#like for one that's not how yggdrasil works bro | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theotherackerman · 3 years

Text

Carry on My Wayward Son

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: Any recognizable elements belong either to Supernatural, Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, or Attack on Titan.

Notes: Hange's spells are Latin from google translation so I'm sorry if they're not correct.The tree on Mikasa's arm is based on the Yggdrasil.

CHAPTER THREE: DREAM A LITTLE DREAM

Eren came out to see Zeke sitting on the trunk of the Impala.

Eren let go of Mikasa's wrist.

"You want the good news or the bad news first?" Zeke asked. "Trick question. The good news is they found Mina's brother. The bad news is that he was cut in half. The entire lower half of him was missing. It looked like something had been chewing on it. But here's the best part, the teeth marks look human, at least that's what they said on the radio."

"What?" Eren asked.

"Yeah, I know. I called Levi, he'll be out here with back up tomorrow. I got us a room at the hotel. Two beds and a pull out couch. All they had left. That's okay with you two?" Zeke asked as he jumped down.

"It's fine. I can sleep on the couch," Mikasa offered.

"No, you won't. I will," Eren offered.

Zeke was surprised but didn't say anything as he walked around to the front of the car and got in. Mikasa and Eren got into the car just a moment after him.

"Food?" Zeke offered.

"Yeah, let's get food," Eren said as he looked out the window.

"Do you eat, Mikasa?"

Zeke saw her nodded in the rearview mirror.

"She'll eat anything," Eren muttered.

"Can you not be a bitch to her for more than ten minutes? Just because she's a fairy.."

"No! Not like that. We had to live on whatever in the apartment. Some weeks, especially close to the end of a semester, we had to buy cheap groceries," Eren explained. "A lot of burnt Ramen when I cooked. She never complained."

"Your hot dogs and macaroni weren't bad," Mikasa muttered.

"That's because I taught him how to cook that," Zeke teased. "So are you two good enough to work the rest of this job?"

Eren looked at Mikasa in the rearview mirror.

She was looking at him.

"I'll work the job with her. As long as she agrees to one thing," Eren said.

"Oh, this should be good," Zeke sighed.

"No trying to play hero and going off on your own. No risking your life for mine. As long as I’m alive, you’re alive."

It surprised both Zeke and Mikasa that Eren had chosen that as his condition.

"Okay," Mikasa said as she nodded.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After grabbing food from a McDonald's drive through, they came to the hotel.

Zeke called dibs on the first shower, leaving Mikasa and Eren alone again.

Eren wasn't sure how to act.

He was worried about her though.

He didn't know why.

Hadn't Grisha said that a monster was a monster?

If it wasn't human, Eren was supposed to kill it.

It was simple.

There was a clear, solid line between good and evil.

Eren looked up from his phone to see Mikasa sitting on the bed on the far end of the hotel room.

The hotel room was cheap. It was covered in tacky seventies wallpaper.

Mikasa's legs were folded in front of her as she read through some sort of leather brown book. Eren couldn't help but remember being back in the apartment with her. His head would rest in her lap while she read and absent-mindedly played with his hair.

Maybe Zeke was right.

Maybe Eren was being too harsh on her.

No.

He wasn't.

She had lied to him

She hadn't told him the truth.

But then again, he hadn't told her the truth exactly either.

What he wouldn't give for the solid line of good and evil to make more sense.

"Was it a Yellow Eyed Demon that killed your family?" Eren asked.

Mikasa looked up from the book she was reading.

"No. Just a regular one," she replied as her eyes met his. "Why?"

"Just curious, I guess."

Mikasa nodded before she looked back down at her book.

"I shouldn't have said I wanted you dead."

Mikasa looked over at him again. "It's a reasonable response."

"No, it's really not. I...I don't think we can go back to that but I don't want to kill you or for you to die. That would be...bad."

"It's fine, Eren," she replied as she closed her book.

"No, it's not. I'm trying to apologize here."

"Save it, okay? I don't need your pity. Look, I'm just working the job that Levi asked me to. You can't say horrible things to me just to think I would forgive them. It's fine because in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. Once this job is over, we should go our separate ways. That is what would be best for everyone involved. I'm going to go to bed."

Mikasa turned off the lamp next to her bed as she put the book she had been reading on the nightstand.

Eren then knew the pain that Mikasa had experienced.

His heart felt like it had been shattered into a million pieces.

-------------------------------------------------

One of Mikasa's hands was in Eren's hair while he left a trail of kisses down Mikasa's neck. The other hand had moved towards his belt.

"Eager, aren't we?" He teased her.

"You're lucky I don't rip it off of you," she replied as she purposely lifted her hips up so she grinded on him.

Suddenly, the dream shifted very quickly.

He clawed at Mikasa's flesh. Long claws came out of his hands. She screamed in fear but he didn't stop.

He wouldn't stop until she was dead.

The blaring of a car horn cut through Eren’s dream.

He was the first one up and found himself in need of a cold shower.

As Eren took his shower, he wondered why he kept having dreams about Mikasa. Besides the fact that he was still very much attracted to her, the whole fairy thing was really throwing him for a loop.

“Just work the job,” he told himself as he finished his shower.

He dressed in the bathroom and came out to see a very sleepy Zeke attempting to get the coffee maker to work in the hotel room.

Mikasa scurried by him to change in the bathroom.

“So what dumbass thing did you say to her last night?” Zeke asked as he slammed the lid down on the coffee marker.

“Who said I said anything dumb? You should have a little more faith in me,” Eren replied.

“I’ve known since you were born. You always say dumb things. By the way, Levi is on his way. He wants us to try and get pictures of the area now that’s its day. He said he’s bringing a specialist with him. Whatever that means.”

“How many hunters is Levi in contact with?” Eren asked as he walked over to the coffee machine.

Zeke shrugged, “I just assume Levi knows everyone. You’ve seen how many different phones he has hooked up in his living room.”

The coffee maker spurred as Mikasa came out of the bathroom.

“Morning, Sunshine,” Zeke beamed at her.

“Hi,” Mikasa muttered as she came out of the bedroom.

Eren couldn’t help but glare at Zeke.

“What? I like her. I mean look at her! She can be the little kid sister I always wanted before I got stuck with you instead,” Zeke grinned.

“Did you hit on Eren the first time you met him too?” Mikasa asked as she sat down on the bed she had occupied the night before.

“See? This is why I liked her. I’m Team Mikasa while you two….are whatever you are,” Zeke pressed the button again on the coffee machine.

It didn’t work.

“Okay, so coffee run before we go to our possible doom?” Zeke asked as he walked away from the coffee maker.

-------------------------------------------------------

This time, they decided to go more south of the ranger station. There was a dangerous hiking path there that few people had taken, at least that was what Mina had told Zeke the night before.

They pulled the Impala into the parking lot next to the side of the road. Mikasa climbed up the highest tree.

“Are we any closer?” Zeke asked.

“Pretty much the same distance as the ranger station. I’m going to try something,” Mikasa told him as wings sprung from her back.

The next thing Eren and Zeke saw was Mikasa running along one of the branches of the tree.

The branch snapped in half and fell but that didn’t matter.

Mikasa shot up into the sky and flew off.

“Holy shit!” Zeke exclaimed as Mikasa disappeared into the tree line.

“Should we follow her?” Eren asked.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Zeke told him as they both took off in the direction that Mikasa went.

For it being a dangerous hiking trail, it was cleaner than the one Eren and Mikasa had taken the other day.

"How are you doing over there?" Zeke asked Eren as they made their way towards the dead spot.

"Just peachy," Eren replied as he rolled his eyes.

"So is it cool if I ask Mikasa out?" Zeke grinned.

Two thoughts ran through Eren's mind at the same time. One of them was to punch Zeke.

He took the second option.

Eren laughed. "She wouldn't date you. Never. You're not her type. I thought you saw her as a sister."

"I though that at first but now...I don’t know. And what's wrong with me? She could be into me!"

"Do you want the list in alphabetical order or….?"

"Alright, smart-ass. Shouldn't we let her decide? I mean she seems to like me a whole lot more than she likes you."

Eren snapped. He grabbed Zeke by the collar of his shirt.

Zeke just grinned. "There's the reaction I've been waiting for."

Eren released Zeke's shirt.

He fell right into his brother's trap.

Zeke had played him.

"You never tell her about this. Ever," Eren threatened before he started walking again.

"I can't believe you fell for that. All those years of schooling and you don't know bro code. You don't take the girl your brother loves. So how serious was it before everything?" Zeke asked as he trailed after Eren.

"Why does it matter?"

"Oh come on, Ronnie. Share with your older brother. Listen. The most serious relationship I've ever had is that bendy weekend I spent with that Yoga instructor. I mean granted….It was pretty mind blowing. The things she could do with her…"

"You know I can hear you?" Mikasa's voice came down from the tree.

Zeke and Eren looked up to see her continuing her run and jump trick.

"She did say she can't fly for long distances," Eren remarked as he followed her.

"HEY! MIKASA! HOW STRONG ARE YOU?!" Zeke yelled causing Mikasa to stop and looked back.

"Why?" She asked as she leaned up against the tree.

"Could you pick me up and fly me up there?" Zeke grinned.

Mikasa simply nodded before jumping down to the ground. Her wings fluttered, making the most beautiful landing. She was the most beautiful, graceful thing Eren had ever seen.

She didn't look monstrous in the slightest.

No, she looked like an angel.

But suddenly, she turned and ran off in the opposite direction.

"What was that?" Zeke asked.

Eren shrugged.

It didn’t take them long to catch up to Mikasa. They could hear her throwing up.

Then Zeke and Eren realized it wasn’t the flying that had made Mikasa sick as they began to smell it too.

Rotting flesh.

There were bodies.

A lot of them.

They were on the outskirts of what could easily be mistaken for a forest fire.

Except the bodies and the damage looked like the life had just been sucked out of them.

Mikasa came out a few steps behind them.

She looked awful.

Eren reached into his pocket and pulled a pack of gum before he handed it to her.

“Thanks,” she muttered as she took a piece out of it and handed it back to him.

“What the fuck?” Zeke asked, as he looked around the area.

“Was this….is this magic?” Eren asked Mikasa.

“It looks like an energy exchange to me. A big one,” Mikasa replied.

“For what?” Zeke asked as he pulled out his phone and took pictures.

“I have no idea,” Mikasa answered.

Eren stepped into an area of the ash to get a closer look. “I can't even tell an age. This one looks like it’s been chewed in half.” He reached down and touched the ash. "This isn't normal ash either."

“So it sucks the life out of them and then eats them. Fantastic. Sounds like a Tuesday to me,” Zeke laughed.

“More research?” Eren asked as he looked at the other two.

--------------------------------------------------

Mikasa wasn’t okay.

Maybe it wasn’t an energy exchange.

Maybe it was something more.

Maybe it was something worse.

Resurrection wasn’t something one did without thought.

Mikasa didn’t even know how to begin something like that.

Sure, she’d had jobs where someone made a crossroads deal with a demon to bring a love back but they all ended the same.

The person was dragged to hell.

She didn’t even know a spell that would allow resurrection. True resurrection. Not a zombie or a puppet of the person.

Mikasa sat fully clothed in the bathtub, her knees pulled up to her chest. She had debated adding water to the tub but it would just end up making a mess.

She wanted Hange. She could have used Hange right now. They always knew what to say, what to do. Mikasa had called them multiple times since the close call with the Yellow Eyed Demon.

Mikasa didn’t know when she had started crying.

There was a knock on the door.

“You okay in there?” Zeke’s voice came from the other side.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Mikasa said, her voice did not betray her.

“Okay. Levi should be here soon.”

“Okay.”

She waited until Zeke walked away to wipe the tears from her face.

That had been far too big of a loss that she had seen today. Too many innocent lives.

Mikasa wouldn’t allow that to happen again.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the moment, Mikasa had stepped out of the bathroom, all Eren could think about was finding a way to make Mikasa slip away with him. The two of them should be alone together, like it used to be. He could show her how much she could enjoy the backseat of the Impala.

What?

No!

Why was he thinking that?

There was a knock on the hotel door.

Zeke answered it.

Eren didn’t know who he thought Levi was going to bring with him. But this tall, glasses wearing scientist looking was not who Eren had pictured in his mind.

Mikasa practically launched herself at the person.

“It’s alright now,” the person told Mikasa as they smoothed Mikasa’s short hair down. “Oh, I do like your hair short. It looks even better in person.”

“Alright, enough of that. Zeke, Eren, this is Hange, Mikasa’s guardian, a hunter, and a magic wielder.”

“Hello!” Hange said as they broke the hug with Mikasa. “So, I hear there’s a big dead spot?”

“It’s more than that. It’s got bodies,” Zeke explained as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Wait, what? You didn’t tell me that,” Levi replied as he took the phone from Zeke.

"We should head out there then. Check it out in person. I can try a spell to trace the magic," Hange suggested.

"I'll stay here. I'm not feeling too well," Mikasa said before sitting down on the bed that she had been sleeping on.

"That's fine. Levi?" Hange asked.

"I'll go," Levi replied.

"I'll show the location," Zeke offered.

"I'll stay with Mikasa," Eren offered, which surprised everyone.

Levi narrowed his eyes before he began moving towards the hotel room door.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Zeke said before he gave a wink as he exited the room with Levi and Hange.

"I'm not a child. I don't need you to act as guardian," Mikasa replied.

"Never said you were," Eren said as he walked towards her.

"Then stop treating me like one."

"I'm not."

"I don't get you. You spent weeks avoiding me and now all of a sudden you want to act like a knight in shining armor? Why? What do you possibly have to gain?"

"I don't know."

"Well, figure it out. Because I can't take these mixed signals."

"Mixed signals? Seriously?"

"Yes. You hate me, you want me to die. Then you don't want me to and you're holding my hand. Pick a side!" She yelled at him.

Eren wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do with the anger that has been welling up inside of him.

But her yelling at him? Standing up for herself? That was something unmistakably hot for him.

"I don't know! Okay? I'm supposed to hate monsters? I'm supposed to hate you! But all I can think about right now is reenacting a sex dream I had this morning! Okay? I don't know!"

"Wait, what?"

"I'm a guy, Mikasa. I have sex dreams."

"No, not that. Do I feel some sort of sexual urge more than normal?"

"What? No. Maybe. A little bit. Why?"

"Because I know what it is. We need to get there before Levi, Hange, and Zeke. Fuck," Mikasa cussed. "I'm so stupid. Why didn't I see it before? I guess the gruesome death confused me."

"You know what it is?"

"It's a succubus."

"Wait, what? Don't they just have sex with you to kill you?"

"Depends on the type. They can suck the life out of anything. But sometimes the side effects from going to a den can transfer onto the person. That's why you're feeling it. They can also make people have sex until they die. It consumes them."

"Oh. Well, there's a happy thought. Why aren't you and Zeke affected?"

"Half fae, remember? I don't know why Zeke isn't. I should get going."

"I'll go find a car to hotwire."

"You're not leaving," she told him.

He took a step forward.

"Who says I want to leave?" He asked her.

Eren realized in that moment how hot his skin felt. Only she could be the answer.

He lunged forward, his mouth connecting with Mikasa's.

Mikasa was in complete shock. She didn't respond.

How could he make things more clear?

He wanted her.

No.

He needed her.

He grabbed her, causing her to squeak as he threw her on the bed.

He climbed on top of her before kissing her again.

This time, Mikasa responded.

It made Eren happy.

Yes.

This is what he wanted.

He could feel her running her hands over his body as he pulled away.

One of Mikasa's hands was in Eren's hair while he left a trail of kisses down Mikasa's neck. The other hand had moved towards his belt.

"Eager, aren't we?" He teased her.

"You're lucky I don't rip it off of you," she replied as she pulled his belt off.

Mikasa then proceeded to headbutt Eren and knock him out.

-----------------------------------------------------

Zeke walked with Hange and Levi through the woods. He didn’t sign up to a boy scout as a kid and he sure didn’t want to be one right now.

There was some sort of weird dynamitic between Levi and Hange that Zeke didn’t understand.

“So magic wielder?” Zeke asked after a moment.

“Hmm...witch comes with negative connotations sometimes when it comes to hunters. How come you’re not like your brother when it comes to things being so black and white?”

“Oh. Because I realized our dad was a piece of shit when I was about ten,” Zeke explained.

“Why did you stay with him then?”

“Oh. Well, it’s simple. If he had me to fight with her wouldn’t go after Eren. Didn’t matter what Grisha did to me. I guess that’s why his death….this is going to sound horrible but it was freeing. I’m a terrible son, aren’t I?” Zeke said as he stopped in his tracks.

Levi rested his hand on Zeke’s shoulder. “You’re a good brother,” he said before he gave Zeke a bit of push forward.

---------------------------------------------------------

Mikasa had handcuffed Eren and used his belt to bind him. She threw him over her shoulder and had carried him to the car. She then had to carry him through the woods towards the deadspot.

She could get what she needed for the spell there. Everything would be fine. She could cure him without her powers.

---------------------------------------------------------

“Oh. This is interesting,” Hange said as they neared the area of ash.

“What’s that smell?” Levi asked.

“The rotting corpses,” Hange answered. “Look! There’s one over there!”

“Can you not be excited about finding dead bodies?” Levi sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Oh, I’m not. This looks like a den of some sort. It’s very interesting.”

“Any idea what it is?” Zeke asked.

“Well, it looks as if it has some sort of a sucker fish mouth,” Hange replied.

“You can tell that from its den?” Levi asked.

“Oh no. It’s staring at me,” Hange said as they pointed towards a spot in the middle of the dead trees.

Sure enough there was a creature that had a mouth similar to a sucker fish. Its eyes were beady and black. It’s skin was an inky, green color.

“I don’t know what that is but I don’t like it!” Zeke yelled as he pulled out the knife Mikasa had given him.

“I don’t either,” Levi said as he pulled out his machete.

“Guesses?” Hange asked as they moved into place next to Levi. They pulled out their own machete.

With three of them, it meant they would always have someone watching their back.

“Well, succubus is the first thing that comes to mind for me. I’ve never fought one,” Levi replied.

Just then, the creature lunged and tackled Levi to the ground, causing him to throw his machete. It began to coat Levi in a greenish goo, making it impossible for him to move.

Hange swung at the creature, nicking it in the back.

The creature screamed before getting off of Levi and tackling Hange to the ground. It’s mouth moved towards Hange’s.

Hange tried to fight back. They pushed and thrashed.

“ ventilabis deinceps !” Hange yelled.

The creature stumbled a few steps but did not relent.

This gave Zeke the opportunity to pick up Levi’s machete and swing it at the creature.

The creature’s head was removed from its body and fell to the ground. A purple red goo covered Hange.

Eren and Mikasa came rushing into the scene just as Zeke picked up the head of the succubus. Mikasa sat Eren down on the ground.

“What happened to him?" Levi asked him.

Mikasa sighed as she unlocked the handcuffs. “He stepped into the den and fell under the creature’s power. Since you killed it, he should be fine,” she said as she unbound his feet.

“So you’re telling me this thing attracts men and then fucks them to death?” Zeke asked as he looked into the creature's eyes. “I mean I’ve hooked up with some really ugly women but this….”

“Succubus can but sometimes they merely suck the life out of people before feasting on them. But you know, I’m fine over here, laying on the ground, covered in some sort of goo,” Levi replied.

“Green really is your color,” Hange agreed.

“Get this goo off of me and get me off of the ground!”

Just then a second, third, and fourth creature emerged from the den.

“Uhh….I think we have company,” Zeke said pointing to the creatures.

“Knife!” Mikasa yelled at Zeke.

Zeke threw the knife, and Mikasa caught it. Her eyes glowed as she extended the knife, turning it almost into a sword of sorts.

Just then, Eren tackled her to the ground.

“Fuck!” she yelled as her body his the ground, the knife sword dropped from her hand.

Eren swung at her, trying to claw at her face. Mikasa pushed against him to no avail.

“Zeke!” She called to Zeke who was fighting with another succubus.

“Kind of busy!” He called back to Mikasa.

“I’m still on the ground,” Levi yelled.

“ ventilabis deinceps !” Hange yelled again, throwing a succubus forward.

Mikasa fought against Eren who continued to pin her down and try to claw her face. She had to do it. She had to use her powers….again. The risk….did it outweigh everything else?

Eren’s eyes seemed to change colors to a red.

He was losing himself.

Eren.

Eren’s life outweighed the risk.

Mikasa’s eyes glowed as she pulled her hand back.

An exchange of energy.

The fog that seemed to have a hold of Eren’s mind lifted.

Mikasa’s world went black.

----------------------------------------------------------

Eren’s eyes opened as soon as Mikasa’s closed.

Zeke went to pick up the knife sword but it collapsed back into the knife.

It was good enough.

Zeke ran the knife through the succubus that he had been fighting. He was covered in the same goo that Hange was covered in.

Hange defeated two creatures as Eren tried shaking Mikasa.

“Mikasa. Hey. Not again. Mikasa,” Eren pleaded with her.

Hange rushed to Mikasa’s side, checking her pulse. “She’s alive. She’s just...she used too much energy. Probably another year off of her life, if not more.”

Eren just stared at Hange.

“We should get her out of here,” Levi said as Zeke helped him up.

Eren scooped Mikasa up and carried her off in the direction of the Impala.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No complaints about the goo.

No one asked to stop after they gathered their things from the hotel. It was the realization that Mikasa was still being hunted and the amount of energy she used probably set off another tracker.

Nine hours later, they arrived at Levi's. Thankfully, Levi's house had multiple showers and Hange, Levi, and Zeke disappeared into them. Eren carried Mikasa downstairs.

He put her down on the cot in the panic room. The wards would keep her safe.

"Why do you keep risking your life for me? Why are you killing yourself for me?" He asked Mikasa before he sat down on the floor. He leaned his back up against the wall.

But Mikasa didn't answer.

Zeke came downstairs.

"Has she woken up yet?" He asked.

Eren shook his head.

"Huh. I wasn't expecting you to still be sitting here to be honest. Are you finally getting over the fact that she's a fairy?"

"No. It's just...I had a nightmare. I was clawing Mikasa's face and then today…"

"Okay? Nightmares happen."

"But it wasn't like a nightmare. It felt real to me. I don't know. What if I'm the real monster?"

Zeke sat down next to his brother on the floor.

"You're not a monster, Eren. You're probably just stressed out. A lot of shit has happened lately. Just relax. If it happens again, then we'll worry about."

Eren nodded.

So the two brothers sat on the ground, trying to figure out what would happen next.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Hange sat down on one side of Levi's desk.

"I'm worried," they confessed.

"You and me both," Levi sighed.

Zeke came up from the basement.

"Is she awake?" Hange asked.

Zeke shook his head. "Last time, she was out for over a day for just a small heal."

"It's a large energy exchange. Her body has never dealt with it well."

"Those creatures were strange. Something is happening. They normally don't travel like that," Levi said as he pulled out a journal.

"I found it strange too."

-------------------------------------------------------

Eren sat by Mikasa's side.

He wanted to know what Hange had meant by years being taken off of Mikasa’s life.

He needed to hear it from Mikasa.

He was so confused.

Life had been simpler when monsters were just monsters.

Grisha had hammered it into Eren’s head that everything that wasn’t human was evil. It was simple. It was us against them.

A demon had killed Carla.

Demons were bad.

Monsters were bad.

But as Eren watched Mikasa's breathing, he couldn’t help but think that there wasn’t an evil bone in her body.

He had told her not to put herself into danger for him, yet she had done it anyway.

“We had a deal,” he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, Eren’s shoulder felt like it was on fire and into his veins. He gripped his shoulder.

Moments later, Mikasa woke up with a scream.

She pulled at her shirt sleeve to reveal a large tree with its roots exposed, at least that’s what it looked like to Eren.

“Eren, what did you do?” she demanded.

#comwws

3 notes · View notes

snkpolls · 5 years

Text

SnK Chapter 120 Poll Results

The chapter 120 poll closed with 1,375 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

RATE THE CHAPTER 1,314 Responses

This chapter is less popular than most, possibly due to its abrupt ending and feeling of incompletion. Still, 86.5% of the fandom rated it a four or five making it another solid contribution to the series as a whole.

PATHS are awesome, but I hope there's a satisfying narrative payoff to its inclusion

A lot of mixed opinions on this chapter from everybody, but I personally loved it. It went by fast but it's something you gotta read a few times just to get a good feel on it.

Best chapter since Attack on Liberio

I LOVED this chapter. Paths explained! Baby Eren! Little Mikasa! The OG Levi Squad! School caste Armin and Mikasa!!! I literally began to cackle when Eren straight up told Zeke his plan was stupid. I loved it, I've been waiting for that moment ever since ch114.

Character expressions were beautiful. Isayama's art keeps improving.

Easily one of my top 5 favorite chapters. The artwork was fantastic, the double crossings had me shook, & the Paths converging at the Coordinate is Yggdrasil. Love it!

Felt way too short and paths just got more confusing

I actually had to count the number of pages because I couldn't believe it was over yet. Seemed so short! But at the same time, many questions were answered.

Timeloop theory is out, multiverse theory is in! :)

This chapter was a gift from Isayama to all the Jaeger fans. Thanks Isayama.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT? 1,342 Responses

18% of the fandom was thrilled to see Eren reiterate his “born into this world” sentiment as he rejected Zeke’s ideology. 16% found themselves moved by Zeke hearing Grisha apologize to him in his dreamstate. 14.6% were excited to see Eren rejecting Zeke’s plan, and at a near-tie 9.9% most enjoyed Zeke pulling a double betrayal on Eren, while 9.8% loved the moment when Eren woke up to see the Coordinate in front of him.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF ZEKE CATCHING EREN’S HEAD? 1,323 Responses

It was a meme, and now it’s canon. What did you all think of the resolution to last month’s cliffhanger? 42.2% felt it was a bit goofy but still worked, 29.5% thought it was amazing, 16.5% liked the moment but wish it had flowed better and not cut up over chapters, and only 7% thought it was absolutely ridiculous.

All those times playing catch with Mr Xaver really paid off!

It wasn't bad but just hilarious how memes have predicted it

I guessed it would happen after finishing reading chapter 119. In AoT nothing goes the way the characters want it, except for the Yeager bros.

I thought it was really heartbreaking and absolutely traumatizing.

I was very sad for Zeke at that moment, he seems in deep despair, there was no way to know that it would work to make Eren's survive. It was obviously more instinctive like Colt wanting to hug with his brother while he knows it will cause his death than reflexive

I totally called it and was thrilled it really happened

It was expected, but I believe we can't fully know how to feel because it's still a moment in development. I mean, it makes sense, it was the only move. We all saw it coming but it doesn't take anything from the awesomeness

Great payoff to Zeke's obsession with baseball

Eren could have given him a heads up... Zeke almost didn't catch him

WHICH ‘FROZEN IN AN INSTANT” MOMENT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO SEE PLAY OUT? 1,330 Responses

When the action returns to the battle, the majority of the fandom are eager to see “Armin and Mikasa vs. The Cart” (27.4%) and “The aftermath of Gabi’s shot” (26.7%) play out. On a more lighthearted note, was “that one bird” (3.7%) received more votes than “Niccolo and the Braus family” (1.6%).

WHICH TITAN MEMORY MOMENT WERE YOU MOST EXCITED TO SEE? 1,328 Responses

“Mikasa from chapter 1” was not only the largest memory shard, but also the moment we were most excited to see (24.3%). “Present day Historia” was our second choice (19.9%) and “The mysterious dark haired boy” was third (12.4%). At the other end of the spectrum, once again “those birds” rule, beating out “the horse” (0.4%), “the ocean” (0.8%), “that bowl of food” (0.2%), “the colossal titan peering over the wall” (1.1%) and “that one person in the bottom left (1.1%) Faye (0.6%), the blimp (0.1%), the basement key (0.4%), Jean’s horse face (0.9%) and even Hange (0.5%).

WHO IS THE BOY NEXT TO MIKASA IN THE MEMORY SHATTER? 1,303 Responses

“A child from the Mid East Alliance” has taken the majority (31.8%) with Rod Reiss and Tom Xaver following, each with about a quarter of the vote. Eren Kruger was fourth with 11.5%. We also had plenty of write ins.

A child from the Mid-East Alliance, as he's wearing a Fez. It's probably a memory from Lady Tybur's youth, as we know the Tybur Family had connections with nations all across the world.

All the memories here have been from either te Attack Titan or the Founding Titan. Thus I don’t think this is a boy from Warhammer Titan’s memories. Possibly it is Eren Kruger’s memories, in which case this cannot he Tom Xaver as it’s much too young for them to meet. Eren met Tom when Tom was a doctor and able to falsify his blood documents is he could join the Marley police. This is a new character.

At this point i really don't know it could be fucking king fritz himself isayama would probably do it

Eren's future son

Frieda’s brother

I think he's ms. Tybur's friend, eren's memories in here kinda mixed up so it makes sense he sees tybur's memories

It’s rod. You can tell by the vest he’s got on. But I do like the few people calling him the Arumika lovechild.

Probably Eren Kruger's friend / brother / child idk, or a future character that we don't know yet.

Someone from Ymir Fritz's time

The child from the last рanel

DID YOU LIKE THE INCLUSION OF CASTE ON TITAN CHARACTERS IN THE SPREAD PAGE? 1,249 Responses

Let’s be real… The manga has had a depressing tone for quite a while now, and some humor (assuming that’s what this was!) is probably good for us. 72% of poll respondents agree with this notion, and loved the inclusion of Armin and Mikasa from the high school AU. 18.3% weren’t quite so keen to see this easter egg, however.

I knew Isayama said something along the lines of incorporating this AU in the canon so it was nice to see that. Whether he plans to make a reincarnation AU out of this or just an easter egg is up to him.

I think it's cute. It's small and out of the way so it's not like it's disturbing the story.

Idk I'm confused. Isayama really likes to play with us

If you mean Nerd!Armin and Goth!Mikasa, yes I did like it. Could you PLEASE call it Highschool AU or similar, I spent like five minutes trying to understand what 'Caste on Titan' meant!

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BEST IN-STORY EXPLANATION IS FOR CASTE ON TITAN BEING INCLUDED? 1,266 Responses

Well over half of the fandom agree that the inclusion of Caste on Titan (AKA the high school AU fake previews) in the memory shatter was merely an easter egg for the fans to enjoy, rather than Isayama canonizing anything. 20.9% feel differently, feeling that Isayama has canonized Caste on Titan as an alternate universe. 10.7% feel that it is a possible future or reincarnation.

Above Ymir Fritz, in a dimension higher than PATHS, lies the one true God and Creator Isayama-sama, who casually screws His people's minds on a monthly basis with images like these.

It is the actual reality

Canon?? FUTURE?? WHO?? WHAT??

Reincarnation AU is canon, baby

I have never heard of Caste on Titan.

Really it's probably just an easter egg, but it also kind of canonizes AUs which is fine by me.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE LOOK AT THE PATHS DIMENSION IN THIS CHAPTER? 1,331 Responses

What did the fandom think of a whole chapter focused on paths? 80.2% loved the deep dive into them, 15.3% liked the information but don’t love paths as a story mechanic, and 2.1% dislike paths immensely and just want to go back to the battle.

Being someone who loves time-travelling stuff, I'm intrigued. I see a lot of theories around and the loop seems a little weird to me. I believe Isayama has a great, unique concept and I'm excited to fully comprehend it.

Enjoyed it a fair bit, but we need to know more! Especially about how this dimension came to be in the first place.

I can't wait to see this in the anime!

I sort of wish it was more alluded to and not shown too much

I wish isayama was good enough a writer so that he wouldnt have to rely on this bullshit for long-term, grand-scheme storytelling

It's awesome, we need a break from battle, right? I can't wait it'll be animated beautifully just like Ymir one back in the season 2

The most fascinating aspect of the story by far. I just want every single one of their mysteries to be revealed.

I really want to know more about the PATHS. But not from Zeke. I think he is definitely lying about some things here. And I loved that double betrayal.

I didn’t know what the heck was going on

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE COORDINATE AS SHOWN IN THIS CHAPTER? 1,321 Responses

A part of the in-depth look at paths this chapter was a visualization of the coordinate itself. Just over half of the fandom are excited that the theories of Norse Mythology influences might have paid off with the coordinate appearing similar to the mythological tree Yggdrasil. 18.2% of you are unsure what Yggdrasil is and how it relates to the story, 16.5% think the coordinate is supposed to look like a tree but Yggdrasil isn’t a direct influence, and 13.1% think it’s just a beam of light that branches off.

I just thought back to most of the depictions in books of Ymir and the Devil. A good number of them had an object behind Ymir, that being a tree. Coincidence? I think not!

It really does have Yggdrasil vibes, and sorta looks like a tree branching off, but for now I can’t quite put it anywhere. Looks dope though.

It symbolizes a tree, and I hope it in turn connects to the tree Eren sat against in Chapter 1

Yes! more norse mythology references! Yggdrasil baby!

I loved how the trails in the path sky were the expanding branches of the Yggdrasil tree from SnK. Different space, different rules of time and matter...

It's shiny, glowy and pretty, and gives rise to loads of amazing fan colorings. Seriously, that full-page panel with Eren standing in front on it is a work of art.

It's the Tree of Life, Yggdrasil but also the Sephirot, among others. Norse Mythology confirmed with the name Ymir, the Norse proto-giant whose body was used to create the nine realms.

Maybe it's Yggdrasil, maybe not. I like the symbolism, but I can't confirm it actually is Yggdrasil.

Tree of life, much original, v cultured

PATHS converging as ROOTS.

BETRAYAL! WHAT DID YOU THINK OF EREN TURNING ON ZEKE? 1,331 Responses

Who doesn’t love a predictable but good betrayal? 70.5% of respondents were more than happy to see that Eren didn’t agree with Zeke’s ideals, even going so far as to support the demeanor in which Eren delivered the blow. 20.9% are happy he doesn’t agree with Zeke, but feel he could have gone a little easier on him. A small percentage feel he should have sided with Zeke…

Expected but still immensely satisfying. Kinda felt a little bummed for Zeke getting rejected like that.

I loved the twist which was made even better with a double-twist!

Assuming Eren wants to go through with the Rumbling, then both plans are crazy

Eren revealed his cards too early. Although, I can see Eren making that mistake.

It was what I'd hoped would happen eventually, however, it's still another example of Eren doing whatever the fuck he wants without consulting his plans with anyone and hurting people as a consequence

Harsh, but Zeke had it coming and it felt kind of great on an emotional level in terms of a true loss to Zeke, who has done some pretty shitty stuff.

Eren’s plan is stupid, you could’ve told Armin and Mikasa about this but nooooo you gotta be an ass.

I knew Eren wouldn't go through with Zeke's plan. But Zeke also deserves to see the errors in his plans, that he has no right to euthanise his fellow Eldians!

I'm not surprised about Eren's betrayel, it was obvious from the start that he would never agree with Zeke's ideology. But currently I feel very bad for Zeke. For first his parents only want to used him for their plans, because of his royal blood and Eren only used him for the same thing. Poor Zeke ;___;

Zeke had a lot of time the overthink everything that has happened in the timeless paths realm. Even if Zeke did not realize before, he definitely thought about the betrayal during said time.

DO YOU THINK ZEKE IS CORRECT THAT THE GIRL IN THE PATHS DIMENSION IS OG YMIR? 1,331 Responses

Zeke assumes, along with 76.5% of readers that the girl we see roaming paths is Ymir Fritz. However, 19.5% of readers disagree with Zeke on this one.

I was but, after reading a theory posted days after the release, it makes sense that she's actually the OG Christa.

I think it’s Ymir, I don’t think ymir is who they think she is

I think she is indeed Ymir... But could also be the Earth devil.

Hearing all these theories about Eren asking Zeke how he could know, and Zeke just responding with (while logical) a not for sure answer makes me mixed

It seems wierd to me that the Founder has no will or personality of her own, it seems to me that shouldn't be the case, but well... I was hoping she would have some more additions to the story of the titans but she seems like a walking corpse

It's the most likely answer, but the fact he's just assuming makes me not want to claim for sure. Yams likes to seize on assumptions.

Kind of, it's the person they call Ymir but it's really the character of Christa

No. At least not fully, many characters have claimed what happened in the past, but none of them have been entirely right. I don't see why I should see Zeke as entirely correct either.

An empty shell of ymir caused by King Fritz messing with the cordinate

I think Zeke, Eren, Historia and this girl (I think it's Eren's daughter) are all Ymir.

WHY DID YMIR PASS BY EREN? 1,328 Responses

Over half of the fandom (57.7%) agree with Zeke’s theory on this one - Ymir gave Eren the brush off because the Founding Titan is basically a pawn of the royal family. 28.1% are suspicious and believe that she’s got other plans we’ve yet to be clued in on.

Nepotism over cronyism, I guess

She's being controlled by Zeke due to his royal blood so she probably got no choice. Maybe if she gets released she'll cooperate with Eren

The grown woman-child doesn't like boring edgy teens, maybe?

In his time in the paths, Zeke gained enough control over them to make since illusions for eren. This chick is just as illusory as his chains. Zeke is using her to manipulate Eren because he needs Eren to control the founder.

Zeke is technically alive. Eren isn’t. She’s going for the living shifter.

Eren is too hot for her, she can't handle the Yeager

That’s not not Ymir.

She really dosnt have a free will and is being controlled by an even higher power

Zeke has created those chains and that girl to trick Eren

Ymir herself is a slave to the royal family. The royal blood in Zeke calls out to her.

WHAT MEMORY OF GRISHA’S DID YOU ENJOY THE MOST? 1,335 Responses

With lots of heartwarming moments to choose from this chapter, 32.7% most enjoyed seeing Grisha turn away from the Reiss chapel and choosing instead to focus on being a good husband and father to his family. 28.8% enjoyed seeing how Grisha spent his time in the basement and the possibility of him seeing Zeke from the future. 19.7% got the dokis over seeing Grisha be there for Eren’s baby milestones.

Loved baby Eren and it was really nice seeing Grisha so caring for his family (I missed Carla too, so good to see her again)

Baby Eren is the cutest baby in the whole universe and if you disagree you need glasses

IN LIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT GRISHA NOW? 1,330 Responses

Nearly half of the fandom (47.2%) admire Grisha’s ability to change and work to become a better father and husband after learning from his mistakes. 21.1% are glad that he was much better with Eren, but still can’t look past the way he treated Zeke as a child. 19.3% have always had faith in Grisha and enjoyed his character.

One of the reasons why SnK is as good as it is. The way goodness and horribleness exists within him at the same time, the way it makes him so imperfect, so deplorable, so sympathetic and so human, it's a testament to how well he is written. I love him. I love him so much.

I didn't like him before, but now I have a little more sympathy. I felt like crying when he was dreaming about Zeke and wanted to see him badly. I hope they will have a chance to talk in paths.

I'm amazed by the forgiveness other readers are giving him. It's as if they're ignoring what he actually believed and did. I don't believe many people are beyond redemption, and the fact that Grisha managed to get caught before he could actually murder anyone works in his favour, but I hold him to the exact same standard I would any real person who tried to bring back a regime he himself believed was exceptionally violent and bloodthirsty (before the Owl delivered the 'nice' history of Eldia). Overall he *could* be forgiven, but so far...holding your cute chubby son and choosing not to commit your original sin *again* is not it.

No matter how much he learned from Zeke he still cursed them both with 13 years at the end, so it doesn't really make a difference for me.

For the longest time I didn't know how to feel about him but this chapter cleared up a lot of things and I absolutely love him now

While he ultimately failed at parenting twice, it is good to see he learned from some of his mistakes and that his actions here reflected that. In the end, he still went for the royal family before the breach of the Wall and treated Eren to the serum instead of spending his time looking for a better, less 'child' host for his titan.

DID BABY EREN SEE OLDER EREN AND ZEKE? 1,335 Responses

While it may not impact the story, the vast majority of the fandom (70.9%) feel confident that baby Eren was able to see his future self. Only 2.8% selected “No” for this question.

DID GRISHA SEE ZEKE AT THE END? 1,333 Responses

We don’t really know how it happened, but it sure does seem like Grisha saw Zeke at the end of the chapter when he noted his aged appearance. 79.1% agree that this appears to be the case. 2.7% disagree, chalking this up to nothing more than a coincidence. Eren and/or Zeke being able to interact with the past in any way has some striking implications, so hopefully we get some answers soon!

WILL ZEKE CHANGE HIS MIND ABOUT GRISHA? 1,333 Responses

46.3% of respondents feel that the narrative is pushing Zeke to forgive his father and let go of what happened in the past. 38.6% see the potential for him to forgive Grisha, but don’t want to say with confidence that he definitely will. 11.5% believe that there is nothing that will ever cause Zeke to forgive his father.

At his core, Zeke wants his father to love him and treat him as a son instead of a tool. Knowing that Grisha still thinks of him and feels guilty about the way he raised him must have stirred something in him.

Partially. Yes, Grisha grew from that. But it just meant that Eren got the childhood he wishes he had and that in his eyes Eren got preferential treatment.

If anything I think he's mostly going to be jealous of Eren and regrets not being born at the right time. That being said they haven't reached the memory where Grisha passed his titan to Eren.

Might lean more towards him not changing because of his very single-minded way of looking at things. Maybe a smaller chance, don't know how I'd feel about it, though in terms of storytelling.

I hope. I am so ready for a Zeke redemption to take place even if the chances of it happening are low. I want to see the Yeagerbros working together.

I don't think so. If Eren shows him the next memory in which Grisha gave his titan powers to Eren and forced him to end his mission by going to the cellar and learning to control that power, Zeke would think that he was right about his father that he brainwashed him. Maybe Grisha was a good father in Eren's younger years but at the end he shouldered his burden to his second son and gave Eren a new reason to continue the cycle of hatred, to avenge his mother. I don't think that Zeke will change his mind so easily...I have the feeling that Eren has to convince his Brother otherwise, but I could be wrong.

While his opinion about Grisha May change slightly, that won’t change his opinion about euthanasia.

I love how that in the midst of all the plot development and the PATHS, it still boils down to the characters and their relationships in the end. The Zeke/Grisha parts make this chapter, imo. The boy who wants so much to be loved by his father, who vilifies his father as some sort of coping mechanism, realizing that his father loves him, misses him and regrets the way he treated him, realizing his father is only human... it never fails to tug at my heartstrings. I can't wait to see where Zeke will go from here.

WILL ZEKE’S MIND BE CHANGED ABOUT WHAT THEY SHOULD DO WITH THE FOUNDING POWER? 1,329 Responses

As we step away from the action-centric battle, we move into a battle of philosophies, outlooks, and plans. Zeke has attempted to sway Eren, but will Eren be able to convince Zeke to change his mind about what to do with the power they now possess? 38.8% think he will in fact be able to do just that; and only at about 1% behind, 37.9% don’t know what the outcome will be, and 20.3% don’t think Zeke’s plan will change.

Zeke's mind is already made up. What may change is his motivation. He just may lose all will to execute his plan and let Eren do his thing.

His euthanasia plan is instilled into him primarily by Xaver, his father-figure, someone whom he holds very much in high esteem. So if Zeke should change his mind about that plan, it has to be through changing his current opinion on Xaver.

It will seem he agrees with Eren. And then, out of rage and despair of his ideals being broken and Eren getting the life he wishes he always had, he'll cause the Rumbling to lash out at the world for how cruel it was to him.

No, he's far too stubborn for that. But he still needs to return the powers of the Founder to Eren somehow. So I can see him being cornered in a way that makes him realize there's no happy ending.

Probably, but it shouldn't be because of some Grisha shit, it should be because Eren has a better plan

Yes but he‘s still an ass who had fun in killing. Maybe he‘ll redeem himself by showing remorse but whatever, he just rubs me the wrong way.

I sure hope so, because eugenics really doesn't make sense even if you support the reasoning. If it can be done by a royal titan then it can be undone, and they're literally planning to keep a pack of royals as spares.

I hope so, because I really want to see the brothers work together. Zeke has done a lot of terrible thing (including what he did to poor Levi) but I want to see his redemption arc

I think that Zeke will come to the realization that he is doing to same thing to Ymir as Grisha has done to him.

WHAT DOES EREN WANT TO SHOW ZEKE? 1,324 Responses

This chapter ended abruptly with Eren about to lead Zeke into “The next memory.” But what could that be? 36.3% think he’s going to show Zeke scenes from his own life, 32.1% believe there will be an even deeper dive into Grisha’s past, 19.7% think it will involve Tom Xaver, and 8.6% think Eren Kruger will get more time to shine.

A mix of all of them: More of Grisha's memories up to his death, his own life and experiences (Attack on Titan greatest hits coming for the 10th anniversary chapter), and then finish off with some Xaver reveals if he indeed worked with Kruger.

Bit of Kruger's, Eren's memories, and little bit of Grisha's. Maybe Ymir's or Karl Fritz

Definitely something involving Xaver, probably him in cahoots with Kruger to fool Zeke.

Don't feel like he wants to show Zeke something, just telling Zeke to move it along

His true motives and what lead him down the path he’s been taking since chapter 91

That one exchange between Grisha and Frieda in the cave we still didn't get to see when Eren kissed Historia's hand.

The memory where Grisha turns Eren into a mindless with added dialogue to hit us all in the feels.

Warhammer memories

I hope it could be something around Kruger and Xaver, and finally enlightening Zeke view of his "dad" and their plan. From here they could move around some really interesting scenarios, there are so many possibilities and I AM HERE FOR IT! ("If you want to save Mikasa and Armin..." quote for example idk).

Fall of wall Maria, Dina eating Carla

Some hype ass shit.

WILL EREN BE DEAD AFTER THE INSTANT IS OVER? 1,327 Responses

The majority (77.8%) are confident that Eren will find a way to make it out of the paths dimension alive, while 11.5% are much less optimistic about Eren’s fate. A smaller percentage believe that he’s already dead without any chance of coming back.

I have this weird theory: since a shifter's consciousness can be transferred into the spine or in the Paths dimension in some capacity, what if the consciousnesses of two shifters can be "exchanged" in the Paths dimension? Zeke may end up dying (willingly or not) while Eren lives.

I don't know. I think he'll either come back alive, or find a way to communicate with at least Mikasa and/or Armin before he dies.

Zeke promised that he will never abandon his little brother. Even if their ways differ in the end and Zeke’s mind isn’t changed, I don’t think he would leave his brother to die. He has already stated that he will command Ymir to reconstruct Eren’s body. No way he would treat Eren like that

No. Eren recovered in paths just like Zeke did so there's no reason for him to be dead

It would be a fresh plot twist and I would like him to stay dead because of it but I doubt Isayama has courage to do it.

i think it would be weird for eren to die right now, especially before seeing Armin & Mikasa again

DO YOU THINK ZEKE WILL COME OUT OF THE PATHS DIMENSION ALIVE? 1,328 Responses

Zeke was in pretty good shape when he went into the PATHS dimension, so it only makes sense he would make it out alive - or at least that’s what most of us (81.9%) think! A minority (18.5%) think (or hope?) he will not be so lucky.

WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,339 Responses

More than half the fandom wants chapter 121 to be the continuation of A Zekemas Carol. 18.9% would rather take a break from the PATHS dimension to see what’s happening with Levi and Hange.

Been wanting to see Annie, Levi, Historia for many chapters. Now just want these amazing memories to continue! This part of the story is incredibly powerful.

I know this paths fuckery will continue for another chapter or two but after that yams pls gib annie i beg

A moment of silence for the amount of hope I had to see Hanji and Levi, if you will. It will be missed.

All I'm asking for is one panel with Levi and Hange... Is that too much?

Annie in paths Annie in paths Annie in paths Annie in-

Eren in the next chapter is going to open a door from Eren Krugers past showing interactions with Tom Xaver

Heh, as much as I want to see Hanji & Levi, I'm 99% certain we're staying in PATHS zone :)

I feel bad that I didn’t choose Annie for any of these answers, but this moment in the story is literally the only thing I’ve wanted to see for years

I just want to know Levi is alive

I want to know who Ymir really is and what her motivation is! I want to see the story through her eyes!

I don't care about Zeke. Please show me the Present Day Historia memory. I beg you OG Ymir. Amen.

whatever it is im gonna pee myself regardless

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 1,263 Responses

While Reddit and Tumblr continue to make up the majority of our respondents, the Attack on Titan fandom is everywhere. Wherever you choose to discuss the series, we appreciate your support of the chapter poll!

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER?

"Where's the rest of it?" - Zuko

I liked Eren's "surprised Pikachu" face when Zeke broke the chains.

Great fucking chapter, Eren and Zeke are a riot as a brothers duo.

Why is Grisha so attractive

Boy am I glad Xaver trained Zeke in baseball instead of football.

Grisha Redemption Arc, let's go!

a chapter without reiner is automatically a bad chapter

At the beginning I thought it’d end up being boring but the ending showed me otherwise. Attack on titan never disappoints

Awesome, beyond my expectation. We get more info about PATHS and yeager moments that i nearly don't care about others lol. The cliffhanger is more painful than previous chapter tho

Chapter in a nutshell: "I have more resolve!" "No, just kidding. By doing this I have MORE resolve!" "Well guess what? I have a piano. End of discussion, I have the most resolve."

I kind of dislike the whole concept of the Paths. I really dislike the "enslaved little girl builds Titans out of sand" angle when there was so much potential for a science fantasy explanation instead. At least Eren's acting like Eren again, that's all I'm asking of this manga at this point.

How did Ymir have three daughters when she looks 13 years old and presumably died 13 years old?

I put a 2/5 due to how empty and anticlimatic this chapter was. I'm more than okay to explore the pathverse but I didn't expect 10 pages of filler and recollection, 10 pages where the brotherly betrayal gets quickly resolved with both Eren and Zeke's emotions being turned down (Zeke just told Eren he had no freedom in his decisions ffs) and the rest being Daddy Issues TM.

Dope. Loved it. Answered so many questions. So, the PATHS meme is a little less true now. It'll probably become even less so with the next chapter and so on.

Eren and Zeke this chapter were basically that one spiderman meme you know the one.

Glad the memory manipulation theory was wrong, didn't expect this walk through memory lane however. I'm excited to see if and how Zeke's outlook on his father and whole ideology will change.

Eren out here playing 5D chess against Zeke when he was playing 4D chess and thinking Eren was playing 3D chess. Eren a legend

Eren’s sarcastic attempt at convincing Zeke was a welcome reprieve from the “excuse-me-what” nature of this chapter

Every time Eren appears in a panel I stare in awe at how beautiful he is. Shaven face + Hobo hair = Peak Eren.

I love how abrupt the ending is, specially if Isayama's going for what I'm thinking. I suspect chapters 120, 121, and 122 will all feel connected as one single big chapter, with action outside paths only unfreezing at the end of 122. The main issue is how some parts of this chapter feel like stalling for the inevitable anniversary chapter next month, but I believe it's gonna pay off.

I was laughing like a maniac by the end of the chapter. Eren is truly an incredible little sh*t, and I'm super excited to learn more about his actual motivations. Interestingly enough, Zeke won't shut up about Grisha the father, and seems to have conveniently forgotten (which I did as well) that one of Eren's biggest motivations in his life has come from his mother, who told Shadis all those years ago that Eren was special BECAUSE "he was born into this world". As much as I reeeeeeally wanna see an update on Levi and Hanji (IT'S BEEN SIX MONTHS, ISAYAMA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO US), this walk down memory lane is turning out to be the most entertaining part of the arc so far

I'm SO HAPPY to see Eren talking again and to see that fiery determination and his snarky attitude! Go Eren!

Just . . . I'm really tired. Now Grisha's father of the year all of sudden. I'm still waiting for Eren to like, suffer real consequences for his war crimes and his shitty treatment of his "friends." And Annie is probably never going to be relevant, Historia is going to stay stuck in her chair. Like, the whole point of this series was that it's hard to tell what the truth is, right? And now there's MAGIC and Eren can literally take Zeke into his memories to show Zeke EXACTLY what happened with Grisha as if that's the real truth? Isayama's gone soft or given up, I dunno. I'm just tired.

Anyone else expect Isayama to just carry on with these flashbacks for four chapters just like the basement.

This chapter hurt me. In fact, this whole arc has. I think the point where I started being really confused was when Zeke got resurrected. I get the point of it. You wanna show what PATHS is? Ok. You wanna show how titans are built! Sure! You wanna explain that this is a pocket dimension and time moves by super slow? Perfect. You wanna show the person making the titans? Cool. But the mechanics with the royal family are so inconsistent. IF ZEKE CAN BREAK THE WILL, WHY CAN’T FRIEDA OR URI OR LITERALLY ANYBODY. Is it because he isn’t the direct founding Titan? Is he bluffing?? I don’t know. I want Armin and Mikasa please.

One redemption for the monky boi, please.

So Eren did all he did, sacrificed so many lives, hurt his friends etc. just because he only hoped he’ll be able to use the Coordinate? Seriously that was his plan? Give me a break please. I’m very disappointed Erwin was not there in the ‘important moments’ page - he was one of Eren’s childhood heroes after all and the person without whom Eren would’ve never gotten this far.

#snk spoilers #snk poll #snk polls #poll results

55 notes · View notes

yopalonso · 5 years

Text

Arle Nadja for Smash Bros. 4: We’re going for Spiritual Classics

Behold. Even when there’s chaos and disorder, we’re near the spooky day, and so, it’s time to talk about the Spirit Battles that I plan to bring into Smash Bros. Ultimate!

I did warn you last time we had this kerkuffle, that long texts awaited thee for this instance. You have been warned tremendously. Let us begin the last part!

Número 3: Spirit Battles!

Spirits are these jolly-good .png files that, when equipped, give you power, make you stronger, give you buffs, etc., etc. Puyo Puyo-based Spirits will consist of 11 of those little fellas, with 9 of those having a battle via the (hypothetical) DLC Spirit Board.

1. Carbuncle

Class: Advanced ☆☆

Type: (Support) Neutral

Power: 4200

Team Stock Battle

Vs. Bunny Kirby (Yellow) & Arle

Stage: Windy Hill Zone (Ω)

Music: Area A

Item: Superspicy Curry

Conditions:

Defeat the main fighter to win.

The enemy is easily distracted by items.

Acquired Spirit Stats:

Ability: Mouthful of Curry

Cost: 2

He’s round, hard to hit, and loves curry! Carbuncle, obviously represented by a Bunny Hood-wearing Yellow Kirby. If you get him, you get the Mouthful of Curry ability, which grants you the effects of a Superspicy Curry at the beginning of the match.

2. Amitie

Class: Novice ☆

Type: (Primary) Attack

Power: 1700

Team Stock Battle

Vs. Zelda (Red) & Corrin (Male Light Blue) & Villager (Female Pink)

Stage: Peach’s Castle (Battlefield Form)

Music: Puyo Puyo FUNderworld!

Conditions:

The enemy's side special has increased power.

The enemy favors up specials.

Acquired Spirit Stats:

Power: 960 [ATK 529 DEF 431]

Slots: 2

Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99.

3. Red Amitie

Class: Ace ☆☆☆

Spirit Stats:

Power: 3158 [ATK 1928 DEF 1230]

Slots: 2

Fire Attack ↑

Amitie’s Spirit Battle has to take place at a magical place! Taking her spot is Zelda, who’s known for having Fire and Wind-based magic, much like our lovely protagonist herself. And joining her are Corrin and Villager mimicking Sig and Raffina! By leveling up, she turns into Red Amitie, but how exactly is a thing we don’t exactly know.

4. Ringo Ando

Class: Ace ☆☆☆

Type: (Support) Grab

Power: 9000

Team Stock Battle

Vs. Robin (Female Red) & Richter (Purple) & Banjo & Kazooie (Dark Brown / Purple) & Dark Samus

Stage: New Donk City

Music: The Puyo Puyo Song - In-Game Version

Conditions:

The enemy’s electric attacks have increased power.

The enemy favors neutral specials.

Reinforcements will appear during the battle.

Acquired Spirit Stats:

Ability: Zap-Floor Immunity

Cost: 2

The red-haired student who’s in this to win. She comes packed with a powerful team in a battle taking place in the only city that resembles the “real world” where Ringo lives. Joining Robin with her thunder attacks is Richter, jumping in as Maguro, the bear himself, Banjo, as Risukuma, and a surprise guest: Ecolo, as Dark Samus! As a reward for such a scientific match, she’ll grant you Zap-Floor Immunity, to fight against electric floors and the like!

5. Ally

Class: Novice ☆

Type: (Support) Grab

Power: 1600

Team Stock Battle

Vs. Daisy (Green) & Arle & Zelda (Red) & Robin (Female Red)

Stage: Yoshi’s Island (Melee) (Battlefield Form)

Music: Ready for Fever Mode!

Conditions:

The enemy can heal by shielding attacks.

Reinforcements will appear during the battle.

Acquired Spirit Stats:

Ability: Critical-Health Defense

Cost: 1

Ally! The lass in green from the mysterious lands brings a whole party of 4 to the fray. Although her battle isn’t that hard, it’s her skill that makes the difference: Critical-Health Defense, which will get you buffed in time when things get hectic!

6. Schezo Wegey

Class: Advanced ☆☆

Type: (Primary) Grab

Power: 4100

Stamina Battle

Vs. Robin (Male Blue)

Stage: Yggdrasil’s Altar

Music: Request from Puyo Puyo

Conditions:

The enemy starts the battle with a Black Hole.

The enemy’s melee weapons and electric attacks have increased power.

The enemy favors neutral specials.

Acquired Spirit Stats:

Power: 1532 [ATK 998 DEF 534]

Slots: 3

Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99.

7. Cool Schezo

Class: Ace ☆☆☆

Spirit Stats:

Power: 3041 [ATK 1761 DEF 1280]

Slots: 3

Sword Attack ↑

It’s the one who commands the dark magic, Schezo! Seemed kind of obvious for him to be portrayed by Robin himself, in a magical, distant land. His fight makes it seem like he’s hella powerful, so getting him AND getting his Spirit to become Cool Schezo feels even more rewarding. Just look at that pristine white cape of power, so cool!

8. Rulue

Class: Advanced ☆☆

Type: (Support) Grab

Power: 4300

Stamina Battle

Vs. Wii Fit Trainer

Stage: Tortimer Island (hazards off)

Music: NORMAL MODE

Conditions:

The enemy's physical attacks have increased power.

The enemy has increased defense.

The enemy favors grabs and throws.

Acquired Spirit Stats:

Ability: Energy Shot Attack/Resistance ↑

Cost: 2

The lady who kicks into scene takes form into a Puyo SUN-inspired battle! At the shores of the beautiful Tortimer Island, Wii Fit Trainer posing as Rulue will take you on with powerful kicks and twists. The skill you get, which is Energy Shot Attack/Resistance, is a testament to her strength and training against magical arts.

9. Dark Prince

Class: Ace ☆☆☆

Type: (Primary) Shield

Power: 9300

Team Stock Battle

Vs. Ganondorf (Brown) & Bunny Kirby (Yellow)

Stage: Dark Prince Castle (hazards off)

Music: Final of Puyo Puyo

Hazard: Screen Flip

Conditions:

The screen will suddenly flip.

Defeat the main fighter to win.

The enemy starts the fight with a Black Hole.

The enemy favors special attacks.

Acquired Spirit Stats:

Power: 3148 [ATK 1882 DEF 1266]

Slots: 3

The Dark Prince himself, mwah ha ha! To be quite fair, the only character who was able to fit this awesome robe was Ganondorf himself. I know there’s a joke there trying to have Joker take his place but, well, Voice Actor jokes only work when they’re, well... global? For this fight, it’s all about manipulation and trying to outdo your rival to get your hands on that powerhouse of his Spirit.

10. Puyo Puyo

Class: Novice ☆

Type: (Support) Neutral

Power: 1600

Team Stamina Battle

Vs. Team Kirby (Red ×4, Green ×4, Yellow ×4, Blue ×4, Purple ×4)

Stage: Distant Planet (Ω)

Music: Theme of Puyo Puyo

Conditions:

Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd.

The enemy falls slowly.

Acquired Spirit Stats:

Ability: Instadrop

Cost: 2

Before we move onto the last Spirit, we have to do this... fun Puyo hell! It’s the Puyos, in their... most interesting form. Represented by colored Kirby fighters, these fall slowly into the field and have low energy. When you beat them, you earn the Instadrop ability, kinda like if they gave you the ability to Hard Drop.

11. Doppelganger Arle

Class: Legend ☆☆☆☆

Type: (Primary) Attack

Power: 13500

Stamina Battle

Vs. Arle (Dark Red)

Stage: Dracula’s Castle (Ω)

Music: Dark Arle’s Insanity

Conditions:

Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle.

Acquired Spirit Stats:

Power: 4842 [ATK 2659 DEF 2183]

Slots: 2

Magic Attack ↑

The final battle for all of us is supposed to be against ourselves. Same goes for Arle, who you get to battle into these Spirit Battles as her doppelganger! Or is it the other way around? Defeating this incredibly powerful Spirit will grant you a Spirit that’s either too powerful, or that’s way too powerful.

Número 4: Classic Mode!

Lastly! We journey through her Classic Mode run and all that implies! Discounting the Bonus Stage, this would be her journey through Classic Mode (as envisioned by yours truly)!

Puzzling Magic Fun!

Puzzling Magic Fun! ( パズルの楽しみ旅 , lit. “Puzzle Fun Trip”) is all about exploring the history of puzzle games that are currently represented in Smash Bros. in one way or another, and Arle having some crazy stock battles against all of their protagonists! All stages have music from the Puyo game closest to that release.

STAGE 1

Vs. Yoshi

Stage: Yoshi’s Island (Melee)

Music: Theme of Puyo Puyo

The first fight is against the least alike of the puzzle games: Yoshi’s Cookie, from 1992! Yoshi’s Cookie is a fun title with an interesting sliding mechanic, but it’s far from being similar to Puyo Puyo, yes.

STAGE 2

Vs. Mii Swordfighter

Stage: Super Happy Tree

Music: Area A

Our second fight is against Panel de Pon, from 1995, with Mii Swordfighter cosplaying as Lip! Panel de Pon, localized as Puzzle League, is an interesting match-3 puzzle game where you have all your pieces on the board at all times, and you line up your strategy to let gravity take its course and do crazy chains!

STAGE 3

Vs. Ryu & Ken

Stage: Suzaku Castle

Music: Request from Puyo Puyo

Wait, Ryu and Ken!? Well, wouldn’t you know, they starred in their own puzzle game, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. This 1996 puzzle game mimicked Puyo Puyo in that pieces fall in pairs and you line them up on your board, but you can’t erase your blocks without using colored Power Gems, which shakes things up plenty. This frantic puzzle game saw a soft re-release in 2017 for mobile devices, too, although it had a short run.

STAGE 4

Vs. Kirby & King Dedede

Stage: Dream Land GB (Ω)

Music: NORMAL MODE

KIRBY’S AVALANCHE WASN’T REAL AND IT NEVER EXISTED. Now that THAT is out of the way, Kirby and the Dream Land 2 crew starred in their own puzzle game in 1997 with Kirby’s Star Stacker. In this game, pieces fell in pairs, and you lined them up on your board to get Star Blocks in-between the same Animal Buddies to start a combo, which would make stars fall on the board and fill in the empty spaces. If you knew how to line stuff up on the board, you could rack up some insanely crazy combos!

STAGE 5

Vs. Pikachu & Jigglypuff & Pokémon Trainer

Stage: Pokémon Stadium

Music: Puyo Puyo FUNderworld!

Pokémon’s first original incursion in the puzzle game world was with 2005′s Pokémon Trozei! (or Pokémon Link! for the Eurobuddies) This game followed through with gameplay similar to that of Yoshi’s Cookie, but taking the advantage of both screens for some really fast gameplay. You also had to line them up in a straight line, but how you did it was up to you.

... wait a minute, don’t you think we’re forgetting something important?

STAGE 6

Vs. Dr. Mario & Peach (White)

Stage: 75m (Ω)

Music: The Puyo Puyo Song - In-Game Version

The original, colored reference for Puyo Puyo lies within Dr. Mario, of course! The NES 1990 classic which slowly evolved through time, and the one puzzle game that’s almost too similar to Puyo Puyo. You line up colors to form a straight line of four between viruses and pills, to erase those critters from your bottle. In VS mode, this actually means trouble for your foe, as randomly colored balls will fall on their field!

And, finally...

BOSS STAGE

Vs. Dracula

Music: Final of Puyo Puyo / Double Trouble Finale!

And for the last stage we beat Satan himself! Well, the one that was the closest, to be honest. We’re still fighting the final battle in a castle, against a devilish character with one cool cape with strong connections to Satan himself. And while Castlevania did have a puzzle game in the form of Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night in 2010 for mobile devices, I still believe that playing make-believe with Dracula portraying as the Dark Prince is a better way to go.

Número 5: Anything else I forgot across all entries?

Entrance animation: appearing from a light portal, similar to how she gets transported into Grimp in Puyo Puyo Chronicle.

Taunts:

Up Taunt: her victory pose from Madou: Saturn.

Side Taunt: a half-flip, ending with a V-sign, with Carbuncle bouncing.

Down Taunt: Carbuncle running around Arle with her following him as she spins.

Victory screen:

Theme: Final Results! (Story Clear) [Remix]

Carbuncle hops on Arle’s back as she does a V-sign, saying “We’re number one!”, recreating their victory pose from 15th Anniversary. This one also doubles as her Team Battle victory pose when she’s a team member.

Carbuncle bounces around Arle, up until she catches him mid-air as she says “We did it, Carby!”, mimicking their art from Puyo Puyo Quest’s Arle & Carbuncle card.

A dramatic zoom-in, as she enthusiastically raises her arm, vigorously, recreating her pose in the final screen of the original Puyo Puyo. Here, she can say either “Yes!” or “Big victory!”.

Mii Costumes:

Rulue’s Hat & Rulue’s Cape (Mii Brawler)

Schezo’s Hat & Schezo’s Outfit (Mii Swordfighter)

Puyo Hat

Sig’s Hat & Sig’s Outfit (Mii Gunner): The gun would be the red arm.

AND THUS I HAVE COMPLETED THE GLORY OF ARLE IN SMASH, how I think her content would be, which Spirits would be featured, which music would be included, and just how much content would be packed with her inclusion. I have to say, it feels incredible to finally have it all out of my chest, it feels hella relieving. If anyone wants to use this whole series as a basis for their own character requests, feel free to do so.

As of this post, this marks the last time, for real, that I’ll write about Arle in Smash Bros., because it has been a fun ride playing make-believe. But the truth is, she’s not in the game, thus the only thing we can do, is dream. And dream, I did. This is a testament of my love to the character herself, to the franchise, and to everyone who also wanted her in the game. If anyone involved in Smash Bros. reads this, know that while this is my utmost wish, I’d be happy with any representation of the Puyo series proper in Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Special thanks, once again, to everyone from the Puyo for Smash Discord, to my friends at the Edge of Forever, to everyone who read and shared this nonsense, and to everyone who helped with this massive creation by adding their own inputs from time to time.

And of course, to Masahiro Sakurai and Satoru Iwata, creators of Super Smash Bros., and to Mizuki Hosoyamada, current director of the Puyo Puyo franchise.

Making a little reference to SEGA themselves, if you count her, the Carby cameo in her taunts and victory screens, her stage, the tracks, and the Spirits from the Spirit Board, all of that adds up to 24! Don’t ask how, really.

©SEGA. 2019.

#ARLE FOR SMASH #arle nadja #arle #Smash Bros #puyo puyo #smash dlc #super smash ultimate #super smash bros

9 notes · View notes

umbramatic · 5 years

Text

The Bear, The Bird, and The JRPG Protagonist

Heyo! This is a short short slice of life story commemorating our two most recent Super Smash Bros DLC characters. It would have been a bit longer but it ended up taking longer than expected, so I tried to get it out of the way. Regardless, I hope you find this to be an amusing little tale.

(Though it's been years since I've played a game in one of the series featured so forgive me if certain peeps sound a bit off):

The Bear, The Bird, and The JRPG Protagonist

The Luminary gazed out upon the wide open ocean from the dock. He idly watched the waves, letting his thoughts drift with them.

Sure he had three other heroes of legend with him. But was he really prepared to join this elite society of Super Smash Brothers? He knew it was full of legendary heroes and even villains - was he even worthy?

It was then he felt a tap on the shoulder.

He whipped around to see a ursine creature with a bird on its back. His first instinct was to whip out his sword, thinking it was a monster. Then recognition dawned on his face.

"You... You were the others..."

"Hiya!" said the bear. "No need to be so dramatic," said the bird.

"I... I apologize," said the Luminary. "I'm not used to creatures quite like you two."

"I can't tell if you're being insulting or flattering," said the bird.

"Kazooie, be nice!" said the bear. "By the way, I'm Banjo."

"Hello, Banjo, Kazooie," said the Luminary. "You must be the other heroes they recruited to the Smash Bros society."

"Sure are!" said Banjo. "We're pumped!"

"We're gonna catch up on everything we missed and then kick everyone's asses! Including yours!" said Kazooie.

"Wait, catch up?" said the Luminary. "You've met these warriors before?"

"Well," said Banjo, "Some of them. It's a long story. Can we talk about it over pizza or something?"

"Pizza?" said the Luminary.

Kazooie rolled her eyes. "It's a food."

"Oh! Very well then."

Banjo led the Luminnary off.

----------------

The three sat at a table outside a small restaurant, Kazooie still in Banjo's backpack. Banjo poured a sizeable amount of honey over a slice of pizza before scarfing it down.

"...That's an interesting meal," said the Luminary.

"More like disgusting," said Kazooie.

"What? It's a combo I discovered in the off years!" said Banjo.

"...Off years?" said the Luminary.

"Oh!" said Banjo. That's what I wanted to tell you about!"

He coughed and cleared his throat.

"See, we used to like hanging out with all of Mario's friends! Link and Fox and Donkey Kong and all... But then something bad happened!"

"How bad?" said the Luminary.

"Very bad. We got bought out by Microsoft!" said Kazooie.

The Luminary tilted his head in confusion.

"Er, Kazooie? I don't think he knows about the Fourth Wall," Banjo says, whispering.

"Oh, my bad, let me give him the dramatic version," said Kazooie.

She turned to the Luminary. "We were screwed over by... The Powers That Be!"

"Powers That Be?" said the Luminary, blinking in suprise. "You mean like... Gods?"

"Ha! The Powers That Be make gods look like quivering worms in comparison!" said Kazooie. They govern all that goes on in the various worlds!"

The Luminary was leaning twoard Kazooie in his seat, fascinated and a little bit horrified. "What did you even do to displease such great and powerful beings?"

"Nothing, that's what!" said Kazooie.

"It was horrible!" said Banjo. We couldn't be friends with Mario and Donkey Kong and their buddies anymore! We could only hang out with Master Cheif and his buddies! Who weren't all that bad granted. But it wasn't the same!"

"More importantly," said Kazooie, "We couldn't get an adventure at all! The only exception was when we were forced into some horrible vehicle-building exercise!"

Now the Luminary just looked horrified. "That sounds awful! I wouldn't want to get stuck in that situation."

"It was and you wouldn't!" said Banjo. "But joining the Smash Brothers finally gives us a new adventure, and one where we can see our old friends again!"

"Plus we can kick their asses!" said Kazooie.

"I'm happy for you two," said the Luminary. "Me, I just got off an adventure so a new one feels... Sudden."

"What kind of adventure?" said Banjo.

"Let me guess it was a dragon quest," said Kazooie.

"Kind of?" said the Luminary. It all started when I turned 16..."

The Luminary then transitioned into a long-winded tale about a band of misfits and Yggdrasil and, yes, dragons. Banjo and Kazooie sat and listened, eating popcorn they had mysteriously procured out of nowhere. Once Luminary was done, Banjo applauded.

"That was awesome! A good tale!"

"Seems like standard JRPG fare but I kinda like it," said Kazooie.

"Standard what?" said the Luminary. "Oh nothing you'd understand, kid," said Kazooie.

The Luminary blinked. "Okay then."

Banjo looked down. Both the honey and pizza were gone. "You guys want to do something else?"

"Certainly," said the Luminary.

"But what?" said Kazooie.

Banjo thought and thought and thought some more. Then a look of realization came to his face.

"I have an idea!"

---------------------------

The three were standing (well sorta in Kazooie's case as she was still in Banjo's backpack) on a large platform, on opposite ends. The Luminary was eyeing Banjo and Kazooie warily.

"...You want me to hit you?"

"Yeah! As hard as you can! It's good practice for the Smash Brothers society!" said Banjo.

"Give us your worst! That sword of yours probably couldn't even open up a tuna can!" said Kazooie.

The Luminary sighed and charged toward them, swinging his sword as soon as he got close. Immediately Banjo countered with claw strikes, the two sharp objects clanging together. Eventually the Luminary started pushing Banjo back, toward the edge. Banjo flailed, was about to fall off-

Only for Kazooie to push him back upward and for him to strike Luminary dead in the face, sendig him flying back and sprawling. The Luminary immediately got up and sent a blast of fire Banjo and Kazooie's way. Banjo and Kazooie, however, seemed to charge right through it, knocking the Luminary straight off the platform and sending him tumbling down to the ground with a thud.

"Ow..."

Banjo and Kazooie landed far more gracefully next to him.

"You OK kid?" said Banjo.

"He'll live," said Kazooie. "He said he's survived worse."

"I have," said the Luminary, getting up. "But... But I'm suddenly worried about the Smash Brothers."

"Eh? Whaddya mean?" said Banjo.

"The Smash Brothers... Including you... They all are from various different worlds... Have powers and tricks I can't possibly fathom... I'm having a hard time even with the other Heroes going with me! How can I hope to compete? I mean you two - you two took on the Powers That Be and lived!"

Kazooie snickered at the last sentence, but Banjo nudged her and she fell silent.

"Look, look, kid - the way I see it, Smash isn't... about winning," said Banjo.

"...It's... It's not?" said the Luminary.

"No! It's... it's about everyone being all together! Like you get to be with the other heroes and we get to see our old Nintendo friends again!"

"You're pulling this out of your rear, aren't you?" said Kazooie, whispering to Banjo.

"I might be but it just might work!" said Banjo, whispering back.

Indeed, the Luminary was furrowing his brow and rubbing his chin.

"You're right... I... we... are going to meet so many different people... That's going to be an adventure in and of itself...."

"See! Told you!" said Banjo.

"Speaking of meeting people... When do you and your buddies head off to meet everybody else?" said Kazooie.

"It's... actually, the invitation said tomorrow," said the Luminary.

"Tomorrow?" said Banjo. "Aw man we don't get to go until -"

A passing seagull squawked very loudly.

"Oh, that's too bad..." said the Luminary.

"We'll see you again when we get there at least," said Kazooie.

"Can... Can we at least send you off?" said Banjo.

The Luminary smiled.

"You sure can."

-----------------

The next day, the Luminary and the three other Heroes with him were standing in front of a portal by the seaside. The Luminary turned back to Banjo and Kazooie, who gave him a thumbs up.

"See you on the other side!" said Banjo.

"Don't die!" said Kazooie.

The Luminary simply smiled, then turned and walked through the portal with his companions as it closed.

"I'm gonna miss him till we get there," said Banjo.

"He's a good kid," said Kazooie.

There was a pause.

"...We're still allowed to kick his ass when we get there right?" said Kazooie.

"Of course!" said Banjo. "All part of the fun."

***

#super smash bros #dragon quest #banjo kazooie #fanfiction

17 notes · View notes

ofhoneyandrosepetals · 5 years

Text

We Move Lightly - Chapter 7

Pairing: Modern!Ivar x reader

Description: Y/N moved back in with her parents, after 7 years of taking care of her grandparents in another town. She had no idea how her neighbors would be, or who would they be, or even that she would fall in love with one of them.

Warnings: swearings and fluff. Nothing to worry about.

Word count: 2.193

A/N: due to Tumblr’s links problems, I’m not going to put here the link for previous chapters, masterlist and my ask (which my inbox happens to be OPEN for requests) but you all can keep up with the link for my masterlist in my bio! Just a catch up on the fic. Y/L/N stands for “your last name”, as you already may know.

It was one week since Amy left and you were already feeling lonely. You haven’t seen Ivar either, even though you text each other all the time. He was super busy with his last projects before summer vacations hit and he could get some free time, since Floki was about to travel with his wife. He was finishing some essays as well as you helped him over the phone.

And that was the fun part, you thought: you live right beside each other, but sometimes it wouldn’t look like that at all. How are the chances to not see your neighbor, even from the window? Not that you actually tried to do that; you liked to play, not looking for him from your window, otherwise it wouldn’t be so fun. You thought that, maybe, if you see each other all the time, soon enough it would get boring and… and well, it would end.

And do you wanted that? Of course not, but that was your opinion and you had no idea what Ivar’s thoughts were.

You tried to do something different that morning - you tried to call him.

He wasn’t picking.

It was being quite a pain in the ass when your classes were already finished and he still had his - plus his intern.

You waited patiently. Noon arrived - and nothing.

How are things doing?, you texted him, but still nothing.

In the afternoon you were bored, bored and more bored. You missed that sweet and constant presence of Amy and you really wanted to see Ivar - you were already missing all his features, manners, voice, laugh, every little detail, and audios and phone calls and his profile picture weren’t doing any justice as he was in person.

And that’s why that you, finally, had the guts to knock on his door - without a plate of brownies, but you hoped that your cutest blouse and smile would do.

Aslaug answered.

“Hi Y/N, what can I do for you?”

“Hey Aslaug, is… is Ivar home?”

“Ivar? Oh… no, he… Ubbe drove him to the doctor, he had an appointment.”

“An appointment? Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything’s fine,” she waved her hand. “It wasn’t a scheduled appointment, but everything’s fine. Do you want to come inside and wait for him?” She cracked more the door open, but you shook your head.

“No, thank you, actually… I think I’ll wait here. Air’s good.”

“You could wait at the backyard.”

“Here’s fine, thank you, Mrs. Lothbrok.”

Aslaug gave you a sweet smile and gently closed the door.

An appointment with the doctor. That wasn’t an uncommon thing for Ivar, given his legs’ situation, but you still were worried. What if something serious happened? Aslaug even said that it wasn’t a scheduled appointment, so something probably happened.

You sat on the doorsteps, hugging your knees while scrolling your phone, looking for something to pass the time. You found a paper on Shakespeare that got your attention, and so you went for it.

Two hours had passed when you heard a car approaching. It was a dark silver SUV, and it parked in front of the house. You bit your lips. Ubbe got out of the driver side and waved at you, all smiles. He went for the car trunk and got from there a wheelchair. Your heart stopped briefly before pounding against your chest.

You didn’t know Ivar for so long, okay, but during that time you never saw him in a wheelchair, so you didn’t know if it was a normal thing or if something bad had happened. You couldn’t see Ivar inside the car and you didn’t want him to see the expression on your face, but you couldn’t hide it. Ubbe, before opening the passenger door, showed you a thumbs up, probably wanting to tell you that everything was okay. You took a deep breath and tried not to look at Ivar as he was helped by Ubbe to sit on the wheelchair. You saw that he was standing and moving his legs towards the wheelchair, so you got that as a good sign. He grunted.

“Goddamnit.”

“Sorry, lil’ bro.”

You looked at Ivar.

And you couldn’t tell his expression. He was unreadable. As he was coming closer his features changed from unreadable to a sweet smile, filling those plump lips of him.

“Hey Y/N, I saw you called but my phone died,” you waved your hand dismissively. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I was just… super bored and… and then I came here but you weren’t…”

“I was at the doc.”

“Your mom told me,” don’t ask if he’s okay, don’t ask if everything’s alright, just don’t ask. “So, is everything…?” Ivar raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to… I don’t know, hang?” He laughed airly.

“Hang? Yeah, alright, bored girl. Let me just change, okay? Meet me at the backyard.”

You bit your lips and nodded.

“Hey,” Ubbe whispered at you. “If he says anything that’s… that doesn’t sound good, just don’t listen to him, okay? Experience, trust me.”

Before Ivar could come down to the backyard, you heard a noise of something breaking. You couldn’t tell if it was Aslaug or Ubbe at the kitchen or if the owner of the breaking was Ivar.

You were finishing to read that Shakespeare paper when he arrived.

“Whatcha reading there?”

You were sat by the big tree, the one that Ivar told you the Yggdrasil story, and he put himself right beside you, near the big roots.

“It’s just a paper on Shakespeare that I found - nothing big, pretty simple.”

“So you like Shakespeare?” You nodded. “How come I never knew that?” He said with half a smile, tilting his head. You shrugged.

“I don’t think that the subject ever came up.”

“But a lot of subjects came up.”

“Just not Shakespeare.”

“Just not him, yes,” Ivar took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. “I wish it was autumn,” he said closing his eyes as he felt the sunburn in his skin.

“Why’s that?”

“The leaves are prettier in autumn. Not that I like autumn or winter - I don’t. It’s too cold and this is bad for my bones, my legs hurt a lot. But I wish it was autumn.”

“You look like a cold person,” you said innocently.

“A cold person?” You could see a cocky smile growing on his lips. “But not a hot person?”

“What?” You said laughing at his silly face.

“Tell me, Y/N, that you don’t find me a hot person.”

“It’s not what I meant,” you said between laughs.

“Oh, it not what you meant?” He raised his eyebrows. “So explain to me why I’m not a hot person, but a cold person.”

“Oh god,” you covered your face. “It’s not what I meant, Ivar, it’s not… You just look like someone who enjoys the cold weather more than the hot one.”

“Why would someone who’s hot enjoy a cold weather? It wouldn’t work,” he said with a thinking tone and an expression of someone who’s trying to discover a new formula.

“Oh, shut up,” you said laughing and he laughed back. You were staring at each other as silence took place.

“I have to tell you something,” he said seriously. You nodded. “What happened today… It’s nothing, okay? I know you never saw me in a wheelchair before, but it’s only because I try to make a lot of effort to not use it around you. Me and this asshole,” he tapped his wheelchair “we’re very known friends. Being summer I thought that maybe my legs wouldn’t hurt that much, but today was an exception. I woke up in so much pain, I had to go see the doctor, it wasn’t normal.”

“If it wasn’t normal, how come it’s nothing?” You asked lowly.

“It’s just a normal pain, probably hit me because I’m too tired and working too much, I don’t know. But it’s nothing, Y/N, there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“Okay,” you got closer to him.

“But it will always be like that.” You frowned at him, not completely understanding what he meant. “I… will always be like that. There’s no getting better, only getting worse or being stuck. I’ll never get better, Y/N. My legs will always be like that - some days working, not at its fully, and sometimes I will need my crutch, or my cane, or even my wheelchair. And those will be the most days. The days when I walk freely? Those are rare.”

“I’m not quite following where you want to get, Ivar,” you were searching his face, trying to find any hint.

“It’s not that I’m a grenade,” he closed his eyes. “But I’ll always be stuck, and I don’t know where we gonna get, you and me. I’ll never be able to spin you around, high up the sky, or to climb trees with you, or to practice any stupid sports together; I’ll never be able to run with you, to bike with you, anything,” he bit his lips. “We wouldn’t be a normal couple.”

“Who said so?” You said gently, getting his hand on your own while you sat on your ankles to level the height. He opened his eyes to find yours. “What makes you think that I want to be spun around up the sky or to climb trees? I’m terrified of height. Who told you that I wanna practice stupid sports with you if, well, you said it already: they’re stupid? I don’t like to run and I don’t even know how to ride a bicycle,” Ivar frowned.

“You don’t know how to ride a bike?” You laughed.

“Okay, that one was a lie. But who said, Ivar Lothbrok, that we’re not going to be a normal couple? What is a normal couple, actually? Do you want to be one? One normal boring couple?” He looked down the grass, shyly.

“No,” he murmured.

“Me neither. And I don’t know as much as you where we heading from here, but one thing I know: there is nothing, Ivar, nothing… that will make me give up. I just like you a lot, Ivar Lothbrok. What can I do?” You shrugged. “And so what that your legs aren’t perfect? You remain to be yourself, and that’s the Ivar I like.”

You could see his chest going up and down, you could hear his breath. His lips were slightly open and all you wanted was to lock yours on his.

“If you think that your legs are a problem, and if you think that I think that, then don’t you think that I wouldn’t have already dumped your ass and run to your eyebrowless brother’s arms?” Ivar laughed, closing his eyes.

“Oh Gods, you didn’t say that.”

“I did.”

“You just ruined the whole thing.”

“The whole thing?”

“Yeah, the whole thing.”

“Oh boy,” you said in a whining mocking tone.

“I really want to kiss you, Y/N,” Ivar said.

“Okay.”

You leaned towards him, slowly. The tip of your noses touched, Ivar brushing his against yours. Your lips touched and he pecked yours gently, holding your cheek. He pulled you to him, making you sit on his lap to level the height.

“Your legs,” you said against his lips.

“You could never hurt them,” he helped you to adjust yourself on top of him.

His hands were firmly gripping your waist as your fingers were tangled on his long and loose hair.

You missed this.

You missed his lips.

You missed his tongue.

You missed his kiss.

You missed his hands.

You missed his touch.

You missed Ivar.

One week and you already missed him.

You two broke apart to catch some air.

“Are you sure your legs are okay?” You asked him. He nodded. “I just missed this, you know?”

“You did?” You nodded. “Well, next week we’ll have the whole summer to work on that. I even dare to say that you’ll be bored,” you laughed.

“You could never bore me.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“Never say never, Y/L/N. But really, it’s not you, I promise to all the Gods, my legs were already hurting, so…”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” you got out of his lap quickly. “I’m so sorry, Ivar.”

“That’s okay, it wasn’t your fault. What do you tell me about some boring movies?”

“Boring movies? My favorite,” you said smiling.

You and Ivar headed inside the house to the TV room, where not only you two watched boring movies, but Ubbe tagged along as well.

You couldn’t say that you three “watched movies”, so much Ubbe was talking about Amy. You smiled at his sweetness and raised an eyebrow to Ivar. You talked with him about it. Someone has to tell him. Ubbe was falling pretty hard for Amy while she… well, while she wasn’t, simple as this.

Every time Ubbe left to grab some snacks, you and Ivar kept a strong eye contact game, until Ubbe came back and someone had to break it, which was always you.

You slept good that night, dreaming about Ivar and his lips.

Taglist: @mblaqgi @akamaiden @dangerousvikings @oddsnendsfanfics @deepdarkred @irishhiggins @tinypuppysoul @kingbouji3 @i-war-s-boner @capitanostella @loothbrok @noaor @thehuntress26 @sassymcgonagal1651 @hoodirwin5 @attorneyl @collecting-stories @certainobservationwasteland @dreams-in-different-colours @3x5gurl @readsalot73 @thisisparadisemylove @action-adventure-and-cheesecake @titty-teetee @cutiedaij @austenkingmylady @ivarthesweetheart @golden-pickaxe @lokis-sunflower-anna @bill-istvan @cynthianokamaria @slut4hazeleyes @chinduda @hallowed-heathen @cherryblossombaby69 @paintballkid711

121 notes · View notes

theshatteredrose · 6 years

Text

The Treasure Seeker: Saga 1 - Chapter 1 (Etrian Odyssey 5 Fanfiction)

Summary: Dragoon Drayce Pendragon comes from a long line of notorious treasure hunters and rebellious archaeologists. When he is asked by Prince Ramus himself to enter Yggdrasil, his goal isn't to be the first to reach the highest branch or defeat the strongest monster. His goal is to document every myth and find every treasure rumoured to be inside - and outside - the mysterious Yggdrasil. To do that, however, he needs a guild. Fortunately he has inherited his own ridiculously large guildhouse to house them in!

Pairings: To be revealed later, but honestly go all out, I don't mind :P

Warnings: The usual - gayness, bro-ness, male relationships of all kinds, violence, action, swearing, fluffiness, doing my own shit and ignoring canon

AN: Yay, finally starting an EO5 book~! I’ve been talking about it a lot so I thought I better bite the bullet and start it :D Before I start, though, I need to clarify a few things. One; I am not necessarily following canon here. I’m taking some canon information and just running with it because, well, why not? I’m doing my own thing and making up my own shit, as I usually do. There will probably be a few spoilers here or there, but I won’t go into great detail. So, yeah, no asking why I didn’t do this or why I did that when it wasn’t in the game. I’m taking some artistic liberties here and running with them.

Two; I’m going out of my usual norm and trying something different. Instead of a 40+ chaptered novel, I’m going more for short saga series, concentrating on a floor at a time. Ambitious? Absolutely. How far will I take it? Let’s see~

That’s all I can think of at the moment. I’m excited about finally starting a new series and I hope you’ll enjoy reading this as well. I’ll try to update at least once a week, but I’ll be sure to warn you if I can’t.

Ok, enough of that! Hope you enjoy reading and be sure to check out my other sites and leave encouragement because that is always greatly appreciated~

Wattpad | AO3 | FF.Net

Chapter 1:

~*~*~*~*~*~

The horse driven carriage rambled along the stone paved roads that led into the city of Iorys. The sun was high in the sky of clear blue, not a cloud to be seen. But what was the most notable was the large tree that stood above the bustling city. With its far reaching branches, reaching well beyond the limit of the naked eye and the twisting, some would say spirally dancing trunk and spiralling roots that reached deep into the earth.

Yggdrasil.

The mythical Tree of Life, as some cultures claim.

Drayce rested his elbow upon the window of his carriage and stared up at the mighty tree. While many found the tree to be daunting, with its twisting branches and mysterious glows of purple and blue seen higher up, Drayce saw it as a dream come true to be finally allowed to traverse the mysterious labyrinth found inside.

For over a thousand years the tree and any exploration had been completely forbidden in the wake of the devastating Legendary War. It had been magically protected by powerful Celestians and feverishly guarded by Earthlain royals.

Though Yggdrasil had been sealed away, the myths and legends of the mighty tree continued still. And with it, the seemingly never ending gossip and tales of powerful treasures. The most famous, in the treasure hunting community at least, was the legendary treasures that the infamous and dangerous royal simply known as the Despot had acquired and then hidden, for he was the one responsible for the devastations of Yggdrasil all those years ago.

Drayce knew all about the treasures and myths of the Legendary War. He, after all, came from a long line of feisty treasure hunters and rebellious archaeologists. The Pendragon Boys as they were often known as. With his skills as a dragoon, there wasn't a place on this planet that he wasn't willing to venture.

Tearing his gaze away from the tree, Drayce looked down at the scroll in his hand. The one with the royal Iorys seal.

To think that he was lucky enough, that his family was notorious enough, to be asked by Prince Ramus of the Earthlain people to visit and to, hopefully, work with or for him in the hopes of recovering ancient treasures that were lost during the Legendary War.

Honestly, it was a dream job for anyone, let alone someone who had been raised as a treasure hunter and archaeologist.

His request to visit Iorys came at the best time, actually. His grandfather left him the deed to his ramshackle guildhouse before he took off on a so-called “Merry Adventure”. Adventures he was prone too. Old age hadn’t slowed him down in the slightest. But there was a good reason for that now.

His beloved wife passed away just a couple of months ago. And since then, he had been on many adventures.

Though it was probably wrong to think, but Drayce did believe that after his grandmother's death, his grandfather simply lost the plot and threw himself back into exploration in order to hide his grief at his beloved wife's death. And to, perhaps, mourn on his own for a while.

He could understand why his grandfather would do such a thing. His grandparents had been married for well over 50 years. Childhood sweethearts. He loved her to bits. They were also so affectionate in a sweet way. And his grandmamma was such a beloved and key figure in his life that Drayce himself still felt the sting of her passing. She was and always well be sorely missed by many.

It probably didn’t help matters that many people from the treasure hunting community and their village believed that his grandmother, or Grandmamma as he called her, died from a broken heart. Drayce felt that it was true. He knew it was. He just…couldn’t remember who or what it was that broke her heart.

Drayce idly rubbed at his right temple with the heel of his palm as he fingers curled into his short red hair. His Grandmamma’s heart must have been broken about the same time he lost part of his memories. When he was about nine years old. He could remember vague things of his childhood, but they were just that. Vague. And they didn’t make sense.

He couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. Something important. Something that was…very important to him. A part of him.

“Hey, Hotshot, quit daydreaming, we’re almost at the centre of Iorys.”

With a shake of his head, Drayce pulled himself from his thoughts and lifted his gaze to look at the blue-haired man that sat across from him in the carriage. With his narrow eyes and stern pout constantly on his lips, Blayke, his best friend, looked like the perpetual sour-puss. He was oh-so easy to rile up, though, and had a limit supply of patience.

But as a fencer, he was sharp-witted, quick on his feet, and willing to fight by Drayce’s side no matter what kind of trouble they found themselves in. Sure, he would bitch and moan at Drayce about it later, but Drayce knew he enjoyed the thrill of danger and adventure, too.

And Drayce love rubbing that in his face.

“Yeah, yeah,” Drayce said as he carefully placed the royal scroll into his red jacket and rested his elbow on his knees. “Do you think we should visit the Royal Council first, or stop by the guildhouse and drop off our belongings?”

Blayke folded his arms across his chest. “It’s your call. But personally I think we should visit the Council Hall first. Knowing you, you’ll get caught up inspecting every nook and cranny at your grandfather’s old guildhouse that you would forget to visit the Council at all.”

Drayce gave him a disgruntled pout. “Wow, rude.”

Blayke, however, just gave him a bland look. “Am I wrong?”

“I didn’t say you were wrong, only that you were rude,” Drayce quickly countered with a grin.

As per usual after their bantering, Blayke just rolled his eyes and ignored him. Well, appear as if he was ignoring him.

When Blayke heard that Drayce had virtually been summoned to Iorys by the Council, he agreed to accompany him. Something along the lines of Drayce needing a keeper because he would often get too caught up in his treasure hunting duties that he would forget to eat. Or something like that. But Drayce was fairly certain, almost a hundred precent certain, that Blayke was just using that as an excuse to cover up the fact that he enjoyed and dreamed of being an explorer as well.

Besides, Drayce couldn’t traverse the labyrinth alone. He was energetic and gung-ho for certain, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew that trapesing along the dangerous paths of the ancient maze alone, without any prior knowledge at least, would be all but suicidal.

“But you’re right. Let’s head to the Council Hall first,” Drayce said. “Prince Ramus would be waiting, after all.”

With a nod of his head, Blayke unfolded his arms and turned in his seat to speak up to their driver, directing him to stop by the council building first. They then fell into silence as they turned their attention to the passing scenery outside of their windows.

The streets of Iorys were bustling with people of all shapes and sizes. Some dressed in normal attire, seemingly going about their normal lives, while others were in explorer clothing, weapons and shields at their sides. And there were quite a large number of would-be adventurers to be seen. The four races of Earthlain, Celestian, Brounii, and Therian mingling together effortlessly, all excited to venture into the labyrinth and hopefully place their guildname into the royal achieves as the one to have conquered the labyrinth.

Seeing everyone, seeing all the potential explorers increased Drayce’s own enthusiasm and energy. He couldn’t wait to establish his own guild and head into the labyrinth himself. He had heard so many tales and myths regarding the mysterious but naturally formed pathways, after all.

After a few minutes of openly admiring the beautiful scenery of Iorys, the driver of their horse-driven carriage announced to them that they have reached their destination.

Drayce was the first to step from the carriage with Blayke close behind him. He took a few moments to stretch his legs and to look around. The first thing he noticed, besides the marble white architecture and brick red roofing tiles of the Council Building was the fact that the building was perched atop of a rocky curvature overlooking the city below. And that the thick truck of Yggdrasil was so close, almost as if he could reach out and touch it.

He would also get vertigo if he tried to tilt his head back enough to look up at its tallest branches.

From where he stood, he could sense the magmatic energy of Yggdrasil. And how it seemed to reach beyond even the heavens.

It was truly beautiful.

“I’ve asked the driver to wait for us here,” Blayke’s voice pulled Drayce from his thoughts. “So let’s get going.”

Drayce nodded his head as he turned his gaze away from Yggdrasil and followed Blakye to the entrance of the Council Building. As they walked silently up the stone steps, they both noticed that groups of explorers were venturing in and out as well. Some appeared to be excitedly talking amongst themselves, while others appeared huffy and annoyed.

Their varying expressions were most likely in response to a particular mission. Drayce had heard on the grapevine that though the labyrinth was open to explorers, they weren’t willing to have anyone and everyone enter at will. A mission was created to prove themselves, not only as explorers but as citizens of Iorys.

Made perfect sense, but many were no doubt annoyed at the so-called restrictions.

As they made their way inside, Drayce had to pause once again to admire his surroundings.

The architecture was incredible. Exquisite. The sandstone pillars with gold trimmings, the chess-inspired flooring of precision made stones of high quality, the marble statues that stood at attention; time and loving dedication was clear to be seen.

The building had to be more than three-hundred years old. He could tell by the mosaic designs on the walls and ceiling. Yet it was in remarkably good shape. Well taken care of.

Hmm…since it was made over three-hundred years ago, there was the high possibility that there were hidden servant quarters and passageways. There would also be quite an extensive library. Perhaps even a hidden library.

In the years after the Legendary War, there was still a great amount of uncertainty. The architects of that time period were renowned for creating secret safe rooms and passageways. Preparing for the possibility of another devastating war.

Blayke hitting the back of his head with his hand pulled Drayce from his musings and he immediately turned to look at him with a disgruntled pout. Before he could mutter the words “You didn’t need to hit me” as he raked his hand through his short red hair, something he always did just after Blayke physically pulled him from his ponderings, the blue-haired fencer arched an annoyed eyebrow at him.

“We’re here to explore the labyrinth, not the council building,” he said, seemingly responding as if he had somehow read his mind. Or simply knew what he was thinking.

The fact that Drayce had been holding his chin as he stared at his surroundings and mumbling under his breath probably gave it away, too.

“Try to keep your head on straight when you’re speaking with Prince Ramus,” Blayke continued to scold and fuss.

Drayce rolled his eyes and reached into his jacket to pull out the scroll requesting his presence. “I promise not to make a fool of myself and get us kicked out. But get ready to run before he calls the guards.”

Entering into a long and brightly lit hallway that was lined with white statues of various classes and standings, they approached a set of stairs where other explorers had gathered. At the top of the small staircase was a figure in royal garbs flanked by two guards who watched everyone with caution.

A young man, seemingly no older than sixteen, with dark blue hair and bright blue eyes, smiled politely at Drayce and Blayke as the two approached him. “Hello,” he greeted simply. “Are you explorers wishing to enter the labyrinth?”

“Well, yes,” Drayce said as he held out his summoning letter to the young man. “But for good reason.”

The young man looked both puzzled but expectant as he took the scroll from him. As he unfurled his, his eyes widened and for a fraction of a second, an expression of excitement appeared in his eyes. He soon squashed that, however, with a look of royal politeness.

“Ah, yes, thank you for coming all this way,” he said as he handed the scroll back to Drayce before he bowed his head slightly as he introduced himself. “I am Ramus, Prince of Earthlain Royalty. Please, call me Ramus.”

“It’s nice to meet you, and to be here,” Drayce said in earnest. “My name is Drayce Pendragon,” he introduced himself and reached around to loop an arm around Blayke’s neck in order to drag him closer and to poke his cheek with his finger.

“And this is my partner in crime, Blayke.”

Blayke immediately frowned and squirmed in Drayce’s grip, tugging at his arm with both hands. “I’m here to keep you out of trouble,” he all but hissed.

The corner of Ramus’ mouth twitched for a moment, as if wanting to break out into an amused smile, but royal protocol seemed to prohibit it, so he simply nodded his head.

“Come, let us speak more in my office,” Ramus said as he turned to lead them.

Drayce released his hold on Blayke and silently the two followed the young prince. After a moment of walking along plush blue carpet and taking a few corners, they reached a set of doors with gold trimming of eccentric designs. With a single push of his hand, Ramus opened one of the doors and motioned for Drayce and Blayke to step inside before him.

Ramus’ office was as grand and beautiful as the architecture outside the room. A large desk made of red wood, polished to a bright sheen was situated in the middle of the room, surrounded by cabinets and bookcases, all filled to capacity.

True to his treasure hunting nature, Drayce felt the urge and need to look through the bookcases and drawers for anything hidden or interesting. He, however, shook it off as even though he meant no harm, the need born out of sheer intrigue rather than malicious nosiness, it was still seen as highly intrusive to dig through someone else’s belongings.

But, man, were his fingers twitching.

“Again, thank you for coming all this way,” Ramus said as he led Drayce and Blayke to his desk and to the two chairs that sat before it. “It is reassuring to have someone from the famous treasure hunting clan here in the city of Iorys.”

Drayce smiled a friendly smile as he sat down and rested his hands atop of his knees. “It’s an honour to be here,” he said, sounding like a true professional. Wouldn’t Grandmamma be proud?

Ramus moved to the other side of his desk, of which honestly looked too big for him, and sat down in a red-velvet, high back chair. That also looked too big for him. “Do you mind if I get straight to the point?” he unexpectedly asked.

“Not at all,” Drayce immediately responded. “In fact, I prefer it.”

“Thank you,” Ramus once again spoke politely before he folded his hands atop of his desk and a serious expression appeared on his face. “I’m sure you you’ve already concluded to the reason why I’ve summoned you here. And in short, yes, I wish for you to find information on the whereabouts on the lost treasures of the Legendary War.”

Ah, just finding information? Drayce was hoping to actually find the legendary treasures, too. Not so much for himself, but more so to keep them away and safe from others as, if legends and tales were any indication, these treasures were so important, so powerful that the Despot himself hid them in magically sealed vaults. These treasures were reputed to be powerful.

Myth or not, it would be best if they don’t fall in the wrong hands.

“Yeah, I know all about the Lost Treasures,” Drayce said as he leaned back into his chair. “Legend says that the Despot took the knowledge and information of whereabouts of his precious treasures with him to his grave. These treasures were so important to him that he created vaults to seal them away in. Vaults with three locks; a physical lock that requires a key, a magic lock that requires a spell to release, and a mental lock that requires the one trying to open the vault to solve a seemingly unsolvable puzzle.”

“Doesn’t legend also say that there are at least ten of them?” Blayke asked. “And that doesn’t count the myths and tales regarding the Despot’s most trusted war generals and commanders. They have their own legends about their ruthlessness before and during the war.”

Ramus gave them a sympathetic look as he nodded his head. “Yggdrasil itself has many myths and legends pertaining to it. Tales of before and after the Legendary War. In the search for information regarding the Lost Treasures, you are likely to encounter other fables of hidden treasures, too. Perhaps some tales that are meant to draw you away from seeking the Lost Treasures.”

Yggdrasil was over a thousand years old. Plenty of time for legends and myths, as well as beliefs and cults, to rise and fall.

So much to learn and find.

“Sounds awesome,” Drayce said as he smiled broadly. “I can’t wait to get started.”

Ramus smiled an honest smile but he soon frowned slightly. “But…” he unexpectedly paused for a moment to bite his lips together. “I can’t necessarily allow you free reign of the labyrinth. Well, not yet. There are certain protocols in place. Even for professionals.”

Drayce immediately knew what he was inferring. “Ah, you want to test my mantle with a mission, right? The same one that other guilds and explorers are having to complete?”

Ramus gave him a small, polite smile and almost hesitantly, as if afraid of offending him, nodded his head.

“No, that’s completely fair,” Drayce replied good-naturedly and smiled when he saw Ramus’ shoulder drop a fraction in relief. “I didn’t come here expecting special treatment or to step on anyone’s toes. Besides, this mission would be a good indicator to what to expect in the labyrinth. A win for the both of us in the end.”

“I’m honestly pleased by your understanding and enthusiasm,” Ramus said, his smile still courteously polite, and yet appeared more sincere nonetheless. “If you wish, I will give you the information and supplies needed to start on your first mission now. There is no need for you to rush, though, as you have only just arrived in Iorys. Please take your time. You will need to form a band of fellow explorers first, yes?”

Drayce nodded his head. “This is our first time visiting Iorys, so I’m sure there’s still a lot for us to see outside the labyrinth, too. But we will take the first mission now. At least register for it.”

“Hm,” Ramus simply said as he rummaged around in his desk before pulling out a parchment of paper and a form of some kind. “I suggest that you visit Egar, the guild leader, and register a guildname for yourselves.”

“Good place to start,” Drayce answered back idly.

“Would you like for me to suggest an inn where you can take up lodgings?” Ramus asked as he handed over the documents.

Drayce shook his head as he reached forward to retrieve the information on the first mission and pushed himself to his feet. “Nah, we’re good,” he said with a smile. “We have a place already planned.”

Ramus looked somewhat surprised, but that soon turned to intrigue. “But this is your first time setting foot upon Iorys’ soil, yes?”

“It is,” Drayce answered before a large grin slipped across his lips. “But I’m from a longline of treasure hunters, remember? I have connections. My grandfather owns an estate here in Iorys. We have all the accommodation we need. Don’t you worry too much about us.”

With a few polite farewells, Drayce and Blayke walked out of the Council Building and back to their awaiting horse and carriage.

Their next stop was his grandfather’s estate, where they were to meet up with Ashton, his father’s trusted understudy who had already migrated to Iorys a few months before. And after that? Well, looks like he would need to head out into Iorys and find some willing guild members to drag along on his adventures.

Shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

#Etrian Odyssey #etrian odyssey 5 #fanfiction #angelward guild #The Treasure Seeker

5 notes · View notes