#them all reaching for the flame transitioning to the fighting was so nice such a great feel of an overdramatic cheesy music video

[4giorno]

just actually watched the mavuika trailer and like im so..... bitter i could cry like get creative!!!!! you have something awesome here, for the first time i cared abt the cast of natlan in this trailer but you REFUSE to get creative and find a way to represent this in a way that fits the world

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

December Writing Challenge: Day 4

To the three Lynri and Quincy enjoyers out there... this one's for you.

Just a little something cute set during their university days.

Full story below the cut

“No, no…”

“Snrk… you’re gonna miss it if you keep covering your face.”

“No, it’s so bad…”

“That’s the whole point of a bad movie night!”

“I don’t think I can do this,” Lynri muttered, still covering her mouth. She squinted at the screen and her breath hitched. She leaned in closer, uncertain if she saw what she thought she had just seen.

“I think his sword vanished in the previous shot and then reappeared out of thin air.”

“No way, did it really?” Quincy gasped. He reached towards his laptop and eagerly clicked back several times to rewind the movie. The fan whirred a little, apparently not enjoying the load. The movie jittered and lagged before starting up again at the previous scene.

The two leaned in closer as the protagonist, shirtless and with rather ridiculously defined abs, raced into a burning building. The camera very obviously cut away in a janky transition as he raced into the burning building again from a different angle, whipping out the sword strapped to his back to clear away the flames - the sword which was decidedly not there in the previous shot.

“Oh my god!” Quincy exclaimed delightedly.

“Oh my god.”

Lynri put her head in her hands, trying and failing to hold back a giggle.

For a moment, she didn’t resurface, simply listening to the sound of sporadic explosions ring through the tinny speakers, feeling the coolness of the library window at her back, and rubbing away the residual ache of her tired eyes from many nights spent studying. If she ignored the film itself, she could privately admit this had been a rather nice way to celebrate the end of exams for the term. The library was completely quiet except for the quiet sounds of the movie at low volume; empty, except for the two of them. Lynri eased her mind for the first time in several weeks from thoughts of neuroanatomy and memory facilitation strategies and cortical imaging equipment, relaxing into the cool glass behind her, the solidness of the low bookshelf’s ledge where she sat, and the warmth where her friend’s arm pressed into hers.

“Hey,” he said, nudging her a little. “You’re gonna lose the plot.”

Lynri sputtered and looked up at the screen, where it seemed like the ninetieth explosion had gone off in the same burning building.

“What plot is there to lose?”

“Uh, well,” Quincy said, grinning and pointing at the screen. “So, Abs here is swinging his sword. Cutting through the flames.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And there’s bad guys shooting at him.”

“Mm.”

“They must have some weird bullets because every single one has exploded.”

“Okay, but who are the bad guys?”

“Uh…” Quincy adopted a serious thinking pose as he peered closer at the screen. “A gang, I guess? I don’t think they were ever introduced.”

“Well, who needs a set up when you’ve got explosions?”

“Exactly!”

One of the gang members fell from a burning rafter, half his face covered in a very bad attempt at a cybernetic prosthesis that might have been made from tinfoil.

“…”

“They’re the cyber gang,” said Quincy, without skipping a beat.

Lynri peered at the screen again, thinking hard. She snapped her fingers.

“I’ve got it.”

Quincy raised an eyebrow.

“They’re clearly from the future.”

“Oh, absolutely.”

“And they run a future technology black market where they trade with people from the past who are in-the-know.”

“Ooh.”

“All this,” finished Lynri, “so they can win an arms race before it even begins and take over the world.”

“Oh, I see, I see,” said Quincy, nodding sagely. “And Abs here is trying to stop them.”

“No.”

“No?!”

“No, he’s just after a challenge,” Lynri shrugged. “He doesn’t care at all about saving the world, he just wants to fight the people with the strongest weapons.”

“An amoral protagonist. Nice,” Quincy nodded approvingly. “We could make our own movie out of this.”

“We could,” Lynri laughed.

“We should! Sets out of cardboard, a cheap video camera, and all the special effects we can afford on a student budget, which are none!”

“And it would still be a huge improvement over whatever this is.”

“Oh, Lyn, Lynri!” Quincy said, nudging her and snickering. “Look at his wig!”

“No!” she gasped, leaning in further and putting her fingers to her temples. “It’s going to fall off!”

Quincy wheezed helplessly.

The explosions finally died down as Abs ran the last of his enemies through with his now-flaming (?) sword. The man fell in slow motion to the floor, where he lay supine, and still obviously breathing.

“Finally.”

Abs stepped over the “dead” body, now on his stomach, and took the previously damaged stairs up two at a time, running into the arms of-

“Wait, wait. Who’s the girl?”

“Pfft, come on, there’s always a girl.”

“…who is missing half her clothes…”

“Well, there was a fire.”

Lynri frowned at him incredulously.

“Yeah, she’s fireproof, but her clothes are not. Unfortunate,” Quincy said, fighting to hold  a straight face.

“Convenient,” Lynri snorted, rolling her eyes.

They watched as Abs approached and reached down to help the girl up. They exchanged a few lines which were clearly intended to be flirtatious, but…

“Oh, they have no chemistry.”

“Yikes…” Quincy cringed.

The girl struck an uncomfortably un-sexy sexy pose and reached up to the lead’s face.

“She’s going to kiss him already? They just met!”

“No, no, clearly she’s just adjusting the wig!”

Lynri choked and started laughing, then broke off mid-way through as the action on the screen took a definitive turn for the worst.

“Oh, that’s not just kissing-!”

“They’re just going for it?!”

“No, no, no!!” she wailed, recoiling from the laptop.

“On the dirty ground?!”

“Ew, ew, ew!”

“Oh no, this isn’t even funny anymore, this is just gross,” Quincy cringed, peeking at the screen from between his fingers.

“Why are you still watching it?!” Lynri yelled, smacking him in the arm.

“It’s like a train wreck now! I can’t look away!”

Just then, some rather uncomfortable noises started up from the tinny speakers.

“AaaaAAAAAAA NO!” Lynri shrieked at the top of her lungs.

“Nope! No, stop stopstop!” Quincy flailed in a panicked attempt to grab the laptop, smacking the mouse frantically and repeatedly to stop the movie. He slammed the laptop closed for good measure.

The library returned to silence except for the sound of the pair’s startled breathing.

“Ohh my god…” Quincy mumbled after a few moments, burying his face in his hands.

“That… was awful…” Lynri breathed out slowly. She nudged Quincy in the arm. “It’s over now.”

“Nope, afraid that’s seared into my brain forever,” he said, pained, trying to hide the embarrassed flush of his cheeks.

“���same.”

Quincy resurfaced, rubbing at his face and looking sheepish.

“Ha, well that didn’t go so well. This was supposed to be fun, not uh, y’know.”

“I know?” Lynri raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Guess I’ll have to come up with something better next time, huh?” he said, reaching out to pull the computer back into his lap. “Or, at least, maybe I should watch the movie first.”

Next time.

Lynri faltered and stared down at her lap. They had been spending a good deal of time together recently. “Next time” was a perfectly natural assumption to make, really.

…she was tired. Exams truthfully had kicked her in the butt, no matter how well she knew she’d done on them. So, she would cross that inevitable bridge when she got to it. An unfortunate problem for future Lynri.

She looked up.

Quincy must have sensed her hesitation, because he was smiling, face still slightly tinged by embarrassment, hopeful and uncertain.

Oh, this was definitely going to come back to bite her.

“Well, I need a palate cleanser for right now before I even start thinking about next time,” she said, gesturing for the laptop.

Quincy handed it over.

“You still want to watch something?”

“After that? I need to,” Lynri said, typing away at the keyboard. “Don’t worry, I have an idea.”

Quincy exhaled and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “whew, I haven’t totally blown it”. Lynri bit back a smile.

She picked an episode at random but still recognized it instantly on the opening shot. She’d watched it too many times not to.

…not that she was going to share that information yet.

She set the laptop back down between them and settled back down to watch.

“There. Campy, but actually fun.”

“Y’know, I actually never got around to watching this show before,” Quincy commented, settling back down next to her.

“You have to at least know the theme song.”

“Of course!”

“…”

“…”

“Doo-wee-ooo!!”

[the-whumpening]

I Still Burn, Part 2 [Son of Bat]

Prev | Masterpost | Next

This one is sort of two smaller, related parts put together, so the formatting is a little different

CW: mention of medication

———————————————————————

“What the hell do I keep fighting for?”

———————————————————————

The first few days home were rough. As much as James wanted things to go back to normal, he simply wasn’t well enough yet. He still wasn’t stable on his own two feet; the best he could muster most days was a slow shuffle supported by a walker or another person and the wall. Focusing on anything too long—a book, a screen, anything at all—felt like his skull was being squeezed, never mind that he could barely process what he was seeing. Staying upright or even just being awake for more than an hour or two was no better; not that it mattered, given that the pain medicine and antibiotics knocked him out at about the same frequency.

He’d hoped, of course, that he could sleep in his own bed at least, but his body had other ideas. Instead of making the trek back to his bedroom at night, he ended up sleeping on the couch; half the time, he didn’t even bother to lay down, rather just falling asleep in the cocoon of blankets and pillows supporting his aching body. More often than not, he would wake to find Eddie curled beside him—before all of this, Eddie tended to sleep there rather than his own bed, after all. Before long, Eddie had dragged his twin mattress downstairs and parked it beside the couch. It was kind of nice, James had to admit. It reminded him of the long nights they would stay up together as teenagers, falling asleep together as the sun began to rise.

Molly, Vince, and Debby all returned to their work after that first week. James could move enough on his own to get by, albeit with much difficulty, but he certainly wouldn’t ask them to stay any longer than absolutely necessary.

Eddie, on the other hand . . . James was sure he was meant to be going back to class—he’d overheard the conversations in between his medication-fueled naps—but he just . . . wasn’t. Sure, he’d leave the house for a couple hours at a time, never so long that James went without help when he needed it, but he never seemed to be dressed for his teaching placements—and the bag he carried wasn’t his usual schoolbag, either.

James wasn’t quite sure what Eddie was up to, but he could sense the shit about to hit the fan.

———————————————————————

“The fear always feeds the flames”

———————————————————————

Eddie was already sweating and panting when he arrived at the new spot. It should be perfect: out of the way, plenty of space, but only a short bike ride from the apartment. He could easily get back to James in an emergency, though he didn’t intend to be out for too long.

He dumped his bag on the ground, yanking open the zipper to reveal the stash of spray paints and equipment. He slipped on a mask and his headphones, then pulled up the hood of his jacket.

As the can rattled in his hand, he felt the wave of endorphins crash over him. Closing his eyes, he breathed in deep and envisioned his plan. Then, when the playlist hit just the right BPM, he opened his eyes and popped the top off the can.

His heart pounded as he put paint to stone, arcing his arms in wide circles and leaping to reach the summit. He mouthed along to the songs pumping in his ears, his body taken over by the beat; in between sprays, he shook his hands out and bounced on the balls of his feet. For the briefest moment, he was ecstatic—a flood of dopamine filled his cells, scrubbing him clean from the inside out.

The music gradually transitioned to slower, more pensive songs; Eddie’s body, too, began to calm and level out. It was time, then: his work was done. He stepped back from the wall, finally taking in the final image. It wasn’t anything spectacular—it was abstract and vague, just an amalgamation of thoughts—but he was satisfied. He dropped the can back in the bag and laid on the grass for a moment to rest.

Art had always had this cathartic, calming effect on Eddie. Though the process was explosive and high-energy, he had to get all of that out of his body or he simply couldn’t function. And lately, he’d needed this more than ever. The stress and worry over James had twisted and coiled him tightly like a wind-up toy; he could feel the motor whirring inside him. If he didn’t let out the pent-up kinetic force, he knew he would simply break.

No one else seemed to understand that, though. The entire time James was in the hospital, they’d all encouraged him to go back to class—after all, he was so close to graduating, and there was nothing anyone could do there anyway. He tried, of course. He made it as far as the campus multiple times. But every time he tried to take that next step, to open the doors and sit in a classroom while his best friend—his brother!—might be dying . . . He just couldn’t do it. How could he possibly focus on school? How could he possibly leave James’ side?

Even when James woke up and eventually came home, Eddie was still plagued with worry. He worried every time someone left the house, he worried every time James tried to walk on his own, he worried every time they fell asleep that James might not wake up. It wasn’t totally rational, he knew that, but it didn’t stop the avalanche of horrible thoughts filling his head.

As he biked back home, he could feel the weight of those anxieties starting to press back on top of him. It had been nice to be free of them, if only for a little while. When he returned, James was still asleep on the couch, exactly where he’d left him.

[freezegirl]

👫 war kie :)

headcanon time // @ghoulsplay's warren peace

1: one year before will stronghold arrives at sky high and stumbles his way through power placement, warren peace and khione goossens do the same. khione goes first. turns the gym into a winter wonderland. and because coach boomer thinks he's got a terrific sense of humor, he picks out warren afterwards even though he swore he was going to do this alphabetically. warren easily melts the ice and snow as he turns the gym into a sauna. khione attempts to slip outside before she melts completely. but before she does so, she turns back to look at him and he looks back. one look was all it took for her heart to skip a beat. khione has been drawn to him ever since.

(to this day, she remembers how beautiful he looked, all powered up. like he was agni, the god of fire, himself.)

2: powering up beside him during homecoming was a leap of faith that surprised her. khione figured that she could allow herself to have this one thing. especially now that both of them survived royal pain's masterplan. then he takes her hand and she doesn't want him to let go, ever again. he warms her up, she cools him down. and after the night ends and she gets home, her parents' former sidekicks call her before she can call them - jawaharel has precognitive abilities and he saw a dance of icy twin flames. farzana sheds a few tears when khione tells her that she's "in love, like you and jawaharel are".

3: the only reason why khione doesn't tell warren what happened to the first boy she ever kissed is because mr medulla shows him. well, he shows everyone during a telepathic training exercise. in response, khione goes subzero and it takes warren the majority of the day to get kie to thaw out of her ice form again.

4: during their senior year, nurse spex dies. everyone is heartbroken. khione reaches out to nurse spex's grandson, valerian, in order to extend her condolences and an olive branch. instead, he takes his frustrations out on her. warren steps in and when principal powers comes to break up the fight, kie tries to explain to her that warren didn't start it. warren and kie end up in detention with valerian anyway. ever since the royal pain fiasco during their sophomore year, kie's been claustrophobic. warren is the only reason why kie doesn't freak out then and there in the detention room.

kie's parents don't show up when she walks the stage. instead, farzana and jawaharel show up and kie officially introduces warren to them.

5: the transition period between high school and college is a tough one, considering that's when will's paternal grandparents come to town. theodore stronghold - the founder of sky high and sky u - has nothing nice to say about any of his grandson's friends. especially not warren. his wife, ann-marie, chimes in with pointed remarks about kie.

several members of the sky high faculty like mr boy, coach boomer, jeannie elast and principal powers have since been offered well paying jobs and have since made the transition from sky high to sky u.

6: during warren and kie's first year at sky university, baron battle escapes the maximum security prison he was kept in, rampages through maxville and kidnaps ethan bank - resident boy genius. the group comes together and they get ethan back but he's never quite the same afterwards and he refuses to talk about his time spent with baron battle.

7: kie's parents' marriage falls apart in the wake of the revelation that zach braun is kie's half brother. (warren is the only one who's not surprised as kie has told him her suspicions before she told anyone else.) the secret comes to light after mr medulla - who accepted a job offer at sky u - fed the class a self-made truth serum for an experiment. zach's parents divorce. kie's parents pretend that they're still in love and renew their vows during the second season finale of the fabulous lives of superhero wives. kie is forced to make an appearance. and she does.

8: during warren and kie's second year at sky university, kie gets kidnapped by katherine "katie" baxter. katie's twin brother, michael, is still in lockup for aiding baron battle the year before.

the stronghold seven (or six, in this case) comb through maxville until they figure out that katie keeps kie at maxwellness, a wellness and beauty center in the richer part of town. katie has sound based powers and used to work at maxwellness as a sound healer, specializing in sound wellness.

they save kie in the nick of time. had they been any later, she would have died. it takes months for kie to get back to her former power-level, and herself, and she grapples with this more than she cares to admit but ends up talking to warren about this regardless because she trusts him.

9: during warren and kie's third and final year at sky university, josie stronghold dies. ms stronghold has always been more of a mother to kie than her own mother has ever been. and so she goes to the funeral and grieves. (she will never forget will's haunted eyes nor steve's anguished scream).

the majority of the superhero community show up for the funeral, khione's parents included. and after a quick chat with principal powers, kie goes off to find warren and the others. the stronghold seven end up sneaking into the paper lantern after hours and tell each other their favorite josie stronghold related memories.

during this year, mr medulla reveals himself to be an undercover villain with immense knowledge, telepathic and telekinetic abilities. he is working together with baron battle, who is still out there too.

after warren and kie graduate from sky university, the stronghold seven is officially formed: the team consists of the leader and namesake, will stronghold; layla williams; warren peace; magenta lewis; zach braun; ethan banks and khione goossens.

they often work together but it is not uncommon that the group splits up into smaller teams: zach, ethan and magenta work together and will, layla, warren and kie work together too.

more often than not, however, kie and warren work together as a duo.

[serpents-hollow]

@lapismuses​​  /  nebula & verglas .

             the   crackle   of   flames   bursting   and   the   heavy   impact   of   a   heated   blow   stir   dormant   emotions,   those   he   promised   not   to   take   to   the   battlefield   anymore.   it’s   been   a   awhile   since   he   last   saw   verglas   take   such   a   heavy   blow,   and   to   make   matters   worse,   the   literal   heat   of   battle   has   left   unsightly   burns   behind,   as   if   to   add   insult   to   injury.   bruises   bring   out   a   whole   new   shade   of   blue   on   verglas,   a   sight   he   once   would   have   laughed   at.  countless   times   has   he   been   told   to   remain   docile   even   by   fighting   standards,   always      “   you   just   have   to   capture   them   ”      and      “   go   easy,   the   law   will   deliver   justice   ”.  indescribably   frustrating   for   someone   as   capable   as   him,   but   for   the   sake   of   his   partner,   he   would   entertain   these   rules.

 just   this   once,   he   hopes   an   exception   will   be   made.   attention   turns   from   the   unsightly   hero,   and   instead   fixates   on   the   target   as   his   body   begins   to   melt   away.  fire   blasts   as   the   gooey   mass   rapidly   slinks   forwards,   with   no   regard   to   its   own   safety   even   as   the   heat   approaches   melting   point.   it   lurches   forwards,   coating   the   shoes   and   ground   beneath   its   hotheaded   victim.   what   comes   next   is   the   vicious   torture   of   long,   thin   spikes   with   enough   bursting   force   to   pierce   straight   through   the   body   ;   vitals   are   spared   only   for   the   sake   of   keeping   them   alive   as   long   as   possible,   save   for   the   occasional   slip   through   the   lung   or   intestines.   should   he   puncture   them   tenfold   ?   .   .   .   no   .   .   .   twentyfold   would   be   more   appropriate.   instant   death   is   only   delivered   upon   hearing   the   gratifying   screeches   that   bring   about   nostalgic   memories,   lasting   far   too   long   for   the   comfort   of   others.   it   would   have   been   nice   not   to   put   them   out   of   their   misery   at   all,   but   knowing   verglas   is   watching,   he   forcibly   restrains   himself.  he   is,   and   always   will   be,   so   much   better   at   this.

 blood   slides   off   his   form   like   a   slick   raincoat,   trailing   along   after   dumping   the   hole-riddled   body   to   go   and   take   a   look   at   his   injured   partner.   form   makes   a   smooth   transition   towards   something   more   approachable,   mindful   of   just   how   terrifying   he   probably   looks   otherwise.   verglas   likes   humans,   doesn’t   he   ?  figure   looms   over   them   to   speak   in   hushed   tones,

 ❝         i   hope   the   way   he   sang   makes   you   feel   a   little   bit   better.    here,         ❞

 position   shifts   from   a   crouch   to   a   sit,   and   hands   reach   out   to   pull   the   icy   hero   up   against   him,   unaware   of   the   danger   posed   by   moving   a   body   with   back   injuries.   hopefully   the   beating   wasn’t   that   severe.

 ❝         do   you   want   some   water   ?      what   about   your   ice   pack   ?      should   i   call   an   ambulance   ?         ❞

[pangtasias-atelier]

An Endless Summer

Had an idea involving Gerik and Joshua for the longest time but kinda didn’t write it cause stuff that left me kinda irritated, but I like them enough that I went through with this even though the idea kinda changed a lot so not as content with this but it’s something. Especially since this kinda just evolved into a part 1 for an idea I have with Freyr that is gonna have a lot more weight gain stuff involved cause Freyr got me acting like a whore right now andsjfnbdjsna

Not much weight gain involved but I kinda felt like wriitng something more not kink related, so hope you enjoy!

"Ahh, now this is the life," The sun's bright, radiant rays beam down on the peaceful beach. Joshua reclines back into his lounge chair. The brim of his hat tipped ever so slightly, the bit of shade it offers his face is miniscule to the parasol’s shade that encapsulates the entirety of his lean, fit body. Enjoying the fine tranquil summer that Askr has to offer every year, this is Joshua’s first time enjoying such a fine treat in the World of Zenith. The sun’s heat far from overbearing, the pleasant warmth it provides is more akin to the comforting licks of a flame during Joshua’s usual tendency to camp out during his travels; the gentle breeze aids in cooling down whatever sense of extreme heat there could be.

Joshua reaches over to grab a drink from the tray right beside his lounging. His right arm not covered by his navy blue shawl draped to the side like its left counterpart, the small outline of his bicep becomes pronounced as he stretches it to grab his drink. His right arm being the only part of his upper body to be truly covered, his torso glistens with the slight bit of water still on it. A six pack available for all to glance and stare at, Joshua purposefully keeps his green swim trunks slightly low to show off his V-line. The deep red hues of the sash tied around his waist only further calls attention to his lower region, beckoning all eyes to land on him. His trunks leave zero room for imagination. They hug the delicate yet hard lines of his built thighs, the short trunks ending a bit above his knees to show off as much of his legs as he can. Joshua takes a small sip of his drink before letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

“Well,” A gruff voice sounds out as the person approaches Joshua. “You sure seem to be enjoying yourself,” Gerik comes back with some drinks in hand. He places them down on the tray. Zero pretense of modesty; unlike Joshua, Gerik merely wears a pair of gray swim trunks. These even shorter than Joshua’s own, they end at his upper mid thigh, Gerik’s thick muscled legs open for all of Askr to see. Bare chested, Gerik’s wide pecs jut out for all to see, his washboard abs seemingly glowing in the sunlight. Gerik’s built biceps bulge with pride with them on full display, his defined arms always ready for a show along with the rest of his body.

Joshua rolls his eyes from Gerik’s small talk. “I am. But, it is better now that the eye candy has shown up,” Grinning from ear to ear, Joshua repositions himself to get a better view of Gerik. Turning around, he rests on his side, the entirety of himself also meant for Gerik to look at.

Gerik guffaws. Taking a seat on his own lounge chair, Gerik rests on his back with his arms behind his head. The two sit in relative silence by then. The sounds of the oncoming waves and their fellow heroes enjoying themselves in the distance fill in for the complete lack of conversation between the two.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Joshua’s eyes lose the bit of hardness surrounding them, his eyes softening as he ponders at his partner.

“If you’re asking if I miss mercenary life and fighting, then yeah. But, I got nice weather, nice food and beer, and you,” Gerik tosses a wink Joshua’s way, to which Joshua groans in response despite the smile adorning his face.

“I wouldn’t mind extending this vacation, then. Askr’s finally at peace so I say we’ve deserved it,” Joshua whistles and waves. Gerik sits up.

Alfonse’s attention got, he walks on towards them. His body that of a warrior, his figure is more graceful than that of Joshua’s and especially Gerik’s. He wears a pair of swim trunks along with an unzipped swim jacket, his trim torso and legs wet from his recent dip into the ocean.

“Did you need something?” Alfonse asks. He keeps a straight face in front of the two swordsmen. Though he already expects something to be off from their sudden calling of him.

“Yeah. I seem to recall you owing me a favor,” Joshua taps his chin in a mockery of recollection.

“Yes. You saved the summoner where I could not,” Alfonse speaks nothing else, biting his cheeks instead from the memory.

“Well, I’d like you to speak to your summoner friend and have them extend this summer vacation. Indefinitely,” Gerik huffs in mirth from Joshua’s request. Before Alfonse can stammer out a response, Joshua raises his hand. “Actually, let’s gamble on it. I win, you get the summoner to extend this; you win, you do nothing and you can consider your favor paid off,” When no response comes from Alfonse, Joshua sighs. “Or, I can just go to the summoner and ask them directly. There’s no way they say no. I’m just helping you clear up this favor of yours,”

“Ugh, fine,” Alfonse mutters through gritted teeth. "I assume a coin flip,"

"Bingo. And you can even flip it," Joshua throws the coin, Alfonse barely reacting in time to catch it.

"I call heads," Alfonse lets out a small sigh. Flipping the coin up, his eyes never lose sight of the coin in the air. He gulps in anticipation. Time trickles even slower than a turtle, the coin flipping in the air as if mocking him. Refusing to make eye contact with either Joshua or Gerik, lest some sort of trickery occur in the millisecond he loses focus, Alfonse misses their cool, neutral demeanor. Holding his hand out, Alfonse gulps as the coin lands in his palm; gazing down at the coin, he groans from the result. The telltale image of tails burns into his eyes. "You win," Alfonse hands back the coin to Joshua without any more fuss.

"Consider your debt repaid," With a tip of his hat, Joshua sends Alfonse off.

Gerik reclining in his chair the entire time, he waits to speak up until Alfonse leaves. "So, how'd you pull it off?" A lazy grin is spread on his face.

"I left it up to chance," Joshua shrugs as he lets himself fall back down into his chair. "If I lost, then it was meant to be,"

"You would have gone to the summoner yourself,"

"Perhaps," Joshua takes a sip of his drink. "That doesn't matter. We have all of this summer and more to enjoy ourselves," Joshua sighs while relaxing further into his chair.

By the time the sun begins its descent and the usual beachgoers take their leave after a fair amount under the sun and the stands and parlors close, differences begin to slowly occur at the beach. Starting small, the only visible difference is the extra addition of an ice cream shack not too far from Gerik's and Joshua's usual place of relaxation. Ingredients brought to each place to replenish the previous days' used ones, those are nearly identical, the only difference being in the magical enchantments on them. Unbeknownst to everyone minus the summoner, the everlasting peaceful summer full of unmitigated rest and relaxation would happen regardless.

A simple extra ice cream shack merely the beginning on day one, the enhanced ingredients used in every beach establishment is the true pièce de résistance. Mixed in with every beverage, treat and meal, the effects are meant with a single simple end goal: fattening up heroes. Meant to lull heroes, the effects are minimal, only a slight addictive taste to it alongside a decrease to metabolism paired with an increase in hunger. A few establishments arranged throughout the beach as they always have been throughout the years of the order having its yearly beach vacation, more and more are added throughout the night to keep up with the increasing demand of its greedier heroes. Soon, they seem to litter the whole beach, not a single hero needing to go far to grab a bevvy of snacks and drinks to gobble down. Heroes no longer manage the places, each one transitioning into fully automated locations with the aid of technology from Niðavellir.

Joshua and Gerik still keep their usual semi secluded spot. The ice cream shack now renovated, it serves all manner of items. The two not quite as affected by the changes to normal beach life, their waistlines are a testament to it. Gerik is nearly unchanged, preferring to laze around with a few good drinks to enjoy a hearty meal later on, his abs are no longer the tight six pack they once were. His abdomen is a bit faded from the change in his activities, the slightest sliver of pudge making its place on his stomach. The rest of his body remains identical: a broad, powerful chest, bulging biceps, and thick, defined thighs make up the beast of a man. On the other hand, Joshua’s entire figure is clearly affected by an appreciation of lazing and grazing. A sizable paunch rests and sags over the hem of his tight swimming trunks. His wobbly thighs are bigger than his original waistline, Joshua requiring an out of breath waddle to get around. A new pair of trunks needed to keep up with his expanding figure, these ones seem to be near their end. Joshua’s meaty slabs of fat known as his ass jut out behind him to stretch the already stretchy material to its limits in all directions alongside his plump thighs. A defined pair of moobs rest atop Joshua’s shelf of a stomach as he lounges around in his upsized chair. His arms are no longer lean with muscle, instead the flour bag for arms rest on him.

“I mean this,” Bending down, Gerik grabs a meaty handful of Joshua’s stomach. The pale flab slotted inside, he jiggles the mass. “Was this part of your plan when you said you wanted to relax,”

Gerik comes back from grabbing food carrying a tray holding a few treats. He deftly places it on the table besides Joshua. “Is this what you wanted?”

Joshua glances at the plate, his double chin becoming more pronounced for a few moments. “Yeah,”

Joshua noncommittally shrugs. “Eh. I certainly didn’t plan for this,” Joshua gives his gut a smack, grinning at the way Gerik stares at his jiggling frame. “But, I definitely don’t mind. And I’d say you don’t either,” Joshua reaches over to grab an ice cream sandwich, the cold sweet treat calling his name. “Or else you wouldn’t be so willing to fetch me everything,” Joshua’s eyes widen as Gerik yoinks the ice cream from his hands.

“Guess so,” Making himself comfortable, Gerik sits down. On Joshua. His thighs straddling Joshua’s he peers down at the fat former swordsmen. One hand free, he gingerly rests it on Joshua’s belly. He rubs slow circles into the plush, malleable fat. “Now, open wide,” With a great big grin on his face, Gerik brings the ice cream sandwich to Joshua’s lips. The faint red whispers of a blush mar his cherubic face as he opens up as told. Joshua obediently bites at the portion offered to him. Chewing away, more of it is already waiting for him. “We don’t have time to lose; you still have a whole plate to finish,”

“The food’s not going anywhere,” Joshua remarks, albeit before a hearty bite of the food.

“Not like you go anywhere either. All you do is eat and sleep,” Gerik retorts with a few gentle pats of Joshua’s stomach. Joshua finishes the ice cream sandwich only for a popsicle to be offered to him.

“And what’s wrong with that?” Joshua teases. He takes bites out of the offered popsicle, making quick work of that before Gerik hands him a plate of fish and chips.

“Nothing,” Gerik smiles. While Joshua eats away, Gerik takes a few sips of his drink. His eyes never lose sight of Joshua’s cherubic face and his pleased noises as he noisily eats away.

“Good,” Joshua finishes the diesh only for a milkshake straw to be placed by his lips.

“Last thing. It’s getting late,” Joshua slurps through the milkshake, a cold few huffs coming out with each interspaced pause.

“This it?” Despite his behavior, the day’s multiple earlier meals are clearly catching up to his stomach, his current ‘snack’ a bit too much.

“Don’t want you to overdue it,” Gerik leans down the instant Joshua finishes the thick, cold beverage. “Besides, we got plenty more days to fill you up,” Gerik sinks into Joshua’s stomach as he kisses him.

“Y-yeah….” Joshua utters before a grin creeps onto his face. “A guy could get used to this,” Joshua’s grin remains as he leans against Gerik, the two gladly enjoying the strange summer changes.

[mariposalass]

Sora’s Time to Shine

Summary: Mari is already not putting too much expectations going into watching the Final Smash Presentation when someone close to her besides Kirby and Edelgard’s beloved Professor pops out of nowhere in said Presentation. All hell breaks loose (but in a good way).

Setting: Mari and co.’s house in Daly City, California; October 5, 2021

Notes: I was pretty behind in seeing the reveal since I was pretty tired when it came out and I had to check a friend��s post on Plurk to make sure that it was not all for the jokes before watching it on Gamespot and writing this story down. And yes, the Byleth in my S/I verse is the female version in case anyone is curious. And yes, it took me until around 8 AM to write this up. Featuring Luther Vandross. Here is an ask I made on Sora’ behest during a F/O takeover long before he got confirmed recently. #SakuraiHasReachedtheImpossibleDream #Sora4Smash

Tags: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Smash Bros., Swift Keyblader, Smash Reveal, Sakurai has reached the impossible dream!, Sora for Smash, #Sora4Smash

“Hurry Mari, you’re about to miss it!” Kairi is dragging me out onto the sofa to see the final Smash Ultimate Presentation on the living room pretty early before plopping ourselves onto the sofa.

“Look, Kairi, guys. I hate to be a party pooper, but I have no clue about who could it be,” I try to be realistic in my views.

“Well, at this point, my beloved, it could be anybody from the video game world,” my dear Philip chimes in while trying to reassure me, “Besides, as soon as it is done, we shall try to reply back to this non Smash invitation that El had found in the mail today.”

“Huh, is that correct, El dear?” I asked my regal adopted daughter for confirmation.

“Why yes of course, Mother,” she replies as she passes me the invitation, “I believe that a friend of yours has sent us one, but I didn’t want to open it immediately since this is addressed to you.”

“Okay then, I will get to read it and reply back once the Presentation is over and see who gets to fight with Kirby and Professor Byleth,” I smiled back at her.

“I couldn’t believe that there was a leak that just came out before this Presentation video and it is about music. Who was that dense enough to do it at a time like this?” Riku mumbles as he gets the video streaming on the Nintendo Direct page in his laptop.

“You know, Riku, sometimes people can act very idiotic at times, so there isn’t much we can do besides ignoring and avoiding that as much as possible,” Harry sighs as he is bottle feeding and gently rocking Serena as she had cried a while ago to be bottle fed.

“Guys, have you guys seen Sora lately?” Issa asks us while carrying Chris in her arms, “I haven’t seen him in the last few days. He didn’t even reply back to either my or Kairi’s texts and calls. Do you think he’s off to visit Jack and Sally in Halloween Town? It’s nearing Halloween soon.”

“That’s really a good question, Issa,” Ahk agrees, “I had given up trying to find him by calling over on the phone since last Thursday. All I have gotten from it were many ‘The subscriber could not be reached’ messages.”

Even Riku and Kairi are in a loss for words as they turn to each other and wonder what is up with our friend lately. Did he just went poof without us knowing? Kirby always informs us through his many Poyos that he would have to head off to Smash whenever a new tourney starts or a newcomer arrives and Edelgard’s class often gets shorter class schedules or early dismissals whenever Professor Blyeth gets to fight in Smash: she is the professor handling the Black Eagles class. Sometimes even El, Petra and Dorothea along with a few others (and yes, that includes the Gatekeeper) would come over to Smash to spectate from the sidelines and support their beloved Professor.

There is a long silence when the Nintendo Switch title card plays in the laptop and Karina directs us all to watch the screen to see many clips featuring many Smashers in the current tournament before it transitions to Sakurai-san in the studio explaining about the video as well as showcasing the Mii Fighter costumes.

“Hey look, Isabelle the Dog’s demon slaying friend from Bethesda is now coming to Smash to rip and tear up the competition!” Moana screams when the Doomguy Mii Gunner costume appears.

“Good for him; I know that many fans really did want him to be in Smash, though the costume is a nice addition,” Issa agrees. “That now makes three Bethesda franchises represented in the costumes.”

“Even the Octolings and Judd the Cat got hats based on them too,” I chime in as well.

“Oh hey, guys! Sakarui’s about to reveal the last fighter for the Second Fighter’s Pass, so keep down it and don’t expect too much,” Karina informs as Sakurai transitions to the main event and we all stay silent and stay glued to our seats.

The screen turns black before the usual Smash logo opening shows up, but instead of the usual zoom in, it then turns into a flaming Smash logo with all the Smashers up until Kazuya Mishima (yeah, the guy who tried to drop Kirby off a cliff) looking at it and covered in the shadows. Did MH decided to get them to show up in there and meet the last fighter in the dark? Probably, I bet that he might be keeping it as a surprise and possibly even conserving electricity at the same time. Then cut to Inkling Girl looking in awe with the Smash logo reflecting onto her pupils as a nice ode to the first reveal trailer for the game/tourney, I honestly love this shot.

Wait a minute, the logo turns into stars and the next scene shows everyone frozen in place as toy-like ambiios?!? How is it even possible? Well, it does certainly confirmed once again that the video game version of the tourney is set in a world of make believe after all. I could swear that a lot of people crying their eyes out as they are watching this. It looks like this is the end of one great video game series about mascots fighting among each other. Or is it? Because the camera is aiming at Mario as if he looks like he’s trying to take a nap while standing up.

Riku then proceeds to mumble some words to me incoherently that something big is coming the moment Mario wakes up to see a glowing light to see the last remaining flame glowing on the floor, which I do agree with him. Suspicious right? Oh God, Mario no! Please don’t touch the fire for everyone’s sanity. Wait, hold on a second: that isn’t not just fire that he just grabbed on and then tossed it into the sky like a boomerang: the mystery object looks like a Keyblade and there’s that Mickey keychain! Yep, that’s a Keyblade alright. Could it be...

I could recognize that beam of light that Keyblades often produce whenever they lock and unlock Keyholes to other worlds, so does everyone in the room. Riku and Kairi hugged onto each other as if we’re about to brace for an emergency (Karina and Moana also did the same), Ahk stares at the screen to see if he’s not imagining things all the sudden, Issa has her mouth drop in shock, Chris and Serena didn’t cry throughout this entire presentation, Harry gasps and nearly drops Serena’s bottle, Philip turns to me for answers while Edelgard begins to sweatdrop in concern.

No words are exchanged as the light grows and shines brighter before it proceeds to shoot itself away from the Keyblade to reveal a Keyhole on another part of the room. It then glows bright within as the camera switches back to the rest of frozen Smashers as the light begins to fill the room and revives Link, Cloud, Incineroar and Mewtwo as they all gawk at it as it reveals something from the World of Light with the orchestral rendition of Simple and Clean playing in the background. And that’s when it hits us right at the gut: the familiar spiky brown hair poking out from that Keyhole.

“What!?!” Kairi shouts as the Keyhole ‘spits’ out Sora from the World of Light.

“H-h-he actually got in, for real?” Riku squeaks up.

“Oh my…” I gasp in pure shock as we watch the whole thing played out.

“Sakarui finally did it?” Issa adds in to the discussion.

“Well, it’s about time that they managed to get his darn behind into the tourney,” Karina seconds in.

Soon enough, Sora finally wakes up from his nappy time and takes notes from Peter Pan and Tinkerbell as he flies around, sprinkling fairy dust all over the other Smashers, before landing on the floor and the Keyblade flying back to his hand.

“Damn it, Sora!” I scream as the splash screen pops in.

“Kai, your boy has finally made it big time!” Moana shakes Kairi in congratulation rather rapidly that it nearly gives my lil sis a dizzying spell.

“Moana, please don’t make Kairi that dizzy,” Harry had to tell her that.

“Whoops! Sorry Kairi,” she apologizes to her which she accepts.

So with that, we switch back to Sakurai going in depth with Sora’s moveset after he discussed about the Kingdom Hearts games and world. And he has gotten 4 costume changes, man Sora, that’s a big wardrobe you’re bringing in, oh wait, he even got the Timeless River costume too. That makes it 5 then.

“Oh gods, Sakurai is making us suffer by watching Sakurai using Sora to beat up everyone,” Ahk tells us as the Sora moveset showcase begins.

“No kidding,” Harry muses as we see Sora beating everyone in Battlefield.

“Whoa, they went for Sealing the Keyhole instead of having Trinity Force with Donald and Goofy? What a bummer,” Karina bemoans in dismay.

“Well, you know modern Disney: too overprotective of their IPs,” Philip reminds her.

“Oh new stage, what could it be?” Riku gleefully chimes in before they reveal Hollow Bastion as the stage, “Whoa, Hollow Bastion. I never thought that you will return again.”

Then the stage changes into Dive to the Heart and it had Riku and Kairi in the stained glass in one, Riku being the main focus of the second one, Roxas in the middle of the third, Xion in the fourth, Terra for the fifth, a sleepy Ven in the sixth, and Aqua’s in the seventh.

“Pretty!” I complimented the look of each stained glass.

“Quite impressive I will admit,” El agrees with me too.

Then Sakurai begins a playthrough with Sora facing Cloud and Sephiroth in Hollow Bastion, for a while, we all thought that he’s going to be a goner with Cloud and Sephiroth beating him up in the Stamina match but then the tides begin to turn in his favor after Sephy lost his full stock and with Sora having to take down Cloud next. When he did, the scene begins to go into a slow white fade out with a Game!

“Alright! Sora did it! He defeated both Cloud and mean old Sephy,” Riku cheers on.

“Woo! Go Sora!” me, Kairi, Moana, and Karina screams aloud.

“That was brilliant!” Harry agrees before he turns to Serena, “Did you hear? Uncle Sora managed to defeat two opponents in a Smash Ultimate playthrough.”

“9 songs is better than nothing at all,” Issa observes, “It would be a licensing nightmare to talk to Disney if they can borrow a couple of songs from them and they straight up refuse to assist, oh well. Oooh, a Dearly Beloved Swing arrangement, nice! I better get that save file on the Switch prompto!”

“And check out that Spirit Board: Aunt Kairi has a Spirit of herself,” Edelgard informs us as the Spirit Board for KH is revealed.

“Oh gee, never thought that it could ever happen, but thanks,” she blushes.

“Hey, I got one as well, same with Axel, Xion, Roxas, Aqua, Terra and Ven,” Riku joins in, “Marina is so going to be happy to see her boyfriend as a Spirit. She will probably try to get him real soon.”

“You bet it right, Riku, you bet it right,” I nod and agree with that last statement.

“Oh hey, he’s going to be ready within a few weeks’ time,” Karina speaks up, “Neat! The roster is now complete.”

“Even Steve and Alex have amiibos of themselves being made, that’s even more wonderful,” Ahk takes note of it, “I’m pretty sure that Sora will have one of his own along with Pyra, Mythra, that jerk who tried to threw Kirby off a cliff, and even Sephiroth soon.”

“WHAT?!? Kingdom Hearts are coming to the Switch too!?!” I am surprised to hear the news as Sakurai reveals this new information, that is so mind-blowing.

When it fades to black then to the Ultimate mural, the camera then goes for the space between Ganondorf and Dark Samus to fill in Sora’s spot before panning back. Man, this Presentation is long and is finally ending, thank God; it must be tiring to sit down and watch a nearly hour long video as Sakurai showcases the screenshots he has made and showed off in Twitter. Man, so many memories and montages. And the achievements, wow, that is a lot of them, it will be a game feat that I don’t think it will be broken for a long time.

Man, I will miss the presentations and Sakurai’s corny jokes for sure. I wish him a nice deserving break from all the game development for sure as he gives thanks to everyone from the devs to the players to the people prompting the game and ends it off with a heartfelt goodbye as it fades to back into the full reveal trailer.

“Oh gee, I’m going to miss the Smash Presentations,” Kairi sighs, “I can’t believe that we’re coming to an end.”

“Man, it’s finally over,” Riku gasps in remark as the full trailer plays out, “I don’t think that there will be a game like Ultimate for a very long time. That’s for certain.”

“I agree, Riku. It’s to going to be a tough act to follow up on,” I add in before I look up at the ceiling and murmur some words, “It’s been a long time coming, Sora. You truly deserve that last spot, you really do. Have fun in the tourney and Smash Mansion, buddy.”

Sora is Finally Here!

The End

[littlenekosfan]

Friend - visual narrative

this is going to be a long thread bc i have a LOT of panels, so read under the cut!

since im reworking with Friend chapters panels, i paid attention to the details more than ever before.. and wow, the way these chapters are narrated is absolutely amazing

lets start off with my one of my fav panels

if there is a theme between these two that keep recurring it’s “duality” (whether when it comes to their character or the way their story is told) we will also find a lot of parallels with it.. this panel above starts it very well, one left, one right, they both call each other’s name, the expressions completely different, even the background is reversed

there we go again, all this in one chapter, i simply love how they have the same pose/image but reversed, its a really nice contrast with how different they are and yet are at the same level also, look at their speech bubbles, most of the time, jugram has a round one while bazz a sharper one, its the case here and the previous panels aswell

AGAIN! kubo gives us each’s pov with the same image/paneling, i love that method bc he treats them the same, even if one is stronger than the other and ppl will most likely root for/side with one more than the other, they both get the same treatment, also, we get to see how both lives the same struggle, it both conflicts them this whole fight considering the past they had together

the transition is also really nice, the black background outside the panel and the partial grey shading that matches with it inside the panel.. we will get to see that technique again, but here?? lovely.

a whole page not showing their face even if you guessed who they were, you get that little surprise with the face reveal which comes out really nice

the chapter reveal!!!! its so pure and empty (no dialogue and it’s only one panel), it perfectly empathize on the title and its meaning

i love how discreet bazz motive to help out jugo is shown here, obviously none of them would speak about it (jugo is pretty closed and bazz despite being loud, he isnt obnoxious and he’s smart) so it had to be shown without any words and these panels do it so well!

the first panel is just so beautiful and you can tell how jugo is just, happy. and then, the moment his uncle speaks, his face drastically changes, from white to black, kubo loves to work with that contrast of b&w (just look how the ritters/espadas are dressed vs shinigamis.. there is also the sun/moon theme and so on... its not called bleach for nothing lmao) kubo uses contrast very often and we can tell he loves to do it (and he does it super well!!)

i know we dont have any colour on these pages, but both pages are from the same chapter, first one (right) being their fist meeting on a normal day (probably an evening so the sky is orange ish) and the second page is again a jump to a flashback but this time it’s not the sky that we are shown in the last panel, but rather flames, the same colour as the day they met... the two last panels look the same but arent....

there is also the absence of facial expression in some panels, which imo conveys the mood much better, we are not left up to interpretation, we clearly know what kind of feelings that are expressed yet they didnt need to be shown...

again with the parallels (left/right) and using the same image from younger to older to show their growth? nice.

the built up with the grand reveal... wow, love it, also, that panel was such a surprise to me when i first read it... still give me goosebumps today ngl..(if you are a manga reader to likes to have the book, well, this the end of vol69... what an ending :))) just look at the build up, the bg is dark and you get that white and empty panel right after like, wow 

AGAIN WITH THE SUPRISE AND WOW IT HURTS, also the title being in capital... OOF, im going to loose it

ppl like to call kubo lazy with his titles, but is it?? i mean, here, i really cant think of a better title, remember how the first chapter friend was introduced? so sweet and smooth and then you get this... the fact friend is written here is a good call back to their relationship, what it is, what it really means, and the current situation

the way bazz recalls all the things he had heard about this.......th-that hurts (we’re like in his mind, we’re just as shocked as he is) also, it shows well how bazz recall all these moment in silence and does all the realization without saying a thing, bc no, he didnt say a thing ever since yhwach started to talk..

the left panel is yhwach talking (as he was for like the whole chapter) and there is no dialogue going on, the two boys didnt say a thing... as the slience was taking place, bazz breaks is with a shrieking voice, just looking how the letters are written in japanese, we went from pure, clear panel to a messy and dark one....

jump back to present, with both jugrams having the same pose but they both don’t convey the same feeling, with the shading and how cut it is (not being able to fully see jugo’s eyes) you can tell the first one is more disturbing/devastating than the second one

there we go... we get to see both of their expression at the same time and it change within the following panels,.. (im telling you, kubo love both of them, not just one.., both.)

this is one of my favorites moments, the way know bazz has lost his fight and how HE is self-conscious about it..., the way he monologues about jugram is really depressing, and how we are only given images that illustrates his struggle...the images are so strong, desperate and yet, his words are so empty, powerless, he knew he lost.. (the moment i start reading it, i cry on the fucking floor)

i mentioned earlier how i loved kubo’s choice in not showing the face, well we have it here again in a flashback and the end of the fight... jugram turning his back to bazz, he did it in the past and did it after bazz’ death..  it’s his way to avoid to face his feelings. (the fact we are shown he did it in the past and the reason to it, let us know why he did it again even later)

here again with empty panels, the fact it’s only bazz who is talking.... feels really heavy and the way he clings to jugram with burning hands....... you really need to look at every panel carefully to feel that heart wrenching moment,, there is no crying or screaming, he just softly admits his defeat and that’s it, like, im sorry but that’s fucking sorrowful

here again with kubo choosing to not show the face, but in this case, it’s harder for us to tell which expression jugram has (since he’s so closed about showing emotions or his intentions) but the fact kubo deliberately chose to hide it proves jugram has something to hide from us, something he didnt want us (readers) to see.........

these panels? concludes their story perfectly you have jugram walking up the stairs leaving bazz-b alone laying behind, being reminded of the day they met where bazz was the one standing high while jugram is on the ground the setting: the cold empty castle during nighttime vs the warm summer day met in a forest at daytime bazz reached to jugram and jugram left him behind, they met with touched hearts only to leave with empty ones, bazz used to look down on jugram and now, jugram does, they used to be so different and still do but only now, their role are inverted...

thank you @equipollency​ for that remark! i think your post does it much better if yall wanna read it !

i mentioned earlier how the background (outside the panel) would change from black to white, we know the black means the past,  but i love how its broken here, going back and forth from the past and present (within the same page) to show how things are still the same between them, the same struggle, the same fight over and over

also, the “not yet” is just so perfectly placed, i cant, it just emphasize even more on my point earlier (how things between them never changed on that matter)  and it finally concludes the flashbacks (with the way it’s presented: the b&w,, and the words themselves, how they weight so much)

the black shading like that is rarely used with kubo but when he does, you know it conveys extreme emotions (we didnt get to see it with bazz bc it wasnt as intense as jugram has it but also)  the trigger to these emotions for jugram are related to trauma, the first one being his uncle and the second being his friendship (im not calling his relation with bazz traumatic, its how important this relationship was to him and how ended up broken that triggers him)

but NaKi ThErE iS ThiS pAneL wHerE baZz Is ShaDeD bLacK! yes i know, but it’s not about bazz expression nor emotions, its about the scene, the situation (the white bg vs the black silhouette: perfect), so no it doesnt count, but its still a very nice panel just like with the jugo’s reveal with everyone “kneeling” to him.. white bg was The way to go

i forgot to talk about how i like their fight, how there is so little dialogue and how there are a lot of empty pages just to let place to the fight... it lets you enjoy their fight while we suffer with their flashback, anyways, im not a fan of endless dialogue in fights unless it really changes something, here, they both already know each other and they know what they want, so it was a good pick to just, us reader, witness their story through their mind instead of them narrating/recalling it to us

i know kubo uses that technique outside of these chapters, but the grey shading... i love.. he also has a LOT of close ups with eyes bc we all know how expressive eyes are;... i love that too

i know i talked about some facial expressions, but really, kubo’s art is amazing, the way he can convey certain expressions that are so precise... here, have some panels that i think are underrated naki your boys are underrated.. bc i love kubo’s art so much

i had the chance to see the colored version only once, and to be honest, the black and white is just, Amazing. nothing close to that, kubo’s use of b&w and how he keeps his panels pure is MADE to stay that way

anyways, im really in love with how Friend was made and thought out in it’s visual narrative (and story wise too ofc), kubo didnt just do a side story, these chapters are fucking amazing and ppl often ignores that sadly..

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Manga vs Anime: Episode 26 “Stenka”

Sorry, I’m beyond late, maybe because after such a nice start I was greatly disappointed. Anyway let’s start with Ep 2 of the 3rd series… which is the 26 Golden Kamuy animated episode with a warning...

Some data first.

This episode last 23:40 minutes and has an opening and an the ending. It covers 4 chapters of the manga, chap 144, 145, 146 & 147 for a total of around 77 pages (I’m discounting the covers) basically covering most of Vol 15.

The episode is titled ‘Stenka’, which is an original title for the anime, chap 140 being ‘The match of the century’, chap 141 being ‘Mister Loose Cannon’, chap 142 being ‘Russian-style steam bath, Banya’ and chap 143 being ‘Don’t kill the sea lions!’.

And now into the anime.

AFTER THE MATCH

Manga & Anime: Gansoku is about to leave the place in which Sugimoto and the others have fought when Sugimoto stops him. The two exchange some small talk, Gansoku congratulating for the match and Sugimoto asking him if he’ll take part to the stenka too, then proposes an handshake which he uses to value Gansoku’s strength. Gansoku leaves and Sugimoto is joined by the others but refuses to tell what has just happened although Tsukishima looks at Gansoku suspiciously.

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga is implied Gansoku is walking away while in the anime he’s standing there, perfectly still.

- In the manga we see Sugimoto in the distance so it’s impossible to judge his expression. In the anime the camera is much closer to him but he has his hat so low it’s impossible to see his eyes, which makes him look threatening.

- Gansoku seems a lot more friendly in the manga, looking at Sugimoto with shining eyes. Sugimoto has a speculative expression as he talks to him, but he’s smiling and his question causes Gansoku’s eyes to darken. However they go back on friendly expressions when they handshake. In the anime they add a close up of Sugimoto’s eyes and then of Gansoku, making the atmosphere more tense also with the use of the music. They don’t show Sugimoto’s expression as he talks, in favour of showing he’s moving closer. Gansoku also remains serious, smiling only for a moment and we won’t see Sugimoto’s smiling expression until we’re shown they’re holding hands and their… aura? Is all around the place.

- In the manga we can speculate Tanigaki and the others came there walking calmly. In the anime they’re shown walking hurriedly, searching for Sugimoto.

My two cents: The anime idea to make Sugimoto look threatening when he calls Gansoku is interesting because it might lead the viewer into thinking he’ll attack him, surprising the viewer when it doesn’t happen… however they dragged the tense atmosphere too long, with Gansoku being too serious and Sugimoto too threatening. Even the others reaching the place running seems to set up the scene for something big and scary that just… doesn’t happen. While it’s an interesting interpretation of the scene  and an idea to raise tension, overall it lacks the atmosphere of the manga, in which Sugi and Gansoku appreciated each other, which will end with Gansoku and Sugimoto being friends and ultimately all the big tension of the anime ends up in nothing. But well, they tried and the flame effect is nice.

THE OPENING STARTS HERE

THE TAVERN

Manga & Anime: The Russian guy who’s in charge of the stealing of the dog tells Sugimoto’s group that rumours about them have spread and people view them as the guys who might beat the tattooed man. As the tattooed man will fight that night the Russian guy wants Sugimoto’s group to lose on purpose so he’ll gain a lot of money. To Cikapasi demanding to have the dog back he answer he’ll do so after they lose the match. At this Sugimoto attacks him, pushing him on the ground and ripping his hair. Tanigaki asks how Karafuto Ainu punish people and Enonoka explains they cut fingertips. The Russian says he’ll tattle them out to the tattooed man. The boys are not impressed. Koito says first they’ll slice his fingertips one by one until they get the dog back and then kill and bury him. Then they’ll go to the stenka, drag the tattooed man outside and kill and skin him. The Russian guy tells them he has info on Kiro. Tsukishima shows him Kiro’s photo. Sugimoto is interested but Koito would like to start cutting his fingers. Sugimoto tries to stop him, Koito, Tanigaki and Tsukishima agree that the Russian can’t be trusted but Sugimoto says he can’t ignore the man might have info that will take him to Asirpa.

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga, although it’s Tsukishima who’s speaking, it’s implied the Russian talk in between Tsukishima’s translations (we see his mouth open and the visual tells us he’s saying something). In the anime the Russian’s mouth is always close and Tsukishima does this long, long translation all at once.

- In the anime they added a creepy shoot of Sugimoto’s eyes before he jumps on the Russian.

- In the manga the Russian is just sweating. In the anime the Russian is drawn completely terrorized, his face becomes blue and his jaw starts to tremble. He shuts his eyes as he screams he has still info on Kiro.

- In the manga when Tsukishima shows Kiro’s photo we get a panel with Sugimoto and then Koito says they’ll cut the Russian’s finger. In the anime we move from Tsukishima showing the photo to Koito saying they’ll cut his finger.

- In the manga Sugimoto had a normal expression as he said he couldn’t ignore chances that would lead him to Asirpa, Asirpa being in the background. In the anime he looks like he’s ready to start a fight and there’s no image of Asirpa.

- After Sugimoto says he can’t ignore chances to find Asirpa in the anime Koito put away his blade. In the manga there’s no such scene.

My two cents: I get they wanted to save time not showing the Russian speaking and then Tsukishima translating but the translation is so long it seems impossible the man said all that and then Tsukishima remembered it all perfectly and did a translation. It just feels as Tsukishima is monologuing instead than translating. Well, at least they let the guy speak afterward but the start is still pretty weak. To make up for it they handled it pretty well when it was Koito speaking and Tsukishima translation. Tanigaki’s ears are drawn very poorly and the same can be said for Koito in some scenes. I’m not sure what’s up with making Sugimoto’s group so scary. The Russian here is terrorized, where in the manga despite not being in a good position he was still in control. He’s a guy dealing with crime, possibly a criminal himself, and it makes more sense if he can remain calm in such a situation. Even the scene in which they show the Russian the photo in the manga looked less creepy. As Sugimoto was shown in between Tsukishima and Koito we could assume there was a pause in which the Russian had been given the time to speak and said nothing, leading Koito and the others to think he lied when he said he had info. In the anime there’s no such feeling and, although Tsukishima shows him the photo they immediately disbelieve him, making me wonder why showing him the photo in the first place.

PRIOR TO THE NEW MATCH

Manga & Anime: So Sugimoto’s group shows up at the stenka match where Gansoku drops his coat, so that they recognize him for a tattooed convict.

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga Gansoku’s face is in the dark. In the anime it’s not.

My two cents: Nothing to say here, just that the anime seems to enjoy showing the boys.

WARNING: The anime decided to place in this episode Gansoku’s comments about what’s for him stenka and info about his past. In the manga this was showed previously, while Sugimoto’s group was having its first stenka match.

GANSOKU’S TWO CENTS ABOUT STENKA AND HIS PAST

Manga & Anime: Gansoku explains for him stenka is a form of self expression then explains that since he chose to express himself through violence the world didn’t understood him and he ended up in jail. But he was happy there due to it being a violent place, with Ushiyama being the only one capable to stop him, although he enjoyed the moments in which he stopped Ushiyama

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga, Gansoku speaks looking straight ahead himself, with his silly excited expression with shining stars around him. In the anime he’s just serious and dramatical, looking up in the air.

My two cents: In the manga of course they use just one image to show Gansoku being restrained by Ushiyama but using a still image in the anime for this scene instead than… well, animating it, feels pretty bad. I mean they animated more the scene in which Gansoku is receiving the praises of the convicts for beating Ushiyama than that scene.

BEFORE THE FIGHT

Manga & Anime: Gansoku removes his glasses and turn and Tsukishima and Co recognize him for the man who was talking with Sugimoto. They question Sugimoto who doesn’t reply so Tsukishima figures Sugimoto just wanted to fight with him. Tanigaki asks what are they going to do with the match, if they’re gonna lose on purpose and Tsukishima points out Sugimoto clearly doesn’t want to do it. Koito reminds them if they don’t they’ll lose the chance to get info on Kiro. Sugimoto says he has a brilliant plan to solve everything so they can fight as hard as they want.

My two cents: The transition between this scene and the last is so bad we don’t get we’ve switched. It’s not smooth, it’s confusing.

CIKAPASI AND ENONOKA IN ACTION

Manga & Anime: Cikapasi and Enonoka see the Russian that helped stealing the dog enter in a house. They think the Russian is there to guard the dog and plan to get it back themselves.

My two cents: This scene is very short but the anime paid attention to show the characters’ expressions and this is good.

THE FIGHT START

Manga & Anime: The fight starts. Sugimoto gets punched so hard he flies back. Gansoku says Sugimoto should tell him more about himself. Sugimoto reacts by punching him back.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga we’re shown first the ceiling of the place as the fighters are told they can fight, then we’re shown Sugimoto flying back. In the anime we get an image of Gansoku while he’s still, then we’re shown Sugimoto’s group getting ready and then Sugimoto running toward Gansoku while the other remain still, before Sugimoto flies back.

- In the manga, after Gansoku tells Sugimoto to teach him more about him, we see Sugimoto punching Gansoku silently. In the anime were first shown Sugimoto looking furious and making a roaring sound before punching Gansoku, still roaring.

My two cents: Well, they expanded the scene, which is not wrong per se but showing Sugimoto being the only one to charge while the others remain where they are feels a little off. In the manga at least we don’t know how Sugimoto got himself punched back.

CHAP 144 ENDS HERE

THE STENKA CONTINUES

Manga and anime: The guy keeps on fighting but Sugimoto is starting to show weird signs, he falls on one knee, when another fighter stumbles against him he punches him, later he starts repeating ‘I’. Meanwhile Tsukishima, Koito and Tanigaki have beaten the other Russians so Gansoku tells them they should attack him together. He still pushes them all on the ground and then enjoys the people cheering for him when Sugimoto kicks him, causing him to fall. The people complain, saying it’s not stenka while Sugimoto begins to attack Tanigaki and Co as well. The people also try to attack Sugimoto and get punched away. Chaos ensues.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Sugimoto is shown standing on his own. In the anime Tanigaki sort of supports him, resting his hand on Sugimoto’s shoulder. Also, Koito and Tsukishima’s positions are switched.

My two cents: Again the anime decides to go for a still image when the people has also joined the fight.

Really, guys this is animation not a manga. Animate those scenes! The rest is more or less faithful enough, although Sugimoto is creepier than the manga and there’s also more blood spraying around. On a personal note the ‘ore-ore’ scene reminded me more of “Hokuto no Ken” than of “Jojo no kimyou na bouken”, from which it was meant to be inspired but maybe it’s just me (and, after all, Jojo was inspired by Ken…).

SUGIMOTO LOSES IT

Manga and Anime: In the general chaos Sugimoto grabs a sickle (and then a hammer) and wounds Koito mumbling about the 7th division. Tsukishima understands Sugimoto lost it and warns Koito, the people start escaping, afraid of Sugimoto who, with the sickle, attack Gansoku, mumbling about the gold. Gansoku understands he was after his tattoo and escapes.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga the reference to the hammer and sickle presented in the USSR flag is much more marked as their position seems to match it while it’s not exactly so similar in the anime.

My two cents: There’s another still image where the people are meant to be running away. -_-

Really this doesn’t make the scene ‘resembling the manga’ this seems just a lack of will to animate it. The background music though, is Russian sounding and somehow makes the scene fun. For the rest even here the anime had been faithful enough. Also there are again two still images for the escaping Gansoku but as they seem to put more emphasys on the scene they might work.

That and I found them pretty.

OUTSIDE

Manga and anime: The people are escaping. Tsukishima, Tanigaki and Koito follow the escaping Gansoku, deciding to leave the dangerous Sugimoto on his own. Meanwhile Gansoku is attacked by a wolverine. Tsukishima and Co save him but then they have to escape from the wolverine together and hide in a banya.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga they showed first the scene in which Tsukishima and Co though they lost Gansoku and then the scene of Gansoku being observed (and later attacked) by the wolverine. In the anime they first showed the scene of Gansoku being seen by the wolverine and then the one of the boys searching for him.

- The anime cut Koito saying the wolverine is dangerous.

- In the manga the last to enter in the cabin is Tanigaki. In the anime they show Koito keeping the door open and being the last to enter in it.

- In the anime we see the door closing as the wolverine is jumping toward it, giving the impressing the door was slammed on the wolverine face. No such scene is in the manga.

- The manga devotes a background panel to the boy wondering what to do. In the anime they stretched the scene, giving it an excessive dramatic atmosphere, adding Tanigaki who desperately repead ‘hot’ as if he was being burned alive.

My two cents: There’s AGAIN a still image where the people are meant to be running away. -_-

Guys really, making it tremble and panning over it doesn’t count as animating it. I see MMV better done. It’s a bit ridicule how Tsukishima, who has already grabbed a wand, stops to talk with Koito and then runs to fight the wolverine. It makes no sense Koito keeps the door open to everyone considering he’s a spoiled prince. It would have been more logic for him, as he’s the fastest runner, to reach it first and get inside and, if someone were to stay out to keep it open, that one would have to be Tsukishima. I guess they made the scene in which they wondered what to do deliberately dramatic to contrast with the scene of them posing but it felt out of place. They seemed to be dying for the hotness in a moment and the next they were posing. On the other side at least the anime paid attention to their expressions.

On a personal note though I preferred the banya’s last scene of the manga but maybe it’s just me.

CHAPTER 145 ENDS HERE.

THE ANIME PLACES HERE AN EYECATCH

ENONOKA AND CIKAPASI’S PLAN

Manga and anime: Enonoka and Cikapasi find the house of the man who helped stealing Enonoka’s dog. They would like to free the dog but the door of the room it is in, is closed. Cikapasi consider shooting at it but then they manage to see the keys inside the Russian’s house.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Enonoka and Cikapasi see the Russian going inside his house, peek inside and realize the dog is not there. This scene is cut from the anime.

- In the manga Cikapasi and Enonoka see the Russian coming back into his house after having gone to fed the dog. This scene is cut in the anime.

- The anime added Enonoka asking Cikapasi what they were supposed to do.

- The anime cut Enonoka and Cikapasi noticing the keys.

My two cents: While it’s possible to get a general idea of what’s going on, due to the cuts the scene is a bit more confusing.Enonoka asking Cikapasi what they were meant to do made me think to an attempt to portray her as the helpless girl in need to have ‘a man’ (well, a boy in this case) tell her what to do. I didn’t really apprecciate it.

INSIDE THE BANYA

Manga & Anime: The wolverine keeps hanging around the cabin so that Tsukishima and Co can’t leave. Meanwhile Gansoku makes more stream, and hits the other with a bundle of leafy silver birch twigs, the Venik. He claims since they want to kill him for his tattoo this will be a test of endurance about who’ll escape first. The guys attack him with the Venik, encouraged by Gansoku.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Gansoku has an expression similar to the one of a shojo heroine when he says they’re there to kill him. In the anime he’s just serious.

- In the manga after Gansoku tells the guys to come at him at the same time they do it, although Tsukishima wonders what he’s doing. In the anime the guys are shown standing still. The scene of them attacking him will be later.

My two cents: They drew it differently from the anime and it’s kind of less fun but at least it more or less drives home the story.

ENONOKA AND CIKAPASI IN ACTION

Manga & Anime: Enonoka and Cikapasi try recovering the key but end up awaking the Russian who gets out of the house attempting to reach them and is knocked out by their trap. Then Cikapasi shots at the locket closing the shed. Sugimoto hears the shoot.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga the Russian is knocked out in a rather serious manner. In the anime the scene is funnier.

My two cents: When the anime shows people fighting, he recycles some scenes. This is not so great. On a more positive note I somehow like the colouring of the scene. Also I’m fine with cutting the part of Sugimoto saying they’ve to take part to it and Tsukishima being surprised by the ‘we’ because it will be discussed later, both in the manga and in the anime so in the anime it would become redundant.

BACK AT THE BANYA

Manga and anime: The boys are hitting Gansoku with the Venik. Koito wonders if this is part of Sugimoto’s plan and Tsukishima denies it.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Tsukishima wondered what he was doing previously. In the anime he does it now.

- In the manga we see Gansoku and the boys hitting him, all in a single panel. In the anime we see the Venik being waved as Gansoku screams ‘more’ then we see Tsukishima and then Koito and Tanigaki hitting… but we don’t see Gansoku.

My two cents: I’m not really sure why the anime didn’t show Gansoku being hit. It’s not big but it’s weird.

ENONOKA AND CIKAPASI’S ADVENTURE

Manga and anime: Enonoka and Cikapasi are escaping with the dog, Enonoka using ski and letting herself be dragged by her dog, Cikapasi clinging to her. They see Sugimoto but he scared them and so they escape, chased by him. The wolverine senses them and runs toward them. Enonoka’s dog turns abruptly, causing Cikapasi to fall. Cikapasi, using the rifle, keeps it at bay. Ryu tries to distract the wolverine as Cikapasi tries to take a bullet for Tanigaki’s rifle. Sugimoto attacks the wolverine, the two of them fighting. Cikapasi charges the rifle and Tanigaki helps him fire and kill the wolverine. Gansoku then shows up to fight with Sugimoto.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga the panels show the boys together, then we get two panels placing more focus on Tsukishima first and Koito after, as we never saw them without clothes. In the anime they pan on all the bodies equally, starting with Sugimoto, then Tsukishima, Tanigaki and, at last, Koito.

- In the manga when he appeared, Sugimoto was much closer to Enonoka and Cikapasi and then he started running after them. In the anime he’s distant and only walks.

- In the manga it’s the dog which turned abruptly, in the anime it’s Enonoka.

- In the manga only one bullet fall (there’s the shadow of only one bullet) although they seem two because the bullet is likely moving. In the anime two bullets fall.

- In the manga there’s no sign of Cikapasi trembling, he’s just sweating and having some troubles correctly inserting the bullet. In the anime he trembles a lot.

- In the manga when Sugimoto attacks the wolverine the wolverine just avoid the blow and bites him. Only when Sugimoto attacks him with the hammer it jumps away. In the anime it jumps away immediately and therefore it won’t be close enough to bite him.

- In the manga the wolverine was between Sugimoto and Cikapasi. In the anime Sugimoto is between the wolverine and Cikapasi so, to reach Cikapasi, the wolverine gets around Sugimoto.

- In the manga the wolverine was charging at Cikapasi when the latter shoot him. In the anime it either charges at Sugimoto or plans to circle around him to charge Cikapasi… maybe it’s the latter as ultimately it was pretty close to him when it was shoot in the anime.

- The anime adds a scene in which Sugimoto has calmed down then turns toward where Gansoku is coming.

- In the manga Gansoku’s genitals were shadowed but you could notice their presence. In the anime, they seems absent.

My two cents: In the anime Sugimoto is too distant and, as he keeps walking, the two kids should have lost him immediately. The fact he doesn’t chase the kids fails to deliver in that moment Sugimoto was potentially dangerous for them too, which, added to how the anime depicts Sugimoto in between Cikapasi and the wolverine gives the idea Sugimoto was there to save Cikapasi and not that he was in a mental state in which he attacked everything that moved. I don’t really like making the abrupt turn Enonoka’s fault. The fact it was the dog’s fault was meant to contrast with how Enonoka’s dog is scared of the wolverine while Ryu will face it to save Cikapasi... and later in the story Ryu will become the head of the sled dogs. In short this is detrimental to Ryu’s characterization because it doesn’t show how superior he is. The anime somehow seems to depict Sugimoto more in control than he was in the manga. The one/two bullet/bullets mistake on the surface isn’t terrible but showing us one bullet was Noda’s way to remind us the single bullet theory that moved Nihei. As Cikapasi will inherit his rifle this was relevant.

CHAPTER 146 ENDS HERE.

SUGIMOTO & GANSOKU’S FIGHT

Manga and anime: Gansoke and Sugimoto fight, Gansoku realizing Sugimoto is filled with rage but not directed at him. Koito wonders if they should help, Tsukishima asks who of the two and Tanigaki points out how Sugimoto is vital to get Asirpa back so they can’t let him take more punches. As they fight Gansoku asks Sugimoto why, who and what he’s angry at. As Sugimoto thinks at his past it turns out he’s angry at himself, thinking he was useless to the people he loved. Gansoku tells him to forgive himself as he’s giving his all. Then the ice below them breaks, causing Gansoku, Sugimoto, Tanigaki, Tsukishima and Koito to fall into the water under the ice. Sugimoto goes back to normal and the freezing group rushes into the banya

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the anime the add a scene with Sugimoto dropping the sickle and the hammer before tossing himself at Gansoku and punching him. In the manga it’s never showed when Sugimoto dropped those two objects, maybe when fighting the wolverine.

- In the anime Tanigaki seems much more calm and in control than in the manga when he said they’ve to stop the fight.

- In the anime Gansoku punches Sugimoto’s stomach so hard it causes him to throw up. No such scene is in the manga.

- There’s a huge divergence between what we see in the manga and what we see in the anime in regard to Sugimoto’s memories. In the manga we’ve Umeko telling him to take her with him, Toraji’s corpse and Asirpa as she told him she was afraid of what she would do if Nopperabou were to be her father. Then he remembers himself escaping from Umeko, the blood on Toraji’s photo, himself promising he would be with Asirpa until the end, Nopperabo being shoot and Asirpa seeing the scene. As we see those scene Sugimoto calls Umeko, Toraji and Asirpa, before saying he’s useless. In the anime we see an image of a blind Umeko with her child on her back, Toraji’s corpse, the bloodied photo of Toraji and Umeko, Asirpa walking in the snow with Retar, Sugimoto and Asirpa in the deerskin with Sugimoto crying, Sugimoto failing to grab Asirpa’s hand in Abashiri, Nopperabou being shoot and Asirpa watching the scene, all this as Sugimoto first makes intelligible sounds then says Asirpa and then tells he’s useless.

- The anime adds an image before Gansoku where to try to punch Sugimoto in which Sugimoto’s eyes light up and he seems really dangerous.

- In the manga Gansoku’s punch barely miss Sugimoto as it went in between his head and his shoulder. In the anime it’s below his arm, possibly completely off his body.

- In the manga we see Gansoku’s knee hit the ground, in the anime they give much more focus to how Gansoku can’t sustain himself any longer.

- In the manga it’s unclear what caused the ice to break, maybe it was Gansoku’s knee itself, in the anime it’s the boys running toward Sugimoto and Gansoku.

- In the manga the ice breaks in a realistic way, and only in a small measure, in the anime the ice breaks causing a huge hole and an excessive splash of water, likely for humoristic purposes.

- In the manga it’s implied Gansoku and Sugimoto hurries to walk away toward the banya while Tsukishima is busy pulling up Koito. In the anime they just stand there, trembling and saying they’ve to go to the banya. Actually somehow everyone is still, even Tsukishima seems to just stand there unable to pull up Koito…

My two cents: While it’s good to show Sugimoto dropping sickle and hammer instead than causing them to magically disappear the execution is dumb as Sugimoto grabbed them because he took them when he was too out of it to realize he couldn’t use them and even used them to attack Sugi previously so him dropping them now for no good reason doesn’t make sense. Tanigaki being so calm yet doing nothing to stop the thing makes no sense. The scene of Sugimoto remembering why he feels useless are a mess. In the manga is clear he feels useless to Umeko, because he couldn’t take her with him, with Toraji, whom he couldn’t save, with Asirpa, with whom he couldn’t be like he had instead promised, never mentioning he couldn’t save her father either. In the anime, although there’s a little space for Umeko and Toraji the implication seems more he only feels guilty for not being able to save Toraji or bringing the money to his widow… and considering the small time this receive it doesn’t even feel that big, Umeko’s importance completely removed as the anime decided to cut her from Sugimoto’s life and didn’t even try to ‘recover’ her in the 4th OAD. All the focus is on Asirpa, the only person he calls, first showing Asirpa with Retar and then her with him in the deerskin (and although Sugimoto was crying in that scene which the anime mostly messed up, it wasn’t because he was feeling useless), then the anime fails to remember Sugimoto actually hesitated in grabbing Asirpa in Abashiri so that she could escape safely, and didn’t just fail to grab her as the image seems to imply. All this basically pushes forward that what really matters to Sugi is Asirpa with Toraji being very minor. The anime clearly didn’t recognize the scene in which Asirpa told him she was scared and he promised to stay with her, and, apart for Nopperabou’s death, plastered in the scene wrong moments that weren’t related to Sugimoto feeling useless. To make up for it the anime seemed really focused in showing us it was Sugimoto who utterly defeated Gansoku, placing a lot of focus on Sugi in the moment before he punches him and making Gansoku miss in a more obvious manner. The group remaining still after they fell in the water is dumb. If they couldn’t move because they were trembling too much they would remain stuck there and die of hypothermia, they wouldn’t magically manage moving. Well, at least the scene of Sugimoto screaming the water was cold was good.

WARNING: The manga placed later the scene of Sugimoto not remembering his own plan.

ENONOKA PRAISING CIKAPASI

Manga & Anime: Enonoka praises Cikapasi for taking down the wolverine, although Cikapasi admits he did it thanks to Tanigaki’s help.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga we can’t see Enonoka’s expression and Cikapasi only seems embarrassed in the anime we do see Enonoka who seems very happy and Cikapasi blushes.

My two cents: I’m not sure why they had to show Cikapasi flushing if not to make ‘cuter’ his interaction with Enonoka.

WARNING: This scene in the manga was placed earlier.

SUGIMOTO’S PLAN

Manga & Anime: After an image showing Gansoku, Sugimoto, Tanigaki, Tsukishima and Koito enjoying the banya, Cikapasi and Enonoka spying them, Koito asks Sugimoto which was his plan and Sugimoto admits he has forgot it.

My two cents: Although in the anime too Cikapasi and Enonoka are peeking on the boys they’re hardly visible, as if the anime wanted to hide them.

SUGIMOTO AND GANSOKU TALK

Manga & Anime: Sugimoto and Gansoku talk, Sugimoto telling him he doesn’t want to kill him but others might therefore Gansoku should let them make a copy of the tattoo and find the gold, so Gansoku won’t be in danger any longer. Tsukishima suggests him to leave Karafuto and go to Russia to pursue the stenka. Sugimoto agrees then informs Sugimoto that he met the Ainu girl whose name Sugimoto said as she was with another convict, and how Gansoku thinks she was talking about Sugimoto.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the anime prior to Sugimoto talking, they added Gansoku asking him if they should continue fighting as Sugimoto still wants his tattoo.

- In the manga Sugimoto looks straight at Gansoku as he says he doesn’t want to kill him, while in the anime he’s looking at him sideway.

- In the anime they added Koito and co complaining about Gansoku causing more steam

My two cents: Maybe it’s just me but I get a different impression for this scene from the anime, compared to the manga. In the manga I got the feeling Sugimoto didn’t want to kill GANSOKU (because he grew to like him), in the anime the impression is more that Sugimoto doesn’t want to kill people to get their skin. Maybe it’s just me.

WARNING: In the manga this scene was placed after Asirpa told Ogata not to shoot tough enemies in the head.

FLASHBACK

Manga: Shiraishi tells Asirpa they should let the other guy do information gathering and they should just have some tea. As they’re seated on a table Shiraishi tells Asirpa the 7th division is probably still storming Abashiri so they should go search for bodies once the 7th division has left and that Asirpa shouldn’t dwell too much on it. Asirpa confesses she had to overcome her father’s death once before but she doesn’t know how to cope with the fact he betrayed the Ainu. Shiraishi assures her there should be an explanation, that somebody should know it and that she should stand by her father. Asirpa meekly agree. Shiraishi then goes and says that although he doesn’t have proof he thinks Sugimoto might be still alive as he wouldn’t die that easily. Gansoku, who’s eavesdropping them ears Asirpa saying that there’s no way Sugimoto would be dead as he’s Sugimoto the immortal so of course he’s alive. The flashback ends showing Sugimoto smiling as he hears what Gansoku overheard Asirpa saying.

Anime: Gansoku is in a teahouse, listening to Shiraishi and Asirpa talk. Shiraishi says in the past he said he couldn’t see him dying but… Asirpa asks him what he means and a depressed Shiraishi says since Sugimoto didn’t follow them there maybe he is… Shiraishi trails off, implying Sugimoto might be dead. Asirpa scolds him saying Sugimoto is Sugimoto the immortal. The flashback ends showing Sugimoto smiling as he hears what Gansoku overheard Asirpa saying.

My two cents: This is the second worst adaptation of this episode after the flashbacks when Sugimoto was thinking he was useless. In the manga Shiraishi was trying hard to support Asirpa and cheer her up, telling her not to worry, that her father should have had reasons for doing what he did and she’ll find them out, that she should stand by her father, that he believed Sugimoto was alive. On the other side Asirpa was still very troubled by the situation and worried about her father, but, like Shiraishi, believed/wanted to believe Sugimoto was alive, so Shiraishi didn’t have to cheer her up on that. In the anime they actually used this scene as inspiration for the mess that’s the final bit of Ep 24, so that Shiraishi and Asirpa would say the last two quotes, that Shiraishi couldn’t think Sugimoto would die and Asirpa would remark there’s no way Sugimoto would die as he’s immortal. This creates troubles because, of course, unless they retconned that scene out of existence they couldn’t have it here as well, same as before (proof that the animators didn’t think a third series would be done as they didn’t think in advantage at the troubles that change in ep 24 would cause). So what they did with the whole thing? Removed completely Shiraishi’s supportive behaviour, turning him into the one who needs to be reassured Sugimoto is alive, removed completely any talk about Wilk (as evidently in the anime he’s not important despite Asirpa doing all this travel to discover about her father and of course she wouldn’t be sad about his death or his actions, caring only about Sugimoto) to focus solely on Sugimoto, depicting how Asirpa is the only one persuaded Sugimoto is still alive… because he’s Sugimoto the immortal and they have such a deep bond, made more remarked by how the anime conveniently keeps on cutting away Umeko’s role. Really, all this is a horrible choice to adapt a scene, it takes away part of the characterization of both Shiraishi and Asirpa to again focus on Sugimoto and Asirpa’s bond as if that was the only thing that matters in the story. I was hoping the anime would stop doing this, especially considering how Umeko takes an important role in what happens on the ice between Ogata and Asirpa but now I’m starting to expect the anime will cut that scene entirely or twist it so that Ogata’s fanfic will be about Toraji. Will Ogata says Toraji’s name was Yuusaku? -_-

CHAPTER 147 ENDS HERE.

WARNING: In the manga the following scenes were placed prior to the flashback scene and therefore would still be part of chap 147.

SEA LION HUNTING

Manga & Anime: Ogata shoots a sea lion in the head but the latter jumps in the water and tries to swim away. Kiroranke warns Asirpa who shows up with a harpoon.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga we see Ogata is puzzled by the sea lion swimming away as if Ogata had never hit him. In the anime his face is expressionless and he shows no sign of surprise

My two cents: Deciding not to show Ogata’s surprise at seeing how the sea lion was unaffected by his bullet is clearly dumb, it makes it look as if Ogata hadn’t realized it or had expected it. They had put a lot of emphasis in how Asirpa was aggressive as she went after the sea lion. Basically I don’t really get why the anime kept the fact she was sad when she was at Enonoka. They removed her sadness for what happened to her father and showed her confident Sugimoto was alive… before showing us this. Honestly she had no reason to feel down when at Enonoka’s house especially since, as they didn’t retcon the ending of Ep 24 out of existence, Asirpa was already confident back there about Sugimoto being alive. *sighs* The anime is doing better than in the past series but they’re still trying to push the Sugimoto/Asirpa angle too much to the plot’s detriment.

THE ENDING STARTS HERE

EATING THE SEA LION

Manga & Anime: As Kiroranke and Asirpa prepare the sea lion they’ve killed they explains Ogata and Shiraishi about them. They eat the meat raw, Asirpa asking if it’s hinna. Ogata observes even if he shoots it in the head, he couldn’t kill it. Asirpa explains him sea lions have thick skulls like brown bears so if one wants to kill them, he needs to shoot the eyes or the ears, suggesting Ogata to not aim for the hear next time he wants to kill a strong one. Kiro smiles at seeing her in a good mood.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Asirpa seems to offer the meat to Ogata (who in the panel is much more visible than Shiraishi) and worry because he gave him a too big slice which he has troubles chewing (as he’s the only one shown chewing it). Her ‘is it hinna?’ question, made as she looks at Ogata, closer to him than to Shiraishi who’s behind Ogata, also seems directed to Ogata although we can see Shiraishi too also had some meat. In the anime she seems to be offering it to both Shiraishi and Ogata, the anime focusing on Shiraishi eating it and then showing Shiraishi and Ogata having troubles eating it drawing Shiraishi in the forefront and Ogata slightly behind him. Her question about chewing seems directed to both and the same goes for her hinna question, which she does without looking at them as she feed herself a slice of meat.

- The anime adds a scene of Ogata cleaning his mouth with his hand.

- In the manga Ogata is seated when he says he couldn’t kill the sea lion. In the anime it’s implied he’s still standing.

- In the manga Asirpa reports how, if one wants to kill a sea lion he has to aim for the eyes or the ears and how there are folk tales between quarrelling bears and sea lion. There’s also an information box adding info. All this is cut in the anime.

- In the manga we see just Kiro smiling. In the anime we first see him working on cutting the sea lion while smiling then turning toward Asirpa always smiling.

My two cents: One of the cardinal points in the relationship between Asirpa and Ogata in the manga is how Asirpa keeps feeding Ogata and asking him if the food is ‘hinna’ or asking him to say ‘citatap’ and Ogata remaining silent. This makes the moment in which Ogata FINALLY says ‘hinna’ very relevant in Asirpa’s eyes. The anime destroyed this making this scene a mere group interaction in which there was more focus on Asirpa and Shiraishi than Asirpa and Ogata. I’m not sure why the anime removed how they’ve to shoot sea lion in the eyes or ears, as anime viewers will lose the irony of Ogata being shoot in the eye (you can view the quarrelling sea lion as Ogata and the bear as Sugimoto as Sugimoto was already compared more than once to a bear).

TO SUM IT ALL

Honestly, I was hoping to say this was a good episode for most of it. Sure, the art is not perfect (but it will probably fixed for the dvd release) and there was the abuse of still images when animated images would work better, but it seemed to work, going as far as to add small details until... until I saw the mess they did around the end.

Complete removal of Umeko’s importance for Sugimoto, reducing her merely to Toraji’s widow even when this is detrimental to Sugimoto’s characterization, cutting off mentions of Wilk and how what he did affects Asirpa, which becomes a ridicule idea since Asirpa is going through this trip exactly in hope she’ll discover the truth, excessive remarking of the bond between Sugimoto and Asirpa even when this is detrimental to Shiraishi or Asirpa or Sugimoto’s characterization, cutting of Ogata’s role and of his relation with Asirpa in a way that’s detrimental to his characterization. Then there’s the attempt to make Sugimoto more morally perfect than the poor guy actually is, which again affect his characterization.

All those things are things important for the plot and the characterization of the characters, they shouldn’t be cut as they’re much more relevant than the minor scenes the anime added.

Long story short, while for the most part is not a bad adaptation, it made some very poor choices on relevant scenes and this is VERY bad.

[aethelflaedladyofmercia]

Ectotherm

I’ve known exactly what I was doing for this prompt for a while, though it went in a bit of a different direction. Here’s day 22 of @drawlight‘s advent calendar, and yet another knife to the heart. Shout out to my cousin the herpetologist who has put up with some really weird questions from me the past few months.

22 - Warmth (3,170 words)

Crowley couldn’t get warm.

In twenty-four hours he had been subjected to the inferno of a burning bookshop; the hell-born flames of the dread sigil Odegra enveloping his Bentley; the terrifying freezing-hot-burning-cold presence of Satan himself; and a column of Hellfire intended not for him but for Aziraphale, because the Archangels were determined to destroy the best thing that had ever walked the floor of Heaven.

Well, forget them.

And so, they sat at the Ritz raising their glasses to the world, ready to share a meal and start their life together.

Only Crowley suddenly realized he couldn’t eat. He’d thought he was hungry, but the food just sat in his stomach, heavy and cold. Even the wine seemed to sour, once it was past his tongue.

Just nerves, he thought, and did it really matter? He’d always preferred to watch Aziraphale eat, see the joy bubble across his features. It was enough to know that they could do this every day for eternity if they wished, and right now he certainly wished it.

He felt a little better when the coffee arrived, almost-painful heat radiating out from his stomach.

“My dear, that’s your fourth cup!” Aziraphale protested, as he downed another.

“It’s good! And I didn’t complain when you ordered a second piece of cake.”

“Well, I…I was rather thinking you might like some, too.”

With a rush of giddy emotions, Crowley realized he liked the sound of that very much. He picked up his fork and sliced off a bite of red cake with thick white icing. “What is it?”

“I thought I’d try something different, something a little modern. This is red velvet cake.”

Only Aziraphale would think that a flavor that had been popular for over sixty years was a little modern. Crowley smiled as he tasted it – rich and sweet and strangely light on his tongue. “You know, it’s not bad,” he said, reaching for another bite.

And a little heat rose to his face as he realized that Aziraphale was sitting there with hands folded, smile on his face – watching Crowley eat.

--

Crowley couldn’t get warm.

They went for a walk after the Ritz, but he found he was very tired. He tried to shrug it off.

“I’ve had a busy week, and I missed my sleeping day,” he explained. “I don’t – I don’t need to sleep, you know, but I still get exhausted. I’ll be fine.”

“You should sleep, then,” Aziraphale said, tone slightly scolding. The angel seemed determined to make sure Crowley took care of himself, as if he hadn’t learned to do that long before the Garden. It turned out, being fussed over wasn’t so bad. “I can walk you back to your place. Or. Er. You can come to the bookshop. I don’t have much to offer, but there’s the sofa, and perhaps we can have a drink…”

“Bookshop sounds lovely.” He always had to fight back a smile when he remembered the many nights they’d sat in the back corner together, sharing wine, sharing stories, complaining about work, just being themselves. Actually, he didn’t have to fight back that smile at all anymore – he could wear it for anyone to see. For Aziraphale to see.

None of that today, though. Crowley was rather embarrassed to find that the moment he stretched out on the sofa, he started falling asleep, and there was nothing he could do to fight it off.

He was dead to the world before Aziraphale had even settled into his armchair, and didn’t wake up until the shop was filled with bright Monday sunlight. A fleecy tartan blanket covered him from shoulder to toe, but he still shivered, and his stomach felt strangely heavy. Too much cake, probably.

Crowley sat up stiffly, running a hand through his hair and blinking around the shop. His eyes landed on a customer, who jumped in surprise, then quickly walked out.

“Ah, you’re awake!” Aziraphale hurried over. “How are you feeling? Better, I trust?”

“A bit.” Crowley rubbed at his face. “Didn’t I have glasses?”

“You took them off before falling asleep.” Aziraphale pulled them out of his pocket. “I was worried you might roll over them in the night. You slept very heavily. Is that normal?”

He shrugged, pushing the dark lenses back onto his face. “Probably. Didn’t wake up, didn’t dream much, seems like a good sleep. Does it have to be so blasted cold, though?”

Aziraphale glanced at the old-fashioned thermostat. “I do keep it a little cool to discourage customers. You scared away three different people just by sleeping there, you know. Perhaps I should get you a permanent bed right in the middle of the floor.”

“Only if you promise to turn the heat up.” Crowley wandered closer to the window, feeling the warmth of the sun on his shoulders. That was better. “I’m…” It wasn’t a word he used often.  “I’m sorry, by the way.”

“About the customers? Don’t be, they were trying to touch my first edition Verne novels and I was running out of ways to be inconspicuously rude.”

“No about…falling asleep. I know you had…” Plans? Expectations? They’d never really talked about what Our Side would mean. “…you had hopes, for our first day, you know, free.”

“And every one of them is being fulfilled right now,” Aziraphale said, with such sincerity that Crowley started to smile. “Ah, I lied. Now all of them are being fulfilled.” He took Crowley’s hands in his. “Just standing here, talking to you, not worrying about who might see us, it’s more than I ever thought would be possible. I am perfectly content as we are.” He frowned suddenly. “Except that your hands are freezing.”

Crowley laughed as Aziraphale wrapped his hands around the demon’s, rubbing them, trying to warm them up. It certainly did make him feel better, and not just because his fingers had been a little numb from the way he’d slept.

“I was actually worried…” Aziraphale started again, still staring at their hands. “Oh, I assume you have your own, er, hopes. Since you’ve been thinking about this so much longer than I. We should probably discuss that, but, well, just to warn you, I haven’t thought much about…that is, I’m not sure that I want…ohhh…”

Crowley lifted one hand to tilt Aziraphale’s face up, to look into his eyes. The heat of it was almost unbearable. “I haven’t really thought about it either,” he confessed. “Never thought we’d make it this far. Everything from this point on is just a pleasant surprise.” With his other hand, he squeezed the angel’s fingers gently. “I don’t think I’d say no to more of this, though.”

Aziraphale blushed, the heat of it rushing to fill every space inside Crowley, and his eyes dropped briefly. “Your hand is still freezing,” he finally said, pulling away with a smile. He bustled across the shop to pick up his coat. “I know, let’s go for a walk. It’s a nice, warm day. We can feed the ducks in St. James’s Park…No. Let’s do something different. Something daring.” There was a wild gleam in his eyes as he turned back. “Let’s feed the ducks in Regent’s Park.”

It was indeed a gloriously warm day, and they spent over five hours exploring every path in London’s third-largest park while a small sign sat in the bookshop window reading Out to Lunch – Back in a Jiffy.

Every once in a while, Aziraphale’s hot hand found its way into Crowley’s cold one. Again and again, until it felt completely natural.

--

Crowley couldn’t get warm.

It had been three weeks since the world had ended and begun again, everything ticking along nicely as Aziraphale liked to stay. Crowley caught himself thinking more like Aziraphale these days, which was both worrying and wonderful.

Except that any time Crowley was indoors, he felt lethargic, cold, a little cranky. Aziraphale had miracled up a thick scarf in grey tartan. It was hideous and embarrassing and he wore it all the time even though it didn’t really help. He knew what the tartan gifts meant.

He turned up the heat in his flat as high as it would go, until even his most tropical plants were struggling to meet his exacting expectations. He took more hot baths than he ever had in his life, including the years he’d spent living in Bath. He tried to sit up and engage his mind, especially at night, when his body screamed to just stretch out and rest. He got angry when he discovered he couldn’t concentrate on a game of chess, or even draughts, and said some things to Aziraphale he really shouldn’t have.

Later, when the angel tried to embrace him and make up…he said some even worse things.

He tried wearing more layers. He tried wearing fewer layers. Eating hot food. Lying under a tree. Lying in direct sunlight.

Finally, there was only one conclusion he could reach.

“I’m cold-blooded.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Aziraphale sniffed. His ego was still somewhat bruised from their last argument, but he was clearly making an effort.

They sat facing each other across the café table, opposite sides. Aziraphale had ordered a slice of warm pie with ice cream melting down the sides. A second fork sat, waiting for Crowley, and the angel kept giving it significant looks, but the demon wouldn’t unwrap his hands from the enormous cup of coffee he’d ordered, the largest they served.

Aziraphale sighed and folded his hands. “Crowley, dear. I know the…transition to our new life hasn’t been as smooth as we hoped, and we’ve both said things we regret, but I’ve never felt that you were –”

“No, Aziraphale.” He took a sip of coffee. It was something American-style, hot and bitter and lacking any particular flavor. He didn’t care. He just needed absurd quantities of near-boiling liquid. “I mean it literally. Somehow, after the Apocalypse, I became cold-blooded. I can’t get warm no matter what I do.”

Aziraphale’s brow furrowed, as if waiting for the punchline of an unfunny joke. “That’s simply impossible. How many times have you told me off for making those assumptions, just because you used to be a snake? You have a mammal body, and it does…mammal things,” he waved his hands to indicate that he still wasn’t completely caught up on modern science classifications, “including being warm…”

He trailed off as Crowley reached across the table, taking his hand. Even after being wrapped around the hot ceramic mug, it still wouldn’t feel right. “What are you always saying these days?”

“That your hands are freezing.” Aziraphale shook his head. “It can’t be true. That’s not proof…”

Crowley gestured to the plate. “I can’t eat because my stomach is too cold to work. When I do eat, I have to lay down because any extra movement takes away energy I need for digestion.” He tugged at the scarf he always wore. “Extra layers don’t help, because they just insulate me from the warm air. Blankets don’t help because I’m not creating enough heat on my own. Even turning up the heat doesn’t help because this blessed body is made to shed heat, not retain it.” He stared into his mug of coffee. “I can’t move when I’m cold. I can’t move when I’m hot. Sunlight helps for a little while, but the days are getting shorter.” He squeezed Aziraphale’s hand, worried what he was about to say would make the angel pull away. “I…I don’t even know if I like being touched anymore.”

He didn’t fight it when the hand vanished, taking its warmth with it. Crowley just slumped, closing his eyes in defeat.

The squeal of chair legs against hard floor made him glance up. Aziraphale had moved to sit beside him, pulling his chair as close as he could.

Carefully, Crowley leaned his head to the side, resting it on Aziraphale’s shoulder, letting their bodies press together. It was easier this way, a sort of passive contact, unrestrained, letting the heat flow between them.

“Are you…” He could hear the way the breath caught in Aziraphale’s throat. “You seem so certain. Is there any chance you’re wrong? Any other explanation?”

Crowley gently shook his head, letting it wobble back and forth on the angel’s shoulder. “This is how it felt when I was a snake. You don’t forget something like that.”

“At least now you know. Surely what you learned from being a snake can help you navigate…”

“I looked it up,” Crowley muttered. “A snake can handle a range of fifteen, twenty degrees easily. Human body…a little more than one degree. At 35 I’m freezing to death, at 38 I’m burning up from the inside. I don’t even know how I’ve lasted this long.” He pressed himself even closer into Aziraphale’s side. Half of him was still cold, even as his shoulder and his thigh screamed in the heat. It wouldn’t balance properly. “It’s going to kill me.”

He felt the tension all through Aziraphale’s body. “Crowley, no!”

“Fine, it’s going to get me discorporated, and I’ll wake up in Hell, and they’ll kill me.”

“There must be something we can do.”

“Maybe. It’s getting harder to concentrate every day.”

“Then I’ll look for a solution.” He offered his hand and Crowley grabbed it, grateful for the almost-too-hot touch. “I might as well, since I’m responsible.”

“What are you talking about, Angel?”

“Your body was fine, then I used it and…it must be something I did.”

“Don’t say that.” He pulled away enough to meet Aziraphale’s eyes. “This isn’t your fault. I agreed to switch bodies, I knew there was some risk. And I don’t think you could have caused this. Somehow this is Heaven or Hell, still interfering with our lives.”

Aziraphale bit his lip, nodding. Crowley wasn’t sure if he really believed it or not. “Still. If this was done to you, there must be some way to undo it. And if there’s a way, I will find it.” He swallowed, turning to look at their linked hands. “But, in the meantime…It’s probably best if you turn back into a snake.”

“No,” Crowley all but shouted, anger mixing with fear. “No, Aziraphale I won’t. That’s not who I am anymore.”

“Isn’t it better than dying?”

He clenched his jaw, biting back his reply. He honestly wasn’t sure it was. An eternity as a serpent, no driving, no music, no wines, no gardening, no feeding ducks, no holding hands…

Crowley twined his fingers through Aziraphale’s, lifting up the hand clasp between them. “I fought…We fought…so long for this. I can’t just…I won’t give this up. I won’t, Angel.”

“You’re not giving anything up,” Aziraphale insisted. He brushed his lips across Crowley’s fingers and, oh, add something else to the list of things he wasn’t willing to lose. “I will still be here. My feelings for you won’t change at all.”

“They’ll probably change a little,” Crowley pointed out.

“I want to spend every day with you, talk with you, see you happy. And it doesn’t matter if you’re scaled or human or turn into a fish, that’s not going to change.”

“I won’t be happy.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. But please. Give me the time I need to save you.”

He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Aziraphale, letting the angel do the same back, even though part of his mind screamed and squirmed to escape the heat of contact. He told himself this wouldn’t be the last time.

--

Crowley was warm.

He stretched out in his favorite basking spot by the window, feeling the winter sunlight play across his scales, heating him up. Every now and again, the door would open, a customer hoping to browse for a Christmas gift. The rumble of footsteps through his belly woke him, and he reared up his head, tongue flicking out to catch the scent of the blurry shape by the entryway.

Almost every time, the visitor took one look at the enormous red-bellied black snake and vanished soon after.

The hours ticked by, slow and sweet, like drops of honey. Crowley was aware that he should be filling them with fast-paced reckless activities of some form, but he couldn’t quite recall what…just a general sense of dissatisfaction.

Still, whatever he had lost, the best was still here.

When he’d drunk his fill of warmth, he twisted his way through the shop, sliding around stacks of books and potted plants (hissing at the ones that didn’t seem to be growing well enough). There, at the desk, sat the angel.

Aziraphale was rarely anywhere else these days. Bent over old grimoires, reading glasses balanced on his nose, pile of notes beside him. He hadn’t glanced up for any of the customers. Three cups full of cold tea sat beside him. He hadn’t even risen to get a new one in a while.

A pair of folded-up sunglasses sat in one corner of the desk. He never picked them up, but sometimes touched them as he worked.

Crowley twisted around his leg, climbing, finding his way along the chair and across the shoulders until he was draped across Aziraphale, watching him work.

“Hello, my dear. How was your day?”

Crowley hissed dismissively. One day was the same as another for a snake. “Progressss?”

“I’m close. I really think I’m close.” His voice was just a rumble, rising from his chest through Crowley’s belly, distorted, missing half the notes. He couldn’t pick up on the nuance, couldn’t tell if it was a lie or not. Just like he couldn’t see all of Aziraphale’s face at once, just the jaw, the little smile, the rest curving away in the distance.

“Dinner time,” Crowley reminded him. The angel needed lots of reminders.

“Oh, no, I don’t think so. I really want to keep at this a bit longer.”

“Resssst.”

He held up his hands before him, letting Crowley slither from one to the next without trying to grasp. There was something about hands, something important. It was just on the edge of his memory, but snakes don’t have hands. It slipped away.

“No, I can’t rest yet. Not until…no.”

“Pleassssssse.”

“I can take a small break, but no dinner. I’m not hungry, anyway.”

When Crowley was coiled back around his shoulders, Aziraphale stood up, walking across to the little secluded corner of the shop. This was another important area, though Crowley couldn’t exactly remember why. He thought it involved a lot of sitting, drinking…water? Not water. He forgot what he used to drink.

The angel fiddled with his collection of round discs. “How about some Vivaldi, since it’s almost Christmas? You always liked his Seasons.” Crowley nodded.

He couldn’t really hear the music. Noises on the air meant nothing to a snake.

But once Aziraphale was stretched out on the sofa, Crowley made himself comfortable on his chest, and felt the deep thrum of the music as the angel sang along.

Warmth rose from Aziraphale, too, just like from the sun. It was a different kind of heat. Purer. Better.

Whatever else he had lost, Crowley still had that. And he was content.

[titanias-stolen-shoes]

so this ended up being super long (2605 words) anyway it’s a good place au about ayda talking to the previous incarnations of her enjoy

read on ao3!

---

Ayda didn’t understand how it was possible for all of her past lives to be here. Because they were her as much as she was them, however different they grew to be. They were all the same Ayda Aguefort—but somehow, they were here.

When Ayda first arrived in the Good Place, there had been little more shocking than seeing herself sitting on one of the couches of the common area. She didn’t look exactly like her what with her having a beak and no wings. But there was still the same strong resemblance to Arthur in her strong jaw and steely black eyes that she saw when looking in the mirror.

This version of her looked up from her novel and smiled, launching herself at Ayda in a hug. She was stiff in the woman’s arms, not knowing what to do or say.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” The other Ayda pulled away with her apology, hands still resting on Ayda’s shoulders. “You probably think I’m weird.”

“No. I think you are very forward.”

She laughed. “You wouldn’t be the first to say that. I’m Ayda Aguefort, but I’m sure you knew that.” She gave a small curtsey. “You can call me Nix though. I’m the one right before you.”

“Did you change your name to Nix?”

“Oh, no. It’s just a nickname Rawlins gave me since we’re half phoenix. It ended up taking so it’s what I go by now. Convenient for us, huh.”

“Quite. May we sit and continue talking?”

“Oh, of course. You can come to my room and we can chat about everything I’ve missed.” Together they walked through a door, just a random door it seemed, and walked into what looked like her room at the Compass Points Library. It was messier than she had left it—books were in haphazard piles around the room, pictures lined the walls but placed with no rhyme or reason. It was bright and airy and made Ayda realized she missed it more than realized. She sat at the desk, looking at the knickknacks that littered the surface.

Nix bounced onto the bed and crossed her legs, leaning forward. “So. How do you wanna do this? I ask all my questions and then you ask all yours? We ask one back and forth?”

“I would like to ask one and then you ask so it remains equal.”

“Sounds good. Since you already ask one—my name, yeah?—I’ll go first. How’s Garthy doing?”

“They’re doing fine. When I last spoke to them, business was booming and they were quite happy with their life.”

“Really?” The smile on her face was one of contentment Ayda had seen so few times, she almost couldn’t place it. “That’s wonderful to hear. I always worried they’d get themself in trouble one of these days. Though I’m sure they already have!” Nix laughed. “Your turn.”

“Did you add the expansion of the Friendship section in Compass Points?”

“I did! There were so many pirates that would come looking for ways to cheer up their friends, but they didn’t know where to start. I would give them as much advice as I could, but I can only do so much on my own. It was fun to put together and something I worked on the most.”

Ayda smiled, remembering the rough and tumble pirates that would come in looking for a way to help their friends.

For hours, they say in Nix’s room just talking. Talking about Nix’s life and Ayda’s life and the similarities between. They talked about the Good Place and how it came to be and how ‘the six kids who changed the system are all still around if you want to ask them anything’.

It was a long time before Ayda took a breath and said, “Do you know about the iteration of us that burned the journals?”

Nix’s smile dipped for a moment and she tilted her head to the side, hair falling off her shoulder. “Yeah, I know her. She goes by Red. It took a long time and a lot of talks for me to forgive her for what she did and honestly it still hurts sometimes when I think about it. There’s this whole section of our life that we just don’t know about. I didn’t realize how old we were until I died.”

“Yes, I am very angry with her. She made a decision that the rest of us weren’t there to decide. Because of her, I didn’t understand why Arthur was never around. Why he was so powerful and so affluent and yet he never even looked at me. How could I forgive her for that?”

Nix shrugged. “I just know I found a way to forgive her. Maybe you can too, but I… I was never that angry in life. I accepted that Arthur either didn’t want me or didn’t care and I found happiness without him. I found happiness in the Compass Points and in raising Garthy. I know you’re young and you wanted him to be there, but now you have the benefit of knowing why he wasn’t there.”

“It was Red’s fault that he wasn’t there. She didn’t even write down why he wouldn’t come around.”

“I know, sweetheart. Maybe if you talk to her, you’ll know.”

“Perhaps. But I will talk to her on my own time.”

---

Ayda had traveled around the Good Place in search of the six who had changed the after-life system. She questioned them as much as they would allow. At first, she found their rowdiness a little bothersome—they were all doing so much it was hard for her to keep up. But upon spending more time with them, and learning more about them individually, she grew to really like them.

Adaine was the first to call her a friend. The first of her many transitive friends to do so. She was kind and powerful—a wonderful person to be her first friend her age. It didn’t take long for the rest of the “Bad Kids”, as they called themselves, to reaffirm her feeling of friendship. She enjoyed their company dearly and enjoyed their advice just as much.

Gorgug was sitting in the common area when Ayda asked for his. “Are you busy? I require your advice.”

He sat up, folding one leg beneath him. “No, I was just sitting here. What’s up?”

“How did you forgive Aelwen for what she did to your girlfriend Zelda?”

His relaxed demeanor shifted, and Ayda could barely tell he was more alert than before. “Oh, uh, well, I tried to put myself in her position. Imagine what it would be like if had grown up the way she had. I know from the fights that we had and from talking to Adaine, and eventually Aelwen, what it was like to grow up the way she did. It was hard and she made some bad decisions. It was easier to forgive her once I understood her.”

“I see.” Ayda sat quietly for a moment. “What if… What if I’m still angry with her after I understand her?”

“That’s okay. You don’t have to forgive someone just because they apologize or you understand them. They hurt you and how you feel about them is valid. It’s up to you whether you forgive them or not.”

“Thank you, Gorgug. It means more than I can articulate that you would give me advice on such a subject. I will see you at the show tonight.”

“It’s no problem. And Fig saved you a seat in the front.”

Ayda’s flame glowed just a little brighter upon hearing Fig’s name as she set off to find Red.

She hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the door. She waited, thinking once again about how odd it was that any door would lead her to where she wanted to be. The door she was at was just a door from the common area, yet it would take her to where she wanted to go. It was the one of the things she would always have to remind herself—

A soft, “Come in!” made her stomach lurch as her thoughts were interrupted. She took a steadying breath, glanced back at Gorgug who gave her a big smile and thumbs up, then opened the door.

Red’s room was, like Nix and herself, was of the Compass Points room they’d all once inhabited. Red wasn’t disorganized like Nix, but it wasn’t as neatly organized as Ayda’s. The walls, unlike the bright white of Nix’s room or the pale blue of her own, Red’s was a harsh mash up of red and yellow stripes that hurt to look at.

Red was sitting on her desk chair, one leg up, her chin resting on her knee, twirling a pen between her fingers. When she swiveled in her chair, Ayda was taken aback by just how much this iteration looked like her. The same talons and wings and flaming feathers by her ears. The biggest difference were Red’s bright orange eyes.

“Oh!” She smiled. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before. I’m Red.”

“I know.” Ayda stood by the door, shifting her weight as she took in her doppelganger. “I’m Ayda. The most recent incarnation. I’m still angry with you, but I want to understand why you chose to meddle in the lives of those after you.”

“Oh, uh, well, I…” She trailed off, clearly unsure of what to say next.

“Because you burned up our notes and left the rest of us clueless about our own lives. We didn’t even know our father because you didn’t deem it fit to include in your notes.”

Red sighed, leaning heavily on her desk. “We spent lifetimes, and I mean lifetimes, barely doing anything in fear of messing up for the next in line. I was overly careful, and cautious to a fault. I did everything right, but I was unhappy. Actually, I was completely miserable. I didn’t want to do anything and I didn’t understand why that was. What I wanted was out of reach and I did everything I could to reach it.”

“You must have known that your actions would have consequences.”

“I didn’t care about them.” Her answer was quick as she took in a sharp breath. “I didn’t care what would happen so long as I got what I wanted. And I did. For a bit.”

Ayda leaned against the door, wondering how Nix ever managed to forgive her when she was like this.

She smiled, but there was something off about it. It wasn’t happy. “I traveled the world and got into fights and got stronger and did everything I wanted. I did it all and it ended faster than I would have liked. A few decades later and I had nothing I wanted to do. I was unhappy again and all that traveling meant almost nothing. It was a nice escape. When I realized this, I was in Leviathan. The floating pirate island that had no real fixed point. And then it hit me: I wanted roots in something more permanent. Compass Points isn’t that old because when I started building it, I was well into my sixties.

“Once it got going, I was happy. Maybe for the first time in my life, I was really and truly happy. And with old age, comes a lot of understanding. When I started the library, I started writing again, keeping notes for the next one of us.”

A heavy silence started to fill the space between them as Ayda absorbed the information. She went over her words, trying to find something she could relate to, something she understand.

She spoke slowly, as she gathered her thoughts. “You made a decision that would affect possibly hundreds of future iterations on a whim that ultimately didn’t make you happy… because you are rude and selfish.”

“Hey!” Red stood, and Ayda felt odd, watching her own face contort into a sneer from across the room. “I did what I had to in order for me to be happy. I’m sick and tired of you all barging in here and being mad at me for something any of us could have done. I made a mistake and that’s all there is to it.”

“Please do not yell at me.” Ayda pressed herself firmly against the wall. She wanted to leave, but there was more that she needed to say. “There are different degrees of mistakes, Red. And your mistake it… it hurt us. That’s what it means when we are angry with you. I grew up not understanding why our father didn’t love me. I didn’t know and I was always too afraid to ask him myself. I would have had that relationship if you hadn’t burned those notes.”

“It’s been so long,” Red sighed, rubbing her temples. “It’s been decades, why is this still such a problem. You figured it out, so the next incarnation will have that relationship.”

“And I’m very happy for her, and will continue to be happy for her, but this wasn’t decades for me. It was up until a year before my death. Only sixteen years for me.”

The flames of Red’s wings got brighter as they fluttered in irritation. “Yes but think about it from my position. It’s been over a century of—”

“I don’t want to.” Ayda said, standing up straight. She usually never interrupted when people spoke because she hated when people did that to her, but right now she couldn’t stand the thought of hearing Red say another word. “I don’t want to think about it from your position because you wouldn’t do me the same courtesy. You’ve yelled at me and made me feel like my feelings weren’t worth consideration. That’s not how I learned this was supposed to work. Goodbye, Red.”

Ayda turned and left without saying another word.

---

Nix stood next to Ayda at Fig’s concert, bouncing on her toes. “I’ve never gotten to get this close before,” she said, smiling. “It’s a good thing I don’t need to worry about my ears hurting in the morning.”

“Yes, it’s good.”

She stopped bouncing for a moment and turned to face Ayda as the lights started to dim. “I heard through the Ayda grapevine you were talking to Red.”

“The Ayda grapevine?”

“Another Ayda told me.”

“Oh. Right. Yes, I did talk to her.”

“How did it go?”

“I tried to understand her and I couldn’t. I don’t want to sound vain, but I don’t think I would ever be so selfish with our lives, so I don’t understand how she could be.”

Nix looked at the stage, shadowed figures moving around. Ayda quickly locked onto Fig, knowing her horns and bright feather earing anywhere. “That’s fair. Like I said, it took me a very long time to forgive her.” She elbowed Ayda gently and smiled again. “Well, let’s not talk about her right now. The show’s about to start.”

The lights of the stage blinked on and there was Fig, bass resting in her hands, mic pressed to her honey soft lips, and eyes so beautiful Ayda could spend a lifetime falling into her gentle pools of starlight.

Ayda couldn’t understand how Red could live so long and never find happiness. In Leviathan there was happiness in being raised by Garthy and happiness in building up Compass Points. And now, here in the Good Place, there was happiness in her friendships with the Bad Kids and in her paramour. There was happiness everywhere. Red just didn’t know where to look.

---

just tagging the people who liked my post here we go: @allsevenmaidens @peach-colored-sun @figueroth-fig-faeth @shitposb @aberfaeth @thenextgirlwaiting @cdragontogacotar @wonderfulobsessions @gabrismella-eve @lightspeed777 @baddialogue @natheere711

[shortcakemonster]

Go-Away Green pt. 10

Summary: Time to save the day.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

Of all the things that you’d expected to happen to you to today, Tony Stark materializing on your roof in his Iron Man suit didn’t even approach the list.

The suit planted itself on the roof, then opened to reveal the billionaire genius himself. You backed away as Tony glided over to you. Somehow, his eyes remained glued to your now fully invisible form.

“Easy, kid, don’t want you toppling off the roof, now do we?”

You spared a glance behind yourself, and took a few steps forward to remedy your closeness to the ledge of the building that you would much rather remain on top of. Your ears perked when you heard the sound of metal whirring and colliding, and looked ahead again to see the Iron suit folding in on itself, transforming into a red and gold cube. This was likely to attract less attention from the neighboring buildings, which, now that you thought about it, probably wouldn’t take too kindly to having seen a teenage girl blinking in and out of existence.

Hm, not existing sounds kind of nice, right now.

Tony spoke again, interrupting your thoughts. “By the way, these glasses enable me to see you, on top of making me impervious to your mind control, so I won’t be forgetting you anytime soon. Unlike a certain mutual friend of ours. Care to explain?”

Your mouth hung open. You struggled for some words, but you had absolutely none. How did he find out so quickly? Sure, he was Tony Stark, but still-

A pit formed in your stomach. Peter’s conversation on the phone from earlier that day. It had been with Tony Stark, who now stood before you, sighing at your lack of a response.

“Did you two get in a fight, or something?” he asked, gesturing vaguely.

“No, no...” You’d had an argument, sure, but that wasn’t why you’d done what you’d done. “I mean- it was an accident.”

“If it was an accident, then why haven’t you fixed it?”

“I-” Your breath caught on the lump in your throat.

Look away look away look away look away.

“Don’t try it, kid,” Tony barked. You flinched, and he took a deep breath, trying to relax his demeanor for your sake.

You wanted this conversation to be over as quickly as possible, so you tried to think of something to shut it down.

“I'm not a superhero.” It was the first thing you’d said in ages with a degree of confidence.

Tony furrowed his brows at you. “You don’t have to be a superhero to be friends with one,” he explained slowly, as if he were speaking to a small child.

You blinked at him. Wasn’t he here to push you towards crime-fighting? To tell you that you were being selfish? That anyone else would kill to have powers like yours? That someone else would actually do some good with said powers, as opposed to whatever you did?

As if reading your mind, Tony said, “Look, you’re a teenager. So is Peter, but he fights crime because he wants to. I just try and make sure that he doesn’t get himself killed, every night. As for you, as long as you’re not using your powers for harm, I have no problem with what you do with them. Of course, using them to make my- to make a kid forget a really important friendship that he’s just made... well, that’s getting close to ‘harm’ territory, don’t you think?”

I’m not important.

“I can’t imagine that it’ll impact him all that much,” you murmured.

Tony shook his head. “He’s lonely, you’re lonely. I dunno about you, but I see an easy remedy for this.”

“He’s not lonely,” you protested. You had nothing to say for Tony’s assessment about you, but Peter had people who cared about him, as small of a circle as it was. He would be fine without you, better off, even.

“Oh, sure he is,” Tony objected, waving his hand. “It’s no secret. All heroes are. We’ve got the weight of the world on our shoulders, and whatnot. What’s more, he’s basically the only person his age who has powers, aside from you, of course. He needs someone like him, just like how you need someone like you.”

“But, I’m not...” Clearly, the not-being-a-hero tactic had no effect on Tony, so you switched gears. “I’m nothing like Peter.”

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously fed up. “(Y/N). You’re kind. You go to the same genius school he goes to, and you’ve saved multiple lives, just like he has. You’re both Raven-puffle-dors, or whatever you nerds are into.” He looked back down at you, his eyes soft and almost pleading. “Just... give it another chance, alright? Will you just give yourself one more chance?”

You blinked at him yet again, wondering why he cared so much. Why he’d come all the way from the Avengers facility to speak to you personally. Why he was risking looking like an absolute loon talking to no one on a rooftop.

Was it because he’d been a lonely kid, too? Tony Stark didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, per se, but you had read about his less-than-satisfactory relationship with his father. And there was no way it could have been easy to go to boarding school when he was so young, to skip multiple grades and never truly interact with anyone his age.

Was he this determined to prevent another kid from going through what he’d gone through? A lonely childhood, and a subsequently lonely adulthood?

You tried to swallow the lump in your throat, looking downward. “I don’t think... if I make him remember me again, I don’t know if he’ll be able to forgive me, or if he’ll want me around.”

Tony scoffed, then covered it up by clearing his throat. “I mean, take that up with him. Give him that choice, let him feel however he’s gonna feel about it, you know? That being said...” A knowing, humorous expression passed over his face. “He’s Peter Parker. You’ll be fine.”

You let your eyes lock onto his for a brief moment. “You really don’t care about the powers thing?”

He shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just... I’ve made the mistake before, with Peter. I expected too much from him, and then too little. Now, I couldn’t stop him from crime-fighting if I tried. Would I like for you to use your powers for good? Of course. I’d love for everyone to use their talents for good. But you’re a kid, and if you’re not willing, then it’s not happening. Simple as that.”

Tony seemed to remember something, then reached into his pocket. “Well, this is an awkward transition in conversation, but all that being said...”

His arm stretched out before you, and in his hand rested an earpiece, identical to the one you had before.

“You dropped this... somewhere. Just kidding, it’s brand new.”

You plucked the earpiece from his hand and pressed the tiny indicator button, the little lights flashing along the curve. You looked down at your bare hand, its lack of a ring to control your invisibility, which was arguably the more important (and definitely much more difficult to manufacture) of the devices that Tony Stark had given you.

“Go be a hero. In whatever way that means to you.”

In a matter of seconds, the red and gold cube behind him unfolded, allowing him to step inside of it. The metalwork closed around him, then Iron Man gave you a little salute before launching into the air, leaving a rush of wind and heat in his wake.

You adjusted your hair, then stared at the earpiece in your hand. Did you really want to do this? Was it worth it? Were you worth it?

One thing was for certain: Peter Parker was definitely worth it. You strapped the earpiece over your ear.

In whatever way that means to you.

“Karen, where’s Peter?”

...

Peter turned out to be in danger. What a surprise.

An entire apartment building was on fire, and Spider-Man (with the aid of the fire department) was doing his best to get the residents out of there safely.

Invisibility wasn’t going to do anyone any good here, and it would be beyond dangerous and stupid for you to attempt to help when you weren’t equipped to. You momentarily entertained the idea of calling this night quits, but then something caught your eye.

High up in the air, far away- a sudden, tiny flash of orange light zipped toward the building, streaming through an open window. The room containing that window suddenly burst into flames, sending smoke through the broken walls.

You followed the source of the light to a nearby building, the windows of which were mostly dark. Another flash zipped past- another explosion- and its origin revealed a figure on the top of the roof, crouched low behind the ledge. Wielding a long, black rifle.

A sniper.

You were in shock for a moment- what the hell is happening? But you shook your head, finding your focus.

You briefly considered telling Peter- or telling Karen to tell Peter- about the sniper, but you looked back at the burning building, at Spider-Man swinging from area to area, trying to get people to safety as quickly as possible. It was up to you to take care of the root of the problem.

“Karen, what’s the quickest way to get up there?”

“You could have Peter take you,” the voice suggested.

Your heart sped up even more at the idea, if that was possible, given the situation. “He’s busy!” It was true, to be fair, but obviously not your only reason for not calling him for help.

You resolved to do it the old-fashioned way by taking the fire escape up to the roof. It was a struggle to keep your steps light on the way up so not to alert the sniper, a man dressed in all black, who instinctually made you still as soon as your eyes landed on him.

Deep breaths. Just not too loud.

You sidled over the ledge and onto the roof, never taking your eyes off of him. Your movements were glacial and calculated as you made your way toward him, his back facing you. You swore that he could hear your heart pounding through your ribcage, though if he actually did, then you would probably be dead where you stood.

Eyes forward. Hear nothing, see nothing.

Your ears picked up on a peculiar noise, and as you got closer to the man, you were able to make it out. Was he... singing?

"London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down...”

A shiver went through you, your skin crawling. It didn’t take a genius to know that this man was sick in some way or another, but this solidified that claim.

Distracted by your own disturbance, you were just careless enough to let your foot make a sound against the floor of the roof, causing the sniper to wheel around, pointing the gun in your general direction. “Who’s there?”

You went stock-still. If he fired the gun right now, he wouldn’t hit you, but it would be too close for comfort. Besides, he could hit one of the other buildings nearby.

Forget me forget me forget me-

Wait a second, he couldn’t forget you. With his attention now on you, he wasn’t endangering the people in the apartment building across the street. All you had to do was disarm him, somehow. You’d done this before, once with a ladle and once without. All with Spider-Man’s help, of course, but that wasn’t on the table, right now.

It didn’t matter if you thought that you couldn’t do something. You just had to do it. People’s lives and homes were at stake.

You just needed to be careful. Extremely careful. More careful than you’d ever been in your entire life.

You inched further and further away from the line of fire, from his periphery. You considered picking up a stray pebble and tossing it in the direction opposite of you, but shut that idea down, not wanting him to get trigger-happy. More than he already was, at least.

Your path made a half circle around him, getting closer and closer. You did everything you could to control the shaking that wracked your body, the nausea that pooled in your stomach, the breaths that so desperately fought to be more quick and labored than you were willing to allow.

Closer.

Closer.

Careful.

Now you were behind him, sandwiched between his perched form and the ledge of the roof. If he spun back around to his original position- or even adjusted himself slightly so he was closer to the wall- you would go tumbling off of the roof.

You weren’t about to give him that chance.

You had mere seconds to determine the best approach, but that was all you needed. Even from this angle, you knew well enough from various self-defense videos online that all you needed to do to knock this man out was to hit him in the corroded artery. You didn’t want to do him serious harm, but you also didn’t want him hurting anymore innocent New Yorkers.

At the exact moment that the edge of your hand came down against the sniper’s neck, incapacitating him, something shot out and hit the side of a chimney that occupied the roof. At first, you thought it was a bullet, but a second later, you realized that it was web fluid plastered to the surface. Right on cue, Spider-Man flew over the side of the building, landing gracefully on the roof and sweeping the area for any threats.

You raced to the other side of the roof without thinking, curling yourself into a ball even though you knew that Peter wouldn’t be able to see you no matter how you were positioned.

Spider-Man appeared to take in the situation, examining the gun as well as the limp body that was mere feet away from it.

“Karen?” It had only been hours since you’d last heard him speak, and he wasn’t even speaking directly to you right now, but his voice was like a breath of fresh air.

You heard Karen’s voice in your ear. “He’s alive, though he’s suffered a blow to his corroded artery and will require medical attention.”

“Huh. Guess someone else took care of you, then.”

He secured the man to the roof with some web fluid for good measure, then took a look around the area, his spine straightening.

“It’s just a matter of who,” Spider-Man mused under his breath.

You didn’t dare to even breathe too loudly. Now was your chance to reveal yourself. Actually, you went to school with him, so you’d have a million more chances, but still. This felt right.

And yet so, horribly wrong.

Tony had given a pretty convincing speech, but you knew your situation better than he did. Even if he could empathize with it, nothing changed the fact that the people in your life were better off not being in your life. Or rather, you were better off staying out of theirs.

Tony had urged you to use your powers for good, but for all you knew, making everyone forget you was for good.

Just then, Spider-Man seemed to notice something. Just as he did mere days ago, when he first took notice of you and tried to talk to you, but failed. He zeroed in on a spot on the roof, way too close to you for your liking. His demeanor shifted, becoming more reserved, analytical.

His eyes landed directly on your form. You didn’t move a muscle.

BOOM!

It seemed to happen in slow motion. The gun itself combusted, causing a greater shockwave than one would expect. Your body leapt into the air, then promptly plummeted back onto the floor of the roof.

Spider-Man, however, was catapulted backwards, hit square in the head by a stray piece of metal, likely sending him unconscious. His body went limp, sailing over the length of the roof and toward the edge. His back collided with the ledge that bordered the roof, and if he wasn’t unconscious already, then he certainly was, now.

You almost saw your life flash before your eyes as he began to slip off of the ledge, away from the safety of the roof.

You didn’t even realize that you were sprinting towards him. Your movements didn’t feel fast enough, but surely, surely you could make it, just a little bit faster-

You threw yourself to the edge of the roof, your arms shooting outward-

I’ve never been good for anything but please just give me this one thing please-

...

Peter jolted awake at the feeling of being caught- at a hand curled around his, desperate to hold onto him. And a voice crying out, a voice that he was sure he’d never heard before but somehow struck a familiarity within him...

He cracked his eyes open and craned his neck upwards, trying to find whatever was tethering him to the ledge above him, keeping him from falling.

He looked up at whatever was holding him- he saw nothing, he didn’t even see him own arm- but an image struck him, despite the dizziness that was overtaking his head.

(Y/e/c) eyes. (Y/h/c) hair. A smile that he would give anything to see again.

“(Y/N)?” he gasped, his vision going blurry and black immediately after.

You dragged Peter’s sagging body over the side of the building, grunting with relief when he was safely away from the ledge, and almost as importantly, that he was visible once again.

“Karen? Is he okay?”

“He has two bruised ribs, various burns, and he’s suffered from smoke inhalation. He should recover fairly well on his own.”

Wanting to give Peter some air, your hands delved under the hem of his mask, gently tugging it upward to reveal his face. You were wary of the unconscious sniper on the other side of the roof, but you could make him forget about you and Peter if anything happened.

But here was Peter. His handsome face, his messy hair. Your hand reached out to stroke his jaw, and you were surprised to see your appendage flickering, as opposed to being completely invisible. Still, you resolved not to touch him, as you didn’t want to see him flicker with you.

You glanced back at his face. Peter’s eyes were open.

You stared at each other for a moment, completely frozen, before you leapt away from him, going completely invisible.

Peter surged forward, into a sitting position. “No!”

A coughing fit attacked him, but this didn’t stop him from standing shakily to his feet, searching wildly for you in every direction.

“Please don’t go!” he croaked, his voice hoarse from the smoke. “Please! I’m sorry I forgot about you!”

He screwed his eyes shut. He felt that if he kept looking at a world without you in it, he would forget altogether that you were actually there. He needed to focus on nothing else but thoughts of you.

(Y/e/c) eyes. (Y/h/c) hair. Those hands, that smile.

“Look, my eyes are closed!” His voice sounded like he wracked with pain, unrelated to his injuries. “Please, if you care about me at all, please be there when I open them.”

...If you cared at all?

Caring didn’t begin to describe the way you felt about him. About kind, brave, handsome, brilliant Peter Parker.

He’d apologized for forgetting about you, as if it was his fault. Nothing could be his fault, this was all you. It was your insecurity, your insistence on being alone, being forgotten.

But at this exact moment, you decided that you’d had enough of being forgotten. Especially by the kind, brave, handsome, and brilliant Peter Parker.

All of these thoughts led you closer and closer to him, time standing still as your eyes swept over his young features, his messy brown curls, his eyes wedged shut.

You wanted those eyes open. With the utmost silence, you took one more step forward.

See me.

You lifted your arms slowly, bringing them towards Peter’s form and into your own vision. They flickered.

No, they weren’t supposed to do that. Not when they were about to touch Peter. You couldn’t make him flicker like you. You couldn’t flicker.

Inhale.

Exhale.

I’m right here.

Your hands went opaque, then cupped the side of Peter’s face and pulled him into a kiss.

Peter’s eyes flew open as he gasped in surprise. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be this lucky.

And yet, here you were. (Y/h/c) hair. (Y/e/c) eyes, which were closed, but he knew their color like the back of his hand. And you weren’t currently smiling (though he couldn’t complain about the alternative), but he remembered what it looked like. He remembered you.

He melted into your embrace and closed his eyes in relief. His arms wound across your waist and shoulders, trapping you against his chest. He was never letting you go again.

Yes, this was right. There was nothing more right than this. Nothing better than sweet, smart, beautiful you in his arms, kissing him.

All too soon, you had to pull away for air, your forehead resting against Peter’s. He laughed, incredulous, and you couldn’t help but to echo him.

He cupped your face with one hand, prompting you to open your eyes and stare directly at him, at his curly brown hair and warm brown eyes. “Hey, I’m sorry about-”

You didn’t let him finish, pulling him in for another kiss. You felt him chuckle before the two of you separated, though he didn’t let you get far, placing gentle pecks all over your cheeks, nose, and forehead.

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” he whispered into your hair, tucking his chin on top of your head.

Your arms went around his waist, melding you to his torso. “Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson.”

You’d never smiled so much in your life.

...

A/N: Oof. Tfw you have to reread your own fic because it’s been so long since you spent any time on it that you’re worried you’ve forgotten the important details.

Good Lord, I’ve gotten two anon messages from people who were worried about my well-being because I haven’t been active. I’m sorry.

Epilogue’s coming... I’m not gonna say “soon” because obviously I can’t be trusted.

This is gonna get like 3 notes because it’s basically been a year but whatever. Happy Thanksgiving, I guess.

By the way, don’t try that corroded-artery-jab stuff at home, it’s extremely dangerous. Just thought I’d mention that, since the video I watched about it gave several warnings.

Tag list:

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[spooner-the-trinity]

Kyoko Sakura

Kyoko Sakura is one of the main protagonists of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, introduced a few episodes into the series to show someone taking the magical girl job far more cynically than the non-mystery shrouded leads had until that point. Not interested in killing witches just to keep them from hurting people, she's more invested in just keeping herself in top form by leaving them around until the optimal point to kill them to keep herself and her soul gem in top shape. This clashes rather fiercely with Sayaka's somewhat less practical but more moral "kill every witch on sight" stance, and the two clash over it early on. While she initially looks down on Sayaka, as time goes on she comes to want to help the less experienced girl as she realizes there is way more wrong with the system than either of them thought, with the handicaps and downsides of their bargain with Kyubey becoming ever more clear. That, and Sayaka begins to undergo a period of strongly regretting the wish she had made, something Kyoko finds she can relate too. As the daughter of a preacher living in poverty, she desperately wanted her father's word to get out and have what they would need for her family to eat. Wishing to Kyubey for help, she got what she wanted, only for it to backfire horribly when she admitted how she did it. Kyoko was decried as going against the faith and using magic to bring people to him, and once his church collapsed ended up killing himself and Kyoko's little sister, leaving her to come back to the horrid sight. Seeing Sayaka regretting her own wish, Kyoko just tried to help her rebound, only to fail and have Sayaka succumb to her mental state and transform into a witch. Kyoko ended up having to put her down at the cost of her own life, but unlike Mami and Sayaka she at least managed to go out on her own terms. Stats​Kyoko is not an especially large character, being about the same height as Pit with a slightly less wide hurtbox. Unfortunately, she's rather frail even for her size, having only 80 weight units, the same as Meta Knight and Zero Suit Samus, so she gets KO'd fairly early. Her jumps are quite good and her gravity is about average, giving her a fairly strong basis for her recovery, and both her air and ground speed are also on the high end. She's in the 12th-16th tie for fastest air speed with Mario, Sonic, and a couple others, while her run speed of 2.35 actually puts her in sixth place overall. She has a wall cling and wall jump, a reasonably low crouch, and a crawl, so on the whole her mobility is very good. While her traction is among the worst in the game, everyone in Ultimate has good enough traction that this isn't really going to have her sliding around. Specials​ Neutral Special - Surging Spear Pointing her spear at the ground at first, Kyoko's spear breaks into segments and begins to wrap in circles around her a short distance away from her body, as she clasps her hands together and focuses. The tip of the spear, now pointed upward forward over her and enlarged to about double its normal size, then smashes into the ground in front of her, dealing 13% and diagonally upwards knockback that KOs at 150%. Kyoko's spear reverts to normal in her hand afterwards with surprisingly low end lag, its parts all just snapping back into place. This has a bit less start lag than the animation might sound like it has, the chain breaking into segments being an almost instantaneous visual, but its still not a fast move and a bit too slow to be worth its startup lag at first. The move covers a pretty big area in front of her due to the enlarged size of the spear point. You can charge this move, as energy flares off the tip, like a flame but a darker red color rather than orange. This also slightly increases the size of the end of the spear over time, eventually about doubling it at full charge, which takes 1.4 seconds. The chain link coils also rise higher into the air, giving the move more vertical range in addition to more horizontal range. The power increases at a consistent rate of 1% every 0.1 seconds, capping out at 27% and being able to kill at about 55%. Given the size of the hitbox and the impressive maximum power this move reaches, its a pretty stellar kill move, but charging 1.4 seconds for it is not something most opponents will allow you to do outside of a shield break situation. The good news is the charge can be cancelled like Giant Punch or Samus' charge shot, but at a bit of a price, you only get to keep half the charge. The half charged version of this move still deals 20%, has nice range, and KOs at about 100%, so its not a bad consolation prize, but it does make the move a bit worse than Giant Punch at the same niche. It does have a few advantages, which we'll go over. The first is that you can actually change the impact point of the spear by pressing forward at any point during the start lag or charge. This will cause the spear to instead lurch forward and slam down about 1.5 battlefield platforms in front of Kyoko, dealing only 0.7x its usual damage and 0.8x the knockback as it launches forward before slamming down. The hitbox where it slams down has the same power as the original move. This version has noticeably more end lag as it takes longer for the spear to retract back to its default state, but the start lag remains the same, giving Kyoko a pseudo-projectile to harass people at a range. There's another layer of pressure to this move if it has half charge or more, as a red shockwave is emitted from the impact point. At half charge, it goes a battlefield platform in each direction from the impact point, traveling at a speed that means the wave will still have the last quarter of its path to cover when Kyoko comes out of lag. Unfortunately the wave only deals 4% and a flinch at half charge, but it adds another layer of pressure to the half-charged version of this attack, as at close range it covers Kyoko's longer range spear attacks, and at long range it will help cover her shorter ranged ones. The red wave goes further at a slightly higher speed with higher charges, though the speed only increases to about 1.2x its base amount at full charge so its not much. The distance, however, is doubled to 2 battlefield platforms in both directions, and the damage and knockback spikes up quite a bit, capping out at 14% and upward knockback that KOs at 140%. This is a pretty scary projectile to have as additional pressure to Kyoko's game at all ranges, and it comes out on top of an already threatening hitbox, but you only get it if you use half charge or better. In the air this move switches to a slightly less flashy version, with the spearhead simply stabbing forward at the end of the charge, either right in front of Kyoko or launching further away depending on if you tilted the control stick forward or not. It deals 2% less than it does on the ground, but due to the slam being less dramatic, the start lag is actually cut noticeably. The half charged version is, even with the slight damage reduction, pretty alarming in this context given you can use it relatively close to the blast zone if you set it up, and that 100% KO percent of the base version is from center stage. Having a decent amount of charge in this move makes Kyoko very scary in the air, given this move comes out considerably faster than Giant Punch in the air rather than slightly slower on the ground. That said, you lose the shockwave and a bit of punch, so there is a tradeoff, and the end lag is actually a bit worse in the aerial version, which adds up to be extremely punishable if you whiff the long range version of this move. In the end, this move serves a couple functions. In the air, its a potentially powerful kill tool that comes out pretty fast, but needs stored charge for you to get much mileage out of. On the ground, it has more power but is less practical to actually hit with, in exchange for creating a projectile if you whiff. The projectile helps a pretty important part of Kyoko's play pattern, however, it allows her to transition from fighting at long range to fighting at short range and vice versa. Given Kyoko is at her best when knocking the opponent back and forth long and short ranges, this is a powerful tool to have wrapped up in just one input. Up Special - Impale Pulling her spear back with red energy forming at the tip, Kyoko's spear breaks into segments once again and launches forward with the tip faintly blazing with the energy. You can angle this move in all eight cardinal directions during the start lag similar to Fire Fox, but the move will default to 45 degrees upward in the air and directly forward on the ground. The spear goes out a similar distance to Fox's recovery, actually, and has quite a bit of start lag. For most of its flight, it deals 9% and pretty underwhelming knockback that doesn't KO until basically irrelevant percents, unless it hits pretty close to a blast zone. At the end of its range, however, the tip of the spear ignites with red energy, and if you hit the opponent with this hitbox, they take 15% and are trapped in a state similar to Corrin's pin. If it hits a ledge, Kyoko will tether to it, so this functions as her primary(and admittedly somewhat underwhelming) recovery move. There are a couple differences, with the big one being that Kyoko doesn't need to pin the opponent against a surface, so it functions a bit closer to a grab hitbox. The amount of time the opponent is impaled for is much less than Corrin's on account of being able to do this in the air, but you'll still have time to use the inputs you have available out of this move. Kyoko has three options out of this move, pressing forward, pressing up, or pressing backwards. As an aside if you do manage to pin an opponent against a surface, this deals an extra 7% to that opponent, which pushes the damage once you factor in the follow up to a pretty astonomical value. Given you need to sweetspot this move that's not especially fast to pull it off, however, its a reasonable payment for the risk involved. The forward option simply has Kyoko pull herself to the opponent, yanking the spear out and dropkicking the opponent once she gets into close range. This deals another 9% and weak horizontal knockback that scales poorly as well, so it serves as a pretty solid combo setup. If Kyoko fired the spear straight upward, she'll kick off to be a bit below the foe and the weak knockback will be vertical, and straight downward she will kick off above the foe and deal weak downward knockback, but the damage will remain the same. The upward version has her flick the chain upwards, sending the foe flying up off the tip of the spear with low vertical knockback that scales poorly, and only deals 6%. What's nice about this, however, is that you can use it to set up Kyoko's other long range attacks to follow up on her pressure at an extremely safe distance. These moves both remain the same on the ground and in the air. The backward option is different depending on if you're on the ground or in the air. If you're on the ground, Kyoko will swing the chain spear overhead and smash the opponent into the ground on the other side of her, dealing 13% and initially weak knockback that scales quite well, killing at about 135%. An important thing to note about this is it will send the opponent flying at a point of impact far behind Kyoko, This actually makes the KO power even better than you'd expect... provided the opponent lands on solid ground. If they just reach the end point of the slam and are in the air, they instead get a pretty weak spike that won't kill until 150% and take 7%, but that still sets up a pretty solid edgeguarding scenario. While this option is definitely the most powerful of the three chain spear tools, keep in mind its also not very easy to follow up on unless you've set up a few specific situations, such as an edgeguard or using the Down Special which we're about to get to. Both Kyoko holding the spear and the opponent will continue to fall at their normal fall speeds in the air. If one falls faster than the other they can't go past the end of the chain spear, which functions as a bit of a tether, and as such will become horizontally closer to Kyoko as the spear bends downward to keep them impaled. If Kyoko or the opponent end up the full spear length below the other, they'll just dangle there. Kyoko will straighten out the spear in front of her before performing a throw, so it'll always be performed from her height, so this stuff is only really relevant in some pretty big corner cases. Given the impale will not hold for very long, pulling off suicide kills with this is pretty difficult. The back throw does allow for some potential gimps, however, and the forward variation can also lead into a gimping attempt off stage, although considering this move is not a particularly great recovery that could easily backfire. Your Side B can compensate for that a little, but not enough that going off stage is great for Kyoko. As a final note, this move has pretty bad end lag if you whiff, but Kyoko resets the spear back to its normal state pretty quickly if you do hit. Down Special - Barrier With a pulse of red energy from her soul gem and a wave of her hand, Kyoko manifests a wall made of red chains, each link a red diamond-shaped object. This wall is about 1.4x Ganondorf's height, and appears a single stage builder unit in front of Kyoko. If you're looking for a durable construct to protect you from projectiles, prepare to be a bit disappointed. The wall will only take two hits to destroy from attacks that deal less than 8%, and one hit from an attack that deals more than that. The rare non-flinching move that also happens to deal less than 5% will take three hits to destroy it, so Fox won't have quite as much luck breaking through, and its not terribly hard to set up given the lag is average. If the first two below 5% and no flinching hits are dealt to the wall, that will allow it to be destroyed by a subsequent hit of less than 8%. That said, you're not really using this as a defensive tool, but it has its niche uses as one to help Kyoko play her longer ranged game if you want to go down that road. Kyoko's spear goes through the wall without damaging it, so it can serve as a sort of "armor" move to defend her while abusing the sheer amount of range her spear has, making life a bit difficult for opponents destroying the wall. The thing is most characters have an aerial or tilt that can smash through it in one hit, and if they do the attack will still go through and hit Kyoko potentially. There is a bit of impact stall upon destroying the wall, however, and the attack's damage is reduced by 8% with a corresponding knockback reduction from the damage lost. This loss of power can sometimes result in an attack being punishable on hit when it otherwise wouldn't be due to just flinching Kyoko rather than doing something more effectual, and combined with the impact stall it allows you to sometimes punish a foe in mid attack or on hit. The real meat of this move is what happens if you hit the opponent and they get knocked flying into a wall. They will be caught on the barrier, causing some of the bindings holding it together to snap but enough will stay around to hold the opponent in place. They will be trapped in hitstun on the barrier for as long as they would take knockback, effectively turning high knockback moves that hit foes into the wall into ridiculous combo setups. If you hit them with something that might KO them but it got intercepted by the wall, don't worry, this is the perfect time to charge a Neutral Special or Smash Attack to get the kill anyway. With less knockback than that it can still prove incredibly useful for combo setups, allowing you to link what would normally be combo finishers into a longer string or turn a KO move into a stellar combo starter. Flinching and weak knockback will not catch the opponent against the wall, rather they will bounce off it and deal the equivalent of 1 of the 2 hits of less than 8% required to destroy it. The wall will crumple completely after the opponent's hitstun ends or Kyoko lands another hit on them, using it up. If Kyoko is hit into this wall, rather than the opponent, it will crumple to catch her fall, reducing the knockback to almost none no matter how much it was initially an immensely reducing the hitstun. This can save Kyoko from death situationally, or interrupt an opponent's combo as Kyoko catches herself out of her hitstun just well enough to reverse it on the opponent. Kyoko can also tether to this wall with her Up Special, as unlike the rest of your spear attacks it will actually hook onto the wall. This does hurt your ability to latch onto foes behind it unfortunately, but it can allow you to get yourself to a nice aerial vantage point with your back to a wall that will cushion you against combos and KO moves. You can also wall cling on this wall, which is a niche but useful ability for amplifying Kyoko's air game. The wall will fade after 12 seconds, giving you a decent amount of time to work with it in all its varied uses. It serves as a powerful reward for Kyoko winning control of the stage, as its a great thing to be backed against in disadvantage state, and a great thing to pressure the opponent into at an advantage state, and is best set up when you've gotten a large amount of space from the opponent. Your Neutral and Up Special give Kyoko powerful repositioning and zoning options to make setting this wall up at an ideal point for you at whatever stage of the game you're in a reality. Side Special - Chain Dance Kyoko swings her spear up in a small arc in front of her, a look of concentration on her face. This deals only 2%, and comes out on Frame 10, one frame slower than Marth's dancing blade, but the sweetspot at the pointy part of the spear deals 3.5% and increased hitstun. This has better range than Dancing Blade's first hit, albeit by a small margin, and I keep comparing them because this move works a lot like dancing blade, with three subsequent follow ups that can each be angled in three directions. Note that the down option comes out a bit slower than the other two after this first hit, and as such it will not true combo out of hitting with the spear's shaft. If you hit with the tip, however, all three hits will true combo, which is a very useful property to have. The forward hit has Kyoko rapidly stab forward twice, once at a slightly downward angle and the second time at a slightly upward angle, dealing 2 hits of 1% and then 3%. This launches the foe forward with moderately strong base knockback that scales extremely slowly, only killing around 300%. This poor scaling is actually pretty important, because subsequent hits of Chain Dance actually transition into much longer range options that can be landed at foes on a wider range of percentages because of this. It also sets the opponent up nicely for the long range version of Neutral Special, not true comboing into it but because Kyoko has a couple options to follow up at that range including other hits of Chain Dance, a charged Neutral Special becomes a very scary alternative option for Kyoko to use out of this. Used in relatively close proximity to a wall the fact that the base knockback is this good also makes it an excellent combo tool, given the foe will be stuck in hitstun for a fair bit longer than most moves would leave them at a low percent. The upward version has Kyoko sweep the spear over her head in an arc from front to back, dealing 3% at the shaft and 4% at the tip of the spear. This move hits in enough of an arc in front of her it will catch people hit by the first strike. If you hit with the shaft of the first hit, you'll hit with it on the second hit, and the same will be true for the tipper. The shaft only deals weak upward knockback that pops the opponent up into the air a bit too high for melee ranged combos, but not far enough for Kyoko's long ranged options. It gets the foe out of your face for a moment at least, but you're not aiming to hit with it. The tipper hit will send the opponent a fair bit further upward, dealing similar knockback to the forward second hit but with slightly decreased base knockback, and at a slight forward angle away from directly above you. Aside from being a good range to put the opponent at for Kyoko's longer ranged upwards options, it also is a good range to play off by jumping up near the top of your wall with your wall cling, as that provides you a fallback point if you want to go into an aerial pursuit of an opponent. The downward hit has Kyoko swing the spear down and stab it into the ground in front of her at an angle, dealing 6% and noticeably increased hitstun. This is a stellar move for setting up melee combos, probably Kyoko's actual best combo starter, but you won't be able to confirm it out of Side Special unless you specifically hit with the tipper. That, being able to start a close range combo is a useful thing to have out of this move, as the long range combo options have a lot greater possibility of failure due to the percentages of the opponents being off from what you need. This is a good place to stop your chain dance if you're not in the right situation for some of the stronger payoffs, and for what its worth you can land this out of a sourspot first hit if the opponent reads you wrong. Once the third hit starts, Kyoko's expression will change from a concentrated one to a visible grin, pleased to have gotten to such an advantage. Her expression will sour greatly if she misses any of these hits however, and she'll audibly grunt in frustration. The third forward hit is where this move gets a little crazier, as Kyoko's spear extends outward, aimed directly at an opponent struck by the previous hit. If the opponent is "pinned" at close range by the downward version, it will just extend to the floor through the opponent for this hitbox. If an opponent was not struck by the previous hit it will just extend forward, as you'd probably expect. It can extend out up to 1.3 battlefield platforms, with the tip of the spear flaring up with red energy around it after its traveled a platform. This deals 5%-12% and knockback that KOs at 250%-160%, growing more powerful the further away from you the opponent was knocked. This is a good combo starter out of the downward variation if you want a foe a bit further forward rather than right at the tipper range of Side Special for subsequent hits, as the end lag of this hit is low if canceled out of at close range. At longer range, the ending lag gets worse and worse, and while its usually a true combo out of the up or forward hits due to its homing properties and fairly fast start lag, the gravity or percentage of the opponent will sometimes mess up the ability to true combo this, and if you whiff its pretty bad. Primarily at high percentages you'll want to be careful of using this as that's when the combos are more liable to not work. That said, given the foe will already be spaced away even before this hit this can get you a massive amount of distance from them to allow you to reset stage positioning. Sometimes in the air, this can also work as a pretty good gimp, as the way the knockback of the 2nd and 3rd hits will stack up in the air becomes a lot scarier closer to a blast zone, and you have to worry a bit less about needing the opponent at a percent where the true combo is less likely. Its a solid default third hit that always combos adequately out of the any of the first 3 hits due to its homing properties, and is situationally very powerful. The third upward hit is actually a similar to the second upward hit, with Kyoko swinging her spear in an upward arc from front to back a second time most of the time. As a small caveat, she'll swing from back to front if she uses this out of the second upward hit instead for the purpose of making the animation a little neater due to where her spear ends after the second hit. The thing that makes this a bit more interesting is Kyoko will hop backwards a bit during this move, and also extend the spear out so that at the apex of the swing the spear reaches up 1.25 Ganondorf heights above her head. This spaces Kyoko back a bit for the rest of the dancing blade combo or any follow ups she commits too after this move. The spear deals 5% and knockback that pops opponents up lightly on the handle, or 8% at the tip with knockback that scales pretty hard, killing at 130% but being not knocking the foe much further at low percents. The tipper hit will combo out of the tipper hit of the second upwards hit, while the second forward hit will just whiff and the second downward hit will hit with the sourspot. This is the least conditional way to kill foes out of your Side Special, only requiring you hit with the spear tip on the first hit, but it doesn't kill especially early and it still requires you to sweetspot it. That said, if you go down second up third, it sets up pretty nicely if you just want to try and string into your aerials out of this. Lastly, if there's a wall in front of you, the forward second hit actually will set up for this, sounds pretty situational and like not the best use of a wall, but its worth keeping in mind for the fourth upward hit. The third downward hit has Kyoko stab forward with her spear three times rapidly along the ground, each time increasing the length of the spear. This deals 2 hits of 1.5% at the handle and 2% at the tip, followed by a third of 3% at the handle and 6% at the tip. The first two hits don't have their knockback depend that much on the tip vs handle hitboxes, each having enough knockback to push the opponent forward about 0.45 Battlefield platforms, which is a tiny bit more than the spear extends each time (0.4 battlefield platforms). The tip of the spear's size is exaggerated a bit more with each successive stab, so you won't accidentally knock the foe out of your range with this with the tipper hitbox, but it gives you a small portion of the handle hitbox that will actually chain successfully into the next tipper hitboxes of the second/third hits. The handle third hit deals low mostly horizontal knockback that doesn't amount to much other than spacing the foe a bit further away from Kyoko, but the tipper hit actually deals greatly heightened hitstun. This unfortunately does not set up into your fourth hits especially well due to their weird hitboxes, but what it can let you do is set up your Up Special or Neutral Special. Its not a true combo, but the window the foe has to get out of the way is extremely small, giving Kyoko the chance to mix it up with a few of her other options to basically always get an advantage out of this, and Up Special combined with this move allows you to switch around positions on the stage exceptionally well provided you got the tipper on the first strike to go into the down hit and then this. Neutral Special, instead, provides pressure even if the foe is missed by the spear itself and kills pretty early provided its charged, and you can fake out the foe's dodges by further charging it. The forward hit can sometimes chain into it via a wall too, at a slightly closer range than the Up Tilt's sweetspot, so it gives a different option for if you used the forward second hit into a wall. As a final note this shield pokes foes really easily, always doing so by the third hit and easily doing so on the first or second hit if the foe has taken even chip shield damage, so this is a very useful move to go into against a blocking foe. For the fourth and final hit, Kyoko's spear starts breaks into chain link segments out of the third hit as she lashes it forward in a slight arc in front of her, the ground shaking slightly from the impact if it hits the ground as this final hit covers a huge range of 1.65 battlefield platforms. This is unfortunately too laggy to true combo out of anything, barring the third down hit's sweetspot, which will always hit with the sourspot of this hitbox. That said, this is the one sourspot in this move with actual power behind it, dealing 6% and diagonal knockback that KOs at 175% which isn't terribly impressive but if you consider the move's range and ability to be used in the air its an acceptable result. If you hit with the sweetspot spearhead at the end of the move, you'll instead get 11% and a hitbox that kills at 95%, but that's not happening unless you have a very well positioned wall. That said, the spearhead is at least big enough to at least give you a bit of wiggle room on the exact positioning, exaggerated slightly on this version of the move. At specific percentages and ranges, you can actually land this move out of the third forward hit, which due to its variable power you won't get entirely consistent results for but chaining from second forward to third forward to fourth forward will specifically give the foe a very small window to dodge the fourth hit at 85%-110%, which makes this something the foe very much has to fear in those ranges. While they can dodge it, predicting their attempt too can allow Kyoko to go for something else. As an aside, while shielding this move is a good option to avoid it if you still end up on the ground after the first 3 hits, but if they're hit by the sweetspot that actually deals an absurd amount of shield damage and quite a bit of shield stun, almost enough to break it in one hit, so be careful reacting like that. The fourth hit's upward variant instead has the spear break into segments and then Kyoko has it lash upwards at a 20 degree diagonal forward away from directly above her, dealing 5% on the body of the spear and weakly bumping the foe upward again. This is a fair bit faster than the forward fourth hit, actually true comboing out of the upward third hit, except for the part that due to only covering a specific angle that will stop working after about 50%. The good news is the sweetspot here is the strongest KO move Kyoko has here, dealing 14% and knockkback that KOs at 60%. This is insanely good, but you're only going to pull it off if you specifically second hit a foe into a wall with the forward version, third hit the foe upward at maximum range, and then they have to be between 60% and 85%. This is a really specific hit to ever land, but on the other hand you're killing the opponent in the 45%-70% range where you're factoring in the damage before this move out of a frame 10 move, and Kyoko's gameplan is all about positioning yourself well in relation to the opponent and your wall. So while situational, this is your big reward, and the nice thing is as mentioned there are a lot of other semi-specific ranges where certain combinations of Side Special hits will leave a pretty solid end result with a wall, so if you don't get the exact range for this right you still have plenty of other potential success cases. The final version of the fourth hit has Kyoko's chain spear get tossed forward in a similar animation to the forward hit at first, before the tip curls backwards and then the chain segments further extend out into a vortex of whirling chain links, turning into a red blur at the end of the spear that covers an area 0.5 battlefield platforms wide, starting a distance 1.3 battlefield platforms from Kyoko. This has much better coverage than the forward version but suffers from similar, albeit not identical lag, slightly faster to allow it to do wall combos slightly easier. The chain slamming down before the tornado of spear parts deals 4% and considerably weaker diagonal knockback than the forward variant, but the whirlwind deals rapid hits of 1% that add up to 12% and a final hit that deals knockback TOWARD Kyoko that KOs at 170%. Like the forward variant, its not a true combo out of anything Side Special does, but what it does do is catch out non-perfectly timed dodges with its somewhat longer duration and as such encourage the foe to shield, while also having slightly different timing than the forward variation to further make avoiding one move or the other a pain. This gives Kyoko a pretty powerful 50/50 tool, one she can potentially mix up her other long range options to remind foes how terrifying she is at this range. The most exciting thing about this move is the result. Knocking the foe back toward you opens all kinds of possibilities, like getting a foe stuck in a wall behind you to pull off a flashy and exotic finisher. Or you bring them back in and because they failed to avoid this move, you get to go for yet another Side Special chain, or just a combo of standards and aerials. Even your smashes and Neutral Special, or slightly charged Neutral Special, can be landed out of this sometimes. This is an exceptional reward if you aren't at the KO range you're looking for, but you do to have to time it right and not just get shielded, as this move does pretty poorly on shields. At least you're far away when it ends. Also if you whiff this one, the extra duration means the potential punishment you could eat will be a lot worse. Standards​ Jab - Red Combo Kyoko starts off her jab combo with a low kick with her left leg, hitting foes surprisingly close to the ground and dealing 2%. It comes out quite fast, on Frame 3, but has the downside of having shorter range than her spear moves. It is nice that it hits low though, partially because it can shield poke if the foe's shield has taken a decent amount of chip damage and partially because Kyoko's actually a bit lacking for close range low hitting options, so this at least helps. While this has enough end lag if you cancel out of it you'll just be in frame neutral, obviously what you'll want to do is instead go into the second hit. Kyoko's second hit has her rapidly stab up and down, in a manner visually similar to Captain Falcon's Jab albeit carrying a spear. She only does it for a short burst though, dealing 8 hits of 0.5% that add up to 4%, pushing the foe back slightly while she does so. Like the first hit, if you cancel out of this here you won't be at enough of a frame advantage to true combo into anything, but you will be at a slight one, and the foe will be at tipper range of your spear in front of you, so you'll definently be at an advantage. The final hit has Kyoko slide slightly forward and stab as she goes, the spear pointed slightly upward as she does so. This does 5% on the body and 6% at the tip of the spear, and sends the foe diagonally mostly forward with knockback that kills at 170%. You won't really get combos off this most of the time, like the other Jab hits, but it will space the foe decently far away and given how fast the first hit of Jab comes out, this is not a bad end result, and if landing actual kill moves has been going poorly enough this one can kill at the ledge in an emergency. One thing that's pretty nice here is this is one of the best ways to use a wall, because the knockback is high enough the foe will get stuck in it for quite a bit, actually allowing you to combo extend into quite a few things out of a move that comes out incredibly fast, at higher percents even allowing for you to get a kill confirm. So this is one of the best ways to capitalize on a wall's existence in your set, even if it doesn't link into your other moves terribly well otherwise. Forward Tilt - Stab/Reel Kyoko stabs forward in front of her with her spear in a very basic melee move, having good reach for a melee move and also coming out quite fast. She leans forward just a bit in this move to give it a bit more reach, but this is at the cost of ending lag that makes it worse for combos than you'd hope. The hilt of the spear deals 5% and weak horizontal knockback that will never kill, but starts at a slightly more respectable base value than you'd expect to make it not horrible for putting the foe at spear point range. The spear point deals 9% and better knockback, which will space the opponent to about a battlefield platform-1.5 battlefield platforms in the 10%-70% range before scaling to the point its not as good at putting the foe in Kyoko's long range pressure zone. It overall serves the purpose of being a great spacer, but unfortunately doesn't really set up a lot of combos. It at least sets up nicely for Nair/Jab with the sourspot.

While this is good as your basic spacer, there's a trick to it that gives it just a bit more versatility than just that. This move has a follow up where Kyoko actually has the spear break into segments and launch forward from where the move ends, but the spear point seems to just go around foes as it travels through the background instead. No, we're not about to pull some MYM11-12 level garbage here though, this is actually just so the spear can instead go around opponents and, if they're in range of the hitbox, wrap around their body and reel them toward Kyoko. This deals another 5% and pulls the opponent about 0.35 battlefield platforms of width toward Kyoko, and leaves her at a slight frame advantage. This looks like a grab but it won't go through shields, even if the way the foe is pulled toward Kyoko doesn't quite look like normal knockback with the chain wrapped around their body. It comes out fairly quickly after the base attack, and actually leaves Kyoko with a bit less end lag than the other version as the spear is already retracting back to its default state at the end of the move and Kyoko has reset her footing. This allows this move to serve double duty as a spacer. The second hit comes out fast enough that while its a little on the predictable side, you can hit foes with it even if you didn't hit the first hit, and the first hit will combo into it until around 40% at the tip and at any range on the hilt. Of course, comboing into this on the hilt will frequently end up with the foe right back in your face, which you don't really want, but Kyoko is at least at a slight frame advantage. More importantly, this move allows you to just mess with the foe's spacing in a bit smaller increments, which if you're aiming for specific positioning in regards to a wall is incredibly useful. Its also not a bad way to transfer long range pressure into some closer range brawling, being faster and more convenient for this purpose than the fourth down hit of the Side Special. Its a lot less powerful, though, and because you do have to go through the first hit to get to this move the lag will add up to the point foes can definently get out of the way of this if you're trying to reel them in from afar. While the end result is nothing to write home about, this does catch out dodges sometimes at close range, which is a handy thing to have access to. Up Tilt - Overhead Strike Kyoko swings the spear up over her head, stopping a bit behind her. She then pulls her spear back to her side for the ending lag in a very quick motion, actually making this move quite fast on both ends. The tip of the spear deals 9% and weak upward knockback that eventually scales to kill at 235%, while the handle deals 6% and diagonal upward knockback that actually starts a bit higher than the upward hit but scales worse to not kill at any remotely relevant percent. This move comes out fast and ends fast, and serves as one of Kyoko's best grounded close range options for the most part. However, one thing worth looking out for is that its backwards coverage is pretty lackluster, so while it can hit a foe from behind Kyoko they can weave around it pretty easily. This means Kyoko needs to be careful of cross-ups, though you can still certainly land this move if the foe is behind you if you space yourself at the right angle from them, and for what its worth your Nair is a very good coverage tool. The combo applications of this move depend on where you hit with it. The sourspot basically only combos into Nair with any consistency, but it will do so up until around 85% on middleweights, so if nothing else it has a pretty safe follow up. The upwards hitbox is much better, comboing into itself or Side Special at very low percents, and can also link into Up Smash at slightly higher percents and Uair/Nair for a bit longer than that. The problem is this move will lose its combo utility around 50% with the sweetspot, rather just spacing the foe upward, but it still serves its purpose as a juggler. Either hit will at least do decent work as a combo starter though, and it serves as a good tool to throw out in neutral or even when you're on the back foot if the foe mistimes something due to its general speed and safety. Down Tilt - Low Lash Kyoko's spear quickly separates into segments as she sweeps it low along the ground in front of her. This is an animation a bit similar to Ike's Down Tilt, but given much greater reach by the segmented spear. This is pretty quick to come out and has pretty enormous range for its speed, reaching nearly a full battlefield platform forward. The trade off for this is that the end lag isn't great, and the power is generally pretty weak. If you hit with the chain segments, all you're doing is popping the foe up for 5% and weak upward knockback that is barely above a flinch until about 40%. This makes this move actually pretty garbage at most ranges at low percentages, where the foe will actually be at a minor frame advantage on hit. Once the knockback has scaled a bit this stops being as much of a problem, as it will put Kyoko into a frame neutral or advantageous position that sort of sets up aerial combos at lower percents than you'd expect, though the true combos you get out of this move are basically non-existent barring some corner cases. Its not exciting to hit with this sourspot, but at percentages in the 70%+ range it leads into your aerial game pretty well if the opponent doesn't pull off some good predictions. Up very close to Kyoko, there's actually a slightly better hitbox that deals 8% and diagonal knockback that while not comboing into anything or KOing at any relevant time, is safe on hit at all percentages. The fact that it will never combo means the short range in front of Kyoko where this hitbox hits is actually a bit worse than the one slightly further out. That said, you'll appreciate having the safety when the foe is at low percents that you otherwise would not have, even if the safe range has about the same reach as Mario's FTilt. The spear tip itself is actually a pretty decent hitbox, however, dealing 11% and knocking opponents toward Kyoko with low to the ground knockback that KOs at 255%. This is not nearly as powerful of a "knock the foe to you" option as the Side Special's fourth downward hit, partially because of the weaker knockback and partially because of the somewhat annoying ending lag that makes going into laggier options less practical. Still, it can convert into Forward Tilt/Up Tilt easily, as well as your Nair/Side Special/Neutral Special sometimes and at very specific percentages your Up Smash. The slightly shorter range of the tip compared to Kyoko's other long ranged pressure tools is kind of unfortunate, but what this can do is catch out foes rolling closer from Kyoko's long ranged pressure, and provides a fast option to overload the foe's dodges alongside a Neutral Special shockwave for the longer ranged NSpecial. It also gives another place in Kyoko's range that the foe will need to be careful about. This is a pretty good move to poke a foe with from behind a wall, one of Kyoko's best options in that regard. The tips hitbox can knock a foe into a wall, and while the knockback is not good enough for it to lead to a great use of the wall at lower percents it does slightly expand your combo options, and can lead into a kill confirm pretty easily at around 80%-100% depending on the foe's position relative to the wall. Also if you hit with the sourspot, its a bit better in this situation, as the foe's offensive options are messed up by the wall taking one or two of their hits and as such leaves their tools to punish Kyoko or retake control in the air a fair bit more limited. This isn't as powerful as some things you can do with the wall, but it shores up a lot of this move's weaknesses. As a final note, this moves usefulness against shields varies pretty wildly. If the foe has a full health shield, you're going into a worryingly large frame disadvantage if you use this on one, but if they've taken even chip damage they will get shield poked. This means this move's viability to just throw out depends on if the foe has already taken shield damage, something to keep in mind as Kyoko's fast options go. Dash Attack - Serpentine Spear Kyoko lunges up into the air, holding her spear out below her as she travels in an arc that goes approximately 1.25 battlefield platforms. For the first half of the arc, the spear breaks into its segmented form as the spearhead increases in size, as Kyoko grounds herself on the head of it. The spear then smashes back down in the back half of the arc with Kyoko standing on it, a flare of red energy surrounding her as it impacts the ground. Kyoko goes up about a Ganondorf height into the air at the move's peak, and the spearhead is a bit bigger than Wario when it smashes into the ground. This is one the whole a pretty laggy dash attack, taking a bit for Kyoko to complete her arc through the air and having terrible end lag as she has to step off the spear and revert it to its normal size and shape. While Kyoko's going upwards with the spear underneath her, Kyoko's body will lightly knock the opponent forward for 4% and knockback that scales very poorly. The spear is a bit better, dealing 7% and dealing upwards diagonal knockback that kills at 250%. These are not hitboxes you want to hit with, because Kyoko will not be canceled out of her dash attack when she hits with them, which means Kyoko will have to go through all the awful ending lag while the foe recovers from their knockback. If you hit with the spear, at least, you're likely to get punished a lot less badly than if you whiffed entirely, and at high percents you might just be completely fine as it'll start sending the foe a good distance away. That said, if Kyoko's body collides with the foe or this move gets outright dodged, you're definently going to take a big hit. Once Kyoko is actually riding atop the spear, this move gets a lot better, as the power is buffed to dealing 13% and mostly horizontal knockback that KOs at 145%. This knockback has a slightly downward angle to it, which makes it a lot more impressive near a ledge. This is the start of the portion of the move you want to hit with, and its a perfectly acceptable consolation prize if you don't hit with the impact point. Of note, if you have a foe's back to a wall, this gets a lot scarier, as if you have the ranges right you can have both this hit and the final, more powerful hit collide to pile on an additional 13% and get the most powerful hitbox of this move out of the flight path, which as we're going to get to is a pretty impressive reward. You still have to be very careful about throwing this move out, and it'll be a bit predictable that you want too if the wall is there at a foe's back, but the threat being there is absolutely noteworthy. When Kyoko finally lands on the ground, the sides of the spearhead deal 16% and mostly vertical knockback that KOs at 120%. This is pretty good, but what you really want to hit with is the middle of the spearhead, which will deal a terrifying 23% with purely vertical knockback that kills at 60%, obscenely powerful for a dash attack. That said, this only works at near the exact limits of this move's range, so compared to other slow power dash attacks this one is even harder to pull off. With all that said, Kyoko has a number of ways to pressure foes at long range, with the best one to lead into this move being Neutral Special. Putting the foe off balance with shockwaves on the ground makes avoiding this attack a fair bit harder, and the foe really has to be smart to avoid it, because this move has some notable anti-defense properties. It absolutely obliterates shields on the sweetspot, breaking them outright if they've taken more than a sliver of damage, and the flame around the hitbox indicates it lingering for a few frames to make dodging it surprisingly difficult, especially if the foe's dodges are decayed from other long ranged pressure. If Kyoko goes off stage with this move, the result is risky yet powerful. Kyoko will basically activate the final hitbox at the same height she'd collide with the ground, except the sweetspot instead becomes a spiking hitbox comparable to Ganondorf's Dair, only actually a little bit stronger. This is obviously absurd, but landing this hitbox is vastly much predictable than said Dair, and it sends Kyoko falling down 2 Ganondorf heights before she exits her fall, reverting her spear back to normal as she gets off it. This can frequently lead into a gimp in the foe's favor if they get out of the way of this attack, but it is worth mentioning the area covered by it is very big and gives Kyoko's already strong ability to ledge guard an even scarier tool than usual. One nice thing about this move is that in the second half of it with Kyoko riding on her spear, the spearhead is capable of just blocking and powering through incoming attacks. This gives Kyoko the ability to power through projectiles and not eat a fast move while trying to land this attack, meaning once she's reached the halfway point of her travel path, the best way to punish her is just to not get hit, as knocking her out of this move requires you to specifically attack around the spearhead. While the ability to pseudo counter with this by powering through a hitbox will not come up that often, sometimes you will cut through an opponent's aerial attack and send them flying backwards, often putting them at a good offstage angle or sometimes even smacking them into the wall for the ideal hitbox. This adds a secondary purpose to this move beyond just going in off long range pressure in the hopes of pulling off a kill on a good read. All in all this is a very powerful move, but it is a bit miserable at being a dash attack against close ranged opponents, so be aware of that. Smashes​ Forward Smash - Red Vortex Spear

Breaking her spear into segments, Kyoko spins it around herself in a sizeable vortex, covering both sides of her about a Wario width away from Kyoko on each side. It takes a bit for the spear to form into a large enough amount of segments to form the vortex, with this hitbox coming out on Frame 14 and lasting until Frame 28, at which point Kyoko flings the spearhead forward out of the vortex as the actual "forward smash" part of this attack. There is some pretty high end lag as Kyoko needs to return her spear to its default state, and between that and the duration/start lag this move is on the whole quite punishable. It makes up for this by the huge range on the forward hit, going forth 1.3 battlefield platforms, which is the kind of reach that would make the Belmonts envious. Given the move has an FAF of 85 frames though, it better be making up for it in some other departments, and I assure you this move definitely does. The first thing worth mentioning is the knockback dealt by the vortex, which universally sends opponents forward a set distance forward while dealing 9%-12%. This even includes if you catch foes with the back of this hitbox, offering some rare utility for a Forward Smash in that it actually catches out rolling foes really nicely. The set distance forward is a little over a battlefield platform width, which is the range at which Kyoko's long range moves come into play nicely, and it also means the first hit will line up with the second one rather nicely! The second hit deals 17%-24% while the spear is flying out and 20%-28% at the tip of the range, killing at 100%-65% for most of the hitbox while the tip of the range kills at 80%-45%. The first hit will usually not combo into the sweetspot unless the foe is right at the tip of the range, on top of another factor. You see, the foe will be out of hitstun if this move hits when it first comes out on Frame 14 by the time the spear comes rocketing after them, giving the foe a chance to shield or dodge. The move obviously takes a pretty hefty chunk out of the opponent's shield, and despite the move's bad ending lag a dodge will put the opponent in a position where Kyoko is actually at a bit of an advantage due to the combination of her range and the foe being in their dodge while she's going through the end lag. This leaves the foe with a window to react and only take the weaker hit if they get hit by it, but its not a bad place for Kyoko to be considering she does quite like being able to keep up long range pressure like this. You basically are transitioning from short range combat to long range combat in a single move here. There's a bit of a trick here too, if you want to link the first hit into the second one a bit more easily. Kyoko can actually start charging the FSmash again by holding the input before she would throw the spear out forward, pausing her spin as she does so. The power of the second hit is actually affected by the charge of the first hit, so if its fully charged this is only useful for delaying the attack, but you can actually use this to add a bit more charge to the move mid attack in some situations, which lets it serve as an even scarier KO move. More importantly, given the foe is in a very tight situation in terms of dodging this attack, charging the second hit can screw with the opponent's timing, making linking the first and second hits a bit easier. This move is at its best, however, when its used to punish rolls or approaches. You see, you aren't always going to hit the foe on Frame 14, if they only come into contact with the hitbox at say, Frame 19 or so, they will straight up get comboed into the second hit without question. If the foe is rolling toward Kyoko to get through her ranged pressure or to get behind her, you can turn their invulnerability frames against them by hitting them with this powerful two part combo that they suddenly have no ability to avoid, which is just an exceptionally powerful punish. Its also a nice way to switch from close range to ranged pressure, not as versatile as Side Special in that regard but serving as a decently powerful alternative that discourages rolls nicely, and sometimes works better as a KO move. As a final note, Kyoko is usually at her best trying to hit a foe at melee range or at a specific, a bit over a battlefield platform distance in front of her. While its too slow to be great at it, this is at least capable of covering the space that is normally a pseudo "blind spot" for Kyoko by hitting effectively at basically all ranges in one move. Up Smash - Spear Vault In a rather swift motion, Kyoko stabs up directly above her head with her spear, in a move that animates a bit similarly to Marth's Up Smash, but Kyoko spends a bit less time pulling her spear back to stab it upwards, giving the move a bit less force behind it but also a faster startup time. Coming out at frame 9, this stab deals 9%-13% on the hilt of the spear and upwards knockback that only KOs at around 220%-160%, and 15%-21% at the tip with upward knockback that KOs at 130%-85%. Given how fast it comes out, this can be a nice way to end a stock out of nowhere at higher percents with the tip hit, but unfortunately the handle sourspot only has the kind of power you'd expect of a tilt.

This move still has reasonably long ending lag and poor coverage, only hitting straight above Kyoko and only having an especially good hitbox at a fairly specific range above her, so its fast KO move properties are hindered by a those downsides. With that said, its a better move than you might at first think, because it has a fairly useful follow up. If you press the input a second time, Kyoko will jump up and bring her spear from above her into the ground, in a hitbox that deals 8%-12% and weak diagonal knockback that only kills at 275%-200% on the hilt and 11%-15% and diagonal knockback that kills at 200%-130% at the tip. This leaves Kyoko with her spear planted in the ground with her standing atop it, after which she will vault off it in one of three directions, depending on how this move was angled. This follow up combos out of the hilt hitbox at very low percentages and comes out reasonably fast, mitigating the move's ending lag problem to a degree, but because of the inherent mobility associated with the follow up that we're about to get to, its a slightly awkward option to just throw out every time you use Up Smash. If you angle up, Kyoko will just leap off a Ganondorf height into the air from her point with her spear planted below her on the ground, effectively ending a Ganondorf height above the tip of where the first Up Smash hitbox would end. This can allow you to pursue foes high up from the sweetspot hit to make it a bit more useful at lower percents, and given Kyoko keeps her other jumps after doing this you can actually get a metric ton of vertical height with this move, allowing for a few decent setups involing Nair and Up Special that can lead into a kill with Uair at surprisingly early percentages. While its not the most used direction in this regard, Kyoko can also situationally take advantage of having a lot of distance above the opponent, walling them against the ground with Nair or taking advantage of using Dair/Up Special from above. The other situational options out of this are if you tilt forward and backward as well as upward, which will cause Kyoko to vault forward at an accelerated speed well beyond her normal max air speed in those directions(about 1.35x faster but rapidly decreasing to her usual maximum). Vaulting backwards sets up Fair out of this and vaulting forward sets up Bair, and it can improve the viability of Nair as a combo move(we'll get to Nair soon I promise, its pretty important) just by virtue of Kyoko continuing to move in that direction at a high speed. In general this lets you weave around platforms and your wall immediately after throwing out two fast hitboxes, and combined with the fact that Kyoko wants a pretty specific kind of spacing the burst mobility this provides can really help with optimizing your positioning in regards to the opponent. With all that said, the fact that Kyoko will get launched off in one of these directions is a bit awkward if you don't want to respace yourself, in which case its better to just take the end lag, but that may not be a very safe option if the first hit whiffed. Down Smash - Blade and Chain Breaking her spear into segments, Kyoko begins spinning it around herself like a ball and chain, extending out a massive 1.1 battlefield platforms on each side of her. She will spin the chain around her three times before finally slamming it down in front of her, the spearhead enlarging a bit as she does so. The spearhead is slammed down 0.8 battlefield platforms ahead of Kyoko. This move has notable but not huge starting lag, moderate duration, and massive ending lag, so if you're throwing this move out it is very, very important to know what you're getting yourself into. Considering this is a larger area of coverage than a Belmont FSmash on both sides of you, the commitment is absolutely warranted. The three spins of the spear deal 4%-6% at the tip and 2%-3% at the chain, with the tip of the spear dealing knockback that sends the foe slightly inward, to exactly the point on the ground the spear would impact with set knockback. The chain will deal a flinching hit that will just lock the opponent in place for subsequent chain hits. This means if you hit the foe with either the edge of the forward range or at exactly the point the spear would slam down, you will definently land the final spear slam hitbox. The spear slam deal 16%-22% and diagonal mostly upward knockback that KOs at 90%-55%, serving as an excellent finisher. Because this move does not come out especially slowly with the worst part of the lag being the ending of the move, this makes it a reasonable long range finisher if you hit with the tip. What makes this move a bit more than just a long range finisher, something the FSmash generally does better, is two things. One, it comes out a lot faster than the more powerful hit of Forward Smash, so if you're not landing the initial sourspot of that move this is a fair bit easier to land, especially since the lag is now a lot closer to moves like Up Special or Neutral Special, Kyoko's other long range pressure tools. Its easier to land off a read, especially because this move's duration is such that spot dodging it is incredibly hard, and it also covers two separate, so it can actually be kind of annoying to roll around properly as well. Shielding it is probably the best option, but shielding is poor if Kyoko attempts to rush in with the dash attack, and this will deal quite a bit of shield damage thanks to all of the hits linking into each other on shield, at least making it easier to poke through with Down Tilt thanks to the heavy shield damage they took. This move also serves a purpose of covering two points at once, the edge of the swing which knocks them in wards and the slightly closer point where the spear actually slams down. If you don't hit with either of those hitboxes but still land it far enough away, the massive ending lag becomes way harder for the foe to capitalize on other than say, throwing out a projectile which is usually not nearly as scary as their melee options. If you land it close... you should've probably used a different move. A lot of Kyoko's hitboxes are pretty lackluster outside their optimum range, so covering two optimum points at once while making spot dodging and rolling difficult is a pretty valuable threat to have in your spacing game. Though, considering this swings behind you, this move actually has four points of coverage rather than two. Now, normally the back spear tip hit would not combo the foe into the spear slam, as the slam will take place in front of you and it will just send the foe in as much as the forward hit would, but behind you instead of in front. That said, if you press any input during the swinging process, you can have the spear slam occur behind Kyoko instead of in front of her at the same distance of 0.8 battlefield platforms behind her. This gives Kyoko a good way to deal with foes a large distance behind her, serving a secondary role to Bair in that regard working a fair bit better against dodges than said move. Charging this attack actually has a secondary effect, as it boosts the set knockback of the inward hit with the spear tip, and simultaneously causes the slam down to occur closer to Kyoko. Fully charged, she will slam down the spear within 0.2 battlefield platforms of herself, and this means charging the move allows you to tweak where the inner hit would land to further this move's excellent coverage. Obviously charging this already somewhat laggy to start move is a bit predictable, and you don't want to be predictable with a move that you are quite liable to straight up die if you whiff, but it makes the move just that little bit more versatile in terms of covering space and punishing the foe's mistakes. Aerials ​Neutral Aerial - Spear Spin Kyoko just spins her spear around herself with one hand, covering a complete 360 degree circle around her. This is one of Kyoko's fastest options, and has coverage over her entire body, even having pretty low ending lag, in exchange for not reaching out as far as even some of her more melee ranged weapon attacks usually do. The tip of the spear deals 9% and radial knockback that does slightly vary on where the spear hits the foe, dealing pretty weak knockback while the knockback is a majority upwards or downwards but improving to solid spacing knockback if it hits the foe mostly backward or forward. The hilt deals 6% and the knockback is always forward regardless of what part of the spin you hit with rather than radial, and a bit weaker than the tipped version. This sourspot is actually not terribly easy to hit with, given the spear spin is centered at a point inside Kyoko's hurtbox and the spear is not at all extended out. The spacing oriented knockback if you hit with the front or back of this hitbox makes it less than exceptional at comboing if you hit from those directions, which is kind of unfortunate. It'd be a great combo starter and probably even chain into itself with lower knockback, but as it stands this is more useful for getting the foe to Kyoko's optimal range. Mind you, that's still a useful property, and because of its fast speed and coverage its actually pretty good at reversing a disadvantage state to suddenly forcing the foe into playing the spacing game with Kyoko again, or converting on any combo opportunity to end with the foe at long range. Also while it won't work at all percentages, there is a percentage range between 30%-60% on midweights where this combos into Fair's sweetspot, which as far as your long range game goes is pretty important. The upwards and downwards part of the hitbox are way better for combos, as their knockback keeps the foe close enough that you can potentially chain this together multiple times for juggles, or easily go into Uair if the foe's above you. The downward version will link quite well above the stage into your ground game, and depending on Kyoko's prediction of the foes movement can sometimes link into itself a couple times to push foes back toward the ground or the bottom blast zone. The upward hitbox actually links into Side Special pretty nicely if the foe is hit at between a 30-60 degree diagonal, which given Side Special's versatility is potentially quite powerful. One thing worth mentioning is that the better comboing options you have to lead into this, Up Tilt, will not lead into the upward version of the hitbox, so you'll need to sweetspot it at a lower percentage if you actually want to go for the longer combo strings the upward version provides. The sourspot is generally not great to hit with, if you hit the foe with the sourspot in front of, above, or below Kyoko, the foe will just not be put close enough to combo except at super low percents and not into your long ranged combat zone until fairly high percents. That said, below 20% you can do some more forward oriented combos with this, and that percent is extended quite a bit if you hit with the back hitbox, which due to its position relative to Kyoko makes the forward angled knockback better for combos. This gives an alternate part of the hitbox to link into Side Special with, giving the move additional chances to lead into one of Kyoko's more powerful tools. As a final note, becuase of the wide variety of angles and knockback distances this move provides, this is one of your best tools for setting up exact positioning for an opponent if you're aiming to do something fancy with a wall requiring exact spacing. The position dependant amount of knockback means Kyoko can get the foe to pretty exact positioning if she predicts the foe's position with this attack, and given its speed that's easier to do when it sounds. Basically if you want to go for something flashy that requires optimized spacing, this move makes that process a fair bit easier, and combined with all of its other utility this is one of Kyoko's absolute most core moves. Fair- Red Lash Breaking her spear into chain segments and lashing it forward as she does so, Kyoko performs what is easily her fastest long range attack in the set. Going forward a full 1.2 battlefield platforms, this move comes out on Frame 6, and gives Kyoko an actual true combo out of some of her spacers that doesn't require the wall. The chain link segment of the spear only deals 3% and a flinch, while the tip deals 8% and slight forward knockback, which can actually at low percents link into itself. Yes, this is a combo move that's good enough to serve as an extender too, which is an immensely valuable option for Kyoko to have against a foe at long range. The problem is as most of her other long range moves are a bit on the laggy end, there isn't a lot to combo this move into, and it does lose its ability to string into itself as percentages get higher, at that point more just serving as a way to maintain advantage at a range. There's a bit of a catch to this move, and its one you should be aware of while using it. The low ending lag it has that lets it combo into itself is not guarunteed, as it will only have that low ending lag if the speartip actually hits the foe. If it does it will catch on their body and allow Kyoko to quickly reset it to its normal state with a bit of hitlag. If you whiff and hit with the sourspot or don't hit at all, Kyoko will instead swing the spear all the way past her before resetting it back to its normal shape, which has actually fairly punishable ending lag. This means sourspotting this attack will outright put you at a frame disadvantage to the foe, which may not be that bad if the foe is further out from you but means you really, really should use Nair instead at closer range. It also makes this move pretty punishable on a whiff, so while its quite good at catching out opponents with its high speed, you actually do need to be a bit careful about when you throw this move out. One thing that will alievate this problem slightly is that like Down Tilt, there's a close range hitbox that sends the foe with moderate but extremely poor scaling diagonally upward knockback very close to Kyoko, dealing 6%. It doesn't really link into anything of value and doesn't cover anything outside a range much shorter than even her unextended spear has, but it means at the very least if you input Fair on a foe in melee range in front of you, you're not just screwing yourself over. There is a specific percentage range a bit after when this move combos into itself, specifically around 55%-75% on middleweights, where it can actually combo into Neutral Special's long ranged version. This is your one true combo into that move, and while that's below its center stage KO range, that's not when you want to go for this combo. No, if you use that near the edge or off stage, you can either confirm a kill or send the opponent very close to the blast zone, which is pretty important given Kyoko is actually really good at edgeguarding so if she gets the foe far off stage this can just serve as the finisher. While a bit position dependant and only working at specific percentages, this makes being at Kyoko's long range with her Neutral Special charged up that much scarier than it'd already be. While the window is extremely narrow, on some characters there's a gap of about 5% where the Nair will combo into this string, so if you get to that specific percentage a charged NSpecial can cause the foe to start playing incredibly scared, and if you condition them to be terrified of you that can make it easier to get exact spacing for something else. While harder to land than Nair, an Up Special's upward flick can also chain right into this combo with vastly more consistency than Nair, adding some fear factor to that move as well. Back Aerial - Reversal Chain Kyoko's spear separates into chain segments as she swings it behind herself, covering a downright massive arc behind herself starting at about her head's height and going down a considerable distance below her. This comes out with above average lag for an aerial on both ends, but the massive range that exceeds Shulk's Bair makes up for this. The spear tip starts pretty near Kyoko, goes all the way out to max length in a flash before being swung down, basically covering a straight line back from Kyoko and then the edge of the arc. It deals 13% and horizontal knockback that KOs at 135% while initially coming out and then 11% and diagonal slightly upward knockback that kills at 180% while traveling along the arc. The chain deals only 8% and mostly upward knockback that kills at 230%, not really great for combos or kills. The power is decent provided you hit with the spear head in one form or another, but the power behind this move is its downright ridiculous area denial. Having such immense range where all the hitboxes are at least acceptable to hit with makes this really good at zone denial, and it edgeguards really well as long as you hit with the spearhead in some form. Just try not to hit with the chain if you're going for edgeguards, as that will let the foe just recover over you. Its bad punishability on whiff is at least helped out by the huge coverage, as at long range the foe will have trouble actually capitalizing on the big ending lag. Kyoko's recovery is kind of mediocre, but for what its worth having this kind of range does make gimps actually somewhat feasible, albeit predictable due to this move's lag. The other primary use of this move is that it really lets you establish some level of stage control just by the sheer coverage it has coming out, and the power of the stronger spearhead hit. Kyoko can control ledges very well with her massive range, this move included in that package, and a wall gives a secondary thing to zone the opponents to if you want an option other than just zoning them to the edge. Of course, its not exactly a perfect tool for this given its lag, but if you're at a decent range from the foe it allows you to make large scale repositioning decisions in the same way Nair and Forward Tilt can force small ones. This is really the best option you have out of the back hit of Nair, at low percents actually true comboing out of it and past that you can instead use it to zone out the foe or edgeguard them after Nair's back hit. As this is unsurprisingly your only long ranged backwards option, it makes hitting with the sweetspot on backward Nair still solid, even if comboing Nair to this at low percentages is actually not that great a combo since it ends there. Up Aerial - Extended Stab Kyoko stabs upwards with her spear, with the spear extending upwards a bit before she retracts it back. This move deals 7% and weak diagonal knockback at the hilt of the spear, but thankfully, because the spear tip extending upwards makes up a good portion of the hitbox as it extends out to double its base length, a large portion of the hitbox is not this lackluster one. The spear tip deals 10% and upward knockback that kills at 175% for most of the hitbox, and 12% and knockback that kills at 160% at the end of its extension. The spear takes about 8 frames to extend out all the way, meaning the hitbox is active for quite a bit longer than average. The downside is the ending lag, which is pretty bad and means while you can certainly combo into this move because of its pretty good start lag, the duration and ending lag make it quite punishable if you whiff it, and it is definitely going to be the end of whatever combo you went for. This is obviously a pretty good thing to combo Nair's upwards hitbox into, which is one of the easier ways to land this move. If you want a kill confirm off Nair late off a high platform, this works fine, especially considering because of the way the hitbox works it true combos out of Nair a fair bit longer than you might at first thing it would. If "a high platform" is not an option, or you want to go for a somewhat earlier kill off one of the lower platforms, launching the foe with Up Smash and then pursuing them into the air with the follow up is a good way to get the Nair/Uair kill confirm a bit earlier. Its hardly a true combo out of the upward launch Up Smash, but the timing window the foe has to avoid it is pretty small so you'll at least pull this off reasonably often, and you can mix up by just going straight into Uair. At high percents, this still works pretty well as a follow up out of the Up Smash lunge, as the foe taking greater knockback means they'll be in hitstun just a bit longer and the massive range of this move makes it continue to be close to a combo. If you predict the foe is going to properly dodge it, you can instead go for an Up Special, which also links well into subsequent Uairs by pulling Kyoko to the foe and then booting them even higher into the air, or possibly just flicking them up off the end of the spear to go for a second attempt at a successful Uair read. This is helped by the fact that the move is a bit hard to air dodge due to its longer duration, though the foe can potentially weave around it with a directional air dodge and if the foe is hit by the spear shaft after its extended upward, they only take the weaker hitbox so you probably won't get KOs off this. At least it means you won't be punished, and directional air dodges leave the foe with worse lag than a regular one, so forcing one of those out isn't exactly bad. Down Aerial - Crash Landing

Pointing her spear downwards and slightly forward, Kyoko stabs it downwards as she plunges toward the ground at a slight forward angle. This forward angle is actually a bit dependant on the momentum Kyoko has going into this move, if she's currently moving forward in the air at maximum speed it will actually have her fall forward at a 45 degree angle forward, though she will cancel backwards momentum at the start of this move. Kyoko falls a little bit faster than her fast fall speed during this move, and deals 11% and upwards knockback that KOs at 190% for the first Ganondorf height worth of the fall. After that she actually accelerates for another 2 Ganondorf heights worth of falling, dealing an increased 15% and now downward knockback that spikes very early and KOs off a ground bounce at 125%, You also, obviously, travel considerably faster than Kyoko's fast fall speed during this time. There's a minor forward angle to this downward or upward knockback if Kyoko is moving forward near or at her top air speed before this move starts. Kyoko catches herself after falling the full 3 Ganondorf heights, still with a bit of downward momentum so this can be pretty dangerous to use off stage. Kyoko cancels out of her fall with relatively low lag if she hits an opponent in the early part of the fall, and while the knockback is too high for combos at most percents she can pull it off at pretty low percentages, going into Nair as you might expect, Uair with little to no forward momentum and Side Special if you have some. If you're past the initial weaker part of the fall however, Kyoko will just plow through opponents and not stop, making it a lot less safe in exchange for more power. The slight forward angle of this downward knockback makes it a bit scarier than most spikes, since the foe does not have to be entirely off stage for this to spike them to their death. This is yet another potential reward for good positioning or another threat to foes near or on edges for Kyoko, serving as powerful stock ender in that position. Just keep in mind the landing lag is kinda bad even if Kyoko hasn't started accelerating, this isn't super quick to come out, and the landing lag and ending lag get a lot worse if Kyoko has reached the accelerated part of the fall. While this is a small thing, it is worth keeping in mind this move has super armor against attacks that deal 11% or less while Kyoko is in the accelerated part of the fall. This at least provides a little safety to that part of the move, potentially plowing through weaker aerials or recoveries to land this hitbox. The Up Smash lets Kyoko have additional forward momentum if she uses this move out of the forward variant, which actually triggers some of the accelerated bonuses without requiring Kyoko to descend at all. Instead her forward momentum will increase a bit and she'll gain some downward momentum as she throws out the spear's hitbox. The damage gets buffed up and the knockback becomes angled downwards immediately when used out of the higher speed you can achieve by vaulting off the spear in Up Smash, and you also acquire the super armor. This is obviously a little predictable, given you have to catapult forward off an attack not designed to entirely be used for momentum, but since the knockback is now angled even further than before it can allow for some shockingly early kills, or lead into them via subsequent edgeguarding. Keep in mind that Kyoko suffers the increased ending/landing lag if your using this, so its a rather risky thing to attempt, but it serves as something to mix up whatever other moves you'd use out of your approach as you're flinging towards the foe, like Nair/Side Special, or if the foe is particularly far away, Up Special/Neutral Special/Fair. You can get an even stronger hitbox if you fall a full Ganondorf height out of Dair used out of Up Smash's added aerial momentum, upgrading to dealing 19%, knockback that kills about 30% earlier than the Dair's accelerated variant usually would, and total super armor, as Kyoko accelerates even further forward and faster downward for those 2 Ganondorf heights of falling. There's a couple problems with this, however. One, you don't get enough height out of the forward lunge of Up Smash to actually pull this off above the ground by default. Instead, you need to jump during the Up Smash's momentum and then use this immediately, which is very predictable, or go off the ledge while you're using this, which is pretty suicidal given how far forward and down you'll be off the edge once that happens. Still, this can be a useful last ditch kill attempt off stage, acting as a pseudo suicide KO, or occasionally cheese out a kill shockingly early onstage off a hard read. The nice thing about this version is its significantly less punishable as Kyoko creates a small explosion of debris around her when she lands on the ground, dealing 8% and diagonal knockback that KOs at 170% that lingers for a moment, making it hard to dodge and covering a sizeable portion of her landing lag. The explosion doesn't cover too far away from Kyoko, but it at least means shorter ranged foes might struggle to punish her. Grab Game​ Grab - Frustrated Grip Kyoko reaches forward in a surprisingly decent, non-tether grab, having slightly above average range and normal lag for a grab. If she manages to get the foe, she'll hold them in a slightly different position depending on the foe's size. If they're her height or smaller, she'll lift them by their collar or neck, depending on if there's a collar available for her to grab. If the foe is bigger than her, she'll just grab onto their arms and restrain them as her chain spear wraps around their upper body. This is just a visual thing that has no impact on gameplay or her throws. Pummel - Aggressive Kicks Kyoko slams her foot into the opponents gut, in a slightly slow pummel that deals 3%, The animation looks slightly different on smaller opponents as she has to bring her leg up pretty high, but it comes out at the same speed regardless. While not an amazing damage racker pummel, it at least does the job. Forward Throw - Coil Slam Kyoko's spear suddenly bursts into chain form and wraps around the foe if they're smaller than her, before she tosses the spear back behind her with the foe trapped in its coils for a moment. Larger foes who are already ensnared in the chain spear's coils will have the coils tighten around them, and it takes Kyoko a bit longer to heft them behind her, so the animation length remains the same. This throw is actually chargeable if you continue to hold down the forward input, which we'll get to the exact applications of in a second. You will want to be a bit careful while charging this move, as if the foe mashes out during the charging they will be left behind you, which while not terrible at frame neutral is not really the place you want to leave the foe. This input can be charged up to 1 second. When the charge is released, Kyoko slams the coiled spear down in front of her, at a distance depending on how long this move was charged. At minimum it will just leave the foe right in front of her while dealing the foe 7%, and at maximum charge it will leave them 1.2 battlefield platforms away and deal 14%. Regardless of charge, the foe will be left in prone at the end of the throw, unless the spear goes off stage. In that case, the part of the chain that is off stage will swing down a maximum distance of about half how far forward the foe was slammed down before releasing the foe with a weak spike and 5% less damage than this would otherwise deal. The chain operates with somewhat realistic physics, so obviously it can't go down further than the length of it that is offstage. The ending lag on this throw is increased a bit if the foe is slammed down off stage, so its not quite as easy to edgeguard the foe as it otherwise would be given your laggy options are a lot less viable. Still, especially given Kyoko's range alots her so much safety and the fact that the foe will be stuck below the ledge, its a pretty advantageous spot for her to be in, especially at higher levels of charge. There's a wide variety of powerful ways to abuse the fact that Kyoko can leave foes in various ranges with this. If you leave the foe up close, it becomes extremely dangerous for the foe to try and roll behind Kyoko, because you can easily catch them out with a Forward Smash and brutally punish them for their decision. Given the slightly unorthodox amount of coverage Kyoko's UTilt has in front of her and Down Tilt being pretty bad up close, its the better option if the foe stays close, while if the foe rolls away Kyoko can start going for her long range options, albeit at close range the foe rolling away is not something she has amazing response tools for. If the foe is relatively close to Kyoko, Forward Smash can still catch them out rolling toward you and Down Tilt or a Short Hop Fair can catch them rolling away. At more middling ranges, you can catch out the foe rolling either direction with either long ranged moves like Down Smash/Neutral Special that are good at catching rolls or at least hitting with a complimentary projectile hitbox, or if they roll into your face you can go into Forward Tilt/Nair/UTilt. At maximum range, you can instead rush into a foe rolling away from you with Dash Attack or an Up Smash momentum boosted aerial, which are the stronger but riskier options, or just go for a long range Neutral Special and hit the opponent with the further shockwave before trying to get them back to your closer range options, while Down Smash and Down Tilt can be useful to catch out the foe if they try to get closer to you. Get up attacks and just standing up out of prone are pretty immensely risky as they offer less intangibility and are easy for Kyoko to punish no matter where she's left the foe, so all in all this gives you a lot of potentially scary advantage states you can pick and choose from based on charge. If Kyoko slams a foe into a wall with this move, they'll become embedded in it for a set 15-30 frames based on charge. This is more likely to true combo into something nasty than the prone state ever was, but its harder to use with lagger options because of the ending lag of the throw being enough to prevent you from going into most of your power moves that aren't an already prepped Neutral Special. Up Throw - Rising Impact Tossing the opponent from their position lightly above her head, Kyoko rapidly stabs upward and slightly forward for 3 hits that add up to 8%, with the final one dealing upward diagonal knockback that is actually decent at base, but only has the absolute tiniest scaling component so it will not kill until about 800%. This is a pretty basic juggle setup, sending the foe a bit too far to combo into closer options and not true comboing into Uair because of the slight forward angle. That said, its close enough to a true combo with short hop Uair links well enough into Up Smash that as long as you handle your subsequent movements and timings well you're probably going to at least get something out of this, but as a pure combo throw, its not nearly the best Kyoko can be doing. There is actually a follow up to this move if you press up or A during or at the end of the throw animation, which will have Kyoko actually lunge up about 1.7 Ganondorf heights into the air, with her spear shapeshifting into a coil form with an enlarged spearhead in a similar manner to Dash Attack as she does so. She then crashes down on top of the foe, dealing 12% and upward knockback that kills at 110%(102% when you factor in the previous hits), which is a fantastic kill confirm to have out of a grab especially considering it happens even earlier on higher platforms. There's just the one problem, its not guarunteed, there is enough room for the opponent to potentially get out of the way of this move. If you do whiff, Kyoko takes some surprisingly terrible ending lag, enough for the foe to easily punish her, which is definently not the end result you want out of this throw especially considering Kyoko's low weight and underwhelming recovery. One thing worth mentioning is that the timing of this follow up actually depends a little bit on at what point the player inputs the follow up input, giving the foe the smallest window to avoid the move if you input it earlier. If you input it later, however, you can catch out a foe's attempt to dodge it, giving you a bit of a mixup. You can also move a bit back and forth while you're falling to make sure you catch the foe's DI. If you want this to kill confirm properly however, using it next to a wall with the minimum delay will trap the opponent just long enough once you reach a little below kill percentages that this will actually just kill confirm, making it quite scary for the foe if Kyoko lands a grab with a wall in front of her, and it will make the hit harder to dodge before kill percents if you want to go for it for the raw damage before then. At a high enough percent, the foe will be sent too far for a follow up, but honestly if you get the foe to that kind of percentage they should really just be dead already, it only happens around 300% or so. Down Throw - Double Stab Slamming the foe against the ground from their current position, be it out of her spear's coils on larger foes or just with her own two hands on smaller ones, Kyoko plants her foot on them to hold them still and stabs twice. Planting her foot on the foe deals 1%, the first stab deals 3%, and the second stab deals 5% and light diagonal forward knockback, with Kyoko having very little end lag out of this throw. The knockback scales pretty slowly, so this move is exceptional for combos. It can go into most of your close range tools, at specific percents even setting up Dair if you want to try for that, and generally serves as an effective way to start a combo out of a grab, while also dealing a solid 9% to start with. Not a very complex throw, but its not a bad thing to fall back on, especially because it can link into things even at mid-high percents even if the combos will not be nearly as effective from the subsequent hits and you won't be able to pull off Dair or Side Special out of this like you would at low percents. Back Throw - Coil Closer Tangling the foe in the spear's coils identically to Forward Throw, Kyoko instead swings the foe behind her and lets the spear coils fly forward about 1.4 battlefield platforms, before she grips onto the spear to stop the foe's flight before pulling herself right to them. She then plants her feet into the foe's face, bouncing them off the ground slightly but needing a moment to catch herself afterwards, leaving both parties in frame neutral at the end of this move, with the foe spaced near the edge of Kyoko's close range melee options. This deals 4% with the initital throw, 2% when the chains constrict the foe's flight in place, and 7% when Kyoko kicks them in the face, adding up to 13%, a pretty respectable amount for a throw. Leaving the foe in frame neutral with Kyoko facing them is not too bad a place to be, as at the very least you're in range to land the tippers of moves like Forward Tilt and Up Tilt now. The real reason you're using this move, however, is that it deals good damage and serves the unique role of simultaneously spacing the foe and Kyoko at the same time. This might not sound like a big deal, but you can get a foe with their back to your wall to lead into some incredibly dangerous combos you can't access without it. This can also put both of you quite close to the edge of the stage, though it will not technically send you off. This is because Kyoko will catch the spear and pull herself to the foe if they reach the edge, though the kick will send the opponent a short distance forward and slightly down a set amount instead of bouncing the foe off the ground if they reach the edge with this. While this isn't quite as good for setting up edgeguards as FThrow because Kyoko will be closer to the foe, but if the ledge is closer behind you than in front of you or you don't have enough percentage to charge, it will do. In general, this is another tool that lets Kyoko "control the stage", this time by giving you the rather unique option to reposition yourself and the foe at the same time. Final Smash ​ Kyoko's soul gem flares up with the immense power of the Smash Ball, and she summons forth four giant spears in front of her, each twice as tall as Ganondorf and as wide as Wario. If they hit the foe, the opponent will take the initial hit of 10% and be sent into a cinematic, where Kyoko has surrounded everyone hit by this move with a wall of giant spears. She then forms an absolutely massive serpentine spear below herself, standing on the head as it towers over the characters you've trapped in this final smash. The camera zooms in on Kyoko as her spear is now absolutely flaring with energy, red flares pouring off of it. The giant spear then dives forward, Kyoko standing on the head as a massive explosion of red and white energy occurs that obscures everything impacted, dealing 35% and obscene upwards knockback that kills at 50%, or more accurately 40% because of the initial 10% dealt by this move. While summoning these massive spears and performing this huge attack actually cost Kyoko her life in canon, it comes at no cost to her in Smash, as the Smash Ball's energy is used up instead of her own. Up Taunt Kyoko leans back against her spear as she plants it in the ground, taking a moment to recline with a somewhat smug expression on her face. Side Taunt Kyoko just turns forward with an annoyed expression and just says "Could you, like, stop?" This is very useful after you've beaten the same Little Mac 7 times in a row but he just does not know when to quit. Down Taunt

Kyoko takes out a Taiyaki and bites into it, taking a moment to chew it before returning to battle. This actually heals her, but only by 0.4% over a long duration taunt you can't cancel, so don't expect to get much mileage out of it in battle. The food you get is actually randomly selected from one of three options, an apple, a stick of pocky, or the taiyaki shown above, but the healing is the same regardless. Victory Pose #1 Twirling her spear behind herself, Kyoko smirks and says "You losers are all at the bottom of the food chain!" if there are multiple opponents, or just "You're at the bottom of the food chain!" to a singluar opponent. Victory Pose #2 Kyoko is seen walking into view with a bag of apples in her arms, munching on the last bits of a piece of bread in her mouth. She probably did not pay for that, but hunting witches is not a viable source of income, cut the poor girl a break. Victory Pose #3 Seen dancing on what appears to be some kind of Dance Dance Revolution knockoff arcade game, Kyoko briefly dances along for a moment before the song, a slightly more techno version of the usual victory theme, stops with a grade of "Spectacular" displaying on the screen. As it does so, Kyoko turns to the audience and gives a thumbs up. Loss Pose Kyoko just claps as you might expect, though she looks a bit taken off guard to have lost based on her facial expression. If she specifically lost against Sayaka, however, her expression will be a lot happier, as it seems she's proud of Sayaka for actually stepping up and defeating her.

"If you are just living for your own sake, it's all up to you. No hard feelings. No regrets."

[beacon-sanctuary]

Chapter 1: Let’s Start Off School With a Shadow Fight

Introduction, Ch.2

Note from Headmaster Ortiz: No student or faculty was harmed in this event, please do not sue us, thank you

       Soaring in the sky sits a behemoth of a vessel, it’s sleek, bronze metallic wings rake against the clouds while its pointed nose thrusts forward.  Propelled by its ringed tail the airship makes its way towards a coastal fortress and university.  It’s towering scarred walls topped with snow while within its fortification sits a number of sprawling buildings, each ranging from dusty ancient to sparkling present.  Though once more returning to the vessel sits an excited person in a grey cloak. Bouncing and nearly jittering in their cushioned seat as they and many others gaze at the approaching settlement.  This androgynous cloaked individual was rather short, hardly reaching five feet and surrounded by a number of taller and increasingly varied passengers.  Some looked like regular humans, while others looked as if they were elements personified.  People made of plants, clouds, fire, and even space dotted about the humans around them.

But this peaceful ride was briefly stopped thanks to large thump which shook the vessel, though before long two shots rang out like thunder overhead.  Silencing the chatter in the hull as a static screech echoed from the intercom.

“Alright ya Lil’ twerps, whoever’s scared, or thinkin’ of anything worrisome, calm the heck down!” A gravelly voice grunted, “ ain’t tryin’ to have a war this close to the academy, so whoever ya are-hug somebody or somethin’!”  said the annoyed captain who grumbled something like you, Yella-belly kids, today before turning off the mic.  

     And right after that, the storm of chatter returned, as the grey cloaked individual hand snaked around a cool, galaxy patterned die.  Fondling it in their tawny hand as they slightly winced at all the noise, but still, despite all this, they still looked on with excitement as they now began their descent.  With a whine in its gears, the ship landed among a cleared out space, folding its wings into its frame as a ramp eases down.  And in a flash, the cloaked individual rushed to exit the ship but before they reached the ramp they were cut off by a boy in a jade Oni mask, stopping in their tracks as they gave a small chuckle and apologized.

“Hehe, Whoops-sorry about that, got excited, Oh! Right, the name’s Eir by the way what’s yours?”

      The boy in return only gave them a tsk, walking down the ramp, with one long rat tail flopping every way, in fact, it nearly struck Eir in the face.  Eir, now squinting in confusion and annoyance was about to give him a piece of their mind but was quickly silenced by the now shoving crowd behind them.  Now, as everyone has finally gotten off the airship, the group of teenagers now found themselves staring up at a towering, barrel-chested man who’s brown overcoat was nearly too small for his arms.  His light brown face has a jovial smile, beaming with joy among his brown-grey bush that was his beard.  And honestly, he looked messy, hair and beard were disheveled, didn’t tuck in his dress shirt, pants were too baggy, etc etc.  Fists on his hips the headmaster drew in a large breath and said,

“Welcome to The Academy future Beacons of the world,!”  he boomed to everyone’s bewilderment “Bully on you for keeping up to good fight, I hope you will enjoy your time here with fondness and memories that shall last to the end of your days!  I am headmaster Micah Ortiz! Headmaster Izusa is in the main building now, making the final preparations for your innagura-”  Seeing a tawny hand raised he paused before saying  “ah yes child, do you have a question?” he yelled at a shocked and blinking Eir.

“Uhh, Headmaster, can ya tone it down a bit, I don’t think my ears can take it” they pleaded to the now confused headmaster.

“Nonsense child, this is my inside voice! Hahaha, but if you prefer, I’ll try and lower myself to a whisper!”  Which in his case was normal talking volume, as in Eir’s mind they had a newfound fear, what the heck is his outside voice then? “Now as I was saying, your inauguration is just in front of you, now then,”  with two claps of his hands a row of floating blue flames made a path forward, leading the group towards their destination.  And as they began their march forward, Eir with stars in their eyes excitedly bounded towards the headmaster.

“Oh! Headmaster, can you do magic?!” they asked excitedly to a hearty chuckle

“Hahaha, no I’m afraid, I’m a human as well my child, I only activated the trigger, now Izusa, she is indeed a magi, so be on the look for her, if she, shows herself that is” he spoke less enthusiastically at the last part. To this answer, Eir groaned disappointingly but immediately perked up into a bit of confusion at the last statement, shrugging and just assuming the headmaster was being weird again they continued the march as the Headmaster continued to talk, almost as if he needed no air with how long he went on.  But finally, they reached the main building, it seemed like a regular university, wide brick building with beautiful Greco-Roman inspired architecture, but unlike most this too has many scars across its walls.  And around its structure were an assortment of runes, etched into the earth around it, all humming with a rainbow of magic energy, while on its flanks were two cannons and automagic guns respectively.

      Making their way through the wooden double doors, they saw a moving mural across its walls, an owl soared forward in the sky with a scroll and magic in each talon, its space patterned body leaving a multicolored trail in its arc, as jutting up from the ground stood a bi-horned lion atop a jagged cliff of rocks which transitioned into a new form. A monkey made of ink hung from its tail painting another splatter of art which revealed a flaming nine-tailed fox, growling and sneering as in its stalk, ultimately gave way to unicorn stampeding forward, blazing the path with a storm left in its wake.  Most of the people looked upon this mural with awe, as they began to follow the headmaster to the last of the blue flames, creaking open the dual doors, the headmaster ushered the students to their seats, but surprisingly, a few rows were already filled by a number of other students before.  And in Eir’s case, they got sat beside a boy with a messy Afro and skin that was black as the night sky with a blue nebula patterned across his body. He looked like an embodied, specifically the void it seemed.  His black sclera sapphire eyes gazed at Eir with brief interest before he gave them a back nod saying,

“Sup, names Orion” he said nonchalantly, his baritone voice had a slight drawl to it as he spoke

“Heya, I’m Eir, nice to meet ya, guess you’re from the south huh?”  Eir was kicking themselves for that, dang it books, why didn’t you teach me conversation skills they thought as Orion gave them a chuckle as he said

“Heheh, Naw, brah, toootally from California maaan~” he smirked playfully as Eir scoffed,

“Oh I do declare, you’ll have to forgive good sir, I had no idea” they fired back with an accent of their own, and then afterward the two began to hit it off as the loud headmaster joined a bored-looking woman.  Her skin was a deep brown and bore wood-like patterns, while in contrast her “Hair” was made of an assortment of fall colored leaves with a green vine wrapping around her head, it seems most of her hair matched the winter season as beyond this short canopy of hair are two yellow-black rams horn.  She wore a tattered patchwork hooded brown cloak and some formfitting pants with a pair of cowboy boots.  But the thing that was the most shocking about her was that she was armed to the teeth.  At her back was a hunting rifle and bow, across her waist was a utility belled with bullets, a grappling hook, a pistol, and a knife.  Oh, and she had a quiver strapped to her left thigh.

Headmaster Ortiz made his way atop the stage as he stood in front of two podiums, and five other individuals sitting on both wings of said structures.  One was made of metal, and painstakingly crafted with many details, meanwhile the other seemed to erupt from the ground in a mixture of branches, roots, and vines to make a podium made of plant life with at its base, a single arrow made of wood and vines impaled to the stage floor.

As the students began to chatter once more Headmaster Ortiz began to sigh fondly, but as he was about to say something he saw Izusa get up with a pistol in hand, eyes widening, he mouthed no, as he caught eyes with the masked headmaster who only rolled her eyes before, bang, bang two shots from her revolver rang out, silencing the kids as she motioned them towards her fellow master, who was massaging his head for a moment, whether it was from stress or the sound no one knew.

“A-ahem, thank you Headmaster Izusa, for that sporting assistance in starting things off. Children, thank you for your patience, I am sure you’re all excited to begin your time as beacons in training, or in other words, Torches.  Bully for you!  All of you are about to carry a long history on your backs, one spanning from the earliest formation of Humans and Magi, the beacons to fight against the shadows which plague our peoples since our incep-”

“Alright let’s get down to the point, what classes will y’all be?  Alchemist, Guerilla, Artificer blah blah blah” Izusa interrupted with a hand on her hip to which she saw Micah cough into his hand

“Very well put Headmaster Izusa, as you’ve just heard Beacons indeed have a number of fields, five of which to be exact which we specialize in. And now, please welcome to the stage our professors!”  One by one five teachers strolled forward, and as each person walked into the light, each headmaster traded introductions.

“Professor, Alexander Blum!”  Leaning back from his non-mic, the Headmaster motioned his arm to present a man with large wild silver locks with the strongest cheekbones you’ve ever seen across his pale, wrinkled skin.  He dressed in a black overcoat with red velvet lining. Each of his steps echoed across the wooden stage as his amber eyes stared through every student with a ruthless analysis.  

“After Mr.Grumpy over there we have, Alto Jackson, the Artificer professor” Izusa droned as with clicking heels, there now stands a middle-aged man with dark brown skin and a short cloud where his hair should be, and arcing through said black cloud were arcs of grey lightning, his relaxed sky blue eyes studied the kids with a calm smile across his face, jazzily tapping he nodded at the two headmasters as they continued

“Professor of the Guerilla class, Arthur Dutch!” Micah said as a fair-skinned man with a dust-stained black cowboy stalked forward, flipping a knife lazily in his hand before tipping his hat with a whistle in the kid’s direction. And at his side walked stood an Asian woman with a long raven braid spilling across her shoulder while she wore a flowing coat which stretched to her thighs with a  metal-plated skirt above her dark grey pants tucked into a pair of combat boots, as at her side are two blades, sheathed on her left hip.  One a katana and the other a tanto. She bore a playful grin and with a light chuckle politely waved at the students

“Professor Cahira everyone, go on Headmaster Megaphone lets get to the fun part”

“Hahahaha, very well, last but not least allow me to introduce Professor Aisha  El-Said” And after his words, a woman wearing a green hijab stood in the middle of the teachers with a pair of goggles atop her head, while the rest of her clothes were a fusion of comfortable and durable. At her waist was a collapsed jade staff flowing with magic energy.  With a booming clap, the human headmaster began to speak/yell once more,

” As my co-Headmaster said, it is indeed time for the fun part.  Our professors have made a special treat for all of you.  Thinking it not sporting to have you all choose without any incentive, they’ve decided to give you a demonstration so to speak, now then, Headmaster Izua, if you would do the honors!” smirking wickedly Izusa upholstered her rifle and shot three bullets into the air above everyone, but when they expected to hear nothing, the sound of metal getting struck whiled their head around every which way, as the sound of monstrous growling and ear-splitting cries sounded behind them as in an instant, a pack of shadows surged towards the students, appearing similar to deranged, inky black coyotes, but before even a hair of the shadows touched them, massive roots broke through the earth and ensnared the shadows, as looking upon the stage, they saw Professor Blum with a conductor stick in hand was leading the trees like a masterful orchestra.  

      And after writing in the air an orange circle of runes burned in the sky, as he took in a deep breath and blew a plume of fire towards the trapped shadow, incinerating it and the root to ashes.  Fixing his cuff-links, he stiffly raised his stick into the air as an assortment of rocked erupted above, but in an instant, the patters of feet sounded as Cahira dashed atop the newly erected rock mass, slicing one coyote in half, before instantly kicking one to the earth, rolling in the air she launched her blade towards the stunned form of the shadow as it pierced its body instantly as she gracefully landed upon the pommel of her blade, as it now sits among the inky remains of the shadow as she patted Eir on the head.

       Flicking his hat Arthur snapped his hands to his side as in between each knuckle now sat eight knives, each flowing with black-purple energy.  Throwing his blades one after another he caused each one to ricochet off the other, sending them arcing at multiple other shadows, impaling each through the head without breaking a sweat.  But right when they were about to move again, the energy encased them rapidly before they were destroyed in an instant.  It seems despite his appearance, Arthur was a void magi.  And to his left, there was Alto, digging in his tuxedo’s chest pocket he pulls out a paintbrush and dabs it twice on the paint-stained cloth on his waist, and as some shadows were about to attack some students he drew two clouds of paint in the sky and blew them forward as they surrounded the students and rained fire and lightning respectively on the shadows.

      And while this was happening, Aisha launched her uncollapsed javelin at the shadows and impaled one to the ground, hopping off the stage, she landed next to her staff and lifted it from the ground, with the shadow still attached she twirled and swung it at the other pack member, careening them both to the base of the stage before spearing them through.  Another coyote tried to bite at her but she slammed the other end of her staff upon its head, destroying it instantly. And now there stood each professor, each finished with their assailant, each seemingly saying now choose.

[franklyshipping]

Day 7 ~ Christmas 2019 Ego Fanfics

Day number 7 here we are, we're already a week in! Now let's see what happens when someone exposes a tickle spot in front of a curious android....LET'S DO IT!

TAGGING: @ed-edlee and @google-switchy-red

Have you ever napped in front of a fireplace? If you haven’t, then I seriously recommend it to you because it is a hell of a magical experience. The warmth doesn’t leave you for a few hours after you wake up, and no matter the surface you’re lying on whether it be carpet or wooden flooring, you never wake up with any aches or pains. The magic of fireplaces, you’ve got to love them. Ed Edgar was partaking in the magic currently, stretched out in front of the hearth, close enough to relish in the warmth whilst there was still a safe space between the guarded flames and the cowboy.

He’d spent the morning hauling in chopped wood, he’d been working hard and was relishing in the all the work he’d done with a nice indulgent rest. He wore only his shirt, trousers and suspenders, and was barefoot since all the traipsing about had given him quite a bit of cramp in his poor toes, but thankfully they were recovering. He wasn’t the only one either, Gooper had set up his festive nest near the fireplace and was currently letting out little gurgly, snorty snores as he too relished in the warmth. Soon though, another entered this sweet scene; namely, Google Red.

The android had found himself at, what was apparently known as, a ‘’loose end’’ with no real tasks on his agenda, and so he’d been traipsing through the household in an ambient search of social companionship to pass the time. Red let out a satisfied hum when he spied Ed Edgar, and wandered over; upon checking Ed’s vital signs and seeing that he was partaking in a nap, Red decided to sit on the floor near him and simply wait for him to awake. Red very much had the initial intention to wait patiently, since it wasn’t generally in an android’s tendency to become distracted in a human sense.

However, he and his siblings had been transitioning into the world of emotion recently, with the help of Oliver….so in this case, Red didn’t manage to maintain the patience he’d hoped to maintain. He found his attention being swayed toward Ed Edgar’s resting bare feet. Red found that he had developed a general fascination over the body of humans and often ran down a lot of his charge with late nights of research into the body’s systems and modes of function and such like; since he and his siblings were only fashioned based on the exterior image of humans, he couldn’t exactly use his own body as research.

When it came to extremities, Red was fascinated, particularly with feet. He was curious about how such body parts could be so durable in terms of carrying the whole body with movement, whilst still maintaining an intricate delicacy of structure as well as arguable tenderness and integrity of nerves; it was the ah….latter point of this that Red was thinking about as he looked at Ed Edgar’s exposed soles. He sat cross-legged in front of them, his gaze flicking between Ed’s sleeping face, and his resting soles. Logic was telling him that it would be rude to conduct a nerve experiment on Ed’s feet whilst he was asleep…but for some reason, an impulse in Red carried his hand forward….and spurred him to swipe a fingertip up one of Ed’s soles.

‘EEE! Hehey whahat the heck? Ya can’t tihickle a man while he’s sleepin’! That’s bad ticklin’ etiquette!’

Red was both delighted and amused by how instantly Ed awoke and squeaked from the light tickle, rambling in quite an adorable fashion as he rubbed his eyes and looked towards the person who had rudely awoken him. Ed’s eyes widened a tad, because he was certainly not expecting it to have been Google Red who’d spontaneously tickled him….and he was certainly not expecting to see the smirky smile that grew on the android’s face.

‘And yet I have heard the common argument that, by leaving your feet bare and exposed, you were implicitly asking to be tickled on your feet.’

Red wasn’t lying, he’d heard practically every single ego make that argument when it came to tickling somebody; if a tickle spot was exposed for a prolonged amount of time, then the person was asking for it (however Red DID realise that this only applied in the ego household because everybody had a common and known liking for tickling, and he understood that with anybody else in any other situation this would certainly NOT apply; the egos were simply a unique bunch when it came to ‘’tickling etiquette’’). At Red’s words, Ed flushed a light pink, rubbing the back of his neck as he let out a half-cough half-laugh.

‘Whahat….ah…heh u-uhh…th-that uh….that ain’t t-true….’

It was absolutely true. I don’t know about you guys, but I feel that whenever your feet are particularly achy or tired after a long day, your craving for feet tickles just somehow rises? Ed Edgar was certainly feeling that, he was craving touches that distracted him from the aches in his soles and toes, but he wasn’t going to readily admit that! He had a hard-ass image to maintain dammit! Red however, easily saw through the cowboy’s stammered lies. Ed inhaled sharply when Red reached towards his feet, but let out a pleasantly surprised hum when he felt warm fingers start to rub his ankles.

‘You need not be coy with me, what you desire is perfectly acceptable and understandable. Particularly today. I know you have been labouring all day for the household, for all of us, so it is more than reasonable to assume that after such labours, you require some care. Tickling your feet is a perfectly logical method of relaxation, the gentle stimulation could rid you of any unpleasant muscle cramps and aches you may be experiencing…’

Red spoke softly as he observed Ed, and felt a warmth in his core as he watched the man slowly start to relax at the preliminary treatment at his ankles. Also at this point, it was far more than Red’s intrigue in feet driving him to do this, it was also out of affection for one of his human family members who deserved to be rewarded for such strong contributions and work. Ed couldn’t deny that he wanted this, and hearing all those kind words from Red made him all the more eager to accept what he was offering. He looked to the android with a soft grin in place.

‘W-Well ah…when ya put it like that, I guess I can’t really argue with that sorta logic….’

Red smiled warmly at Ed, before taking his feet and placing them in his lap happily, he was very eager to get started. Ed had already let out a light giggle as he watched Red looking at his feet intently, analysing them and humming. After a few moments, Red looked to Ed with a playful smile.

‘Well firstly, I have concurred that you have perfect feet.’

Ed flushed a bright red, NOT having expected a compliment like that, especially since no-one had ever bluntly complimented his feet like that before.

‘O-Oh….th-thanks buddy that uh, th-that’s real nice of ya to say…’

Red smiled, feeling very content at having made Ed feel good about himself. Now, the android set about ghosting his fingertips over Ed’s soles, keeping his gaze fixed on Ed as he spoke.

‘You are very welcome. Now, your feet are particularly ticklish, aren’t they Ed?’

Ed let out a quiet whine, softly scrunching his feet at the teasy, ghostly sensations as he replied.

‘Y-Yeah….’

Ed’s smile was hidden behind his hands as he watched Red’s grin widen, and seeing that sort of glee from the android really amped up how flustered Ed was becoming. The android now set about tracing up and down Ed’s soles with all his fingertips, determined to tickle, but also to soothe.

‘Ahh yes, I see you have already scrunched up your feet from my light touches. See if you can relax them for me, so that we may start relieving any built up cramps by loosening up the muscles here.’

Ed was giggling deep giggles into his hands, trying to control his breathing as his bare feet twitched in Red’s lap. The lightness was already tickly as hell, but Ed wanted to try and fight against it so he could beat those cramps back.

‘Ohohoh jeheez ohohokayokayokay g-gihimme aha sehec…’

Red chuckled a tad.

‘Take your time, I think it is reasonable to say that neither of us are in a hurry for this to end.’

That made Ed snort into his hands as his eyes crinkled with his widening smile, he didn’t reply to Red, but the android could very much tell that Ed agreed with him. Red observed Ed curiously and amusedly as he traced up and down his feet, watching how Ed giggled and panted in an attempt to control his breathing…and slowly but surely, he managed to un-scrunch his feet. Ed let out a soft gasp amidst his gentle mirth as he realised he’d actually managed to do it amidst the tickling, which made Red chuckle.

‘There now, was that so difficult?’

Ed’s eyes widened as he spluttered very indignantly at Red, because it was in fact really bloody difficult thank you very much!

‘Yehehehes ahactuhually!’

Red chuckled, and decided to target his teasy tracing at the smooth balls of Ed’s feet as he replied with complete and utter ‘’sincerity’’.

‘Oh, please forgive me for my ignorance.’

Ed’s eyes widened as he let out a squeal, and for a moment Red saw Ed’s legs twitch in a way that suggested Ed was about to pull his feet away….but to Red’s amazement, Ed fought the instinct. It still really tickled though, and don’t think for one second that Ed didn’t pick up on Red’s sass.

‘Hehehehey! Dohohon’t y-yohou behe t-teheasy, th-thihis ihis meheant to behe sohoothing mehe!’

Red raised a teasing eyebrow at Ed as he retorted.

‘You were the one who consented to being tickled on your feet, how you react to the tickling is your problem Ed.’

….oh Ed was SO going to get this punk back for this…well, at a later date though, since the relentless scratching at the balls of his feet was occupying Ed’s focus right now. He covered his face entirely with his hands too as he giggled and snorted frantically; his feet twitched and his toes wriggled in the most adorable fashion too.

‘Y-Yohohou’re sohoho frihihickin’ mehehean!’

Red cocked his head at Ed, replying in a musing tone.

‘How so?’

Ed whined, curling up his torso partially in the hopes he could hide away even more as those evil, precise blunt nails just kept on scratching and scratching and scratching. The balls of Ed’s feet were one of those tickle spots that, if you just kept on tickling, they would just get more and more ticklish; this was something Red was beginning to realise as he noticed Ed’s giggles starting to transition into cackles.

‘Yohohou juhuhUHUST AHAHARE DAHARNIT!’

Ed exclaimed, cackling into his forearms as crimson blazed on his cheeks and down his neck, and this was a blush that even his magnificent facial hair couldn’t hide. Ed was caught between feeling tortured, and feeling like he was having the time of his life; it tickled really damn badly, but the aches that had been at the soles and balls of his feet had just…gone. He soon came out of his thoughts though, when Red’s voice came out rather lowly.

‘Well that’s not very nice.’

Red mock frowned at Ed, before deciding to inch his fingers up to Ed’s toe stems, planning to gently trace them since he figured they would both be very achy and VERY ticklish. Of course, he was correct on both counts.

‘YOHOU-EEENATTHERE!’

Red stopped, since he didn’t want Ed going into hysteria, his primary objective was to relieve him of cramp rather than provide him with more after all. The android raised an amused eyebrow at Ed when he saw that the cowboy had resolutely curled his toes, thus hiding the undersides of his toes stems from him…Red was certainly not going to have that.

‘Ed…uncurl your toes.’

‘Noho.’

‘Ed-‘

‘Nuh uh.’

‘Come on-‘

‘Bite me.’

‘Ed liste-‘

‘I will kick ya in your droidy gonads.’

Red’s lips parted as he crossed his legs with a soft pout, making Ed snort and hurriedly change his statement; he wouldn’t wish a kick to the gonads on his worst enemy.

‘Wahait I take it back I take it back, I would never! I love ya too much!’

Red pursed his lips at the grinning cowboy, but he did believe him, Red realised that the statement had only come about as a result of the somewhat banterous atmosphere.

‘Good, can we agree to keep my gonads out of this?’

‘Sure thing bud.’

Ed saluted him playfully with a giggle, which satisfied Red…before they then came back to the conflict at hand.

‘So are you going to uncurl your toes-?’

‘Hell naw!’

Ed had his arms folded tight at his chest resolutely as he kept his toes curled, shaking his head determinedly. However, Red wasn’t one to give up easily either.

‘Fine, so you are content with me tickling the balls of your feet for the foreseeable? Despite them being a tickle spot that only becomes more sensitive as more and more stimulation is applied? When instead, for a short amount of time only, you could uncurl your toes.’

Ed’s jaw dropped….god forbid if Red ever teamed up with Darkiplier; that would be a true tag team of malevolence right there.

‘….you’re an evil little shit…’

Ed muttered under his breath, before taking a deep breath, uncurling his toes, and screwing up his face in preparation for what he knew was going to come. And the tickling did come, but perhaps not in the way Ed had expected. He’d been anticipating swiping fingers and devilish scratching…but instead, it was streams of cool air.

‘Is this as evil as you were anticipating?’

Red whispered with a hint of smugness, before returning to blowing cool air against Ed’s toes stems, making his toes twitch and wiggle only very gently so as not to distress the muscles too much. Ed of course did squeal and giggle at the treatment, but arguably….it was soothing.

‘Y-Yohohou s-smuhug lihihittle shihit….’

Ed’s giggles were deep and warm, he had never thought that tickling under his toes could have been so pleasant; obviously he loved tickling, but when it came to under his toes it was only nice for a few seconds before it became unbearable. This was so…nice. Red smiled and hummed as he blew cool air under each and every toe stem, making sure he got calm little wiggles out of all of Ed’s toes.

‘I shall take that as a compliment.’

Red smiled when he heard Ed splutter and snort.

‘Yeheheah yohou dohoho thahahat…’

Red blew a bit of air in-between his toes as he cooed.

‘What was that?’

Ed squeaked and jumped, his giggles getting a tad higher pitched as he hurried to reply.

‘N-Nohohothihing!’

‘Mmm, that’s what I thought…’

Red kept Ed giggling and squeaking in the gentlest, most relaxing manner for a good few minutes, because it was the sort of tickling that you could just enjoy without getting too worn out if it was prolonged. When Red did stop and lean up and away from Ed’s feet, Red felt the strongest instance of joy that he’d felt ever since he’d first accumulated emotions. Ed was lying there, pink cheeked, with a broad grin on his face as he looked up at Red.

‘So….was the tickling satisfactory?’

Red was eager to know whether he’d actually managed to help Ed in terms of ridding him of any discomfort, and Ed’s grin only widened at his question.

‘It was….ihit was amazin’! But ah, don’t go spreadin’ it around okay? I’ve got an image to maintain.’

Red couldn’t help but let out a light laugh at that, before nodding softly.

‘I shall keep this interaction to myself Ed, you have my word.’

They both smiled, before Red had a little thought; he wasn’t quite used to the vocabulary and idioms associated with the festive holidays, but he was nearly certain that this phrase was correct to say.

‘Also….Merry Christmas Ed.’

Ed blinked a few times, before softly laughing and replying.

‘Merry Christmas to you too Red…ya wanna cuddle?’

Ed opened his arms to the android, which made Red blush a tad since the only times he’d been cuddled were by Oliver, but he nevertheless accepted. Red learnt a few more festive things during the season of course, but the one he came to cherish most was the experience of falling asleep with the lasting scent of chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

WOOO HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS NEXT FIC LEMME KNOW IF YA DO WOOOO LUV YOUS XX

[kittysukagasterfics]

Gaming Human

Note: A look into another of Sam’s hobbies: video games! Hope you all enjoy! Anyway, onto the fic!

Handplates belongs to: @zarla-s

Requested by: Anonymous (Because Minecraft)

Summary: Sam decides to introduce Gaster to one of their favorite video games: Minecraft? How will his experience with it go?

     Sam let out a long sigh as they continued to stare at the cell wall. They had lost track of how long exactly they had been awake now. The Human had woken up at the crack of dawn and was unable to go back to sleep. Subjects 1 & 2 were obviously still asleep and Sam certainly wasn’t going to wake the sleepy skeles up. In short, the Human was extremely bored. They had resorted to digging through their dimensional box for something to do.

     They didn’t really find anything of interest at first. Sam had found the Rubik’s Cube but they quickly put it back, not wanting a repeat of the last time they tried to play with it. Unlike the skeletons, the Human wasn’t the best at solving the color cube. One time, Sam had gotten so frustrated with that cursed cube that they gave up after an hour and threw it on the ground before curling up on the couch and crying. Gaster had to actually take it away from them for a while. It wasn’t a very good day. Pushing aside other miscellaneous objects, Sam finally found the thing they were looking for: their cell phone.

    ‘*You check the battery percent on your phone.’ ‘*It’s on 100%...perfect.’

     Taking the device out of their dimensional box, Sam booted it up and swiped through their many apps. However, they wanted to play their favorite game, Minecraft to be exact. Although the Human personally enjoyed RPG games, there was something about Minecraft that made them for hours on end. Whether it be the soothing background music, the cute mobs, or the fact that everything is cubed-shaped, Sam always found enjoyment in the popular open-world game.

     Sam clicked on the Minecraft icon and then pressed start when the main menu screen loaded. They weren’t in a hurry to level up in their character in Survival Mode or suffer and rage quit in Hardcore Mode so the Human decided to just mess around in Creative Mode. Sam first started to build a house but they kept getting distracted by all the mobs that happen to walk by them. The Human ended up walking too far from the house and getting lost. They were then forced to build it again from scratch. Just a typical day in the world of Minecraft. Sam was so engrossed that they didn’t even realized how long they were playing until the Human heard 2-P yawning.

    “*You tell him good morning before resuming your game.”

    “GOOD MORNING, HUMAN SAM...UM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

    “*You tell him you’re playing a game.”

     The small skeleton began looking over the Human’s shoulder. The game they were playing was very colorful and everything was shaped like the color cube. He even saw skeletons in the game! 2-P got so excited that he started asking Sam a lot of questions about it. The skeleton started to get a bit loud, causing Subject 1 to suddenly stir and wake up. The tiny skeleton started asking questions as well when Gaster suddenly appeared in front of the cell. He looked surprise to see Sam was already awake.

    “Sam, did you stay up all night again? I put you and the Subjects back in the cells at a reasonable time for a reason you know...”

    ‘*You start to call him a hypocrite but he interrupts by telling you and the brothers to follow him...’

     Gaster took the three of them to his office, where Toby was waiting for them after somehow getting out of the locked cell. Subjects 1 and 2 ran over to an excited Toby and began playing with the pup while Gaster and Sam sat down on the couch. The scientist watched them play as he stroked Sam’s hair. The Human just continued to play on their phone. He tried to talk with them multiple times but Sam was just too absorbed in their game. This caused the scientist to get upset and snatch the Human’s phone out of their hands.

    “*You tell Gaster to give you back your phone as you try to grab it back.” ‘*He keeps it just out of your reach...’

     Gaster looked at the screen before looking back at Sam.

    “Is this really what kept you up all night? Honestly Sam, what’s so special about this game anyway?”

     The Human stopped trying to get their phone back and gave the skeleton a sly smile. Gaster immediately felt like he was going to regret saying that.

~~~~~~

    “Explain to me what this game, ‘Minecraft’, is about again?”

     Sam grinned as they explained the whole premise of the game. Basically Gaster needs to craft items in order to progress in Survival Mode, but in order to do that, he has to collect materials that he can find around the open-world. Gaster began to look a little nervous.

    “I’m not too sure about this, Sam...”

    “*You reassure Gaster that you’ll guide him through the game as he progresses.”

     With Sam’s reassurance, Gaster entered the game upon their instructions. Once the game loaded in, the skeleton was surprised by what he saw. The in-game world bared so much resemblance of the Surface, apart from everything being cube-shaped. It was just like how Gaster remembered the Surface looked like. It was especially nice to be able to see the Sun again. He could now see why the Human enjoyed playing this game so much. Maybe one day they could-

     His thought were interrupted by Sam pulling on his sleeve. They were explaining something while pointing at the screen.

    “*You ask him if he sees that tree to his right...”

    “Yes, I do. What about it?”

    “*Go punch it.”

     Gaster gave Sam am extremely baffled look but complied with their request anyway. He made the character walk over towards the tree and, as Sam explained, began collecting wood. Gaster then went from tree to tree collecting until the Human finally him to stop. Using a crafting table he had Sam make for him, they had him craft planks from the wood before crafting what looked like a pickaxe and a sword. After doing that, Sam gave him a smile.

    “*You tell Gaster that he’s now ready to go mining.”

    “Okay, but, what’s the sword for?”

     Just as he asked this, Gaster’s character was suddenly attacked by a large, green creature, or as Sam called them, ‘an adorable Creeper’. The skeleton began panicking and tried to land a hit on the Creeper but kept missing. Sam eventually had to take over and fight it off, killing it in the process. Gaster stared at the screen with a slightly disturbed expression.

    “Did you just-”

    “*You explain that the creatures in-game are called ‘mobs’ and he needs to kill them in order to gain XP and gather more materials...”

     They said it so nonchalantly that Gaster felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that it was probably a mechanic in the game but Sam just seemed so calm about it. Maybe he was reading too much into this. That’s when Sam suddenly pointed something out to him. It was apparently a mob that looked like a skeleton, which was interesting but Gaster was concerned about the skeleton lacking clothing.

    “Wait, why isn’t that skeleton wearing any clothes?”

    “*You tell him that these skeletons don’t wear anything...”

    “Isn’t that a little inappropriate since children play this game? Skeletons are a very modest species after all...”

     While Gaster was speaking, the Human noticed that it was starting to turn to daytime in-game and wondered if they should say something. However, Sam didn’t need to since as soon as Gaster turned his attention back to the game, it had finished transitioning to daytime, causing all nearby skeletons to suddenly burst into flames. Gaster watched in horror at this horrible sight. Sam just giggled at his reaction.

    “Why did that skeleton just burst into flames, Human?!”

    “*You tell him that’s what they do in-game and ask him if he does the same thing.” ‘*He narrows his eyes at you...’

    “You know for a fact that I most certainly don’t, Sam. Why even ask such a question?”

     Sam just continued to laugh as Gaster scolded them. Suddenly, there was a loud sound of thunder coming from the game interrupting the two of them. It began to rain in Minecraft, causing Gaster to go quiet. Sam noticed and asked him if he was alright. The scientist only nodded. The Human realized what was happening and laid their head on Gaster’s shoulder. It was very peaceful to listen and watch the in-game rain as Minecraft music played in the background, both of them wishing they could stay in that position for long time.

    ‘*Your phone suddenly cuts off and a dead battery symbol flashes for a quick second before shutting off completely...’

     Sam’s phone had died, ending the soulmates’ gaming session. The Human was a bit disappointed as they placed the phone back into their dimensional box. Gaster just huffed in annoyance before checking the time. It was time to get back to work anyway. The scientist had Sam, the brothers, and Toby head back towards the cells but before the Human left the room, Gaster had them stay behind for a minute.

    “Uh, Sam...I...had fun today, surprisingly. Do you maybe want to...do this again sometime? I-I can see if Alphys can lend me some of her games. B-But, only if you want to...”

     They stared at him for a moment before smiling brightly and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

    “*You tell him that you’d love to turn him into a gaming nerd like you...”

Note: Gaming soulmates! What could be better? I hope you all enjoyed reading because I enjoyed writing it! Thank you all so much for reading! I love all of you! Stay tuned for more.