to let her words tremble. “Yes, Captain Silva.” Eyes locked with his a cold sweat threatens to drip down her neck, but slowly the choking pressure of his mana dies down.

“I don’t know if I should be disappointed or pleased. You seem to have dropped that attitude so easily and gained common sense with respecting your superiors.” Mercury dropping away from her body Ophelia almost collapses from the sudden release staggering a couple steps back while glancing at the Captain in a timid manner as he catches her eye over his shoulder addressing her in an eerily calm tone. “Should you be so undisciplined as to defy me again I almost hate to think of the punishment that could befall you.”

Continuing on as if they hadn’t just run into his little sister she has no choice but to follow. Heart beating a mile a minute and tears of anger hidden behind her eyes.

While showing Ophelia around the base and elaborating on the duties of a Magic Knight Nozel is furious with himself. How could he, a Royal, lose his demeanor because of a simple commoner? She had no business meddling in family affairs, and it is the second time she has challenged him. That woman just happens to have magic that could benefit the kingdom by having her a part of the Magic Knights. That is all, once it is settled who’s squad she is on he won’t have to spare her another moment of thought. Internally he knows though he wouldn’t be truly happy unless she is on his squad, but even then would it really stop, and otherwise why would he spend the past two weeks thinking about her?

Both of them able to calm down Nozel comes to a stop at the end of a long corridor leading to a dead end where they won’t be disturbed as a question that has plagued him from the start is on his lips. Turning towards her it’s clear Ophelia has some fear and he isn’t sure how to feel on seeing that. Normally he wouldn’t care but this… pushing the thought aside he lifts his chin looking at her directly.

“What makes Fuegoleon so favorable as a Captain?” It’s bothered him more than he would like to admit and her demeanor towards him isn’t nearly as guarded.

Clearly surprised by this question she has no time to hide the shock on her face, but Captain Silva’s expression isn’t changing, and he is clearly expecting an answer. After taking the time to listen to his explanations, what is expected she figures the Captain isn’t the worst in all situations. His demeanor isn’t simply towards his sister, but to everyone in general. It’s clear he is diligent in his duties holding a high standard.

“Well,” hesitating, she isn’t sure where to start but his expression isn’t budging and he isn’t telling her to look at him as her eyes flit away. Angry as she is for earlier with his sister what transpired after still is clear in her mind. “Captain Vermillion, he takes time to get to know others.” Seeing an elegantly raised brow she continues hurriedly. “As a Magic Knight it’s your duty to protect the people of the Clover Kingdom. Most of the time those that are prioritized are Nobles or Royals living within the Capital. They are of a higher status yes, but make up a minority of the population you look after. By understanding commoners people are more willing to help unlike what happened in Carney.”

She doesn’t mention him specifically but Nozel knows she is referring to how he spoke to her. However that isn't what makes him think. It’s the fact that she is able to converse with him about that as if it was natural is what intrigues him. No wonder she was asked to come by the Wizard King himself, he never met her and yet-. Stopping another pointless thought he squares his shoulders gazing down at her.

“You are correct in that matter, Royalty and Nobility make up a smaller part of the Clover Kingdom than common folk. However, what you didn’t consider is that those of higher class hold a position of importance throughout the Kingdom requiring the protection of the Magic Knights.” Composed again he watches her for a few moments.

His words should shock her, they do but at the same time she isn’t surprised by Captain Silva seeing his point. Ophelia however isn’t given a chance to question about it as he continues. “Furthermore Fuegoleon is a fool who casts aside his pride as a Royal, it’s made him soft by lowering himself to such standards. Even if your idyllic world could exist Royalty and Nobility will always hold power over commoners.”

Turning her head away she is unable to keep his stoic gaze, gone is the harsh glare but that doesn’t make him any less intimidating. A silence falls between the two as he studies her and Ophelia, in uncertainty keeps her eyes slightly lowered. The two considering the words of the other until the Captain is the first to break the silence.

“I haven’t shown you everything necessary for

Showing her the more delicate inner workings of the Magic Knights Ophelia listens keenly. Unlike Fuegoleon who focused on battle Captain Silva seems more focused on bureaucratic matters. Noticing her interest Nozel is secretly pleased with how attentive she is. Unfortunately after some time one of his squad members approaches he knows it wouldn’t be a quick matter.

“Captain Silva, I apologize, but this requires your attention urgently.” A man with chin length black hair and a slender offers a letter as the Captain examines it. His sharp violet eyes give nothing away while folding the letter back up.

“Nills, show Ophelia to her room.” Gaze shifting to her, his eyes remain stoic addressing her casually. “We are done, tomorrow morning you’ll meet with Captain Vangaence.” Not a further word as he departs without a word leaving her in Nill’s care.

For the most part walking with Nills is fairly quiet as he doesn’t say much, but he isn’t bad to be around. He seemed so eager to take on this job from Nozel, so it makes Ophelia wonder what about the Captain he admires so as her curiosity piques. “Nills,” gently she speaks while looking at him and thankfully his head turns towards her showing she has his attention. “May I ask what made you choose the Silver Eagles as your squad?”

Seeming pleasantly surprised he beams at her giving off a proud gleam in his eyes. “Captain Silva is a wonderful man you’ve probably seen that already, but he takes great pride in being a Magic Knight...” Telling her about some of his accomplishments Ophelia finds herself surprised by a few of them and even amazed. His endurance, how he acts during battle or high stakes missions. She doesn’t blame Nills for admiring the Captain despite the flaws he may have, he is quite admirable for a Magic Knight and the fact he became Captain of this squad like his mother is more impressive. The thought makes her a little sad however, the woman from earlier in the painting his sister said mother so that must mean… thoughts trailing off she is brought to the room she will be staying in. Thanking Nills as he departs she steps in closing the door behind her back against the smooth wood.

To her right in the middle of the back wall is a bed between two large windows, across from the bed is a dresser, further to the right is a door she can only assume leads to a bathroom while to the wall closest on her left is a small table with a chair for writing. Keeping with the theme of the Silver Eagles the fabrics and metals are all kept in white, silver or blue tints with the only exception being the wood.

Subconsciously she turns the lock before stepping away from the door, someone isn’t likely to barge in but in a new place it is a welcome addition of security. Glancing about the room Ophelia reaches to undo the clasp on the Magic Knight robe placing it on the back of a chair with a sigh as an all too familiar voice is heard.

“This Captain is a real winner huh?.” Startled, she is about to grab the cloak putting it back on until she sees who is lounging on her bed.

“Rhya!” Scowling at him, he simply closes his eyes, smiling lounging on his side with his palm on his cheek propping himself up on an elbow.

“Man, someone is jumpy.” Sleepily grinning he doesn’t keep at it for long seeing her expression and straightening up. “Did I come at a bad time?”

Running a hand through her hair she lets out a long sigh. “I just… it’s been a long day Rhya.” Sitting up reading her tone his dark eyes shine with something for a moment, but she is too conflicted to tell what right now. Eyes squeezed shut she keeps her head turned away from him as he gets the message.

“Alright.” Standing he watches her a few moments longer until he speaks up again. “You don’t have to do this alone ya know, that’s a pain. You have family to rely on Ophelia.”

Hearing that only makes her remember being with Licht, Fana, Vetto and of course Rhya. Yeah they are there for her but they're strangers yet. Everything and everyone these past couple days are new and strange. Any sense of being able to return to her old life is long gone. “Please Rhya, I just can’t… deal with you right now!” Cutting off she doesn’t trust herself to speak anymore, she just needs time and time to herself.

Without a word a portal opens behind Rhya as he watches her for a few moments more with a sigh, disappearing moments later. Once she can’t feel his mana slowly her head lifts and her feet shuffle against the ground. Sitting on the edge of the bed she places her head in her hands.

If it was just dealing with the Magic Knights she would be fine, but she also is still learning about part of herself and people she didn’t know existed until recently. She may feel comfortable with Rhya, but why is he checking up on her at every turn? She isn’t used to this! This ‘family’, though they treat her kindly are still strangers. The fact she was, or is as they say, an elf is strange enough, but trying to accept that in such a short time with everything else being thrust at her?

Slowly as Ophelia gets ready to sleep Captain Silva doesn't check on her, but that isn’t a surprise. Though at the same time Rhya didn’t return either, guilt building up for snapping at him instead of talking, but too late now. Laying in the plush bed she closes her eyes praying for sleep to find her soon, thankful that she is alone so no one has to hear or witness her regrets. Hopefully her dreams could let her forget the turmoil of thoughts and emotions flooding her mind.

#nozel x oc #black clover nozel #nozel x ophelia #black clover #black clover OC #black clover fuegoleon #black clover fic

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bigskydreaming · 5 years ago

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Headcanon that for as much as the Batclan is hyped for being all mysterious and secretive and unknowable OUTSIDE of Gotham, born and bred Gothamites have no illusions about the Robins and Batgirls and assorted others being one big chaotic family.

Its hard to draw any other conclusion when you’re an enforcer for Falcone’s mob and currently cowering on a rooftop, (because that’s where all the really good crime happens in Gotham), already down for the count but that’s never a guarantee that more isn’t coming when its the Red Hood that just kicked your ass, and like...you’ve done some Bad Shit...and then all of a sudden, a purple caped and masked blonde girl vaults out of the shadows, shrieking “Glitter Bomb!” as she hurls a small sphere directly at the Red Hood’s helmet. Where it promptly bursts and showers the vigilante with well...glitter.

The fearsome Red Hood, rather than being speechless like yourself, wastes no time before shouting after the fleeing vigilante: “What the fuck, Spoiler? I’m out of bounds, this is a designated safe zone!”

But she merely hollers back over her shoulder, “Whatcha gonna do, Hood, die mad about it?”

Before leaping dramatically off the roof, arms outstretched, toes pointed, suspended in a pitch-perfect swan dive for the brief moment before gravity takes hold.....allowing Red Robin to swoop out of nowhere on a grapple line, gracefully poised in a theatrical ballet-esque configuration as he scoops the airborne Spoiler up with one arm and somehow still manages to flip Red Hood the finger before the grapple line’s arc takes them both out of sight.

“Goddammit,” the voice synthesizer in the Red Hood’s helmet intones mournfully. “I actually have to give them points for that one.”

You scooch cautiously to the left, hoping he’s sufficiently distracted by....whatever the hell that was, look, its Gotham, you’ve seen weirder...but the Hood’s red helmet swivels in your direction. Turns out its no less intimidating for being all covered in glitter. “Did I say we were done?”

The fact that they’re all part of the same Batshit family is also pretty apparent, say, when you’re a hitman whose attempted sniping of some public official at some swanky late night gala is interrupted by Nightwing.

He’s not even supposed to live here anymore, what the fuck, your intel on this op is so fucked and you’re literally going to kill your advance man for their shoddy recon work....and that’s when a demonic glow emerges from the depths of the alley you’ve ducked into. It’s Nightwing, again, even though you could’ve sworn you lost him a full three minutes ago, but something’s definitely happened to him between then and now. Where blue lines usually cut a lighter path across the dark black of his costume, but otherwise blend with the rest of the material, now they stand out boldly in the darkness, lit with their own flickering luminescence.

Also, they’re now hot pink.

“Are you usually glow in the dark, or did you already hit me and I’m just concussed right now?” You blurt out, which admittedly is not very professional of you, but whatever, this whole job has already gone completely FUBAR, and its not like you’re the one who looks like a glowing pink skeleton right now.

The vigilante scowls in a way that’s considerably more terrifying than you ever thought someone could look, y’know, while wearing the equivalent of an outfit made out of glowsticks left over from Burning Man.

“You’d think that three little brothers would be enough, but noooo. Apparently not. Someone, in their infinite wisdom, decided actually what I really need, is four.”

He says. As though that explains anything, let alone everything.

You blink. “Huh?”

Then a cackle resounds from somewhere above you, echoes of wheezing laughter bouncing down the brick walls of the alley to reach your ears. You crane your head back, looking up to see the bright yellow costume of the Signal perched atop a gargoyle two buildings over and three stories up. The younger vigilante strikes a heroic pose and thrusts his fist into the sky just as said sky opens up and the formerly cloudless night erupts in a ferocious downpour, allowing a timely stroke of lightning to flash and silhouette the posing hero dramatically.

Look, its Gotham. It just does that sometimes.

“Have no fear, Neonwing is here!” The Signal shouts from up above them, before collapsing into another fit of hysterical cackles. You vaguely remember that the new kid on the block is supposed to be a meta of some kind, have some kind of light powers, and you absent-mindedly connect the dots to Nightwing’s mid-chase...wardrobe change, just as the kid backflips out of sight.

The vigilante standing right next to you - pretty much within striking distance, you suddenly realize, gauging how distracted he is by this....whatever...that definitely has nothing to do with you other than potentially being your get out of jail free card here - he’s still busy glowering up at the spot the Signal could last be seen at.

“Yeah, laugh it up now, buddy, but wait until I tell Robin who really forgot to feed his cat when he was off with the Titans last weekend!”

There’s a moment filled only with the sound of raindrops on pavement then, Nightwing still preoccupied, you still veeeeeeery slowly reaching for the spare gun you keep tucked in a special holster nestled in the small of your back....then Signal’s voice drifts down once more, faintly this time.

“I maybe did not think this all the way through.”

You strike then, while Nightwing starts to respond again. Or at least, that’s the plan. In actuality, you get the gun out of its holster and aimed in front of you, but nothing more helpful than that before an escrima stick is lancing through the air and impacting your forehead with enough force to knock you on your ass.

There’s the sound of footsteps mixed in with the rain now, before Nightwing’s glow in the dark, hot pink skeletal figure appears in your new skyward aimed field of view. The vigilante puts his hands on his hips and scowls. “Hey, did you not see me trying to have a conversation with my brother here? Rude.”

You groan. Now you have a concussion.

#kalen writes things sometimes #not!fic #sorta?#idk how to tag stuff

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the-hilda-librarians-wife · 4 years ago

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Family Fights - Chapter Nine

Summary: Even the strongest bond, the most loving family, can be broken by nightmares, and the librarian is soon to learn this. As she learns sinister things about a person who she had thought was lost forever, she realizes she will need the help of another witch to get her family back.

Notes: Holy crap... this... this is the halfway point of this fic... when did this happen...

(chpt1) (chpt2) (chpt3) (chpt4) (chpt5) (chpt6) (chpt7) (chpt8) (chpt9)

Johanna’s call with Maven had ended rather abruptly. As soon as she’d explained what happened, Maven had announced she was on her way to their house and hung up on her. Johanna wasn’t upset, though. The librarian had sounded awfully unsettled, and she knew she hadn’t meant to be rude.

She arrived barely half an hour later, panting and carrying a bag with her.

“Sorry for taking so long.” She said, not even bothering to greet her apprentice and her mother. “I had to make sure I didn’t forget to bring anything over. But I think we can begin now, and right away.”

“Begin what?” Hilda exclaimed, coming over to the table where Maven had dropped her bag at. “What are all these things? What’s happening?”

Realizing she might be scaring the two of them, the librarian took a deep breath and willed herself to calm down. No sense in making them worried as well.

“I realize that we were not supposed to have a lesson today, but I do consider this to be urgent. I’m going to teach you about warding.”

Hilda reached for the things the librarian had brought. On her first glance, she found books and crystals. Looking more closely, she could see bundles of herbs as well. “And what’s that?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.” The librarian said as she unclasped her cape from around her shoulders and carefully folded it, putting it inside her bag. “Protecting yourself from malicious magic and bad energy.”

From amidst the books, Maven pulled a thin iron chain, delicate enough that you wouldn’t be able to tell that it was not silver if you didn’t look closely. Connected to it was a pendant about the size of a paper clip, a transparent stone with slashes of black inside. She extended her hand to Johanna, who only looked at it with a confused frown.

“Take it.” Maven clarified. “I won’t be able to teach you to cast a ward over yourself, but this will protect you.”

“Protect me?” Johanna gasped, putting a hand on the librarian’s arm. “Maven, what’s going on?”

Maven sighed, using her free hand to gently detach Johanna’s fingers from her arm, and holding the woman’s palm up so she could drop the necklace on it. On her haste, she had failed to notice that the two of them might have not interpreted the situation like she had.

“May I sit down?” She asked, and with Johanna’s nod she pulled herself a chair from the table, being followed by both Hilda and Johanna.

“Look.” She began. “What you told me is very worrying. I believed that the marra’s powers didn’t go beyond that which we had already seen. Nightmares, floating, incorporeal travel… but now it seems it goes much deeper. If they can cast the sort of spell needed to convince a couple that one is their daughter, their magic is very, very strong.”

“But I’ve seen some books on manipulation at the library! Witches can cast this sort of spell too, can’t we?” Hilda asked, though her eyes were locked on the bag. She was clearly itching to see what was inside.

Maven rubbed her temples, already feeling a headache forming. “It’s not so much that the enchantment is difficult, or rare. But the marra firmly believe that witches are weak, you see.”

The sentence was left hanging, and Maven’s eyes gained a glassy quality. Hilda wanted to ask her to continue, but the librarian looked miserable suddenly. She looked lost somewhere in her mind.

“So if the marra think witches are weak.” Johanna said as softly as she could, not missing the fact that there was something happening inside Maven’s head. “That might mean that they have stronger magic.”

Maven shook her head, snapping herself out of it. “Yes, exactly. Thus the need to protect you. If they ever find out about you trying to help me, the two of you will need to be safe.”

The librarian gestured with her head towards Johanna. “Put it on. It’s tourmalized quartz. The black tourmaline protects you, and the clear quartz intensifies the tourmaline’s effects. The chain is iron. It’s effective against faeries, but I’m not certain about the marra.”

Turning her gaze to Hilda, she made sure the girl was looking at her in the eyes before speaking. “I’m going to teach you how to cast an energy ward over yourself. If that’s okay with you, please go to your room - or to wherever we can have our lesson today - and ground. I’ll cleanse your house to make sure there’s no dark magic already inside while you do it.”

Hilda nodded and went quickly to her room, leaving Maven searching for something inside her bag.

“Would you mind opening the windows?” She asked Johanna, who, she realized, was now wearing the necklace. “I’m going to need to burn some herbs.”

Johanna moved to the kitchen and living room windows, and Maven took a bundle of sweetgrass and rosemary from her bag. To Johanna’s surprise, the librarian instantly lit a flame on the top of her finger, floating just above her fingertip, looking like it wasn’t burning her at all. If Maven could do that and was still considered weak by the marra, then Johanna could understand why she dreaded to think about what the nightmare spirits were capable of.

As she brought the flame to the bundle, sweet smelling smoke began to rise from it. Johanna took a deep breath, letting the purifying scent fill her lungs.

“You may want to sit down, or go to your room.” Maven said. “This may take a while.”

_#_#_#_

The librarian waved the bundle through every room of the house, paying attention to all the nooks and crannies, where she knew dark energy could go to hide if she didn’t cleanse them, all the while repeating a cleansing chant in witches’s language. When she was finished, the air felt much lighter, even though she hadn’t found any signs of evil magic in the house.

She asked Johanna for a plastic bag to put the burnt remains of her herbs, planning on burying them on her garden when she went back home, and then joined Hilda. The girl was sitting cross legged on the floor of her bedroom, her hands on her tights.

Looking around, Maven could see that the room had a lot of personality. Trinkets and toys filled her shelves, as well as some books. She had drawings and pictures of the wilderness hanging from her wall and her cork board, and the room was filled with natural light. Lightly tapping on the door, so as to not be rude nor startle her, Maven stepped inside when Hilda answered with a brief “come in.”

Maven sat down on the beige carpet in front of her, happy to see she looked extremely concentrated, and only opened her eyes when her teacher was also on the floor.

“Right now we’re going to learn how to raise a ward over yourself. Can you feel the energy that is around you?”

Hilda frowned, checking in with her surroundings, before nodding.

“What we need to do is bring some of this energy over you to make a wall. Visualize it. Some people like to imagine a bubble surrounding themselves. Others like to imagine some sort of physical barrier. Find what works for you.”

While her apprentice concentrated on her task, Maven worked on her own wards. Her mother had taught her how to put them up when she was very young and had just began working with magic. Ever since then, she’d checked in with them every night and every morning, searching for weaknesses and cracks, and always strengthening it again when she found them.

She visualized her wards as a beam of light that sprouted from her crown, almost an extension of her spine, and then fell over her like a veil. She made sure that it covered all of her, front, back, and even under her feet, focusing most of her energy on the places where her barrier felt more delicate.

A soft sigh of frustration broke through Maven’s concentration, making her blink her eyes open. Hilda was staring at her hands, looking disgruntled.

“It’s not working.” She said when she realized Maven was looking at her. “What am I doing wrong?”

“You’re probably not doing anything wrong.” Maven assured her as she put her hand inside her skirt’s pocket, feeling the smooth, cold rock inside. “Like all spellwork, warding takes practice. Trial and error.”

Following her teacher’s hand with her eyes, Hilda watched as a dark stone came out of her pocket. Maven raised it near Hilda’s eyes, and the girl squinted at it. It was no bigger than the palm of her hand, and completely black, like a deep ocean at midnight. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought it to be a simple pebble.

“This” Maven said. “Is Onix. It’s a protective stone. You might find it easier if you simply redirect its energy towards your wards.”

Hilda took the crystal into her own hands, feeling it hum under her touch. A month ago she would have been scared by it, but as she learned more and became more sensitive, the world around her seemed to talk to her at all times. She only hoped this stone would help her with the task at hand.

It took her a few more minutes, but finally Maven felt wards forming around her apprentice. With her mind’s eye, Maven saw ribbons sprouting from her hands and from the onix, surrounding her and locking her inside their protection.

“Did I make it?” Hilda asked excitedly, feeling that she’d succeeded.

The librarian nodded. “It’s a very good start. Now we need to work on the weaknesses.”

Tilting her head to the side, Hilda frowned. “Weaknesses?”

“You forgot to extend the protection over your head, and possibly under yourself as well. Try to check for spots where there is less strength in your energy.”

As Hilda did as she was instructed, the invisible ribbons intertwined over her head, and tightened where she thought they needed to. Maven let her work on it for as long as she needed, but she didn’t take very long. Soon the girl stopped squinting at the stone and looked up at the librarian.

“What about now?”

“Seems good enough.” Maven said, gathering a ball of energy on her hands. She made sure to put enough power into it that it gained a smoky white colour, no longer invisible like most of the work they’d done had been. It made Hilda gasp.

“May I test your wards?” When Hilda nodded, still looking at the ball of magic on Maven’s hands, she threw it on her shield. The young witch startled as her invisible barrier absorbed the attack, leaving her unscathed.

“Wow!” She cried out, her eyes wide with amazement. “That’s so cool!”

“It will be very useful.” Maven explained with pride at her apprentice’s success making her heart feel a little warmer than usual. “It can absorb curses and hexes, not to mention psychic attacks. A strong ward can also protect you from a variety of spirits. But i do think I should warn you that it does nothing against physical harm.”

Hilda sighed and deflated a little. “Well, there goes my hopes for mum finally allowing me to learn how to launch fireworks.”

_#_#_#_

Over the course of the evening, Hilda watched Maven use more magic than she had in all their other lessons combined. Their classes normally revolved around theory and energy work, so there hadn’t been many opportunities to watch the witch at her specialty. But that day, Hilda was thrilled to see how naturally magic came to her mentor, how masterfully she tamed it and shaped it to her will. Even if she’d done so in a somewhat frazzled state.

After the two of them had become satisfied with their wards, Maven pulled a white chalk from her bag, and to Hilda and Johanna’s amazement, a wand from her pocket. It was a straight piece of lilac wood with a tip of selenite, and runes carved into it. She’d read about witches’s wands before, but never having seen them in real life, she had to hold herself back not to touch it while Maven was concentrating on spellwork.

With the chalk, she drew symbols (protective sigils, as she’d called them) on the floor of every doorway and every windowsill of their apartment. As she finished drawing them, she’d stand up and point her wand to the sigils, repeating the motion as if drawing them again on the air. As she did so, the sigils lit up with purple light and promptly disappeared, leaving nothing but a sight aura of magic behind.

When she was done, she walked back to the table and pulled more crystals from inside her bag. She gave them to Johanna, who found herself looking at eight small pieces of stone. Half of them were white with silvery streaks, and the other half was black.

“These are howlites and onixes. Put one of each in the corners of the house.” Maven said. “They will protect you from some forms of attack.”

While Johanna was still inspecting the crystals, the librarian began closing her bag, getting ready to go. “The two of you should be safe like this. Remember, if any of your house plants die, tell me. They might have absorbed a curse for you.”

Mother and daughter exchanged a look as they watched Maven put the strap on her shoulder and head to the door. Neither of them wanted to let her go away to her house, alone, while she looked so tense.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” She asked them, her hand already close to the doorknob.

“Actually, yes.” Johanna rubbed the back of her neck, proceeding when Hilda smiled at her. “Why don’t you stay for dinner?”

Maven’s eyes widened almost comically, her arm dropping to her side. “You don’t need to…”

“Oh, please stay!” Hilda chirped. “Mum is a great cook. You’ll love it!”

“I don’t doubt it.” Maven was quick to assure, and Johanna would have laughed at the panic on her face if she didn’t know that the librarian truly was afraid of having offended her. “I just mean I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

Johanna shook her head fondly, taking a few steps towards the witch. “You are not overstaying your welcome. Come on, I’ll make you some dinner. I owed you a meal, anyway.”

The corners of Maven’s mouth lifted only slightly, in a way that if they had blinked they might have missed it, but she couldn’t hide the rosy blush that took over her cheeks.

“Only if you allow me to do the dishes.”

#fic: family fights #my fic #the hilda librarian #hilda librarian fanfic #hilda fanfic #hilda fanfiction #hilda johanna #hilda johanna fanfic

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imnotcameraready · 5 years ago

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chivalry is dead — ball outfits

as of chapter 20, everyone is dressed Fancy™

outfits and ID explanations below!

Patton — Cat

i gotta start with our kitty-pat!!!!! he’s so cute !!!! his dress is a lot like cinderella’s, actually, now that i think about it. His dress corset has the princess-cut lines down the center that have some silver thread detailing, and the center part is a sparkly grey while the outside is a pale grey-blue velvet. The corset’s waist juts out, and at the center middle of the waist there’s a large bow made of glittery black tulle. The top most layer of his dress is glittery silver tulle, while the next layer (and the one that extends out behind him in a train) is glittery black tulle. i feel like it should bunch in the back, but i didn’t draw the back, but it also probably bunches in the back just given how fabric Moves™. the inner most layer of his dress is a velvet gradient from the same pale grey-blue on his corset to an actual dark grey, similar in shade to the silver tulle! his shoulder poofs are also scrunched up silver tulle, and that’s all the sleeve he’s got. he does have forearm-length gloves, though, which are grey with pink toe beans that mimic a cat’s!

his mask is also pretty standard for a masquerade ball — it’s a grey cat mask, with a silver gem for the nose and with pink ears and whiskers!

Logan — Octopus

a smart animal for our smart boi :^) also like, my favorite outfit of the bunch, i want it so badly. his blazer doesn’t clasp, but it’s fitted pretty well and clips on the inside to his vest. It’s dark blue, with a black adjustable waist strap that goes around his back, and with four tails that seem more like tentacles. The shoulders of his blazer are also adorned with light blue “bubble” rhinestones. His vest is just a shimmery royal blue, and his undershirt is white, but his tie is iridescent blue and black. It’s tied up in an eldritch knot tho ;0 His pants are pretty tame, just some dark blue slacks. hes got a little piece of pink coral tucked into his lapel, too!

logan’s mask is. like. like i’d die for it. like it’s so cool. there are four tendrils poking out and swirling around it on either side, protruding from the mask itself, and while the coloring of the mask is fairly basic (it’s just dark blue) the “underside” of the tentacles are decorated in silver gems that mimic an octopus’ suckers. this was the first one i did and. like. im still yelling. i want that mask.

Deceit — Peacock

thought i’d mix it up a little!!!! deceit’s suddenly flashy and, in the bard’s words, “the hottest chick in the coop.” he doesn’t have a blazer, but he does have a half-cape thingie, which has blue and purple and green rhinestones on the shoulder pad while shimmers an iridescent purple and green when he moves. his vest is a matte teal, and his undershirt is mint green, and he has lil arm bands that keep his sleeves pulled up that are dark blue. his ascot is also iridescent, and shimmers blue and purple. His pants are pretty tame, though (as i’ve seemed to do with most everyone’s pants lmao) they’re black with a glittery green stripe down the side. his shoes are. supposed to be black dress shoes. but it seems i forgot to draw them. and his gloves are dark green! i love this outfit but its also a mess of colors asdfgjkl

his mask covers the scaled side of his face and has blue rhinestones decorated similarly to the cape. There are also a lot of feathers. Like a lot of peacock feathers. all coming out of the left side. his scales are well hidden.

The Thief — Snake

speaking of mixing it up a little, the thief does love being a red herring. his outfit is less snake themed and more deceit themed t b h. idk what to call that blazer, but it’s black, and short in the front with two long coat tails in the back, and is buttoned low and twice with gold circles and chains that mimic deceit’s coat clasp. His blazer also has sequins arranged in diamonds, traveling up his sleeves’ forearms. his vest is black, too, but is sheer while the blazer itself is matte. his dress shirt is a pastel yellow, and the bowtie is black, calling back to deceit’s SvS outfit. his slacks are also pretty plain, just black, and he’s wearing black gloves.

his mask is literally a call back to deceit — covers the let side of his face, and has sequins arranged in diamonds all across it, mimicking deceit’s scales. If you look close enough, though, you can see his face scar jutting out at the very edge

remember when virgil was tryna convince the thief that he was the virgil-esque roman? :^)

The Bard — Harlequin

i love love love the bard’s outfit. it’s actually a ball-dance dress, meant for people who are actually doing ballroom dancing, with some red sheer tulle as the skirt. His bodice isn’t a corset, though it is kinda stiff and sinched at the waist by a thick black belt with a heart on it. The belt matches his choker, which incidentally is connected to his dress :^) the bodice also has a red and black checkered pattern throughout, with a large white pearl at every check intersection. There are pieces of tulle from his dress connected to his wrists by thick forearm bands, also with the red and black checkered pattern — good for showy dancing!

his mask is also based on a harlequin/jester theme, with five protrusions at the top in alternating red-black-red-black-red, and with bells at the ends. the center of his mask is white and fades into the red and black checkered pattern at the sides.

The Artist — Jester

shout out to the artist for his character development, because the boy’s learned to be okay laughing at himself and at things. He’s going as a jester, so his outfit is semi-formal and semi-flashy (good for distracting ;) ). The left half of his suit is a solid black, while the right half has a checkered pattern of red and black. His suit’s sleeve cuffs spiral out a little, and are gold. His slacks are solid red on the right while adorned with the red and black checkered pattern on the left.

his mask is similar to the bard’s — the top has five jester-hat-like protrusions, alternating black-red-black-red-black, with bells on the ends. The mask itself, however, is white with little marks of all four card suits.

The Playwright — Queen of Hearts

The Playwright’s dress harkens back to the animated Alice in Wonderland’s queen of hearts dress. The skirt is nearly identical, with an outer most layer that’s half red and half black, and with chevrons on the inside that alternate black and gold. At the tip of his corset’s waist is a large red rhinestone in the shape of a heart, and across his bodice is a large red heart that stretches from the neckline to the waist. His sleeves? Basically remus’ sleeves. Poofy shoulder parts that pinch in near his elbow, then are flush against his skin to the wrist, and then floof out at the wrist. The sleeves are black with glittery red trims around the wrist floofs and in the creases of the shoulder poofs.

his mask is actually all rose gold wire-work, in intricate spirals. there’s a crown in the middle, on the top, also made of wire.

Dragon and Damsel — the Prince and flames

ignore the big doodle on the left — that was for another drawing!

Dragon’s outfit is fairly simple, he’s just wearing Roman’s usual white princely outfit with the gold trims, red sash, black boots, etc. The main difference is that his crest has been replaced with Dragon’s part of the crest, which is just the castle’s outer towers and wall.

Damsel on the other hand is wearing a ball gown. His corset has a tall behind-head-neck-thing-whose-name-ive-forgotten, taller than his head with orange and red detailing shaped like flames. The corset has stiff gold shoulder pads that actually prevent him from lifting his arms high, and the body itself is detailed with sequins and rhinestones that mimic the red sash. There’s a little bit of rolled up red tulle at his waist, and then the gown. The first two layers are kind of torn up and in tatters (almost as though they’d been physically torn and then burned) and are colored orange, then red, and the inner most visible layer is a dark ashy grey. His eye, usually covered in a bandage, is patched over with a red rose.

neither of them have masks, but the damsel has a red veil (not in the picture). they want to be seen and identified.

no taglist bc uhhhh idk if y’all wanna see this (its not writing?? )

#chivalry au #art #my art #logan #patton #roman #deceit #: ^ )#let the games begin #tldr i can physically visualize these outfits and if i have to see them in my mind's eye then you have to too asdlkhsadlfkgh #Join Me in making masquerade outfits

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abundantchewtoys · 6 years ago

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HS Epi: Meat p15 reaction

I wonder what Dirk turns out to have in store for Rose. My idea was a soulbot of some kind, but I don't think she'd want to trade in her body for one. Perhaps there's a way to temporarily transfer her consciousness, like in a dreambubble dream, while Dirk prepares her body for the transition. Or maybe I'm just looking for ways to have a post-victory adult join John in the Furthest Ring. :p

Dirk claimed to have completed the process already but that seems like a presumptuous state of mind. I wonder if an ultimate self, a true one, not a sprite squared, might even be tangible? If it isn't, though, then who are even going to feature in Homestuck 2.0, if not the humans of Earth C...

What's also of interest, is whether the post-victory selves will in any way be able to access the memories of the selves that John is currently leading, since their timeline is far from being finished, unlike all those doomed timelines that were discarded!

I also thought of something regarding Dirk's scheming: he seems to be juggling both the solution to Rose's problems with Jane's run for president, as if they're at least of equal importance to him.

Anyway, we're probably going to be seeing the story from John's POV again.

---

I do wonder if when he finds about Vriska, what he'll do. He didn't consider her a friend anymore I think, after how he saw (Vriska) acting towards her friends. But still, for Terezi he might be inclined to go save her.

As it is now, though, things can be summarized à la Craigslist: Missed connection: you, exiting from captivity in the midst of a battlefield. Me: being sucked into a black hole, screaming.

---

"> John: Fight Lord English." OH BOY. He's actually doing it. I do wonder how this boss battle will even go, with how in parallel, on Earth C things only seem to get started. But with the monster's end form being on the same battlefield as a black hole, I'm reminded of Problem Sleuth and its glacier-paced endgame boss battle. :p Things might happen in stages, or perhaps they'll have to escape oblivion first and return with ACTUAL things that can hurt LE, not red herrings.

"Meenah’s ghost army claws at the borders of Paradox Space. Wait, that is her army, right?" No, John, obviously it's that other ghost army. :P I take it to mean he's talking about who's leading the army, more than anything.

"you’re pretty sure this is the army you, Meenah, Vriska, and the other Serket were trying to raise." Ah yes, Aranea was there at the inception of the ghost army idea. Funny how the (Vriska) he's thinking about is also an "other Serket" than the Vriska that is (was) leading the army now.

"Every screaming body pitches down and goes white the closer it gets to the black hole above you." That's presumably due to the distortion of the particles that make up the ghosts as they're sucked in. But it reminds me of how the dreambubble hologram selves (aka the representation of alive people that are sleeping) also glowed as they woke up! Also, how dream selves went white as the dreamer awoke.

"They’re locked in place, an eight ball in each socket. You briefly wonder what that means" Yeah, I wonder if they'll do something pool-related in their efforts to kill the monster.

"The laser show tears its way through a squadron of ghosts led by... is that... Tavros?" Yup! The very same dead Tavros he last saw in the bubbles, in his spunky Pupa Pan outfit! Guess he might reminiscence about them both fighting over Vriska, before he got turned off on the whole idea.

"Seems like an awful choice to lead an army, but what do you know." This is Tavros' ultimate Fiduspawn battle.

"Wasn’t Vriska supposed to be leading the charge? Where is she, anyway?" Yoooouuuu just missed her on her way out. :|

"> Listen." Is he... going to hear the echo of Vriska's scream? ... I just got a Legend of Zelda thing to reference. "Hey, listen!" ... That was an annoying firefly fairy guide, much like Vriska profiles herself.

"She’s probably somewhere around here, biding her time, waiting to execute her masterstroke and finish English off at just the right moment" No, John, not this time, you won't be able to rely on her tricks or her powers, I'm afraid. Plus, she's already made a sort of killsteal before in the story: this won't turn into a repeat of the Black King battle.

"You’re becoming enraptured by the sound surrounding you. Not a sound... a sensation. A subharmonic symphony that you can only hear in your bones." I wonder if that's part of his Breath powers, because I remember him feeling the wind skimming his home too, in the reunion scene a few pages back.

"This is it: the end of Paradox Space." If you mean, the end of the part of the Furthest Ring that the Green Sun's lifespan encompassed, then yes, I do think so.

"Behind you the juju disappears, sucked out of reality with a POP." And that's the last thing anyone saw of that? Maybe? Hopefully? (I wonder if he still has his retcon powers.)

"You move your arms in a dumb little motion, sort of like jazz hands, and summon up a wisp of wind to keep your cracked glasses in place." Oooh, cool, yeah, that would have been awkward fighting for him without being able to see right. Good thinking John! It shows his Breath powers have still grown! For practical purposes, they eclipse the retcon powers.

"You then pull one of your sickest hammers out of your strife deck." AWESOME! He a) still has his hammers, and b) still has his strife deck! That wasn't really a given, since they were supposed to be living in a paradise on Earth C! (Maybe spring cleaning isn't just something for John. Plus, his Dad wouldn't have approved of him discarding such a well-earned strife modus. :P)

"You cast a glance back over your shoulder at them. They all look pretty cool. Rose knitting light around her with the Quills of Echidna, Dave with his sword Caledfwlch at the ready, trailing time distortions behind him that look, if you don’t squint, a lot like JPEG artifacts. Jade’s got her favorite gun cocked and ready, with her ears perked up." Everyone, pose as a team! Wow, I'd really like to see this moment as a drawing. Could it be that John's weapon is the Warhammer of Zillyhoo? In spite of it being overclassed by the Vrillyhoo hammer, if Jade took out Ahab's Crosshairs, the kids are wielding the same weapons the bunny had. ... Okay granted, the bunny had the Royal Deringer, not Caledfwlch, so in fact Vrillyhoo as an upgraded version would not be far out. Also, so time distortions resemble JPEG artifacts as long as you DON'T squint? So, what does squinting do, sharpen them for the eye of the beholder? :p

"ROSE: Don’t get overconfident. ROSE: We have to do it exactly like we discussed. First..." I don't think their plans will be that easily executed. Plus, they were planning on taking on Caliborn, not his adult self! ... Okay yeah, they will have had time to make new plans while inside the juju.

"But Rose doesn’t get to finish what she was trying to say. Lord English’s mouth roars open and a wave of energy blasts through your group. Rose is the only one caught in it. She dissolves in slow motion." WHATTHEFFFFFFFFFF--- Rose! Is the group going to fall apart this soon??? ... Unless LE can't overwrite the just/heroic judgment, Rose just died permanently! ... Maybe Dave can rollback time? Or John, retcon this?? I. Don't know what to think.

"You can see the outline of her body in shadow." :((( Just like how Kanaya died in Game Over. Fucking Hell. And I hope that doesn't incite rage in someone, provoking them into getting closer to get run through...

"One arm thrown up over her eyes, shoulders pulled up defensively, cape billowing out behind her." Her pose reminds me of another scene... Like how she looked when peering up into LOFAF when she was drunk, maybe?

"She leaves an afterimage of shimmering light in her wake and then dissipates, drifting apart like a handful of salt tossed out to sea." :( almost anti-climactic.

"You can almost hear the cosmic clock counting down, tick tock, and a chime to accompany her fate: Heroic." Dear god. Well, at LEAST she still gets a judgment, not an insta-double death. ... Actually, come to think of it. She'll reappear right there as a ghost, won't she? :( Still in risk of a double death.

"JADE: rose!!!! no!!!!!!!!" Oh boy, Jade... Don't get drawn in, he'll want that and you won't be able to escape. John has ONE ring of life to give away, not two or even three!

But I think the chances are low that Jade and Dave will survive the rest of the battle, if this was any indication. (Blaperile has a theory Davepeta might come and take Dave's place, taking up Caledfwlch in his stead.) Unless they outright planned for this eventuality, things might continue falling apart. ... John is not going to have to pull an Aradia, is he? Continuing to retcon this moment until there's an army of him swarming LE, ensuring the others have enough time to actually DO things?

"Space splinters open around her so loudly it drowns out the fire from her rifle. Lord English raises one of his giant, fuck-off hands to deflect her anomaly-powered bullets" I don't know which rifle it is, but it seems she can now shoot bullets that run on space distortion, which reminds me of Becquerel teleporting her bullets (and themselves) during their Strife.

"It’s a wonder how such a big man can move so fast." And there he goes. the big man... HAS the speed. That's the first time we know he can move so fast right. Well, aside from being already here. Oh, right, and his moves during Collide, I forgot.

"Jade inspects her rifle, and tosses it aside. What is she doing? With all the powers of a Witch of Space at her command, combined with the infinite abilities of a First Guardian, she’s still messing around with basic firearms?" Well, yeah, it's what she was trained to do. She didn't any tutoring in First Guardian powers, so it might be risky to start using them here? I mean, I'm fairly sure her powers won't be a dud? Well, okay, the end of the Green Sun should have removed Doc Scratch' immortality granted to LE, and hopefully his First Guardian powers too, but... Well, it would suck if Jade were to try them out now and come up empty.

"Nothing. No crackle of electricity. No licks of chartreuse flame. She searches within, realizes her power source is completely unavailable to her. Then she looks up, and it dawns on her." Wwwelp. Hey, but the Black Hole was a Space-instigated object, can't she do something with that, though?

"Jade opens her mouth to scream for help, but she’s cut off." Oh shit.

"A razor-sharp fragment of reality slams into her back. It skewers her, exiting right through the center of the space symbol on her hoodie." ... Seems to me that John might have taken the people out of the doomed timeline, but he couldn't take the doom out of the people's timeline.

What is it with Homestuck and stabbing people through the back and torso?

"> Get in there!" ... This must be paralyzing to John, it's all happening so fast, faster than he can react, if he's seen what happened to Jade at all.

"Lord English struggles to emerge from the wind-prison you just whipped up." Wow, John's powers are actually capable of (at least) stalling LE, that's good news. Too bad of all the horrible news we've already had.

"Tavros has pulled himself to his feet and, recognizing English’s temporary state of vulnerability, directs the ghosts on his side to attack. No one is paying attention to him." I take that to mean, neither Lord English nor Dave nor John. Hopefully the ghosts still listen. But still, I'm afraid this battle is doomed.

"Jade is floating away from you." The clock is going to sound any second now...

Wait a minute. If my theory about John retconning this battle (if he can) to form an army is realized... Will there be ghosts of his friends that just died as well?

Hmm, Blaperile has a point, maybe Jade is also getting sucked into the Black Hole right now, I took it to meaning gravity was just a personal illusion in the Furthest Ring, and now that Jade's dead her body started hovering.

"You stare directly down the dark barrel of his throat, which readies another terrible laser shot. There’s not much time to react." ... Dave is not about to jump in front of the blast to save him, is he?? :(

"> Make a decision." Zapping out of there? Or, yeah, deciding what of the four things to keep a grip on. ... He might let go of Jade and the hammer, if he chooses the battle. But will it even be enough? But I don't think he'd bring her body with him if he zaps away, that'd be gory.

"But releasing her has created enough separation, just as you hoped. The laser breath passes between you, narrowly missing you both." Wow, he actually did it? But, like, she won't last long with her torso skewered, right? What is even his plan?

"You reel back like you’ve just been punched. Your control over the storm goes haywire for a second, long enough for Lord English to free his gaudy gold peg leg from it and, more catastrophically, for you to drop your already broken glasses." Well, that's three steps back for one step forward, now, ain't it.

"You whirl around and swing your hammer to bop his horrible, deadly skull back into your storm. You can’t really see what’s going on, but you hear a gigantic CRUNCH. And then another. And another. It sounds like a cereal commercial is playing outside the periphery of your vision." ... Either John accidentally hit Dave, or LE was able to get Dave while John is incapacitated. :( ... I don't think it's Terezi watching the battle from the sideline, eating Dorito chips.

"JOHN: dave!

DAVE: what

JOHN: is lord english... eating my hammer?

DAVE: yeah dude he totally is" Oh dear god. How totally OP can a bloke even be? Kind of a mood whiplash in the middle of this otherwise heartclenching scene.

"This isn’t going to work, waging battle without your glasses. Lord English has just eaten one of your sickest hammers due to your blind folly." ... Is he going to retcon back somewhere and steal his own glasses?

"You take a deep breath and dive down, right into the sea of ghosts. You land clumsily, palms first, and do an accidental handspring right into a bunch of alternate timeline trolls you don’t recognize." Or, yeah, maybe steal a troll's glasses? Though I guess only Eridan's might work, and does he even have the same prescription? :p ... Or maybe there's still a doomed John somewhere in there. Alternative, he might steal glasses from a Beforus troll, since he doesn't recognizes the trolls he's jumped in the middle of. ... Though that can still apply to Eridan. Or maybe Kronus wears lenses?

"JOHN: uh, hey guys. anyone see a pair of glasses down here? it’s pretty important." Ah, okay, they're still in one piece then. His windy spell wasn't broken. Welp, good luck finding your pair in a sea of trolls. The longer John's away, the riskier it gets for Dave...

"Ghosts scatter like bowling pins, many flying into the cracks in space." Eesh, yeah, that must be as doubledeathly as his lasers or the Black Hole.

"Before the leg hits you, a troll leaps into action and blocks the blow. Her trident makes a satisfying ring off the round of the peg and sends it skidding backward." Ah, I was wondering where Meenah got to! Waiting for a moment to shine, of course. Good to see her fighting efforts are definitely not in vain!

"JOHN: have you seen a pair of glasses down here? TAVROS: uH, aRE THESE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR?" Oh cool, he's joined them! I do hope Tavros isn't going to try and hog the glasses in a fit of spite for John hogging the ring. :p There are higher stakes in play!

"Also, Tavros suddenly is leading an admirable charge of about six ghosts to attack Lord English’s flesh foot. You wince, because you can see what’s coming before it happens." Noble undertaking, but a small party to try and handle even the foot of this monster. I just hope (Tavros) makes it out!

"English raises his knee and stomps three ghosts into oblivion. The other four, Tavros included, get vaporized in a beam." Aw... NO! Tavros!!

Gee...

He's made it this far, and now... Just like that...

I...

I mean, this hit harder than Rose and Jade's deaths, actually. I guess I still thought of (Tavros) as the main Tavros, after all this time. I mean, I GUESS John could still retcon this moment, but it's getting increasingly unlikely.

Actually, I'm starting to wonder, given the size of the page, that this is it. This is where LE gets offed, at one of the steepest prices.

"The ghost army seems to be thinning out pretty badly by now. Most of the ones remaining are either fleeing or getting sucked into the hole." The window to kill him is closing though, and if LE gets out of here, who knows what he'll do next?

"You whip out another hammer. A classic this time, the Wrinklefucker. Its boinging pair of irons are hot, hissing, and ready for action." ... That IS a classic, wow! Long time no see. But uh, it's severely underpowered versus the rest of his hammers, though given his high god tier, it might not matter all that much.

Guess we know what pose John struck here as he took out the hammer.

"Dave is slicing papercuts into English’s torso with glancing nicks from his blade, but the monster is spry as ever, making him a difficult target." Dave is lasting surprisingly long, though! It might all be a red herring, of course.

"He chomps down hard and shatters the hammer’s head, gobbling down the broken pieces." ... Isn't there anything Lord English can break his teeth on???

... Quick, John! Alchemize SPIDERHAMMER OF VRILLYHOO && CALIBORN'S LEG!!

"You look at the handle of your tragically masticated Wrinklefucker, shrug, and toss it into the hole." Well, he SHOULD be able to alchemize more of them, if he still has the code.

"Glancing back down toward your foe, you notice Meenah still appears to be hanging on, clinging to his left suspender." Pfff, so epic.

MEENAH: yo hold on

MEENAH: goin in for the krill" Fuck, Meenah's going to bite the dust now, too???

"She raises her trident and jams it into the back of Lord English’s neck. English reacts as if he’s been stung by a bee." Not the effectiveness she was hoping for, I imagine.

"He howls and rears up, throwing Meenah off his back with a force that sends her hurtling out into space. You can’t track her into the void with your eyes, she’s flung so far and so fast. You can only assume the worst." Sure, say 'they could not have survived that', that will ensure we'll see her again, hopefully.

"He has Dave pinned under his big green foot and is applying pressure." Shit, he's got him in mortal danger.

"English quickly whips his head in the direction of the sailing hammer, and swallows it whole." Must've been one of his smaller ones. (We can only hope.)

"DAVE: john i need a little...

Dave ducks a wide blow from English’s swinging fist. He backs up nervously, holding his sword out in front of him with two shaking hands." Jegus. Dave's holding up admirably! Guess Bro's lessons have at least served to save his life her, at least a few times.

"DAVE: anything

DAVE: i need a little anything right now

DAVE: literally any stupid fucking thing you can do

JOHN: i’m on it!"

... What will John even do now? Take out a cake from his sylladex and throw it in LE's face?

"With another flick of your wrist you spin them around you so fast they form a perfectly impenetrable barrier of pure Shitty Hammer." As far as endgame moves go, I like John's style.

"In your hands is a weapon you haven’t thought about in a long time: the Pop-a-matic Vrillyhoo." Oooh! There it is!!!! Will it's Luck-based powers be relevant here? Will John hit a 8^8 roll????

"However, you’re interrupted by a voice screaming out from behind you. It’s half familiar," ... Vriska??? Don't tell me she's interrupting to shout 'that's mine'?

"half... cat?" PFFFFFF. NO. HELL. NO. ... Well, at least Reload Rose's memories might be living on in there somewhere, maybe.

"DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < waaaaaaaaaaaait" NEVER MIND I WAS THINKING ABOUT JASPROSESPRITE FOR WHATEVER REASON!!! OF COURSE!

Davepetasprite^2 still was around! They'll likely want to take over from John, thinking they're the ones destined to kill LE. ... Will... Will Davepeta and Dave TEAM UP though??? THAT WOULD ROCK SO HARD!!!

"You whip your head around just in time to see a bolt of orange-and-green energy racing by you like a bullet. It slams into Lord English and sends him stumbling." Odds are, John doesn't even know about Davesprite getting prototyped into Nepetasprite, so his reaction will probably he hilarious. And yeah, Davepeta seemed convinced her persona was something LE was weak towards. It didn't show during Collide, but at least they survived the Undertale attack there. :P

"DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < im back" BOOM! Fifteen minutes late with Starbucks, but they're here now! Hopefully this time it'll go better! It's still weird to think, that this kind-of-ultimate-Dave and a regular-Dave are going to be working together. In a way though, it's a fitting end to Dave's arc. Also, it's a homage to Davesprite's team-up with Bro vs. Jackspers Noirlecrow.

Dave stands there with his sword, absolutely agog, his expression perfectly reflecting a blend of horror and the total inability to process who or what he is looking at." YES. PERFECT DAVE REACTION. 'who the devil are you' wouldn't even suffice! If this were a cartoon, Dave's shades would have dropped to his lips by now.

"DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < we purrmenantly merged forms and worked out all our shit!

DAVE: oh

DAVE: well that sounds fucked up but ok" Dave's like: eh, there are worse sprites I could have had. :p (*coughCALSPRITEcough*)

Davepeta spreads their wings, sending waves of warm light through the battlefield. The light feels comforting, somehow, when it hits you." Like an angel. :P Or yeah, like Blaperile points out, regular sprite healing.

"Above the bedlam, Davepeta is finishing up an inspiring speech. You realize you tuned most of it out due to the surrounding chaos." Welp! Well, John mustn't have missed much, lots of furry puns probably. ;)

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < i know it looks pawful right now but we can do it

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < in fact were literally the only ones who can do it

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < after all

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < it is our destiny B33" Ah, okay, the speech was mostly aimed towards Dave, I suppose. Unless they know stuff about John's destiny. :P

"You and Dave exchange a look that silently says all that needs to be said right now." Like how Rose 'n Roxy exchanged looks. Guess part of why we didn't see their conversations was because they didn't matter all that much. Unless Rose returns through the Ring of Life, and Jade turns out to not have been killed... (And Tavros was... just another version of himself that got killed?)

"Davepeta is right. You three are the only ones left, and there’s no room for failure." Eesh, okay, so all the ghosts have been doublekilled.

"> Final Round." HERE WE GOOOOOO

"Perhaps a well-oiled machine careening down a steep hill toward the edge of a cliff, but well-oiled nonetheless." It's a step up from most teamups in Homestuck, right?

"The butts of the hammers hit him over and over again, like racking up points in a slot machine." 777

"Dave manages to carve a red line up Lord English’s side, drawing real blood this time. The slash snaps one of his suspenders in half, and must sever something else too, because the sword makes a gristly, meaty squelch when he pulls it out." Awesome! First REAL wound and... Hold on. Is the prophecy about "the tyrant less an arm and an eye" going to come in play again!!

"You realize you seem to be stuck in a cycle and are in serious danger of running out of hammers." I'm surprised he had this much of them to begin with. Guess he spent a lot of time alchemizing hammers out of boredom, perhaps even still on Earth C.

"Davepeta scrapes their cool Wolverine claws up Lord English’s back, and then kicks him in the back of the head. You time it perfectly and complete the combo with a well-placed Vrillyhoo undercut to his jaw." Awesome combo!

"Which is why you refuse to let the handle go when English wraps his tongue around it and unhinges his jaw with a sick, wet pop." At some point, a man has to take a stand and defend their property. :P John: Extract hammer from jaw like the sword from the stone. You can do it, you're the chosen one! Will John hit the 8^8 right in LE's mouth?? It would be something if he can dislocate his jaw, and tear it off!

"Your heel slips on some drool, and your whole leg skids straight into his mouth.

You twist, off balance, and fail to catch yourself. You only let go of the hammer when you feel the walls of his throat constrict around your ankles. The pressure sucks you in up to the knees with one gulp." Dear god. His throat is also a black hole!! ... Oh no, Blaperile points something out. I joked about Caliborn's leg. I hope John isn't going to lose his!

"Vrillyhoo is in his stomach, and you’re following it down quicker than you can even process. Is this the end? No, you think. This is such an unfairly stupid fucking way to die!" John. John are you going to retco- No. He's going to blow LE up from the inside, maybe?! With windy powers??

Davepeta reacts quickly, shoving their claws between his molars. You can hear them growling as they slowly twist their arm to pry the massive jaw open." Wow, Davepeta rescued John, two times in quick succession! And they are ridiculously strong if they can pry his jaw open!

You’re not dead yet, but Lord English definitely got a big, sharp tooth in you. Your vision reels and goes blurry, then patchy, then dark, then—" Don't pass out don't pass out don't pass out don't pass out. There's no happy ending down that road.

"> Don't fucking die." Best. Command. Ever. Wish I could get Super Mario to respond to that when I mistime a jump.

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < wrow you almost got vored to death

JOHN: what?" Don't google it kids. I'm not even sure if it's Dave or Nepeta that made a reference to vore here. Don't want to know, either.

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < im afuraid to say that you look like total shit my dude" my dude is what Arquiusprite would say.

"DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < purromeows me you wont move

JOHN: i... purromeows?" The puns. It's a wonder John can read through them.

... Oh, he couldn't.

"DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < you should stay here while we wind this bitch down" Are they going to tire him for John to land the killing blow?

"You’re woozy and don’t have the energy to stop yourself from drifting. There’s blood floating up around you, dilute and bubbly in the air like cooking oil in water. It’s yours.

> Examine wound" Wow, it's reminding me of Problem Sleuth, who got so mortally wounded as well before Demonhead Mobster Kingpin was finally killed for good.

"You lift your chin and see it: Lord English’s gold tooth cracked off at the base and embedded in your chest." Oh, wow. So that tooth was the only 'vulnerable' one in the jaw, then. Since it wasn't real. Will he do something with it against LE, once he regains his strength?

"Dave finds his moment. He rams Caledfwlch into Lord English’s chest, all the way up to the hilt. It penetrates his flesh like nothing else has to this point. The wound around the blade sizzles slightly. The weapon—the unusual material it’s made out of—is poison to English." Cueball meets pool ball. Hah, eat shit!

"He cries out in a cracked, broken staccato. It’s an earsplitting wail that cleaves the last of the Furthest Ring apart. Reality falls away from the mooring of the all-surrounding white light like a peeled eggshell." ... Wow. The entirety of the Furthest Ring is evaporated around them!! Or well, definitely the part LE cracked. But what's the dimension 'behind'? Blankspace, or something else?

"Dave’s trying to get his sword free but he’s stuck. English’s shriek morphs into a sinister, predatory rattle as his jaw creaks open. His mouth envelops Dave’s head and snaps shut. He twists once, then twice, then again with a CRACK. A disaster of blood instantly coats his skull and upper torso." I-WUH. NOW? OF ALL TIMES?? JUST AS THEY'RE- FUCKING. HELL MAN. WHAT A MURDER DINOSAUR OF A BASTARD SON.

... My only, ONLY hope now is that through ultimate self means, at least hopefully the victory selves will be able to remember. Well, that, and that John will survive the next part. Maybe Davepeta will take the sword out now.

"Your limbs feel like lead. You consult your strife deck, but you’ve got nothing left. No hammers, no nothing." Eesh. Not even fistkind? Maybe?

"It’s up to Davepeta, who appears to have plenty left. If not in the strife deck per se, then in the heart." Maybe that last Dave dying... empowered them somehow, too.

I wonder though... Dave could never pull Caledfwlch out before, can Davepetasprite^2? John might be able to though! If Davesprite was to be believed, confetti would have popped out together with the sword if John had tried it. If he can just muster the strength now...

"Davepeta stands twenty paces behind him, crouches low to the ground, wiggles their behind, and pounces. " Now. Now of all times, the pouncegreet makes its return.

"They cling to English’s back, wrap their legs around his midriff, draw back their arms, and plunge their claws deep into the behemoth’s armpits." Hah, classic Wolverine.

"Davepeta then spreads their wings in an awe-inspiring display. An unwitting spectator viewing Lord English from the front might suspect the garish orange-green wings belonged to English himself." Pffff, just like an adult cherub WOULD have looked like. Blaperile just- WITH THE SWORD THROUGH HIS TORSO, LORD ENGLISH NOW ALMOST EXACTLY MIRRORS BEC NOIR!!!!!

Only thing left is for him to lose an arm and an eye, maybe!!! The tyrant will definitely die today, though.

"Davepeta then, with all their might, lifts Lord English into the air and flies toward the black hole, trailing ribbons of blood and neon." TIME FOR DAVEPETA TO FLY UP INTO THE FUCKING [s]SUN[/s] BLACK HOLE LIKE AN IDIOT. And now, finally, that SBaHJ strip has finally been seen realized.

"English resists fiercely, but they’re both already locked into the gravity well, beyond any threshold of escape." Wow. It's really going to be his undoing. But the Hole would have never been enough, it was the combination of the sword and Davepeta that brought him to the brink.

Now, the main thing is... Will John survive? ... Rose did seem to have had a vision that had her smile... sadly, perhaps. :(((

"This victory, this final sacrifice, has always been the destiny of Davepeta, as they have sensed from the moment they were created. And to die on this day, in this way, has always been the destiny of Lord English." Wooow. WWWWWWOOOOOOWWWW. It's really happening.

I wonder how conscious Lord English still is, whether something remains of that bratty Caliborn to bask in this defeat.

I do hope he truly can't escape it, not through some shitty timeline duplication or anything. Not even stuck as Caliborn as Lord of Time with cueball powers.

"The black hole—the gaping, implacable, cosmic embodiment of the dead cherub, his long-departed sister—finally welcomes Lord English home." Yeah, that was part of their mating ritual, one partner leading the other home to a black hole near their old home. LE is going to be the ultimate Homestuck.

"English and Davepeta are sucked in with a subatomic whimper. The reunion sends shock waves across the pitiful remains of Paradox Space. And then everything is wholly, utterly, and categorically silent. It’s over. Lord English is dead." Wow. 'Reunion', yeah. Because this represents Lord English becoming 'whole', reunited with his sister's embodiment!

Davepeta made the ultimate sacrifice. I hope post-victory Dave can cherish the memories. But... Yeah. Nepeta and Equius, the parts of them present in Davepeta and Arquius... Are gone for ever. And Nepeta and Equius are united, for ever.

And now.

I hope... I hope John won't succumb. I hope he can be safed. But I fear that it's not going to be as easy as the B2 kids finding them and Jane healing him.

Also, the Candy path, I'm getting more and more the feeling it might contain conversations that are the 'fluffier' counterpart to this path. That maybe it just shows Calliope 'n Roxy as they eat the candy. And then we get a lot of conversations that were cut out of the Meat part but still happen in the same timeline.

"But it doesn’t feel over, somehow. You don’t feel like you’ve won." I know, right?

"You can barely feel anything, actually. Eesh, John, stay with us!

"All you can think about, for now, is...

Davepeta. How they were so unfettered and brave. How they sacrificed themselves by flying right into the black hole like...

Like a fucking piece of garbage, you can almost hear Dave saying. May God rest his soul." Reference, locked and secured.

"You’ve convinced yourself of this truth well enough to allow yourself to exhale. Enough to allow yourself to suddenly acknowledge the agony coursing through your body, emanating from the gold tooth lodged in your chest. Enough to allow yourself to succumb to the overwhelming urge to sleep." Don't. Don't you dare succumb to unfathomable sleeplust. That's not going to end well. In spite of Jane, I'd settle for Meenah, but Thief of Life doesn't seem like a healer class.

"> Close your eyes." ... It ends here. The fucking end battle. Is over.

Wow. That was SO intense. So chaotic, but then that's always been the case with battles in Homestuck, all plans for naught.

... Will John be able to survive curtousy of the Ring of Life? But then he'd have to have it put on, first.

... On the other hand, if he were to... die, would he have even spawned a ghost? That goes for Dave and Rose, and perhaps Jade, as well. I mean, the reason for the dreambubbles is gone, and their makers, the Horrorterrors themselves, perhaps, too.

But man, I am pleased with the fact that we've had a conclusion to Lord English' arc, and the battle of the Furthest Ring.

It's way past my bedtime, so I'm going to log off now. Going to be digesting this.

#homestuck #upd8 #homestuck epilogues #homestuck liveblog #reaction #spoiler alert #lord english #davepetasprite^2 #john egbert #dave strider #tavros nitram #meenah peixes

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mysteriesofmarcy · 6 years ago

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The Knight Shift

I find myself wishing that today's tomorrow's episodes were... pulls out calendar The Ponyhead Show! and Surviving the Spiderbites. But I'm not getting into that right now. All I'll be getting into is today's episodes. Like in previous weeks, I will be watching one episode, then analyzing it, and then watching the next episode, and analyzing that.

I've been hearing lots of theories lately about how Marco will have to go back to earth at some point to finish school and/or take care of his brother (as you've seen if you're keeping up with this blog). But I believe the show will move to earth just long enough for Marco to realize that he doesn't have to follow the traditional path of finishing up high school and later going to college, and he will make a conscious decision that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Star. I think I may have stumbled upon the storyline of the stretch of earth episodes later on. Congratulations rwinger24! You were way ahead of your time on this one too! (The first time I'm thinking of was when you correctly predicted that Star would go from "happy-go-lucky girl excited by EVERYTHING," to "boring princess who enjoys politics." Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but you get my point.)

Next: I want to talk about the whole "lifelong post" thing and the similarities to Mr. Candle Cares. It's pretty obvious that Mr. Candle/Sir Crandle has stopped caring since he left Echo Creek Academy. This guy gets people to choose a job and stick with it for the rest of their lives. That last part is what gets Marco. Mr. Candle gives you choices, but limits those choices based on preconceived notions. And if this show has one message to teach, it's that you don't need to be limited by preconceived notions of who you are supposed to be. It's about finding your own path through life. Star didn't want to leave earth because she got to make her own choices here. Marco did want to leave earth because he wanted to be with Star. Even in the season 3 finale, Star gave up the throne. It didn't just happen because the throne rightfully belongs to Eclipsa's lineage, but it also freed up Star to do things that normally a princess could not do. Remember back to Mr. Candle Cares, where Star actively rebelled and nearly cut off a mermaid's tail just so she wouldn't have to become queen. This wasn't just the one episode, either; we've seen throughout the series that Star never wanted to be a princess in the first place.

Last, I want to talk about the capes. Obviously this is a callback to when Marco wore his cape River's meat blanket for a month back on earth. Also: Star says that each patch on the cape represents "something we did together." The six patches show: Princess Turdina, a goblin dog, a laser puppy, Marco's dimensional scissors, Marco's Super Awesome Nachos, and Nachos the Dragoncycle. And she says that she'll sew on the last one (The one in the middle) when Marco gets his "lifelong post" (something that has yet to happen). That last part is important.

Marco's cape for Star, on the other hand, has pictures from Freeze Day, Star making Marco her squire, tadpole-sitting, fighting Ludo, the Bounce Lounge, and Stump Day on the outside. Then in the middle it has a drawing of the Beach Day photo (also something that has yet to happen). What is the connection you ask? Well, the middle slot is the most important one. So for Marco to put the Beach Day picture in the middle means he thinks it is more important than all the other pictures. This is further evidence for my theory of Starco beginning on Beach Day. EDIT: I forgot to mention that in the last shot of the episode, the two capes form a heart on their backs. Just wanted to point that one out.

Well, that's all for now! I'm going to move on to Queen-Napped now.

#star vs the forces of evil #star vs. the forces of evil #svtfoe #svtfoe4 #svtfoe season 4 #the knight shift #rwinger24's crazy theories #but not really that crazy

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sometimesalwaysmusic · 7 years ago

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PARAGON CAUSE

Paragon Cause is a songwriting, production and musical duo based in Ottawa. Members Marnie (originally from Southern Ontario) and Kirwan (hailing from Cape Breton) bring their love of Hip-hop, jazz piano, 80's synthesizers and 50's guitars to create music that is mysterious yet familiar. We caught up and discussed influences, the differences between Ottawa and their hometowns, and some of their favourite live shows.

VITALS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParagonCause/

Web: https://www.paragoncause.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParagonCause

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paragoncauseadvanced/

Latest Release: Escape (Album, May 2018)

Upcoming shows: Sat, August 4 - Paragon Cause, Lethargicon. The Seahorse, Halifax NS Sat, August 11 - Paragon Cause and more TBD, Pressed, Ottawa ON Sat, August 18 - Paragon Cause, O'Connels Pub, Ottawa ON

SA: How did Paragon Cause come together? Kirwan: Well, I wish we had some story about meeting after a performance in a dark lounge after Marnie was singing jazz, but that would be a lie. I stopped playing music for a while after playing with some bands back in Halifax. I decided to start recording and writing again and spent a year or two making weird techno and house music, but I found it a bit unsatisfying. Marnie completed a music degree was trying to decide how to start playing live again. So, both of us put profiles up on a website called Bandmix, basically the on-line dating version of finding band members.

Both of us met with other people, played with others but it never worked. I know for me, my music was always a bit too esoteric for most people. I would sometimes show up for a practice and just sit there and not play, the music was too…normal. Finally, I reached out to Marnie after seeing a video of her singing and playing piano. There was something in her voice that struck me. Although, we are lucky we ended up playing together. It’s a bit odd for some random online person asking you to come over to a stranger’s house to play tunes in their basement! She came over, we jammed on the Beatles Norwegian Wood. I knew within 1 minute, this was it. It was insane how we connected. The last time I was even close to that was playing with Rose Cousins and Steve Gates back in Halifax, but this was on another level. Right then and there, we started writing and learning songs. It was special.

SA: What bands or musicians would you cite as the biggest influences on your sound? Marnie: For me, it would be classical music, Mamma’s and the Papa’s and definitely the Beatles. Where I grew up, music like that was hard to find. Remind me in our next interview, and I’ll tell you more (laughs). Kirwan: It’s a bit complicated I suppose, I basically want to be as cool as Tribe Called Quest or the Digible Planets, but I know that’s impossible. So, I draw from a lot of my favorite bands and musicians I think are special. The Cure, The Raveonettes, Janes Addition, The Suuns, Peter Green’s Fleewood Mac, Howling Wolf and of course Portishead. I think deep down, I want to do what Portishead did, create something different, unique. But in the end, we really just try to do what we love. We know ‘our’ music and sound when we play it.

SA: Thus far in your career, what has been your biggest success? Kirwan: To be honest, completing an album. When we first met, we said, “let’s make an album and print it on vinyl and give it to our friends and family.” That’s what we are doing. As for Marnie, I think one of her’s would be winning 1st in the Quebec School Choir as the choir director. Although, when we released the song Sunny, it was played during the traffic report at 4pm on CBC Ottawa All in a Day. I’m not sure you can get much bigger than that.

SA: On the other hand, what is the biggest challenge you have faced, and how have you dealt with it? PC: Hands down, a tie between navigating the new method of music distribution in an online and social media ruled age as well as learning to let go of a song and move on. With respect to navigating the system, trying to get your music heard is hard. No one ever writes you back when you write them. However, we are lucky, we both come from a place in which we can invest the time, learn and figure out how to distribute music without the help of a label. We both have formal music training and thus writing music comes pretty easy, but that leads us to the next issue, we are SUPER picky about things. We probably write about 10 songs a week, but maybe pick 1 or 2 a month we like. For example, the song Next Time and Fear took over a year to finish. I was never happy with them, we have about 20 versions for each song, some with completely different arrangements, live drums, synths, etc, etc. So in the end, navigating the system and letting go and moving on are tied.

SA: How do you guys approach the song-writing process? Kirwan: With some good craft beer, guitar pedals and plans to order pizza with pineapple. I think we have three ways. Marnie usually will write a song on piano, a complete arrangement from start to finish. She has all the melody, harmony everything done and usually recorded with a running commentary recorded on her phone.

For me, I start with a riff or a beat and a rhythm. Then, we usually take it to the other person. For me, when she shows up with her song, I say, ‘ok let’s record it, regardless what you think of it.” She always thinks her music is not good enough, but I’m usually blown away by it. Then, we usually record the piano or synth and vocals in one take together.

Both Fear and Next Time were recorded in one take, vocals and piano. Then, I usually spend some time thinking about it, the feel, the emotion and the melody. She and I spend about 30 hours with the song, playing along, writing guitar parts and drum beats. I’ll often alter it a bit by changing the mode of the song, which is akin to changing key, but different. Next Time was a very happy sounding song at first, but by adding the bassline, it gave it a very dark feel. To us, that is what is amazing about music, the key didn’t change but the method and way you play the chords did and that completely changed the song.

When I bring a song to her, I play it and she kind of goes into a trance. She will sing melodies and then quickly write words. Often, I can’t even snap her out of it! She just goes into another world and writes the entire melody…Consequence and Away from Me were like that. Away from Me was originally called “Acoustic Song” as I wrote it all on an acoustic Guitar, start to finish and she wrote the lyrics and melody and made it something special.

After that, I usually spend weeks producing, mixing and editing. We like to write, record, then play live. It gives us an idea what works and what doesn’t. I then take the final version to her for it to get constructively criticized. In the end, we work extremely well together. Did I mention we also enjoy craft beer during our sessions? We also have a great desk to work at.

Finally, we jam. We can play songs and improvise for hours. There have been times, were we start playing and stop an hour later and just look at each other, speechless. We are off in another world. Although once, we recorded a 20 minute song that was our best ever. It was recorded on webcam, but I forgot to turn the microphone on, so we only have a video, no sound and we can’t remember the song.

SA: Both of you are transplants to the National Capital region. What are your thoughts on the Ottawa music scene? Kirwan: Well, for me it’s very different than Halifax. I think I can speak for both of us when I say, we are still getting used to it. The people we met from bands like The Pale Light, Sol the Violinist and superstar guitarist Lee Jessom have been extremely helpful and friendly. I think in Ottawa however, it’s harder to get involved. Back in Halifax, everyone talked, everyone knew each other all the bands would be out supporting other bands. We are still trying to find that here.

We still play at open mics around the city. We love doing that. We are both strong believers in supporting song writers, musicians and performers regardless of their skill level. We have no shame in showing up at Irene’s or O’Connels Open Mic and play some Fleetwood Mac, Nancy Sinatra, Amy Winehouse and some Raveonettes. We even play some Portishead. The open mic scene is super friendly in Ottawa. But, the music scene so far has been challenging. We should have played more metal, the metal and punk scene seems to be amazing here. Halifax was very folk oriented and alt/indie style so it was a bit easier to get involved. But who knows, perhaps we just need to write better songs.

SA: If you guys could choose a 'dream tour' with currently active artists, who would you be sharing the stage with night after night? Kirwan: The Raveonettes, The Suuns and Geoff Barrow’s new band Beak>. Although, Portishead and The Cure would be dreams come true. Marnie: Tough question, but the answer would be to sing in Les Miserables.

SA: If you could narrow it down to one album that has been influential on your life, or even your musical path, which would it be and why? Kirwan: Super hard, so many, but I have to say, The Low End Theory by Tribe Called Quest. When that album was released, It made me appreciate writing, jazz, hip-hop, rhythm and why the feel of music is something that sets good music apart from bad music. That album with songs like Vibes and Stuff just puts you in a place, from the first noises you hear. It changed my life as a kid and made me obsessed with hip-hop. Number 2 is a tie between Pornography by the Cure and Ritual de lo Habitual by Jane’s Addiction. Marnie: Les Miserables.

SA: Have you been to any concerts recently, in Ottawa or elsewhere, that have been particular inspiring? Kirwan: For sure, a few years ago I saw The Cure life in a small theatre in New York. It was called Reflections Tour. They played their first three Albums, start to finish then 2 more sets up rare and old tunes with the original line up, including Lol Tolhurst. It was mind blowing. Robert Smith is a God, people need to realize how good he is. I also saw Guru (of Gangstarr fame) and I saw one of James Browns last concerts. Polica and The Suuns are great live as well. Oh, I saw Portishead and The Breeders, during their last tours, amazing and beyond inspiring. Marnie: Seeing LCD Soundsystem last year at Bluesfest was insane. My god they are good.

SA: What can we expect from Paragon Cause moving forwards in 2018? Our best wishes for your continued success! Kirwan: Well, you will see some surprises I hope. We are writing and recording our next album. We also want to do more soundtracks for podcasts and film. We currently do some of the music for a big Canadian Podcast called The Night Time Podcast. We love just playing ambient stuff and making sounds. We also want a cello player and perhaps some sort of percussionist. Also, a French Horn would be nice on our next album.

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