#hardygal edits stuff

[hardygalwrites]

FanFiction.Net Link

Anime/Manga: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Part 3: Stardust Crusaders)

Characters: Noriaki Kakyoin, Dio Brando, and an Original Character

Synopsis: “Shhh… Easy, Kakyoin. There is nothing to be afraid of.” Two clawed hands grasped Noriaki by the arms in a shockingly gentle hold, and Noriaki could feel a cold breath caress his ear as the man spoke into it, saying, “Let’s be friends, shall we?”

One cold night in Cairo, Noriaki Kakyoin walks into an ancient ruin and is met with one of the most terrifying men he will ever meet in his young life.

Note: A gift fic for my best friend @the-lupine-sojourner, as a tie in for her fic, "The Ace of Wands and Her User" ^-^

—

Noriaki Kakyoin was not a careless person. He was attentive in his studies, observed the world critically, and was aware of his own limits, making his decisions with care. Even though he was still in high school, both he and his parents considered him to be mature. Naoko would be teasingly quick to point out Noriaki’s more petty tendencies, but she was his twin sister, so that was kind of her job.

The point was, when Noriaki left the hotel to wander about the streets of Cairo at night, he, his parents, and even his sister considered him more than responsible enough to go out alone. He had offered Naoko a chance to come with him, but she declined, the day having left her exhausted.

“Maybe I would be willing to come with if you looked less like a tourist,” she said with a yawn and grin as flopped backwards onto her bed.

“I look good in this and you know it,” Noriaki retorted good naturedly, straightening the collar of his uniform. “And besides–”

“No, stop, don’t give me that student bullshit, especially since we aren’t even at school right now.” Naoko laughed and sat upright to give him a genuine smile. “Seriously though, just go have fun. Maybe we can do something together tomorrow night.”

Noriaki nodded, returning the smile. “All right then. See you tomorrow, sis.” He closed the door to her room behind him as he left.

...That seemed like an age ago.

Cairo was a beautiful place on its own, but tonight, with the full moon shedding its beams upon the ancient city, it was truly breathtaking. Noriaki went from place to place, landmark to landmark, sketching what he could. He made sure he knew where he was so he wouldn’t get lost, and kept an eye out for thieves or other people who might look to do him harm.

Yet all of that seemed to fade away when he found himself drawn to a particular ruin.

“Noriaki Kakyoin…”

The ruin was exposed and open. The moon shone down uninhibited from above. The walls had many open archways built into them. And yet in spite of that, it was as though his name echoed through the ruin, sending chills down Noriaki’s spine.

His spirit appeared at his side, and Noriaki turned sharply. “Who’s–?”

The challenge died in Noriaki’s throat, catching behind his hitched breaths.

Thorny vines sprawled across the ground and walls of the ruin, decorated with many dark red roses. There was a glowing aura to them that lit up the already moon bathed stones with a faint sickly pink, and they almost seemed alive , growing and crawling their way towards Noriaki bit by bit. Two bodies lay on the ground not far from where Noriaki stood now - a man and a woman it looked like, unmoving and already claimed by the thorny vines.

A tree of ice stood tall and gnarled at the end of the ruin. It was from this tree that all the vines and roses seemed to emit, and at the top of the tree, Noriaki swore he saw the shadow of some kind of bird of prey. A falcon maybe, with its wings spread wide as though in challenge.

It was like something out of a story book. A dark, twisted story book.

That was hardly the worst of it, though. Any of this might have given Noriaki a pause, made him stutter, but ultimately not lose his composure. No, it was not the scene before him that had Noriaki’s words and breaths catching in his throat.

It was the man standing at the center of it all.

If ‘man’ was the right word… There was something inherently inhuman about him. He stood shirtless, skin shining like marble beneath the moonlight. There was no wind, yet his hair flowed out in a captivating mane of pale gold. The vines and roses looked to be coming from his body . And what a body it was - bigger and taller than Noriaki could ever hope to be, every muscle from the waist upwards accentuated by the moon’s beams. Yet the way the man held himself, the very aura he gave off, spoke of a power deeper and so much more terrible than just physical.

Even through the shadows obscuring the man’s face, Noriaki could somehow still make out a pair of golden eyes, fixed solely on him .

Noriaki couldn't speak. He couldn’t even breathe . He realized, suddenly, what it must be like for a prey animal to be caught within the sights of a predator. Every part of him wanted to run, wanted to scream, but he couldn’t .

A low chuckle echoed through Noriaki’s very bones.

“What’s the matter?” the man crooned. “You look frightened enough to vomit.”

Noriaki’s guardian spirit disappeared into the depths of his soul. Noriaki took one step back. That was all he could manage.

Oh, god… Oh, god, he really was going to vomit.

Whoever, whatever this man was, whatever his intentions were with him, Noriaki knew that he himself was nowhere near powerful enough to fight back. Even his guardian spirit knew that. Noriaki could feel him in the depths of his soul, amidst the horror and terror, cowering , a reflection of Noriaki’s own desires.

He couldn’t fight. He couldn’t even run. He was completely at the mercy of this– this monster of a man.

The man approached. Noriaki fought for breath. Sharp and desperate gasps were all he could manage. They did nothing to ease his reeling mind.

Oh, god, he was getting closer.

His only other option would be to beg for his life. But Noriaki’s mouth refused to work. Even his knees refused to buckle. All he could do was watch as the man approached closer, and closer, and closer…

Was this it? Was this how it all ended? Noriaki Kakyoin, dead at seventeen. Some people flashed across his mind, three people specifically, but their images and his feelings towards them were marred and muddled by the fear that had taken hold of his very being.

“Shhh… Easy, Kakyoin.” That same baritone voice echoed through Noriaki’s body, speaking from just behind him. “There is nothing to be afraid of.”

Two clawed hands grasped Noriaki by the arms in a shockingly gentle hold, and Noriaki could feel a cold breath caress his ear as the man spoke into it, saying, “Let’s be friends, shall we?”

And just like that, Noriaki’s fear dissipated.

This wasn’t the end. The man was willing to show mercy. He still had a chance to live…!

Like a child being reassured by their parents that they weren’t in trouble, relief filled every fiber of his being that had been left vacant by the fear that had filled him mere moments before. Noriaki gasped, an audible sign of his relief, and collapsed.

The man caught him as he fell, easing him down to his knees, hands still grasping Noriaki’s arms gently. “There we are…”

One hand left his arm, and Noriaki felt an ice cold finger brush up his face. “Relaxed now?”

Noriaki sighed and nodded slightly.

“Good,” the man hummed.

Good, good, the man was pleased. He still had a chance to get out of this. It was all going to be all right.

“Now, Kakyoin…” The finger pulled and tucked a bit of hair behind Noriaki’s ear. “Why don’t you bring your lovely sister here to see me sometime? I’m certain we will all be good friends.”

His sister?

His sister…!

Naoko!

“No…!” Noriaki gasped before he could even think to stop himself.

That sick fear was back in full force, but this time it was split in two. Noriaki still feared the man holding him in this sickeningly comforting hold, god did he still fear him. But the thought of bringing his sister into this dizzying nightmare, the thought of his sister being held by this inhuman being like he himself was now–

“Oh?” the man said, and the soft monosyllable was enough to make Noriaki want to vomit again. “You won’t bring her to me? Even after we have become such good friends…”

The hand on his ear caressed downward until it was around Noriaki’s neck, a gesture that held no threat to it, and yet sent chills down Noriaki’s spine.

“No, please, no,” Noriaki whispered.

Whatever this man wanted with him, whatever this man meant to do with him…

“Please don’t involve her in this, please, I’m begging you.”

The man gave no response.

“I’m- I’m enough. Surely I’m enough...! Whatever you want, I’ll do it, I swear, I’m all that you need, just please don’t bring my sister into it, p-please, I beg you–”

He was rambling now, grasping at anything to satiate the man. Noriaki would have already been pressing his forehead against the ground, groveling, if it didn’t mean pulling himself from the man’s hold.

“You ask for your sister to be left uninvolved,” the man stated, the fingers around Noriaki’s neck idly tracing the contours of his throat.

“Yes, yes, please,” Noriaki gasped. “Please, I’ll do anything…”

“Hmmm.” He was smiling, the man was smiling, Noraki could tell. “Very well. For as much as I can, I will allow you to ensure that she remains uninvolved in our little schemes. Will that be all for you, Kakyoin?”

Those words, crooned into his ear, were enough to bring back that overwhelming sense of relief and reassurance.

Noriaki let out another breath and nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Anything for a friend. Now relax…”

He did. Even as the vines and roses that had been acting as the twisted backdrop to this twisted exchange disappeared in favour of unfamiliar tentacles, even as the tentacles descended on him, driving something wrong and sick and invasive into his skull, Noriaki relaxed.

[elite-guard-hardygal]

“You too are only a boy.”

Katsuki Bakugo + crying/almost crying

BONUS:

I’ve been having a lot of Kacchan feels lately…

also look my very first gifset its so stupidly messy but holy crap i never expected i would ever pull this off im actually rather proud of myself how bout that

[elite-guard-hardygal]

My reaction to anything that shouldn't be funny but damn if I can't help but laugh at it (Source: https://youtu.be/7F-UD_NlDrk )

[elite-guard-hardygal]

“Ooooohhhhhh!”

The classics guarantee you will come out on top in a gentlemen’s dispute

[elite-guard-hardygal]

My little sister and I had been talking about how cool it would be to have a Monika vs. Anti glitch fight, when my sister said in her Monika voice, “I just wanted to be with him, but you broke him!”

The line sounded absolutely brilliant to me, and I just had to make something of it. And this something is probably the most massive and complicated edit I’ve ever done. (All done with no proper editing software, only a free art app on my iPad). I’m actually surprised it turned out as well as it did.

@therealjacksepticeye

[elite-guard-hardygal]

“Not that anyone should know that.”

Accept your heritage!

[elite-guard-hardygal]

Transformers: Robots in Disguise 2015, Season 3, Episode 17: Exiles

Good gosh someone please help this kid

[elite-guard-hardygal]

Are you happy?

Entirely inspired by a page from More Than Meets the Eye Issue #22: “Little Victories: A film by Rewind of Lower Petrohex.” The whole scene really stuck out to me because good GOSH it’s depressing, and I’ve really wanted to apply it to Project Freelancer for awhile.

There are two quotes I left out because I couldn’t apply them to anyone appropriate, but otherwise, I THINK I DID WELL! I shuffled the quotes between characters A LOT, and when I finally finished doing that, I spent about an hour trucking through season 10 of RvB to find appropriate screenshots, and then after that, I had to edit them.

Yeah. I’m happy with how this turned out.

(Interesting note: the “I've never been happier” line coming from its original character comes across as kinda happy-sad, but coming from Florida it comes across as frickin’ SINISTER)

[elite-guard-hardygal]

Alternate Dimensions: Important to the Markiplier Canon?

Has anyone else ever noticed that in every video that has @markiplier meet Wilford Warfstache, Mark dies, usually by Warfstache's hand? Let's track this, shall we?

(YES, there is a typo, and it is way too late for me to care) Case 1: The Fall of Slender Man. In Warfstache's debut, his interview with the infamous Slenderman eventually turns to Markiplier, who Warfstache apparently interviewed beforehand. According to Warfstache, Mark got hit by a bus soon after the interview, claiming, "You don't need to look both ways when you got swag."

Case 2: Warfstache Interviews Markiplier. Years later, famous YouTuber Markiplier is brought in to guest star in Warfstache's talk show in an effort to boost ratings. Towards the end of the interview, Mark gets impatient with the nonsensical nature of the show, and Warfstache scolds him by stabbing him repeatedly in the stomach until he dies.

Case 3: Who Killed Markiplier. In this murder mystery addition to the Markiplier canon, there is a lot of bad blood between Markiplier and the Colonel, the man who would go on to become Wilford Warfstache. So when Mark is murdered during a poker night held at his mansion, that makes the Colonel suspect No.1.

(screenshot source) Now, there is the whole wondering of why this is - why DOES Mark keep on dying around Warfstache? - and maybe I'll theorize on that later. Right now, though, I'll ask this: if all of this is canon to the Markiplier universe, how is it Mark is still alive?

Now, it's possible that this may be a hold over from the fact that, in Who Killed Markiplier, Mark practiced the dark arts in order to able to return his soul from the 'upside-down' back to his body (something confirmed by Mark in his I EXPLAIN EVERYTHING stream, which I personally haven't seen, but I've seen summaries of it). But if that is the case, then why on earth does Mark keep on interacting with Warfstache as though nothing bad might happen again?

(screenshot source) My theory? Alternate dimensions, alternate Marks.

Now, I didn't completely pull this out of nowhere. I mean, Mark has explained that the trippy walking-through-the-house scene in the final chapter of Who Killed Markiplier acted as a small window into another world. But Mark HAS MADE minor references to other dimensions before this. Specifically, in his February 2017 Charity Livestream while he and the team went over A Date with Markiplier.

Timestamp 3:34:08 When talking about what it took to get the shot of Chica in the bathroom mirror for the True Ending, Mark jokes that there might be a ghost in the bathroom, before following that up with "obviously there's a portal to another dimension," referencing the trippy clocks-and-swirls world we see Wilford Warfstache in. It's an offhand comment, but worth noting.

Timestamp 3:58:18 While talking about the creation of Darkiplier, Mark states that Dark is an entirely different person from Mark himself, that Dark doesn't obey the laws of physics, and that Dark exists in "another world entirely," bleeding into "this one."

Timestamp 4:01:04 Mark states that a lot of the inspiration for Darkiplier comes from G-Man from Half-Life. Quote, "...this weird, inter-dimensional person that seems human, but is obviously not." Mark then goes on to emphasize not obeying the laws of physics.

So, alternate dimensions clearly exist in the Markiplier canon. Does this mean that with alternate dimensions comes alternate versions of certain people? Now, I may just be getting the concept of 'alternate dimensions' and 'alternate universes' mixed up, but the two are pretty easy to interchange, especially since both are more specific ways of saying 'another world.'

Think about it. Mark has stated that Darkiplier is from "another world entirely." Dark does not belong in this world. Mark emphasizes that both Warfstache and Darkiplier don't follow the laws of physics. Is this because they BOTH don't belong in this world? Heck, is the mansion in Who Killed Markiplier a weak point in the universe, offering doorways to other worlds?! (That last part was not a part of my original theory - the possibility JUST hit me).

And if alternate worlds are a thing, that might explain why Mark is clueless whenever he's faced with Warfstache - he's a different Mark every time.

If alternate worlds are a thing, that might explain why we sometimes see Mark take on entirely different personalities in situations where he's supposed to be playing himself  - those are different versions of Mark.

If alternate worlds are a thing, that might explain why Darkiplier talks to us as though he knows us in A Date With Markiplier even though that was the first time we had ever met him - Darkiplier knew the ALTERNATE version of us, the version he bodyjacked in Who Killed Markiplier.

If alternate worlds are a thing, that might explain why the Chef is an angry restaurant cook who is totally ready to kill Mark in ADWM, while also being an angry (but largely harmless) employee of Mark's in WKM - those are two different versions of the Chef.

Heck, if alternate worlds are a thing, that might explain all the different endings in A Date With Markiplier - they all took place, just in different universes!

(screenshot source) Oh, man... I've exhausted myself thinking of this. TL;DR - alternate dimensions = alternate versions of Mark.

[elite-guard-hardygal]

Who Truly Knows What’s Best?

2013

(source)

(source)

2017

(source)

........Inconclusive.

[elite-guard-hardygal]

"Oh, nice tie. Did you tie it yourself for once?"

No! Not the bunny!

[elite-guard-hardygal]

"And then it goes right to the game."

Once again, Dapperplier delivers the only gentlemanly response.

[elite-guard-hardygal]

Red vs. Blue, Season 12, Episode 9: The Federal Army of Chorus

Good gosh I love this show

[elite-guard-hardygal]

"It's my place!"

The only gentlemanly response.

[elite-guard-hardygal]

The Fall of Slenderman

For those who may still be wondering where the "One upon a time I had an afro" line in Mark's first Doki Doki Literature Club poem came from

check out my reading of the afore mentioned poem

[elite-guard-hardygal]

"...Well..."

Jordapper and Dapperplier meet again, with a bit of a plot hole