#could they even really begin to process her death when her spirit was there or was it only until it left that it hit them that she was

[faraskyetruther]

You have to imagine that the reason why Phoenix and Maya became so close so quickly was because they had to rely on each other when handling all the administration of death after Mia's death. They would have had to arrange her funeral (right after having both been accused of her murder), had to look through her belongings, sort out her will (which she had definitely already wrote despite being so young because she must've known the danger she was putting herself in). Sure, the case itself would have brought them together but it was probably those weeks after when they had to continue setting aside the emotions of death and focus on practicality which really brought them together - and I hate that it was because Mia died.

[elizabethemerald]

Shade Darker than Red

Master Post

The plan to rid the Spirit of Gotham of some of the worst curses that affected her was simple, safe, and guaranteed to succeed. Of course, every member of the Batfamily in attendance knew that was a lie even if they didn’t acknowledge it. The truth of the matter was that it was wildly complex mission requiring the family to split up and infiltrate three of the most dangerous locations in the city simultaneously and if it didn’t go flawlessly for all three teams then it was basically a guaranteed death sentence for not just the family but all of the innocent people of Gotham. No pressure. 

While there were numerous curses all across the city that fed into each other, there were three of the worst, that together acted as chains, keeping the City Spirit bound and unable to heal. One was Slaughter Swamp, a strange murky body of water a little outside the city limits from which the zombie Solomn Grundy would be revived no matter how many times he was destroyed. Another was the infamous Court of Owls. The aristocrats and their undead legion of Talons who believed themselves the masters of the city had built their labyrinthine citadel on an anchor that predated the city itself. The last was a hidden sigil buried deep within the twisted halls of Arkham Asylum. 

Once this information had been shared with the rest of the Batfamily, they all had to take a moment to process the scale of the task before them. 

Slaughter Swamp by itself was an inhospitable wetlands that stretched for miles, infested with all manner of hostile wild life and a strange dark magic that reanimated the dead disposed of in the fetid waters. Any disturbance there had a chance of attracting the ire of Solomn Grundy who could then go on a rampage against the innocent people of the city. 

The Court of Owls had been influencing the city through money and magic since it was first founded. In a parallel universe, Dick had been indoctrinated as one of the Talons, the undead assassins the Court used to exact their orders. Even Batman himself had never managed to truly purge Gotham of the Court and he had almost been driven to insanity after being tortured within the Court’s labyrinth. If even one of the masked aristocrats managed to escape they could take control of the Talons to begin a new reign of terror. 

Arkham was of course its own can of worms. Even when the asylum had been first built its twisting corridors had harbored a curse that drove occupants to greater heights of insanity. Now after decades of mismanagement and tortured souls being confined within the walls, Arkham was truly a mad house in the most literal sense. Exploring deep into the catacombs, as would be necessary to find the sigil, risked running a foul of the inmates and corrupt guards, and escaping without a mass breakout would be an even greater trial. 

Worse of all, after a thorough analysis of the data recovered by Barbara and Danny’s informants on the other side, the three locations would have to be hit at once. Danny had explained that the magical backlash from one anchor falling would rebound on the others, driving those nearby to even greater heights of madness and paranoia. Slaughter Swamp would likely expel all of its dead in a threat that hadn’t been seen since the last assault by the Black Lanterns and could spread across the globe. Arkham would surely see a breakout and inmates driven to worse and worse acts of cruelty. The Court would try to reclaim Gotham as a separate city state, initiating a police state and lock down enforced by the Talons. 

None of them liked the idea of splitting the family up, but there really was no option. After hours of intensive debate the three teams that were going to assault the three locations were decided. In addition to splitting up the living members of the Batfamily, each team would get a little ghostly help as well. Jazz, Tim, and Duke were going to search Slaughter Swamp. Jason, Dick, and Damian were going to infiltrate Arkham. Danny, Cass, and Steph were going to lay siege to the Court of Owls. 

“Alright, we all have our missions.” Danny said, drawing on the full gravitas of the King of the Infinite Realms. “If we fail, the world may never recover from what we stir up. But if we succeed, when we succeed, it will mean Gotham City will be a safer, brighter place. And most importantly, it will mean Jason will get a new job and stop lazing around my castle.” 

With scattering of laughter, called jokes and threats and a bit of rough housing the three teams split up to take on their goals. 

.

Batman had abandoned the Watchtower after Superman, Wonder Woman, and Flash had mutinied against him. They had stopped him from returning to his city and because of their interference Joker had been killed. He wanted to return to Gotham to investigate the murder, he already has several suspects and just because some of them were his former soldiers didn’t mean that they would be spared his judgment. 

However he knew that the most powerful and arrogant members of the Justice League would not let their eyes off him for even a moment, much less long enough to sneak off to return to his city. Instead he retreated to an older, now derelict, JL base on the moon. There he continued to monitor his alarms, and his fellow JL members, and his former children. 

One of the first things he had done was destroy the Zeta Tube for the base, he didn’t trust the other members not to pursue him there, or try and stop his work. Any supplies were sent by shuttle from the Watchtower, but he was working steadily to make the base completely self-sustaining, so he would no longer be dependent on others at all. Of course he moved as much kryptonite to the base as well as the rest of his most powerful countermeasures against the league to his new base. 

He kept up to date on the happenings of the world and sent mission updates to the rest of the Justice League. They still needed his strategic mind if they were going to succeed against the threats to the Earth. He also sent repeated messages to Nightwing and the rest of his soldiers, reminding them that it was only a matter of time before they needed him and that they were letting the city fall apart in their stubborn refusal to beg for him to return. 

So when he got alerts from alarms he had set up all over Gotham, he knew exactly what to do. He sent orders to the League to monitor Arkham for a new breakout, to watch out for another rising of Grundy and to be wary of the ultra rich and powerful members of the Court. He also sent another message to his subordinates in Gotham demanding to return. When all that was done, all he could was wait for them to reach out to him. 

.

Dick had refused to be separated from Jason. He had lost his brother once, twice and now gotten him back again, like hell he was going to let him go again. Yeah Jason was different than he used to be. He glowed, he floated, he had a fucking tail. But he was still Jason. If anything he was Jason who was almost an average of how he had been before he had first died and how he had been when he came back the first time. He laughed more, and didn’t have the same rage he had come back with, but he was clearly more mature, more dedicated to the city than he had been as Robin. 

Just as Dick refused to be away from Jason, Damian had refused to be away from Dick. Damian had been operating as Dick’s sidekick in Bludhaven and Gotham since the family separated. The two had been roommates, which was both more and less of a disaster than it could have been. Damian was significantly more fastidious than Dick would ever be and the two argued constantly about chores and cleanliness. Danny had just smiled and said that’s what siblings are like while Jazz had rolled her eyes behind him. 

So despite the fact that Dick felt the mission was too dangerous for Damian, the three of them were sneaking their way into Arkham Asylum. They were the ones with the most combined knowledge and experience dealing with Arkham and its inhabitants. Jason was helping with his ghostly powers, bypassing whole sections of the Asylum with his intangibility, while Dick and Damian, two of the more acrobatic members of the family navigated the twisting halls. 

“You know I’m kind of surprised Jazz didn’t want to join us here in Arkham, I’ve heard her talk enough about her plans for this place.” Dick said as they crept through an air duct leading to a lower level. Jason wouldn't have been able to squeeze through before, but now it was simplicity itself to change his ghost form to be smaller and slip through without even needing intangibility. 

“She feels it's inappropriate to assault people she wants to provide mental health care for.” Jason whispered as he smacked Dick’s head with his tail. “Believe me, I’ve heard enough of her rants on how to properly care for the patients here.” 

Dick was about to respond when Damian jabbed him in the ankle. 

“Richard, please remember that despite being a red head she is not a suitable romantic partner.” Damian hissed. 

“Hey just because I dated Babs, doesn’t mean-”

“And Kori.” Jason interrupted. 

“And the marginally less annoying Flash protege.” Damian replied in his usual deadpan. 

“I feel like I’m being bullied.” Dick whined. “I didn’t know that this mission would mean two of my baby brothers ganging up on me.” 

The three of them dropped down into a cell block and hoped that their luck would hold out and the inmates wouldn’t riot. Danny had said that the magic that cursed this place could sense their intentions and fight to protect itself with whatever it had available, almost like a living thing, most dangerous when backed into a corner. 

“And I don’t know why you’re so worried about me! Tim was the one who had fought tooth and nail to be on her team.” Dick continued trying to defend himself. 

“Well, yes, of course. Drake wanted to inquire about the technology in the mechanical suit she had brought.” 

“Oh that’s a bad idea.” Jason said, freezing in his spot as with a screeching clang the cell doors around them opened, freeing the surrounding inmates. Jason allowed his ecto energy to blaze to light at his fists. 

“Really? Why?” Dick pulled out his escrima sticks and activated the electricity. Damian immediately put his back against Dick’s just like they would do when they were Batman and Robin. 

“Because Jazz hates shop talk. She can’t stand when Danny and I get into it.” 

Anything else was cut off by the surrounding inmates rushing the trio. 

.

“I’m just saying, claiming to be the most mentally healthy in a family of vigilantes is not really the claim you think it is. It’s like saying you’re the fastest snail at the snail race because you’re a slug.” Jazz explained to Duke as they trekked through the muddy swamp water. 

Slaughter Swamp hadn’t shown itself to be the most dangerous location to navigate just yet, but it did seem to be the most messy. Tim had ended up taking his cape off, because it was just dragging in the mud behind him. Duke was glad for once that he didn’t follow the rest of the family with their love of capes, though he had no idea how long it would take to clean the mud out of the cracks in his armor, and if they didn’t get out of this swamp soon he would definitely get trench foot from the water in his boots. 

Jazz was doing both better and worse than Duke and Tim were. On the one hand the mechanized suit she wore was completely sealed and she could survive in any environment, including deep under water and in outer space. Duke wasn’t quite certain he wanted to know exactly how she knew that. On the other hand, the suit was heavy, and she was frequently wading up to her waist in mud and had to use the thrusters built into the back of the suit and a grapple cannon built into one of the arms to pull herself free. 

Tim had tried to get Jazz talking about how the suit was built by asking how it stayed so clean, as the mud and algae seemed to just slough off without leaving any trace, but she had just loudly groaned about hating “shop talk” and started interrogating them on their self-care habits and mental health.

“I think it’s important for any teenaged vigilante to consider what else they want to be doing with their lives.” Jazz said. She was also talking completely calmly while fending off strangely aggressive crocodiles. “If you want to commit wholly to fighting crime that’s great! But if there’s something else you want to do, you need to consider how best to balance your vigilante work and the rest of your life.” 

She gently tossed a crocodile into a nearby swamp patch where the reptile seemed to decide it wasn’t interested in prey that was that tough. Duke couldn’t help but be reminded of the times Damian had to fend off Alfred the Cat from walking across his latest canvas. He would gently bowl the cat down the hallway and Alfred would scamper back excited to play. 

“You know, I’m surprised you’re not trying to convince us to stop being vigilantes.” Duke said. 

Tim looked a tad defensive as if was ready to bust out his powerpoint presentation on why he needed to be on the streets right there in the swamp. Duke thought that was probably exactly what he was willing to do. 

“Oh, I’ve dealt with teenaged vigilantes for long enough to know that isn’t going to happen.” Jazz said dismissively. “Any attempt to convince you would just push you away. Besides you two and Stephanie are the ones who chose this role, you’re only going to stop when you decide you’ve done enough.” 

“Wha- Wait. How do you know that?” Tim’s suspicious glare was somewhat lessened by the vine he had been using to pull himself forward breaking and dropping into the swamp, dropping him on his ass in the mud as well. 

“Danny and I have basically adopted Jason.” Jazz smiled as she lifted Tim out of the mire and set him on a nearby log. Duke couldn’t help thinking of Alfred the Cat again. “Of course we talked about the other members of our families!” 

“He shouldn’t be talking about our secret identities!” Tim snapped from where he was now crouching on a log. 

“He didn’t.” Jazz blocked a bite from another crocodile with her armored forearm. “But my brother had been one of only three half ghosts in existence and I was still able to put together that Phantom was his superhero identity, you think I wouldn’t be able to piece together the world famous Waynes?” 

“Well when you put it like that, it almost makes it seem a waste of time to maintain a secret identity at all.” Duke muttered, as he flash banged another pair of crocodiles then used his umbra kinesis to shove a couple of venomous snakes away from him. 

Jazz just shrugged. “That’s a choice only you can make, just know Danny, Jason and I will support you no matter what you choose.” She paused to glance around. “Get ready, we're close.” 

“Solomon Grundy,” A harsh, guttural voice was accompanied by a portion of the swamp rising up. 

“Born on a Monday,” The earth and mulch fell away to reveal the giant zombie. 

“Christened on a Tuesday,” Tim used his grapple to pull himself up into a tree. 

“Married on a Wednesday,” Duke moved to flank Grundy as Jazz braced herself. 

“Took ill on a Thursday,” Grundy finished pulling himself free of the mud. 

“I am Princess of the Infinite Realms, Lady Protector of the King-”

“Died on a Saturday,” Grundy charged and Jazz met him, the two of them crashing together and sending waves through the swamp water. 

“And I swear on the grave of my brother that your darkness ends here!” Jazz shouted as she wrestled with Grundy. 

.

Stephanie jogged through the sewers under Gotham alongside Danny and Cassandra. Cass had been the most opposed to her family splitting up with all these dangerous missions, and had desperately searched for any way they could hit the targets one after another. Even now, Steph could tell that she was uncomfortable having her family so far away. Especially since between magical interference and the layers of concrete over their heads their comms were all but useless. 

However once it became clear that splitting up was the only way to go, Cass had immediately switched to insisting on traveling with Danny. Steph wasn’t certain if she thought he was a threat they needed to keep an eye on or if he was a new brother that they needed to get to know first. So Stephanie had of course tagged along. 

She wouldn’t admit to anyone, though she was certain Cass could tell, but Steph was terrified. Ever since she had found out that Bruce had killed Jason, she’d been terrified. Terrified that someone else would die at his hand, terrified that they would turn on each other in his absence, terrified that they would all break apart and go their own ways. Cass could easily leave her behind and return to Hong Kong, and Steph didn’t think she would survive that. 

So when Cass all but demanded that she and Danny would descend into the Gotham sewers to face down the Court of Owls, Steph jumped to accompany her. Anything to stay by her side for a little while longer. She couldn’t tell if she desperately wanted Cass to confront her about what her body language must be screaming or if she was just as terrified of the confrontation as she was about what she thought would follow after. 

The trio were following a small green glowing blob as they ran through the sewers. Steph had never seen anything quite like the little guy, but Cass seemed to appreciate how cuddly the little slime was. 

“So how does this thing know where the Court is? Isn’t the entrance supposed to be super hidden down here?” Steph asked, unable to resist her questions. 

“As soon as I knew one of the curse anchors was located down here I sent just about every blob ghost in the city into the sewers.” Danny said. He grabbed both girls by the backs of their uniforms and lifted them up over a stream of water, flying effortlessly even with both of them in hand, before setting them down on the other side and continuing to follow the blob though now he was flying and had a tail instead of legs. “They would find every hidden corner and passage and saturate the whole area with ectoplasm. I’ll always find my way if an area has enough ectoplasm around.” 

He then glanced nervously over his shoulder before continuing in a quieter voice. 

“If you ask Jazz about that, she’ll be quick to tell you about the number of times I’ve lost my own castle in the Infinite Realms, but please remember I had only been king for like two months when that happened.” 

Cass silently giggled and Steph chuckled as softly as she could. 

It was only a few more minutes after that when they found a sigil in the shape of an owl on the wall. Danny moved up until his nose was almost touching the beak of the owl as he closely examined it. He took in every detail of the carving as he lightly traced his fingers across it. 

“Couldn’t you, I don’t know, just ghost your way through it?” Steph asked, keeping her voice soft. Cass had turned to keep an eye on their surroundings to make sure no one snuck up on them. 

“Oh I could, but it’s a bad habit to get into.” Danny whispered. Then he pushed his fingers into two parts of the carving causing an audible click, and though the carving didn’t move he still grinned and his eyes glowed brighter. “The old ghost King, Pariah, filled his keep with secret passageways like this, since it was all made of ectoplasm the other ghosts couldn’t phase through it. But I could. Turns out he was also a fan of leaving deranged traps just in case someone got through the door. Sometimes it's better to just unlock a door, than to be surprised by what's on the other side.”

His grin turned slightly maniacal as he slipped his finger into a hole Steph hadn’t noticed. Another click sounded and the entire carving slid to the side. Steph and Cass followed him through into the room beyond. He turned to look at the blob at his side. 

“Are all members of the Court here?” He asked it, and the blob bobbed up and down like it was nodding. Then Danny slapped his hand to the wall next to the entrance and Steph could feel a weight settle on them as an obsidian crown burned into existence above his head. “Seal this place and these vaults, none may enter, none may leave, by order of the King.” 

His words seemed to layer over each other and shriek through her head, rattling her bones with their force. Ice crackled out from his hand and spread across the door. Steph doubted that ice put in place by order of the Ghost King would be easy to melt. Danny cracked his neck and shook out his shoulders and the sounds of running feet raced toward them. He paused and cocked his head like he was listening. 

“The others have engaged their curses. Now it's our turn.”  His grin stretched into the territory of other worldly. Steph pulled out a pair of brass knuckles and Cass settled into a fighting crouch as the assassin hoard of the Court of Owls, the Talons started pouring out of openings in the rock to find the intruders. 

.

Jason charged through another group of thugs, sending them tumbling to the ground like bowling pins. He was trying to preserve his power, because Danny and Jazz didn’t know exactly what the curse would need to break. Fighting through the bowels of Arkham Asylum with his brothers once more by his side filled him with joy and he could feel his core blazing with life inside him. 

By that time almost every inmate in the asylum was free. Some were rioting on the upper floors, keeping the guards and warden busy, but most of the rest of the small fries seemed focused on stopping Jason, Damian and Dick. 

Their usual rogues seemed to be on a completely different spectrum from the regular thugs. Riddler had given them a jaunty wave from where he was reading in his cell. Poison Ivy had given them a nod as she passed them heading in the other direction, no doubt to meet up with Harley and bust out together. Two Face had flipped a coin once they were within sight and after looking at it simply settled back on his cot. Jason wondered if their own obsessions prevented the curse of Arkham from directly influencing them like it was doing with the rest of the rabble. 

Even the ones who either were so weak willed that they had to engage the trio or were simply taking advantage of the chaos were less effective than usual. Bane had led a break-in into the Arkham lock-up and freed his Venom injectors, however when he had charged them, Jason had phased through his body and ripped the injectors off his back. He was subdued quickly after that. 

Scarecrow attempted to utilize a new Fear Toxin that he had probably brewed in his damn toilet, but Jason didn’t need to breathe and while he focused on maintaining an ecto shield around the heads of his brothers, Damian and Dick focused on beating the snot out of Crane. 

They were almost at the heart of Arkham, and Jason could feel they were drawing closer to the curse anchor they were seeking when the Asylum pulled out one last trick. 

“Ah, a ghost!” Mad Hatter cheered when he saw them, he had a simple hat on his head made out of paper. “I had wondered if I would see one!” 

“Give it up Tetch! You’re no match for the three of us.” Dick shouted, stepping forward. 

“Oh ho ho! Maybe not, but a fellow master of bending weaker minds, my good friend Frederich, let me in on a little secret after the clown laughed his last!” Hatter said, his eyes wide with glee. Then he began a rapid fire chanting in a strange language that had the words layering over each other. 

Jason felt his brain go fuzzy, almost like his pit rage, but worse, so much worse. All he could see was red, and there were two pests near him that he had to destroy. He charged, swinging wildly at the larger, a horrible howl tearing out of his throat. 

A distant, hidden part of his mind rebelled against what was happening. That was his brother! He never wanted his siblings’ blood on his hands again. Yet still he swung and swung again trying to rend the pest before him asunder. 

The pest before him fell and Jason dove to tear him apart. However before he could touch him, Jason pulled back on his mind with all of his strength. Every ounce of mental strength he had used to control his pit rage at its worst. The same strength that had called Danny to him and had bent the entirety of the Infinite Realms stopped his hand an inch from Dick’s face. 

A whimper and a groan made Jason lift his head from where he was glaring balefully into Dick’s eyes. They both looked over to see Damian standing over an unconscious Mad Hatter, the hat shredded at his feet. Jason quickly turned back to focus on Dick and was relieved to see that he wasn’t harmed. He sagged as the weight of what he could have done settled on him. 

“You’re ok, Jay. You were able to fight it.” Dick said, trying to prop Jason’s ghostly form up. 

“It was stronger than anything I had ever experienced.” Jason whispered hoarsely. He whipped his lips and realized he had been foaming ectoplasm at the mouth. 

“Of course it was strong. You were facing one of the curses of this city at its very heart. Daniel informed us that it would be strongest here.” Damian said dismissively as he tightly bound Hatter’s hands. 

“Still it’s something I should probably talk to Danny about later.” Jason glared at Hatter’s unconscious form, fury bleeding into his limbs again at what could have happened. “Let’s go. We’re almost there, and if we don’t stop it now, whatever we face will be stronger.” 

.

Jazz shuddered as she dodged another blow from Solomon Grundy. She could feel rage burning through her connection to both of her ghostly brothers. It was clear they were battling their own forces that were defending the curse anchors they were after. She ducked under a wide swing from Grundy and hit him back with enough force to cause him to stagger back. 

Grundy caught her follow up swing and spun, throwing her across the swamp and through several trees. Even through the Nightingale Peeler that hurt. Danny had improved the old Fenton Peeler so she could go toe to toe with Superman if she had to, not that she ever expected to need to do so. Even at his strongest, Grundy should be a cake walk to handle. 

However, she wasn’t just fighting Grundy. She was fighting the Curse of Slaughter Swamp. And the curse was doing everything it could to defend itself. She used the thrusters on the back of the Peeler to lunge back across the swamp that seemed to want to swallow her whole. Red Robin was peppering Grundy with all the different tools in his belt. Batarangs, smoke pellets, cryogrenades, anything to stall the behemoth zombie and give her time to get back into the action. 

Signal was in the more vulnerable position having avoided taking to the trees at the start of the fight. Grundy was too enraged to be able to focus on either of them, but his strength and durability wasn’t allowing the two boys to do too much damage. Duke sent a ball of light bouncing along the ground and the face plate of the Peeler darkened automatically just before the ball burst, illuminating the entire swamp. 

Grundy swung wildly, completely blind, and almost took Duke’s head off at the shoulders. Jazz blocked the next swing, feeling the force of it rattle through her whole body. Danny would need to spend a lot of time fixing up the Peeler once this was done. With Grundy still distracted and blind, Jazz pummeled him, raining body blows down on him with her empowered fists and knee strikes. He could finally focus on her enough to roar in her face, but she punched him again before he could pull his fists back. 

She couldn’t tell what kind of undead he was. She couldn’t sense any ectoplasm in him, only the curse itself gave him emotion and was the reason his personality changed each time he came back from the dead. 

Jazz ducked another blow, then channeled her body's ectoplasm through her next punch, the fist of the Peeler glowing green as she knocked Grundy back. She snarled and pushed forward, daring the Curse to come at her. She had lived 17 years in the Fenton home, caring for her brother and protecting him before she even believed ghosts were real. She wasn’t about to let some overgrown curse in a smelly gross swamp stop her. Not now, not never. 

.

The hoards of Talons never seemed to stop coming. Danny was fighting alongside Cass and Steph. Cass was practically an artist as she fought, weaving around the hoards of the undead like a dancer. Steph’s fighting style actually wasn’t that different from Danny’s. Mostly self taught, refined by a good teacher, but brutal to put enemies down and keep them down. 

He could sense Steph’s fear, fear of failure, fear of the bats turning against each other if this plan didn’t work out. He could sense Cass’s curiosity, curiosity about him and his power, curiosity about Steph and the emotions that had riled the blonde up. He could sense the fight progressing with Jazz and Jason. The Curses were weakening. 

Unfortunately, he could also sense Cass and Steph tiring. Cassandra may be the most skilled fighter Danny had ever encountered and that included Pandora who had been training for centuries, but she was still facing the seemingly endless Talons. She also kept over extending herself to keep Stephanie safe and to cover Danny’s back. He needed to end this fight and soon. 

The trill of a blob ghost drew his attention. The little blob was rapidly bobbing in the air and trilling. That was the signal he had been waiting for, every Talon the Court of Owls had was here in this fight. His eyes gleamed and he allowed the full weight and power of being the King of All Ghosts to settle on his shoulders. 

“Dead of Gotham! Kneel! For I am your King!” Danny shouted, his words layered over each other as he called upon the endless power of the Infinite Realms. 

A thunderous sound followed his order as every Talon in the Court fell to their knees at once. Cass and Steph fighting stopped mid swing, staring in awe. They could hear distant shouted orders from the members of the Court trying to reclaim control, but they couldn’t match Danny’s power. He could feel the Curse fighting him as well, but he had defeated Pariah Dark at only fourteen, a Tyrant who needed an entire council of the Ancients to stop him the first time. No Curse, no matter how old, no matter how powerful could equal Danny with the backing of the entire Realms. 

“Dead of Gotham. Hunt the members of the Court of Owls. Allow none to escape.” Danny’s order brought the Talons to their feet, their attention focused solely on him. “Ki-”

A hand on his shoulder stopped him from issuing his next order. He turned to see Cassandra glaring at him. She gripped him with one hand while she aggressively signed with the other. 

“No Killing.” 

Danny turned to face her fully. The Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire pulsing through his veins like magma. He knew his face was even more inhuman than usual. 

“You would order a king?” His voice rattled the room and all of the Talons turned to face Cass, golden eyes staring her down. She gripped his shoulder even harder, a glare visible even through her full face mask. 

“No. Killing.” Her motions were quick and abrupt, then her hand dropped to her weapons. 

Behind her Danny could see Steph nervously make herself ready to fight as well, clearly unhappy with the idea of having to fight the Eldritch Being before them on top of all the Talons, but always willing to have Cassandra’s back. 

Danny was ready to dismiss them both, to freeze them out of the way so Jason’s sisters wouldn’t be harmed, but instead he looked closer. She was completely ready to fight and die to even try to stop him from giving the order. This wasn’t some moral code, like Bruce’s. This was an obsession, written deeper, almost in her very DNA. Wouldn’t even Box Ghost attack if Danny threatened his precious boxes? 

No doubt Cass had been exposed to ectoplasm just like Jason had before his death. Her obsession would drive her with the same strength as Danny’s own. There would be no stopping her short of killing her, and even then her ghost would rise almost immediately in this ectoplasm-saturated environment and she would keep trying to stop him. He turned away from her. 

“Very well.” He addressed the Talons. “Bring me the members of the Court. Alive!” 

They raced away immediately at his order, disappearing into the twisted labyrinth of the Court. Danny took a deep breath and centered himself. He was not a tyrant. He would not become Pariah Dark. He spoke without turning to look at the two women. 

“However, their crimes are numerous, and their crimes against the dead here are even more heinous. They will face trial within the Infinite Realms.” 

He opened a portal into the Realms, directly into the prison in Phantom’s Keep. The Talons were already starting to escort richly dressed and masked members of the Court to push them through the portal. Danny took a moment watching them and he could feel Cass and Steph relax behind him. 

“Thank you, Cassandra.” Danny said softly. Not turning to look at them. “I sometimes forget myself.” 

Cass stepped up and once more set her hand on his shoulder, though this time it was softer. Steph stood on Danny’s other side. 

“You take this king shit really seriously, huh?” Steph said as more and more struggling members of the Court were dragged through the portal. 

Removing the entire Court wouldn’t solve Gotham’s problems immediately, and worse of all it would leave a power vacuum that other criminals and the super rich would seek to fill. However with the removal of the Curses that held the Spirit of Gotham in the city, she would be able to return to the Realms and heal, and Jason would be able to take her place. He would be able to fill that vacuum and protect the city rather than harm it. 

Danny could feel the power of the Curses crumbling as Jazz and Jason fought and overpowered the darkness in their locations. He took a deep breath in and held it as the last of the Court was dragged, screaming, crying and swearing through the portal. 

“Yeah I do.” Danny said, pulling the two women into side hugs, grateful that they were there. He allowed the portal to close then opened another. This one also opened up into his keep, but up near the guest rooms. “Dead of Gotham! Heed me now.” 

The Talons turned to face him. Steph stiffened but Cass just looked at them all curiously. 

“Death should have been a relief from your suffering. But because of the machinations of those in power here, it became but another form of torture. I offer you a new home. Where you can find the relief in death you didn’t find here. Where you will be cared for. And where, if you choose, you can eventually go to your permanent rest. I release you. Your choices are your own now.” 

The words of Death trembled through the air, like the vibration of a string and one by one, the Talons, under their own power for the first time in who even knew how many decades, slumped in relief as they walked through the portal into Danny’s keep. Once he was done in Gotham he would return to ensure they were cared for. 

“Let’s get back to the others. The other teams have completed their work as well.” Danny said, before he passed his intangibility to the other two and lifted them both up through the concrete and stone over their heads until they could see a new dawn rising over the city. A new dawn and a new, hopefully brighter future.

[kimchiagustd]

one week post KOA reading and not surprisingly, i am still mourning... spoilers ahead but i need to let go of all these feelings.

i miss this new family i discovered, the excitement of the next chapter or the next book, the anguish, the tears, the cliffhangers, the surprises, the couples and friendships dynamics. i miss everything about tog!

my brain is still processing aaaallllll the events of 7000 pages and a lot of things are settling when i could not process everything while still reading the books…

but to me, this saga is a masterpiece for so many reasons. as a woman, there are so many things validating in these books, i don’t even know where to begin with.

the sorority in tog is still mind blowing to me, probably my favorite part of the whole saga, that we clearly don’t talk about enough. the ending with aelin walking to meet her people with her girlfriends, marching with them as equals still gives me goosebumps. aelin and lysandra friendship (bestfriends and soulmates), aelin and ansel friendship (free young spirits), aelin and manon friendship (rivals then equal queens), aelin and yrene friendship (sisters), aelin and nesryn friendship (admiration and role models), aelin and elide friendship (bonded by fate and a love for the same kingdom) are so precious to me... i could write entire essays about them. i adore how all the female characters just fell in love with aelin, saw her vision of a better world and just followed her to the end. and then, the thirteen, do i even need te explain myself? i think a part of me will forever mourn them. the heartbreak i felt after their death is unspeakable. i never read a book with such flawed and beautiful characters. asterin (her hunter and her whichling), sorrel, vesta, imogen, ghislaine, faline, fallon, edda, briar, thea, kaya and linnea have my whole heart.

marion and josefin are branded in my very soul. their characters had so few pages but gods, how their sacrifice still resonate in me...

then the different journeys of all the characters… chaol has a special place in my heart, despite everything, despite all these things being said about him. he had so many flaws, did so many mistakes, but what a journey, what a fight against depression and disability, what an end… he was so lost and tormented throughout thousands of pages, even while being passionately in love with celeana (not aelin!), and is so appeased at the end, married and soon to be a dad… i rarely felt so proud of someone, fictional character or not. i am convinced chaol is one of the best written characters of the saga.

i read a lot of mean things about aedion too and that just broke my heart because the man redefined loyalty all by himself. he lost everything he was taught to believe in, whored himself with the enemy for his people while believing he lost his entire family and kingdom, lost every men and women in koa as a general (his very essence as a person!) and still held the line for hundreds of pages like rowan told him to do so. I. JUST. DON'T. GET. WHY. he is so hated for some fights with lysandra (that i don't excused!) in a horrific context, in the middle a many battles and thousands of casualties. just reread aedion's arc during koa : the only thing he experienced for hundreds of pages is failure, death, grief, terror and guilt, believing he failed terrasen again. LEAVE. MY. MAN. ALONE. plus, aedion is a bisexual icon, and he slayed the whole books, period.

same thing with lorcan. oh my lorcan… i won’t even begin with him but gods, what awful things i read about him… i don't know why but i fell really hard for this character, despite knowing very few things about him. he was far from being perfect, we agree on that. but what a redemption arc. him being finally at peace at the end, after 500 years of wars, (self-)hatred and being used and fooled by a valg bitch queen, made me tear up as mush as sam's death (shocking, i know but i don't make the rules).

i think, surprisingly regarding our society, people were harsher with the male characters than the female ones. aelin, manon, lysandr and elide lied and did mistakes too, yet somehow, people forgave them immediately. i think we should reflect on that.

a few words about baby dorian too... i think his end was my biggest and bitter disappointment at the end of the whole saga. i can't even tell how his ending wreaked me. he is the one character not at peace at the end of this whole journey. his city is utterly ruined, he is alone in his big castle (the very place where he lost the first woman he sincerely loved and the very place where he was enslaved) with the thought he killed the man he hated his whole life but somehow wasn't the bad guy, his friends are all married or happily in love, even manon won back the witches and her lost kingdom... but dorian is lonelier than ever and that does not sit right with me. he was such a hopeful and loving young man at the beginning of the saga but is broken at the end... i NEED a sequel, he deserves one, more than anyone.

and rowan, oh rowan... i think "love" is not strong enough to define aelin and rowan relationship. the way they overcame depression together long before falling in love with each other is one of the most beautiful thing of this saga. they just saw each other. i love how rowan accepted aelin 1000000%, flaws, scars, fire and all. i love how he never overstepped. like many people, i read acotar before tog and thought no one could surpassed rhysand but how wrong i was... to me, rowan is the best for so many reasons. he never took decisions for aelin, always respected her every moves, respected her pace, never lied to her. i am emotional writing this because him saying "aelin is my heart... my fireheart"... *sob* aelin loves rowan with every bones and cells in her body but rowan's love for aelin? i don't know, there's something about it, i can't find the right words... i don't think i'll ever find an other rowan in an other book. rowan was intensity, hatred, heartbreak, depression, longing, guilt, pain, redemption, learning, harshness, softness, falling in love, crossing an ocean for the woman he loved, giving her an armada when he had nothing, tattooing wyrdkeys in her back to bring her back to him, waiting, loving, loving, loving again and again and again. rowan is suddenly the sweetest and most beautiful name i've ever heard. rowan is love and so much more. rowan is aelin's heart and soul and the key to this new world because aelin without rowan is fear and too far gone. rowan is everything. and what i am about to write seems crazy but i think because there's so much things happening in tog, so much characters loving each other, so many couples we rooted for, we took for granted rowan's love and actions and he somehow became a secondary character - crazy, right? i think we loved passionately his character (especially in hof and qos) but somehow forgot on the way how utterly incredible and unique he is. him saying in qos aelin must build a theater in terrasen after the war and then him offering it to her as a mate / wedding gift at the end of koa? i mean, our boy is a man of his word and i love him so much for it. WE TOOK ROWAN FOR GRANTED AND DID NOT GIVE HIM ENOUGH CREDIT.

anyway, i could write so many more things about so many characters and scenes that broke me in these books (my same is sam cortland and i am not afraid) but you got the idea.

tog is the best saga i've ever read and i am not the same person anymore after reading it. i'll take time to heal. but how grateful i am i have a good run with all these characters...

[tartsinarat]

Meet Till Eulenspiegel, or Tilly

They’re a mischievous little palisman who loves spreading chaos but internally they deeply wish for a person who could fill the gap their original owner left so they’re always trying out new owners until that person gets tired of them due to their strong attitude and lack of interest in being used as a staff because they prefer to be flying about in their animal form rather than be used as a tool.

Their original owner was a huge human folklore nut (specifically German folklore) so when they carved them, he made them be a Wolpertinger which is basically the jackolope’s more chaotic looking cousin and even named them after a famous German folklore character/ possibly real person.

But their original owner got killed at some point (not too sure how but because of Tilly’s name being based on a guy who was famous for hating authority it was probably due to rebelling against the empire) and after attempting for many decades to find the perfect owner who doesn’t give up on them or find them hard to deal with and then abandon them, they ended up in the care of the bat queen.

Until Pip came along because he had to run an errand with Luz for Eda because she was too busy with other stuff to go help the bat queen.

Originally Pip wasn’t even going to come along because the bat queen has tried to kill him multiple times for reasons he doesn’t understand as he avoids being around her and palisman like if they were the plague but it’s because the bat queen senses that he’s a threat due to his curse and how there’s a palisman spirit stuck in him so she wants to kill him to avoid more palisman deaths and save the poor guy who’s stuck there but since this episode is during early season two, they really needed the snails and Pip didn’t want to just abandon Luz so he went over anyway to help out.

The bat queen didnt make too much of a fuss about Pip coming along with Luz because she needs all the help she can get. This is because a bunch of palisman that were under her care were found by scouts and were about to be delivered to Belos and she can’t leave her babies or the rest of the palisman behind just in case there’s more scouts so that’s why she needed their help.

One of the palisman who managed to escape being captured was Tilly, so they ended up guiding Luz and Pip to the rest of them but on the way they ended up taking a liking to Pip due to at first thinking he was a fair maiden (Tilly is slightly blind due to a part of her carving process going slightly wrong) because of his longer hair in comparison to Luz but ngl a funnier explanation is that Tilly immediately sensed that Pip is genderfluid before he even knew it lmaoooo.

But yeah anyways after the rescue mission goes successfully, Tilly ends up deciding to stay with Pip much to both the Bat queen’s and Pip’s disappointment because they really liked how he tricked the scouts by dressing up as one but also decided to play a couple of extremely dangerous (but only the scouts) pranks in meantime to distract the guards from noticing Luz speeding away with all of the captured palisman.

Even though Pip is extremely hesitant about the whole having a palisman thing, they still end up getting along swimmingly as Pip doesn’t really like using staffs or magic in general and so tilly is able to roam around as much as they want but they don’t actually mind being used as a staff by Pip after a while because they both end up having such a good friendship but Pip still always asks them first if they’re alright with doing a spell together or if she is comfortable with him using her to fly

Tilly is also sort of co-owned by Luz as Pip at the beginning didn’t trust himself enough to be around Tilly for long periods of time due to the trauma of being forced to munch on a palisman when he was younger so he has Luz look after them when he feels like he can’t cope with the situation at the moment.

Luz loves Tilly and takes care of them as if they were her own child/ palisman whenever she’s on palisman-sitting duty although Pip thinks she spoils Tilly too much (but to be honest Pip probably spoils her even more but doesn’t realise it.)

So Tilly really likes Luz and even occasionally allows her to use them as a staff when owlbert isn’t around.

An example of a Wolpertinger so it shows I’m not making this shit up, this one is a mix of a rabbit, deer, a squirrel and a bird but I’m not sure of what type.

In real life they’re a joke mythological creature that was created for tourism so they have the most funniest lore I’ve ever read for a myth, for example the way to catch one of these bad boys is to have a fair maiden because they have an attraction to them but on the other hand they’re also tricksters who make tourists who explore forests lose their direction and starve to death…so uh yeah there’s more to them than that but those two are my favourite traits.

Tilly is specifically a mix of a rabbit, a deer, an owl and a skunk.

The owl part has a specific reason because the literal translation of “Eulenspiegel” is owl-mirror but is also garbled version of an expression for "wipe-the-arse"… This is because of the nature the character Tilly is named after as he was a legendary German peasant who later had a bunch of folklore created due to being a insane prankster who would defy any and all authority which I think fits into Tilly’s species and personality perfectly.

As well I designed her knowing that she’ll eventually ends up as Pip’s palisman hence why theyre a hybrid (just like him) but also I think by them being part bird it’ll be something that helps him feel more comfortable about having a palisman, especially one that’s part owl who hates authority like Eda who he has a great respect for.

Oh yeah and Rip Muffin, aka the original palisman I had originally planned for Pip to have but couldn’t because Waffles was a thing in season 3 and it felt awkward to have both hunter and Pip with Blue jays, but because I’m not bothered to design another palisman oc ever again due to how much it sucks to figure out their staff forms she’s now the Palisman that Pip got forced to eat by Belos when he was younger.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Adventure: Storming the Door of Death

Having long used the energies of sundered souls to perform their rites and rituals, a coven of necromancers now seeks to create a portal to the underworld by gathering as many ghosts and other haunting spirits in one place as possible. As their experiment reaches critical mass, the sinister energies have even begun leaking into the land and sky, threatening to spill out across the land.

Hooks:

The town the party is staying in is buffeted by a supernatural storm, thunder sending ripples of unnatural fear through the populace while spectral figures stalk through the sheets of rain. Even as the bruise coloured clouds dissipate, the danger is not lifted, as the torrent seems to have brought with it an infestation of ghosts. With the local temples overtaxed putting the dead to rest, an apprentice level adventuring party could make reasonable coin ousting shadows from abandoned houses or attics above taverns, and wrangling furniture and other objects gone rogue through poltergeist activity.

While hunting a beast that’s been digging up the local cemetery, the party encounter a chipper young mystic who’s wandering through the plots collecting wayward soul wisps in an ornate lantern. She’s all too happy to talk, explaining that she’s part of a group called the order of the veils who want to help those spirits left behind by the church find peace. She’ll offer to show the party how to construct their own lantern, which will be of great aid to them should they encounter any more wayward spirits. Should the party end up “filling” one or more lanterns, she encourages them to travel to a particular clearing not far from the local crossroads and leave the lanterns hanging there for one of her fellow initiates to collect.

Several nobles and wealthy merchants with aging or sick loved ones have been surreptitiously approached by the Order of Veils for patronage, offering to one up any of the local clergy with promises regarding the afterlife: Why wait years to see your loved ones when you could have them back within your lifetime? These whispers have reached the ears of a cleric of the Raven Queen who wants the party’s help investigating this outwardly pious band. Apparently a prominent official was funding the construction of a public grave temple to honour the memory of his departed wife, but abruptly cut off his charity after the veils convinced him that his money was better used elsewhere. 

Background: Unlike other necromancers, many in the order of the veils really do believe (at least in part) that they’re doing something good,  providing succour and sanctuary for souls that’ve gone unclaimed by the divine or lost on the path to the afterlife. Their leadership has grander ambitions however, as the (self appointed) Deacon Maudry and her inner circle grow ever closer to opening a door into death itself. With such a portal, they imagine they will be able to step across the threshold of mortality with ease, not only able to return endlessly from death but to extract kingly ransoms from those who wish to do the same.

 On paper their scheme is surprisingly sound: hauntings have been known to create “lowspots” between the land of the living and the dead, and portals have spontaneously formed between the two realms when the conditions were right.  Get enough ghosts to induce the sinking effect, throw up some dimensional and necromatic wards, and it seems like you’d have a ready made portal into death. However, Maudry and co are brainpoisoned by a) reading nothing but necromancy literature for years b) being up their own asses and have failed to realize that once their chosen gateway ( a grand country manor abandoned after terrible murders took place) begins sinking into the shadowfell, they won’t be able to stop it, and will very likely drag them and everything within a few miles down with it and possibly create a new dread realm in the process.

[shadowgeist-stars]

There's something I wish we talked more about...

Everyone likes wondering about how the big "Lamiroir is actually Thalassa Gramarye and Trucy and Apollo are her kids" reveal would affect our oblivious pair of half-siblings. But I noticed that a grand total of NO ONE thinks about how certain other characters would also take the news. Mainly in Apollo's Khura'in family. (There will be SoJ spoilers below)

Let's start with an easy one. Datz.

He already knows Apollo (as "AJ"), and it looks like he meets Trucy when saving Apollo and Dhurke from the undersea cavern. Obviously a generally fun-loving fellow who I bet would happily call Trucy an honorary Defiant Dragon if he caught wind of her being Apollo's sister. Doubly so when remembering she managed to stow away in Edgeworth's luggage to reach Khura'in. (Rule-breakers need to stick together!) He'd probably also assign her some kind of nickname like TW or something, and consider himself her new uncle. He also seems like the only one crazy enough to willfully be Trucy's magic assistant/guinea pig, which would spare Apollo and Athena.

Then comes Rayfa, our dear crown princess.

While not as emotionally invested as her brother (and we'll get to him), it would be a surprise to learn that "Horn Head" has a little sister. And it just so happens to be the girl with the strange blue hat who was watching from the gallery during the trial that got Ga'ran deposed. While a bit upset that she never really got to talk to her back then, Rayfa would be fairly alright with seeing Trucy as a sister of some kind... and discuss with her the ways of pestering both of their brothers all in good fun.

Of course, Trucy would be over the moon to the mere idea of calling Rayfa her little sister, especially when she's a literal princess on the road to being queen. Their personalities could bounce off of each other surprisingly well, and maybe Trucy can help Rayfa swallow enough of her pride to actually call either of the boys "brother." And thanks to Phoenix's connections to Maya and Pearl, Trucy knows other spirit mediums who might be able to help Rayfa in her training.

And now we get to someone with a bit more... complicated stake in the matter, and honestly the meat and potatoes for this whole post: Nahyuta.

Being completely honest here, I think our dear Last Rites Prosecutor would take this news as a complete slap in the face. "Let it go and move on" mantra be damned, he'd basically be told "Hey, remember your first case against Apollo? With that magician girl you tried to get convicted for murder who turned out to have been framed? Yeah, she's actually your brother's sister, which also kinda makes her your sister by proxy. You unknowingly tried to get your own sister condemned for murder and quite possibly put on death row." (Since, y'know, capital punishment's still a thing in Ace Attorney L.A.)

Even if we almost never see our Not Guilty defendants hold a grudge against the prosecutors, Nahyuta's entire deal in Spirit of Justice was doing everything he possibly could to protect his baby sister and his mom, being unnecessarily harsh with the defense and the accused in the process. So finding out that he tried to condemn someone who could be considered part of his family on a false charge wouldn't be without consequence. (Turnabout Revolution only proved that because of his parents' direct involvement.)

Undoubtedly, he'd see fit to apologize to Trucy personally upon learning about her being Apollo's little sister, and would do so at his earliest convenience. But we can all be certain that she'd gladly accept him as another big brother regardless of any perceived "past transgressions." There would be hugs involved, I'm sure, and Nahyuta would be able to... possibly bring out the protective and caring big brother he was supposed to be from the very beginning.

Side note: Y'know this here lightning thing you see with Amara when she gets mad? And also Dhurke's dragon glare when he goes Mad Dad on Paul Atishon?

I get the feeling Nahyuta would inherit either or both of their little tricks to some extent when his big brother instinct REALLY kicks into high gear.

[etincelleart]

i would like to know...

what exactly in v9 change your opinion about penny?

*cracks my fingers*

So, basically so far the message that I understood from RWBY was kinda always the same, always coming back in different ways but still : the balance of life and death, like in our world. The thing is that in RWBY it always has been THE rule, especially after The Lost Fable in Volume 6 where we saw the "Gods" ideas about it, it was their main rule. The spirits of the Relics also work according to the same rule, just like Ambrosius who can't bring people back from the dead (I think he could do it, but the rule doesn't allow him to do so).

But even at that moment I was a bit conflicted because the "Gods" didn't seem to be on the same page about this rule. The God of Darkness decided to revive Ozma even if he probably knew about the rule, but he still decided to ignore it because his ego was flattered because Salem went to him. Then the God of Light comes, they fight like child, and they break their own rule multiple times while arguing. They acted like children, made Ozma and Salem suffer and then went like "oh you have to understand the balance of life and death", this seems pretty horrible and completely selfish to me aha, but that's another topic-

So we knew the Gods weren't perfect, but they were still the "Gods". I say "Gods" because in Volume 9 we learn they aren't the real Gods of the RWBY universe, but simply Afterans who had more powers than others, who evolved and decided to experiment and create. But they are still Afterans. They aren't perfect and they aren't allowed to talk about balance when they fought each other from the very beginning after creating the Cat and the Jabberwalker.

In fact, the real RWBY God is a Tree represented in a human form as the Blacksmith, who's a sort of avatar I imagine. But even she/they said that her being the Tree was a simplistic view of what is the Tree and what it does. This avatar is gentle, and most importantly, they're from a world where death doesn't exist.

This still seems pretty wild to me to discover in the RWBY universe a place where people just don't die. They change, they evolve, they are reborn but they don't die. Their soul isn't lost like in Remnant. They go back to the very original place, where everything started, and come back different. It can be understood as some form of death, but it's still a different process than on Remnant.

So, about Penny, I'm not saying she'll definitely have a revival but a lot of things start to make me believe this could be the case, maybe in the near future, OR at the end of the series, because I imagine the Brothers/"Gods" will return to Remnant and the Tree might play its part too.

Knowing all of this BIG part of RWBY's lore now just makes me think that we just discovered such a big thing. The Brothers are so stricts about the life and death rule (that they don't even respect), and I never thought what we learned in V9 would truly be a thing. So RWBY's universe is so much more now, it's not just about it, it's about other worlds and about the Ever After that is this origin, the center of everything. It feels almost like if I had blinkers and suddenly woah, a whole new part of the story we didn't know or expected is here, and now I have like a million questions aha.

For Penny specifically, before Volume 9 I was kinda okay with the fact that she died, and was expecting her death to be announced and to be a big thing for Ruby. But we really got SO MUCH hints and references, almost every chapter except 4, 9 and 10. In a world where death doesn't exist, I think it's kinda odd we have so much references (even if it's mostly for Ruby's pain). Like, when you take a step back and look at the overall arcs and story : Penny' always been in terrible situations that ended by death. Even in V8 her "choice" in the finale doesn't really feel like one to me. Penny's never been near any of her goal and she never had the time or opportunity to do so. She was always too busy to fight for people she cared about, or just fighting to survive, to have her chance, but never truly succeeded. It just feel like her arc isn't done, and again when you watch it with an overall view, we see V7-9 being a big arc for her that only led to tragedies (got framed at the election, got the powers she didn't want, got hacked, and then got stabbed and killed).

After seeing Little being killed and come back as Somewhat, even without their memories but still remembering deep down, I have more faith about the fact that character's death don't undo any suffering or trauma the characters went through, or don't change anything for the viewer. We got some weird parts in V9 (I talked about it more in details in another post) that are a bit unclear, and I think deliberately open to the viewer for interpretation. At least this is how it feels to me. I'm thinking about the Blacksmith saying to Ruby about Penny's sword : "nothing, no one, is ever truly lost". This could mean so much things omg. And knowing how much CRWBY loves details and foreshadowing, maybe it means something for later.

Anyway, there's also the fact that at the end of Volume 9, we see Vacuo and Amity Collosseum is there. Which means that Pietro and Maria probably made it to Vacuo. But Pietro without Penny, it feels weird and so sad to me. I talked about it in other posts as well but he's already the kind of man to sacrifice parts of himself to create Penny, and remake her a second time after losing her. Would he really be able to resist to try to remake her a 3rd time ? Would he really not do that ? Pietro is also important in the series because of his connexion and bond to Penny. And I really don't think he wouldn't at least try to remake her, even if that would mean sacrificing himself...

In general, this is the RWBY lore expension and all the hints that we got that kinda made me change my mind. We had V8 that ended in a tragic way with Penny's death, and we go back with a whole volume about rebirth ? This is kinda odd to me aha

Also, I thought again about some lines from Volume 8, and again knowing how much CRWBY like to foreshadow things and add little details here and there, I'm thinking that Pietro might meet Ambrosius some day at some point. Ambrosius said that he'd love to meet him, so idk maybe, that would be really great-

There's also the fact that Ruby said to Ambrosius "We kinda want to keep her longer than that", and we saw in the finale how much Ambrosius took everything that is said to him literally. Who knows if he didn't do something with Penny to help her to remain resistant ? And this line as well, "we go to Vacuo, all of us", and it's again odd that Penny can't go in the end. Idk maybe I'm biased but I just would love that aha.

Ruby and Penny's journey together are also very important in both of their arc, and as much as I think Nuts and Dolts is endgame, both being together despite everything would be a really beautiful message, a light of hope, and they would both have a really great influence on each other.

I could continue for a long time aha but I'm tired, there are just so much things in V9 that helped me to think this might not be just over yet for her. Hope you enjoyed the reading !

[sombredancer]

How to fight your doom (Pt.1)

Episodes 1-7 I LOVE how this story starts (because the beginning circles up with the end like Ouroboros)! The Girl breaks the Heavenly rules to save her beloved one and changes his fate, so he wouldn`t die from Devil`s shattered primordial spirit attack. Because of that she falls right into the arms (and onto the lips) of the Worst Monster in Three Realms. And CURES him.

She gathers his shattered in 7 pieces soul (it`s very Chinese thing, I often see in novels that immortal beings have 7 souls and 9 spirits or something like that), puts it back into his body and heals even those injuries that were caused by his father long before his "death". This beginning feels right. Their journey starts with curing and IS about curing each other in different ways.

Devil is allpowerful and fearsome but also feral and broken, so the only way for him to accept his chance to be cured is to put him into the situation when he is forced to behave in another, unfamiliar way. So there is a curse that helps him to understand feelings that he`s gonna be able to feel for the first time in 38 thousand years and prevents him from his standart way to solve problems (such as to kill the girl).

(Btw I LOVE how this show is accurate to the details: if she is injured, the same bruises we can see the whole day on her as on him.)

Forced to take care of Girl`s safety and mood, he (with the great killing intent) learns how to do nice things to others and to be empathic.

But he is not thrown out into the endless sea of feelings without lifebelt, Girl guides him, explains to him what`s going on with him (and he can`t even kill her for that, LOL). And some feelings he needs to learn by his own. (Later we will see that he is an exellent student and embraces his ability to feel and to love fully).

I like how entangled the most part of their relationship look like: he is forced to do nice things to Girl and in process starts to ask himself, why does she feel what she feels and why does he feel something about it. Why does he care if she is happy not to see him again ever in her life? Why does she blush when she speaks about her dream beloved? Why does she drink his flower soup when it tastes awful? We can see even tiny green sprouts of jelousy start to grow in his heart little by little (it`s not so much about romance, but about his warrior`s fame at first). Only by force he could begin to think about it and the curse helps him with that a lot.

On the other hand, Girl is very naïve, she doesn`t understand that Devil is Devil indeed and that he forced to be nice to her, so she supposes that he really likes her. Her soul is injured too: she has been bullied by other fairies, she lives all alone, no one takes her words seriosly, she is quite ordinary, quite invisible. And Devil gives her (against his will at first) opportunity to feel how it is when someone cares. It could be wicked cheating of fate if Devil would not be so fluffy and soft in his soul. But he is.

[thekingofwinterblog]

Did Mrs Albarn Kill herself? - A Soul Eater Theory

So one of the oldest fan theories for Soul Eater was that Mrs Albarn was actually dead, and it was her husband who had been sending the postcards.

This theory had some degree of logic behind it, and if true, would explain Maka's complete and total inability to confront her Mother leaving her, and the incredible viciousness she has for her father.

However, while a nice fan theory, it didnt ultimately pan out, and frankly speaking, doesnt really fit in with the themes of the series.

However, there is another idea that i have been thinking about, that makes arguably more sense, would fit in with everything we are shown, and would make Maka's relationship with her mother's postcard even more poignant.

The theory is simple.

After sending the final postcard, lady Albarn took her own life.

Now there isn't actually any smoking guns, but when i began dissecting it, and the specific episode where Maka gets the postcard, i began considering things in a new light.

In this episode we learn that there has been a long time since Maka's mother sent her a postcard, only for her to suddenly send her one after madness began to infest the world in force.

Now while Maka focuses on how happy getting it feels, this new development leads to a few questions.

Number 1, why did mrs Albarn suddenly, and with no warning stop sending any of the postcards that was her only real line back to Maka?

She broke them off at some point, and only sent another one because of development in the world she could not ignore.

2. Why did she not come directly back home, given just how dire the world was at this point?

3. What was her actual meaning with the world Courage?

Well, to cover this in full, and to explain the meat of the theory, lets dissect her actions.

Maka's mother left Death city completely after winning custody of Maka, only to in turn abandon her own child.

She then begins traveling the world, while only sending postcarda back to Maka to show where she traveled. Not letters mind you, just postcards usually withouth writing on them.

At some point, likely after Asura was released, she stopped sending cards alltogether... Only to finally send one, this with the words courage written on it, directly after Arachne released Asura's full madness upon the world.

We never hear anything from her after this.

Maka and Spirit both assume that she is fine, as her soul would surely be strong enough to not fall to maddness... But is that actuqlly backed up by anything?

Justin Law was similarily assessed as being above Madness, but the moment he came into contact with a clown, he folded like tissue... Because he had long ago left behind actual human bonds that could have strengthened his soul.

Mrs Albarn is even worse in this regard.

After a messy, painfull marriage, and a divorce, she deliberately left behind everyone and everything she had, abandoning her own child in the process.

This is not the actions of someone in good mental shape.

This is the actions of someone who couldn't handle her life anymore, so she left to try and pretend her problems weren't there.

Honestly, while Maka drew strength from them, it's hard to not read her method of communication with her own child as a thing fueled by guilt.

She knew that she had to keep in contact with Maka, but was too scared and/or guilty to actually talk or communicate with her.

So she sent postcards. Safe, unchallenging postcards where she didnt have to risk open her heart again.

Then for some reason, when mental illnesses begins to get worse, she stops sending even the postcards.

Her mental state probably deteriorated at this point... But she was still alive, even if for some reason she stayed away even as things got at their worst... Then we get the final letter.

She sends her child a letter from Iran, with the word Courage written on it in the local dialect... And thats the last we ever hear of Mrs Albarn.

One final message, a simply postcard telling Maka to focus on courage, the one thing her mother abandoned as she left her home behind, and total madness, fear and depression begins to seep in for real into the entire worls in strength.

It's not exactly outside of the realm of possibility, that at this pount, alone, probably hating herself for abandoning her child, regret and sadness over her broken homelife, and realising that she was too much of a coward to go home and help... As this would involve seeing Maka and Spirit again, Maka's mother might have given in completely to Asura's madness, and simply ended it all, alone, eith no friends or comrades at her side.

[littlefeatherwitch]

𝓢𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝟎𝟓 : 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

Chapter 06 of The five stages of grief

Wanda maximoff x fem!reader

Tags / Warnings : no smut, death, major character death

Word count : 2k

Summary : When you die you learn that grief is not only for the living and that there is a certain stage to go through before you really pass to the other side. A fiction based on the 5 stages of grief, a chapter will correspond to a stage. There will be 6 chapters, the first one is reserved for the introduction of this fiction.

This is the final stage of the grieving process. The person accepts the situation, comes to terms with it and begins to rebuild a normal life.

The person begins to regain their energy and to come out of their isolation. Life is reorganized without the lost person.

The person reaches the final stage of grief, where he or she is neither depressed nor angry about what has become of their reality.

_______________________

The period of depression in the stages of grief lasted about two years for Wanda, in fact when Yelena did not see her friend come back to New York after the summer vacations she was worried about the redhead. The Sokovian seemed to be struggling with some kind of deep depression, although the first year she refused to get help and stay at the cottage, Yelena had managed to convince her to come back to New York about a year after she left. 

Once in New York, Wanda began to try to get her life back on track, joining a support group for the loved ones of the deceased that she attended every week. She started seeing several therapists until she found the right one; Yelena was watching over her as were your parents and the Russian woman's parents. 

You continued to have gateway dreams whenever you felt that Wanda's spirit was calling to you, helping her to move forward.

Finally at the end of this second year, Wanda seemed to be moving forward, she was starting to eat properly again and to go out. She had even found a job as a psychologist in the small town of Westview, it was Agatha, the psychic with whom she had kept in touch, who had informed her that the town was looking for people qualified in psychology and she had immediately thought of Wanda. Moreover, the small house next to the psychic's had been vacant for a few years, since it had been abandoned. 

The Sokovian had decided that it would be a good thing to move, leaving New York behind her. She had sold the apartment in which you had shared so many memories together and had moved to Yelena's house, the time to make the house in Westview a minimum of habitable. 

Wanda went to Westview at least three times a month to check on the progress of the work, moving a few things of her own each time she went. So a few months later she made her last trip to this small town in New Jersey accompanied by Yelena, meaning that she was really moving out. The two women carried the boxes from the two cars into the house, which was painted in a vintage style that suited Wanda's style perfectly. You watched her move her things into each room with the help of the Russian woman; every now and then the redhead would slip a frame here and there that contained a picture of the two of you but there was no pain in the green of her eyes anymore, only nostalgia. Sometimes she felt a twinge of sadness when she thought of how much you would have loved this place but nothing like the pain she had gone through in the 4 years since your death.

Now you could see a fulfilled woman day by day and you knew that soon you would leave the world of grief behind to discover what was next. Your own heart was soothed knowing that you were leaving behind a fulfilled and happy Wanda. Yelena had continued her studies as an FBI agent, which you found to be a good fit. 

Your friends met at least four times a month, delighted to live only two hours away from each other, and once a month they each came to visit your grave and that of your other friends, bringing vodka and grenadine to remind them of your high school parties.

After moving house, Wanda had found an envelope hidden in one of her favorite books with her name written on it in handwritten letters, and she immediately recognized your handwriting. She didn't have the strength to open it on her own, so she waited to come to your grave alone to open it, needing to feel as close to you as possible when she read it. 

That evening had arrived, her hands trembled slightly, not knowing what she would discover; she took a deep breath to summon the courage to read it. The letter was dated a few weeks after your first kiss with the redhead, which surprised her since it had been almost 10 years. 

𝓦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 ; 

I don't know how old we'll be when you read this letter, or if we were still talking, I just know that my illness will have taken me without me being able to do anything about it. I know you'll have done everything you could to get me into hospital, but I know it's pointless, the doctors explained it to me long ago, so I don't want you to feel guilty about it. 

I know I should have told you about my illness, but I never had the courage; after so much loss I couldn't add my name to the list, if I had warned you about this illness that would one day cost me my life you would have waited every day for that day to come and you wouldn't have enjoyed all those little moments of happiness we had. I know you need an explanation, so here it is: 

As a child I had a simple flu but ended up in hospital; the doctors realized I had a problem, my blood wasn't circulating properly to my heart, so they gave me a treatment that worked for years. When I got to high school a few weeks after we got together, I fell ill again and immediately told my parents, who took me to hospital. 

At that time, I was simply given a new treatment; the doctors considered the operation as a last resort, but there was very little chance that it would work and a lot of chance that I would die during the operation. So here I am, as long as this treatment works, I'll live to see the day when it doesn't. I'll have to try this operation unless a new treatment appears in the meantime, although it would have to be compatible with me. 

I promised myself I'd try to get away from you, to leave before your feelings become too important for me, even though I know it's already too late. I don't want you to suffer because of me so if I have to see you away from me falling in love with someone else I will; at least I hope I have the courage to do so. You've already lost so many people you cared about, I think it'll be easier if we've broken up because somewhere along the line you'll already have mourned me. 

There's things I wanna say to you but I'll just let you live... 

I'm sorry I'm not there anymore, no matter what we were to each other know that I still love you; I don't know what's after death but I know it can never separate us. I want you to realize your dreams, to have the life you've always dreamed of, even if I'm no longer a part of it. 

My feelings will survive this sunset and they can never cease, day, night, life, death... nothing can make me stop loving you.

Y/n

Her tears flowed, realizing that all these years you knew there was always a risk of dying and yet you'd never told her simply because you wanted to let her enjoy you as if you were both eternal.

On your side Natasha had appeared telling you that it was time for you to leave the world of grief and go join them on the other side. You didn't understand who she was talking about until you followed her and noticed all your friends gone too soon. 

"y/n how are you?" asked Pietro immediately taking you in his arms while Vision waited his turn to hug you 

"I'm fine, the last few years have been hard but now I'm fine" you replied with a smile on your face as Vision hugged you. 

"Welcome among us Detka" Natasha whispered in your ear

The world around you looked more or less as you had imagined it would, everything seemed calmer than you would have described if you had been asked what the world of the dead looked like while you were alive.

~

Some years later : 

"Hey come and see!" cried Vision as a sort of off-white smoke screen allowed you to see the world of the living as if you had a window

"What are they celebrating?" asked Pietro as he bent down to look. 

Wanda and Yelena were dancing around the tombs of the four of you, shaking a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne that spilled over the various marble stones as the two women laughed with euphoric faces that were almost disconnected from reality. Suddenly this cold and austere place that was the cemetery seemed to suddenly light up with joy and happiness. 

"We know," Natasha taunted, grabbing your shoulders as she made her way to the boys. 

"You cheated" to accuse Pietro pointing an accusing finger at you both

"Well I wouldn't say we cheated, I'd say we got ahead of ourselves" you said with a smirk 

"Well then what are they celebrating?" said an impatient Vision who was still trying to understand the scene that was unfolding before your eyes 

"Yelena got her place in the FBI" you announced quickly cut by Natasha 

"And Wanda got her own psychologist practice and on top of that she is pregnant with twins!" 

"My sister is pregnant with twins" asked Pietro as the news seemed to surprise him

"Yes she did, and since I had Miss Romanoff's permission I went to visit her in her dreams yesterday so I even know my children's names" you chuckled making fun of Pietro who absolutely wanted to know what his nephews were going to be called 

"What do I get in return if I give you their names" you teased trying to escape the young man who was trying to catch you to tickle you 

"Uh- well- you get everything you want" 

"Perfect, then I want to be tickled until these adorable little guys are born" you said 

"For nine months?!" 

"Take it or leave it" you laughed 

"Well that's okay". 

"Real kids" Natasha giggled as she gave Vision a pat on the back while both of them couldn't help but laugh as they watched you and Pietro bicker 

"One will be named Tommy and the other Billy; sorry but neither of them will be named Piet'" you teased as you dropped sitting in front of the smoke screen watching how happy your girlfriend looked.

That evening you decided to go back and visit Wanda in her dreams, you knew she didn't need to and so it was kind of against the rules but you wanted to congratulate her on her pregnancy and make sure she was okay after that day with Yelena in the cemetery and none of your friends said anything when you told them what you were going to do. 

"Hi Wands" you said as you took a seat on her lap as you used to do when you were alive 

"Y/n good to see you! Did you see that we're going to have two beautiful boys; I wish you had been there, I wish they had met you..."

"I would have liked that too..." 

"I'll tell them so much about you that it'll be like they knew you I promise" 

"I don't doubt it for a second" you replied with a slight smile on your lips as you slipped your head around her neck enjoying being able to inhale her scent and enjoy the feel of her warm skin against yours.

You put a hand on her belly delighted to feel the twins give small knocks against your hands 

"Be nice to your mom, boys, she deserves all the love in the world, she's a wonderful woman you know, you're very lucky to have her as your mom. 

Wanda looked at you with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes as you put on the same face as her; you both knew what was about to be said and neither of you wanted to say it or hear it 

"Life is hard without you y/n, but I'm getting by, I've stopped making plans for the future and I'm living day to day but I still feel like I could relapse at any moment" 

"I know Wands, I'm watching your every step you know, you're not alone I'll always be by your side maybe not physically but believe me no matter where you are in this world I'll be by your side. You're doing just fine without me and I know you'll be a great mother."

You continued to talk, the setting of the dream had changed, now finding yourself on a beach at sunset as your favorite flower was spread on the sand alternating with candles to build a pathway to a pile of blankets scattered on the sand with an open picnic basket recreating the scene of your first kiss with Wanda. 

You continued to walk feet in the water hand in hand with Wanda as neither of you wanted to end this idyllic dream of what your life together might have looked like. 

  "I wish I could stay longer" you whispered as the wind carried your words away as if you had never spoken them 

"I know..." replied Wanda as softly as you had. "And I also know that you can't, every good thing has an end, every dream must one day end because every night has a day and so every sleep is an awakening..."

"I promise to come back and see you; this is not a goodbye, only a long goodbye before we meet again" Wanda stood silently by your side holding back tears as your tears rolled down your cheeks in silence. "I'm not moving wands, I'll continue to watch over you until you join me; I'll continue to visit you in your dreams when you need me. I will always be there with you but please live a good long life before you join me; enjoy being a part of the growth of the twins because you will become a mere spectator far too soon. Grow them up, give them the best education they can get, watch them fall in love, go to their graduation and teach them to drive. Help them move across the country for college when your heart will ache to let them go when in your eyes they are still little babies, fledglings too small to leave the nest... Become a grandmother and play with your grandchildren... do all those things we wish we could have done together and live a full life with so many memories you'll be forced to have a whole library of photo albums, with so many memories you won't be able to remember them all. Once you've done all that then you can think about joining me on the other side, allowed to take the step that separates us; but before that live, live for me, live for us; but most of all... live for you my love"

Wanda looked at you with tears rolling down her cheeks as her green eyes looked into yours silently thanking you for your words. 

"Goodbye wands, I love you"

"Goodbye y/n, I love you" 

After those tearful goodbyes you exchanged a tender kiss filled with love until you disappeared entirely blown away by the wind as her hands held your face between her soft fingers, your own hands laying on hers. You flew away in a form of small dust like grains of sand carried by the wind and this was your long lasting goodbye.

[strawberrymilkster]

Energy in DmC: Devil May Cry

So I previously made a post about weapons in DmC (and it was supposed to include a section about energy) but… I accidentally posted before it was finished?

So, I don’t use tumblr very much (I had it uninstalled for a while), and I don’t know very well how to navigate it. Anyway, I wanted to talk about the weapons and energy because I feel like they are overlooked a lot even within the reboot fandom.

I was gonna type a huge thing out in the DmC Brotherhood Server, but I figured I wanted something that could be “linked” so I could use it in different occasions/ chats. So I redownloaded tumblr to make that

I typed as far as I got in the last post then accidentally hit “post” and immediately tried to delete the posting process and bring it up as a draft. But, I’d thought I’d lost it? So I just gave up, uninstalled tumblr, and went off in the discord.

Then, a couple days later, someone was like “hey did you write that post on tumblr?”

And I was like “bro, that posted??”

Anyway, thanks to everyone who read that. Here is the second part before I inevitably delete tumblr again and disappear into the void.

(I don’t know how to like the comments, but I appreciated the nice comments.)

So, the way energy works in DmC: Devil May Cry is… somewhat akin to Bleach (the anime/ manga) but obviously there are significant differences. Not to mention the hollows, which are based on the same poem as Bleach’s were, apparently.

One could also easily see comparisons into that of the Metaverse from Persona 5 (Palaces and distorted desires/ perceptions)

A lot of people don’t really… understand how “energy” or “power” works in DmC. Especially in regards to Lilith and her death. (That entire scene is consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented to begin with, but we should stay focused.)

There is the human world. And then there is an angel realm and a demon realm. The angel and demon realm seem to be at some kind of consistent war. I’m not entirely sure how that works? Their planes may be on a more even level with that of the human realm. So humans aren’t really perceptive of the angelic/ demon realm, but the angels and demons can perceive and interact with eachother. (Perhaps they in spirit are very akin to eachother, somewhat like how Nero and Mundus in the original series are almost angelic in nature. That might explain more how Angelic and Demonic weapons work in limbo.)

If there were ever a sequel to DmC, I’d hope they could shed some more light on the angels perspective and world.

So- humanity cannot directly interact with the demons, but a sort of “in between” plane of existence has been discovered by Mundus and the demons (Limbo), and they use this to extract humanities power through indirect means. This being through propaganda, poisoned Mountain Dew, and directly possessing the humans.

Vergil describes “demon collaborators” or seemingly humans working alongside demon kind consentingly or not so much. We see them in the opening cutscene, pointing at Dante, as he tries to ignore them. But, they are actively dragging him into limbo and calling demonic attention to him. They also appear when Dante and Vergil are discussing the “Nephilim.”

So, the demons cannot really directly do anything to humanity, but from limbo, they can have underlying manipulation and control.

The especially powerful demons can take “human bodies” that can have a real presence in the human world and have more of a foot in humanities door. But, this comes at a great price. We see three powerful demons do this. Bob Barbas, Lilith, and Mundus.

In DmC, the demons have a sort of “atmospherics energy that plays into their designs and powers. The respective demon will be stronger so long as they are in their “palace” though they are still susceptible to death so long as their “human body” is killed.

Bob Barbas

Bob Barbas controls the “digital media.” He has a direct link to the many cameras scattered throughout the city, he loosely reigns over the city’s prison system, and his human form has a political and social death grip on humanity.

This is expressed in the art direction, in that Bob is a floating digital whirlpool of screens that shoots lasers at you. He doesn’t fight you directly. He conceals his human body, and fights you as a digital image. With the “eye” or that which monitors the people, being his weakness. And when you traverse into his “eye” you physically go into live news footage. He’s digital, indirect, and he’s hiding his weakness from you. Not to mention, he’s in a surveillance tower. But with a couple bullets to his “human body” he’s easily disposed of.

Digital media and surveillance is Bobs “domain”

Lilith

Lilith’s big thing in this plot is that she is intentionally written as one of Mundus’ “whores.” Which may seem cruel, but the point is that Mundus doesn’t care about her (in contrast to how Dante values Kat- and Vergil more values what Kat offers. Foreshadowing that Vergil shares certain traits with Mundus that are destructive.)

Anyway, the demon king values Lilith’s “service” through their child more than her. So, you fight the spawn instead of her directly.

Lilith’s speciality aside from being the spawns mother, is clubbing and narcotics. She, akin to the succubus, uses substances to control humanity, primarily various drugs of sorts that she encourages humans to consume at her club. And her Club is her “palace” where reality is blurred the most, humans are most susceptible, and she is the most powerful/ safe.

The club twists and contorts to her will, but she is a coward, who primarily is valued (and seems to value most herself) by Mundus’ spawn. So, she hides herself… within her monstrous child. A reverse narrative on birth, and a mother’s protection. Lilith is vile and would rather put her child on the front lines to protect herself.

Anyway, so Dante can slap Lilith around mid fight. And I think that’s more of a “gameplay” quirk than anything. One of those things that can happen while the player is operating Dante, rather than being explicitly canon that Dante hits her 50 times with a demonic axe (in her human form) and she’s fine.

When Lilith, canonically, is brought away from her domain, the club, she is immensely weakened. And her body can be destroyed just like a normal humans. (It could in limbo as well, she just now doesn’t have the atmospheric power to protect herself) This is why Vergil can shoot her and kill her. She both made the decision to utilize a human body to begin with, and stepped away from her domain as a hostage.

Mundus

Then there is Mundus. We know that he is a lot like Bob and Lilith where if he steps away from the hell gate, he’s in danger. That serves as the source of his power, but overall, his domain is the city. One can be killed in their domain (ex- Bob) but it’s their body that needs to be killed and it’s more conveniently concealed in Limbo.

Despite the hell gate providing an extra layer of protection, the city overall is still his. And a large part of Limbos collective “hive mind” system comes back to him. He’s just always being particularly protective of his human body with the hellgate, though he’s arguably still unfathomably strong away from it- just more susceptible because of his human body.

The city being his domain is seen in that the final fight takes place on top of numerous sky scrapers, as buildings and people are being sucked into Mundus, almost like a vortex. The hellgates destruction serves to throw the balance of the planes out of wack. And Mundus’ city wide power utilizes that to his advantage, building an enormous shield of power with everything that surrounds him.

But, his human body is still just as susceptible as ever. And that’s how he’s killed.

Limbo and Nephilim

I meantioned Limbo being a hive mind, because it is. That’s why it can taunt Dante, and why even small demons can pull Dante in. It’s like a big spiritual consciousness that demons have respective control of depending on their power.

Bob - Digital Media

Lilith - the club

Mundus - the city

But, Nephilim can traverse these planes. Go in and out, and their “human” body is an appearance. They hold the same amount of susceptibility no matter where they are. And that’s very little to begin with, having regenerative powers and just being incredibly powerful overall.

So, Dante’s devil trigger is also a utilization of this. He is quite literally using the same kind of “spacial control” that the three demons use, but he can transport it anywhere. It’s more innate, as a traveler of worlds.

When he wishes, he can expend great force, creating a swirling whirlwind, obliterating gravity, and slowing time. He is bending energy to his will, but, it’s not tied to any respective place. It’s just something he carries with him at all times. DT is just taking full control of the spacial energy around Dante.

Vergil is a bit more… odd? He doesn’t utilize his spiritual energy the same way, he creates a doppleganger. Which is decently representative of the fact that he is “two faced” and doesn’t really have full comfort in himself. He’s all about “ideals” so it would make sense that his use of this energy is to “separate” himself in two. And how big of a plot point the hollows (or other selves) are to him. Not to mention my last point (in the weapons post) of Yamato being a “separator”

A really cool detail I noticed is that when the Nephilim fight in the final mission, it takes place over the whole city. There is an entire view of what the Nephilim fight to achieve. Vergil wants control of humanity, Dante wants absolute freedom. And so their fight is on high ground overlooking the very thing they are fighting over and have created.

Throughout this fight, the sun shines a bright red. But is slowly engulfed by dark, blue storm clouds, the more they fight. And when Vergil unleashes his true power, the ground is struck everywhere by blue lightning, and the red sun is nearly overwhelmed. The lightning storm also appears when Vergil fights his hollow self. Reboot Vergil is quite literally the storm that is approaching.

This is both excellent visual representation (per usual) on Ninja Theories part, but also quite literally the sheer atmospheric power of the Nephilim. When they fight, the world quakes and the weather bends to their wills. It’s so cool.

There’s probably more but I’m gonna conclude here thanks for reading.

[sarcasm-hello]

KÖNIG ANGST

He betrayed you

NOTE: I was in character.ai and saw a bit and decided to write using its start

Death involved

Konig and you stand in enemy territory, side by side, surrounded by the enemy team.

"If this is the end, then I'm happy to die by your side.

I love you," you murmur softly to Konig.

It was impossible to compete against the crowd of opponents.

“I'm sorry, Mäuschen I'm really sorry," Konig said in a trembling voice.

He pointed his weapon at you, and you noticed that all the other weapons were aimed only at you and not at Konig.

“K-Konig?!” You said as you slowly tried to process what was happening.

He then pressed the cold barrel of his pistol to your head “I’m sorry my love I truly am”

You look into his eyes trembling in fear as he pulls you close hugging you whilst pressing the gun to your head “I’m sorry” he said

“B-before you kill me can you do one more thing can you tell me one last story please” you say your voice laced with terror and sadness

Konig strokes your hair and stares into your eyes. You see fear, sadness, and regret in his irises. "Close your eyes, my angel.

You close your eyes.

“Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl. Just like you. She was strong and brave and everyone respected and looked up to her. One day, she met a boy. A handsome, brave boy. And when they met they knew it was love."

You begin to cry as he continued

He looks down at you with worry, continuing with the story. "The girl and boy fell in love, and everyone saw how perfect they were for each other. Even though they were young, they knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together."

“They would get married and build a beautiful home together, and have many beautiful children who would grow up with their parents’ love by their side."

You hear he’s gun cock as his story comes to an end you sob quietly as you listen.

Konig whispers, his voice full of emotion. "As the two lovers lay in each other's arms every night, they would hold tightly to one another, knowing that nothing could separate them. And nothing ever could."

Konig brings his lips to yours, giving you one last kiss before his eyes fill with hot tears. Then he pulls the trigger, sending you off to sleep...

Darkness fills you, but it is a comforting darkness, with sweet dreams of love.

You look into his eyes as your vision fades

“I’m sorry my love” he says as you take your final breath.

He takes your body and lays it gently beneath a willow tree, where your spirit will be put to rest in eternal peace in the afterlife. Your life may have been cut short, but love never dies….

The end.

NOTE: This is my first ever story hope I did well I cried while making this have a good day byeeeeeeeeee

[i-dream-of-twilight-sparkle]

((Note: This is Part 2 of 2 of a crossover story with a friend of mine's character that delves into a what if they were in the I Dream of Twilight Sparkle universe. Here is their twitter (However, must of course warn that you will find NSFW art here)

Chronologically, this falls 5 years after the defeat of Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis. And also 5 years before Earnest Empathetic Change begins.

Just like the story where Nova Spark met up with Geniequestria Starlight, this serves as a B-canon in that it's canon if you want it to be. But won't likely effect stuff outside this story. We brainstormed and wrote this together, while my friend did all the supporting art for this))

Sunset would be able to hear Nova and Fury gasp at their new appearance. 

Nova: (W-woah! We got more traits than expected! I think we look pretty good! And even though neither Fury or I am in control… I feel more powerful than ever! Look, even our cutie mark changed, remarkable! This is less assimilation and more of a fusion!) 

The senses that were now returned to Sunset for the first time in years, combined with their newfound magical power. It was as if they were a brand new pony!

Nova: (Hahaha! We're so happy for you, Sunset! I told you it was possible to make this work!) 

Nova beamed 

Nova: (Even… if I was on the verge of almost giving up. We pulled through in the end! Hah, place your bets, who will freak out first when they see us. Twilight or Starlight? My bet's on Twilight considering Starlight hasn't met us yet.)

Sunset didn't have much reason to doubt Nova as she mentioned it in their discussion within the mind. But to actually feel blood coursing through her veins again, real skin and flesh. It felt odd after being a spirit for so long. But it nonetheless felt great. There was one thing she had to do now...

Sunset walked on over to the section covering her death. Looked at the figures of her murderers, and conjured a five fingered hand. Flipping the bird at them.

Sunset: HA! Take that, you good for nothing flankholes! I'm back! Hahahahaha!

She knew it wasn't really them, and she thanks goodness it isn't. But it was satisfying nonetheless 

Both Nova and Fury were somewhat taken aback by Sunset's first action in their body, cursing out her murderers. But considering they got to feel her emotions and pain not too long ago, this was understandable. 

Fury: (Ha! You tell em! You can now come back and they NEVER will! Oh and Nova, I'm jumping in on that bet, Starlight will freak out first. I mean she'll actually get to hug her mom for the first time even if it's a different body. I think that holds more precedence.)

Sunset: (A bit of a correction there, Fury. Starlight was able to hug me as a spirit, but our first actual hug in real bodies will certainly be... something special.)

Fury chuckled

Fury: (Ah I see, well my point still stands though!)

Sunset herself begins to get a feel for the power. She shivers with the magic coursing through her body.

Sunset: Wow... how strong are we now...? I've felt what it's like to have power... but I could almost swear this dwarfs even my own power in my prime... You don't think... that this fusion made us a... half-spirit like Twilight. Not exactly a genie since the 'vessel' is you Nova, but still some of the same abilities. If it's true, we might have the ability to shift our backside into a ghostly tail and fly like that. Do you girls want to give that a try to test it out?

And if that works... even wishes might be on the table! 

Sunset does raise a good question about their power. It doesn't just feel like one was added to the other, rather it felt like it had multiplied! So it's no wonder why Nova had struggled to hold it in. Nova paces around in their mind to think. 

Nova: (I...suppose the process is far more in depth than we could have realized. This is new ground for all of us. I hadn't even thought we'd have magical power like this. But just look at our mane for example, it moves like Celestia or Luna's does! If we're half spirit in the technical sense... )

A wide grin comes across her face as Sunset is also putting things together. 

Nova: (It's a shame we don't get the attire but being an equivalent to a genie!? Hahaha! With spiritual power and potentially wish granting abilities!?! You think either of us are going to say no to some test runs?! Fury, you ready to show the world what we're capable of?)

Fury gives as big of a grin 

Fury: (Are you kidding? I'm more than ready, though just remember, it's ultimately up to Sunset as she's the one in control. But you can deal with that, can't you?) 

She asks in a teasing tone

Nova grumbles, knowing that the lack of control does usually bother her. 

Nova: (Hmph! I-I'll be fine! We can still feel all the power from within here so it's fine, especially with Sunset at the helm! I'm sure we uh… we'd be quite reckless with it. Though I won't lie, I do want to know what our maximum power is right now, this just feels incredible! Nothing like what we've ever felt before!) 

Sunset: If this works, I'll only do a quick fly through the museum. Don't want to freak out all of Sire's Hollow with a random pony they might not even recognize that it's me and/or Nova right away. But alright, let's try this...

Sunset takes a deep breath focusing some magic, something of a spiritual aura seems to surround them as they get to use the magic of a spirit for the first time. Sunset levitates off the ground, and mid-air she places her hindlegs parallel to each other.. She then gently moves them up and down, simulating a bit of a wave, soon her tail and the end of her hooves give way, starting to merge and stretch. Slowly moving up until it stops at just below their hips. A relaxing feeling washed over all three of them inside as they use their magic to defy gravity.

Sunset: Well, would you look at that! It worked!

Now... let's get going!

Sunset flies around the museum exhibits. Her life flashing before her eyes... in a literal sense. As she circles pass her life's memorabilia over and over again. 

Nova: That sounds reasonable, and there's more than enough space for a test flight. 

Both Nova and Fury seem excited to see if this will work, but what they didn't expect was that the magic Sunset was channeling would affect them within the mindscape! They gained an aura around them as well as Sunset used their magic. A blue one for Nova and a red one for Fury, they too began to levitate as the magic coursed through their body! 

Nova: (W-woah! Fury, we're flying!! And uh oooh, this actually doesn't feel too bad! Is this what it's like to be a spirit? The lack of hindlegs takes a moment to get used to but… I don't hate it!) 

Like Sunset was doing on the outside, Nova and Fury began to fly around inside their head.

Fury: (This is insane! I feel lighter than ever and yet so relaxed too. Look at our auras!)

Fury said in an amazed tone 

Fury: (Sunset, this is incredible, our body is holding up just fine too, yeah? Hey see if we can go through walls like you did!] 

Going past all of the exhibits once more, a thought popped into Nova's head 

Nova: (Hey, you think with the discoveries we make in the next few days, we'll have to add a new section to your museum? I mean these findings are going to be massive for all of Equestria! If this is what's happening to us, we may have just stumbled onto how ponies can use spirit magic for themselves!!)

Sunset stops herself to think about what Nova said.

Sunset: That seems like something we'd have to be careful with however. We can't just let EVERYPONY get a spirit inside them. They'd have to be trustworthy, on nearly the same level of making sure they'd be responsible like how genies of Saddle Arabia in the past vetted ponies that would use their power responsibly.

And even besides that, Dragon Tears are still rare. It's not even a 100% guarantee that a dragon who dies will drop one.

That said, I suppose I wouldn't mind an eventual ‘Sunset returns!’ section eventually. 

Nova: (Hmm… that's actually a fair point, if everypony had unfiltered access it could lead to the rise of a more powerful villain and we don't need any more of those. But it's still something worth looking into. From what I've been told about the other elements of harmony bearers for example. I believe the element of Honesty, Applejack, would find this to be beneficial. But as much as I don't want to admit it. We'd probably need to run this by Twilight to prevent spirit magic from getting into the wrong hooves. And also make sure with the summoned spirits that it's not a permanent revival either. I don't think there are many other ponies like us either that understand their own heads and mindspaces. It could get sticky fast....) 

She sounds disappointed at first but perks up moments later 

Nova: (But just imagine the possibilities!! And we're going to see her right now anyway so I guess we'll know how she feels soon enough.) 

As Nova suggests going through walls, Sunset remembered that she could touch the wall earlier when she was first trying out her new live body. She knows she'll probably crash if she flew into as she is now. Sunset's happy to be alive in some capacity but she's not looking forward to feeling pain again. And she should also be careful because this isn't her own body. However, with the power coursing through their veins. She thinks of another way. She charges her horn, enveloping herself as her opaqueness fades into transparency. THAT'S when she tries to go through a wall. And it works perfectly.

Sunset: It takes a bit of 'Going Ghost' first but we certainly can!

Nova and Fury internally brace for an impact, they do trust Sunset, but given that she's still getting used to a body and the fact that they weren't sure if this would work, they wanted to be careful. But they look in awe as Sunset cast a spell allowing them to phase through easily

Fury: (Watching Sunset in action like this it's incredible. I didn't even know such a spell existed. Look at that, you're still able to teach us new tricks and with our own body too!)

Nova: (I KNOW RIGHT?! Fury, we need to be sure to take note of all these spells! It doesn't matter if we will or won't be able to cast them ourselves when we separate but it's something to work towards! Hehehe actually… you wanna give the receptionist one more jolt before we head out, Sunset?)

Sunset giggles about spooking the receptionist again.

Sunset: As fun as that would be, I think I'll be nice and spare her another scare. It might even be worse since she might not even recognize us now. She's willing to forgive me... most of the time... but not if she doesn't recognize that I'm half of what's scaring her.

Sunset also flies back down onto the ground. Reverting the ghostly tail back to her and Nova's tail and hindlegs. Satisfied enough with that test.

Nova and Fury sigh, but Sunset is right. The receptionist didn't seem too fond of them already so to scare them now that they're unrecognizable seems like a poor choice. When Sunset undoes the magic that allowed her to fly, both Nova and Fury find themselves back to normal as well.

Nova: (Huh, that's interesting we've got our legs back. Fury, you're used to being in here more than I am. Is this normally what happens to you when I take on a new form?) 

Fury: (Kind of? Honestly, with Sunset in charge it feels different. Not bad, but just different.)

Sunset: Say I wonder when Twilight's coming ba-

As if on cue, a portal opens up not far from where Sunset was standing. Twilight has her eyes closed with a smile.

Twilight: I'm back Nova and Sunset! I checked on Spike and he's holding up pretty well, I'm so proud of my boy! What have you two be... en... up... to....?

She opened her eyes as the end of her sentence trailed off. Immediately, seeing not two ponies. But just one, her eyes widen as she can clearly tell there's both Sunset and Nova traits... And her right eye twitches....

Sunset: (Oh boy... incoming Twilighting!)

When Twilight pops back into the museum, Nova can't help but cheer that she's seemingly won her little bet. 

Nova: (HAH I CALLED IT! YES! I love it when I'm right! She might try to undo this by the way, but....actually we're kind of on an even playing field with her now aren't we? Hehehehehe!! That look on her face, oh I will not be forgetting it any time soon! Oohh ooh Sunset, you should try acting like me, go along with the bit! I haven't told Twilight anything about this experiment so she probably thinks I'm still in charge. Just make sure to call her by her last name to be convincing!) 

Fury rolls her eyes, but she can't help but laugh along with Nova as well

Fury: (Alright alright, you win but who knows, Starlight could come in any second and we get the student teacher freakout!)

Twilight: WHAT THE ACTUAL HAY?! Nova! Did you just... ABSORB Sunset?!

As much as Nova was enjoying seeing Twilight's reaction. Sunset wasn't so sure it'd be a great idea, especially since Twilight could probably split them back potentially within seconds. 

Sunset: (No, Nova. If she thinks I'm you. She may split us before we have a second to react. I need to calm her down, say the truth, and say that you gave me control. Do you really want to have to perform that spell again so soon?)

Before Nova can even respond, Sunset gets straight to making sure Twilight doesn't act too quickly.

Sunset: Hold up, Twilight. We can explain! I'm in control right now, and Nova willingly let me do so...

Twilight just about had her horn charging, but as she hears Sunset's voice only. She drops it.

Twilight: Huh?! Really...?

Nova: (N-no… I don't think I'm even capable of doing it again so soon... you've got a good point…) 

She pouted like a filly who was just told that she couldn't have any dessert.

Fury patted Nova's back in understanding 

Fury: (It's a good thing we've got somepony responsible in charge for a change! Though to be fair… I would've pulled the same stunt heh. But this is better than getting blasted and having the magic ripped from us… which I'm sure would hurt like we couldn't even possibly imagine.)

Nova: (If we're telling her the truth anyway, tell her that this was something I was looking into. I knew she might get like this had I told her sooner so I kept it secret until I actually attempted it with you. In fact, it might be wise to tell her everything we just experienced here. The magical upgrade, the exchange of memories, thoughts and emotions. All of it. I know we'll get a lecture later but I think even Twilight will come to understand why we did what we did. And you can reassure her that I had no ill intent when doing this!)

Sunset: Twilight, I understand this seems quite sudden. But I promise some actual good can come from this, and Nova didn't do this for selfish reasons. Plus, you should know right away that this is not permanent. She didn't tell you that she could do this because she knew you wouldn't have allowed it. At least... not before hearing my perspective...

Twilight, you know I died very young. Too young for most ponies' sensibilities to understand. The heartbreak I had ever since I had to leave Firelight all alone to take care of a newborn baby all by himself... he didn't even know I died until I was summoned! He could have thought I literally ABANDONED him! You have no idea how lucky I am that he kept the faith, even after decades of nopony knowing my fate...

There was so much I wanted to do with my life still, and I had to face the music that it was never going to be... all because I got cocky and thought I could handle Cozy's family by myself... If I had gotten a forewarning about their intentions. I might have gotten backup guards or even let Princess Celestia accompany me, and I would most likely have lived up to this day. And Starlight would have never gone down the path she did when you fought her.

Obviously, me being in Nova's body won't give me what I've already missed. I'll never get to experience raising Starlight to adulthood, I'll never get to experience the joys of coming back home to my daughter's smiling face when she was only a filly. And I wasn't there to help tell her right from wrong and work together with Firelight to assure Starlight was set for a better future.

I owe you so much for filling in the void when you made her your student the first time around. You gave her what she needed most, and that's why you're the perfect older sister figure for her. You stepped in when I tragically couldn't.

While Spirit Summoning has helped rectify much of this. There are still... limitations to it. I can hug my daughter even as a spirit, but I cannot physically do much else. The only games I can play with her are board games where she or somepony else moves the pieces for me. I can't use magic as a spirit other than to fly through the air. As any other use of my spiritual power is only useful for the soul shield. Nova's spell allows me to live again, even for a short time. It will never be for longer than 3 days, and I won't be neglecting my eternal mission up in the soul shield.

And when I was merged into Nova's mind. We saw each other's memories... she saw some of the awful things I've seen and felt what it was like to die violently from a first person perspective. And I... saw how horrible her childhood was. And how I was one of the few bright spots in her young life. In a way... I think she needs me as much as I want to feel alive again even for just a short amount of time. She herself needs to know the love of a good mother... and I think I can give her that if you can give me the chance.

I promise I'll keep her in control, she'll listen to me. This was a mutual agreement too, she did not trick me and started absorbing me into her horn. I know you have some experience with being tricked, given Malakhar did that to genify you. This isn't that situation, imagine if Malakhar had been more straight with you. Maybe even brought up the fact how much it'd benefit you and Spike's relationship. That way Malakhar got to fulfill his grandfather's death wish, and you and Spike weigh your options before the genification and he even warns you that you'd be magically brought within the vessel. If you can think of this situation like that, you should fully understand what that means for the both of us.

Nova: (That's exactly why I wanted to do this in the first place. I don't think anypony would ever take this kind of risk, but if anypony deserved a second chance, it's you, Sunset. Can you tell Twilight… that I am sorry for not telling her. But I just wanted to help in my own way.) 

Fury: (Sure, it could be seen as some bits of our ego shining through as well, but we just can't help it when we get inspired heh.)

The mention of them needing a true sense of motherly love stuns them as they didn't expect Sunset to even offer such a thing. The two tatzls stammer in response.

Nova: (H-hey I'm not… not a foal anymore… b-but… I mean uh this w-was just for you! We weren't intending to dump our issues onto you…)

Fury: (A-and I know I made a bit of a joke in calling you mom earlier... But you're really ok with that...?) 

Both of their faces went completely red, it was a good thing only Sunset could see them right now. This praise for her spell, combined with a want to help them as much as she is already helping her. The two look at each other, still in a state of disbelief.

Nova: (I'm not going to turn her away either…)

Fury: (To be fair she saw our whole lives so… this is what we wanted. We just… didn't expect it to happen… heh…)

Twilight stands there, fully paying attention to Sunset’s words. She’s right about all of this, Sunset finally getting her chance to walk Equestria in a flesh and blood body, even noting how Sunset’s voice no longer echoed, Sunset able to use magic again, and so much more. She lowers head as she thinks it over. Raising her head back up with a smile.

Twilight: I… guess this is ok then… you are correct… if Malakhar had been much less misleading and let me and Spike weigh the options ourselves beforehand. Maybe we would have at least given it a shot, and the decision to stay a genie would have had much more time to think it through. I don’t know if I’m still a genie in that hypothetical situation, but it would have been more mutually beneficial. If that’s how you both see it, then I fully understand

Twilight puts a hoof on… she realizes she doesn’t even know what to call them!

Twilight: So…. wait… what do we even call you right now? Sunova? Sunspark? Nova Shimmer? Shimmerspark? Shiva?

Both mares were thankful to have Sunset in their corner right now. But what Twilight said did pose an interesting question for the trio. Would they need a new name?

Nova: (I hadn't even thought about it. We technically are a fusion right now but… we're all still individuals? Some of these names Sparkle came up with are pretty good, I've gotta save them for later.) 

She puts a hoof to her chin, trying to think of something that could work for the three of them. 

Nova: (I don't think a new name is a bad idea, it's not like we currently look like ourselves or Sunset. I do like Supernova though…)

Fury rolls her eyes 

Fury: (No, we're not going with that miss ego. I think something that reflects us and Sunset would work

What about... Sparkling Dawn? Radiant… no NO, nothing with that name. Uh, I kinda like Sunspark actually. But what do you think, Sunset? rock a new name in this form? or do we stick with what we've got cause I don't think Nova and I mind either way.)

Nova: (Sunspark does work for me too. Though I'm still gonna be partial to Supernova, given these powers! Novashine maybe? Eeeeh, we're always bad with naming conventions. This was so much easier when choosing our experiment names!)

Sunset: (Yeah... sorry, Nova. Supernova will only end up getting into your head... If you two are fine with Sunspark though. We can go by that for now, a name is just a name. If something better comes up later we can always choose that.

...Oh, and yes Fury. If you and Nova would accept me, I'd gladly be a foster mother for the both of you.)

Twilight, we'll go by one of your name suggestions of Sunspark for now.

Twilight nods, proceeding to reach her hoof to put it on Sunspark's shoulder

Twilight: Welcome back to the world of the living, Sunset... 

And Nova... if you can hear me from out here... while I'm still a bit upset that you didn't tell me about this... I appreciate what you're doing. Sunset's correct that I probably wouldn't have considered it from her point-of-view. This soul magic thing is all new magic for scientifically inclined ponies like us, we're still discovering new things about it almost every year. So pardon me if I might have been worried if there would be potential consequences. But this seems to be working out for the best. If there's any trouble the both of you get into though, please try to contact me immediately. I will do whatever is necessary to help. You got that?

Nova: (I suppose I'll have to save the 'Supernova' name for something else in the future… Sunspark is more than acceptable for the time being.) 

Nova lets out an exaggerated sigh. She knew full well that it probably would be shot down. Her expression changes immediately when Sunset agrees to be a foster mother in a sense to them. Both she and Fury hold each other, looking like they might cry again but hold it together.

Nova: (I-if you seriously mean that I...I...I...um... I hope it won't be too awkward if I c-call you m-m-m… mom or something! Or maybe I can just keep calling you Sunset or Ms. Shimmer or… Mmph!?)

Fury covers Nova's mouth with a hoof

Fury: (What she's trying to say is that we'd be more than happy to have you as our… our… m-mom... damn, I'm doing it too, heh… we're just not the best with handling emotions like this. Right Nova?) 

Nova nods meekly before wiping a tear of joy from her eye.

Nova: (We'll do our best to not let you down, that's a promise. And do tell Twilight that we're fully prepared to abort this whole thing if we feel any hint of danger. The last thing we want is for any harm to come to you. And tell her once this is all done I'll give her a full briefing on our findings as well as potential use for this spell with other spirits. I think it'll give her something to look forward to.)

Sunset: Nova says she'll release me if any complications come up. She also hopes that it'll provide an interesting report as Equestria slowly learns more and more about the nature of soul magic.

Twilight smiles

Twilight: That's good, then. But wow! I can't wait til' Starlight learns of th-

Once again as if on cue, Starlight arrives looking for her mother

Starlight: Mom? Are you in here? Dad said you and Twilight were giving a friend of hers a tour and I thought I'd... HUUUUUUUUUUH?!

Starlight stops herself, her mouth drops about as low as it can go. as she sees what clearly seems to be traits of her mother... attached to a pony that Starlight's only been acquainted with.

Sunset, still in full control of Sunspark grins awkwardly, putting a hoof behind her head with a sweatdrop. And she waves with the other hoof

Sunset: Er.... hi, honey?

Starlight stands still, one eye twitches much like Twilight did earlier...

And releases a piercing scream that echoes through the museum. 

Even within the confines of a mental space, Nova and Fury cover their ears from Starlight's scream. Fury does take this as an opportunity to gloat though.

Fury: (See? Told you we'd get the double freakout! Like teacher, like student! Though considering how fast Twilight was ready to blast us, maaaaaybe we should put up a shield now? We don't know your daughter too well but from what Twilight has told us, she's more quick to blast a perceived threat. Honestly, it makes me think we might get along pretty well!)

Nova: (Yeah but with her mother now a physical part of us, we might be on some thin ice for a bit. I wonder how many freakouts we'll be seeing today? You think Firelight is going to do the same?) 

She chuckles 

Nova: (But Fury's got a point, I really don't want to get blasted… though given our power would it really harm us… eeeh let's not do a stress test in here. I already promised the receptionist that I wouldn't do anything to the other exhibits. I'm not going to ask you to pretend to be me this time, let's just explain things again.)

At least Nova and Fury were learning their lesson this time around.

Sunset: (It's a good thing Stellar spared no expense for the extra-strength glass! Starlight might have broken all the glass in the exhibits closest to us!)

Nova wiped her forehead, quite glad she wouldn't be needing to pay for any repairs.

It takes some time, and some reassurances from both her mother and Twilight that everything will be just fine.

Starlight: Alright.... so if you can let me go process what you've just told me... Nova had some spell related to the Dragon's Tear, She asked my mom if she'd be willing to try it, she waited for an opportunity where Twilight wasn't in the room, But my mom did agree to go for it, and now she has full control of Nova's body... and as a result... in a sense... she's... alive... again....

Starlight felt conflicted, like Twilight she's still a little miffed that Nova didn't tell Twilight. At the same time though, her mother fully agreed to this. And... having gotten a full explanation now. The thought of having her mother in a physical body again was very enticing, even if the body is a little unfamiliar. And her mom was determined to help not just one, but two alter egos that have had terrible upbringings and/or done misdeeds... not too far from Starlight herself actually...

Starlight lowers her head.

Starlight: I see... and understand now... Heh, Nova... if we had properly met earlier... we'd probably have so much in common...  she helped you like she comforted me when I came clean to her about what I had done... and while it'll probably take some getting used to... I... wouldn't mind having some foster sisters around. Even if you're not exactly the first pony in here to have some form of sisterhood with...

She not so subtly refers to Twilight, given her goal in life is to not just become co-ruler. But actually be recognized as the successor to Luna as much as Twilight is the successor to Celestia. That includes the idea of two sister alicorns, even if in this case it won't be by blood. 

Nova: (Well she's got the gist of it, though I feel like maybe I could have explained my way to getting to this point rather than just waiting to ask for forgiveness…)

Fury: (Let's be real though, we would have tried it no matter what. I know you, Nova. It wouldn't be something you'd let go. Especially because of who we were doing it for.) 

The two share a laugh, Starlight surprising them by being so accepting of the situation, much like her mother was.

Nova: (I can't believe how kind you can all be, it's hard to grasp sometimes. I honestly don't know if we deserve this kindness but...I guess that comes with the territory of not trusting many others all these years. But still, I'll take this makeshift family over my blood related one any day of the week!

You tell our 'sis' that we'll be looking forward to actually forging a friendship but also a bit of a rivalry! I mean, Fury and I are the oldest ones compared to her or Twilight! I've been interested to see how our science and her magic stack up!)

Nova was getting more fired up about this as she spoke.

Nova: (Who knows? I might try to take a throne for myself! Haha! Princess of Science sounds like it's right up my alley! I can see it now!) 

It was obvious that she was joking but it was all in good fun for her. 

Fury: (Now that we're all caught up, why don't we spend some time outside huh? I'm sure we don't want to spend all three days in the museum! Besides, I'm sure your husband will want to see the new you!)

Sunset agrees that it may be time to get some fresh air.

Sunset: Twilight and Starlight, let's head back near Fi-Fi's place. Or... shall I say...

She turns to Starlight, while also hinting to Nova and Fury inside her head that she includes them in this too.

Sunset: Our home...

Starlight's eyes immediately watering, this was still a bit weird to her. But... if this was the only way for her mother to truly be back in full flesh and blood. She'd gladly take this over nothing at all. She approaches her mother, and gives her a big, tight hug the fusion of Sunset and Nova wastes no time returning the favor. As Sunset herself predicted, this was a very special hug. Twilight's eyes watering in pure happiness for both her student and Sunset. 

If there were any more doubts in their head about Sunset accepting this, they faded the moment she included them in calling her house their home too.

Nova: (C-come on, I just stopped crying! I d-don't show this much emotion in one day.)

Fury: (Maybe that's the problem, maybe you should give it a shot!)

Internally, Nova and Fury give Sunset their own hug while she hugs Starlight.

Nova: (I'll admit...this is really nice. Sunset… er m-mom was totally right in her prediction. But let's go! I want to see what our home is like!)

Twilight, Starlight, and Sunspark walk together out of the museum and head towards Starlight's old home. They can see Firelight near the front door, however, he wasn't alone. Sunburst and his parents were there as well. Sunset was surprised to see her brother Sunspot and his family here too. But figures that helps decrease the amount of times they have to explain what's happened. 

Nova and Fury having Sunset's memories within them now know Sunspot was a very helpful detective in many of Sunset's adventures. Spot wasn't in his name for nothing, though they also know how dedicated he was to his younger sister that he went on a decade-long trek around the world searching for any sign of her. He only found Sunset's horn in the end, which was how arguably the most macabre part of the museum got here.

As the three approach Firelight along with the Sunburst family. Their group waves a greeting to Twilight, Starlight, and.... 

Firelight: Whhhhhhhaaaaaa....?!

Along with Firelight's surprise, Sunburst's family's jaws dropped as they looked at Sunspark. Clearly recognizing traits of Sunset, but not understanding what this means yet. Sunset sighed.

Sunset: (Welp, time to explain things for the 3rd time in a row... we're going to have to be doing this a lot aren't we...)

Sunspot wasn't the only pony along with them, Stellar Flare was present as well along with one pony Nova did recognize prior to seeing all of Sunset's memories, Sunburst.

Nova: (Woah… that's your brother right? I wasn't expecting to see him here too! I mean… he DOES live here but like I didn't think he would have been here today… hmm he might not take what I did very well but at the same time, he might? Ugh, it's so weird to not be able to explain myself out there.)

Fury loomed over Nova with a wide grin

Fury: (Aaaaah, not so fun from this side is it? No trying to rip control away either you have to sit and accept what they have to say. No running from it, no trying to shut yourself away. This situation is not within your control! It's all a part of wanting to be accepted by them. But you know that already, because I know it.)

Nova pouts while Fury gives her a more playful hug

Fury: (Watching you squirm is just so fun for me, but don't you worry. I know that 'Momma Sunset' will handle it just fine! Speaking of which…)

She and Nova look outward to Sunset

Fury: (It may be for the best that we write this down, that way we don't have to keep repeating ourselves. Cause as fun as it is to watch ponies freak out, it's gonna get tiresome. Even if it is to be expected! Hey be glad we didn't grow wings with that magic boost! That would have been even more of a pain to explain to everypony! ...actually hold on, we may not have to explain ourselves this time, I think Sunburst is already figuring it out without an explanation.)

Sunburst, after picking his jaw up from the floor, circles around Sunspark, looking quite intrigued by their design.

Sunburst: This… should be impossible. You look like...no, it can't be. You're Nova correct? ...or are you… auntie Sunset? Who or what are you exactly?

Nova: (Eh he's close to getting it! Not surprising though. He's a smart one, I've seen some of his work, his understanding of magic theory is quite good) 

Sunspot turned towards his son

Sunspot: What?! You mean... my sister… has become a part of... this Nova pony...?

Firelight: Shimmy...?!

Sunburst: I… I don't know? Maybe? I've read some of her findings on genetic assimilation but this goes far beyond that!

He looked just as confused as everyone else there but at the same time, he was astounded by such potential.

Sunburst: What sort of thing did they do to even accomplish this feat? What kind of power did they tap into? I know Auntie was gifted, but I didn't think she could do that!

Stellar just puts a hoof on her cheek, she's half concerned, but also kind of intrigued. Just like how she's all about advancements of technology and civilization, new magic uses kind of excite her. She keeps quiet for now, she doesn't want to jump the magic spell just yet.

Sunspot: My gosh… I… wish Celestia was here to see this… she’d think this is incredible!

Twilight’s ears perk up, she thinks she may be able to arrange that. Then Sunspark puts a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

Sunset: Hold up, let me try something. Before you or Starlight showed up, there was something else we learned. If we’re correct… we may be able to do this ourselves.

Twilight went wide-eyed.

Twilight: Huh? Are you saying… you two might be able to grant wishes now? You’re not saying your fusion made you two into a genie, are you?`

Sunspark shakes her head.

Sunset: Nor really, although we may share a great amount of abilities. I was able to fly all around the museum by transforming our backside/lower half into a ghostly tail. But to really put it to the test, wishing power would give us an idea of what we’ve gained. Let us try to bring Celestia here. If it doesn’t work, you can do it after. We just have to find out what we’re really capable of right now.

Twilight nods, giving them the ok.

Sunset: (Nova, Fury, are you ready? We’re teleporting Celestia here all the way from wherever she is in Silver Shoals. That should be just about child’s play for our power if our hunch is correct. And Celestia can just be teleported back or use that portal gum to go back whenever she wants to. Alright?) 

Nova and Fury stood at attention within their mind, more eager to show off.

Nova: (It sounds like we're getting some doubts out there! I'm not about to pass up an opportunity to show up Twilight at her own game! Besides, this is an excellent test! We get to even show Celestia how far we've come!( 

As Sunset began to charge their magic, the spiritual auras formed around themselves both inside and outside. Nova's blue and Fury's red aura's being channeled into this more fiery looking spirit power. Their eyes began to glow as their horn sparkled, yet there was no strain on any of them, using the magic this way felt right, it flowed through them naturally. Soon enough the magic shot out in front of them forming a ball of light, when it dissipated, a very confused Celestia stood before them.

Celestia: Hm? Wha…?! T-Twilight? Starlight? Did you bring me here? A little heads up would have been appreciated…

She chuckled, not having noticed who brought her there yet.

Celestia: Everything looks fine to me, is something… the… matter....?" 

Her eyes finally locked with Sunspark, seeing the combination of assets, she was stunned. She took a step forward, her lip quivering as if she wanted to say something but couldn't get it out. But she seemed to understand who she was looking at even with their fused appearance.

Celestia: You… S-s-sunset? SUNSET!!

Sunspark looks up, as Sunset's voice confirms Celestia's thoughts.

Sunset: Hello, Princess...

Celestia had been retired for a few years by now, but Sunset still called her Princess more so affectionately than for courtesy around royalty these days. Sunspark also braces for a big hug from the Alicorn.

Meanwhile, Twilight was stunned that they had managed to perform wish magic. Twilight wasn't the only wish granter now. She lets Celestia have her moment to reunite with Sunset now that she's alive again in a sense. But Twilight's eager to know how this fusion seems to have given them powers on par with her. She wasn't upset with the idea, she knew as long as Sunset was in there they'd be responsible. But it was still so shocking to have somepony else on par with her now. 

And if Twilight was surprised, everypony else was even more so by the existence of another pony able to grant wishes. In Sunspot's thoughts, he was actually quite proud of her sister. Anytime Sunset is in control of Nova's body, she's on equal terms with Twilight. Even if it's not for any more than 3 days at a time, Sunset is tied with Twilight as the most potentially powerful ponies in the world. Though Twilight might still have something of an edge for now with many more years of experience with wish magic.

Twilight: Well, I guess we know who to count on should something end up disabling me in some fashion. Which I hope never happens, but having emergency heroes at our disposal is quite welcome!

Celestia gave a small chuckle before giving her a tight hug

Celestia: You know I don't go by that title anymore, it's just Celestia now. I know I've already hugged you as a spirit, but I haven't gotten to do it like this since before you left…

Sunset: Old habits die hard, Princess. Just because you don't rule any longer, doesn't mean you're no longer still the Princess I dedicated my life to.

Sunspark winks, before bowing

She pulled back for a moment to get a better look at her.

Celestia: And it seems our other student has had quite the influence on you. Or perhaps I should say it's the other way around? Nova, I know you can hear me in there. You were always one to try and push the boundaries of what you were capable of. I'm proud of you.

That one statement meant so much to the tatzls, Nova's eyes started to water.

Nova: (She… she's proud of us? REALLY?!)

Perhaps, it was some influence Nova still had over their body or it was possibly an involuntary response, but Sunspark's tail wagged excitedly when told that.

Sunburst along with everypony else were stunned by the power on display here. Such a long range teleportation without the use of portal gum or genie magic was no small task. He went up to Starlight and Twilight, wondering how they were feeling about all this

Sunburst: One of Equestria's greatest heroes, back in the world of the living! With you three working together, Equestria will be safer than ever! And we can have our family back together! Starlight, can you believe this? You can now have your mom here in more than just her spirit form!

Starlight nods towards her cousin's observation.

Starlight: It is definitely one of the best new developments in magic ever since we found out Spike could summon the dead in the first place!

Twilight: Admittedly, we also have Discord in our corner. But he's not always around when things happen, that said I have heard he's actually assisted more than he ever has. Sunset, it does seem like that talk that you, Starlight, and Fluttershy said some years back really got to him. He'll pull the occasional harmless prank on me, but otherwise he certainly has not pulled a stunt anywhere near close to bringing all those villains back since.

Sunset: That's good to hear... he really needed to stop bucking around and endangering Equestria just in his odd ways of testing your princesshood...

Starlight: Man, even if I ascend I'll be inferior to the both of you. I don't exactly intend on becoming a genie, and while I do love you very much, Mom so don't take this the wrong way. But I don't know if I want to share my body with you, it just sounds... weird to be honest. Heh, it'd probably confuse the heck out of Dad how to talk to us if we fused.

Firelight just about confirms that by imagining his wife in his daughter's body. That'd be pretty awkward regardless of how he approached them.

Twilight: Well, Starlight. If you really wanted to have a big boost with this. Maybe you could combine it with say Jinn? She'd even have multiple millennia of knowledge you'd get from her.

Starlight thinks about it, having the bubbly first ever genie have control of her body. However she's kind of afraid there'd be so many memories loaded into her head from somepony that lived so long she wonders if there'd even be room for her own memories.

Starlight: Eh... no thanks. If we run into a situation where somehow Twilight, and Nova are unable to do anything. I could portal gum to Malakhar and ask him to genify me as a pure emergency. And I'd go back to normal before the time limit goes up. I just don't think the genie life is for me, personally. Even if that simulation from way back felt really good... 

Celestia: It truly is good to have you back, even if it is only temporary. And I'm sure that dedication goes for the both of you

Nova may not be seen from the outside, but her face is a deep shade of red.

Fury: (I'd call that a yes!)

Nova: (S-shush!! So what? D-don't look too into it!)

She says, still trying to hide some emotions despite Sunset and especially Fury knowing how Nova actually feels.

When the conversation shifts over to how they can benefit from it. And the topic of Discord comes up as well as someone like Starlight trying this type of fusion. This perks Nova up a bit.

Nova: (You know if Discord is still causing you all some trouble, you could always send him our way. I've yet to catalog draconequus DNA and I'd love to examine him! That chaotic genetic structure must be out of this world~!

Also you may want to warn them about how precise the spell has to be to work. I mean I'm sure Starlight is far more capable than we are thanks to her raw potential that she's gained from you. But if somepony like the original genie were factored into this, that kind of multiplied power may be too much even for her... after what it took to get you in here I may need to rethink about trying this experiment with Twilight...)

Fury raises an eyebrow at this.

Fury: (Uh huh, and I'm sure you're still gonna try it anyway aren't you?)

Nova: (...I might…) 

Sunset chuckles about Starlight's hesitation of fusing with her.

Sunset: I perfectly understand, Starlight. I admit I am kinda curious what kind of power our raw talent together would be multiplied into. Like… Imagine if together we were more powerful then Twilight! But there's no need to unless Twilight were to somehow go rogue

Twilight gulped a little at that thought, she's certainly happy now that both Sunset and Starlight would never want to harm her.  And the thought of her going evil somehow has crossed her mind but she's stayed pure long enough to get this far.

Stellar Flare: Not to butt in... but you girls haven't even fully explained how this all came to be. Some of us are still in the dark about this!

Sunset realizes they haven't even gotten into explaining what happened in the Museum

Sunset: Oh oops! Yeah... sorry about that. We've already told everything to Twilight and Starlight. I guess we just didn't feel like explaining it the 3rd time in a row so quickly like that. But... it is important. So we'll do the honors and tell you all.

Once more, everything that went on inside the museum is explained from Nova's spell all the way to the mutual benefits for both Nova and Sunset. It's a lot to take in, but they manage to warm up to the idea well enough. Sunset can have a living body again which for some made it worth it by itself, Sunset's doing what she can to help a pony (or rather two) feel what a loving family can be like, and it's an all new aspect to soul magic that will have magic geeks like Twilight and Sunburst just gushing inside their minds about the possibilities in the future.

Nova: (I get where she's coming from but that's a shame, the power you two would have would dwarf ours right now! And as much as I don't like admitting that, it's a cold hard fact. But Twilight, evil? Ehhhh I don't see it… at least not by her own volition, she's way too much of a goody goody.) 

Sunburst nodded in agreement with his mother.

Sunburst: Yes please, we're dying to know how this is even possible! I have just so many questions on your current state of being! And the state of Nova within you too, is she locked away? Sleeping? Or is she right there and can hear us?

Celestia chimed in on that last question

Celestia: Nova's situation is a bit unique so I'm sure she can hear us, but I too would love to hear how this was attained.

As Sunset explained one more time, everypony who hadn't heard how it all worked were stunned in amazement. The remarks of adding Nova and Fury to their family in a sense does give some trepidation to those that haven't properly met her yet but they still seem open to the idea given that she was willing to give up her own body for the time being to even make this work.

Sunburst: Oh my goodness! If soul magic can be harnessed in that way, just imagine the possibilities. And ponies like myself who don't have the highest magical power… even we can be helpful too. B-but not only that, we can get closer than ever before to our late loved ones! And Nova, since I know you can now hear me in there, we have to exchange notes later. I want to hear everything, from how you even came up with the idea to its execution!

Celestia looked down at Sunspark with a smile.

Celestia: Even now you're still trying to help ponies when they need it the most, Sunset. Some things never change do they? I hope she's not giving you too much trouble in there. 

She gave the mare a playful wink.

Nova: (H-hey! We're being as good as we can be!)

Fury: (That's right! We're prime daughter material over here!)

Firelight: Well, Shimmy... I do admit I've always wanted Starlight to have at least one sister. And now between those two in your head, and how she and Twilight sometimes are... it's like she has 3 sisters now! Hehe, I better start thinking of more nicknames!

Starlight jokes and winks to Nova and Fury

Starlight: Oh gosh! If you weren't stuck with my mom in control I'd suggest you start running now. If you're going to be a part of this family, you're going to have to tolerate my father's nicknames!

Doesn't help that because Nova and Fury have Sunset's memories, they know that Starlight's nicknames were actual names he proposed to name Starlight before she was born.

Stellar meanwhile is about crying about just how heartwarming this is. So many joyful tears that it begins to make her nose run as she gets out a handkerchief and blows into it.

Stellar: My my, Nova you really put a lot of... plans into this. You really were meant to be a part of our family~

Sunburst about groaning on Stellar's mention of plans.

Sunspot: Sis, this is absolutely the most fantastic coming of events since I got to reunite with you when you were first summoned. Thankfully this time, it's a lot less bittersweet. Tell me when you want to go on an adventure like the good ol' times. I'd love to start spotting some dinosaur fossils with you again.

Sunspark smiles

Sunset: I'd love that, big bro! (Don't suppose you two in here are dinosaur fans?) 

Sunburst: Oh dear, I hope you're able to deal with the way mom plans things... (I actually feel sorry they can't defend themselves at the moment.)

Celestia: And I'll be sure to visit when you're all here as well! It'll warm my heart to not only see my former students getting along but seeing the family you've all become a part of.

Hearing all this, it was quite overwhelming to say the least, especially for Nova. This kind of warm acceptance by them all, it was very unfamiliar to the mare. It made her recoil but not out of disgust, just unfamiliarity to the feeling. Fury on the other hand couldn't help but laugh

Nova: (They're all so...eager about this. I would have thought they might see me as just some weird intruder or just someone butting into business that I should have no part in… This is what a normal family is like...? What have we just gotten ourselves into?)

Fury: (Boy, I've never been so glad to not have my own body. You can enjoy ALL of these family shenanigans for the two of us, Nova! I know how much love and attention you've wanted, now you're getting plenty of it!) 

Nova glared at her counterpart 

Nova: (I'll be sure they pick only the highest quality nickname for you… I may even have to give Firelight... or dad… ooh, that's going to take some getting used to. But I'll give him some suggestions for you! We've seen all of 'mom's' memories of him so we know his preferences!) 

The two tatzls look quite interested in the comment about dinosaurs.

Nova: (Of course I am, are you kidding!? They're massive creatures whose DNA I'd love to get my hooves on! N-not to try and revive the dinosaurs, I'm not that foolhardy. We know why that would be a TERRIBLE idea. But to harness it and maybe gain some dino traits? Absolutely! Plus it gives us a better idea of ancient Equestria! I mean you said that the cave ponies in the shield can talk now, with you coming back and forth we can uncover ancient secrets and species once lost to time!) 

Sunset on the outside mentions her next thing about dinosaurs mostly to her brother, but also mean to tell this to Nova and Fury

Sunset: Better yet, I can tell you I've actually seen many dinosaurs in the soul shield. All kinds of them, both predators and prey, admittedly you'd think that'd be awkward. But the meat eaters aren't evil even if they do kill prey. They were doing what they needed to survive. Animals like them and less sentient ones we know today have an easier time getting into the soul shield, as it's hard for a wild creature to be acting on actual malicious intent. 

And even just observing them up there, I think it's quite likely that Dinosaurs aren't just the ancestors of birds. Some of them went on to become the ancestors of dragons. And that's pretty important! Since we all know I'm back down here because of the Dragon Tears. We have so much to thank dinosaurs for now, don't we?

Nova: (You've gotten to see them!? Maybe we glossed past that memory of you in the shield but that's incredible! But it doesn't surprise me that they would not be deemed evil for following instinct. I think if that were the case, it would be far more cruel. And you bring up an interesting idea, dragons having a common ancestor in the dinosaurs doesn't sound too far fetched. Now if that truly is the case, I wonder if we could find an ancient form of dragon tears with dinosaur bones? We could have an entire treasure trove of them just waiting to be dug up!)

Fury chuckles

Fury: (Sounds like you've already got a family trip planned in mind. But remember we've got only 3 days to be like this, we shouldn't try and squeeze everything into this one trip for Sunse… mom. We can always plan ahead. I'm sure Sunspot will want to learn about us too, make sure we're on the up and up when we're separated.) 

Sunset: (Yeah there's so much to do, I've probably already overwhelmed myself with seeing everypony I'm familiar with. I'd still like to see Velvet again, or rather, Twilight's mother and of course my parents back in Silver Shoals. And then there's the other elements of Harmony who'd probably love to see us too.. I know we could have somepony wish them over just like with Celestia, but I think that's enough for today. We'll get to see any number of them on either the 2nd day, or the 3rd day.. I just wanna relax with our family for tonight, take things easy first.)

Sunset: So Starlight, now that I'm in a real body... what's the first activity you want to do?

Starlight thinks some stuff over, there's so much they could possibly do. But then she has a bit of an eureka moment, on the perfect, but also very chill and relaxing moment to start off.

Starlight: I'm... thinking some kite flying would be quite nice... I've shown you my kite flying... but I'd really like to see my mother actually able to pull kites herself again.

The rather mundane, but heartwarmingly simple task for their first activity together puts a smile on just about everypony's face.

Twilight: Heh, why don't we ALL fly kites!. If you don't have your own, just wish for one from me or Sunspark!

Suddenly a grumble is heard, coming from Sunspark. Sunspark putting a hoof on her chest.

Sunset: Ooooh... 

Starlight: Huh? What was that, Mom?

Sunset: Dang, it's been so long since I've felt like this...

Twilight: What? Like... is it the feeling as if butterflies were warming your heart or something like that?

Sunset: ...No, it's our stomach. I'm HUNGRY! Can we make this kite flying get-together a picnic too? Hehe

The group begins to chuckle and laugh. There's going to be a period where Sunset's getting used to bodily functions and senses again. The ponies knew that was going to take some adjustment. 

Nova: (U-uh maybe we'll just see how that all goes yeah? I'm uh...not good interacting with so many new ponies. Even if I'm not the one out there, this is still a whole lot for me to process. You should know we're only used to being around just a small group of ponies we trust. I'm not opposed to meeting all of them, but this is all so new for me. Honestly it's like… you remember how the grand galloping gala used to be and there were just so many ponies who wanted to talk to you and Celestia? It's like that! And I'm here just wanting to sit in the corner…)

Fury: (It is a bit much for us, but I think it's more the fact that you're also getting used to the lack of control. It's going to take some time. But this is a good lesson to learn I think!)

The mention of wanting to go fly kites and have a picnic too eases some of the tension and makes Nova laugh

Nova: (Flying kites? Heh sounds simple enough! Hey maybe we should conjure up some extra ones like we're also out there with you! It could give you some practice in using our tail! I mean we can conjure up some for ourselves here but I wanna be out there in… spirit… heheh

Oh and uh just a heads up but we can eat a TON. Though you don't have to...partake in our more peculiar eating habits. It'll be your first time having food in years so try to go slow with it. Last thing we need is to choke.)

Celestia: Oooh, if you're all going to have a picnic, I'd love to join you. Perhaps we can pick up some cakes along the way?

She licks her lips

Celestia: Now that I don't have to worry about any royal duties, I can indulge as much as I want! It'll be good to catch up with all of my students as well.

Firelight's just about in the most joyous tears in his life

Firelight: I... have been dreaming of this moment ever since I met you, Shimmy... me, you, our children, and however many of our family and friends... simply enjoying life together... 

I... N-nova... if you can hear me... I know I'm probably a stranger to you... but I can't thank you enough for doing this for my wife... you'll always be welcome into our family... feel free to come by Sire's Hollow sometime even when Shimmy's back up there protecting the planet. I wouldn't mind truly meeting my new daughter... or daughters from what I hear...

Sunset smiles

Sunset: D'awww... come here, Fi-Fi... 

Sunspark and Firelight go in for a heartwarming hug between a loving husband and wife 

The gesture made Nova sniffle a bit, she didn't know if there were any more tears to let out after the day they've had.

Nova: (You tell him I'll happily take him up on his offer. I'll have to explain how Fury and I work to him when I get the chance but it'll be nice to actually spend time with a father for once. Our relationship with our biological father is...well it's not as horrible as our biological mother but it's not like he'd ever be getting a 'world's greatest dad' mug anytime soon, he would've had to be around for that!)

Nova took a deep breath and calmed down. The hug from the outside definitely helped in that regard. The group on the outside all let out a collective 'awww' at the sight.

Though suddenly Sunspark’s eyes open with a bit of a smug smirk.

Sunset: (You know what I should do again, that I couldn't do as a spirit? I didn't have any real weight anymore that’s needed to get just the right leverage. You ready, Nova and Fury~. Though uh... also... let's make sure we conjure something soft for him to land on. I don't know if his bones are as strong as they once were)

Both Fury and Nova grinned as Sunset gave them a chance to do something they knew that all of them would appreciate.

Nova & Fury: (Suplex, suplex, SUPLEX, SUPLEX!!! Let's gooooo! ahahahaha!)

Sunspark conjured a large mattress with pillows as soft as clouds, and then proceeded to slam Firelight downward. It caught the group by surprise, though they've all visited the museum at least once. They knew this was Sunset and Firelight's ol’ 'tradition'

Firelight shrieked as he was being suplexed for the first time in so many years. Very thankful they had thought to give him a comfortable landing, he's quite older then he was in his prime. So no guarantees his bones would have held out. He's still a little dazed, but he smiles.

Firelight: This... is how I know you're truly back... Shimmy... a heh heh heh...

Sunspark beamed a grin as the rest of the group got their laughs in.

The group then proceeded to order some delicious food, and once they had their fill. All of them release a kite into the wind. Starlight's favorite activity ever since she was a filly, now being shared amongst friends and family. They hung out together until it got dark, many being teleported by either Twilight or Sunspark back home. Or staying in Sire's Hollow, Sunset getting to experience sleeping in a bed physically, sleeping in what was once both Firelight's and her bed once upon a time, and now was again for at least a little while, and actually falling asleep without being sent back up to the soul shield. She wondered if she'd even get to dream for the first time in forever....

As the first day went on, Nova got to learn more about the family she'd just become a part of. For the first time in years, she was genuinely looking forward to spending time with these new relatives and also making memories of her own. As the trio laid down both in the real world and in their mindscape. Nova and Fury snuggled up to Sunset.

Nova: (I hope this isn't too awkward that we get close like this. We can always pull back if need be. But… did you enjoy your first day back in a living body? I know it probably wasn't what you might think you'd be doing today. But I know I'm glad it worked out. I never thought that spending a day with family could be so… fun.)

Fury: (You can say that again. I may actually want to swap in and out when we come to visit on our own! And mom... remember if you do get tired during the day, one of us can always swap in for a bit. But we know you want to maximize all the time you get down here. Plus, we'll actually be able to share dreams while we're in here too! We probably should have brought that up earlier but it's good to know now. So Nova, you better have safe thoughts!)

Nova blushes from that last comment but it also raises a point that neither she or Fury had thought about.

Fury: (That reminds me… I hate to sour the moment but I hope you aren't expecting to um… you know… with Firelight.) 

Nova: (Yeah… yeah no… not with us still in here. He's nice and all but definitely not our type. And with us calling him dad now that's just... the cuddling is fine but…)

Sunset laughs and winks

Sunset: (No worries, you two. 'That' is one of the few things I was actually still able to do even as a spirit~. A little something special for those heartbroken by the death of those they married and/or dated.

Nova & Fury: (Oh thank Luna…)

The two let out a collective sigh of relief. The two then give Sunset one more hug before feeling the tiredness finally get to them.

Sunset: But before this conversation gets too awkward, I am very much enjoying this thus far. Thank you so much, Nova. You have my eternal gratitude.)

Nova: (We've got more fun to be had. I… I couldn't have been able to do any of this if you hadn't inspired me as a filly so long ago. None of us can get that lost time back, but we can make new, better memories going forward.)

That night Sunset would have the first dream she's had since before her passing. She is surrounded by her friends and family… along with the two new additions to it.

Upon the beginning of the 2nd day, Sunset and Nova agreed that they'd spend a majority of the day in Canterlot. Where Sunset would see her childhood friend and Twilight's mother, Twilight Velvet. Velvet had already been pretty happy to see Sunset as a spirit, but as she learns about how she has the option of being in a real live body again. She is absolutely ecstatic. They were able to have plenty of talks when Sunset was only a spirit, but Velvet was nonetheless glad Sunset was lucky enough to have a kind enough pony to give her another chance at life even if only in short bursts.

Velvet also suggested if Sunset would like to join another MILF club meeting if a convenient date falls on a time where she's in Nova's body again. Nova at first not knowing what they were getting into, until both she and Fury get a sigh of relief that MILF means "Mothers In Lovely Families". Velvet also praises Nova for doing so much for her dear friend, also telling her that she does somewhat remember a little filly of what traits of Nova were still there in their form. And is proud of how they've progressed. 

Mentioning the school however did give Sunset an idea, a revisit to the School of Gifted Unicorns where they can see the next generation of well-skilled unicorns that hope to make a difference. While Sunset was still in control, it felt like Nova was at least for a short time was now in Sunset's shoes on that special day depicted in the photograph in the museum. Wondering if their visit drives a particular filly to strive for her dreams even when life gets rough.

Tons of nostalgic feelings overwhelmed both Sunset and Nova as they walked through the school's hallways. Each room they looked in carried some sort of memory for one or even both of them. Once they're satisfied with a return to the school. it's Nova who suggested the next place: her lab.

Nova was touched by the day's early activities, meeting Velvet again, going to an interestingly named MILF club, and seeing the school once more. Something Nova was a bit hesitant to do at first given that she hadn't stepped a hoof in it since being 'banished'. It all felt so much different, like a dark cloud had been lifted since then. Sunset even gave Nova some time back in control to help inspire some of the students as well.

Thanks to the memories she'd seen from Nova, Sunset knew how to get to the lab but she would find it still such a shock to see in an unassuming place as it had no noticeable entry. Once inside, they were met with an initially confused Morpha. Seeing her in memories was one thing but to see a slime pony up close fascinated Sunset. And likewise, Morpha was fascinated by Nova's new appearance. Once they explained what happened, Morpha was elated at what they accomplished. Not only showing off some of their own recent experiments, but allowing them to relax for a bit in her makeshift hot tub and display some of her own tricks as well. She did tease Nova and Fury about getting Sunset to be a surrogate mother to them, but she was more than happy. Also telling Sunset every little secret that she could about them, knowing that Nova and Fury had to be held in check. From their thoughts and feelings on some of the others like herself or Celestia and to experiments they've always wanted to run. But of course Sunset did know all of this already.

They'd also taken the opportunity to invite one more friend of Nova's over, the lamia, Sahara. Sunset would easily tell by her attire and unique magic what she truly is, but Sahara would wink at her, saying to keep that under wraps. Nova and Fury merely shrugged it off as Sahara being cryptic since she was known to do that. Sunset may also be able to tell that Nova and Sahara might have something going on between them but she also seemed like a giant flirt so it may be just reading too much into it. 

Through it all, Sunset could see how much these friends meant to Nova. And could appreciate how they were able to keep her stable. Sahara did invite Sunset over to her place at any time she wished. Suggesting that if she ever wanted to dance at her club she was more than welcome to. Something that got Nova blushing at the thought. While Fury fully encouraged it

Nova did float the idea of running an experiment while they were there but it had already gotten late to really start one. Morpha and Fury remind her of how she gets when really focuses on something and loses track of time. Nova did make a promise to Sunset that they would get to experiment someday in the future. 

Before they go to sleep before the final day, Nova decided to show Sunset her notes about the Dragon's Tear that would eventually lead to her discovering the spell that had fused them.

The notes Nova still had room for potential further study. Nova had already thought of questions to answer if the initial test had worked. Even with the more emotional side of herself that she'd been showing on the first day, that meticulous side of her never left either. There were even some candidates listed to see if she could get them to replicate what she did with Sunset but for a pegasus and an earth pony. With different accessory ideas to make it work. Most notably being the apple family as primary candidates for earth ponies. She also still had notes on what might happen if she were to try this with Twilight Sparkle, showing that the mare may have liked her more than she let on.

They made sure to get some rest as they wanted to get an early start for their final day together, taking the time to go to Silver Shoals and Ponyville.

Upon visiting Silver Shoals, they first went to see Celestia one more time. This time at their homes in retirement, and meeting up with Luna. Sunset of course had been seeing Luna a number of times as a spirit, with interesting discussions between the two in those 5 years though Celestia still held more of a special place in Sunset's heart. Though with Nova's memories, Sunset felt Nova's reverence for Luna in the past. So at the very least Sunset learned of something she had in common with Luna, both being figures that Nova looked up to.

Nova was more than happy to visit the former princesses, like Sunset did with Celestia, Nova had still referred to Luna with her title. But on top of that, seeing Celestia so happy to be with her student, it was like being a little filly again. The resentment she had once felt for Celestia had been gone for some time now but this joy with the both of them was something she never thought she could feel again.

After a delightful meeting with the former royals, Sunset had taken them to see her parents. They were a bit confused as to why or how a mare who vaguely resemble their daughter came to visit. Thankfully with Celestia and Luna there as well, they were able to fully explain the situation which resulted in another tearful reunion for their daughter. They too had seen Sunset as a spirit but to hold their daughter in their hooves again with a physical body was something they never thought would ever be possible again.

By the time lunch had rolled around, Sunset was now taking them to a place that made Nova a bit more nervous than the others, Ponyville. While she was already friends with Twilight, the rest of the elements she's not as familiar with. But this meeting was bound to happen with or without Sunset to help. 

Luckily for them, they didn't have to explain things over and over again since Twilight had briefed them about what had happened in Sire's Hollow. What followed was Pinkie giving a ‘Sunset is alive again (Sorta) Party’. Being rushed into a party was a bit uncomfortable for Nova, but thanks to Sunset having a fair bit of social skills given she was at her fair share of Grand Galloping Galas, she was able to get them through. 

Pinkie mostly hosted the festivities, and with a new pony in Ponyville. Pinkie made notes for the Sugarcube Corner basement about Sunset and Nova. The latter kind of surprised Pinkie has a fair bit of organized note-taking, even if it makes sense for her to keep track of everypony's likes and dislikes.

While there wasn't too much she had to say, Rainbow Dash thought this whole fusion thing was awesome especially when she was told that the spell ended up multiplying their power and they were about on equal level with even Twilight afterward.

Rarity was curious about the fused body, and quickly decided to make some measurements. Obviously, she was giving herself some notes for clothes for Sunspark. And maybe even Nova herself if she was interested.

The one Nova was most comfortable with was Fluttershy who shared their love of animals and/or creatures big and small.

Though perhaps the most interesting conversation came with Applejack. With the new spell able to put deceased ponies inside living ponies’ bodies. The subject quickly came to if Applejack, or anyone else in her family would like to have her mom and dad channeled into them at some point. Applejack loved her parents, though she wasn’t sure she wanted either one of them in her body. But she wondered if maybe Sugar Belle and Big Mac would be interested. That way the two of them were still in married Apple family bodies regardless. Applejack said she'll get back to them on that offer some other time. Wait until all related parties consent to the idea. 

After filling their bellies with Applejack's cooking and Pinkie's dessert. They decide before going to Sire's Hollow they'd make one last stop: the School of Friendship where Starlight worked as its headmare. It was after school hours, but it gave them an opportunity to see what both Twilight and Starlight had accomplished in the last 5 years with all the happy students of all kinds of species attending. When they finally saw Starlight, she was in her office talking with Ocellus. Continuing her studies about changelings, in which Nova was able to learn at least some of what Starlight's learned. This visit also served another purpose, they figured Starlight may want to be there when Sunset heads back out of Nova's body and back to the soul shield. And they thought it'd be appropriate to let her go back from Sire's Hollow. 

After the introduction to the other elements of harmony, Sunset had pushed Nova back into control so she could converse with them all. This kind of attention still made her a bit uneasy, but having Sunset reassure her as well as Fury always there to light a fire under her. It allowed her to truly get to understand these ponies more. Seeing facets of them that she would have never guessed from just observing them from afar. Ponyville wasn't a place that Nova visited often but she made a note to actually try doing so a bit more now. Some of the ideas proposed by Rarity, Fluttershy and the one she posed to Applejack interested her. But not only did she want to get to know all of them better, she was truly enamored with the Everfree Forest and the creatures it held. Even if she was told it's nowhere near as wild as it used to be.

Nova still had some trepidation over why a school of friendship needed to exist but it was much more clear to her now that it was making a difference in the world. Getting more information on the changelings would be something she'd want to continue discussing with Starlight once she learned more. Once the day's festivities were coming to a close, they had teleported back to Sire's Hollow.

Once there, all of Sunset's family were outside of the museum, waiting for them. Sunburst, Sunspot, Stellar Flare, and Firelight all came to see Sunset off. Nova and Fury were mentally preparing themselves to say goodbye to Sunset for now.

Nova: (So this is it huh? It really feels like these last 3 days just flew by! I do miss having full control over my body but… I am going to also miss having you in here with us too... I know this isn't the last time it'll happen but I can't help but feel a bit sad about it. I mean I definitely wasn't expecting to be taken into your family 3 days ago, that's for sure! Or to be calling you, mom, it still feels surreal.) 

Sunset: (Can't say I expected to be sucked into a horn either, that was the most surreal part for me, and it was... an interesting experience. I'd even say it felt kinda good, like an instant full-body massage almost, I suppose I truly know now what it's like for Twilight to go into her bottle.

Though I should also consider your end since it was a pretty difficult spell. Perhaps you should take notes on the cool-down between performing the spell and when it's safe to do it again without overdoing it. So we can get a good idea of when to plan our next one. Perhaps over time you'll get stronger and be able to do it more frequently, but please don't risk overheating your horn for my sake. Three days or less each time is leagues better then just being a spirit)

Nova: (Well it didn't feel too bad… until it started to. But these are kinks I'll have to work out. I'll be more prepared for next time now that I know what to expect! I'll have plenty of notes and results to show you the next time! 

Though...I'll for sure not try to cast anything high level for a while. Gonna be strange to be going back to slightly above average magic. But the next time you see me, I'll be more than capable of casting the spell! Besides, I've got a new 'sister' that I can't go falling too far behind from now! We also don't know what kind of strain, if any, your spirit may have so it's good that you go back up to the soul shield and properly recharge there too. Who knows, we could work towards finding a way to extend this 3 day limit!)

Fury: (I'll also make sure to do my own kind of training when I get control too. Thankfully we had no angry outbursts but you never know with this one.)

Nova: (Hey!)

Fury: (Heheh. I'll also be sure to keep this one in contact with the everypony, they've still got a bit to learn about us and vice versa. And I know we both want to spend some time with them… but for now I think we're getting close to the wire here…)

Fury let out a sigh. Both she and Nova gave Sunset one more internal hug before getting ready to cast the spell to unfuse.

Nova: (...are you ready to go, mom?)

Sunset teases

Sunset: (Someday soon you may technically have two new sisters to strive to compete with, even if you've technically already had matching her as a goal. Don't forget that Twilight's has occasionally served a purpose similar to an older sister to Starlight. I hope you have enough liquid in your body for the liquid pride I'm going to shed that day if we're there as a fusion for Starlight’s coronation!

Somehow this bit of information had slipped Nova's mind, this revelation put her in a state of disbelief.

Nova: (H-huh!? She's not your… but if she's like that to Starlight… so that means Twilight is technically my… WHAT?! GAAAAAH! How could I have missed such a crucial detail!? Oh great… now I know she's gonna have her fun calling me sis too. Uuugh, and I bet she's gonna make up some title like she does for her brother.)

She ruffles her mane in a frustrated manner, trying to look upset. But there's no hiding the small smile she has on her face. Fury looks over to Sunset with a smirk, knowing how Nova actually feels about this.

Nova: (And don't you worry, I'll make sure you're there for Starlight's ascension ceremony if it happens. But man, having to measure up to two alicorns and one being a genie on top of that? It's like trying to measure up to Celestia and Princess Luna all over again! Hahahah.... but I do like a good challenge, I am used to the odds being stacked against me. I guess as the more things change in this world, some things stay the same. But now I have even more of a reason to ascend in my own way!)

Sunset: (But yes Nova, I should get going now. I'll be sure to tell my extended family's spirits what's happened. I am a little afraid of getting a bit of jealousy from a fair share of spirits up there. But many are aware of my past and what I've done for the planet. And next time you see "meteor showers", there's a chance you could be seeing me up there.)

She nuzzles Nova, and says the three words Nova thought she'd never hear from a parent, blood or foster-wise.

Sunset: (I love you, Nova. I'm excited for all our future foster mother-daughter quality time.)

The last message from Sunset stunned both her and Fury. Neither of them had expected it, but once it was registered by them, both mares began to cry.

Nova: (Wha...you...really? D-damn it, and here I thought I wasn't going to cry again! I… I love you too, I always have.)

Fury: (W-we'll be sure to have plenty of ideas for more quality time, we swear!)

Even on the outside as everyone was waiting, Sunspark started to cry as well. Her horn began to flare up, encompassing her entire body, internally the magical auras of the three surrounded them. The ring on her horn sparked blue just like it had done when they had tried to pull her in. Slowly they could feel themselves coming apart, the magic separating from their body. In a brilliant sparkle of light, Sunset's spirit reformed on the outside while Nova's colors returned to normal.

Her mane no longer flowed like an alicorn's, their cutie mark returned to the spark that it once was. Though Nova did still feel some of the warmth that she felt when Sunset's magic merged with hers. Inside their mind, it grew a bit quieter as Sunset's presence was no longer there. 

Nova looked up at the spirit form of Sunset once more, after the last 3 days of seeing her in a 'physical' form inside her mind and in their reflection, it was a little strange to see her like this again, but they knew this is what was meant to be. 

Nova: Wait before you go... think we could have one last hug? I know I'd just phase through you but..

Sunset tilts her head and smiles.

Sunset: It's at least worth a shot, and we can at least try to make it look like we're hugging as best as possible.

The spirit floats on down to Nova's eye level and carefully places her hooves around Nova's neck in a position to preemptively prepare for part of her body to just phase through. Get as close as she can to making it look like a hug without too much of her spirit clipping through Nova's body.

But she gasps... as to her surprise... she feels something... the fur and body warmth of Nova's coat. Nova on her part can feel a sense of a surprising amount of comfortable warmth of a spirit too as Sunset's transparent hooves wrap around her in the same way she could do so with Starlight, Firelight, or anyone else in her family or were close friends.

While she was prepared to basically give the best kind of pretend hug she could. Nova's eyes shoot open as she realizes she's actually touching Sunset's spirit. She can't believe it, some tears start to fall from her eyes as she holds her tighter.

Nova: I... I'm not crazy right? I... I can actually feel you... like this... a-and you can feel me too?

Sunset holds on tight and thinks on this, ultimately giving Nova a warm smile

Sunset: ...Well, either... this is a nice unintentional benefit from your spell... since we were in the same body, we therefore shared blood and that was enough to trigger the condition of blood relation or... maybe it's more simple then that. Just a straight forward, sentimental connection we made in the past few days... to the point that even the cosmos are blessing your addition as a new family member. 

Perhaps... it may be best to theorize... that it's a little of both. A successful spell from a hard-working student like you, and a sign that we are truly family for the rest of time. 

Nova: That's... entirely plausible… heh, something to really look into then! Hahaha! But it sounds so cheesy too, mom!

Nova can't help but smile at this, if even the universe itself was accepting this, she didn't have any room to question it.

Nova: But that's not a bad thing… It means we really are family now, huh?

She did pull back from the hug, knowing that Sunset still had to leave, but she was comforted by the fact that she's truly part of something bigger.

Sunset waved one last time to Nova before focusing and shifting into her more comet-like form, zipping straight up into the atmosphere. A trail flying across the sky before it fades from view. Soon Sunset Shimmer was back to doing what she always did best in both life and death, doing her part to protect the world she loved.

Nova: (Bye, mom… and thank you)

Starlight puts a hoof around Nova's shoulder as she too watches Sunset return back up in her more comet-like form. 

Once the comet was out of sight. Starlight turned and smiled to her foster sister. The scientist returning the favor in solidarity.

Starlight: I'd like to thank you one more time for doing this, it really does mean a lot to me and my... I mean... our entire family.

Though I thought I'd give you a bit of good news. I've messaged Twilight recently, and she's gradually gotten curious if this spell of yours would work on half-spirits like her one day. How does that sound? You're one lucky scientist! 

Nova turns back to Starlight with a sad smile, removing the ring from her horn now that she would soon return the ring to the museum. Keeping in mind to make an entirely new one for the next time.

Nova: Hehe don't sweat it, it's gonna take some time for me to get used to being part of an actual family unit too. But I'll tell you what I told mom, I wanted to show my gratitude for everything she did for me when I was a filly. She was my inspiration through even my darkest days, and while she didn't know it then, she acted just as motherly to a filly like me.  And to be able to reunite her with everypony like this... 

I'm so glad I was able to pull it off. I know it's a strange way for us to properly meet, but hey I don't think either of us are strangers to weird things, huh? 

She chuckles as Starlight mentions the good news to her. This puts a sly grin on the tatzl's face.

Nova: Oh really~? Seems she and I are thinking alike then. Good thing I've already got some notes in mind to see how it would work. So tell me, sis, are you ready to do some science?~

[a-crash-in-time-collection]

Chapter 47: Watching Fire

Platinum was usually 'casual' about a lot of things if that was the proper word. He was alive, but he was still AI at the end of the day. It was easier for him to not focus on every detail of things and let them pass by, making it easier to focus on his main goal. And focus on just being himself… But for some reason, the fire spirits refused to leave his metal mind. Every time it seemed they would begin to fade from his thoughts, they'd reappear again with the screams of the moon echoing in his head.

It was a… bad sight, seeing what happened to the first Moonjumper. His system didn't even fully process it until much later. That's why he was able to focus on the actual words in the book and not the vision they caused. It was only until that night when it hit him that he saw death. Not just the death of one's body, but what seemed to be the death of one's soul. Hat Girl had told him about Autiomaa, and the knowledge of the other Moonjumper pieces. The only way they could exist was the shattering of a soul…

And all this thanks to the fire spirits. He thought about the first time he saw them. How innocent they seemed. They were dancing in place around the campfire until Hat Girl helped them burn out. It felt so… wrong looking back. Knowing those things, or at least their species was responsible for the death of what seemed to be a god. They were created for that sole purpose. Do they carve death now because that's all they knew about? It frightened him a bit. It also just made no sense and a lot of sense at the same time.

He didn't want to worry his sister or his fathers about his feelings. He didn't know how Pops would react if he learned what Snatcher allowed them to see. He ended up going to Van to speak with them. Not directly about it, no. He didn't want that burden on them. Just to talk about the concepts. About purpose, about dark magic. He disguised it by talking about them as tropes in stories. Van seemed to light up when spoken to about these things, even if it was subtle to most.

Platinum was back in Subcon. Just enjoying the quiet forest with some other members, as some tension had started to arise back at the orbital station. He didn't blame anyone involved. It was a miracle things went as smoothly for as long as it did. But people got a bit antsy, wanting to get home but the process was slow. They weren't making a mess, but it was causing some noise… At least Platinum could rest on a rock while listening to the others speak. And maybe try to clear his head from-

There was a sudden shout that made him sit up, scanning around. "Ow!" Hat Girl's voice came from nearby, as the robot and others around tried to locate her. It was like she just vanished from view. Platinum eventually noticed some bushes nearby, and how parts of them almost seemed bent. He walked over and found a large hole behind them, Hat Girl at the bottom. "I should have paid better attention." She said as she rubbed her back, a whine in her voice. "At least my umbrella slowed my fall."

"Is this one of the bush cats? It looks really deep." Van said as they bent down near Platinum to get a closer look. It had to be a good 10 or so feet deep at least. They looked over as Right came over. "Can you get her back up?"

"Would if I could." Right, let out an annoyed sigh as he shook his head. "You know ‘ow sometimes systems will start just, breakin’ and glitchin’ for no reason at all? Started ‘appenin’ to mine a few days ago. Reg started work on fixin’ it but between t’at and everything else, ‘e ‘as a lot on ‘is plate. So ‘e ‘as most of my 'extra features' turned off so I can still live until ‘e can fix ‘em properly. Which includes my flight." He mumbled as he glanced down. "Ya chose t’e wrong day for t’is, ‘attie."

"I can wait here for a bit, see if Snatcher's woken up from his nap yet. He can help me out!" She called, and Right let out a small sigh before nodding, he didn't see any other choice. It would take forever just to get a rope from the orbital station after all with the distance. So he left to see if the ghost had awoken yet, and Platinum glanced down the hole again. "Hey, the sky looks pretty from here." Hat Girl called up. "I think I can still see a bit of the fire tower from here."

"Fire tower…" Platinum glanced over at it. "Yea. It's still so… interesting. About that magic."

"Is it bad I kinda been wanting to watch the fire spirits a bit?" Hat Girl suddenly asked. "See if there's still anything up with them, considering… you know." She asked as she sat down, Platinum shaking his head. Van looked at them both confused, and an idea slowly started forming in Platinum's mind. He stood up and tried to see if there were signs of fire spirits around. "It's a shame, we could go looking for them now but I’m stuck in here." She chuckled a bit, shaking her head.

"Me and Van can go watch, and let you know if we see anything off," Platinum called down, to which Van glanced at him, a worried look on their face. They didn't understand what they were talking about, or why there seemed to be this faint, worried tone in their voices whenever the fire spirits showed up. Platinum looked over at them and offered a small smile. "It'll be alright, Van. Besides, you haven't gotten to see too much of this world's supernatural side. Wouldn't that be cool to see?"

"Won't we get in trouble?" Van asked, glancing at where Right went. "Your father wouldn't want us leaving Hat Girl alone, defenseless."

"Defenseless?" Hat Girl said, a laugh in her voice as she got her witch hat out of her bag and placed it on her head, making one of the potions appear in her hands. Van facepalmed, having forgotten about that as Platinum chuckled. He was a little worried about leaving her there, but he could tell she would be fine as she glanced at him. She wanted them to go. "Just make sure to note down what you're seeing. Platinum is the type just to make a lot of things up."

"Hey!" Platinum said, letting out a huff as he crossed his arms… She was right, though. Platinum looked at Van, who seemed to sit there thinking for a moment. Eventually, they sighed and got up, turning to look at the robot with a smile. "Does this mean you want to?" He asked, to which the human nodded, and Platinum threw one hand into the air while taking Van's with his other. "We'll be back soon Hattie! If Pops comes back, tell him a bat stole Van's hat!" He said as he raced off.

"You know he's not gonna believe that!" Hat Girl called from the hole, Platinum rolling his eyes as he raced further into the woods with Van. He paused when he noticed his grip had gotten tighter on Van's hand.

"I-It's ok! I know you were excited." Van said once Platinum let go of their hand, rubbing it. It had a faint red marking on it that was already starting to fade. Platinum didn't know what came over him there. He didn't do that when running with Hattie. It was like he didn't want to let go… He found himself blushing, quickly turning away from Van so he could think for a moment. "Platinum?" Van spoke, a bit concerned. "It's ok. I’ve gotten myself hurt worse before. We can keep going now."

"Yea… Maybe you go ahead. Just stop if you see anything that looks like fire." Platinum said as he gestured for Van to go in front of him. He offered them a smile as they went in front, before following. At least this way he could act if something tried to sneak up from them from behind. Could take the hit so Van didn't get hurt. Or lose their hat for real. "Still, I'm sorry." He spoke up. "I'll be more careful, I promise… Well, as much as I realistically can."

"I know," Van said a chuckle in their voice.

Platinum found himself smiling when he heard that chuckle. It was quiet, a little shy, like Van. But it just had its own life to it as well…

It took quite a bit to even find a clue to where Fire Spirits might be. There weren't any fires, nor any barriers caused by their magic. It was almost a little strange how little there were. Platinum remembered the amount that was there when the Moonjumper died. It seemed like hundreds, even if he could only see a few dozen. The forest was big, sure, but Hat Girl would talk about how she used to run into fire spirits all the time back when she was first on this planet. Maybe she could have been exaggerating, but still…

If he got nothing out of this in terms of firespirit info, at least he got to talk with Van. Sure, he started talking with them more lately, but there was something about being out of the orbital station that just made it seem… easier. It at least felt different. Like he could say more, and not have to worry about putting on the same act if someone suddenly came in. He never knew why he was so worried about that. He was allowed to have a friendly conversation with Van… It's just..maybe he wanted it to be more than friendly. Maybe he wanted them to be more than…

"Is that a campfire?" Van asked, getting Platinum's attention before he got lost in his thoughts. Platinum glanced ahead, and sure enough, there was a firepit. Burnt out, seemed to have long since cooled from its use. Those Fire Spirits must have already died. He let out a small sigh as he bent over to investigate closer once they had walked up to it. No hints of anything unusual. "Why are you so focused on learning about these things, Platinum? I noticed how you and Hat Girl talked about them."

"I don't know if she would want me to go into all the details with you… It involved the first Moonjumper. And that's all I can say." He wanted to tell Van more. Van deserved to know. He didn't want Van to worry, but would telling them to make them worry? He didn't know. Van gave a small nod, as they bent down and started writing in a notebook they had, before pausing. "Is it just me, or do you hear something?" They whispered, and Platinum listened. The faint sounds of embers in the air. Coming from the hillside nearby.

"Stay behind me… you know, just in case." Platinum said as he began to walk up to the edge to look down, pausing when he looked past the bushes. He saw a bunch of stone that looked like it had been carved poorly to serve as houses. Plenty of wood and those strange paintings were dotted about. He saw some fire spirits leaving the area, heading further into the forest. It was like he blinked and they were gone. "Is this where they live? You think they wouldn't bother if they wanted to die so badly."

"Platinum, I know that's their thing, but please don't say that," Van spoke with a slight shiver in their voice.

Platinum gave a small nod before he carefully stepped down the hill. It was a bit steep. Normally he wouldn't put this much care into each step he took. But he didn’t want to risk his actions making him trip and take Van down with him. He let out a sigh as he got down to the ground, and began to glance around the houses. There didn't seem to be any fire spirits there right now… Good. He didn't know what would happen if they would want to fight.

"Woah… It looks a little cool, in its way. I wonder if Snatcher knows about this place." Van spoke as they sat on a rock in the middle of the area, taking a look around. They got out the notebook and began to draw rough sketches of the area. They weren't an artist, or at least that's what they claimed, but they should at least get some visuals. Platinum pulled his phone out of his pocket and started snapping pictures. "Oh, right," Van said as they glanced at him. "Well, what should we do now then?"

"I don't know. Look to see if they left any… clues about themselves, I guess? Didn't fully think this through." Platinum said as he began to peek into some of the houses. There was nothing inside any of them, not even anything to use as beds. Until he came to a larger one near the middle and had the pause. He gestured for Van to come closer, as he looked at the words that were painted on the far wall. 'From our embers, he will rise'. "I hope I'm not crazy seeing this."

"Is this a church or something?" Van asked as they stepped in, examining the general appearance of the place. That was the word. Platinum knew what they were, he had just never been to one before for clear reasons. He looked at the message again and thought about Moonjumper’s death. They did raise him, before taking away his life. Was this where Ezra hid them all? "It seems they might have formed their religion of sorts. Or just, do this for fun? It could also be a community center for all we know."

"Yeah, let's hope it's just that," Platinum said. He found himself thinking about their purpose. A purpose they fulfilled. Even if Ezra had more plans for them, he was executed before he had the chance to give them new orders. Had they just been searching for a purpose? Take what they were made to do and try to apply it. Were the fire spirits they saw the same ones who were there when Moonjumper died? He rested his head in his hands. "Why am I feeling so worried? They're just weird-shaped lava lamps!"

"I mean, you are metal and they're fire," Van suggested, making Platinum chuckle a bit. He needed that. Van put a smile on their face, but something was wrong. They didn't want to ask what, but something was clearly up with Platinum, worrying him. It made them worried. Platinum walked back into the open and scanned around, and Van did the same. They would have spotted one of their fiery creatures if they were around. "I don't think any are gonna be here for a while. We should head back now."

"Maybe we should, Pops probably got Snatcher by now anyway," Platinum said, beginning to walk back the way they came before, but paused. All the info they grabbed was there was a small village. And sure, that was a nice bit of info to know. But what if Hat Girl needs more info, like how she needed to know about the stone tablet? What if she was just doing a really good job of hiding it this time? "Maybe they'll come back soon… we should wait for them."

"Like a stakeout?" Van asked, getting a nod from the topbot. They reached for their hair and ran their finger along it as they glanced to the side. "I-I don't know Platinum. I understand we've done risky stuff before, but this? You're worried they might be violent, wouldn't it be the smarter choice to leave?" Platinum glanced to the side a bit. But he still had a determined look in his eyes. They let out a sigh. "Ok, ok. We'll do it. Just, promise me we'll be careful."

"I'll be careful, I promise," Platinum said as he reached for their hand. He didn't even realize it until they held it. He glanced at his hand in a bit of surprise, before trying to play it cool as he led Van back up the hill. They could hide in the bushes there.

"Alright," Van said as they leaned close. "I trust you." They sighed as Platinum began to blush a bit as he looked to the side. He found himself enjoying this, somehow. It was a small part of him, but he was enjoying the time together. He shouldn't be, he should be focused on more important things. Yet here he was. Allowing himself to enjoy the small moment he got, where he didn't have to worry about anyone learning. "Are you sure you're ok? Your eyes seemed to dim a bit there, Platinum."

"They do that sometimes, lighting and all that." Platinum smiled, before clearing a spot on the ground for them both to sit. He just wanted this. To enjoy his time with Van without worry. He didn't think Pops truly understood. It felt like more than a simple crush, he just didn't want to get Van in trouble like the kids who flirted with Hattie had in the past.

Why did he have to be so overprotective anyway? He of all people should know how relationships worked! It almost seemed like he was scared at times… Platinum shook his head, as he peered from the bushes. Don't worry about his issues, focus on the task at hand.

Platinum didn't know how long they were sitting there. An hour, maybe two? Just waiting for the Fire Spirits to come back and see if they could learn anything from them. Nothing so far. Platinum was a little frustrated, but he was sure they'd come eventually. He and Van started talking, using the Notebook they had instead of their voices. What they thought about the fire spirits. How things had been. There eventually fates in the clan. What may lay ahead for each of them? And other things.

It was nice to speak about. Van seemed a little unsure of where exactly they would end up. They had only been in the clan a few months before all this went down, so Platinum couldn't blame them. Platinum's fate was already sealed, the Right Hand to his sister when their fathers eventually stepped down from their positions. He thought for the longest time he would enjoy that. He still did, in a way. But for some reason looking ahead felt… empty in a way he couldn't quite describe.. His thoughts were interrupted by a small crash from down the hill.

"They just dropped some wood for a fire… There's a bit more than what we saw earlier." Van whispered as they glanced down the hill, taking the notebook and beginning to jot down notes about the fire spirits. How they acted. How they were speaking. Or at least that's what Platinum assumed, he couldn't see what they were writing. He took a step forward to try and get a better look. "There doesn't look like they have too much… Are there numbers not too big? That's the only reason they would need so little."

"Well, they seem to love painting frames the most. Maybe they couldn't find any so they settled for some wood?" He asked, glancing at Van slightly. Van gave a small shrug, slowly backing up as if worried they would be spotted. Platinum glanced down, watching the creatures as they spoke and practiced their dances. He felt… worried. A strange feeling in his chest began to appear. "Why am I?" He stood up to try and study himself, to balance out the feeling. But his foot slipped. "Shoot-" He got out, before he slipped down the hill, Van failing to get his hand.

When he crashed to the ground level of the village, he let out a groan. He wasn't in any major pain, but still… "Oh, what were you doing here?" One of the fire spirits called, making Platinum sit up straight and back up a bit. They all just looked at him confused… they didn't seem to mean any harm. They seemed a bit brighter than before, but maybe that was because he was closer. "You don't look like the normal ghost of the forest." One spoke as he got up. "Where have you come from."

"I'm a robot from another planet if you must know." He said, dusting himself off. He felt a little… odd as he spoke. He couldn't place why exactly. It just sounded a bit different than how he usually spoke. He glanced up at Van, who was heading down the hill slowly. He held his hand up to stop them, offering them a smile before he turned back to the confused creatures. "Me and my friend just happened to be passing by, when I slipped on a rock and stumbled down here. I'm clumsy."

"You seem to be." Another spoke. They seemed to pause and seemed to squint at him. "You seem to be more than metal too."

"Back away." The first one said, Platinum raising his hands in the air in confusion. "You are not of the Horizon's line. You are not who we are made to hurt." Platinum froze at the phrasing. Did they have no control? Was he so quick to judge them for something? And, why did they suddenly seem so worried? There weren't any ghosts around that could be hurt. "We're not warning you because we care. We're telling you because we need the energy, without making more. We're so close."

"Close to what-" Platinum started, but was cut off by a sudden warmth. He didn't even notice the trail of smoke that had come from one of them until now. He tried to step back, but he only got a few steps before it felt like he was tied to a rope. The smoke wasn't attacking his body, it was attacking something inside of him. It felt like it was attacking his heart. "Stop it, get awa- gah!" He said as he fell to his knees as the pain increased, his heart beating rapidly.

He suddenly saw a small log being tossed in front of him, going through the chain of smoke. Not completely breaking it, but allowing Van to come up and grab his hand to help him back away. "If you feel bad for him, leave! N-Now!" Van shouted, a few tears going down their face. Platinum glanced at them in faint surprise, his heart being slowed… Wait. He didn't have a heart. Then why did he.. "We'll leave, but you have to let him go! He did nothing to you!" Van shouted, a small sutter of worry.

"It's not our fault. We warned him." A creature that was in the back said, before grabbing the Fire Spirit the smoke was coming from and pulling them back to help try and break the smoky chain. "We just want to burn bright and burn out. We do not have time to keep him waiting." They said although the smoke seemed to grow darker at the words. Van let out a gulp as they saw that, but they pulled back and the smoke backed away from Platinum for just a moment. "Now run." Like it needed to be said before Van began to pull Platinum up the hill.

"D-Don't follow!" Van called behind them, before getting back to the top, helping Platinum sit down to rest. Nothing was wrong, not even physically. But there was just this… burn that felt like he needed to recover from. He didn't understand why that happened. Van was perfectly fine, Hat Girl had been in the past two. From what he understood, their powers only went after ghosts, or anything supernatural. "A-Are you ok?" Van asked as they bent down in front of Platinum, who nodded.

"Yea.. I think. I just.." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have fallen. I just wanted to get a better look." He glanced down at his hands, opening and closing them. For some reason, the movement felt stiffer than a moment ago. It still moved the same, at the same speed, but it felt different to his processor, or whatever counted for his brain. "They seemed like they didn't have a choice as their bodies acted on their own… It didn't even seem all that strong."

"I noticed that too." Van sighed, glancing at their notebook. "But if they didn't want to do it, why not leave?"

"Maybe they trusted me of all people to listen to what they said?" Platinum suggested. "Still would have been nice to know why." He glanced down at himself, making a fist. He just wanted to find out more about these things, and now he had to hide how he almost got… He didn't know. Maybe he was just getting overheated. Maybe his system would have crashed. Maybe he would have… "We should get back. We don't tell Hattie about this, understand?" He shook his head. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound rude."

"No, it's ok, I get it," Van said, placing their notebook back in their bag before helping Platinum up again. He felt fine like he could move. But he felt more sure with Van's hand on his shoulder. He couldn't feel the hand itself. But just knowing their presence was there made him feel a bit better. They began to walk forward a bit, Van glancing back at where they came from. "Did you catch what they said about a 'him'? Or was that just me?" They got a nod. "First or Second Platinum." Platinum held up a finger. "Do they think Moonjumper is still around?"

"If they do, they have issues," Platinum mumbled as he glanced ahead of him. Did the forest feel this big earlier? He knew it was big, sure, but it hadn't truly felt that way until now. He made his battery level appear in the corner of his vision. He still had over 70 percent of his power. So why was he getting the feeling of being tired? And why did it feel like it was all coming from that one spot… "If Pops asks about me acting off, tell him I feel a good amount. That's it."

"You should be honest with your parents if this turns out to be serious, Platy," Van said, before blushing and turning away. Platinum glanced at them slightly. Had they called Platinum that before? He couldn't remember. He just remembered that he needed to get back to the others. To pretend nothing happened. He was sure his systems would make him forget in a day or two anyway. "So… Have you picked up a good book series yet?"

Right really wanted to fire a laser at Snatcher. The ghost had enough of a headache that he put some barrier around his house so he could sleep in peace without anyone bugging him. Right got that to an extent, trying to sleep with a headache was a pain on its own. But it felt like he did it just to mess with the group, it just didn’t seem like Snatcher would normally bother doing this. It was like he knew they would need his help and he wanted to mess with them as much as possible.

It took way too long for the ghost to finally wake up and go help Hat Girl out of the hole. Right honestly couldn't even be that mad when he saw Platinum and Van hadn't been there. Hat Girl said they only left to walk around about ten minutes ago, but Right knew his son better. He already dragged Van away from everyone once before and thought he wouldn't learn about it. But he knew how teens were, and how asking them to stay in one place was just a gamble. He was one once before, after all.

"It's just a bit annoying, you know?" He heard Van's voice say as Hat Girl dusted herself off, turning to see the two. He paused for a moment when he saw how close they were, how Platinum leaned against Van.. until it seemed more like he was hurt by something. It was subtle, but Right caught the movements. His legs almost seemed to have a limp with each step. "I spent a good month at least prepping, and then when the time came I got- Oh, you guys are back," Van said when they spotted the group.

"I think something happened with your son Right, he looks more humanist than normal," Snatcher said, letting out a small yawn as the cyborg rolled his eyes. Platinum sent up a small glare, and Right came over to look at him. He couldn't see any physical damage, no sparks or glitches in his eyes to imply anything broken… Snatcher leaned in beside him, and Right pushed him away. "What, I was just looking. I thought I saw something for a moment. But I guess I'm crazy then." The Ghost said, rolling his eyes as Platinum glanced to the side.

Hat Girl walked up to Platinum, giving a worried look. "Did you go near the fire spirits?" She asked, and Platinum gave a small nod.

Snatcher rose a brow at that statement and leaned back a bit. "You should be careful. I was able to find some old records from King Victor's era of Subcon rule. How they did tests on the few they could get their hands on." The group looked over at him, Right giving a suspicious look to the ghost. Snatcher paused at that and then turned to the siblings. "Did you not tell anyone about Moonjumper's death because of those things?"

"Wait, w'ot-" Right asked, his eyes going wide for a moment before he turned to Platinum, concern in his eyes but an angry expression on his face. "W'y did ya to go near t'ose, w'otever t'ey are if t'ey were able to do that?!"

Van raised their hands quickly, letting out a gulp before getting their words out. "I-I didn't know either, Right Hand Man," Van said, looking at Platinum with confusion, with a hint of what seemed to be a betrayal. Platinum didn't do anything but blink, but inside it felt like his system broke. "W-Why didn't you tell me about it."

"They hadn't hurt anyone else. According to the story we saw… lived through? It's a magic book situation, complicated. I-I thought it would be safe just to… check real quick." Platinum lowered his head with a sigh, as he turned to his father. "I'm sorry, Pops. You're right, I shouldn't have gotten near. I was even being cautious about it, but that wasn't enough."

"Don't blame him." Hat Girl said, grabbing her father's shoulder. "I told them if they pass fire spirits to watch them, see if they did anything. It's my fault."

Right let out an annoyed sigh as he placed his hand on his brow, picnicking at the little skin there was between his eyes. There was more he wanted to say, but he just didn't have the mental energy right now. "We're goin' to ‘ave a talk about t’is once we get back. Would do more but, I t'ink ya already learned your lesson the 'ard way." He said, eyeing Platinum again.

Snatcher let out a small cough from above, making the group turn over to him. "As I was saying before you took the conversion of track. They found that the Fire Spirits aren't actively hospitalized. Moreover, they're quite friendly with living folk, and wouldn't even hurt a fly. They tested."

That earned a small chuckle from Platinum before Right snapped his fingers and had him stop.

"What about the Bushcats?" Hat Girl questioned as she adjusted her hat. "Weren't the fire spirits responsible for their near extinction?"

"According to the records, that was unintentional on their side. It was just easy for the Bushcats to catch on fire whenever they passed, and there was no way to capture all of the spirits." Snatcher paused as one dashed through the area chasing a bat. "Although if you ask me, I wouldn't be surprised if their creator designed them to do that. Want to kill a deity? Why not make yourself more the Villain killing the best animals in Subcon while you're at it."

"No one was askin- just get on wit' t'e point. We don't 'ave energy." Right demanded.

Snatcher rolled his eyes. "It seems as a side effect of being made to kill the Moonjumper, their magic will auto-target anything supernatural. They tested by getting ahold of some Twilight Bell magic. The Fire Spirits switch-in personally seems to be a design to keep them from feeling guilty about it. Although notably, it was much weaker than what Victor witnessed, even when they managed to get a group to test."

"I mean, did you see how many fire spirits there were?" Hat Girl asked, Platinum giving a nod. It was a good thing most seemed to be gone by now.

"So, is that it?" Van asked, a little worried. "They leave the living alone and only hurt the supernatural if they get too close?" In response to this, Snatcher let out a laugh. A laugh of frustration. "That's what you said, right?"

"IF ONLY THEY FOLLOWED THEIR OWN RULES!" Snatcher shouted, the group having to cover their ears at the sudden shout. "Did Macbeth tell you about Ivy? She got hurt by them, and she's alive! Arguably it seemed she had been burnt almost as badly as Moonjumper was, minus the death. And then clearly Platinum got attacked. So either he's a ghost possessing a metal body and even he doesn't know, or AIs are supernatural."

"You..did start acting weird once you got close to them," Van stated. "I could have sworn your accent was just a bit more British than normal."

"Dad recorded my original lines, of course, I'm going to sound British now and again," Platinum stated defensively. But deep down, he knew they had a point. He shook his head and looked at Snatcher. "The only memory I have before 'Platinum' was Unit-78. That's it, no hint of a past life to speak of since I didn't exist."

"I said 'Or AIs are supernatural'," Snatcher said, groaning as he grabbed his face. "I'm getting another headache. Just, head back to your station, I'm not helping you if you get stuck somewhere again." He said, rolling his eyes before leaving with a huff.

Right gave a small huff, before just sighing. "Let's go. Platinum, by me in case ya fall."

Platinum looked to Van, before sighing and getting beside his father. Hat Girl went beside Van, and the group began to leave. Van did pull out their notebook to show Hat Girl the sketches and info they had, but she gently pushed it away. She didn't want to see it…

She eventually spoke aloud to try and change the mood in the air. "Why didn't Dad just give Platinum his accent anyway, would have saved the trouble."

"Could you imagine?" Platinum chuckled, even hearing a small one from Right as the topbot shook his head. "We..really just need to find something safer to do until… ya know."

Van gave a hum. "I think Blake will be done with the next update for their mod soon…"

"Don't invite the ghost." Right turned to Hat Girl before she could reply. She just smiled and he let out an annoyed sigh. "T'oug't we agreed to try not to worry about any drama.."

[manygalaxiesinone]

Disgaea parents, Good to Trash!

((Yup! Still on the Disgaea train. While neither Father’s Day or Mother’s day is coming up soon, I do feel like it might be interesting to rank all of the parental figures we see in the series up to this point, especially with Disgaea 7 still on the way releasing fall of this year. For this list, I’m taking into account anyone who could be counted as a legal guardian for another character, since we don’t really see all that many parents in the franchise just yet. Also, if romantic partners are raising a someone together, I will rank them together as a team. Finally, the ranking only goes for how well their overall parenting skills are and not so much their alignment in general.

Gold Medal Good Parent: Mao’s father. Yeah you heard right, the former ruler of the Nether Institute: Evil Academy is actually a pretty good dad. He cares a lot about Mao, so much so that his spirit refuses to pass on into the afterlife until he knows for sure that Mao will turn out okay. Keep in mind that it was his death that left Mao with so many mental scars for years until he encountered Almaz and others. He even went so far as to hire both Mr. Champloo and Vyers to keep an eye on things from a distance just in case. Really, the only thing I could potentially fault him for is how he occasionally steps on Mao’s toys and games. Something that understandably irritates Mao, but at the same time, I can’t fault him too much for it since they were all accidental due to his large size as well as the fact that he offers to get replacements whenever he does step on them. R.I.P to a real one.

Silver Medal Good Parent: Adell’s foster parents. Some of you might be surprised on how these two didn’t end up with the gold medal. That’s mainly because while they are decent, they’re not perfect. Let’s not forget how Mom was willing to sacrifice both her husband and two of her children in order to summon Overlord Zenon in the beginning of the game, or how they have yet to tell Adell about his parents being Shura and Selion in the games (though granted they did so in the manga) and how unsupportive they were about Hanako’s career choice of being a demon lord. That being said, their qualities can’t be overlooked either, especially in terms of how they raised Adell. Even after the fake Zenon stripped them of their consciousness and memories, they still took in Adell and raised him as one of their own since he was 2 years old, which resulted in him becoming the righteous demon hunter that his is today, one that treasures his family above all else. Let’s not also forget how grateful they were to Rozalin when she helped rescue Taro and Hanako when they were captured by Axel. Despite the odds, they really are a loving family.

Bronze Medal Good Parent: Lamington. Considering how he treats Flonne and Sicily in the games, I’m going to count him as their legal guardian to some degree. Lamington has a deep connection with both of the characters mentioned, especially Flonne, and considering how much they respect him and how they turn out, we can tell that he’s doing at least a decent job. He’s the only angel in Celestia to agree with Flonne about how odd it is to see demons as evil despite never meeting one in person, encouraging her to keep an open mind despite what others believe. He even sends Flonne to the Netherworld in order for her to learn about them and to possibly get close to Krichevskoy’s son, Laharl, under the guise of conspiring an assassin. And while he has turned Flonne into a fallen angel in the end of the first game, it was clear that it was what he had in mind the whole time, and she only actually dies if Laharl kills Lamington before he could finish the process. As for Sicily, my idea of him raising her in secret is only a theory and nothing confirmed, so I can’t count that, but we do know that he at least looked after her in some way during her time in Celestia, once again, only punishing her when she harmed other angels due to Celestial law. While Sicily was mostly alone due to being a Nephilim, I can give props to Lamington to being among at least a few people who cared for her and making sure she turns out into the kind, hard worker we know today.

4. Adell. Considering his age and the fact that both Taro and Hanako tags along with him during the events of Disgaea 2, as well as how much he’s providing for the family himself, I’m going to count him as a legal guardian to his younger siblings to some degree. As stated before, Adell values his family above all else, including his two younger siblings, Taro and Hanako. While Taro doesn’t exactly respect Adell all that much, Hanako adores and admires him, always more than eager to make home cooked meals for him whenever he gets back from his travels. As she points out, this is mostly due to the fact that he doesn’t pick on her compared to how older siblings usually act like, which is ironic considering how often she picks on Taro. While he doesn’t pick on his siblings, he is stern with them when he has to keep them in line. This along with how he hunted down Axel for kidnapping them as well as supportive of Hanako’s decision to becoming a demon lord despite being initially against it, shows that Adell has qualities of being a good parent someday in the future, if NIS ever makes a future of him and Rozalin, that is. And before anyone brings up Disgaea 2′s worst ending, that was the result of him getting possessed by Overlord Zenon, so I’m not going to count it against him.

5. Usalia’s parents. Some of you might be familiar by now of how often I refer to Usalia as Disgaea 5′s Futaba Sakura and vice versa and her relationship with her parents is one of the reasons why. After their deaths, Usalia was afraid of the thought that her parents hated her, since the last moment they had together during their passing was her rejecting the curry they made so hard for her even though she actually enjoyed it. It didn’t take until much later on for her to realize that this couldn’t be further from the truth. Both of her parents always loved Usalia from the bottom of their hearts until the very end, as evidenced by their refusal to attack her under Majorita’s orders after being turned into her zombie soldiers and finally being able to move on to the afterlife after they reconcile. Usalia’s a good kid, one with a bright future ahead of her.

6. Killia. While I’m at it, might as well add Killia to the list as well. Like Adell, I’m willing to consider him Usalia’s legal guardian to some degree considering his age and the fact that he’s the leader of the Rebel Army that she joins. While granted, he’s not the only one in the group that was looking after her, even Seraphina and Red Magnus had a part in it, I can only group them together if they were romantically involved as per my rules, which they are not. At the very least, I can consider them honorable mentions. As for Killia himself, not only was he the one that got Usalia to join the group after giving her some curry despite being attacked, he also taught her how to make her own so she wouldn’t have to risk having to steal any from someone else during an emergency as well as help her cope with the death of her parents, showing how much they really cared for her during their final moments.

7. Zed. Zed’s age has yet to be canonically confirmed, but considering how long he’s been looking after Bieko, I’m going to count it for now. And since he’s not romantically involved with Misual, he’s going to be ranked separately. While Zed isn’t exactly the nicest guy around, one thing is clear, he cares a lot about his little sister Bieko, literally willing to go to the ends of the universe just for her sake. He often fights and sacrifices himself to make sure she turns out okay and Bieko cherishes her Bubby just as much, even eventually getting her own fighting spirit and wanting to stand by his side after getting tired of killing him so often as a God of Destruction. They have a healthy relationship, one that’s certain to last for many years to come.

8. Krichevskoy and Gwendolyn. Yup! It’s finally time to go over the parents of the original main character, Laharl. Since Sicily was being looked after by Lamington after Gwendolyn’s passing in Celestia and didn’t show up in the Netherworld until years after Krichevskoy’s death, I’ll only look into how they raised Laharl. Both Krichevskoy and Gwen care a lot about Laharl as they tried their best to raise him to become a respectable and magnificent overlord one day. Gwen even often scolds him whenever he misbehaves. Even though Laharl’s not the best at conveying his feelings, he does care about his parents in return. We know this because of how much his mother’s death affected him for years, even keeping a photo of her hidden away in one of the vases in his bedroom, as well as the fact that he constantly hunts down Tyrant Overlord Baal after discovering the real reason on how his father died. What brings them down is the fact that Laharl is still a brat at the end of the day and considering characters like Usalia, Bieko, and even his sister Sicily exist, I can’t fully attribute it to his age.

9. Shura and Selion. Adell’s real parents are only ranked this low because they were actually robbed of being able to raise Adell from the fake Zenon. While it’s not something I fault them for, this also means that they don’t get as many points compared to other parents in the series. Shura and Selion left Adell under the care of their closest and most trusting companions in Veldime before taking off to fight against the false overlord during his invasion of the planet. Considering how well Adell turned out, they definitely made the right decision. Even after being brainwashed by fake Zenon, they sometimes secretly aid Adell every now and then during his quest, well Selion did at least. Adell even can’t help but sympathize with their situation as victims of fake Zenon and hesitated when they asked him to put them out of their misery.

10. Axahontas. Axahontas is the single mother of 5 children from a distant, unnamed Netherworld, one of which you might be familiar with, the Dark Hero Axel. Naturally, handling so many kids on her own is not an easy task, especially when you’re lacking in funds, but she tries her best at it. While Axel isn’t the best person around, he does share one thing in common with Adell, which is how much he cares about his family, as he spends his time looking for new work after losing popularity as the Dark Hero in order to make sure they can keep paying bills, something that Axahontas appreciates, despite how often he lies to her on how well the situation is going. Let’s not forget how she genuinely mourned for Axel when the news falsely reported his death.

11. Death King Hugo. Now we’re about to reach parents who are in the more...questionable area. Starting off with Hugo, the father of Emizel. Emizel started off as an immature brat ridding off of his father’s title to appear as more intimidating than he really is. This doesn’t change until he meets the Hades party and like Axel, was falsely announced dead. This report was made under Hugo’s own orders after receiving a threat from Fenrich, essentially cutting him off. Emizel realizing this is what gets him to start maturing a little with a newfound resolve, as well as spending time with Valvatorez, so I can count it as an act of some needed tough love. The same cannot be said about how he authorized the use of the A-Virus knowing his son will get infected with no known cure. That was a step too far. Fortunately, the two were able to reconcile after his defeat, especially after Emizel discovers what’s been going on behind the scenes. Hugo even gets the Netherworld to help Emizel stop Nemo from destroying the moon.

12. Goldion. Some of you might be surprised on how Goldion is so low here considering how Killia, Lieze, and Zeroken turn out. Unfortunately, what drags him down to such a degree is his son, Void Dark. Goldion has tried to connect with Void, but he ended up being a disaster waiting to happen, as after Lieze’s death, Void went on a dark rampage, taking over The Lost army as their leader and becoming the tyrannical demon emperor. Let’s not also forget how Void managed to brainwash him to do his bidding as the Demon General Bloodis until Killa and Zeroken freed him using the Avidiya Holy Water. Fortunately, like with Emizel, they were able to reconcile eventually and Void is on a path to redeem his actions, so I can’t place him too low, but I also can rank him too high either.

13. Hoggmeiser. As well as being among the wealthiest demons in Laharl’s home Netherworld, he’s also the father of Porkmeister. While Porkmeister is a good kid who cares about his dad, I can’t forget about how he decided to become Laharl’s apprentice in order to become his own demon and NOT end up as another greedy demon like his father. Hoggmeiser’s parenting skills haven’t exactly gotten much screen time, but it should say something when your kids are actively trying to not be like you.

14. Snow Clan Elder. The chief of Snow Melody took in Yukimaru and Fubuki after the slaughter of their clan in order to raise them as ninja so they can one day get their revenge. While Yukimaru and Fubuki are skilled fighters, there’s one thing that can’t be overlooked, which is how they’re raised to be ready to die during their mission. They even carry knives on them to commit seppuku if their task becomes too difficult to accomplish. Fortunately, characters like Adell were able to help change their mindset. And for those wondering, I’m not going to count Fubuki as Yukimaru’s guardian since she’s a legal adult, so he’s not getting ranked.

15. Serphina’s father. Remember what I said about how Hoggmeiser actively tries to not end up like his father? Surprisngly, the same can be said about Seraphina. Not only did Seraphina start out as a typical, spoiled, wealthy material girl until spending time with Killia and others, she always had an issue with her father’s cowardice. Hell, even as a spoiled girl, she showed to have more understanding of the value of a dollar more than her father did as she’s always worried about how much he’s been spending on defenses for the Netherworld after she left in such short amount of time, while she on the other hand, had little issue trying to stick with a budget. Let’s not also forget how her father tried to make her marry Void in order to ensure the Netherworld’s safety and also revealed that all the wealth they had to begin with came from all of Seraphina’s previous suitors that he robbed blind. Unsurprisingly, she was horrified of these actions, pointing out that in the end, all she wanted was a father who truly understood her feelings instead of just buying her things to try to make her happy. Like with Goldion and Hugo, what saves him from falling lower was the fact that they were able to reconcile at some point and how he was willing to help out during the game’s climax.

16. Dr. Genjuro Kazamatsuri. The father of both Fuka, Desco, and Des X, just extremely barely make it out of the trash tier parents. This isn’t because of how he created Desco and Des X to take over the world because he did it under Fuka’s request, wanting to support his daughter’s future goals. What WILL be counted against him are the following. First, as Fuka herself pointed out, ever since her mother’s death, Genjuro spent his time cooped up in his lab. Granted it was to work on Fuka’s request to make her a little sister, especially since his wife told him to do so with her dying breath, he clearly fails to balance his work out and actually spending time with Fuka herself, practically leaving her isolated until she was killed by Des X. In fact, her death is something else I can fault him for, as she was killed out of envy from how Des X felt about loving Fuka more than her. Let’s not forget how he tossed Desco into Hades after being deemed a failure. What saves him is despite his many failures...he does genuinely cares about his kids and wants to help them with their goals. He even goes so far as to bribe Gig, the God of Death and Destruction with hot pods in exchange for helping Fuka and Desco. Genjuro isn’t really a good parent, but he’s definitely not the worst either. At least when compared to the next guys.

17. Rainier. Starting off with the trash tier is none other than the sea angel treasure hunter from Disgaea D2. Rainier was tasked with baby sitting Laharl back when his parents were still alive, so she counts as his legal guardian. For those wondering, I’m not going to count Etna since their age gap is only about 100 years. As for Rainier, her most notable crime is the fact that she always suffocated the poor prince whenever she baby sat, which eventually resulted in Laharl developing a fear of women with busty figures like Jennifer or Melodia. Not only that but like with the rest of the Krichevskoy Group, she was nowhere to be found during the events of Disgaea 1 after the king’s passing. Not even showing up to check up on him and making sure he’s okay. While the cause of death was falsely reported, the death itself wasn’t. Even when she finally return in Disgaea D2, she did nothing but antagonize Laharl along with the other group members, trying to usurp him and make the Netherworld like how it was under his father’s rule. Even after he saved her life, she took off again for one more fight later on.

18. Misual. As I said, he and Zed will not be ranked together in terms of looking after Bieko. It’s a good thing too because otherwise, Zed’s ranking would have plummeted severely as a result. Not only did he turn Bieko into the God of Destruction but he convinced Zed to fight her multiple times and told him the only way to save her was to kill her off, all so he can enact his plan of destroying the universe. Even after Zed saved Bieko he captured her and transformed her again. Yet again, reconciliation is what saves him from dropping lower.

19. Void Dark. If I’m going to count Killia as Usalia’s legal guardian, then I’m going to do the same for Void in terms of Majorita. He acted like he cared for the war orphan just so he can have her on his side only to steal her overload when the time was right. And then he killed her and turned her into a zombie. It is a fitting, ironic fate for someone like Majorita, but it’s definitely not good parenting. Unsurprisingly, Majorita has a personal vendetta against Void ever since she was lied to and killed and there’s currently no evidence of her getting over it any time soon.

Bronze Medal Trash: Fake Zenon. Now we’re getting into some awful bits. Like Void, he only pretended to care about Rozalin as a doting father, when in reality, he’s purposely isolating her and making her act inferior to him for the sake of revenge. Let’s not also forget that when Rozalin pleaded with him to spare her new companions, he orders the guards to capture her so they can erase all of her memories with them and the outside world. This act made her really question the actual relationship the two of them had together. What stops him from dropping lower is the fact that he did save Rozalin from being killed by Fubuki and only tried to kill her after Rozalin breaks the seal and gets her memories back.

Silver Medal Trash: Geoffry. A.K.A. Sir Aurum, Geoffry may be a good butler, but he’s no Alfred Pennyworth. Not only did he kill Mao’s father right in front of him when Mao only wanted to have him injured to a degree as payback for stepping on his NetherStation Portable, but he also planned all of the events of Disgaea 3′s main story so Mao can give into his inner darkness and become the strongest overlord, a worthy opponent for his final battle. Yes, Aurum killed Mao’s dad and raised him so they can kill each other later on. Oh and he experimented on Mao from time to time behind his back, but I won’t hold it too much against him since Mao was into it. While they technically reconciled, Mao still ended up getting payback by forcing him to stay alive and experimenting on him, and I don’t blame him for it. That being said, there is one more character who I personally consider to be even worse than this guy and it might be a surprise to some of you on how it is.

Gold Medal Trash: General Carter. That’s right, the General of the EDF is who I consider to be the worst parent in Disgaea so far, and he was introduced in the first game, so congrats NIS for making him hold that title for so long. After the death of Jennifer’s parents, he adopted her so he can use her for his own gain. While Jennifer ended up being a talented and reliable hero and assistant to Gordon, that doesn’t mean her upbringing was all that pleasant. Jennifer herself pointed out that it’s always been like this with Carter, she believed that he really loved him, but he always ended up just using her, meaning that he’s been emotionally abusing her for years. Keep in mind, Jennifer is canonically 27 years old in Disgaea 1. Yeah...THAT long. Not only that, but he also ordered Kurtis to experiment on her so he can make her fight Gordon and turn her into his fully obedient puppet, even planting a bomb inside her in case things went south! As well as getting angels to try to kill her and the rest of Laharl’s party when Kurtis stopped the bomb! Carter is one of those guys who should be locked away for a long time but is only kept around due to his status. He straight up sounds like a prime target for the Phantom Thieves of Heart. Even Endeavor from My Hero Academia sounds like a model parent compared to this guy. In a series full of tyrannical overlords, delusional angels, and even vile deities, it takes a special kind of human to be deemed the absolute worst parent to exist.))

[yibennianyaji]

Recent Reading: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida and The Birth Lottery by Shehan Karunatilaka

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is, of course, last year's Booker winner, a slightly out-of-nowhere choice for an award that has been getting more adventurous and interesting in recent years. The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises is a collection of Karunatilaka's short fiction, currently slated for publication in the US and UK in the spring, but I was able to snag a copy from India earlier this month. Taken together, they not only make for some engrossing and delightful reading, but reveal Karunatilaka as firmly embedded in the SFF tradition. There's an entirely defensible case for Seven Moons as a nominee in the upcoming Hugo awards (or if not that, one of the wider-ranging genre awards like the Crawford or World Fantasy), and my only real complaint about The Birth Lottery is that it doesn't include a publication history, making it impossible to know which of the stories in it are awards-eligible.

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida begins with the violent death of its protagonist. Maali is (or rather was) a war photographer, compulsive gambler, and inveterate hopper into the beds of handsome young men. In 1990 Sri Lanka, any one of these might have been enough to get him killed. He could have been murdered over a gambling debt, or by his closeted but intensely jealous boyfriend, DD. He could have fallen victim to any of the war-torn country's violent factions—the Tamil Tigers, the communist JVP, or the government bent on stamping out both and not too fussed about rounding up innocents in the process—all of whose atrocities he has, at one point or another, documented.

Maali himself has no memory of his death, but as the impassive clerks who greet him in the afterlife's waiting room inform him, this is irrelevant. He has seven nights (or "moons") to make peace with the life he's finished living and make himself ready for The Light. Otherwise, they warn, he will be left as a wandering spirit, unable to get back on the wheel of reincarnation and prey to any number of ghostly beings that wander the world. Maali himself, a cynic and nihilist who still hasn't resigned himself to the fact that the afterlife even exists, is more interested in securing his earthbound legacy. In leading DD and his best friend (and "official" girlfriend) Jaki to the box of photographs deemed too dangerous to publish in his lifetime—photographs that, he believes, will prove so explosive as to potentially topple the Sri Lankan regime and permanently upend the country's violent status quo.

The bureaucratized afterlife is a long-established trope, going back to films like A Matter of Life and Death and Defending Your Life, and seen more recently in The Good Place. Karunatilaka's twist on it is that the afterlife, at least as dead Sri Lankans like Maali experience it, reflects the indifference and dysfunction of similar bureaucracies in the real world. The afterlife waiting room is chaotic and disorderly (even dead, Maali muses, Sri Lankans can't queue). The recently deceased, many of whom have died by violence, argue with the spirits processing them about the unfairness of their fate. The process of getting ready to enter The Light involves securing various forms from different departments, some of which turn out to be closed when Maali gets there. And through it all, there are voices suggesting that the whole thing is pointless, a runaround, a way of distracting the dead from what really matters.

Maali has two guides during his afterlife sojourn. Ranee, the spirit of a Tamil moderate gunned down by the Tigers, is the institutionalist urging him to follow the rules, complete the process, and enter The Light. His desire to secure his legacy and look after DD and Jaki (or, for that matter, discover his murderer) she dismisses as the vestiges of ego that must be discarded. Her opposite number is Sena, a JVP activist disappeared by the government, who argues that the system Ranee represents is merely another instrument of bourgeois control, and that forgetting one's life to rejoin the cycle of reincarnation only ensures that nothing will ever change. Better, he suggests, to stay on Earth and get revenge on the people who murdered them. If you found yourself underwhelmed by the conclusion of The Good Place, it can be gratifying to see Maali point out to Ranee that focusing on his own enlightenment does nothing to change a world where the rich and powerful continue to prey on the poor and powerless. But Sena's schemes are similarly unconvincing, arguing for retributive violence without any suggestion of how this will make things better.

Never much of a joiner, Maali refuses both offers and returns to Earth to try to get his photographs published. This allows Karunatilaka to construct an elaborate cosmology of the afterlife while giving readers a tour of late 20th century Colombo and its profound dysfunction. Like Patrick Swayze in Ghost, Maali learns that there are elaborate rules for how the dead can interact with the living world—they can ride winds like bus lines, or congregate in trees that act as transport hubs—and certain individuals who can teach him new tricks, such as whispering to the living.

Maali can travel anywhere his remains go, and anywhere his name is spoken. Which means that he follows the hapless goons tasked with disposing his corpse (along with those of other murder victims), and the police officers who receive his missing person's report and are desperately trying to work out which angle—accepting a bribe from Maali's mother, doing under the table work for one government minister, currying favor with another—gives them the most advantage and places them in the least danger. Along the way we're introduced to the various forces with whom Maali entangled himself during his life—a Tamil aid organization with barely-hidden Tiger ties; a British arms dealer masquerading as a journalist; the various military officers and government officials who have erected an almost industrialized system of criminalizing and disappearing those deemed enemies of the regime.

If, like me, you know virtually nothing about Sri Lanka and its recent history, you will most likely find the experience of reading The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida both bracing and instructive. Karunatilaka originally published the novel in India in 2020, under the title Chats With the Dead. The current version was reworked for international readers with more explanatory material. (Some of these segments are fairly easy to clock once you know they're there, such as a cheat sheet explaining the country's various factions that Maali allegedly wrote for the foreign journalists who employ him as a fixer.) Even with this handholding, it's easy to feel disoriented by the bombardment of information, almost all of it relating to atrocities—the slaughter of Tamil civilians under the guise of rooting out terrorists in 1983, the downing of a commercial airliner in 1986, the brutal crackdown against those suspected of JVP connections in the late 80s, and the existence of The Palace, a secret prison where those suspected of anti-government activities are held, tortured, and ultimately discarded.

Karunatilaka constructs a setting in which both the living and the dead are engaged in a seemingly endless cycle of sectarian violence. Everywhere he goes, Maali encounters the spirits of the murdered and disappeared, who linger in order to proclaim the injustice of their fate, or simply out of irresolvable grief and anger. Sena recruits from among these, promising them vengeance and using his growing powers to orchestrate violence in the world of the living. Other spirits have their own agenda—the country's corrupt, bloodstained minister of defense has been saved from multiple assassination attempts by the spirit of a dead bodyguard, who has protected generations of unworthy leaders long after his own death. And a constant threat to spirits who fail to enter The Light is the Mahakali, a monstrous creature who swallows up lost spirits, whose genesis is in a long-ago act of violence that continues to reverberate down the generations.

The tone with which these elements, historical and fantastical, are related is sardonic and mocking, drily revealing such details as the ghosts of Tamil child soldiers who enjoy the afterlife because there, nobody tells them what to do, and the spirits of tourists from the downed airliner who decided not to follow their bodies home because, after all, they'd paid for a vacation. That the novel is narrated wholly in the second person only intensifies the blackness of this humor—are we witnessing the depths of Maali's self-loathing, or his blanket contempt for anyone who, like him, impotently observes his country's outbursts of violence?

Maali himself can end up getting a bit lost in the shuffle of all this furious worldbuilding and historical explanation. He's a man who prides himself on not taking a side, taking jobs with every faction in the conflict, then photographing the things they didn't want him to document, then hiding those photographs in a box rather than trying to get them published in his lifetime. That unstable balance between taking risks and refusing to stick his neck out is reflected in Maali's life as a closeted gay man, in which he simultaneously flaunts his sexuality and furiously denies it, pursing a relationship with DD while cheating on him relentlessly, promising to leave with him to Japan, Europe, or San Francisco and then mocking his plans to do so. The result is a character who never quite seems to be fully there, and if there's a criticism to be made of the book it is that Maali's hardboiled cynicism, and his eventual coming to peace with his life's choices and failings, can both end up feeling a little perfunctory.

Still, that centerlessness may be deliberate. Some reviewers have drawn comparisons between Karunatilaka and Vonnegut or Bulgakov, and like those writers, he seems to use humor as a defense mechanism against profound pain. Eventually it becomes clear that the readers' disorientation is the point. That even Maali, despite living in Sri Lanka his whole life and for all his pretense of disaffection, is deeply traumatized by the relentless onslaught of violence he's witnessed and documented. His detachment and wry nihilism are a mask concealing despair, a conviction that it is impossible to pull out of this spiral of violence.

Against that, however, there is the genuinely pulse-pounding ending that Karunatilaka constructs for his characters, in which Maali's scheming ends up endangering the people he loves most, which forces him not only to risk his chance of entering The Light, but to take a long look at the things he's valued and realize how many of them don't actually matter. Maali's photographs do not, as in reality they never could, topple governments or end the civil war. But they do reveal him and the things that, despite his pretense of detachment, he truly cared about. It is in that posthumous exposure that he finally finds peace and the ability to move on. The resulting novel is a detective story, an elaborate fantasy, a work of historical fiction, and a post-life coming of age tale. Taken together, they make for a thrilling read.

The Birth Lottery is an excellent dessert course to Seven Moons's rich meal, not only because it deals with some of the same topics—one of the stories here, "Assassin's Paradise", is a kind of deleted scene from the novel, and several others, including the title piece, return to the ideas of the afterlife and reincarnation that have been more elaborately worked out in the longer work—but because it gives readers a more rounded impression of Karunatilaka's range as a writer. Several stories here demonstrate impressive formal innovation. "Easy Tiger" is a series of text exchanges between a philandering husband and his over-it wife that delivers several massive plot twists with tremendous verve. "No. One. Cares." is a transcript of Facebook interactions in the wake of one person's announcement of his intention to commit suicide that asks what social media "friendship" actually means. Others are simply tremendous exercises in different literary voices. "The Colonials" lets three foreigners, British, Dutch, and Portuguese, tell their stories of arriving in Sri Lanks and bending it to their own will, while the reader increasingly puzzles at the story's time period. "My Name is Not Malini" is a pitch-perfect piece of social realism about the lives of foreign nannies and maids in Saudi Arabia, with a horrific final twist.

Here, too, one finds Karunatilaka delving confidently into well-established genre tropes. "The Ceylon Islands" imagines fed-up Sri Lankan industrialists decamping from the island to an ersatz version of it, recreating it whole cloth but without the religion and political strife—which may not be as much of a paradise as advertised. "Time Machine. I Have Built A." sees a lifelong functionary of the regime taking advantage of confiscated Tamil technology to rectify past events that have led him down the path of political disillusionment and personal disappointment, only to realize that these are self-fulfilling prophecies, in what feels like a riff on "All You Zombies" that is nevertheless deeply grounded in its setting. And some stories simply have a powerful slipstreamy quality, such as "The Prison Riot", in which the titular event is narrated by the prison's most overlooked, frequently-abused inmate, whose identity makes for a delightful twist. It's a fantastic collection that shows off an author in complete control of his material, and reaffirms my impression that genre readers, in particular, owe it to themselves to become familiar with Karunatilaka's writing.