#which knowing Rhea was supposed to be at least a sort of nice place to live in or where people could at least live in peace

[randomnameless]

So considering how feudal nations work and if one is willing to focus on the lesser nobles, actual people (so not just showing Edelgard loyalists but those who dislike her too) and if Ludwig manage to escape capture, it would be reasonable to have a civil war happen?

I think it can since Hubert wouldn't just be able to get the network system of his father after murdering him, and the nobles of Adrestia are the worst in terms of opposition to social mobility and primitive form of gender equality, so the lack of civil war is stupid.

I base my thoughts on how France (I'm French too) had the Vendée rebellion and subsequent massacre and how devotion to the Church fueled support to the Spanish nationalists.

Adrestia is somehow the least interesting nation because of how it lack any of the noticeable internal strife shown, and Hubert being so effective at killing dissidents despite being only 20 (before the war) and having been at odd with many of the Seven who would actually have networks on their own is really Mary-sue ish.

I was a Edelstan at first (though I don't think too extreme) , but the more I see things, the more CF, SB and Edie annoy me (though the toxic fans are key in me stopping from preferring Edie).

Ooh!

Cher compatriote,

Thing is, Fodlan has been shown to be... not so feudal at all, especially the Empire.

I mean, Ludwig is jailed by word of the newest Emperor, when Ludwig is the PM and Edel was only the Imperial Princess at that time.

If we assume PM is just a big title (like the Fraldarius being Dukes) and in a feudal setting, Ludwig would have had a lot of lesser Houses and feudal Lords under his authority - the Emperor jails him? I can't see his bannermen - especially since this imprisonment isn't in reaction to anything he did (recently?) - just stand still and continue with their lives - how come no one reacts "wrongly" when he is jailed, in his territory, or the people affiliated to his name (maybe cousins, cadet branches, or what not)?

FWIW, Ludwig managed to escape and sort of mount a small army of men in SB... But that's nowhere what I would expect from the former PM - when we are told he was the one running things at the end of Ionius' rule - to have/raise, the number 1 of the country drops to a nobody by the heir of the puppet ruler, and apparently, the only ones number 1 can have to help him is 15 guys ?

I mean, Ferdie can have his Aegir personal battalion when he ends his paralogue (i know, it's a gameplay mechanic!) - can't we imagine the Aegir Astral Knights would have been something else than 10 dudes following Ferdie in gameplay, and be instead an entire battalion Ludwig could have used to defend himself, or at least run away with? Or imagine those knights tried to locate and liberate him from his prison in Enbarr?

Adrestia is so not developed that, as you say, it ends up being the most boring place of the three (even if I'll argue on this point : both Adrestia and Leicester are completely empty and without interest, but at least, Adrestia had some history landmarks to imagine things, when the Alliance has... Gloucester and his sheep, I guess?) - but at the same time, it could have been much more : Adrestian Emperors claim to descend from Jesus... but there's an Archbishop around (who is actually Jesus and not their ancestor (or is she?), but that's a secret!) so, to everyone who is supposed to buy the official story... Why should the CoS be administred/ruled by a random archbishop, when Jesus' direct line is still alive and kicking? Why should the Emperors share Fodlan - that was liberated by Seiros herself from corrupted people in the North ! - with the descendants of those corrupted people in the North?

The game instead gives us MAGA "Make Adrestia Great Again" with a resentment for the CoS that isn't explained (in Nopes, it's suggested the Emperor who disbanded the Southern church already was pissed with the Central Church!) and we can only guess it's either about Faerghus existing or something else...

I confess my only interest in Adrestia stems from the country being seemingly, during the WoH and post WoH the country were people are happy and peaceful etc "country of a blue lord", and then, 10 years after the end of the War of Heroes, instead of having some "and Renais was rebuilt and Ephraim became the new King of Restauration and helped everyone" we have "and then Lycaon dies mysteriously and the political situation is so "stable" that his successor duels for her throne", complete with a novel having in the background "and Adrestia still didn't leave the Roman Ludi and had northerners being torn apart by beasts as a form of entertainment"* which is, uh, very very very far removed from Marth'n'Tiki finishing their adventures and returning home.

As you pointed out, Adrestia, for what is developed in-game or mentioned about the place, is incredibly bleak and involves child prostitution, heavy class divide and an extreme misoginy in the current times... when it was created/overlooked, at least in the beginning, by Rhea herself ! When Rhea's current home is a rather peaceful place, Adrestia by comparison is a chamber pot, so what the frick happened there? 1000 years are 1000 years, but damn.

We don't have any intel about it - only mentions here'n'there that Hubert and Supreme Leader (but mostly Hubert because he can be criticised in game having a very... biased view of events and refusing to reconsider, but in the end, Adrestia... cannot be developed or have a civil war, because Adrestia isn't the focus of the story - from what we have, we already know it's a bleak place before and after Edel's coronation so... Her goal is to bring reforms to the world, but it's fitting enough that she doesn't deal with her own turf before bringing "reforms" to the rest of Fodlan.

There's also the very doylist reason of Edel having to be marketable, so in Houses, we cannot have people rebel on-screen for what happens in the Empire, else the Emperor... will not sell. Hell, Nopes had to have her brainwashed to have people react to Agarthans killing her randoms right and left, while the Nobles aren't doing a thing - always hammering the fact that "she's brainwashed so it's not her doing this or condoning this by not moving her army to protect her people it's Thales's fault".

Hubert being hyper-competent is an assumed trait at this point lol, unless he really really works with the Agarthans who lend him their tech and spy reports and whatnot. FE isn't a "realistic" as, say, ASOIAF, but without Hubert, Adrestia doesn't function and Edel's plans don't work so Hubert is both a McGuffin plot device (apparently he can pinpoint shambala because Thales fire nukes? Without access to any satellite?) and the character we all love.

Given how Supreme Leader planned her coup coronation and subsequent attack on GM - especially since Leopold already was in her pocket during the mock battle - I'm pretty sure Hubert, or Leopold's army or hell, some of her "allies" already envisaged this, and had either Aegir's "close allies" Hubert'd or monitored.

Or worse, imagine a scenario where Aegir runs to his friend Varley to explain him what happened, how the Emperor sent an army against him to usurp the throne and how they must warn everyone and Leopold to raise the army against her... Only to have Varley reveal he is now the Bishop of the Southern Church, and Leopold sided with her since the beginning...

I know it's not comparable, but Seteth (or some nuns?) mentions how he hasn't heard a thing about the faithful in the Empire... so either they were killed because they were practicionners of the Seiros faith, or because they rebelled/protested against the war and were, uh, disposed of (tfw the games never care about telling us who were the humans used to create the various imperial demonic beasts we see).

FWIW, I have a plotbunny idea where someone pretending to be Hresvelg bastard - with a crest of Seiros - wants to ask for Nopes!Rhea's help to support his claim to the throne, since Supreme Leader declared her war against the Church, he can put an end to it if he becomes Emperor, right? The CoS is torn between accepting "it would create at least some instability in the Empire, so the Kingdom could breathe a bit and maybe use this opportunity to finally fend them off if the Emperor calls back her troops in Enbarr" and "the CoS doesn't meddle in the affairs of humans like succession issues and only does so if it's to prevent a war but here you want us to create a civil war??"

*it's a novel so historical accuracy isn't that high, and yet, even if it's a porn book, why adding this detail in the background - just like people listening to music - I doubt it was written by a Faerghian writter so what, was this detail "northmen were slaughtered by beasts in the background and it was very funny lol" added just as a background thing, like fish being served as a meal ("historical" detail that might have been true!) or...?

[gaylittlewhumpee]

little wolf

chapter nine: the pet shop

cw: mentioned past whump, loads of fluff, Pet being so cute your heart might bust, past conditioning, muzzling, fear of abandonment

also Pet finally gets a name in this one!!

tagging: @whumpthisway @carolinethedragon @thehurtsandthecomfurts @oracle-of-maybe @cupcakes-and-pain @whumpzone @shiningstarofwinterfun @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @profesional-idiocy @flower-whump

Javier still hasn't given the wolf a name.

But Pet didn't seem to mind - it always looked like it was gonna melt when he called it "little one" or praised it, or just softly petted it. It still flinched every time he extended a hand, but it usually pressed its head into it afterwards. Well, he wasn't sure if it meant that little one was adjusting to him, or that it had just been taught to do so, but it felt nice anyways.

He found out that it was a female, well, probably a female. When he learned that, he started calling her "she". Pet seemed confused about it at first, but adjusted after some time. And after being called a "good girl" for the first time, she almost started weeping with joy. Javier was slowly teaching her to use her voice more, which always made her all anxious and terrified, but she tried her best to please him.

But it apparently wasn't good enough, she thought with her heart sinking when she saw what Master had in his hand.

,,I promise I'll take it off as soon as I can," said Master and held out the muzzle, ,,but we're going out today and sadly, you gotta wear this. If you want to, you can stay at home, but I would be glad if you came with me."

Pet softly whined. Of course it- she, she corrected herself, Master said it was a she - wanted to go with Master, it doesn't matter if she had to wear a muzzle, she´ll go with Master anywhere he wants.

Master's hands carefully slipped the muzzle on and secured it in place, making sure it's not too tight. She could still open its mouth slightly, to breathe, to whine, to … to talk, only if Master wants that, of course. He also put on her collar and a leash, checked if he hadn't forgotten anything, and they headed out.

Some people we're staring at Pet, obviously, but it wasn't that bad, especially if she lowered and pressed her wings into her sides, clinging to Master's leg like a shadow. They walked a few blocks, until Master stopped at a bus stop. His warm fingers brushed against Pet's fur and she pressed her head into his palm.

,,You're being so good," he praised her. ,,Now we're gonna take the bus. Just keep behaving as you do, alright? I trust you, little one, you can do this."

Pet nodded earnestly, but her stomach clenched. She never rode a bus before. What if she fuckes up? What if Master gets mad at it because she won't do as well as he wants? What if he just leaves it somewhere in this city and gets rid of it and it would have to live on the streets until someone has enough mercy to end its suffering and hit it with a car-

,,Look, the bus is here."

Pet flinched, snapping out of her thoughts. The bus stopped in front of them, a few people got out, and then Master pulled the leash to make her move. She got up quickly and shakily followed Master's steps.

He bought the tickets and hummed a quick "thank you" towards the driver, and then he started to walk through the confined corridor to find a seat. Pet accidentally brushed against someone and flinched away quickly, waiting for a hit that never came. Master climbed onto a seat and patted his leg, then pointed down to his feet. Pet hurried to obey, curling up under the seats, trying to make herself as small as possible.

The ride probably wasn't that long, but for Pet it seemed like ages. Finally, Master softly nudged it. ,,Hey little one, we're here."

The bus stopped and Javier got up, Pet at his heels. They got off and Pet looked around anxiously, her nose trembling as she sniffed all the new smells.

,,You were so good," smiled Master and he took off his headphones, leaving them around his neck, ,,was it too scary?"

Pet knew she shouldn't lie, but Master probably wanted to hear that the ride was alright, even though her heart was still racing from anxiety. She gulped and decided to risk it. She nodded shakily.

Master laughed and scratched her neck, smiling. ,,Well, you still did a great job, little one," he praised her and Pet purred softly. ,,Now, let's go."

Pet followed him, wondering what he wants to do and where are they going. Master stepped into some shop, holding the door for Pet to come in too, and she quickly slipped in. It smelled like leather, hay and dog food in here. There were cages and dog beds of all sizes, leashes hanging on the wall, bags of feed for all sorts of animals, regals with toys… Pet chirped in surprise and Master softly chuckled.

,,That's right, buddy."

He allowed her to shyly scurry over to the toy aisle. Pet carefully sniffed over the regals, looking in awe at all those chewing toys, squeaky ones, plushies and many more. Master couldn't help but chuckle a bit. She looked like a four-year-old in a toy shop.

,,You can pick whatever you want," he told her softly. ,,And how many you want. Well, I mean, don't make me buy this whole aisle for you, but, you know."

Pet looked at him with genuine tears in her eyes, wide and surprised and so full of gratitude. She quietly whined and softly nudged his leg with her muzzle, purring. He chuckled.

Pet wandered along the aisle and looked at all these toys, still in awe that she can really pick anything. She seemed interested in the squeaky ones, until she found out that they're really loud. She jumped up in the air, startled at the noise, and hurried to hide behind Master's legs, watching the squeaky rubber chicken with bristled fur and raised feathers, and Javier could laugh his ass off and thank gods he got it on a video.

It seemed that she really liked the plushies. One, a blue rabbit with soft plushy fur and a button nose, apparently really caught her eye, and Javier was prepared to buy it although it was a bit pricey, but then she noticed a box next to the aisle and went to look at it curiously. Javier raised his eyebrows and followed her.

The box had a sign on it that said "used toys - $1 each". It contained one broken squeaky duck, a ripped chewing toy, two old chewed up tennis balls and one smudgy, battered-looking plushie. It was supposed to be a sheep, Javier guessed, light blue and white, with a pink bow around its neck. One eye was missing and a piece of stuffing was showing through a tear in its stomach. Pet softly sniffed it, nudging it with its muzzle. Javier raised his eyebrows.

,,You sure?" he asked. ,,It's not in the best state, I would say. Don't you want a new, good one instead?"

Pet looked at him, nervously wrapping her tail around her legs, and then she forced herself to say the thought that popped in her head.

,,W- Well… N- Neither was- was I, am I r- right, M- Master? And- And you still… still kept m-me… right?"

Javier slowly breathed in through his nose and leaned back, smiling slowly.

,,That's true, little one," he nodded and ruffled her fur. ,,You're absolutely, absolutely right." Pet watched him anxiously.

,,So, this one?"

Pet beamed when he reached into the box and pulled the sheep out. She wagged her tail and tried to lick his hand in excitement. Thank you, thank you, thank you, she wanted to scream, but her throat was too tight. But Master figured out what she was trying to say and chuckled.

,,You're welcome, little one."

Pet softly took the toy and happily chirped, her tail wagging like crazy. Javier couldn't help but grin.

,,Now, to the collars," he ordered and brushed her back. ,,You gotta get a new one."

Pet trotted at his heels, her eyes fixed at the toy Javier tossed in the bag.

Javier stopped by the aisle, looking at all the different kinds of collars. The black, leather ones caught his eye. They looked nice and simple, sturdy, but not too heavy. He picked out one, with a silver tag attached to it, and looked at Pet. ,,What do you think, little one?” he asked.

Pet tilted her head and gave him a nod, wagging her tail. He grinned and ruffled her fur.

,,Good girl. Let´s get the tag and then we can go and pick some treats for you as well.”

He walked over to the machine to get the name imprinted on the tag and then he stopped awkwardly, remembering he still haven´t given Pet a name. He ran a hand through his hair. Fuck. He turned around at Pet, chuckling slightly.

,,Yeah, um… Any name suggestions?”

Pet softly nudged his hand. That probably meant that he was supposed to pick it out himself. Fuck, he sighed in his head again and took out his phone, ready to scroll through a damn name generator or something like that, when he noticed he had a message from Tee. He opened it.

Hey, have u named the wolf yet? I have a few suggestions, if you wont mind.

Dude, you´re an angel. I´m currently in the pet shop trying to figure out what to put on the nametag.

yeah, that sounds like u, idiot. anyways, here are a few cool names.

Javier sighed in relief when he saw the huge paragraph of names that Tee sent him. They were mostly something space-related, but also a few ones in Latin and some inspired by Greek, Norse, Roman and Egyptian mythology. He crouched next to Pet, scratching her neck with one hand, and scrolled through the suggestions.

He seriously considered naming her Fenrir, but it didn´t fit right, considering that Pet was the least intimidating winged wolf you´d ever meet. Most of the names were names of the stars, and he really liked those. He softly muttered the best ones under his breath to try them out.

,,Rhea… That sounds good… Polaris? Nah… Stella? Do you look like some basic ass white girl? Pfft… Oh, Sirius could do… Or maybe Altair? Altair…” He looked at Pet and scratched under her chin, watching her slightly close her eyes and tilt her head. ,,Altair… I like that one. What do you think, little one? Could you be Altair?”

Pet softly chirped, purring slightly, holding her new plushie with one paw protectively. Her ears flicked. She looked nervous, yes, but happiness was more visible. Altair. Yeah. That suited her.

,,Well, I hope people won´t think I named you after that dude from Assasin´s Creed,” Javier joked and got up, stretching his legs. ,,Let´s get the name tag printed.”

[bluepenguinstories]

Remoras Full Chapter XLIII: Demetrioi

I

Great. She just ran off and left me to deal with some unexplained mess.

“Wait!” I called out. “Don’t leave me with her!” My voice carried out into an echo and as I stared into the darkened tunnel, hearing her footsteps growing fainter, I knew that it was too late. I was stuck. Stuck with this person on the floor who by all sense of logic, shouldn’t even be alive, let alone speaking.

Oh, but since when has logic played a factor in any of this? Hmm…

Really, though, to think we went through such a battle, which was already a great deal of bullshit and now...this? Hell, first of all, I didn’t even have to come back to help her out, and to think she just runs off? That’s the thanks I get?

“Juniper? Are you still there?” Came the faint, hoarse, but actually kind of cute voice of what was presumed to be Rhea. The OG.

Wait. Does she think I’m Juniper? Do I really sound anything like her?

“Uh. Hi? Wakey wakey?” I replied. Nervous, I waved, before realizing that since her eyes were closed, waving did me no good.

“Who was that just now?” She then asked.

“Uh…” You, but not. But I can’t just say that, can I?

“Ves?”

Oh, come on, do you really think…? No, never mind. I’m going to stop questioning things or so help me…

“Oh. Yeah. That was Ves,” I decided to just go with it. Why not? “It was too painful for her to stick around. You know how she is.”

I dragged my feet in place. When I returned to the diner, there were several things I prepared myself for. I trained and everything. I put myself in a fucking nun outfit. But this...I was not prepared for.

“I see.”

There was a second of silence. I was ready to let out a sigh of relief and declare that she had passed on, that it was just a brief moment of weirdness, but then –

“Juniper?”

“Yeah?” I replied, then gulped.

“Can you come closer?”

This is a trap, isn’t it? I shook my head. Maybe, but I’m ready for a fight.

“OK, but you better not start sprouting tentacles,” I warned her as I walked up to her. Each footstep felt like a cinder block was attached to my ankles.

“Why would I…?” She asked.

Either they’re more dedicated to their role than before or...no, I’ll play along.

“It really is you, isn’t it?” I sighed as I dropped to the floor beside her head.

“Who did you expect? Squid girl?” Her confusion was pronounced, even with the dry and hazy air to her voice. As harsh as she may have been in life, there was a softness to the tone of her voice that I couldn’t deny. It was enough to make me question that this was the same killer I had heard so much about.

“No. Uh. Never mind. It’s just...haa...what a day, am I right?” Yeah. I was at a loss for words. Could anyone blame me? What was one to say to a dying (and already been dead, for, what? Three years) person that they barely knew and only heard about from others?

“I’m sorry about that,” she frowned, and Remora’s voice returned to the front of my mind: “Comfort her!”

Why should I? I spent over a year trying to get over you and now you expect me to try to care for someone when you don’t even care about me in the first place?

“Don’t be,” I did my best to say something, anything, to comfort her. As much as I had my issues with this whole...situation, it still felt wrong to leave her alone. Trying to think of something comforting, I offered, “Is there anything I can do to help you rest?”

“I think...if I can lay my head on your lap…”

My heart skipped a beat.

“Fine,” I sighed, then smiled, trying to make my voice sound as soothing as possible and not like a fizzled out balloon, “I suppose I can do that much.”

I scooted over and reached my hands down, but they felt about ready to fall off with all the heavy vibrations they were doing. Hell, my own pulse felt louder than anything else in the room.

I’ve never even done something like this before and now I’m...I agreed to this…

“Okay…” my voice was just as shaky as well. “Up you go,” I sat crisscross and placed my hands on each side of her face, then lifted her head onto my lap.

“Ha. There we go,” I wiped my forehead. I didn’t break a sweat, but it sure felt like I did. When I looked down at her short, blue hair, which looked fine and silky, almost like I could glide my hand through and each hair would float on by. It was amazing how unchanged she appeared despite the last time she drew her final breath. My eyes scanned down and noticed her thick, coarse dark brown eyebrows, and even that was beautiful with how pronounced it was. Despite some small scrapes and scratches on her face, her hazelnut skin looked just as smooth as it must have always been. Her eyes remained closed, and her breaths were faint, but when I saw her lips…

They had spread to a smile. It startled me at first, caught me off-guard.

“I must be the luckiest girl in the world right now,” she beamed, “getting a lap pillow from Juniper.”

I covered my mouth with the back of my hand.

“It’s nothing. Really,” I replied, my voice muffled by my sleeve.

“But it’s not nothing...it’s not…” her voice lowered at those final two words, like she was fading away.

“Well, I’m glad that I can do something to help,” I conceded. Her smile soon faded as well, back to that usual neutral expression that I would have expected from her.

What? Did I say something wrong?

“I don’t know how much longer...I thought I would have been gone by now…”

Oh. That’s what it is. Yeah. You’re not the only one who thought that.

“It’s okay. Take your time.”

I wonder how Sunny and the others are doing. I wonder what they would think if they saw what I was up to right now. I wonder what Remora would think. She’d probably say something like, “this is the most action you’re ever going to get” and then I’d say, “hey, this was your idea!”

“I’m glad you’re here,” Rhea spoke up again, “I’m...sorry…” she let out a soft cough, and her voice sounded pained, but she went on, “I’m sorry I said that your kindness was a weakness. It’s not. It’s a strength. Even if you may be naive sometimes, I’m...really glad to have met someone...as kind as you. Even to someone like me.”

Was Juniper really nice to her? Oh, dear...I guess that does sound like her.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m a pretty forgiving person,” I replied.

“To be honest, I think I got a bit of a crush on you…”

Why are you telling me this?

“...But I know you and Ves are already good for each other.”

“Glad you think so.”

“Hey Juniper?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever been in love before?”

Seriously?

“Uh. Yeah. With my wife. Who I’m married to.”

“Oh. Right. Well, it was worth a try.”

It really wasn’t, but OK.

“How are you feeling?” I changed the topic for the sake of my sanity, and possibly hers as well.

She scrunched her face and pursed her lips.

What? Was that a bad question? Gosh, I’m sorry.

“Hm. Warm?”

“Really? It’s kinda chilly for me,” I remarked. For real, why didn’t the heaters work down here? Why was there such a draft?

“Oh no. Am I contagious?” She asked with a concerning level of sincerity.

“No, it’s, uh...just the wind.”

“That’s a relief,” she smiled and let out a serene whisper. Jeez, who knew her voice could be so pretty?

There was a pause, a stillness, yet not all was still. There was a sort of sensation at the back of my mind, like I was letting go of something, or something was being released from me and making me lighter. It stung, like a dagger being pulled out, but also felt relieving. But before I be put at ease, I noticed tears start to well up in those closed eyes.

“No, no. What’s wrong? You’re warm, aren’t you? Isn’t that what you want?” I scrambled to try to figure out something to say, but I had nothing.

“I...I messed up, didn’t I?”

“What do you mean?”

“I knew how important this job was, that Ves’ existence threatened the world, but the more I got to know her, the harder it was for me to do it.”

“But you still fought anyway. Why?”

“I don’t know why I do the things I do sometimes,” she answered. It wasn’t good enough for me, however. For whatever reason, I couldn’t accept that.

“But that’s not true in this case, is it?” I urged. Urged for some kind of answer. There had to be one.

“I needed to. It was her or the world. But the more I talked to her, the more I related with her, and it got to the point where I just couldn’t take it anymore. Who I am, the kinds of things I’ve done...”

Whatever relief I might have had disintegrated and in its place was a cyanide-laced pit in my stomach. Yet she had more to say.

“...others would have come after me if I left. There was a legitimate threat posed by her continued existence. Yet I just couldn’t do it. So I tried to provoke her, get her to fight me, make it look like I was still serious...because I should have been...but I just wanted to be free even though I knew it would cost the world.”

“Y...you can rest easy,” my voice shook as I told her, “the world’s still here. I’m still here. Ves may have left, but she’ll return and she’ll be healed by then. She’s smarter than you might think. She’s just sensitive.”

“I’m glad, then,” she turned her head.

“I wish you and her didn’t fight, though. I care about both of you,” I added. It really seemed like something Juniper would have said.

“I know...and I really do wish I could have been friends with you guys. You seem like a great person.”

“I’m not as good as you think I am,” I corrected her.

“Maybe not, but I don’t think you’d want to know me. I’ve done some bad things…”

You don’t say.

“You might be right. But I can’t say for sure unless I knew you better.”

“I’m sorry I threatened to harm you and your wife,” she deflected.

“It’s okay. We’re still here.”

“But at least you won’t have to deal with me anymore. I won’t cause you any more pain…” She mumbled, like those really were going to be her last words. Such bull. Really? Some kind of guilt trip? Did she have any idea? Any at all?

“You fucking IDIOT!” I shouted down and my fists shook. I found myself on the verge of tears. “Do you...do you think this absolves you of the pain you caused? Any of it?” I sniffed, tried to hold back my emotions, even as I knew what a futile effort that was.

“Maybe not, but there’s nothing to be done. It’s too late,” she smiled, nuzzled against my leg.

Screw comfort. Screw everything.

“I...I shouldn’t be emotional over you! I hardly know you!” I shouted and shut my eyes, defiant, but the tears still came. It was hard to tell if she was still breathing or not, and I began to feel numb all over. Numb, yet overfilled with emotion. There was a ringing in ear, yet I heard a pronounced gasp from her.

“If anyone has the right to be upset, it should be you, Juniper,” she spoke, as if to reassure me. Me. No. Not me. Who she thought I was.

I don’t want to be Juniper anymore. I don’t want to be you, or Sister Cecilia, or anyone else. I just want to be me.

“I didn’t even cry at my grandmother’s funeral! I never even knew my father because he died before I was born! So why you? Why?”

I opened my eyes, held my hands in front of my face. They were all wet.

“I’m sorry,” I heaved out the words.

Again, I didn’t know if she was still breathing or not or if she had passed on. I looked over and saw a matchstick on the floor next to where I sat.

Please go. So that I can go back to being me. Please.

However, my pleas went unanswered. She turned her head, back to facing forward.

“Juniper, can I make a selfish request?” She asked.

“Yes,” I answered, as loathe as I was to do so.

“Can I lay my hand on your cheek?”

I tried to force a smile.

“Yes, but nothing more, OK?” I softened my voice.

Her free arm raised, the one that wasn’t held over her stomach (thank goodness. I didn’t want blood on my face) and I closed my eyes, not ready for whatever sensation might have come. When I felt that palm, those fingers, my breathing grew heavier. Her hand was far warmer than it had any right to be. She stroked my cheek and I shivered about, then, she set her hand back down, lowered her arm back to her side.

That also felt better than it had any right to. Not to mention the fact that it wasn’t meant for me in the first place. God, all of this is so wrong.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

“Juniper, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“I wasn’t meant to wake up, was I?”

So she figured it out. Well, she may as well know.

“No. You weren’t,” I answered, and even with a smile and tinge of softness, it still felt rough to say.

“I thought so. Can I ask you something else?”

Let me guess: “Why am I not dead?”

“You’re not really Juniper, are you?”

I was startled and my heart began to thump in place.

“I...well...you see…”

She opened her eyes wide and stared into mine, then scowled.

“I shrunk in the wash?” I scrambled for an explanation. However, it didn’t even seem to register so much as a chuckle from her (everyone’s a critic) and I watched as she lifted her head up, then struggled to lift herself up.

“Ooh, ow, ow, ow,” she winced and hissed as she sat up.

“You’re in pain!” I gasped. She just turned and glared at me.

“And you’re not Juniper,” her disappointment was chalked into every syllable.

She stood up, much to my protests, and began to look around.

“What is this place...a brewery…?” She muttered.

“You should lay back down!” I urged her, despite knowing she wouldn’t listen to me, “do you really want your final moments to be painful?”

“How I spend my final moments is between me, myself, and I,” she dismissed me, not even turning to look my way.

“Come on! I was told to comfort you!”

“And who told you to do that? Huh?”

Oh crap. I can’t actually say.

“You wouldn’t believe me…” I lowered my head.

“I already don’t believe you. You used me, made me think you were Juniper. Who are you, really?” That time, she turned to me, still with a disgusted look on her face.

“I’m Juniper’s cousin!” I explained.

“Oh, sure. And I’m the Queen of France,” she scoffed, then walked away toward the back of the room, toward where the ladder against the wall was. That same ladder that led up to the diner.

“Well, are you?” I leaned in and asked.

“I could be...if I wanted to. That was sarcasm, by the way,” she replied, still walking.

“You don’t say,” I shot back, deadpan.

“Yes. I do say. I just said so. Just now, in fact.”

“That was sarcasm too, you dummy!”

“Don’t be mean to me. I just woke up.”

I can’t believe this. How is this supposedly merciless killer so ridiculous?

“Now let’s see...what is this place? Why am I here? What am I doing awake? Is this the afterlife? Why is there some green troll doll pretending to be Juniper?” She muttered to herself as she continued to look around.

Hey I resent that last remark.

“For your information, it wasn’t my idea to pretend to be Juniper,” I argued.

“I don’t care. I don’t even know who you are. Why would you pretend to be someone else at all?”

What is with you two and the whole ‘I don’t care’ thing?

“I don’t know,” I admitted, “it just sorta happened.”

“Well stop.”

She limped on over toward the ladder, now just a couple more paces away.

“Rhea...you’re bleeding,” I pointed out. I hoped that such awareness would bring her to her senses, get her away from there.

“You know how it is with spaghetti…” She grunted.

...What?

Now, against the wall, with one hand on one of the wooden planks of the ladder, I knew any more convincing would be useless.

“Tell me,” she turned to me, “if I go up here, will I be in heaven?”

I smiled and shook my head.

“More like hell,” I joked, “but I’ve come to think of it as home.”

She just shrugged.

“I’ll take it.”

Before she readied her arms up to climb, I spoke up once again:

“Rhea. It was nice to meet you,” I wiped away a loose tear. Let’s hope that was the last one.

“I’d say the same, but I don’t actually know you,” she just replied.

“Demetria,” I told her.

“Yeah,” she squinted, “I’m not gonna remember that.”

Then I watched as she climbed up. Through the pain, through the blood that dripped down, somehow she managed. All the while, I just sat and felt powerless to stop her.

“I hope this time you have an undisturbed rest,” I remarked. That time, she didn’t answer. I didn’t mind. She lifted the hatch, shook a bit, and for a moment, I thought she would fall off, but she clung onto the floor of the diner, then shimmied her way up. “Goodbye, Rhea.”

II

There was a moment which seemed to go on for an eternity where I just continued to sit there in disbelief. All of that, that whole conversation, her getting up, being alive, even for a short while at all...that really happened? Then, the realization dawned on me: I had let her get away. What would the residents of the diner think? They were gonna freak out, weren’t they? Ugh.

I got up and clasped the sides of my head with both hands.

“What am I supposed to do now?! ‘Hey guys, no biggie, but we got a case of the walking dead!’” I paced about in frustration.

I shook my head. Worrying myself over such things was pointless. She wasn’t going to last, and besides, as much as that was a small distraction, that’s all it was: a distraction. I still had to head back with the group. We had a whole final boss to deal with. Our journey was far from over.

“OK,” I let out a deep breath, “time to get a move on.”

Through the entrance to the tunnel, I ran, while keeping my motions and pace steady. Not far in, I saw her: Remora. The one that I knew. She sat up against one of the stony walls of the tunnel, her head hung low and leaned against her own shoulder.

I’ve still got lots of mixed feelings, but…

I snapped my fingers in rapid succession.

Remora jolted up, then looked around, wide-eyed.

“S-Sorry! I must have passed out. That fight exhausted me,” she explained in a stammer.

“Can’t say I blame you, but we gotta get to the others.”

She nodded, then stood up.

“Is she gone? Did she pass on?” She asked, an odd sense of nervousness in her voice.

“Yeah. She uh, went upstairs, so to speak.”

“What?!”

“Not literally...you know, like her spirit ascended,” I tried to explain.

Even though, yes. Literally.

“Oh. Phew. Thank goodness. I was worried for a second there.”

“What for?” I paused, surprised.

“Because if she were to live, then what would happen to me?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, dry and without confidence.

“I’m scared,” she admitted and looked down to her side. After one glance at me, “it’s said that if two versions of the same person cannot exist in the same timeline. It’s rare, so rare that such a rule would seem unnecessary, but it’s said that if someone entered another timeline when a version of them already exists, then one of the versions would die to keep it at just one.”

I wonder if that what his plan, then. It never occurred to me that he would have such a power, but if that’s true, then it would be an easy way to get rid of Remora. Of course he would use some dirty trick like that. The fog, everything else, it’s all been one cowardly trick after another.

“Like I said, I don’t know,” I repeated. I shuffled my feet and tried to search for some form of assurance, and all I could come up with was my mission at hand. “I can’t say what the future holds for any of us, but I swear I’ll do all in my power to put a stop to this. Now, can you run?”

She nodded, her face relaxed into the neutral, stoic form which I knew from her.

“Good. Let’s meet back up with the others.”

We ran at a pace steady enough that she was able to turn to me and make conversation. Something I really didn’t want to do, especially what with how things ended up when I was last at the diner, before all of this shit with the fog went down.

“So, what’s the plan now, Sister Cecilia?” She teased.

“Hey!” I snapped. “At least nobody figured out it was me, Captain Acab!”

“You could tell it was me?” She pointed to herself all while keeping pace with me.

“Duh. I can spot your shivering from a mile away.”

“Y-you can?” She stammered and started to slow down.

“Maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but even if you hadn’t been shivering up a storm, your voice gives you away. That’s why I had the whole ‘vow of silence’ thing going on,” I explained. “As for the plan, I’m pretty sure I know what, or rather who, is behind all of this. I’ve dealt with him before.”

“Him?! You mean a man was inside her? Disgusting.”

I skidded to a stop and spat out.

“Why would you phrase it that way?! Do you have any idea how that sounds?! That’s so...so insensitive!”

I stifled back laughter and snickered, but it didn’t help; soon it forced its way out all on its own.

“Ah ha ha! But that’s just like you to say something like that,” I remarked, still unable to help myself but laugh.

“I don’t know what I said that was funny, but I’ll take that as a win,” she replied. Yeah. I guess she would be clueless to something like that, and maybe I was just reading too much into things.

“It’s...never mind.”

“But yes, I fought someone who might be the same guy,” she disclosed, “he said he was inhabiting a spare corpse. Apparently that guy we fought in the cave, Buddy Fairweather, if that even was his original name, was also the same guy. To think he would go as far as using the body of my other self…”

“Yes,” I agreed, “to use one of your words, it’s disgusting.”

As if there weren’t other things beside that which could be called ‘disgusting’. Like how ‘he’, or whoever it was in question, through some mystic power or whatever nonsense, made this fog and harmed, even took innocent lives. For what? To instill a sense of fear? Or to hide out and hope the fog would do all the work for him?

“That’s why we’ve got to regroup with the others and put a stop to this,” I declared, then took off once more.

She kept pace with me the whole time, something which I found annoying yet expected. I just tried to keep my focus forward, and not on her. It was bad enough that she had returned at all. Worse that if I had just stayed with the others, I could have delayed having to see her again.

“It’s good to see you,” she spoke up again.

“Wish I could say the same,” I replied, then realized how harsh that sounded, I turned to her, “for the record, I don’t dislike you...it’s just hard, considering…”

I didn’t want to think about it. Not when there were other things to worry about. Other things to get mad about.

“I think I get it. I’m glad to hear you don’t dislike me.”

For whatever reason, my face turned red.

“Yeah, well anyway, that’s not really important right now.”

It was a little further in when I saw a faint, orange glow in the distance. As we approached, the glow turned brighter, more pronounced, and the stone walls illuminated around us. Then, I saw them: Sunny, Ray, and Tigershark, all sat against the wall, with Sunny holding up the torch. Remora and I slowed down to a walk upon seeing them, and Tigershark was the first to look up. She beamed, then got up and ran over to Remora and hugged her.

“You’re back!” She cheered and clamped onto Remora’s right leg tight.

“Hey, little one,” Remora knelt down and hugged Tigershark right back with that same weary, raspy voice I heard from Rhea...something which I would have rather forgotten.

I looked around and saw piles of stone rubble just past Sunny. It must have been what was once those animated stone creatures. Sunny and Ray were bruised and scraped up, but they didn’t look too bad. Just exhausted. At least, I hoped it wasn’t too bad.

“It was scary! There was someone who looked like you, but then it turned out to be a monster!” Tigershark sobbed into Remora’s pant leg.

“I know. She’s gone now,” Remora tried to comfort Tigershark. Or maybe just comfort herself. Either way, it rubbed me the wrong way. Like an obfuscation.

“That thing,” I cut in and shook my head as I did so, “wasn’t Rhea. The reason why it looked like Remora was because Rhea was her twin sister, but she died a few years ago. That thing was just a disgrace to her image. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“I didn’t know you had a twin sister!” Tigershark broke away from the hug and gasped, astonished.

“Yeah...about that…” Remora looked away, shot me a quick glare, then continued, “I don’t really like talking about my twin sister. We were never very close and for the longest time I’ve had mixed feelings about her, almost like we came from different worlds.”

How subtle.

“If she’s your sister...does that mean she’s mine too?” Tigershark pointed to herself.

“Look at you, collecting sisters left and right,” Sunny remarked.

“That’s right!” Tigershark grinned.

They continued their conversation, and I’m sure it was great for them all to reunite. Really, I should’ve been happier, but all I could do was look ahead. Somewhere, further ahead, was the one behind everything. No doubt, we’d be in for a fight, and with the battles we’ve already had to endure, our odds weren’t great.

But it has to be done all the same.

“What do you think, Ray?” I asked while continuing to look ahead.

“Hmm...it seems like Tigershark’s family grows bigger each day,” he mused.

“No, not that. What do you think about settling matters?”

“I’d love to. Now, whether or not I have any fight left in me...that’s another story.”

“And I’m sure you can tell that story another day. For now, I’m sure we can settle for having a nice little chat with our guest.”

“Ah, that,” he picked himself up, “may as well. We’re probably closer to our enemy by now than we are to the diner. Worst case scenario, even if we all die, at least we’ll have done so with the intention of setting things right.”

“Plus we’ll have done so as a family,” Sunny added.

“Yeah. No thanks. I’m determined to see us all live, whether we like it or not.”

When we all gathered close together, Sunny turned to Remora.

“You’re pretty badly injured!”

“Wounds heal,” Remora dismissed.

“Here, I’ve got some antiseptic ointment. Lemme apply it for you.”

“Um...n-no thanks,” Remora backed away, “you can just hand those to me. I’m still not comfortable being touched.”

Though I suppose hugging Tigershark is an exception.

“That said, I’m willing to let you touch me, Demetria,” Remora added, and upon hearing my name, I turned stiff and jumped in place. I had done all in my power not to be near her, in fact, I was at the very right end while she, Sunny, and Tigershark were on the left. But it was all for naught, as she had addressed me all the same.

“I’m not the one with the ointment here,” I looked away and grumbled.

We walked on, as none of us felt the need to run any longer. Besides, although I still had plenty of energy to do so, I imagined the others might not have. It was up in the air about a certain ‘R’ word how much energy she had left, but either way, after all the biding of time he’s forced us into, it was only fair that he too wait for us. Funny, though; I was impatient to be done with everything and there I was, content to walk with the rest of them. But it could have been because I had an aching, foreboding feeling, that we weren’t far.

Yes, each step forward carried that feeling. Part of me wondered if anyone else felt it, or if it was a link with the entity that only I shared. Silly that. Why would I be the one to share a link with them at all when I was so ordinary, so mortal?

Of course, I refuse to acknowledge this entity as anything other than a man.

Just a little further ahead, we came to a halt: before us was a fork in the tunnel: two paths. One which continued forward in a straight line, and the other a slight diversion off to the right side.

“What the – this wasn’t here before,” Ray gasped.

“OK, but be real, hun, how often do you come down here?” Sunny teased and nudged him.

I shook my head.

“It doesn’t matter. Our enemy can affect reality in slight ways like this. This should be par for the course by now.”

I cocked my head to the side, noticed a faint, purple glow which seemed to sparkle and glimmer. How obvious, I thought, then turned and walked in that direction.

“Come on,” I motioned for the others.

It felt a little strange to lead the way. I’ve never considered myself to be a leader for anything. If anyone ever had that role, it was one of the other adults: Sunny, Ray, Remora. Hell, I often found myself feeling inferior to them and how experienced they each were in comparison to the young and naive person I was. However much I’ve grown, if at all, I still didn’t consider myself above them, only more aware of the situation at hand.

Up ahead, the glow grew more pronounced. It was hard to say brighter, but others soon took notice of it, and then another shape took hold: a clearing, or rather, an end to our jouney.

“Look!” Tigershark pointed.

“It’s just like that camping trip,” Sunny reminisced. It wasn’t hard to imagine the similarities to our last battle with such a foe, within that cave where Remora was the one with the plan and our battle with “Buddy Fairweather” took place.

“I doubt it’s a coincidence,” I commented, offhand. My footsteps grew heavier the closer we all got. An equal measure of nervousness and eagerness. All that long ago, I failed to protect two siblings, twins who put their trust in me, just to be taken before my eyes. Now the question remained whether or not I could protect these people I’ve come to hold dear over time, or if even after everything, I still remained powerless?

No matter what happens, I will show him that I too am a force to be reckoned with. He is the reason I have all this anger stored up, and he will receive every ounce of it.

“Are you ready?” I turned to them and asked.

“No. But what other choice do we have?” Ray met my question with one of his own.

“You have choices. You can return to the diner, where you may be safer. I’ll stay to face this horror alone.”

“And let you risk your life? If things take a turn for the worst, I think it’s much better to die in the company of others than alone.”

Taken aback, my eyes widened and I had to make a conscious effort to narrow them.

“You underestimate –” I tried to say, but Remora interrupted me.

“You’re being stupid again,” she scolded, “do you really think you can say something like that after you came back to help me when I fought the one pretending to be my other self? Do you really think that the others wouldn’t do the same for you if you were to take on something like that alone?”

I scowled at first, but then relaxed my face and sighed.

“I guess...this is just as much your fight as it is mine…” I relented, but looked down as I did so.

“Not quite, kiddo,” Sunny chimed in, “it’s all of ours. We’ve all been affected by this in some way or another.”

“Very well,” I nodded, then declared, “I don’t think you need me to tell you guys this, but be prepared for anything.”

III

Our surrounding was filled with that same, dim purple glow, and as we stepped through, one detail became apparent: way off in the back of the large, circular room was a series of vines, tangled against themselves. I looked up to find darkness where I would have expected a ceiling. Although I knew it not to be the case, it gave off the impression that we were in a different realm altogether, one that was limitless. Maybe such an impression was intentional.

In the center of the sea of thorny vines, there was some sort of casing, like an egg or chrysalis, but made out of the vines that surrounded it. As if sensing our presence, the casing of vines opened up, and a familiar robed figure emerged with his hood up and that same faceless stone mask, held up by one hand. He stood, gaunt, and hunched, yet held an air of authority, almost as if bowing to us.

“At last you have arrived,” he spoke in a strange calm and polite manner. Despite the distance between us, a wide gap, his voice echoed our way. There was no sense of joviality, no humor, but instead, despite his calm demeanor, malice floated on the tip of each word.

“Are you done hiding behind the remains of others?” I skipped right past the greetings and cut through the chase.

“Ah. That,” he stood up, then removed the mask from his face and dropped it to the floor. What I expected was to see a mangled pile of worms all writhing around in place of where a face should have been. Instead, I was met with a face that was more or less normal: light brown, almost copper looking hair flowed down as his hood lowered. His skin, pale and thin to the point that the definitions of his cheek bones could be shown along his face, and if I had to wager, highlighted the rest of his skull as well. “That, unfortunately, has no easy answer.”

His eyes remained closed, and it was when he opened his mouth that I noticed how his mouth was unusually wide, to the point where I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was secretly some kind of hand puppet.

“You possess the bodies of the dead, do you not?” Remora shouted, demanding an answer. Upon hearing her speak, he opened his eyes just a crack and I noticed a red glow seep through. He clenched, then opened his fist several times before answering.

“Yes.”

“So you just use them as toys, props, tools to be used and nothing more?”

“I give them a purpose.”

“And how many of them consent to that purpose? What do you know of the dead?”

“I know all about the dead. After all, I myself am dead. You killed me.”

Thank you. That was all the confirmation I needed. Not that I ever had any doubts, I felt a little triumphant upon hearing him utter such words.

“What did you call yourself way back when? Cronus the Harvester? Or should I call you ‘Tarrare’?”

“You mean the baby eater?” Ray was dumbfounded by such a name.

“I never was a fan of that codename, but call me as you wish. I take it you remember me, then?” Cronus answered. Maybe that was the name I was most accustomed to, and as such, that was all I would ever think of them. He didn’t even warrant being called anything other than enemy, so he should be grateful I was referring to him at all.

“After what I went through, how could I forget?” I asked right back, rather rhetorical, at that. How could anyone have forgotten such an ordeal? The very notion that I could just erase such a thing was nothing less than insulting.

“So then you must know the purpose behind my actions?”

“I can wager a guess. Or at least what you use to justify yourself,” I had no doubt that in his own mind, his actions were sound, but all I heard was distorted white noise.

“And knowing this, will you still defend her?”

I shook my head.

“No. I’ll defend all of us.”

My response was met with a slight, stifled laughter. Shame, too. I was dead serious.

“Even after all this time?”

“I think I’ve told you before,” Remora interjected, “if it’s simple revenge that you want, you should have just gone after me. So why all those researchers? All those people that had nothing to do with me? Why?”

“Because I knew you were in the area. It didn’t matter what other lives were taken in the process, so long as there was the chance that you were swept up along with them.”

“So that includes Tigershark’s parents?” I demanded, my voice shook as I did so.

“What?!” Tigershark looked up at me.

“I really wish you hadn’t said that,” Remora turned to me as well.

“She deserves to know,” my gaze was fixed on Cronus, all the while.

“What are you talking about, Demetria?” Panic filled Tigershark’s voice.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not a very comforting person. That blizzard, the one that took your parents, almost took you, was no natural blizzard,” I explained, then pointed at Cronus, “WAS IT?”

“It was similar enough to hold the same effect. So in the end, what was the difference?” He smirked and there wasn’t a hint of remorse in his voice.

“Their deaths would have been tragic either way, but if it was nature, then it could have been chalked up to an unfortunate accident. That you conjured something like that up in your pursuit of someone else is more than a tragedy: it’s blatant cruelty, plain and simple.”

“Had I known that one would be rescued by the one you call ‘Remora’, I would have put in more effort to ensure such a thing didn’t happen.”

I growled. To think he would have slaughtered Tigershark, and for what? For the proposed crime of associating with Remora?

“I’m sure there were many families torn apart by his actions,” Remora stated.

My thoughts shifted to the Mel twins. Indeed.

“What does it matter to you? They were no one you knew.”

“That doesn’t matter! It’s because they had nothing to do with me that it matters. They mattered to somebody, even if they would never have mattered to me!”

Cronus grimaced, then his face shifted to a scowl. His long mouth seemed like it dragged the rest of his face down with it.

“You talk as if your past actions were any different. Did you ever stop to think about what kind of people you killed, or did you just kill them?”

“Even then, I only took out my targets, no one else.”

“You killed people?” Tigershark asked Remora.

“Yes,” Remora answered.

“Bad people?” Tigershark gulped.

“I think I was the bad guy, actually.”

Cronus laughed a hearty and spiteful laugh.

“Wonderful. Yes, little girl. You now get to learn that your so-called savior was a monster all along.”

“It takes one to know one, doesn’t it?” I snarled at him.

He leered my way, then answered:

“Yes. If not for her monstrous actions, I wouldn’t be the monster I am now,” then his gaze shifted toward Remora, “tell me, were your coworkers your assigned target? The very people who worked for the same company as you?”

Remora twitched, the realization must have dawned on her.

“No. I did it because I wanted to leave and I knew others would be sent after me if I did so. I was trying to keep myself from being pursued.”

“I suppose I can’t blame you for that. After all, if even just one of your colleagues happened to survive and catch wind of what happened, then surely they would come after you. So you can’t blame me, then, when I do just that.”

“I see. So that’s how it is.”

“Yes. I suppose now is a good of a time as any to clear some things up, yes? No more leaving you in the dark. Even if that’s what you did to me. To all of us,” he lifted up one hand and little worm-like appendages writhed from the tips of his fingers. “You see, one moment I was standing in a crowd with others. Some of which I got along with. Then, a flash and we were all torn apart in the resulting blast. I struggled to open my eyes, and as I watched my colleagues, in pieces, I wept. My body, a mangled mess, burns all around me, and as I clung to dear life, begged to be let live, by some miracle, I watched the landscape turn to darkness.”

“You weren’t wrong to think these actions were the cause of a cosmic entity. I’ve heard the stories of such beings, the rumors. To me, such things as celestial beings, angels, never meant anything to me. But in that moment, when I was met with darkness, the last vestige of life slipping from me, I wanted to believe. So I called out, ‘if there’s anything out there, please, let me live!’ And I found myself entangled in a swirling mass of limbs while I stared into my savior: an unending sea of branches, wires, legs, and tentacles, all connected together and piled onto each other.

“Despite having no mouth, it spoke to me and nursed me to life by making itself a part of me. However, the changes were a little too late as I was weakened to the point where my body could no longer sustain itself but I soon found that I could grant myself new life through the corpses of others, along with their memories from when they were alive. It was like their lives had become a part of mine, and the more I occupied, the more energy I gained. Soon I was able to create my own projections and conjure beasts of my own. And along with all that...came a vast amount of knowledge, including of the one who killed me.”

“So the thing at the basement of the mansion, was that the so-called entity?” I asked.

“Yes and no. It was me. Or more, a projection of what I remembered it looking like and a little puppet in which I could speak through.”

“Well, that little puppet stole innocent lives.”

“No one is innocent. That’s the first thing you need to learn about life,” he waved a skeletal finger my way.

“Then did any of those other people lured in to that mansion deserve it? Did the Mel twins deserve it?”

“What does it matter? Life and death mean little to people like your Remora and I.”

‘My’? What?

“If that’s true, then you wouldn’t have begged for your own life, and you wouldn’t have tried to take hers. When it comes down to it, you’d probably use any excuse just to murder someone.”

“And you think Remora is any different? She doesn’t care about anyone else’s life but her own.”

“You’re wrong!” Remora argued. “I may have been that way before, hell, I may not have even cared about my own, but now I have friends. I have people who are important to me.”

“You don’t deserve friends!” He shouted, then, lowered his voice back, “I had friends. You took them from me.”

Maybe he’s right, from a moral perspective. From all the things she’s done, people she’s used, could it really be said that she deserved what she got? But then…I myself don’t really care about things like that. If anything, I’m just as bad as her. ‘Morals’? The only moral I have is protecting those who are important to me. Everything else is secondary.

“Maybe you’re right,” I replied. He froze, then a satisfied smile took over. I continued, “but to me, it’s not a matter of deserve or not. That she has friends is not for you to decide – if people choose to be friends with her, it’s their choice, not yours.”

“How bold. That you would align yourselves with her even after all you know only solidifies that you’re the enemy.”

I snorted. That was too much.

“Ah ha ha! No shit! We’ve been enemies for a long fucking time,” real quick, I turned to Tigershark, “sorry about the language.”

She still looked on the verge of tears, but she looked up.

“It’s okay. I think there are worse things to say,” she reassured me.

“So what happened to this entity, then?” Sunny shot her hand up and asked.

What? You think this is a classroom?

“We are connected, yes,” Cronus answered, “but I know not of its whereabouts. The last thing I heard was that they took on a human form. Which, I’ll give you all a freebie: since it has become human, it can be killed. If you can kill it, then the source of my power would go away as well, thus rending me mortal. But could you do it, knowing that in all likelihood, it wouldn’t have any memories of their previous self, and could be some ordinary man in Florida with a family of his own?”

Sunny wasn’t expecting such an answer. I was less surprised, even though I had no idea, myself.

“As for me, I have transcended humanity. I can create beasts, affect reality, occupy the corpses of others, and make people lose their sense of self. No matter which body I take, I can just regenerate and even if you destroy that body, then I just occupy a new one.”

Ray was the next one to shoot his hand up.

“Yes, excuse me, Mr. Death God? I have a question,” Ray spoke up.

“What is it?” Cronus was just taking questions now like it was nothing. OK.

“Was the whole thing with the fog, the impostor Rhea, and the stone constructs meant to wear us all down?”

“Yes. I had no doubts that you all would survive your whole ordeal on the way here. But by breaking both your bodies and spirits, then it would be all too easy to end your lives here and now.”

“Ah, the classic attrition strategy.”

“Now, your lives all end here!” He roared as several of the vines behind him shot forth our way. Their piercing thorns and the sharp, blade-like tips could have been sharp enough to impale us where we stood, if not bleed out.

Looks like it’s time for me to make my move as well.

I stood in front of everyone else and brought out the miniature bounded field. All of the vines rushed in where I stood, met the barrier, and disintegrated then and there. Everyone was unharmed.

“I kinda figured you were doing something like that as well,” I stated while closing up the miniature bounded field and returning the device to my pocket, “that’s why I chose not to involve myself too much in the previous battles.”

He laughed, smug as ever.

“Be that as it may, there was no need to weaken you. What could you possibly do? You’re just one ordinary human.”

“Maybe so,” a sinister grin spread across my face and I untied the black robe that was around my waist and put it back on, “but if anything, that just makes you more pathetic.”

“Again, you’re all talk.”

“What do you think we’ve been doing all this time? Talking. All because you know you yourself are too weak to kill an ordinary, pathetic human such as myself? See, the way I see it, you’re no death god. You’re just a human with a power trip. You claim you can kill anyone, do what you please, make others lose their sense of self, but you couldn’t even kill me! And as a matter of fact, I think I know myself now more than ever.”

“A minor oversight which I will fix now,” he growled.

“Really? You promise this time? ‘Cronus the Harvester’? Give me a break. You can do some fancy tricks, but at the end of the day, you’re still mortal and I will be the one to prove that to you.”

I brought out my switchblade, its black casing with the gold blade on the inside. I flipped down the switch on the side of the casing one notch, then flicked the switchblade open. The blade sprung up, and along with it unfolded a metallic rod which clicked into place. At the very tip of the rod was the blade, which then expanded and curled down. What was once the casing for the switchblade became the hilt and I then held in my hand a full-formed sickle.

It was much heavier in its current form than when it was as a switchblade, but the damn thing was heavy from the start. It had to be.

“This is why I called it Death Knight,” I turned to Tigershark. At first she still looked despondent and teary-eyed, but she looked up, then her face lit up and she grinned. I took it as a sign of approval. Ray, meanwhile, scratched his chin.

“Hmm...seems a little too edgy, don’t you think?” He pondered.

Jeez, nothing pleases you people, huh?

Cronus shot forth many vines from his hand and I charged in, took a swipe and cut them down. From the side, many more vines from the wall flew in my direction. I swerved and did a sweeping slash, cutting those all down as well.

“Your attacks are too slow and the shape of your weapon leaves too many openings for you,” Cronus observed.

“But it gets the job done for large swarms such as that,” I replied, then flipped the switch another notch and the blade’s casing turned to the side as the metal rod pushed through to the other side while black perimeter of the rod popped out to reveal a blade on its inside as well, while the outer shell, what was once the perimeter of the rod, teemed with static.

The original blade shrunk down and attached itself near the top of the newly formed sword.

“So you copied my sickle and took it one step further,” he noted, then from the vines that sprouted from his palm, he formed a sickle of his own, “but you forgot that I hold the original and while you use pieces of the entity to fuel your weapon, I am the real deal.”

He leaped into the air and swung his sickle down my way, but I took a step back as he hit the ground and his blade missed. In turn, I sidestepped and swung forth with my own blade, the electrical currents running through as I sliced him in half, but before I got through all the way, he grabbed my blade.

“That same trick won’t work twice,” he grunted, and vines moved around his body, spread out, and then the sparks dissipated, “what? Did you think I would be paralyzed too?”

I shook my head and smiled, “actually, I don’t really care about that,” and pushed the blade through harder until it tore through his grip and sliced his hand off as well as reaching the other end of him. He split in two, but before his top half hit the ground, appendages from the bottom half swung around and held tight to the top half.

Let’s not make this a smooth regeneration, I thought as I lunged forth and swung my blade downward until he was in fourths.

Even then, he was quick to connect.

“You just don’t get it: I can regenerate. Furthermore, even if you manage to kill the body, I will just find another.”

“Good. That just means I can kill you over. And over. And over again,” I let my excitement show, but more so, it was the anger that I’ve been holding back. “So answer me this: how many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?!”

He opened his mouth wide and roared and many appendages launched out from his mouth, each with mouths of their own. As he charged with his sickle, so too did those mouths, all looking to tear a chunk out of me. I ducked as he went for a horizontal swing, and at the same time, the appendages wriggled down and opened wide for a bite, but I sprung up to the side, then cut them all down and leaped up to to thrust my blade down into his mouth and a jolt of electricity exploded inside as I pulled my blade back out, then jumped back.

He screamed and wailed in agony, but then clamped his mouth shut and swallowed, seeming fine once more. He smiled, then licked his lips, to which I noticed just how long of a tongue he had.

“You’re doing amazing, sweetie!” Sunny cheered for me and I noticed in my peripheral Tigershark jumping up in the air as well. Really, that’s all I need.

He ran my way, once again with sickle in hand, and tried for a diagonal slash, but I took my blade and thrust upward, chipping off the blade of his sickle and splitting it in half. He leaned over and reached his head down with his large mouth with many rows of sharp, jagged teeth, and his large tongue splitting into many, smaller, thinner tongues. His breath was so close, but before he could clamp down on my head, I slid to the floor in between his legs and sliced upward, right through his crotch.

He let out a yelp of pain and blood dripped down from between his legs, and before he could turn, I thrust my blade into his chest. Just as soon as I did so, I released the blade and let the electrical currents speak for themselves as the red, metallic liquid which poured from his chest mixed with the sparks from my blade and it caused an explosion through his whole body which sent me back as well.

Light burn marks filled my cheeks, but that was nothing compared to the agony he went through.

“Is it over?” Ray asked.

I shook my head. Things were never that easy. Not that quick.

What first was a sharp, shrill cry of pain soon turned into a booming, earth-shattering roar and through the smoke emerged two large claws, each of which must have been of greater size than Cronus’ own body, or whoever that body first belonged to. His face appeared next from out of the smoke, elongated and filled with writhing worms. What once held eyes was sunken in. It was like watching a fleshy skull contort itself to that of some other creature.

“You think you only have to fight me?” He bellowed and from his open mouth emitted a heavy gust of wind with little frost particles. The air around us turned thick and gray at the same time.

He’s trying to conjure up both that pseudo-blizzard and pseudo-fog at the same time. He’s really ready to kill all of us, any means necessary. Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.

I ran back to the others, then faced Cronus, or whatever form he took now, and transformed my blade back into a sickle, then with both hands, made large sweeping motions.

“Ow, ow,” the others winced as little shards cut into them. I continued to sweep along, however, and soon the gusts of air created cleared away the fog and turned the air still once more.

Short breaths forced out of me as the motions took more strength than I expected they would. Cronus shifted back into his more human-like appearance, but whatever calm demeanor he held prior had washed away and in its place a hateful scowl was plastered on.

“You should give up now. You all will be much more useful if you join me, together in death,” he growled.

“Y’know, it could be my Gothic sensibilities talking,” Ray pulled out a cigarette from his jacket pocket along with his lighter, to which he flicked a flame, then took a puff from his cigarette, “but that sounds rather gay. I’m flattered, really, and if you were a different person who didn’t cause so many problems for me, I might have taken you up on your offer. As it stands, I want nothing to do with you.”

“Ray! Since when did you smoke?!” Sunny sounded appalled.

“I’m going to be blunt with you, Sunny,” Ray took another puff, “it’s weed.”

“Wait, really? You got one in there for me?”

Ray sighed, “this is why I was keeping my stash a secret from you,” then pulled out a joint for Sunny.

“Light me up. This shit’s been stressful for me too!”

Seriously, you’re going to get yourselves high at a time like this? Though given what we’ve all been through, I guess I can’t blame them.

“Do you really think you can protect them and fight me at the same time?!” Cronus’ booming voice shouted in my direction.

“I have to try,” I replied and clenched my fists.

“You know you will fail. Need I remind you what happened with the Mel twins? You know, I hold their memories. They never had any confidence in you.”

All you did was serve as a humiliating end to their lives, he spoke to me through my thoughts.

I’m not surprised, I retorted within my thoughts, if you think that will deter me, you’re mistaken. That they didn’t make it is the whole reason why I must take you down.

I charged at him and transformed my sickle back into its blade form. He, meanwhile, shot forth the multitude of vines once again, and I sliced through them but a few flew past from overhead.

Damn it! It’s too high up!

In a panic, I tossed my blade into the air to cut down the remaining vines. While my focus was on his summoned vines, he rushed in and swiped at me with the back of his thorny palm. Although I reacted in time to avoid any further hits, I was caught off guard by the swipe and they pricked little cuts into my cheek.

I winced, then kept my focus on my opponent, who had conjured up his sickle once more. He tried to swipe with it, much like he did his palms, but that time, I stepped far enough back, then took a leap forward and slashed down, but his sickle blocked my blade. We were in a lock, weapon against weapon, and he tried shifting his weight against his sickle, but when I still pushed harder, he unleashed several vines from his back and I let go of my blade, kicked against his sickle, knocking him back, just as the vines came crashing down my way, but it was too late; the space between us was vast enough that they all missed. I slashed them away, then charged in once more.

I sliced one of his arms clean off. Next I went and tore his sickle. He looked at a disadvantage, but as soon as his arm regrew, and right when I went for his head, limbs from his back grew, not just vines, but long and thick spider-like legs with needles at the tip. They pushed my blade aside, and then he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up.

“I’m sorry. Did you think this was going to be easy?” He mocked.

I struggled to breathe, struggled to be let loose from his grip. At the same time, I held onto my blade as tight as I could, not wanting it to drop.

He could have killed me then and there, I was sure, but instead, he tossed me across the room and I landed on my feet rather than fell to the ground. My throat still felt tight, but I could keep going. I had to.

While I was working my way to fight him once more, he turned his attention to the rest of the group and launched the limbs from his back their way, along with the vines as well.

I ran forth, unsure whether I could make it to tear them down, or whether I should focus more on the main body. My nerves were on overdrive, however, as they seemed to be going too fast for me to do anything in time. I glanced and saw Remora shove everyone else aside as she intended to take the full force of the limbs and thorny vines.

“You idiot!” I shouted.

But instead of her sustaining any further injuries, she rolled out of the way in time.

Maybe I made the wrong assumption. Good job. As much as I still have my issues with you, I would much rather see you alive. That reminds me...

“I just have to ask: were you the one who brought Rhea back to life?”

“Yes, I lived through her corpse,” he smiled, amused at himself.

“No. That’s not what I mean. Did you revive her?” I put emphasis on ‘revive’ as I insisted he answer the question. He just shook his head with an irritated frown on his face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s true that if I had that power, it would have made it easier to get rid of your Remora, but I have no such ability. If I did, the only person I would want to revive would be myself.”

Not your so-called friends that you claimed you had?

I steeled my resolve and ran at Cronus once again. At first head on, but seeing as he would have predicted that, I sidestepped, then swung my blade in a horizontal motion. He put up a wall of vines, but I slashed through those. Every time I went for the offensive, he put up more makeshift walls and backed away.

Is he weakening? I wondered, but soon, one of those limbs formed a mouth and in my carelessness, I was so focused on cutting down his walls that I didn’t react in time and it bit down on my ankle and tore out a chunk of my flesh.

“Aaah!” I screamed. I backed away to the side, but the pain surged through me and I began to walk with a limp, impeding my movements.

“Haa...haa…” I huffed.

He sent out more of them my way and I was able to turn to the sides to avoid them, but I couldn’t move as well.

I need to do something! I have to put an end to this here and now!

I tripped over myself as I tried to avoid the limbs once more and fell. I pushed myself back up, but before I could move out of the way, one of the limbs pierced its way into the back of my shoulder. Once again, I yelled out and my face grew strained.

“So much for your little act of heroics,” he taunted.

I rolled over and tried to hold up my blade, but he slammed his foot down against it and kept me from moving it.

“I’ve decided: you will be the first to be devoured,” he snarled and opened his mouth wide.

Devoured...devoured...of course.

I flicked against the blade and it retracted back into a switchblade, but not before slicing off his foot. He yelped, and as the vines repaired his injury, I limped and hobbled my way back toward the rest of the group.

“Nice try,” I heard from him, as a couple more limbs were sent my way. I thought I would have been done for, but Remora pulled out her rifle, split it into the two pistols, and fired at each.

“Thanks,” I wheezed out the word. While there were some unresolved things between us, I had to admit that at times, she had protected me as well.

“Do you think you can shoot off a chunk of rock from one of the walls?” I asked her in a desperate move.

“I can try. What are you thinking?”

“I’m just interested in reenacting an old myth,” I teased, and if I wasn’t already wincing, I would have winked.

The entire sea of vines in the back of the room seemed to head for us all as Cronus too approached us, little by little.

I transformed my switchblade once again into a sickle and tried to sweep them away, or generate enough of a gust to drive them back, but I found I no longer had the strength.

“Here, I may be a little buzzed right now, but I can still help,” Sunny suggested and held out her hand. In a show of trust, I handed her the sickle and nodded. With both hands, Sunny swept and waved the sickle in heavy motions, so much so that just as I hoped, the vines were driven back.

“This should buy us a little bit of time. Remora, your turn,” I ordered.

“What’s the magic word?” She teased and I was furious.

“Fucking hell! We don’t have time!”

“Nope. That’s not it,” she leaned over with a cheeky grin.

“Please!”

“There’s your manners,” she then stood up tall and formed her two guns back into a rifle and aimed at the left side wall. The resulting blast caused a few chunks of stone to drop.

Good.

Next was Tigershark, though I was a little reluctant, given that she was a child.

“I’m not going to force you to do anything, Tigershark, especially after some of the things you heard –” I began.

“Hey!” She scowled and looked at me. “I hate this guy too! I hate him just as much as I’m mad at you and Remora right now! Which is a lot!”

I gave a hollow chuckle.

“I guess I deserve that…” My attention turned to the stone. We still didn’t have a lot of time, but I was banking on a long shot as it was.

“Anyway,” I looked over, “do you think you can run over there and pick up the biggest rock you can find.”

“Um…” She looked toward Cronus, then back at the pile of stones.

“I won’t let any harm come to you and whatever I can’t do, someone else here can. I know I’m not the best, but…” Tears began to form. I wiped them away, then continued, “it’s not just me who can do something. I have to accept that.”

She nodded, then took off. Just as I thought, he sent one of the limbs her way while continuing to advance toward us. Remora shot it down before it could even get close to reaching Tigershark. I saw Tigershark look around at the pile, then she lifted up a large stone, large enough to be considered a boulder.

That kid sure is strong, I couldn’t help but smile.

“To think you were considered such a dangerous killer,” he mused to Remora, “and now all you can do is stay still and shoot your gun.”

“So...basically what a sniper already does?” She pointed out.

I saw Tigershark run back with the stone in both arms. Her run was more like a waddle, given the heaviness of the stone.

Four of the limbs from Cronus’ back shot in my and Sunny’s direction, but Ray wrangled them up with the threads he kept in his pocket. They tried to break free, but Ray held on tight and the threads were plenty tough in their own right.

“No matter,” he looked irritated, “it’s time to feed.”

His mouth opened wide, like the jaws of a shark, it was large enough to swallow a single person whole. Sunny tried to swing the sickle to stop him from reaching in any closer, but he held her wrist tight with one hand.

“Tigershark! Now! Toss this in his mouth!”

She looked to the side with a befuddled expression, but did as instructed as I backed away and she tossed the stone right in, as if it were a basketball and Cronus’ mouth was the hoop.

He clamped down and swallowed the stone then looked back at us once again.

“Not what I intended, but inconsequential.”

Maybe. It was a stretch. But I had to do something.

“Now,” he reeled one arm back as he readied it, probably for a clawed attack. Maybe he intended to impale one right through the chest. Something which unlike himself, I could not recover from.

However, nothing happened.

Or rather, I watched him struggle to move as he stood in place, then started to gag.

“What...the shocks did nothing...this shouldn’t be happening…” he wheezed out.

“It’s taking everything within your power just to break the stone down, I can imagine,” I theorized.

He continued to retch, then dropped down to his knees, shaking hands on his throat.

“I must have used too much power,” he heaved out the words, “with everything I threw at you all, it should have been enough.”

“You’ve been straining your power for a while now,” I corrected him. “And it just goes to show, you’re not without your limits.”

He spat out little chunks of rock onto the floor, then scowled at me, his face red.

“It will take a while for me to recover. However, I will return. Enjoy your peace while it lasts,” he warned.

“Oh, believe me, I will,” I stared down at him, then held out my hand to the side, “Sunny, my blade, please?”

She handed me the sickle and I transformed it back into a sword.

“You might want to look away for this part,” Sunny warned Tigershark. “And here, I’ll cover your eyes.”

With the last ounces of strength I had left, I plunged my blade down his open mouth. Behind us, the wall of thorns dissipated into little streaks of dark smoke. As I stared down into Cronus, blood gurgled out from his mouth, and then his eyes rolled back, lifeless. When I lifted the blade out, he fell to the floor before he too turned to smoke.

Exhausted, I dropped to my knees, retracted the blade back into a switchblade, then closed the knife back into its casing.

“A for effort?” I turned to everyone and joked. Exhausted, I thought I was about to turn to sleep. Maybe even an eternal sleep, but Sunny reached down and lifted me back to my feet.

“Let’s go back home,” Ray told us, or maybe it was Sunny. Their voices were a blur to the point where I wondered if I was the high one. But it was a pleasant thought.

Yes, home.

[kendrixtermina]

Cindered shadows Reaction

tl;dr - Fodlan is a crapsack world and I want to strangle Rhea (or break Amyr on her again). Yuri is a very good contrast to the others and a cool addition to the ‘verse  for all that he is basically Joker XD

I took live notes while playing

One thing to take note of here is the house leader’s “canonical” classes (Fortress Knight/Warrior, Hero/Paladin, Assasin/Wyvern ride, though some of those assume the budding talents to be unlocked already) as well as just more of a look into what their dynamic is when they’re together - as such well-contrasting characters I always thought it was a shame that they didn’t interact more so I’m glad for this

 Edelgard is always somewhat standoffish/ closed off and generally the ‘logical’, least personable one, Claude is surface-level friends with both. Dimitri would like to think they are full-on BFF, calls Claude “my friend”, defends him etc. Claude’s friendship with Edelgard is very banter-driven, but there (the bit where she says “wow this trap could have been your idea” and hes flattered). Of course both of these carry over into their post-timeskip interactions especially when they part on good terms (Dimitri always does, and Edelgard easily can part with him on good terms, but Claude, though he doesn’t like the thought of them dying,  wouldn’t take risks on either them) - and of course it’s Claude who proposes the feast after the mock battle where they all eat together. Edelgard and Dimitri were never friendly (at least not during the academy), but at this point they’re civil. 

Claudes Dialogues are BRILLIANT like he really shines in this one (Edelgard probably gets the least exposure but all of this is set before the reveal, so she has to keep her cards close to her chest - Or maybe there just cant ever be enough Edelgard for me lets be honest)

First impression of the Ashen Wolves is that they’re all very dramatic with a lot of bluster (Hapi being the contrasting exception but over-the-top in concept) - they have really been the Kings of their own little world, having a lot of free reign underground, accountable to few and throwing down for the heck of it

So it’s Yuri Leclerc and he was adopted by a Kingdom noble, the same Gwendal and Lonato served  and who dies if Arianrhod is blasted, but it seems like unlike wish Ashe who was taken into the family this was just a temporary gig for him

That makes him a commoner, which by itself is a big difference from the other three. Dimitri is and always was the crown prince whereas Edelgard suddenly ascended the sucession list due to tragedy and Claude has a much doubted claim on both sides of the border

I suspected he was going to be from the kingdom as we already had the Alliance, the Empire and the token Foreigner accounted for - also ‘Yuri’ is a slavic name like ‘Dimitri’ - though being adopted he isn’t necessarily from there

(Later we learn that he was in fact born in a village in the Kingdom)

Also liked the callback to count Gloucester’s sheming and how he had Balthus spy on Claude

They do go through some work to flesh out Abyss and make it feel lived in as a sort of society. 

Just look at that very very makeshift classroom. Few down there were getting any sort of education before Aelfric set this up

They do something clever here where Balthus tells you part of why he’s wanted, prompting the question of everyone else’s stories

This idea of a wretched hive beneath the Church reminds me of Amsterdam where the big church was in the prostitutes’ quarter and they actually had flourishing trade agreements going on

But as a hiding place for outcasts it shows us all the uglyness about fodlan and how much persecution/ need for change there really is (Really wants me to play Crimson Flower again. Or Verdant Wind.)

There’s people “chewed up by the Nobility”

Duscurians and Almyrans

Many in the church want the place “purged”, Rhea wouldnt go so far but is at the very least unsympathetic

Tons of Banned Books (is this where Seteth puuts them?) Claude and Linhardt have a field day over it

That poor woman (probably Dagdan since she talks of a war) who was persecuted for believing in other religions (which was a thing under Rhea - I’ve been saying it, Shamir and Cyril are “allowed” because they work for Rhea which to her is the same as believing, both are “working for her family/ for us instead of against us” because Sothis is not just her god but someone she knows personally)

Yuri and his trouble are a sort of quasi-police or keeping order, reporting to Aelfric. As his second in command Yuri is a sort of “prince” and already lead his own bandit troupe, or perhaps more a chieftain than a prince, he’s a leader, an authority but not an inherited one but 100% selfmade, he comes from nothing - People call him “boss”,

One wonders if he already dressed in this noncomforming manner before comming to the abyss

He is very very self-reliant, decides and opines for himself, gives Byleth backtalk, very much a natural leader who owns his influence entirely to that natural-leader ness 

Byleth asks very good, very direct questions 

Hilda, Linny and Ashe are here because of their connection to the Abyss characters and the information they can provide - Ashe knows Yuri, Linny knows his book lore, Hilda heard rumors from Holst...

Here we get to appreciate why Claude keeps Hilda around she knows all the gossip, all the ‘local’ information that Claude doesn’t have, she’s an excellent info source

Lets appreciate that it was those three specifically because they were slacking off

Ppl say there the church scorns them pretty much I like how they’re no longer even pretending that the church is nice

The four MCs, meanwhile, might all have ended up here in a different life; If El had escaped the experiments she could’ve been like Hapi, Claude was already an outcast, Jeralt fled with Byleth as a refuge(or could have been sent there as a mercenary to torment the locals and then decided to stay there instead), maybe not young!Dimitri, but timesskip Dimitri was outright a vagabond and says in his lecture questions that he travelled many places and temporarily lived in slums he didn’t go full murdery until a few years in, as Gilbert recounts

AU where they all grew up  or met in the Abyss is what im saying, and the four MCs and Yuri team up. The slitherers still stir up war, perhaps Duke Aegir or Arundel made themselves Emperor etc. 

Characteristically, Dimitri really likes the idea of a secret haven for the outcasts (see all his dialogues about “acceptance” and general ‘help-the-orphans’ thing) - but also characteristically he’s a bit of a tool for the status quo- “Claude don’t be rude this guy is giving out charity~” but the issues Dimtri the issues they shouldn’t need to hide anyways and this is why I prefer the ‘revolutionary’ routes (CF and VW) - though to his credit Dimitri does do charity and stop ppl being poor when he’s king. 

Claude is absolutely having a field day, this is right in the way of his “Political program” - “What you’re helping the poor and downtrodden by barely tolerating them in a sunless hole where they have to hope the church doesn’t decide to purge them” They basically live in ever present danger

Bit sad that they had Edelgard “tied up” catching up with Constanze rather than stating a reaction to the abyss as a whole though it’s probably very deliberate that she keeps her cards close to her chest - As constance asks “What is the princess doing here?” - investigating that’s what. She mostly asks questions or voices conclusions - shes certainly also investigating for her own purposes

But of course Dimitri and Ashe, pure as always, immediately want to help the locals

Edelgard meanwhile is thinking strategy, talking of capturing and interrogating the enemy

Of Yuri ppl tell you both that he’s a real scoundrel/ “our scoundrel” - he loooks out for them so they obey him, “when I say jump they jump” - a Mafia leader of sorts. He’s like Claude in the ‘motivating ppl through taking care of their interest’ parts but claude’s alliances are looser and no one does “jump” like Yuri projects authority, its not quite the honor loyalty Dimitri inspired because he “pays”, Edelgard projects authority but it’s loyalty to the cause more than personal loyalty, and she’s an ideologue and inspires the same in her followers theres no “pay” from Edelgard. She warns you that you might die and that’s it. She is the same herself. 

I think Yuri would die for another the way that Claude and Edelgard would not, like when Aelfric got his mom putting her in danger was never an option. I don’t think you could pressure Edelgard with a hostage, she’d just be like “Hostage-kun, I won’t let your death be in vain” and then tell their captors to screw themselves. 

He has things in common with all the others - he has a certain honor and a people-driven leadership style like Dimitri (rather than ideals-driven like Edelgard, Claude and Seteth) - though unlike Dimitri his honor is only for the “in” group, he cares about protecting his turf, his people... and nothing else. Thus he doesn’t fit into the revolutionary (Edelgard, Claude) vs restorer (Dimitri, Seteth) dichotomy because he’s not concerned with the system as a whole - he doesn’t like it or have faith in it, but he will absolutely work with it when it suits his aims (such as when he makes his own alliance with the church behind Aelfric’s back, or just working with Aelfric in the first place)

This alliance is probably also supposed to give a reason why the Wolves would sttick with the church later (though Hapi’s non CF supports talk alot about reforming the crap institution that it is) even though they mostly have reason to dislike them

Like Edelgard he is calculating and ruthless more than Dimitri or Claude. (He laughts at peeps who fell in his trap) But you couldn’t see Yuri sacrificing an ally like Edelgard does (like with Dimitri the people come before the plan) and Yuri often markedly does NOT tell allies what they’re getting into while El makes a big point of telling everyone the risks and allowing them the chance to step out

In a way he’s Claude with a edge but without the big vision. Yuri is the most small-picture, Claude the most big-picture of the lords

They also have a different relationship with trust - some describe Yuri as “devoted to his own but too trusting” , he says it’s a choice... but he is never really fooled, just pretending to be, he solves a great part of his plot on his own. 

Like Claude and Seteth he prefers to play it safe/ know he can win (though Claude and Yuri arent against calculated risks) whereas Edelgard and Dimitri will do what they think is right with no guarantee of victory and don’t care much if it kills them or their followers

Otherwise tho they have a lot in common and are fast friends XD Yuri makes some great observations “Wow look at you three trying to suss out each other’s motivations must be exhausted”

“Doesnt take a title to have an agenda“ - Yuri and Claude are really... a “takes one to know one” situation

Claude tells us they generally get along tho (”Any misunderstanding might spark a war... ”... yeah)

Likewise, Yuri immediately gets that Claude’s friendliness is esentially “maintaining neutrality” more than actual allegiance

Yuri also seems relatively forward in romantic matters which is unlike the others lol

Remember how I was frantic for Claude/Linhardt or Claude/Hubert friendship content? Here’s another great team that ought to have interacted more, I could even see them working romantically assuming that Claude would be so inclined. 

Hapi/Sylvain, too! Because they’re both cynics

But despite her cynism Hapi is also characterized as considerate

Yuri likes board games! hes in the board game squad with Hubert, Claude, Sylvain and Edelgard. The Board Game squad is incidentally the Best Characters club

 He’s not big picture and only develops something like that toward the end of his support chain (to fight poverty)

So in a sense his style and the hole in it is more like Byleth’s own - he learnt practical leadership in the field and applies it for those he likes. He’s more self-directed

aaand more undercover fun

It seems that both the slitherers and Alferic were after the Chalice at the same time - the Death Knight’s presence hints at it, Metodey’s confirms it. So far I’d assumed he was one of Edelgard’s loyalists like Ladislava but it seems he works directly for Arundel, Edelgard is not too friendly with him and accuses him of “Disrespecting her house” 

Since Aegir was in power during the Bridgid and Dagda war, the slitherers could definitely have had something to do with how Constance’s family was treated, if they were onto her secret - I don’t see how Aelfric could have done it

Bold of El to order Jeritza away in broad daylight. At this point she’s probably come to accept that no orders are gonna keep him from Fiting PPl where he can, especially her she is a very tough opponent

I trusted Aelfric until he spoke. The voice is... its not a good guy voice. Same with how the eyes are drawn

then he called people “his flock”

“They are charitable only when it suits them”

“they have eyes and ears everywhere”

Yeah. I’ve always said that Rhea is like one of those millionaires who give their pocket change to charity but then support policies that keep people poor. Hopefully no one will keep arguing that she cares about the poor or the disenfranchised. 

“Her grace thinks its a nuisance”- This tells us alot. Alfric had to convince Rhea to give half a rats ass about the poor but still speaks of her with honorifics. That’s the crack in his soul right there

I also love how Yuri protests whenever anyone - the church etc make plans for him, hes very self-governed

Hapi, Lysithea, El and Byleth should have a “victims of human experimentation” support group

Alternatively, Cursed People support group with Hapi, Marianne, Bernadetta and Dimitri

I like the C supports with Byleth and Balthus as well as Hapi because they tell us not just about them but about Byleth - Both adress Byleth’s go-with-the-flow tendencies and lack of own direction, though Byleth makes clear that by this point they actually like the professor gig

“I could see this person just about anywhere”...in a bad way. Oh but Hapi you too can be recruited to all routes XD No she’s right. By-By is being used and she should tell them. 

MORE PARENTS LORE I rejoiced so much and this was such a cool thing to adress here

At first it seems that Rhea was also after the chalice but turns out she had written it off and the one pursuing it within the church was Aelfric

But you all do catch the implication that she did this all before and “great tragedy” resulted? Right? You get what that means?

For once she actually noticed a mole though Aelfric likely wasn’t subtle

It results in a zombie dragon because she meant to revive a dragon not a human

By now people should really be used to Rhea handing out legendary treasure to byleth

there are friendly reminders of the western church purge still going on

I like how constance smells a spy right away

Also the contrast between Hapi’s jaded “Lets just give them the thing so they leave us in peace” (Yes, Lapis Lazuli) and Constance’s “We can’t let them have the artifact! theyre bad” - Constance might be shrill but she’s a person of action

The sunlight thing is a tad over the top/unrealistic but it’s not per se the cliched split personality thing, more like going outside brings out the bad memories after hiding away underground for so long (she tells mercedes as much) while she otherwise covers it with bluster. Her parents and older brother were killed and her hometown destroyed, after all. She is still basically talking the same overdramatic/ formal way

Perhaps two sides of nobility like the pride but also the demure good breeding n shit, there is some forced quality to the bluster even indoors

But ultimately she’s pretty hard working and determined underneath

At one point Hilda says something like, “You sure that we should interfere? I don’t want to make anything worse it might be better to stay out” - This right here is why you can’t get CF Hilda

Further Hilda facts: She had countless suitors and knows her way around “magical doo daads” and fortune telling

Having her mildly superstitious is of course a fun contrast to claude

“Compared to you even Hubert looks like a spring chicken” lol

I was going “Linny I love you” the whole time

Speaking of love... The moment I decided I loved Yuri is when I learned why he was expulsed - because the church sent him to kill someone he knew and rather than be upset, or thing how he might change society to prevent it or draw other conclusions from it... He refused on the spot and fough church ppl. That’s when I saw how he fits with the other characters. What the contrast was.

Yuri is one of those rare types who would never give the full voltage in the milgram experiment

Because see? That ties back so well into the themes

One of the main scenes that contrasts the house leaders is their reaction over having to fight Lonato. They all sympathize to a degree, but none acts against it. Claude and Edelgard show their dislike of the church and want to stop crap like this, but right there right then, they play along for the sake of their plans. (Claude’s plan at this point still involves stealing relics)

Dimitri is the closest to Yuri in that he immediately regrets it massively and says they should have found another way (in part because he is against the notion of “sacrifices for the plan”) but this realization comes to him only after all is done because ultimately he follows authority/ sees some good in it and the status quo

Yuri,  meanwhile, flat out refused. Yeah he also killed whoever the knight escord was but he refused

Also let this sink in: Yuri was slated for execution because he refused to kill someone he knew. This is what might have happened to Ashe, Sylvain etc. if they had refused to fight Lonato or Miklan. 

Aelfric arranged for him to fight someone he knew but that’s all he did, the rest is the result of normal church policy and then begged for pardon (meaning the normal policy would be to kill him) The mission might have gone to a different house, but the church constantly makes ppl fight ppl they know. You realize just how easily all our beloved characters could have ended up just like Yuri?!

I loved how, when offered info about their parents, Byleth immediately seeks it out with no delay

“Never discard a wild hunch lol“ Claude I love you Linhard I love you

Generally we see Dimitri being the local people person and catching onto details about people’s emotions and dispositions , while Edelgard is like, “Investigate this, investigate that” (i love that about her), and Claude is the oddball/curveball and follows his intuition. Yuri goes on instinct, Seteth, if I had to say, on experience perhaps, certainly caution. 

So she doesn’t even recognize Dimitri. She did say that “she can’t say the name” so she probably never learned that her little friend was the prince. Can ppl stop acting like she snubbed Dimitri or like she has any reason to treat him like a brother?

I don’t think he pieced it together until the ball, and she only realized either during the parlay (AM) or some time before their final confrontation (She distinctly knows by the time she killed him)

Another poignant moment is when she basically didn’t trst Aelfric and only started considering that he might be good by the time Team Slither showed up. Yeah she’s not trusting and would have zero base assumptions that any church ppl are good

By the time she learns about the Nuvelle crest she’s so done like, “Are there any MORE conspiracies I should be aware of?” And indeed there are

Aelfric is sort of a consequence of Rhea’s coverup certainly not an 1D villain. He started doubting her after the coverup began semi thinking for himself and at first this led him to try and make the abyss less chaotic and speak in their favor before Rhea, but then when Sitri’s body fell into his hands he was just too tempted

And UGH remember when I said that for all that im not a Rhea fan, i don’t thnk the human experimentation was so bad because she didn’t harm anyone and it seems like the homunculi lived out normal lives? yeah i take that back

Even if Sitri wasn’t healthy enough to travel she didn’t need to be completely isolated exept for trusted church peeps

This would have happened to Byleth. You see how this would have happened to Byleth? Completely isolated and controlled?

Oh Jeralt jeralt baby you were so right to flee with Byleth so right

Worse because Rhea was a parental figure

Also she kept creating more homunculi though they turn out frail and basically live miserable lives

and the first attempt with the chalice probably did kill ppl

sitting with the corpse all the time is creepy too

doest that mean Byleth won’t rot either?

So she was a book worm - Jeralt did say she was brainy

It did start as a mentor crush, much like Byleth’s own relationship might

I love how Edelgard is all subtly concerned after Yuris fake attack

I wonder how that apology line was phrased in Japanese, “useless” seems a bit harsh given that Edelgard generally seems to love her father, but there is no denying that he lost control of his empire and that as a result villains wrecked havock all over it so there’s nothing better she can say there excuses wont help constances situation

Like this must be very hard for her

Constance’s support definitely confirms that it was the Seven Families/ ie the PM and Arundel who did this to her (also lol at the concept that she basically wants to make Byleth her very own Hubert or Gilbert)

Edelgard is saddled with all this stuff from the previous administration - I mean so is Dimitri with the instability, the recent anexation of Duscur and part of Sreng... but she gets confronted with it more, iDK if it’s common knowledge who’s really in charge

Because Yuri is concerned with his turf, not the world, it makes sense that “his” route would be the sidestory. I kind of wanted a part 2 in the sense that I like this cast and want more of him as a main character but I also get why there isn’t one... because he wins no matter what. Lucky seven! He’s the one who can’t lose (except if you dont do the sidestory I guess) ”He works with whoever’s in power to maintain his own, just like when he made the deal with Rhea. He gets all three house leaders and Byleth to promise that they will look out for the Abyss so his bases are covered no matter who wins.

- even so he basically solved his own problem and Byleth’s presence just kinda gave him the opportunity . Well, one defining factor is that they trust Byleth exactly because they don’t “seem like a typical church funky

Still since Rhea tells us the backstory here what use is the silver snow ending? I suppose she doesn’t mention the homunculus/ “I created you” bit but the lack of decay and the transplanting heart bits do sort of hint at it

Certainly a contrast tho, like in SS you learn the magicky parts us in CS you get way more about who mommy actually was as a person

Poor, Poor Byleth. This must be such a mindfrick for them. Like I had so many feels for By-By

It’s so weird to go back and have the Yuri & so present throughout the monastery,but  not know us yet

[hypermania]

I'm so confused about what's going on in the show right now. Am I supposed to be rooting for Dean? Why is Beth trying to get the man she felt so guilty for killing she had to stalk his family killed again? What is going on!

i am just as confused as you are tbh. especially about the dean stuff. i’m genuinely not sure if the writers are setting dean up to finally have his reckoning or if this is supposed to be a redemption arc or if we’re supposed to just forget that dean’s the worst? whatever it is, it’s not working. it’s all very unclear.

as for beth, the impression i got this episode is two fold: 1.) she is not okay but 2.) she’s finally starting to have fun again. this is the first episode this season where beth and rio being at odds with each other feels more like a cat and mouse game than a life and death situation. which is weird given that the episode basically revolved around a plot to take him out of the picture for good but it never felt all that serious or dark or dire, not the way the rest of this season has. i mean, the montage where beth teaches max how to shoot was just straight up goofy. and then at the restaurant/bar, rio just looked amused the whole time, like he knew exactly what was happening, and he was kind of enjoying it? because they’re playing a game again! beth is stealing from rio and she’s feeling herself and wanting to get frisky in the shower.

and rio knows she’s stealing! and i feel pretty confident that he knew who max was and therefore had a pretty good idea why max was there but still, he’s playing along? why? he could’ve just hauled them outside and taken care of max like he did lucy but he didn’t. he played along and then stole all of beth’s shit in the pettiest motherfucking move which, yeah, it’s still a retaliation but it’s the kind of thing pre 2x13 rio would’ve done. it’s a move that invites escalation, encourages it almost. i mean, he didn’t just steal her furniture or her panties or whatever. he stole irreplaceable things that have zero monetary value. he stole her memories. he stole her kids’ memories. she’s not going to let that go. the note he left behind might as well have said your move, elizabeth.

and i feel like that shift in their dynamic back to something more familiar was progress! and it felt seamless in this episode in a way i dont think it could have in any of the other episodes we’ve seen so far.

the problem, at least for me, is that beth is still very much Not Okay but the show is not conveying that well at all, and i don’t think it’s specific to this episode. i can’t put my finger on exactly what the problem is but it’s just missing the mark. it’s almost like the moments where beth is actually allowing herself to feel the gravity of what’s happened just aren’t weighted enough. they’re glossed over too quickly. they’re swallowed up by everything else that is going on, which kind of makes it seem like a Non Issue for beth. but we know that’s not true! we know it’s affected her! i mean they told us as early as 3x01 when they showed us that she felt so guilty she sought out rhea and marcus. 

and now we know that when she shot rio she felt “nothing” but that nothing isn’t nice. this woman is clearly not okay! but even that moment in the car with max felt like it was lacking something? it didn’t carry the emotional weight i think it was supposed to. it just felt sort of tonally off? 

and actually i think i just kind of figured out what the problem is for me. i think what i want is a more obvious juxtaposition between Beth Who is Keeping it Together For The Benefit of Everyone Around Her and Beth Who is Irrevocably Changed By Everything That Has Happened And Can No Longer Keep Her Mask of Normalcy In Place.

i need the directing and the editing to make it more obvious that even when she is “okay” she’s not actually okay at all, and i need the moments where she’s no longer pretending she is to cut a little deeper.

and i think if they had successfully done that in the first six episodes, this episode would’ve hit different. the shift in beth from desperately clinging to her sanity (and her life) to kind of getting off on crime/beating rio would feel more like a relief and less like a tonal disaster? am i even making sense anymore?

the only thing i know for sure is that i’m still not rooting for dean (fingers crossed for dean to move to vegas by himself!)

[insanitysscribblings]

Reyna Writes: High Hopes

Been a while!

Trying to get back in the saddle with this Claudeth thing that won’t leave me alone. So if you’re a FE3H fan, hope you enjoy! <3

~Reyna

________________________________________________________________

The folder thudded against the desk, the weight of its importance impressive...to anyone else. As it happened, his daughter just glanced at it before continuing on with the paperwork already under her nose.

“What’s that?”

“Your new contract.”

Byleth’s pen stayed, her dark eyes flicking up to meet his. Every day, Jeralt was stunned by the spitting image his daughter painted of his wife. Well, the painting was a forgery in one aspect--Byleth’s smiles were a work of fiction.

“I’m not taking new contracts.” Her tone, flatter than usual, brooked no argument. Jeralt frowned. He supposed it was his fault that his child had turned out so stubborn. He had done his best with her, of course, but even so...

When Byleth showed every intention of ignoring the file, Jeralt decided to level with her.

“Look, kid: I know your last contract didn’t...work out.”

Byleth’s brow furrowed ever so slightly. It was enough to let Jeralt know that he was treading into dangerous waters. They did not discuss the Blaiddyd contract in this house.

“But what’re you gonna do, not work for the rest of your life?”

Byleth spun in her chair, giving her father her back. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. How on earth had his wife talked him into having children?

“Despite what happened, you’re still good at what you do, kid. Damn good. It’d be a shame for you to quit now.”

“I can get another job.”

The notion was half-hearted, and they both knew it. Jeralt seized that wavering tone he could sense just beyond her words.

“Aren’t you just a little curious? This offer came straight from Boss Lady herself.”

Byleth’s head perked up then. Jeralt smirked as she turned just enough to side-glance at him. As much as he hated the hold Rhea seemed to have over his daughter, he would admit that maybe this was just what Byleth needed to shake off the funk she’d been in lately.

“....” Byleth spun back around, her eyes bouncing between the file and Jeralt. Ah, there it was--that little spark of intrigue. That was all Jeralt needed.

“There’s been a stir in the politics game lately,” he explained, turning to the television in the corner of the office. He raised the remote and clicked it on, the sound muted. Sure enough, there he was, splashed across their chosen news station: his daughter’s new assignment. “He’s been saying a lot of stuff that’s a little too idealistic, if you ask me. But his charisma is unparalleled. People’re callin’ him ‘the face of Fodlan’s unification.’” Jeralt set down the remote and eyed his daughter. “Some of the stuff he’s been sayin’ has put a target on his back, too.”

Byleth’s gaze was more unimpressed than usual as she watched the young man onscreen gesticulate in front of an enraptured crowed.

“Is he a politician or a peacock?” she grumbled. Jeralt laughed at that.

“I’ll leave it up for you to decide.” Just as Byleth was slowly reaching for the file, however, Jeralt snatched it up, regarding her raised eyebrows grimly. “But I’m not gonna give ya the job if you’re gonna be half-hearted about it. If you’re gonna do this, kid, ya gotta be sharp. Understand?”

Byleth seemed to understand his meaning: as much as he wanted her to get back in the game, he would not encourage her at the cost of her life. If she wanted the job, she had to let go of the past.

That wasn’t always so easy to do--Jeralt knew that perfectly well. But as much as his own shadows haunted him, he’d be damned if he would let the same fate befall his daughter. He had raised her to be better than him, so better she would be.

Byleth straightened her shoulders and gave a firm nod. At that signal, it was only with the barest hint of concern that he handed the file back to her.

“Go get ‘em, kid.”

________________________________________________________________

For the life of her, Byleth just couldn’t understand why anyone believed buildings had to be this big. Did they fancy themselves close to their gods when they built structures that reached the sky? Did the Tower of Babel teach them nothing?

Shaking her head, Byleth quieted that ancient griping at the back of her head. Thoughts that went on diatribes like that often came out of nowhere; whenever she voiced them, her father would laugh and call her an ‘old soul’. That wasn’t quite it...but since she had no other explanation, she would just nod along. It was better than being the alternative.

Her new assignment was situated on the top floor--of course. Byleth suppressed her eye roll as she stepped into the elevator. The tinkling music playing overhead did nothing to settle her nerves, so she did her best to soothe herself with breathing exercises, measuring her breathing as the elevator changed floors. It didn’t bother to stop in between any other floors; Byleth wondered if the elevator she’d been directed to had exclusive access to the top floor, despite having buttons for every other floor. Or was it just coincidence?

Before she could figure it out--and it was part of her job to figure it out--the elevator chimed, and the doors opened right into a lobby of some sorts. As Byleth stepped out of the elevator, the pink-haired woman behind what was presumably the secretary’s desk hopped up in surprise.

“Oh, hi~! Um, excuse me, but are you lost? This is kind of a restricted floor.”

Byleth stepped forward, assessing the woman. Dainty, gilded, hardly a threat...at least, she wouldn’t be, if Byleth couldn’t see that can of mace hidden behind her back. A part of her was impressed.

“I’m Byleth Eisner,” she introduced herself, slowly retrieving her business card from her breast pocket so the ‘delicate flower’ wouldn’t jump the gun and do something regrettable. “Your boss is expecting me.”

The pink-haired woman’s rose-colored eyes took in the business card before she blinked up at Byleth, her lips pursing.

“Is that so...”

She sounded like she didn’t believe Byleth. It wouldn’t be the first time. A part of Byleth was annoyed by the perpetual underestimation she had to go through, but the more practical part of her did what any woman in her position would do: she used it to her advantage.

Before she could ask when she could expect to see the man in question, a door to her right opened, and the man himself stepped into the lobby. He was dressed smartly in a tan suit; Byleth could see the black vest underneath as he was shrugging his blazer into place. He wasn’t focused on the room; his eyes were staring in the distance as he was finishing a phone call.

“--as I said, Lorenz, you catch more flies with honey--yes, I know, he was abominably rude to you, but what do you expect from a dictator? Besides, we only have to make nice until he’s ousted, which from the protests we’ve been seeing, that won’t be long. Now please let it go. Yes, I’m on my way to see you now, when am I not? Honestly, with how much you demand me to see you, the tabloids will start stirring up rumors that we’re sleeping toge--I’m joking! Please calm down before you permanently furrow that alabaster brow of yours, all right? I’ll see you in twenty.”

He finally hung up his phone, tucking it into an inner pocket of his blazer as his eyes found his secretary.

“Lorenz is getting antsy. Can you forward my calls to my cell?”

“Sure, but...” the woman’s eyes flickered to Byleth. “You have a...guest.”

The man was in the process of putting on his sunglasses, so Byleth had to watch him do the exaggerated once-over over them as he took her in. His eyes were a deep shade of green; they reminded her of deep acres of forests, the kind that held ancient secrets hidden from the everyday view of the common man.

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,” he said, pulling his sunglasses off again as his face lit up in a hundred-watt smile. Byleth was interested to see that said smile did not reach his eyes; those remained distant, careful. Calculating. “How can I help you, Miss--?”

“Eisner. Byleth Eisner.” Byleth stepped forward, holding her hand out for a handshake. “I’m your new bodyguard.”

The man paused, reacting a little late in shaking her hand.

“Really?” He looked her over once more, as if he’d missed something. “You’re from Saint Seiros Co.? The woman they call ‘The Ashen Demon’?”

Byleth’s expression was neutral as she gave a nod. She wasn’t particularly fond of that nickname...but work was work.

There was one more glance-over--focused longer on her breasts than she liked--before his eyes met hers once more.

“Well. You’re not what I expected.”

Byleth’s eyebrows flicked upwards.

“I rarely am,” she admitted. That managed to get a genuine smile from the man, much to her surprise.

“I like you,” he decided, quite abruptly as he gave her hand a firm squeeze. “Claude von Riegan.”

“I know who you are.”

“I suppose you do,” he agreed with a laugh. He finally released her hand, carding it through his dark hair. “I suppose you also know why you’re here.”

Byleth nodded.

“You’ve been receiving death threats.”

Claude winced at the simple words, a hand over his heart like they were wounding him physically.

“Just a couple,” he agreed. The pink-haired woman scoffed.

“‘A couple’?! We had to order the post office to stop our mail for a whole month!”

“No one got hurt, Hilda.”

“Still,” she sniffed, her dainty nose wrinkling in disgust. Claude patter her head sympathetically, and was rewarded with a swat and a complaint of messing up her hair.

“So yeah, my granddad figured I could use some extra muscle.” Claude raised his eyebrows at Byleth. “Lots of scary letters threatening my imminent demise. That means papercuts. Thousands of ‘em. Think you can handle it?”

In that moment, Byleth cataloged several things at once: 

One, Claude von Riegan was not a very serious man. At least, he appeared not to be. His true nature had yet to be determined.

Two, it was most likely his grandfather’s idea for him to run for office--in Byleth’s research, she had taken note of the von Riegan family history, and concluded that politics ran in their blood. This most recent iteration of von Riegan was straying a bit from the party line, though...for what reason? Money? Publicity? She’d have to figure that out soon as well.

And three, whoever was taking the time to send him a never-ending barrage of death threats wasn’t playing games. They were serious about wanting his life. Which meant that Byleth certainly had her work cut out for her, whether Claude von Riegan knew it or not.

A shrill tune rang through the air. Claude tutted, frowning at the screen.

“I’d better go. Lorenz is going to start having kittens at this rate. Can you hold down the fort, Hilda?”

“Way ahead of you,” Hilda replied, sitting down at her desk once more and returning to the very busy work of filing her nails. Byleth spared her a glance before she made to follow Claude. This seemed to surprise him.

“Yes?”

Byleth stared at him. What did he mean, ‘yes’?

“I’m accompanying you.” At his blink, Byleth’s gaze went flat. “That is what a bodyguard does.”

“Oh, I’m just meeting Lorenz. There’s no danger there,” Claude assured her with a bright grin. Byleth remained unmoved.

“With all due respect, sir, I would be negligent in my duties if I did not accompany you from now on. What could just be a meeting to you could turn sour very quickly, if you don’t know what to look for.”

Claude’s smile faded, his eyes becoming critical again as he stared at her.

“I really think I’ll be fine,” he insisted. Byleth took a step closer to him.

“You will be,” she agreed, eyes never wavering from his, “because I will be there to protect you. Even if you find it unnecessary.”

Silence fell between them as they sized each other up, Claude testing the metal that surrounded Byleth’s resolve as she took shape of the glass he used to barricade himself from others without them even noticing. The staring match was only interrupted by the clearing of Hilda’s throat.

“Claude, if you don’t leave soon, Lorenz is going to start calling me.”

That must’ve been an undesirable situation; Claude shot her an apologetic grin over his shoulder before he returned to his stride to the elevator.

“Sorry, Hild. I’m going now.” As he pressed the button for the elevator, he turned once more to look at Byleth. “After you, Miss Eisner.”

“Byleth’s fine,” Byleth corrected him, preceding him on the elevator as he requested. His eyes twinkled with interest as he followed her.

“As you wish, Miss Bodyguard.”

Byleth leveled him a flat look. Something told her they were going to be having a lot more battles in this regard. She’d better get to work sharpening her blades.

[talesfromthepayload]

Charms

A/N: Nobody asked for this but I couldn’t just not do it because it wouldn’t leave me alone so here we go!

Strike Commander Morrison had assured you it wasn’t a punishment.

Commander Reyes had said it most definitely was.

Your lips were pulled in a frown as you watched your fingers tap against the solid wood of a table. Covert operations were one thing you’d definitely excelled at during your time with Blackwatch, but this one offered no excitement. You’d been sent to Japan to monitor the growing influence of the yakuza. The Shimada Clan, which was at the forefront of illegal activity, was a point of interest. Since you were pretty much on Overwatch timeout, they’d sent you instead of McCree.

Then again, you definitely have covert ops down, McCree doesn’t. He’s too set in his aesthetic.

“You are Artemis?” The voice, lightly lined with an accent, inquired before you.

Your facade nearly broke at the sound of your code name coming from someone who was decidedly not an Overwatch agent.

You met his hard eyes, the brown darkened with tiredness- or, perhaps, wariness. The corners of his mouth were turned down, his muscles tensed like he didn’t quite trust you. He was in traditional clothing with a stance that held power. This was the man you were looking for.

“Hanzo,” you bowed slightly.

After this mission, you had no doubt you’d be back on the Commander’s good side. He didn’t even expect you to make contact with the clan for at least another week or so.

You’d been invited to the Shimada Clan as an interested investor under the pseudonym Artemis Rhea, a nod to your love for Greek mythology as much as it was to your wisdom. The past week had spent creating the character of Artemis, a young lady who had inherited a great deal of money from her parents. She was a business woman, who yielded, not only results, but profit.

Gabriel was always impressed with your hacking skills, now you had no doubt he’d be even more pleased.

“We are honored by your interest in doing business with us,” Hanzo said respectfully.

A soft breeze blew through the open balcony, wind rustling through his hair. He had a deadly sort of charm about him, and you had no doubt he wielded a great deal of power beneath the calm face.

“I am honored you acknowledged my interest,” you replied smoothly, your entire being becoming the character you’d constructed.

From the expensive, lacy dress you wore to the confident smile, you were the picture of elegance and professionalism. Hanzo would never know you had three weapons stashed on your person and the strength to take down every one of his guards.

“Please, allow me to show you around,” he offered respectfully.

You’d be staying here for nearly a week, according to Hanzo’s invitation. He was giving you accommodations, as well the opportunity to better understand the business. It was perfect, really, and you knew that Gabriel was going to love it.

You graciously accepted his proposal, lifting yourself to your full height. Hanzo still stood a bit above you, caution in his stare.

From what you’d heard in rumors around the place, Hanzo was a rather strict ruler, even more so than his father. He was all business, unlike the infamous brother, Genji. 

Hanzo kept quiet for the most part, presenting important rooms that you’d need for your stay, but not much else. He gave you instructions on how to leave the premises, should you wish to visit Hanamura.

You’d been to a great many places in your time with Blackwatch, but Hanamura had a special charm to it. It was breathtaking, a picture of beauty among a location of horror. 

“Your home is beautiful, Hanzo,” you said, resting your purse on the wooden dresser.

The room was nice, and much larger than what you were used to. Ornate paintings and cherry wood decorated the room. One wall was almost made entirely of windows, the dimming light shining through with soft ambiance.

He bowed his head, acknowledging to compliment, before taking his leave.

As soon as he was out of sight, you shut the door, pulling the comm device from your purse.

“Your favorite agent, checking in,” you teased.

You heard a sigh on the other end.

“I’m his favorite agent,” was muttered in the distant, that southern twang prompting an eye roll.

“What do you have?”

Gabriel’s voice was strained, and you could almost see him running a hand down his face, his legs up on the computer table as he often did. You’d never admitted, but you kind of missed him. You kind of missed McCree too.

“I’m in,” you said, tightening the strap that held your six-shooter to your leg.

It’d been a gift from McCree for your birthday one year. It was pearly white, the barrel a clean silver, and the bullets a bright blue. He said he found it in one of the factories he’d ‘visited’ on his search for Lance Bushami, a very powerful investor with ties to Talon.

You smiled fondly at the memory. He’d spent the whole afternoon teaching you to shoot with it, and while you’d definitely excelled, he claimed you were a right cowgirl by the end of it.

“You’re in?” Gabriel mimicked.

“Yep,” you popped the ‘p’ with a shit-eating grin. 

There was something so satisfying about surpassing Gabriel’s expectations, and wowing McCree in the process.

“Gather what information you can,” he replied after a moment, a creak sounding as he leaned forward in his chair.

“You got it, boss,” you answered, mock saluting to the empty room.

“Oh, and (Y/N)?”

You hummed noncommittally, admiring the soft green accents to the room. It was decorated with a bird- sparrow, by the looks. It had an elegant charm to it, one that was equal parts traditional and stylish.

“You did good, kid.”

You smiled, slipping the device back into your purse. From what you’d gathered from the tour, and the blueprints you’d memorized of the place, you could guess you were in the west corner of the grounds.

“Smart,” you muttered, closing your eyes to visualize the blueprints.

Most of the illegal activity, from what you could gather, was ushered in the east wing. Clearly, Hanzo had taken you as far from there as he could. You were mapping routes in your mind, discovering exits and entry points as you began to shed your clothes for the day, when a rustling outside caught your attention.

Your fingers tiptoed towards the gun resting against your thigh, the cool metal a comfort as your bare feet padded against the cold ground. The light curtains of the window swayed with the breeze, moonlight casting a soft light into the room. The night was cool and windy, the perfect conditions for some smaller critter, perhaps, but your trained ears knew better.

It was a human.

One well-versed in the art of stealth, but a human nonetheless.

You could here the gentle patters of feet against the wall, growing louder as the person grew closer. It was almost impermeable, but then again, you were trained for situations like these.

You closed your hand around the handle of the six-shooter Jesse McCree had personally gifted you, ready to draw just as quick as he’d taught you.

It’s all in the wrist, he’d said.

You steeled a breath, waiting in silence as the sound stopped. He was preparing to hoist himself up.

You swallowed, shifting your weight as you pressed yourself forward the slightest bit. Just as you’d been about to draw your weapon, a tuft of green hair popped itself over your window, tumbling onto the floor.

You tilted your head. Surely, this wasn’t an assassin.

“Who are you?” You inquired, relaxing your grip for the moment.

The man seemed startled, jumping to his feet quickly, preparing a fighting stance. When he saw you, however, he dropped it, his arms crossing over his chest. He went from crawling into your window, to fighter, to flirtatious, all in the span of five seconds.

“My brother bought me a gift?” He practically purred.

Your eyes narrowed.

Wait, he didn’t think-?

Oh.

Oh.

“I am not a gift,” you ground out, half tempted to pull the gun from your leg.

“Such a beautiful woman, in my house, at night, in such clothes,” he gestured towards you.

Idly, you realized that yes, you weren’t wearing pants, and that perhaps you weren’t really wearing a bra either, but still, he couldn’t just assume you were- wait, his house?

“Your house?” You asked dryly. “Thought Hanzo owned the place.”

The man reacted poorly to the mention of Hanzo, rolling his shoulders back.

“The Shimada’s own the place,” he corrected, “and I am a Shimada, Genji Shimada.”

Your eyes widened a fraction and you mentally cursed yourself. Good thing you kept your cool well enough to not pull your gun on him, because you doubt they’d let you continue to stay there if you’d threatened a Shimada.

“Well, sorry then,” you mumbled. You always did hate apologizing, even if it was for the sake of your mission.

He shrugged it off, as if he himself didn’t much care for the Shimada title.

“What are you doing here anyway?” He inquired, a hand pointing towards your suitcase.

Clearly, Hanzo hadn’t informed his brother you’d be staying with them.

“Business,” you replied, voice tight. Once more you placed the mask of a business woman on, offering indifference and forced politeness.

Genji’s eyebrows raised, as if he almost noticed the change in behavior. You’d transformed from a mostly carefree agent of Overwatch into an intelligent businesswoman in the blink of an eye. Most wouldn’t have thought much of it, but that look in his gaze told you he noticed.

Perhaps there was more to Genji than met the eye, more than anyone of the Shimada clan cared to talk about.

“Then I am sorry to interrupt.”

He flashed you a grin, and you knew he was very happy he had interrupted. He didn’t even seem to care you were, as far as he knew, a potential investor.

“I am surprised, most of my brother’s business partners are not nearly as pretty,” he said smoothly, leaning against the wall, looking for all the world like he owned the place.

Well, he did, you supposed, but still, he looked far too confident for someone who’d jumped in through the window.

“I’m surprised as well,” you whispered sweetly, leaning a little closer to Genji.

His eyes darkened, gaze moving down to watch your chest, then back towards your face. He shifted a bit in stance, humming in question. His hand reached out, almost about to touch you. You could tell he’d done this many times before, charm certainly was something he had plenty of.

“Why would that be?”

You smirked, a devious little motion as your fingers stopped just below his chin. You pushed yourself closer to him, chest almost touching chest, but not quite. Your breathing sent a visible shiver down his spine, words low and sensual.

“They said you were the charming one.”

A sweet, melodic laughter rolled past your lips, your body rolling back as you shifted your weight towards the heels of your feet.

Genji had a frown, his eyes narrowed a fraction.

“I am very charming,” he challenged.

His posture changed, almost defensive as he rose to the dare your words had sparked.

“I suppose you have a week to prove that,” you shrugged innocently, a guiltless smile on your lips.

Genji grinned something fierce, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of a new chase. He looked near sinful, running his tongue along his front teeth.

“I suppose I do,” he breathed, voice just a tad lower than before.

Already, you could begin to see the cogs turning in his head, dictating the fate that would befall on you while in the Shimada Castle. He pushed himself off the wall, brushing invisible dirt from his shoulder.

“A week it is then,” he nodded, bowing from the waist down as he walked towards the exit.

The door creaked as he opened it, a pause before the light padding of his feet began once more.

“Good luck, Genji Shimada,” you called after him.

He cracked a smile.

[sleepytoycollection]

SpacePops: A Review Part 2

Part 1: Here

Well, here I am again, this took me longer to get around to than I intended, but hey, I had four times as many dolls to look at. Not to mention how much drawing I’ve been doing for my main blog lately, so yeah I’ve been busy. 

Anywhoozle, as my first review can tell you, I found my Luna doll to have a certain amount of charm through all her cheapness, and if you can still find one from your local TRU; you might be lucky enough to snag them for round $2 bucks each as I did. And I def recommend getting one if you can, if nothing else for a nice, articulate spare body and some MH sized shoes. Just don’t let your self pay for than $5 for one. They’re not that fun. 

I was lucky enough to manage to get a hold of all five characters, so let’s see how they measure up to Luna. To avoid being too repetitive I’ll try to focus on their unique features only.

Let’s start with Rhea:

Rhea was actually the one I liked the best from her art work. I mean look at it, she looks amazing here, the boots, thigh high stockings, the layers, gloves and chains would’ve made for an amazing doll of the effort had been put in. 

I won’t ramble forever about the what-ifs, but it’s just so much of a punch to the stomach to know we’ll never see the real potential these had realized.

I’m not gonna go through the all the profiles, but if anyone’s interested I could scan them in for better visibility. 

Gremlin #2.

Getting her out of the box, the first thing that struck me was her hat.

And I mean that literally as there was nothing helping it attach to her head. Much as I’m grateful these dolls lack those plastic ties shot into their heads that mattel’s become so fond of; I don’t think a rubber band would’ve too much to ask for.

Here she out of the box:  

She’s...something.

After how much Luna has surprised me by simply being less bad than I feared; Rhea on the other hand was everything I’d worried these girls would be. 

Her hair is terrible, it’s the cheapest, nastiest of all the dolls, it’s literally the same stuff the Midnight magic dolls used. It had a gross, greasy feel and wants to pull away from the scalp if I dare try to run a comb through it. 

Ugh. On top of that, it became quickly clear I’d gotten a Rhea with a defective hand. Instead of the normal back and forth movement almost every other doll has, she’s got side to side movement. 

Except, her hands still have the dents in the molding indicating it’s not meant to turn that way. I’m at a loss. I really can’t tell how this happened, or how her hand isn’t falling off. 

It could’ve been worse in that regard, but there’s not many good uses for side to side movement that look natural. 

At this point I’d only opened the one doll prior, and so was extremely worried I’d simply gotten lucky with Luna. 

sigh. 

Her outfit is super cheap, made cheaper looking by how complex a design they were trying to emulate. It’s all one piece and gives the impression of a store bought Halloween costume in miniature. 

I will grant however, all the dolls having their name on their tag is cute. 

But it’s a wasted detail on something this cheap. The black band on her waist is a sort of flimsy, felt-like material, and the knit of her shorts is thin. I feel like I could easily tear a run in it if I pull just a little too much, especially being unhemmed as they are. 

She’s got a slight blue tint to her pale complexion, as you can see her here next to Catrine. 

The socks are made of paint, and I’d have rather they be left off entirely. Her left knee also doesn’t bend, and I have not been able to fix it yet.

As you can imagine, after Rhea I lost a lot of energy for these girls. She was the doll I’d wanted the most, and was just disappointing in every way, despite me already having incredibly low standards. 

Still, I was going to have to open these girls up eventually. So this time I decided to go for the design I’d liked the least with Athena: 

Every time I look at her dress I can’t help but think of the Flintstones. Not in a cute way either. 

It’s like if, after their crossover, a member of the Jestons universe tried to make a fashion version of their cave clothing as a cheap cash in, and just doesn’t work for me that much. Maybe it’s partly the colors used. 

It’s a little better art wise, but eh. Maybe if she wasn’t he same color as Rhea..?

Blah blah profile. 

Gremlin #3.

Despite my opinions on her look, out of the box she struck me as a pleasant increase in quality if nothing else.  Nothing falling off, no visible defects.

It was around this time tho I was starting to realize there seemed to be a decided aversion to hair gel. Her spiked updo’ is translated as a short ponytail here.

Can’t say I mind too much, but lack of gel means her hair gets pulled pretty easily, especially where her glasses are. She’s got nothing on Gilda Goldstag that’s for sure. 

Her tie is made of the same cheap fuzzy stuff Rhea’s belt was made of, for that matter her gold belt is the only new fabric type here. 

But to my great surprise her skirt has a separate over lay! 

And it’s even lined, I’ll admit it improved my opinion of her a good bit. It feels sturdy.

Her netted sleeve too is competently made. 

..but left a stain on her arm. 

With out the overlay her outfit looks a bit less flinstone-y, so I’m just gonna leave it off. 

Under her dress she has some pink tights, which I appreciate as they become less and less common in the doll world. Even if it makes me wonder why Rhea couldn’t have had socks. Just one of those things I guess.

Her glasses are held in neatly with, of all things, the help of tiny plastic bobby pins! 

!!! I’m sorry but that’s adorable, tiny pins! And they work! Amazing. 

Her hair is the same quality as Luna’s, thank goodness, and is easy enough to brush out.  

But to my dismay, her glasses don’t fit her face. If you put the arms over her actual ears, they set waayyyy too low. I can’t get them to twist so the bridge will set on her nose. But if I place them high enough so the lens can cover her eyes, they get stuck from her head being too wide and wont’ touch her face. 

That said, I like the shape and look of these, and I’m sure I have plenty of other dolls who can rock them. But it doesn’t say much for your line if your accessories can’t be used for the doll they were made to be used on.

Still, Athena was a huge improvement to my energy for these girls, so let’s hop over to Hera. 

I wanna take a sec to apologize for the quality of several of these pics, my camera’s very old and staring to kick the bucket. 

Hera’s pretty cute, if you like Draculaura. Which I do. The fact the lime green specifically reminds me of Snow Bite, which is my fav version of Ula helps make it a pleasant comparison. 

Gremlin #4. 

Yay! A different fabric! And hemming! It’s a dream come true~

Now if only I had the same excitement over her hair.

It’s the standard for these dolls tbh, but being curled has not agreed with it. I’m kinda afraid to touch it. She’s got a head band in there, but it’s very hidden.

even if it wasn’t, it’s just a plain ribbon, no where near the flower crown of her art.  

The dress is really the star here, of all the outfits so far it’s the one that feels the sturdiest, and no printed details. 

Her tag. 

Her tights are different fabric to the other ones we’ve seen. It’s not as stretchy, which is why you see it sagging around the knees. It’s the kind of netting you’d see as a tulle petticoat. 

It looks alright, but it makes me concerned with how durable these would be in the long run.  

Now,you may have noticed me not making any comments on the shoes. Well I have a very good reason for that:

They’re all the same. They reused the same shoe mold for all four of these girls, leaving only one who doesn’t have these heels. 

That girl being of course, Juno. 

She was my second favorite of all the girls when I saw their art all that time ago. 

Aside from how much I love the colors used, she has pants! And a shaved head! 

...And another Gremlin.

And last but not least, here she is:

Of all the girls, she’s the one who comes the closest to looking like her boxart. 

So not too surprising her outfit is to be my favorite of the bunch. 

She’s also the only one to use any kind of styling product. Fairly lightly, but it’s on there. Yet, despite how little there was used they still managed to get a good bit on her face. 

 Can’t have it all I suppose. 

But the flocking looks good. 

I also appreciate how she has the most unique face paint of all the ladies.  It’s not much by usual standards, but with every girl using the same face mold, they can use all the differences they can get.

Without her Jacket you can bein to see just how had that top is, but she can put her hands in her pockets, so if there had to be a trade off, I’ll admit they made the right one. 

Her jacket is nicely sewn, only her collar sporting an unfinished hem, but I don’t know how you’d really hem those jagged edges anyhow. It’s usable and looks alright. 

Her boots tho, no complaints there. By Spacepop standards these are the best shoes you’ll ever see. By normal doll standards they’re still not bad. 

I very serious when I say I love these pants. I feel like most of their clothing budget went into that fabric. Almost like someone was trying. 

Sigh. But then you get this. 

It’s garbage. The worst piece of all the clothing I’ve seen here, and there’s no way this would’ve held up to a child.

Now what else have I not covered..oh yeah. The gremlins. 

They suck. 

Like the shoes, the reused the same mold 4 times. Unlike the shoes, I never thought they were cute. 

Only 1 dared to use a different mold, Athen’s gremlin: 

...Who might be the only one that comes close to being endearing. The combo of a cute hair style, cute paint details, side glancing eyes, make Roxie almost a nice accessory. 

Whew, well, now I’ve gone through everything I could think to talk about. 

Having gone over every doll just cements that the execution of this line was a huge misstep on the part of Madame Alexander. Tho I can’t be sure.I get the impression they made these to compete with Monster High, but they company simply waited too long.  

By 2016 MH was going into the reboot, and with Mattel’s sales and quality going down MA seemed to lost faith in these ladies and gave up before release. It’s a shame too, Maybe the weren’t the most original idea on the market, but They could’ve been a nice solid competition. Instead we got these; and it leaves me with a sense of melancholy the more I think about the ways things are going. With new lines and experiments coming to a standstill nowadays, doll collecting has been less and less exciting. 

And now, less than a year after their debut Spacepops have gone the way of Pinkie Cooper and Novi Stars. In their own way, the last remnant of an era of collecting that’s now gone as styles shift to something else.   

Still, I plan to have fun my new new set of ladies, I haven’t completely decided how far I’ll go, maybe leave them as-is for posterity. Their flat face ups have grown on me. Maybe I just miss the bright, harsher colors that are going out of style. 

All that said, I bought a spare Athena to experiment with, so I’ll def have some follow ups with how these ladies look with a good repaint. 

Anyway, I’m tired and out of thoughts for now. Hopefully you found this somewhat informative, and as always thanks for reading. 

[meg-a-million-whats]

hey, are u taking supercorp prompts?? If you are, please write this one: kara and lena being comfortable of being barely naked around each other and touching and all of this start because lena stay a night on kara's place and kara is not used to use pants for sleep and they cuddle to sleep... like a pre-relationship fluff when everyone thinks they're dating because of the way they act around each other but they aren't (yet) it got a little confused im sorry lol

Note: Anon, I took some liberties with the prompt. Hope that’s alright.

[ao3] [prompt me]

The problem, in retrospect, was that Kara asked Alex whether this was something straight human girls did on the regular, and Alex swore up and down that it was, and that Kara had nothing to be wary of. Though it was Kara’s fault really, since Alex had proceeded to back up her claim by citing Animal House and Glee, and Kara, who unlike Alex had seen neither in her turbulent teenage years, took Alex’s expertise at face value.

The Situation itself began a couple months after the whole Rhea and Mon-El mess and followed hot at the heels of the Revealing Herself as Supergirl to Lena mess, which had resulted in a lot of shocked gasps and wide-eyed stares of hurt on Lena’s part that left Kara feeling kind of rotten on the inside. There were a lot of texts exchanged with emoji-less one-line replies, a lot of special flowers deliveries from Supergirl across the National City skyline, and a lot of sustainable organic vegan kale chocolates that mysteriously appeared at Lena’s doorsteps early weekend mornings. When Lena was finally ready to forgive her, they had dinner at Kara’s that ended with both of them drunk on different drinks and ranting agreeably at each other about men, mothers, and aliens.

What happened next was a bit of a blur to Kara, but this was Kara deduced:

Kara was not used to wearing pants to sleep, which meant she must have shucked them off at some point in the night out of discomfort—which was how they ended up over her lamp.

Lena must have felt the same, and done the same thing, which was why her dress hung over Kara’s dresser.

She and Lena had always been very tactile with each other, so of course they were also tactile with each other on Kara’s bed, drunk. Which would explain the cuddling.

Also,

There was no reason, no reason at all James and Winn had to barge into her bedroom in the morning like that.

“You weren’t answering your phone!” was James’s excuse over the phone ten minutes after he and Winn skedaddled out of her apartment at the sight of Kara and L-Corp’s CEO tangled together, mostly naked, in Kara’s bed. “We thought you were—I don’t know. We were supposed to go over that presentation of the effects of lead atmosphere on plant life at the DEO, and you weren’t there—”

“Did you really sleep with Lena Luthor?” was Winn’s question. He sounded a bit awed.

“No,” Kara said, glancing at Lena, who was shifting beneath the covers. “We were drunk, alright? I couldn’t fly; she couldn’t drive. So she stayed over. That’s it.”

“Well,” James said. “As long as you’re safe. Just get everything tidied up on your end and come over. We’ll tell J’onn that you were… otherwise occupied.”

Kara groaned. “Do you really have to phrase it that way?”

Lena woke a few minutes later, silently, in small moments: twitching, blinking her eyes open, then tilting her head to look up at Kara. When she smiled, that too was a small thing, but Kara felt the warmth of it spreading through her entire body like a yellow sun.

“Hey,” Lena said.

“How’d you feel?” Kara asked.

“Like I’ve been wrung dry,” Lena said, wry.

Kara laughed. “You know, that alien stuff really was potent. I can’t remember anything after laughing at your Alaskan penguin story.”

Lena, who had been stretching luxuriously beneath the morning sunlight, baring her smooth skin to the room—paused, again in the slightest movement. She asked, “Nothing at all?”

“No,” Kara said. She glanced at Lena. “I mean—did I—”

“No,” Lena said, and she sounded reassuring, so Kara believed her. She was looking for something on the ground. “No. You were definitely adorable while drunk, but—no.”

“Looking for this?” Kara said, handing her the dress.

“Yes,” Lena said, laughing softly at herself. “Thank you.”

When Lena was leaving the apartment, Kara slid her hand into Lena’s and said, “You know, last night was really fun. We should do it again. With maybe less—substances.”

Lena searched Kara’s eyes, then nodded. “Let’s. I’m glad we made up. I’ve missed you, these past few weeks.”

“Me too,” Kara said, breathless with happiness.

So it got to be a bit of a tradition, afterwards.

It was great to be able to hang out more often with Lena. They never got to see each other enough over the past year, and the sleepovers became their own little dates apart from their other friends. And Kara liked the sleepover aspects of it too. She liked watching horrible Netflix documentaries with Lena late into the night. She liked falling asleep with Lena by her side, because Lena was soft and warm and smelled nice. And she liked Lena being the first thing she saw when she woke up. She liked making breakfast with Lena—or for her, when Lena slept in after a long day at work.

When she told Winn and James this at Noonan’s one day, they looked at each other, then back at her.

“Kara—” James began, sliding his glass away.

“We think you like Lena Luthor,” Winn said. “In a I-want-to-make-babies-with-her sort of way.”

“What?” Kara said.

James shot Winn a glare. “In a romantic sort of way,” James corrected.

Winn waved his hand dismissively.

“It’s not like that,” Kara said. She fidgeted with her glasses to force herself to calm down. “It’s just— Look, neither of us had a lot of girl friends growing up, okay? So we both missed out on a lot of the—silly teen stuff, you know. Sleepovers. Pillow fights. Gossiping. Braiding each other’s hair.”

Winn looked at Kara’s elaborate fishtail braid and nodded, impressed.

“If we’re closer to each other than other people are, it’s just because we both don’t know how other girls behave,” Kara said.

“And that’s fine,” James said. “And I mean, obviously, you think of yourself as—” He paused delicately.

“Straight,” Winn supplied.

James’s lips twitched unhappily, but he continued, “And this would be a big change in that—perspective. And that can be terrifying. But you have to know that the people around you will be supportive. Me and Winn—obviously. Your sister—that goes without saying. J’onn—has more or less gone on with the assumption that you and Lena are dating—”

“What?” Kara said.

“Well, after the day Winn and I saw you together—with Lena— We didn’t mention Lena by name, of course, but you’ve talked about her so often that he… filled in the blanks.”

“Dude, it’s fine, let me,” Winn said, when Kara made more indignant sputtering noises. James raised his hands to yield the floor. Winn turned to Kara. “So you know how we, like, both at a thing for you at around the same time a couple years ago and then both got over it and now are friends?”

“Oh god,” James was saying.

“Yeah?” Kara said faintly.

“Thankfully, because of that, we’ve actually both discovered a very simple way to test whether two people are, like you said, ‘just friends.’ Are you ready for it?”

Kara looked at James. “Should I be scared?”

“Probably.”

“What it’s called,” Winn pressed on, “is the ‘Would I Be Ridiculously Happy If She Were My Girlfriend’ Test.”

Later that week, Kara whipped out the test after she and Lena returned from watching the latest Melissa McCarthy comedy. They were in Lena’s apartment this time.

The test is simple, Winn had said. At every possible moment you’re with her, ask yourself the question: Would I be ridiculously happy if she were my girlfriend?

So when they were on Lena’s sofa discussing a topic at least four times removed from the movie, Kara popped herself the question, and boom—she suddenly had a vision of herself, cupping Lena’s face and stealing a kiss.

When Lena reached into her top cupboard to retrieve a mug, Kara asked herself the question, and boom—she was imagining herself lifting Lena up, as easily as one would a feather, kissing Lena when Lena turned back and giggled.

When Lena said, “I’m going to shower before I head to bed,” Kara saw herself stepping into the shower with Lena, and Lena laughing as she pulled her in.

When Lena came of the shower with only a towel wrapped around her torso, Kara saw herself smoothing back Lena’s hair and pressing her forehead against Lena’s.

When Lena briefly dropped her towel to pull on her underwear, Kara thought her head was going to explode.

Which was how she called Alex for the second time the morning after a sleepover with Lena.

“I think I’m bi,” Kara told Alex as soon as the line connected.

“Oh,” Alex said. “Oh. Congratulations. Thank you for telling me—”

“Alex, I love you, you’re the best sister in the world, and I promise you I’ll explain everything afterwards, but I need to talk to Maggie about this,” Kara said, because she finally realized that Alex was the sort of lucky bastard in the world who got engaged to the first person she fell in love with and really, really was not in the position to offer advice for anyone’s love life.

Maggie was laughing when she came on the phone, and laughing again when Kara finished the story of last night.

“So what do I do?” Kara asked anxiously.

“Well,” Maggie said. “First I’ll say that you and your sister really are super, Danvers.”

Kara muffled her groan in a throw pillow.

“Second, I’d say that you aren’t so much worried about being bi as you are about your relationship with Lena, aren’t you?”

Kara thought this over. “No,” she agreed.

“And how would you advise a straight friend with their straight love interest about how to deal with their straight romantic troubles?”

Kara blinked. “Talk to the other person.”

“There you go,” Maggie said cheerfully. “Congrats on discovering the wonderful world of loving girls, by the way. You know your sister and I will be rooting for you.”

Kara did explain everything to Alex, as well as James and Winn, over Settlers of Catan and chow mein at the end of the week. All three of them had solemn, rehearsed speeches prepared. They were happy she was brave enough to come out to them, they were grateful that she trusted them with this development, and they pledged to keep this fact to themselves unless she wished they shared it. The whole thing, even Alex’s portion, sounded like something pulled out of the straight ally handbook. Kara laughed and hugged them all.

They brainstormed ways of dealing with the Lena problem but were all sooner or later distracted by attempts to get the Longest Road Catan card or the call to save one lone alien from another rogue alien on the intersection of 10th and Downing Street. The rogue alien mugging actually ballooned into a whole separate issue dealing with intergalactic property rights and interplanetary court systems, and by the time her and Lena’s next date came around, Kara had nothing in the arsenal to last her through the evening.

They chose Netflix for the day: Lena wanted to check out Merlin because one of her assistants promised good things about it. While preparing the popcorn, Kara nearly let the bag slip from her hand and pressed the wrong buttons on her microwave three times before finally getting the whole thing running—and then realized she put it on the wrong setting entirely.

“I saw that you gave up on electrical devices and just used your heat vision,” Lena said, teasing, when Kara returned with a bowl of popcorn. “If there are malfunctions in your microwave, you know, I can fix it.”

“What? Oh no no,” Kara said. “I was just—testing out… myself. It’s good training, you know. Good control. Popcorn is a great training tool. That’s what my cousin always says too. Yup.”

Kara forced herself to laugh in three beats: Ha ha ha. Lena gave her a strange look.

Kara absorbed nothing from the first episode because her attention was wholly focused on Lena’s arm, which was slung over the top of the couch, fingers inches away from Kara’s neck. Occasionally, Lena would grab a handful of popcorn without looking and accidentally brush against Kara’s hair. Kara thought her heart was going to stop every instance this happened, but at the same time, she wondered—if Lena would reach just a little farther—rest her palm on Kara’s nape and gently pull her in for a kiss—

Nope. Bad thoughts. Bad Kara. Very bad. She grabbed fistfuls of popcorn and began eating them aggressively, much to Lena’s amusement.

In the end, it happened like this:

After Netflix, Lena stretched and tipped herself sideways to rest her head on Kara’s shoulder. She smelled like cinnamon.

“I think I’m ready to go to bed,” Lena said. She peered up at Kara beneath heavy lashes. “Join me?”

The guilt was all of a sudden too much, and Kara grabbed Lena by the shoulders and pushed her back so they were face-to-face with a good two feet of distance between them. Kara felt like her whole face was on fire, and if she kept silent any longer, steam would be whistling from her ears.

“Lena, listen,” Kara said. “I’ve realized something recently. And I feel like I need to tell you.”

“What is it?” Lena said, moving closer in concern.

Kara squeaked as she leaned back in tandem. “Um. It’s alright. I’m fine. Physically.”

She let her arms drop to the top of her criss-crossed legs.

“Lena, I think I like you. Romantically.” Kara forced her eyes to stay steady on her friend’s. “I only realized that recently. And I think—I think I want to date you. Because I like you. But I know you’ve never said anything about liking girls—so— I hope either way we can stay friends. But I just wanted to tell you that. That I really like you.”

By the end of her stilted little speech, she had dropped her gaze down to her hands, waiting for Lena’s verdict. As the silent stretched on, Kara imagined all the horror and anger and disgust that Lena was feeling, and Kara felt so ashamed of herself—really, why had she ever thought it was a good idea—

Lena cupped Kara’s chin.

“I feel the same way. Maybe since the first time I saw you,” Lena said softly. Time itself seemed crystalized; the outside world was a forgotten memory. Kara felt as though she was but a relic of a time when time was, silent and given only to the examination under Lena’s pale eyes. “Can I kiss you?”

And Kara could only breathe out, “Of course.”

“The first night I slept over,” Lena confessed, some hours later, as she lied next to Kara, “you told me I was beautiful, and you wanted to kiss me.”

“I did?”

“Well, you told me I was beautiful,” Lena said, smiling ruefully, “but you didn’t kiss me.”

Kara entangled her fingers with Lena’s. “That’s too bad. We could’ve been doing this sooner.”

“No. I think it was too early for you,” Lena said. “For us. We’d just made up. I don’t think you knew consciously, what you said then. And I didn’t know if you would still want the same things sober. It would’ve been bad timing all around.”

“Oh.”

Lena turned to face her. “When you told me you were Supergirl, I had this—silly notion in my head that, ah, there was no way you would like me now. Supergirl had been this sort of—quintessential straight girl, you understand. At least in my head.”

Kara laughed.

“I know, it’s ridiculous. Stereotypes.” Lena rolled her eyes. “So I guess I was—I was half heart-broken too, when I was ignoring you.”

“I didn’t know,” Kara said softly.

“That’s why the night of the crazy drinking, that was when I thought, Maybe.”

Kara gasped. “So all this time you were trying to seduce me?”

“No. Yes.” Lena bit her lip and looked at her. “Maybe a little?”

Kara laughed and buried her face in Lena’s head. “Well, here I am. Seduced. What are you going to do with me?”

Lena grinned. “Wicked things.”

Kara leaned over to kiss Lena. “I look forward to it.”