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verai-marcel · 7 months

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Your Hearth Is My Home (BG3 Fanfic, Astarion x Female Reader, Part 1 of 27)

Summary: Not every adventurer wields a weapon. You, a hearth witch living near the banks of River Chionthar, are witness to a craft falling from the sky, and wondering if anyone needed assistance, ran down to find survivors. That was your first mistake. Going along with the survivors on their crazy adventure? That was your second mistake. Will you survive your next mistake of letting a hungry vampire bite you?

Author’s Notes: Full disclosure: at this point, I’ve only played through act 2 without romancing Astarion. So why the fuck am I writing some wholesome Astarion x F!Reader? Because I’m dumb and got spoiled on Youtube, and now I can’t stop thinking about the poor guy. Also this is heavily influenced by a couple of wholesome manga (“Life in Another World as a Housekeeping Mage” and “The Forsaken Saintess and her Foodie Roadtrip in Another World”), but I won’t be writing an isekai. You (reader) are from Faerun like everyone else. I’m just here to have some wholesome feels and hurt/comfort. Let’s go go go.

Tags: wholesome, cozy camp time, Astarion x F!Reader, slow burn, good alignment, BG3 Spoilers

Chapter Word Count: 1,843

Ao3 Link here, Darling.

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Act I, Chapter 1 - The Beginning

You are a hearth witch, living on the banks of the River Chionthar, making potions and herbal remedies for the small villages nearby. For the past three years, you’d been happier than you’d ever been in your life. You loved helping people, but you made sure not to reveal your real name, nor why you always wore long sleeves and gloves, even in the middle of summer.

But the nearby villages had been emptying as of late. News of the goblin camp that recently appeared nearby had first scared off the traveling merchants, and then the locals. You realized that you too should leave, otherwise you’d either have no more customers or goblins on your doorstep. You only had a dagger and a few spells that did little in ways of actual damage, so defending yourself against a horde of enemies was out of the question. So you began to pack up, figuring out what you could bring with you, and what needed to be repurchased once you reached your new home, wherever that might be.

On a warm sunny day, you decided that this would be your last day here. Your pack was filled, your cottage cleaned out. Tomorrow morning, you would take off to the east, following the river to the next closest town. For now, you decided to grab a few more ingredients for the road, and so, you were out by the river bank, gathering fresh herbs and mushrooms.

A booming sound followed a strong gust of wind that whipped around you, twigs and grass flying everywhere. Then you saw a ship crash nearby, the land and water being torn asunder, debris flung in all directions. After the chaos died down a bit, you went to go check for survivors. You couldn’t, in good conscience, walk away if someone might need help.

That was a poor decision on your part.

The first survivor you found was a young, dark-haired woman, passed out on the shore. She seemed standoffish, but after helping her up and giving her a drink from your waterskin, you convinced her that the best thing to do was to get out of the area and rest at your cottage while she regained her bearings.

A little while later, the two of you came upon the strange sight of a single arm, sticking out of a glowing purple rune. You and the young woman, Shadowheart, pulled the poor man out. He introduced himself as Gale, and also joined your party.

As the three of you continued back to your cottage, you came across another stranger. Skin as pale as marble and hair to match. Had some scars on his neck. Perhaps he got them on the ship? He seemed harmless enough. Another escapee of the craft that fell from the sky.

That is, until he tricked you into looking for something in the bushes.

If only he hadn’t touched your exposed neck with his bare hand. Then you wouldn’t have felt the fear, underlined by a desperation you knew all too well.

The leash is cut.

It made you empathize. And that was one rule that had been burned into your mind at a young age.

Do not empathize with the enemy.

Fortunately, Gale and Shadowheart talked him down from stabbing you. The man even apologized to you, though it seemed more for show than for sincerity.

Astarion was his name. He introduced himself with aplomb and decorum, and your hackles raised at the sight. A noble.

After a bit more conversation, they agreed that their shared affliction was enough of a reason to travel together and find a cure.

Swallowing down your general prejudice against nobles, you ignored him and made small talk with the others as you led them back to your cottage.

***

Your cottage had only one room, enough space for your bed, some storage for herbs and tools, and a work table for your alchemy. Most of your things were packed, but you pulled out enough to take care of your guests.

The yard to the side of the building was set up as a small campground for travelers to rest. You had figured out a couple years ago that for a small fee, traveling merchants would gladly rest on your land where it was safe, while you made them fresh, nourishing meals and cast spells on their bedrolls to make them feel warm and comfortable. You even managed to get a small tub built in the back to provide a warm bath for an extra fee.

It had been a lucrative idea, one that made you enough money to be quite comfortable out here in the sticks.

You may only know a few cantrips, but you had manipulated them beyond what most people did. Your mending cantrip could fix whole swaths of cloth, your prestidigitation cantrip could keep bedrolls warm all night, or baths hot for hours. It was why you had several repeat customers, traveling merchants who would alter their routes to come to your place to rest.

You told them of the surrounding area and cooked a meal for them, a simple stew with seasonal vegetables and herbs.

The noble said he wasn’t hungry. You supposed your poor peasant food wasn’t to his taste.

He can suit himself.

While the others were eating, you set up the campground. While you were quietly casting the comfort cantrip on each bedroll, you sensed someone watching you.

“Yes?” you asked, biting the inside of your mouth to keep from being snippy.

Astarion stepped closer to you. He remained standing, looking down on your kneeling form. “What an interesting way to use prestidigitation.”

You shrugged. You had nothing to say to a noble. You finished your spell and started to shuffle over to the next bedroll, but he remained standing in your way.

“Do you mind?”

“Not at all, darling.” He didn’t budge.

You let out a short huff and crawled around him. One bedroll left. Ignoring the man, you began the cantrip.

By the time you finished, you looked up to see all three of them watching you.

“What?” you asked, a little disturbed by the attention.

“I hadn’t thought to use that cantrip like this before,” Gale said as he knelt down to touch the bedroll. “How long does it last?”

“All night,” you responded, feeling a little proud of yourself.

Shadowheart was already crawling into the bedroll. “This feels amazing.” She buried herself into the cloth. “It feels like I’m sleeping on a warm cloud.”

Gale shrugged and followed suit. “Gods, you’re right.” He sat up and looked at you. “I don’t know how you manipulated that spell, but it’s absolutely brilliant.”

You felt a zing of joy. Your little custom cantrip impressed a wizard!

The noble watched you for a few more moments before he too, crawled into a bedroll. His eyes widened slightly. “Oh. My, this is rather comfortable.”

You jutted out your chin, but refrained from being too catty about it. Instead, you switched to being polite.

“Sweet dreams,” you said to everyone, and went about cleaning up around camp. By the time you were done, the three of them were fast asleep.

***

The motley crew thanked you and took off in the morning to explore the area, seemingly never to return.

You looked around at your unpacked things, and decided that it wouldn’t hurt to start off tomorrow morning instead.

Your plans were sidetracked once more, however, when the group returned that evening with a fourth member, grouchy and prickly as a threatened porcupine. After a couple of bowls of your herbal soup, she became a little bit less prickly. Lae'zel was her name, and she punctuated her Common speech with her Githyanki tongue. You found it a bit endearing, the way one finds a stray animal that always hisses at you endearing.

You cast a warming spell on their bed rolls once more, burned incense to keep the insects away, and made sure they were all comfortable in your little camp area outside of your cottage before going to bed.

The next morning, you got up early to make breakfast for them before they left to explore the ruins that they had found the day before. As you checked your rabbit traps, you noticed one of them was tripped, but the rabbit within was a mere husk, as if it had been dehydrated.

Curious.

You reset your trap and returned to camp.

“What’s that?” Shadowheart asked when she saw the husk of a corpse in your hand.

“A dried up rabbit.”

“That doesn’t sound appetizing,” Lae’zel remarked.

You shrugged. “I can at least sell the pelt later. Sorry, you’ll have to make do with another vegetable stew tonight.” You furrowed your eyebrows. “That is, if you’re coming back here.”

The four adventurers looked at each other.

“I think we’ve taken advantage of your hospitality long enough,” Gale said. We’ll start heading west from here.”

***

The group had finally left, and you had finished packing. You had been delayed by their arrival, but no longer. They truly seemed gone now, with the sun setting and no sign of their return. Tomorrow for sure. Tomorrow, early in the morning, you would set off—

You heard your name being called. Off in the distance, you could see Gale, waving sheepishly at you, followed by the others.

You sighed. Biting back your annoyance, you smiled and waved back. A customer was a customer. At least this group was entertaining, and quite generous with their gold. And this time, they brought you back some boar meat.

There was one new face, a man with a stone eye. He introduced himself as the Blade of the Frontiers, Wyll. He seemed nice, charismatic even. Someone who had the manners of a noble but the heart of a commoner.

They set up camp once more in your yard, and you unpacked just enough of your supplies to make them a meal.

"You look like you're ready to go on a journey," Gale commented as you all sat around the campfire, eating a boar roast with herbed potatoes.

"I'm moving. Many people have moved away because of the increase in goblins in the area, and a lot of my business has dried up. And having goblins this close doesn't make me feel all too safe."

“Any plans on where?”

You shrugged. “Not really. I was just going to travel until I found a place to settle.”

"Well, why don't you come with us?"

Everyone looked at Gale in shock, but then they all looked at you.

"You do make camp much more comfortable," Shadowheart finally said.

“And one of us would be standing guard at camp as well, so you would be safe,” Wyll added.

You saw no reason to decline. You liked most of them, save for one snotty noble. A constant flow of income would be nice, for once. You negotiated a decent wage and agreed to head out with them at first light.

That, dear hearth witch, was your second poor decision.

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Chapter End Notes:

Yeah, I basically made up a “hearth witch” class as a combo of druid, wizard, and cleric, but hey, welcome to Dungeons & Dragons, where homebrew classes happen all the time. Hope you enjoyed the fic! I'm actively working on the next chapter!

Update 4/4/24: All chapters are here!

#bg3 #bg3 fanfic #astarion #astarion x F!Reader #slow burn #female reader #baldur's gate 3 #your hearth is my home

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copperbadge · 1 year

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You know, I had thought that the old jokes about bad airline food, which were very common in the 1990s, had stopped mainly because airline food had gotten better. It had to have, right? As food technology and chemistry improved, we must have fixed that. I just couldn't know, because mostly I fly Southwest and rarely take a flight longer than about four hours, and Southwest just doesn't do meals.

But now I think probably it's just that airline food is much rarer. Even flights that would have had food twenty-five years ago (pre-9/11) now mostly don't. So it's not that the food is better, it's just rarer. The comedy is less relatable.

I will say that the mushroom tortellini I got in my "lunch" on this flight home was pretty edible, but when the tray was set in front of me I looked at the hardtack bread roll, the very basic salad with its little pot of bland yogurt dressing, and the tortellini in very scant tomato sauce, and I thought, I bet I can hack this. (It's kind of a conference trick of mine -- I have startled many a stranger at a conference breakfast buffet by producing from seeming nowhere a breakfast sandwich, and then informing them that they, too, can take a croissant from the pastry rack, eggs and sausage from the chafing dishes, and jam from the condiments, and make a breakfast sandwich fit for a king.)

Then I decided to write some fanfic of my own damn novels because Eddie Rambler has definitely done this, and if anyone can fix airline food it's him, and if anyone's going to be a willing accomplice, it's Noah "self-propelled trouble magnet and food garbage disposal" Deimos.

"Hey there, friends and fans and everyone keeping it new out there!" Eddie Rambler said, but unlike his usual Photogram openings, his voice was hushed -- not subdued, but much quieter than usual. "I'm coming to you from somewhere over the arctic, and pretty much everyone else is asleep, so I'm trying to keep quiet, which as everyone knows is for me quite an effort. And if you're wondering why I'm not my normal golden well-lit self, it's because I'm filming this in the first-class cabin of an airplane using ambient light and a phone flashlight for a spot."

He leaned back, so that his face wasn't filling the camera anymore, and the rest of the room came into view: a tiny nook with a reclining airline seat. The arm was lifted, and Eddie was sitting sideways on the cushion; on the reclined back of the seat, next to him, Noah was perched, grinning impishly.

"Now, I couldn't sleep so Gregory kicked me out of our two-person cabin, and Noah here had a cabin to himself because his folks are sharing one and he's the odd man out, so he let me come in here to film. Friend of the gram Noah Deimos of course, NoahTheTerror -- " Eddie and Noah both pointed at the same empty space, where a link would later go to Noah's Photogram, "and I are both flying first-class for only the second time in our lives. When I traveled with Truly Tasty I was always on the bus because we had a lot of equipment, and Noah used to be a peasant -- "

"I'm still a peasant," Noah said.

"You're a prince, kiddo."

"I'm a peasant prince," Noah insisted.

"I could kick you back to Economy," Eddie said, grinning at him.

"Well, princehood has perks," Noah allowed.

"Anyway," Eddie said, slinging an arm around Noah and ruffling his hair, "the two of us decided to stay up and get into mischief, which is why we're filming at thirty five thousand feet. We were just going to play cards, but we got to comparing notes about airline food, and about five minutes in I said, whoa, this is content, let's not waste it. So, young prince, tell me what you were saying about airline food before we started filming."

Noah nodded. "First class food is okay. It helps that you're eating it in a really fancy seat and you know how much you paid for that fancy seat. But it's still kinda..." he stuck out his tongue, waggling his head. "It's just served in fancier dishes. And outside of first class...I mean, I'll eat it, but I won't like it."

"It's difficult to make good airline food. There are a lot of requirements," Eddie said. "It has to be mass-produced, it has to keep for reasonably long periods of time, some of it has to be reheatable on an airplane, and I don't know if you know this -- I don't know if YOU know this," he added, turning to Noah, "but our tastebuds literally change when we're on an airplane. Something to do with altitude and pressurized cabins. That's why bloody marys are such a popular cocktail. Tomato juice tastes better on an airplane."

"That's nuts," Noah said.

"So do nuts, actually," Eddie told him. "So you end up with some issues. Bread doesn't keep well or reheat well and the texture gets super weird, that's why you don't get good pastry and your bread roll is dry even in first class. Meat is hard to cook at scale or reheat. Sauces tend to separate -- cream sauce is the worst. Vegetables do okay because you can make a whole bunch of salad at once and it'll stay relatively crisp, and protein in sauce is still the most easily reheatable form of food, but stuff like eggs or breakfast meat has to be pretty greasy to reheat well. And then it's just, you know, greasy."

"So, chef, what's the solution?" Noah asked, clearly feeding Eddie a line, grinning as he did so.

"I am so glad you asked," Eddie replied, just as faux-rehearsed. "I managed to weasel two economy-class dinner meals out of the flight attendants -- don't worry, there were spares, nobody went hungry because of this -- and we're going to hack you an airline meal that's both edible and reasonably nutritious. Ready?"

"Ready!"

Eddie pulled up a tray table that had been folded flat against the wall, and reached in the other direction to bring two trays of food into the camera's view. "So we've got two meals that each have a salad, a little cup of dressing, a roll with butter, and chocolate bites for dessert. This one is a chicken curry noodle bowl with some mango chutney stir-in over here on the side -- I'm using 'curry' and 'chutney' both very loosely, as does the airline -- and this one is mushroom tortellini in pesto. That's actually pretty good, stuffed pasta does well in this kind of situation and I like a pesto, the bright notes really flare. What's the dressing that comes with the salads, Noah?"

Noah checked one of the little bottles, squinting. "Yogurt dill."

"Pretty good. Probably pretty bland. Oh, we also have salt and pepper. Okay, so what we're going to do is take the worst parts of the meal and add a little bit of the best part and basically make you a two-entree meal that's superior to a single entree with sides. Pop open that bread and give our friends a demo."

Noah tore open the plastic surrounding the bread roll, which was oblong, slightly smaller than a hoagie bun. He tapped it on the tray and it clattered stiffly. He broke off one end and crumbs went everywhere; the inside looked dry when he held it up to the camera.

"This is not a good bread roll," Eddie said. "Butter will make it edible, but we can make it better. We have the technology. We have...the dressing. We're going to just get this bread to a nicer texture by adding some of the dressing..."

He split the roll with a knife carefully while Noah opened the dressing, then poured a generous dollop onto the bread, spreading it with the knife. "Let that sink in a minute, let's pick out the best lettuce and tomatoes for the sandwich, here we go...all right. You want a spicy chicken curry sandwich or a veggie sandwich?"

"Curry," Noah said.

"Good call, the dill dressing's going to go nicely with that. All right, we are going to really stir up this chicken in sauce -- it's okay if the noodles get mixed in, that's what we in the biz call texture -- and make sure everything's blended. This mango chutney's going on the other half of the bread to moisten it, and this is -- this is going to get me yelled at by my culinary school teachers," he told Noah, "but we're going to throw that pepper right on the mangos there. It'll add kick to the curry and the hope is that you won't actually get much flavor other than spice. We'll see how it goes. So you got dill dressing with lettuce and tomato, mango chutney with pepper, all that is making the bread nice and soft, and we're going to take some of the chicken curry and slather that right on top."

Noah used a fork and spoon like tongs to scoop curry onto the roll, sitting open on the plate, and then Eddie closed it carefully. Noah reached for it, but Eddie held up a hand.

"Not yet. Finishing is important," he told the teenager. "You have to let the flavors and textures settle a little, and this is also going to ensure it isn't as messy as it could be to eat, because we're classy assholes."

"Nobody classier," Noah agreed.

"The bread needs time to absorb more liquid. So now we take this paper tray liner and just..." Eddie wrapped the sandwich up in the paper, ignoring where the curry stained it yellow, folded the ends under, and tucked them into a complicated pleat that kept the paper tightly wrapped around the sandwich. "Just let that sit for a second -- if we were actually hacking this meal in economy, now's when you'd eat the rest of the curry, while the sandwich settles. What we're going to do is make a veggie sandwich with this other one. Guess how."

Noah frowned. "Well, there's the other salad, and the dressing, and I guess the pesto..."

"Sure, but where's most of this meal's bulk?"

"The pasta -- are you gonna put tortellini on bread?" Noah asked.

"Carb on carb can be delicious but we're going to be more delicate than that -- we're going to open up this tortellini and get that awesome mushroom filling out of it and use that like a pate spread," Eddie said.

"Can I change my order? I want the mushroom pesto sandwich," Noah said. Eddie laughed.

"All right, you're the kid, you get your pick. Let's get this tortellini unfolded," he said, and set to work.

-----

Six hours into their ten hour flight, after Eddie used the first-class wifi to post the video, there was a knock on the door and Gregory put his head in.

"Hey, you're up!" Eddie said, looking up from his book. Noah gave Gregory a wave from where he was playing video games opposite Eddie. "Am I unbanished from our suite?"

"You are in so much trouble," Gregory said affectionately.

"For what? Noah and I have been super duper quiet, we didn't wake you up or bug Michaelis and Jes or anything."

Gregory held up his phone. "Hacking Bad Airline Food With NoahTheTerror," he read from the screen.

"That mushroom sandwich was choice," Noah said, without looking up from his game.

"Curry wasn't bad. Pepper might have been a mistake. I'll workshop it," Eddie said. "Why?"

"Eddie. I love you, but we are literally on a plane owned by a company whose food you just called terrible and hacked so it would be better. Half the internet wants an encore when we get served breakfast, and meanwhile the airline seems torn between promising to upgrade their food offerings and suing you for slander."

"Libel, surely," Eddie said. "I did it in the public record."

"It's libel if it's written down, all you did was talk," Gregory said. "Technically slander."

"Oh, is that all I did?" Eddie asked innocently.

"I blame you," Gregory said to Noah. "You were supervising."

"I'm an innocent child," Noah said, still not looking up from his game. "Easily led astray. Sounds to me like I came under the sway of a bad influence."

"Anyway it's not libel OR slander if it's true," Eddie said. "They won't sue me, if they do I'll bring one of their awful bread rolls to court and make the judge eat it. Nobody would rule against me after eating one of those."

"The dressing helped, but dressing can only do so much," Noah added loyally. Eddie held his hand out for a fistbump and Noah bumped it, finally setting his game aside.

"Seriously, are we busted?" Eddie asked. "Like, genuinely in trouble busted?"

"Probably not, it's mostly just evidence I can't leave you alone for a minute," Gregory said.

"Well, the solution to that was to let me keep pestering you in our own two-seat suite and not banish me because you wanted to sleep," Eddie pointed out.

Gregory opened his mouth to say something, then glanced at Noah and paused.

"If you'd like to leave Noah to his video games and come back to the suite, we can discuss that where young princeling ears aren't listening," he said finally.

"You can just say Eddie wanted to make out," Noah said. "I'm sixteen, not six."

Gregory rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Eddie?"

Eddie leaned over and planted a kiss on Noah's forehead. "Behave yourself. Hydrate and have a snack before we land."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Noah called as Eddie left, snickering.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much trouble am I in, honestly?" Eddie asked, following Gregory back into their cabin, which had one chair reclined (covered in blankets that Gregory had turned into some kind of napping nest) and one upright, with Eddie's stuff piled on it.

"With me, a two. With the airline, probably a five. You might have to do a follow-up," Gregory said.

"Like, the breakfast follow-up, or like an apology?"

Gregory shuffled aside so Eddie could shift his stuff off the chair and sit -- then settled in his lap comfortably, arms resting on his shoulders.

"Well, I say you double-down and make the breakfast post," he said. "But I am now prepared to distract you with making out, as Noah so charmingly put it, if you're interested."

"Oh, now you've seen my impressive sandwich-making skills you're ready to join the mile-high club?" Eddie asked.

"That mushroom thing did look kind of good."

Eddie kissed him. "Tell you what, when they do breakfast service I'll use all the butter I saved from the rolls and make you an incredibly mediocre but edible egg sandwich. If I can get more dressing I could probably even make a decent mayo substitute."

"You can't use my phone for extra lighting," Gregory told him, and Eddie was going to protest, but more interesting things were happening and by the time he remembered to be sullen about it, breakfast was being served.

#Shivadhverse #Food #Airline food

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fungifanart · 3 months

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Budget for love

Characters: Male reader, Yuu!reader, Ruggie Bucchi, Grim

CW: Skipping meals, existential dread, money problems

Word count: 2,032

Notes: I heard a voice one night, urging me to write a Ruggie fic...that voice was mine. I just like Ruggie.

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Ruggie Bucchi's financial status is, by no means, a secret.

Ever since he enrolled at Night Raven College, he's garnered a reputation for being a money-grubbing cheapskate who can reduce any merchant to their knees through his skill at haggling alone, all due to his lack of financial security.

Growing up in the slums will do that to a guy, he supposes.

Along with that, growing up poor has also instilled in him a certain pettiness and resentment in regards to the more privileged classes, which just so happen to make up a very large portion of NRC's student body.

Joy.

Well, if nothing else, this makes it easy to simply view most of the other students as potential pickpocket targets.

However, this also makes it easy to forget that not all of them are more well-off than he is, meaning it's especially jarring when he comes across a certain Prefect and direbeast having an argument in Sam's on-campus store.

"C'mon, Henchman! You're telling me we can't afford ONE little extra can of tuna?" Grim argues while clutching said can of tuna to his chest tightly.

"Yes I am, Grim. With our budget, we can barely even afford the bare essentials for this week. That 'one little extra can' will push us over the edge for sure!" The Prefect argues back with the look of a tired father trying in vain to reason with his stubborn child, "Listen, I get paid for my work at the Mostro Lounge on Friday, right? I know you've still got some of your secret stash left, so if you can hold out until then, I'll get you a can of the fancy tuna as a reward. How's that sound?"

That last statement causes Grim's face to light up as he immediately drops the can of regular tuna and hugs the Prefect while exclaiming, "Deal!"

Ruggie doesn't do anything. He simply watches, mildly dazed at what should have been a fact he already knew as the Prefect finishes paying for his essentials and leaves the store with Grim as Ruggie continues to stand there before being brought back to his senses by another student telling to him to move out of the way.

Ruggie doesn't see the Prefect again for a few days after that, their schedules never seeming to allow them even a passing glance in the halls, but the memory of what he saw that day still lingers in his mind for a reason he can’t quite identify right now.

The next time Ruggie does see the Prefect is in the cafeteria during lunch.

It's one of the rare occasions where he hasn't been ordered by Leona to get his lunch for him, so he's taking his time, scanning the tables for a place to sit when he notices the Prefect sitting across from his feline companion while said companion munches away at his food.

Seeing no other open seats, Ruggie walks over and says, "Long time, no see, Prefect! Mind if I sit here?" He asks despite not waiting for the other man's answer and plopping himself and his tray down in the spot next to him.

"O-oh! Yeah, that's fine." The Prefect responds before turning his head back to Grim as he eats, but Ruggie can't help but notice the lack of food on his side of the table.

"Dang, Prefect! I wish I got here sooner so I could've seen the carnage!" Ruggie remarks while playfully nudging the other man's shoulder.

"Huh? What do you mean?" The Prefect asks confusedly.

"Oh, come on! YOU finishing your food before GRIM? I can only imagine how much you stuffed your face to make that happen!" Ruggie concludes with a snicker before taking a bite of one of his sandwiches.

The Prefect blinks a couple times before responding, "Oh, I think there's been a misunderstanding. I didn't get lunch." He says, causing the hyena to choke on his food.

"W-whaddaya mean you 'didn't get lunch'???" Ruggie questions after chugging his water.

The Prefect shrugs, "Just what I said. We have some leftovers at Ramshackle that I could’ve brought, but we were in such a rush this morning that we couldn't even eat breakfast, much less prepare any lunch and running back between classes would take too long. Therefore, we had no choice but to buy lunch from here, but I had barely enough cash to get food for one of us and it'd kill me to see Grim go hungry, so I figured I'd be fine if I skipped a meal or two." He concludes nonchalantly.

Ruggie proceeds to sit there, dumbfounded, as the Prefect goes back to watching Grim eat, his face content, but with a hint of melancholy.

Ruggie knows that look. He's seen it countless times in his childhood on the faces of some of the adults in his neighborhood as they forwent their own food just to let their children eat.

He doesn't remember seeing a lot of them around last time he went home.

His mind snaps back to the present as he looks down at his lunch tray piled high with the food he bought using money he'd snuck out of Leona's wallet and then back at the empty space in front of the Prefect, his stomach suddenly not feeling as empty as before.

Wordlessly, Ruggie takes two of his sandwiches and slides them over to the other man, who looks back at him in bewilderment.

"Ruggie? What's this for?" The Prefect asks.

Ruggie clears his throat awkwardly before responding, "W-well, it's just that it turns out I got more food than I'll probably eat, so I thought 'why not', right?" He says while forcing his signature laugh.

Luckily, the Prefect doesn't seem to read into his awkwardness as his suppressed hunger resurfaces on his face and he proceeds to practically inhale the sandwiches after giving a rushed "Thanks!"

In a matter of seconds, the sandwiches have completely disappeared, leaving Ruggie both amazed and...oddly fulfilled upon seeing the Prefect’s own satisfaction from having a full stomach.

Huh...that's new.

Ruggie's been so used to pinching his and other people's pennies at this school that helping out seemingly the only other student that's in the same boat as him, even without getting anything in return, feels...nice.

Nice feelings like this are few and far in between with a lifestyle like Ruggie's, so now that he's felt it, he proceeds to chase it whenever he can.

From that day onward, Ruggie makes a point to help out the Prefect if he has the time, starting with offering him a simple snack between classes or pointing him in the right direction if he gets lost, before slowly escalating into him stepping in to haggle Sam's prices down for him and even taking his hand and physically leading him to where he needs to go, not noticing the increasingly flustered looks on the other man's face.

He doesn't know when exactly it happened, but after a while, that simple nice feeling turned into something more...warm and fuzzy that he feels blooming in his chest as he and the Prefect grow closer, finding more and more time to spend with each other, whether it being studying together or going out to the market, until one night, they find themselves gazing up at the stars on the hill just outside of Ramshackle.

Looking over at the stars reflecting in the Prefect’s eyes, Ruggie can't deny how beautiful they look. And what he also can't deny is the fact that he's grown attached their owner.

He can’t help but imagine what the future could hold for the two of them.

But then he remembers who the Prefect is.

He's an otherworlder. The one destined to leave this world behind in favor of the one where he actually belongs.

The only future that exists for Ruggie and the Prefect is one where he waves goodbye as the other man disappears into the Dark Mirror forever.

But that doesn't mean he has to be okay with it. That doesn't mean he can't still want the Prefect to stay, preferably with him.

"Can I ask you something?" Ruggie questions.

"Sure, what is it?" The Prefect responds, looking over at Ruggie, the serene expression on his face only further solidifying his feelings.

"Just out of curiosity, what would you do if you couldn't go back to your world?" Ruggie asks, noting how the other man tenses up at the question.

"W-well, I guess I'd keep going here until I graduate..." The Prefect responds in a way that doesn't fully answer Ruggie's question.

"Ok? And then what about after that?" Ruggie pushes.

".......................To be honest, I try not to think about it." The Prefect finally answers with a sigh, "People always say that graduating from here basically guarantees success in life, but how many high-ranking, high-paying jobs are actually there for someone like me in a world like this, even as a so-called 'beast tamer'? And that's not even accounting for me not having any official documentation since I wasn't born here! Hell, the most Crowley will do is cover up the fact that he has an undocumented individual among his students, so if I can't find a way to become a citizen by graduation, I'm out of luck!" He concludes while bringing his hands to his face in frustration.

Ruggie...can't say he's ever thought about that. And now he's feeling extra bad for the Prefect as he thinks of ways he might be able to help.

And it's then that he remembers a certain law in the Sunset Savanna and his trademark mischievous smile spreads across his face.

"Y'know, if citizenship's a big issue for you, we could always get married!" He blurts out, breaking the other man out of his wallowing as he chokes in surprise before letting out a laugh.

"You shouldn't joke about that!" The Prefect says with a giggle and a playful push against the hyena's shoulder.

"Hey! I'm serious!" Ruggie responds in a very unserious tone, "One of the laws in the Sunset Savanna says that if you marry one of its citizens, then you'll become a full citizen yourself!"

The Prefect's laughter dies down as he ponders this information, "Wait, really? How did THAT come about?" He asks, genuinely interested.

"Well, since it's ruled by lions, the kingdom's basically viewed as one, giant pride so being accepted by one of its members means being accepted into the pride, no questions asked." Ruggie explains.

"I feel like that leaves a lot of room for exploitation, though." The Prefect says thoughtfully.

"Hey, that works out for you, though. Doesn't it?" Ruggie says cheekily, earning another soft push against his shoulder.

"Don't act like this is set in stone already when we haven't even been on a proper date yet!" The other man argues lightheartedly.

"Well, if we're not counting all those study dates and market dates, then I guess you're right." Ruggie says bluntly, "So I'm free this Saturday if you wanna make it official."

The Prefect’s giggles stop as he looks at the hyena in surprise, who looks back at him with the first serious expression he's worn since the start of the conversation.

"I want you to know that I'm actually serious about this." Ruggie says while looking into the Prefect’s eyes, "I wouldn't throw an idea like that around willy-nilly, y'know."

The other man blinks for a couple seconds before his expression softens, "Alright, fine. How about this: IF I can't go home AND we both feel the same way after graduation, then I'll marry you. Deal?" He says while holding out his hand, clearly not fully convinced about Ruggie's conviction.

"Shishishi, deal!" The hyena says before shaking the Prefect’s hand and turning his head back towards the night sky, satisfied.

"Heh. So you're free this Saturday, huh?" The Prefect says before leaning over and pressing a kiss onto Ruggie's cheek, causing his heart rate to accelerate, "I'll look forward to it."

With heat blooming on his face, Ruggie feels that warm feeling in his chest again, but this time, he's able to put a name to it: Love.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twst ruggie #ruggie bucchi #twst x male reader #ruggie x male reader #ruggie x reader #twst mc #twst yuu #twst grim #why is this mushroom writing fanfics?

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thegayjokester · 1 year

Text

okok guys hear me out i havr an idea for why theyre dancing

A huge ball is being held by Peach to celebrate the peace treaty between the Mushroom kingdom and the Koopa kingdom but they dont fully trust Bowser yet, so they dress up Luigi as Peach for the night of the ball to ensure that Bowser doesnt try to kidnap the ACTUAL Peach. But alas!!! Bowser sees through Luigi's disguise!!!!! But instead of roasting him on the spot like Luigi thought he would, Bowser decides to play with him a bit🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

But then!!! It turns out that Bowser actually was planning on kidnapping Peach!!!!!!!!!!! So luigi has to play along and dance with Bowser to distract him long enough for Mario to get Peach to safety😱😱😱 and then bowser is like "grrr well if i cant have peach ill take this cute human instead😒😒🙄😡🤭🤭" SO!!!!!

If not that then it would also be cute if this was in the movieverse it was like Bowser practicing how to dance with luigi for the wedding lol

If anyone would like to write a fanfic like this PLEASE DO i suck at writing but i need this, send me links if u do pls !!!!!!!!!

#art #fanart #super mario #bowser x luigi #bowuigi #ship art #the sillies #masochism tango

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xxghostly-emo-writerxx · 2 years

Text

Ouran Headcanons

(In a relationship)

Please remember this is just for fun

(And my first fanfic type thing, so please forgive me if its weird.)

♡ ohshc X GN! Reader ♡

Tamaki

♡ Tamaki would spoil the living daylights out of you, by giving you presents and flowers daily.

♡ He's definitely big on PDA, any chance he could get he'd give you hugs and kisses and if your not comfortable with it he'd understand.

♡ The pet names he'd give you would probably be like "My Angel ", "My Highness " , "Mon trésor ", possibly even "Diamond".

♡ He would cuddle you any chance he gets, And if you reject his cuddles you'll most definitely gonna find him in the corner of the room pouting and growing mushrooms.

♡ Now I'm tellin ya this man gets jealous so easily, if a person kisses the back of your hand at a party he'll immediately pulls your hand away from the person he'll say something along the lines of " Please do not touch my angel " he'll most likely be mumbling under his breath the rest if the night

♡ If you ever get sick or are in pain he wouldn't let you leave the bed constantly telling you "My angel you need to stay in bed, if your hungry tell me and I'll bring your food " he would call the best doctors in Japan just to make sure you are ok.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Kyoya

♡ Just like the others he would spoil you but he would do it in a kinda old fashioned way by writing you a letter or a poem or possibly sending you 9 lavender roses. (9 lavender roses stand for eternal love)

♡ Now he is not the biggest on PDA but he will hold your hand and maybe once in a while kiss you, and like Tamaki if you tell him that your not comfortable with it he'll fully understand and stop.

♡ The pet names he would call you would probably be "Darling " or "Angel ".

♡ Now though he is not the biggest on PDA, But in private is a different story he adores the feeling of you in his arms or when you lay in his lap.

♡ Kyoya doesn't get jealous that easily, But when he does he writes in his death note he immediately pulls you away mid conversation smirking at the person staring at your leaving forms.

♡ If you end up getting sick he immediately calls the family doctors, if you say the simple words of "why I'm fine its just the flu " he would smile sweetly at you saying "I'm sure darling but it's better to make positive it's just that and nothing worse "

Haruhi

♡ Now Haruhi isn't rich like the others but she will still spoil you and the way she would do it is cooking your favorite food or probably writing little loving notes and letters.

♡ Haruhi isn't big on PDA at all, at most she'll hold your hand but that's about it.

♡ The pet names Haruhi would give you would be simple things like "babe " or "baby ".

♡ Now at home Haruhi she's not the kind of person to beg for cuddles, but she will if you ask she enjoys cuddling with you but she's not crazy about them either.

♡ Like Kyoya Haruhi doesn't get jealous easily she's really laid-back but when she does she is very polite about it she'll say the the person something like "I'm sorry but I must pull y/n away from you " if you ask her what's up she'll just tell you that she was somewhat jealous.

♡ If your sick she would make you stay in bed making sure you rest, she would make your favorite food for breakfast with you tea/coffee.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Hikaru

♡ This man is a he adores you but he wouldn't spoil you like the others he would do in a subtle way by sending a good morning message or kissing your cheek.

♡ he may not be as big on it as Tamaki but he is bigger on PDA than Kyoya or Haruhi

He will willingly hold your hand, kiss you and hug you as well, he'll tell you just how much he loves you.

♡ The pet names that he would call you would be something like "Baby " "angel " " darling " he would most likely use them to tease you to be honest

♡ This man sits down and demands cuddles just arm open waiting for some cuddles "Y/N come here and give me cuddles " if you refuse he'll just pick you up and take you to the couch or bed.

♡ Alright we all know Hikaru gets jealous very easily and when he gets jealous he tends to get overprotective he'd most likely pull you away from the person and just have a death glare target at them.

♡ When your sick he would just stay by your side the whole time he would try to schedule an appointment to the doctors but otherwise he would bring you food in bed.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Kaoru

♡ Kaoru being the mature twin he tends to be more calm but he adores you none the less, he's very sweet about it too by sending you your favorite flowers or giving you freshly baked treats.

♡ Now Kaoru doesn't mind PDA to him its all up to you if you wanna show PDA if you do he'll hold your hand hug kiss you and more, if not then he would completely understand.

♡ the pet names he would call you would be little thing that remind him of you like "sunshine " "baby " or " angel "

♡ Now with cuddles he love them a nice cuddles session with you at the end of the day the definition of heaven to him he loves the feeling of having you in his arms or vice versa.

♡Kaoru doesn't get as jealous as Hikaru but he does get jealous once in a while, like Haruhi he is very polite about it he'll just gently pull you away just making a small excuse.

♡ If your sick he is the same way as Hikaru, he will stay by your side the entire time he would call the doctor just to make sure your gonna be fine he would bring you your favorite food and tea/coffee.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Honey-Senpai

♡ Ok I'm gonna say this right off the bat Honey is the most loving S/O you could ever have, he would give you cake, cookies or your favorite sweet treats if your having a bad day.

♡ Just like Tamaki Honey-Senpai is big on PDA he just loves being able to show your his by holding your hand, kissing you, or by just hugging you, but if you tell him your uncomfortable he would understand and stop.

♡ The pet names he would call you would be "sugar ", "cupcake ", "sweetheart ", "sweetpea ", and probably "cookie "

♡ Any chance this man would get he would cuddle with you and usa-chan he would make a full on cuddle fort with hundreds of pillows and blankets.

♡ Honey doesn't get jealous really he is just really overprotective of you but if he does he'll just pull you away saying "cmon y/n-chan let's go " with just the sweetest little smile.

♡ If you were sick or in pain he would probably be giving you a lot of cake and your favorite treats.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Mori

♡ Now Mori is very protective of you just wants to make sure your safe and happy and he will do anything in his power to do so.

♡ Mori isn't big on PDA but he will hold your hand and give you his rare smile doing so, and possibly on special occasions he will be more affectionate.

♡ He would be simple on pet names he would probably call you "Darling " or "Angel " just short and sweet Nothing too crazy.

♡ This man may seem like he wouldn't be big on cuddles oh but he is loves cuddles any moment he can hw will cuddles you but if you tell him that your busy he will fully understand.

♡Mori hardly ever gets jealous, but if he does he'll just pick you up and take you away from the person.

♡ Now if you end up sick he'll make you stay in bed, he bring you food he'll call the doctors and if you try to get up he'll just put you back in bed.

Hi I'm ghost and I appreciate you reading this, this is my first thing on here so please forgive me if its not the best, I will be working on getting better

#y/n #ouran host club #ouran hikaru #ouran x reader #headcanon #ouran haruhi #mori ouran #honey senpai #tamaki x reader #ohshc tamaki #x reader #ouran fanfic #ouran kaoru #ouran high school host club #x y/n #kyoya ootori #ouran kyoya

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drakuqueo-elempalador · 11 months

Note

I wrote a fic based on that NSFW Comic you did and Idk if you enjoy that kind of stuff but here is the link

https://archiveofourown.org/works/47225290

Also, sorry for the anon thing, I'm just too lazy to switch to my account that corresponds with my AO3 account lmao

Your fanfic is stunning (⁠っ⁠˘⁠з⁠(⁠˘⁠⌣⁠˘⁠ ⁠). I am very grateful for this, anon.

I love the way you write Bowser and Weegee. If there's one thing I like about the fics, it's that Weegee feels like he fits in much more in the Koopa Kingdom than in the Mushroom Kingdom, which is why I loved how he won over the Koopalings.

You have a beautiful way of writing! I would love to read more of your works. I enjoyed every single word of your fic. I definitely keep this fic among the most precious things in existence. Thank you so much, anon. (⁠っ⁠˘⁠з⁠(⁠˘⁠⌣⁠˘⁠ ⁠) You're really talented!

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multicolour-ink · 11 months

Note

To be honest, as disappointed as I am by it, I highly doubt Firebrand and Thunderhand will ever be in the movieverse aside from a possible reference.

I get what you are saying; but I am still holding out hope as I want it so bad!

If they can introduce obscure characters like the penguins, and Foreman Spike (a character that was in ONE game way back in the 80s - and yet still got a pretty integral role), I have confidence that the team will pull from some more stuff like this, and maybe in some way, include the hand powers.

How they go about it depends on where they take the story...but here are some ideas on how they can make it similar to the game!

spoilers for Superstar Saga

In the game, the Bros come across the Sun and Moon temples, where they meet the Sun and Moon gods who grant them the hand powers respectively (Mario Firebrand, and Luigi Thunderhand).

The game doesn't give any explanation as to why these gods just give away these powers to these two random strangers (not that I can recall at least), but they could explain it in the movie verse!

Suppose that the Bros adventure in the Beanbean Kingdom (or another place - or even just the Mushroom Kingdom again), and during the journey they come across the Sun and Moon Temples. Both the gods recognise the courage of these new heroes, and decide that they are worthy - but only after they complete a test!

Ooh here's an idea - perhaps the test that the Sun and Moon gods put them through is one where both brothers have to save the other! They are shown their worst fears (like a dreamscape or something similar), and they have to prove their courage in order to save the one they love the most. It will be a perfect scene full of emotion and angst 😁

Do with this idea as you please, my fellow Mario fans! Write your fanfics!

The explanation as to why the Bros each get their respective hand powers can be put down to the powers reflecting their inner selves (also have mentioned it here):

Fire represents for Mario that he is passionate at what he does and what he feels. The love he feels for his brother, his family, and friends burns so deep and is primary the core of his being. Of course, these emotions can give way to him being a spit-fire. When upset or determined, his fire burns and never stops until he succeeds or he's calmed down.

Lightning on the other hand is different. It's powerful, but unlike fire it momentarily shows itself and then goes away, and it only forms under certain atmospherically changes. That represents Luigi. He is often quiet, and rarely chooses to physically fight - but when he does, when the situation changes...it hits hard! Like the moment he saved Mario from Bowser's fire with the manhole cover - it's Luigi's loyalty and bravery that becomes his inner power.

- - -

Here's some more ideas they could do with the Firebrand, and Thunderhand in the movie verse:

- During some down time, after some battles, the Bros get the same idea (not even talking they just both mentally communicate) to try something new with their powers. If they can be used in battle...can they be used in other ways...?

So Mario gently cups Luigi's hands in his, and makes a small flame. It sparks up through not only his hand, but also Luigi's - and it doesn't cause his brother pain! Luigi gasps in wonder at the beauty and the warmth of this flame. After briefly meeting Mario's eyes, Luigi follows suit and creates a small spark. Both gasp and smile in excitement at this beautiful combination ❤️️💚

- Mario makes campfires very easily with his Firebrand.

- Luigi can mess with electrical equipment and entire electrical panels.

- Luigi can read the electrical impulses in people's hearts, in order to read their heart rates (he can also read/sense any electrical currents in the air).

- Mario's Firebrand in battle is mostly used for pure power.

- Luigi can use his Thunderhand for defence (electrical shields around himself and others).

#whoops sorry just wanted to gush about the bros again in that last bit 🤭#might've got carried away there #super mario #mario #luigi #the super mario bros movie #super mario movie #mario movie #mario and luigi #firebrand #thunderhand #mario and luigi superstar saga #superstar saga #multicolour ink answers #THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASK 💗

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chloecherrysip · 1 year

Text

Now that I've had a few hours of sleep and am marginally a human being again, let's talk about the mario movie some more! SPOILERS ALL THROUGHOUT THIS POST UNDER THE CUT (if you want to see my non-spoilery thoughts and the first part of my spoiler talk as well, here's that post from last night! Be warned that it's pretty all over the place because it was 4:30 in the morning and I was really tired lolol)

After thinking about it more, I truly do have some PROBLEMS with this movie (will talk more about some of that below and I covered a lot of the issues in my first post too) and I do wish it was better overall and not so painfully surface-level with all the character interactions - I can understand why some people REALLY don't like it while others love it! It's joyful and energetic and BEAUTIFUL but if you spent months and months theorizing and speculating about deep character interactions and a very emotional story, it does really sting to finally see how there is virtually NONE of that and the plot feels kinda empty as a result. :(

But! I'm definitely not upset or anything like that, and I'm still gonna see it two more times in theaters with a smile on my face! TRUTHFULLY (and if you've seen my blog before, you know this about me) what I cared about most in this movie was getting to see Mario and Luigi be adorable onscreen and have a good, healthy, loving relationship, and you do get that to some degree, even if it's nowhere near enough. I can make my peace (and write a lot of fanfic, LOL) regarding the rest. :)

Here is a list of moments between Mario & Luigi that made me happy:

FIRST OF ALL, SOMETHING THAT I'M NOT ACTUALLY SURE I LIKED BUT WAS CERTAINLY A CHOICE: Mario's nickname for Luigi is Lu????? He calls him that 3-4 times and at big moments, too. It started to be cute to me, even if I wish they'd gone with "Weegie" or something similar, but it's a little jarring at the beginning for sure.

In general, they are just very physically affectionate with each other! There are one or two quick hugs in the beginning scenes before we even get to the reunion. Also, I can't remember the specifics but the very last scene is them basically teasing/poking each other before running off into the day together and it's cute. :)

Mario is SO protective of Luigi in the Brooklyn scenes and let me tell you, as someone who cares DEEPLY about that, i was LIVING. He gets mad at Spike and tries to pick a fight only when he insults Luigi, and there is also a silly scene with an angry dog and Mario just instinctively puts his arm up in front of Luigi when things get a little scary/focuses on making sure he doesn't get hurt, and I was just having the BEST time. Honestly, I loved the Brooklyn stuff so much that I sincerely wanted the whole movie to just be about that, and things took a downhill turn for sure when the separation happened. :(

Someone definitely predicted this before the movie but Mario hates mushrooms as a food and Luigi likes them. During a dinner scene, Mario is slyly separating mushrooms from his food and putting them onto Luigi's plate in a way that suggests he's done that a LOT. Such a quick shot but I just liked the detail!

THE RUNNING THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION SITE AND MARIO DOING RIDICULOUS PARKOUR BUT ALSO STOPPING TWICE TO MAKE SURE TO TURN BACK AND OPEN THE GATES SO LUIGI COULD COME THROUGH NORMALLY. There was just something SO funny and sweet about [crazy jumping and leaping] [quiet, thoughtful pause to open the gate] [MORE CRAZY JUMPING AND LEAPING, WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING, SIR] [another quiet, thoughtful pause to open the 2nd gate], I loveeeeee

Once again, just gotta be obnoxious about being right that the dialogue in the warp zone was "nothing can hurt us as long as we're together!" I HEARD THE LINE AS THIS IN THAT PREVIEW FOOTAGE AND EVERYONE CONVINCED ME IT WAS DIFFERENT BUT LOOK WHO'S LAUGHING NOW (i'm sorry, just let me have this win haha)

There is a sad moment where Mario and Luigi's dad clearly doesn't believe in their business and he even says to Mario something like "the worst part is that you're dragging your brother down with you" which is clearly upsetting to Mario so he leaves the dinner table - but then Luigi leaves the table too to come and sit with him and reassures him that he's not dragging him down and it's just a sweet, comfortable moment between them that I very much wish went on a little longer (the theme of the whole movie lol)

(Also, Mario and Luigi still live with their parents and share a room, they're clearly pretty young and are treated like the "babies" of the family. I wish we had seen more of their room other than a very extremely brief shots!!)

Luigi DOES immediately sell out Mario when Bowser goes for the serious mustache damage, LOL, but the way it's done is honestly so cute and once again, just reemphasizes how much Luigi loves Mario XD He's basically like "YES, I know him, he's my brother Mario and he's the best guy ever!" (And then Bowser, who is preoccupied with Mario = romantic rival for Peach's affections, is like "would a princess find him attractive???" and Luigi is like "if she has any common sense, she should!" (lol, that line could be TOTALLY wrong, I don't remember, but that's the gist of it, I promise) or something like that - just hyping Mario up when he's not even there, LOL

in Mario and DK's "darkest moment" scene where things seem hopeless and they're arguing, Mario says something like "well, at least your brother's not going to die because of you!" and noooo, bb, it's not your fault ;; (this scene could have been done SO MUCH BETTER with a few tweaks, btw, but I will get into that)

Luigi bringing coffee for Mario at the end of the movie in their respective cups :) :) :) So simple but I am a very simple person who just wanted to see little moments like this :) :) :)

I have GRIPES with the final battle scene but seeing Mario and Luigi work together and take care of Bowser as a duo was still good!!! Nothing can hurt them when they're together!!!

Also, already talked about this at length in my first post, but one more time: Mario saving Luigi from falling into the lava and their reunion hug is just my favorite moment of the movie, no contest, it goes by so fast and I wish it was longer but I can be happy with that alone and I can't wait for the screenshots/gifsets where I can see all the details of it more clearly and don't have to rely on my awful memory. Literally just going to think about that split-second of Mario holding Luigi's face with both hands in an unbearably sweet, gentle way forever. These brothers love each other very much, your honor ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

ALSO ALMOST FORGOT: FLASHBACK TO THEM BEING BABIES (AND THEY LOOK SO FAITHFUL TO THE ORIGINAL DESIGNS TOO!) AND MARIO PROTECTING LUIGI FROM A BULLY (lol I very much wish it was a longer and/or more creative flashback, but STILL sweet)

AND NOW THAT I AM DONE WITH BEING POSITIVE ABOUT MY FAVORITE BOYS, LET'S ~*~COMPLAIN~*~

First of all, still CANNOT BELIEVE that "I'm not afraid! I'll do anything for my brother" didn't make it into the movie, are you SERIOUS, it would have been perfect in SO MANY PARTS, they recorded it and everything, why???? IS THERE A DELETED SCENE??? ARE THERE SEVERAL DELETED SCENES??? I DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THAT PERFECT LINE, I WILL MOURN IT FOREVER

The editing in general is a little odd sometimes and it really DOES feel like a lot of scenes should be there that are missing. Another VERY weird cut is in the scene where Peach, Toad, and Mario are crossing the bridge with the Cheep-Cheeps and they just immediately cut the scene when one latches onto Mario's face and don't even include the cute stuff from the trailer with Peach trying to help him??? Like, WHY???? WHY DID THOSE FEW SECONDS NEED TO BE CUT??? I DON'T UNDERSTAND

I think one of the most painful things about this movie is that, as a writer/creative person, I can see SO many small opportunities throughout the movie where a couple of extra minutes and some tweaks in the writing would have made SO much difference. An unbelievable amount of difference! The overall structure of the story and the plot is good! The story of Mario wanting to reunite with his brother and Peach wanting to protect her kingdom (that took her in and cared for her when she was all alone in the world) is solid! But they never give the EMOTIONS surrounding these things ANY space to breathe beyond one line here or there, and that is SUCH a mistake and I can't believe no one thought to do something differently here.

FOR INSTANCE: The "darkest moment" scene with DK and Mario! It goes by so fast, but there is some good stuff there that, if the movie took a MOMENT and really let their pain/fear for their loved ones and their shared complex of unsupportive fathers BREATHE, would work SO MUCH BETTER. Like, I can easily imagine a rewritten version of that scene with very similar dialogue but just MORE of it (more pauses, more emotion, more reactions to one another's problems, more recognition of their similarities, etc) would have made it like a DAGGER in the heart. SUCH a missed opportunity. I am itching to rewrite it, LOL. (I am itching to rewrite a LOT of scenes!)

ALSO: Luigi is my LOVE and he is adorable throughout this, but I'm gonna be the first to admit that his scrap of an arc in this movie (if you can even call it that) is so lackluster and his heroic moment at the end genuinely doesn't feel that earned! AND ONCE AGAIN, WITH A LITTLE EXTRA WRITING/ROOM IN THE RUNTIME, IT'S A VERY SOLVABLE PROBLEM

And the solution is: build out the prison scenes and have Luigi actually talking to someone else who is locked up!!!!! Other than a couple of lines and jokes, the prisoners don't TALK TO EACH OTHER and Luigi just spends a lot of time looking sad. We don't get ANYTHING about his thought processes while he's captured other than he is thinking of Mario and hoping his brother comes to save him like he's always done.

WHEN CRANKY KONG AND THE OTHER KONGS SHOW UP, HAVE THEM SHARE INFO ABOUT MARIO'S APPARENT DEMISE WITH LUIGI!!! HAVE LUIGI TALK TO HIM (OR THE PENGUIN KING, OR SOMEONE) ABOUT HOW HIS BROTHER'S ALWAYS LOOKED OUT FOR HIM BUT MAYBE SOMETIMES, HIS BROTHER MIGHT NEED SOME SUPPORT TOO AND HE'S GOTTA BE STRONG FOR HIM TOO

It doesn't have to be a long or especially deep conversation, but some lines of dialogue like this would make that moment where Luigi realizes that Mario is right, nothing CAN hurt them if they're together and he's gotta be strong for his older brother too and he jumps in to protect him from Bowser hit SO much harder. That's all it would take!!!

I HAVE ACTUAL WORK TO DO TODAY AND CANNOT GO ON AND ON ABOUT THE MARIO MOVIE FOREVER BUT LAST THOUGHT FOR NOW: the more I think about the final battle, the more I'm conflicted, haha. The twist of everyone from the Mushroom Kingdom ending up in Brooklyn is definitely SHOCKING in the moment and pretty creative but I don't know, I had my heart set on a more classic version of Mario VS Bowser. It just doesn't hit as hard as it could in the end because of how silly the setting is. :( (But the Mario and Luigi teamup with the power star is great, and the music IS fire) (Also LOL at myself for thinking "Luigi won't fight at the end, that wouldn't make sense since Mario had to train" - he just knows how to fight, the movie goes with what's cool over what's logical and that's fair XD)

Also, the end of the movie is a tad confusing and has some pretty huge repercussions for this version of canon? ARE THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM AND THE REAL WORLD PERMANENTLY MERGED TOGETHER BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED??? That's definitely what it seems to imply with Mario and Luigi waking up in their Brooklyn room and then walking out straight into the Mushroom Kingdom! It's pretty bizarre! (Honestly, what I was expecting was that the Bill would destroy the warp pipes and Mario and Luigi wouldn't be able to go home, which I might have preferred, as sad as that would be.)

That's all I got for now! I'm sure I will have more thoughts in the future, haha.

#mario movie #mario movie spoilers #super mario bros movie #super mario bros movie spoilers #would love to hear your thoughts if you agree/disagree with anything i said!#it really is wild to see such STRONG reactions on either side of the spectrum #seeing a LOT of positive feedback and then a LOT of people who are MAD and yeah. i honestly get both sides. i am both of you lol #cherrysip hc's & rambling

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duskymrel · 1 year

Text

Milkshake date!

Synopsis: You're on a date with the TWST 2nd years at the Monstro Lounge, and you order a milkshake. Obviously you two are going to share it with two straws, this is a fanfic!

Azul:

-Oh boy

-Baby boi is trying so hard to stay calm but we all know he's screeching on the inside

-Homies face is so red while y'all drink the milkshake

-Don't get me wrong, he loves it, but it just feels so intimate

-Plus the Tweels are watching 😨

-Angelfish, please hang on. He'll be right back. He just needs to go delete the video Jade took...

Floyd:

-Awwww Shrimpy 😍

-You read his mind

-He's so excited

-He's probably giggling a little while you two drink

-Hell, lets throw some cheek poking in there too!

-He really loves you, you know that?

-Azul shut up he's spending time with his Shrimpy stop telling him to go back to work >:(

-What noooo Floyd's not my favorite don't accuse me of choosing favourites

Jade:

-Fuhuhuhu~

-Well aren't you such a dear~?

-Of course he's more than willing to shake this milkshake with you

-He's very amused at your antics

-Floyd stop snickering do you know how many embarrassing stories he has of you-

-Anyways he wouldn't be flustered at all. Hell, he's one of the smug ones.

-I love him he's my favorite mushroom-core guy ❤

Kalim:

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

-Oml he's so excited!!

-Please god don't give him sugar 😨

-He just thinks this is the cutest darn thing!

-He's another giggler

-You can practically see the sparkles in his eyes

-He's just a cinnamon roll <3

-Jewel, you're a genius!! He loves you sm.

Jamil:

-Azul kinnie

-He too is trying to stay cool on the outside, but he's a flustered mess inside

-He tries to cover how flustered he is with a smug smirk

-Did you intentionally only get one milkshake...?

-Yes?

-Well... he supposes he can deal with it, just for you.

-Babygirls a tsundere fr fr

Ruggie:

-Awww

-You want to share a milkshake~?

-Hehehehehe of course!

-He loves free drinks sharing an intimate moment with his lover!

-But honestly, the tips of his ears are a lil red

-He finds it a really sweet gesture

-Leona stfu get out stop mocking him or no more head pats why are you here >:(

Silver:

-Kind of unfazed

-Don't get me wrong! He appreciates it

-He just doesn't feel the need to make a huge deal of it

-He smiles softly at you while y'all drink

-He's so babygirl

-Wait

-Stop

-DON'T FALL ASLEEP TF

-He's sorry 😔

Riddle:

-AJXHDBSJCHNDKX

-Stop you'll kill him

-He's BEET RED

-He has heart eyes tho

-He finds it really sweet

-He drinks with you, after checking to make sure there's no rules against milkshakes

-...Ace, you have exactly .8 seconds to stop snickering before it's Off With Your Head for a month 👹

-Rose, he really, really loves you. <3

-Oh look my other favorite character

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!

I do take requests!!! I'll write for any character. My rules are no NSFW (yet), pedophilia, incest, yandere (sorry I never found it appealing), etc.

I WILL write: Any MC you want! Tall, short, plus sized, male, female, gender neutral, trans, LGBTQ+, or literally anything! I enjoy writing fluff but I don't mind angst or other things. I'll gladly write suggestive things, just not NSFW quite yet. I'll write pretty much any scenario too, except for what I've listed above.

Have a good day darlings!

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sanvirtheobserver · 1 month

Text

Taking Flight, An SMG4 Fanfic: Volume 2

Here is Volume 2 of my Taking Flight fanfic (Along with the first chapter of Volume 3). Hope you enjoy!

‐----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6: Homecoming

It's a beautiful evening in the Mushroom Kingdom. The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, and SMG3 seems to have successfully payed off Bowser after their previous "misunderstanding" with a heaping helping of chicken nuggets.

Over at Bricktown, SMG3 is proudly showing Hal Monitor all his legal paperwork for the Airship anchored in the Omnia Academy Parking Lot. SMG4 silently prays they don't get arrested.

SMG3: I trust everything is up to code?

Hal: Hm........

Hal carefully examines the expertly made, 110% legit looking documents SMG3 gave him as SMG4 awaits the verdict with bated breath. He hasn't been this stressed about a piece of paper since the Lawsuit. Hal looks up to the two................

Hal: Well, everything seems to be in order here. Safe travels Mr. 3!

AND WE'RE SAFE! Hal returns the documents before lawfully speeding off in his cop car. SMG4 let's out a sigh of relief and SMG3 gives an "all clear" signal to Meggy, who's been waiting on the roof eyeing the situation through the scope of her bowgun. Don't worry, she had sleep ammo loaded so it's mot like she was gonna JFK Hal Monitor if things went awry. That being said, she does notice ........ something............ sneaking into the window and goes off to investigate.

Meanwhile we see Tari, Saiko, and Whimpu in the Meme Research Club Room with SMG1 and SMG2. SMG1 is analyzing and performing tests on the Orb from the ruins, and Tari is regaling the dream she had the night prior to SMG2 who is taking notes.

Tari: The last thing I remember was trying to remove the helmet.

SMG2: Interesting.......

Clench: You think it has anything to do with the metal meatball?

SMG2: Hm....... It's possible you may have inadvertently accessed the subject's dying memory.

Tari: But how is that possible? I know I can read minds with my robot hand, but......I always thought it required a LIVING mind.

SMG1: Not with Memes, it isn't.

Tari looks over to SMG1 as he tinkers with the orb.

SMG1: Memes are in essence a shared idea. That idea could be anything, really. Objects, people, places, moments, anything that is shared from one to another. That can include memories.

Belle: So......what does all this Meme Energy rot have to do with this thing?

SMG1: The orb appears to be a device capable of harnessing Meme Energy, storing it within itself. Whimpu, you said that the gemstone you found had a core, yes?

Whimpu: Yes. At first I was wondering why a gemstone had such a strange pattern of overlapping impurities.

SMG1: That "core" is likely the source of this artifact's energy. As to what it is or where it came from, your guess is as good as mine.

Belle: Wait a minute. Those ruins could've been centuries old yet whoever built them had this Meme Power? Pretty sure they didn't have 5G during the crusades.

SMG1: Well, how do you think any ideas were first spread back then? By mouth, painting, and writing. Through art and stories. They were shared in any and every way they could be. That is how you get a culture. And it is through that culture, you'll get memes. The internet may have made it easier, but Memes were one of the first results of cultural exchange.

He places the orb on his desk.

SMG1: Even the manipulation of Meme Energy is nothing new, according to some legends. Some are obvious exaggerations..........

He picks up a massive tome and sets it on the desk.

SMG1: And some have more backing. This is a tome containing all the knowledge we have on our potential culprits.

Clench: And those would be.......... who, exactly?

SMG1 dusts off the top of the tome to reveal a series of symbols similar to Tari's.

SMG1: ..........The Metarunners.

We check in on Meggy as she sits under the window. She makes sure to go in all sneaky deaky like, not making a single sound as she enters the dark room. The coast seems to be all clear....... BOOM, she narrowly dodges a sword swinging for her neck. She tac rolls into a firing position to face her assailant.

?????: Well....... funny seeing you again, Spletzer.

Meggy recognized that voice, but it wasn't until her assailant stepped into the light that she knew who she was up against. An old face from one of her previous trips, often hidden behind a mask.

Meggy: Whisk.....

Whisk: Did you miss me, Kitty?

????: Alright, that's a wrap!

The lights come on and we see a whole room full of ninjas. Amongst them was Hank Hill, leader of the Ninja club.

Whisk: Oh........

Whisk takes off her mask, revealing her true face along with her timid demeanor.

Whisk: Um........how did I do?

Hank: Your form and technique were phenomenal, Miss Felin. You managed to maintain your cover in the Showgrounds Private Park pretty easily.........

Whisk: Oh, thank you! I made sure to practi-

Hank: HOWEVER......... You did botch your final return, seeing as you were followed through the window by Miss Spletzer over here.

Whisk: Oh, right..........I'm sorry.

Hank: You don't need to be sorry, Miss Felin. You just need to be better.

Whisk: Yes, sir.

Meggy is just.......COMPLETELY confused by the whole situation, awkwardly holstering her bowgun now that she knows she's not in any real danger.

Meggy: So..........

The two awkwardly eye each other.

Meggy: How's your mom, doing?

We later see Meggy and Whisk meeting up with Tari, Whimpu, and Belle in the courtyard during recess to catch up. Tari is currently preoccupied with reading that big tome she got from SMG1 while the rest make some small talk.

Whisk: Our money situation wasn't really that great back then. That's why I initially took the job from Cumbersnatch.

Belle: Yeah, I've been there too.

Whisk: Sorry to hear that. Student loans are a bitch to pay off.

Belle: Actually l......... well.......... nevermind.

Meggy: But why pick the Ninja Club?

Whisk: I wanted to put my skills to better use than just stealing stuff. There are other clubs I plan on joining but..........

She pauses, looking down at her mask as she takes a deep breath.

Whisk: sigh I'm not exactly a "social" person.

Their talk is interrupted by Matt, who's pleased to see his former student again.

Matt: Miss Spletzer!

Meggy: Coach Matt, it's been a while!

Whisk is both impressed and embarrassed to see just how confidently Meggy just greeted a former teacher.

Whisk: See what I mean!? Eye contact, no stuttering or hesitation, and that HANDSHAKE! They're even on a first-name basis! Every time someone even looks in my direction I just.............

She freezes up, holding her legs to her chest. And I thought Pomni was a wreck. This draws Tari out of her reading for a moment.

Tari: Y'know............ I was like that too. There was a time when the only "social" thing I could do was playing quick- matches online. But when I first met Mario - or rather, he met me - I managed to find the nerve to......actually talk with people.

Whimpu: I too had trouble making friends before joining the Anti Crew. It was stressful at first, but in the end I did end up making some good friends.

He looks over to Belle, who was actually touched after hearing Whimpu say that. Whisk unfolds from her fetal position as Meggy comes back.

Meggy: Sorry about that. We had a lot to catch up on and kinda got a bit preoccupied, hehe.

The school bell rings and we see all the students returning to their classes.

Whisk: Well........

She dawns her mask and returns to her facade

Whisk: It's been fun, but this cat's gotta scat. Later.

Meggy: Good luck, Whisk! Let's go treasure hunting sometime!

Whisk heads to her class. They couldn't see it behind the mask, but Whisk was tearfully happy to meet her "old friend" again, and even make some new ones along the way.

Back on the ship, Tari is in her bunk reading that tome again. We see Saiko arriving with a cup of tea.

Saiko: Hey.

She hands the cup to Tari.

Tari: Thanks.

Saiko: So, have you found anything new leads?

Tari: Yep, right here. Granted, its........ quite a bit to unpack.

Saiko: I'll say. You could kill a man with that thing. Make sure you get some sleep. The "captain" has another score for us tomorrow. An old smuggler's route used by a....... Swipe, I think?

Tari: Swipe......... Yeah, I heard Four talk about him once. Though, I'm pretty sure they called him..........something else.

Saiko: Whoever he was, let's hope he had better taste than Three. They both share a chuckle as Saiko crawls into her bunk.

Saiko: Oyasumi.

Tari: G'night. Hm...........barrier projection......

And all was quiet as Tari kept reading the tome.

Chapter 7: Maritime Mayhem P.1

We arrive at the Swiper's Pass, an old smuggling route used by the late Admiral Sargent Swipe and his Teletubmarine Marauders. We see the Airship hovering over the water with SMG4, Mario, Meggy, Melony, Boopkins, and Tari on the top deck. Everybody is dawning their diving wear with the exception of Boopkins for obvious reasons.

Boopkins: This looks like the spot, guys.

SMG4: Everybody ready?

Meggy: Yep!

Tari: All ready.

Melony: Good to go.

Mario: Mario's gonna go fishing!

Mario is the first to jump in, butt stomping right into the waters below with the force of a depth charge. SMG4 calls in on the radio to make sure he isn't drowning.

SMG4: Mario, we were supposed to have Boopkins scout ahead first you dumbass! sigh Let's just get going.

The others wait for the waters to clear before diving in. They float through the crystal clear waters until they find Mario waving to them while buried ass first in the seabed. Tari transforms her arm into a grappling hook and latches onto Mario before reeling him out of the sand.

Clench: Christ almighty, you gotta loose some weight pal.

Meggy: Oh trust me, we tried.

SMG4: Over here!

The group turns to find the wreckage of a massive submarine. The surrounding seabed is littered with old debris and bits of the faded pink hull, and a shocked face hung from its front. They had found it........

The Teletubmarine.

Mario: Wow, it looks so much better now!

The group floats up to the derelict leviathan. Changing her arm into a plasma cutter, Tari starts cutting an opening into the hull.

Boopkins: Oooooooh maaaaaan........... I don't like this. What if....... HE....... is still here waiting for us?

SMG4: Bro, it's been YEARS since this thing sunk and I'm pretty sure HE decided to go down with it. We'll be fine.

With a light push, a circular opening is formed and the group swims through. They find themselves in a familiar room with a large pit, several hanging chains, a broken cage, and the remnants of dozens of teletubbies. Some letters on the wall read "Sector 2-SX-C." SMG3 chimes in on the intercoms.

SMG3: You guys in?

SMG4: Yep. We're in sector 2-SX-C by the looks of it.

SMG3: Good. Now see if you can make your way to the Captain's Quarters. That's usually where the captain kepts the best of his shares.

SMG4: Alright Boopkins, lead the way.

Boopkins: gulp

He hesitantly pushes ahead with the others close behind. They all silently glide through the water with the muffled creaking of aging iron echoing across the massive corridors. Tari is spooked when she bumps into a dessicated Teletubby body floating lifeless in the water. She takes a deep breath and keeps swimming forward.

Meggy: So.......... What's the deal with this "Swipe" guy again?

SMG4: He was a treasure hunter, and a pretty ambitious one at that. He collected all sorts of things. Jewelry, artifacts, rare animals, prisoners, you name it.

SMG3: Hence why we're here! Why leave so much perfectly good treasure lying around?

They arrive at a massive door blocking their path, prompting Tari to once again bring out the plasma cutter.

Meggy: You'd think there would've been more people coming over here if there was treasure.

Melony: I don't know. I've heard some stories about Swiper's Pass while on deployment. There's one about a crab that can talk through corpses like they were puppets. Freaky stuff.

SMG4: Hey um....... can we save that for when we're NOT swimming through a derelict submarine?

Tari: sigh It's no use.

She retracts her plasma cutter.

Tari: The plating is too thick. It'll take days to get through at this rate.

Clench: You'd think all the years of rust would make it easier.

SMG4: Hey Three, we hit a dead end. What now?

SMG3: How the ---- am I supposed to know.

SMG4: Um........can you repeat that?

SMG3: Jus- f--d a --y thro---.

SMG4: Three? Three, you're breaking up. Three?.......

SMG3: static

Well that's not good.

SMG4: sigh Looks like we're out of comm's range.

While everyone else is debating on what to do next, Boopkins and Mario notice a little crab staring at them.

Boopkins: Oh hello Crab Friend! We're trying to find a way around this big door. Can you help us please?

Mario only stares in a mix of confusion and disappointment. But then, the crab scuttles off to a nearby grate and slips through. Maybe Boopkins' plea didn't fall upon deaf ears after all.

Boopkins: Hey guys! I think we found a way in!

The group swims over to the grate as Mario pries it open, revealing an entryway into the venting system. Boopkins swims through with ease, but the others likely won't fit with all their scuba gear. That's when Melony had an idea. She puts her hands together and flashes a series of hand symbols.

Melony: CHONKU NO JUTSU!

In a flash, the rest of the group is transformed into tiny Scuba Chonks! With their new tiny size, they follow Boopkins through the vents with ease as they head for the other room. Boopkins enters the room first and begins surveying the area as the rest come through. In another flash they all return to their normal forms in a bit of a daze.

Meggy: Ugh........ good thinking, Melony. Just give us a warn-

Boopkins: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

He rushes into Melony's arms in a panic.

Boopkins: ITS HIM! ITS HIM!

Back on the ship, we see SMG3 fiddling with the radio and Whimpu monitoring the diving group on the tracker. Belle enters the Bridge and sees a frustrated SMG3 trying to fix the device to no avail.

SMG3: C'mon you stupid thing! WORK!

Belle: So, have they found anything worthwhile.

SMG3: We don't know yet because this thing WON'T WORK! Ugh......

Whimpu: They seem to have made it through the blockade at least.

He points to six dots on the screen.

Whimpu: All vitals are stable, but Boopkins' heart rate is skyrocketing

Belle: Eh, he probably got spooked by an octopus or something.

SMG3: CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME A HAND HERE!?!?

Belle: Don't look at me. I'm on my smoke break.

Whimpu goes over to SMG3 while Belle takes a step outside. It's then we see an unknown signature come on screen as it approaches the others.

Back in the derelict, Tari summons her glaive as Meggy takes aim with her bowgun. In the glow of their flashlights they discover what had spooked Boopkins so much. It was none other than Admiral Sargent Swipe himself! Or rather......... what's left of him. We see the crab from earlier crawling across the fallen Chuckya's skeletal remains. The two lower their weapons as Meggy swims over to examine the body.

Tari: It's okay, guys. I don't think he'll be bothering us anytime soon

Meggy: So this is Swipe, huh?

SMG4: Yep. That's him alright. Y'know, I almost kinda feel bad for the guy.

Meggy: I don't blame you. Death is.......it's like time starts to slow down as everything goes dark. A few seconds feels like an eternity.......... Just once is enough for you to go crazy...................

SMG4: Um................. are you okay?

Meggy: Oh sorry! I was just......... thinking out loud for a moment there. Heheh.

Okay, let's move on. We see the others search the room. It's loaded with crates, and Melony cracks one open to find a stash of raw minerals.

Melony: Looks like we found the loot stash.

SMG4: Nah, knowing swipe this is likely just an overflow room.

Meggy: Damn! If that's the case we may need to make a few more trips.

Tari: Wait........ do you guys hear that?

A low humming fills the water, emanating from behind the door. The humming gets higher and higher until...........

BOOM!!!!

In a rupturing blast, the crew is pushed back as the door is blown open. Through the cloud of silt and debris we see single purple light scanning the room as the gang regroups and readies their weapons.

Meggy: What the hell is that thing!?

Boopkins: IT'S THE GHOST OF CAPTAIN SWIPE! HE'S COME TO COLLECT OUR SOULS FOR HIS.......uh .............SOUL COLLECTION!!!! WE'RE DOOMED!!!!

As Boopkins proceeds to have a panic attack, Tari tries to take a more diplomatic approach.

Tari: Um........ excuse me. If we are trespassing on your property, then we are terribly sorry and will leave in peace.

The source of the light enters the room. As the silt settles, we see it is not a ghost. It is a large mechanical eye like construct. We hear a series of beeps and whirls as it begins spinning. An energy field fills the room and begins to intensify.

Tari: Wait...... This isn't a ghost! It a-

A bright flash fills the room. Suddenly the group finds themselves collapsing onto the ground. Upon righting themselves, they see that they are no longer underwater, but on a solid metal platform along with dozens of crates. Tari realizes they are in the hangar of a completely different ship. Massive spider like vehicles hang from the ceiling as rocket powered drones buzz through the air. Suddenly, the intercoms start working again.

SMG3: There we go. So! You guys find any good loot?

SMG4: Yeah, about that..........

Tari: Guys....... I think this is a Ketch. That means...........

Nearby doors slide open, and hoards of four armed creatures clad in black cloth and patchwork armor come flooding in. A cacophony of chirps and clicks sounds off as the group finds themselves surrounded.

Meggy: Fallen Raiders......... Just our luck.

The gang prepares for battle as the hoard descends upon them.

Chapter 8: Maritime Mayhem P.2

It's absolute chaos in the Ketch's main hangar. Hoards of Dregs swarm the platform as Meggy goes full auto with her bowgun. Mario crushes several Dreg skulls beneath his boots. Melony is preoccupied with a gang of Wretches, but they all end up decapitated with a single well timed swipe from the Fierce Deity Sword. Up high we see Boopkins hitching an involuntary joyride on a Shank drone as several others pursue him. One small bump has him slipping off, but Tari manages to fly in catch him in the nick of time before dispatching the rest of the shanks with her Glaive. SMG4 is hunkered down behind some crates with SMG3 on comms.

SMG3: WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ON A FALLEN KETCH!?!?

SMG4: I DON'T KNOW! He picks up a Shock Rifle and rushes to the catwalk. A Wretch is about to skewer him, but Melony comes in with the save and shield bashes the Wretch across the room and into a pile of scrap.

Wretch: ⠃ᛁ ╵ᛍ◟ˎ⸍╮⠃╵

SMG4: We were checking out some crates filled with treasure when all of a sudden this big robot meatball teleported us! Now we're surrounded by angry crab people who wanna kill us!

All of a sudden, one of the Spider Walkers on the ceiling blinks to life and descends to the platform below. Mario swoops in and saves Meggy from being crushed by the Machine. It takes aim at Melony with its main cannon and fires, sending her flying into the wall.

Meggy: This isn't good! We need to fall back!

Tari: Fall back where!? We're surrounded!

Boopkins: I DON'T WANNA DIIIIIIIIIIIE!

Just then, Melony emerges from the wall in her Deity Mode. The Walker takes aim and fires again, but this time she manages to parry the projectile right back down the barrel of the cannon. The Walker wails in agony before falling apart with a massive solar explosion.

Melony: TARI! WOMBO COMBO!

Tari: EVERYBODY TAKE COVER!

Wasting no time, the two lock hands and spin at a breakneck pace, unleashing torrents of energy blasts in all directions. The others take cover as the hangar is consumed in a deluge of blue and green projectiles that tear through every Fallen Raider in sight. When the dust settles, we see the horde lying motionless in pools of spilled Ether. Tari and Melony descend and power down while Boopkins goes into the corner to throw up.

SMG4: Okay......... I think that's all of them for now.

Mario: That was-a lots-a fun!

Meggy: Yeah........ exhilarating. So what's the plan now?

Back on SMG3's ship, (I really should give it an actual name at some point) Luigi emerges from the Kitchen with a tray of sandwiches and refreshments. He heads to the Rec Room where the rest of the crew is gathered, with SMG3 still on call with SMG4.

SMG4: So yeah. We're in a bit of a bind here.

SMG3: Okay, so where are you?

SMG4: I don't know. We'll take a look around and see if we can find a spot for you to pick us up.

SMG3: sigh Alright. We'll call you later.

Saiko: So what's the news? Are they okay?

SMG3: They're still alive so........there's that.

Saiko is not amused. He releases a frustrated "baka" under his breath.

SMG3: They don't know where the Ketch is located, which means we don't know where to go to assist.

Belle: So...... now what? We just wait and see who makes it back alive?

Whimpu: An Eliksni Ketch's Transmat range is limited, especially when transporting that much cargo. They would need to be within a 10 mile radius to transport that much material out of the submarine. I could modify our tracking system to locate them.

Luigi: How long will that take?

Whimpu: That will depend on what we have on hand and what needs to be modified.

Saiko isn't exactly thrilled with the idea of being unable to help. Kaizo lays a hand on her shoulder.

Kaizo: They have a demigod, a sports coach, and a living computer with them. I'm sure they'll be fine.

Saiko: ..........Yeah....... they'll be fine.

Back on the Ketch, the away team comes to a 4-way intersection with a terminal in the center. Melony gets to work on the terminal to see if she can disable whatever security this ship has, but it proves surprisingly difficult even for her hacking prowess.

Melony: This thing has tighter security than I thought. Firewalls in front of firewalls, layers of encryption keys for encryption keys, constantly refreshing passcodes......... whoever made this ship spared no expense. The most I can do is get a map of the place.

A hologram of the ship's layout pops up. Melony is dumbfounded by the sight.

Melony: Wow........ 600 feet wide, 450 feet tall, 1200 feet long, six Solar Sail masts, three Fomorian Engines, various components and armaments of Eliksni, Cabal, Grineer, Corpus, Orokin, and Forerunner origin, this isn't just a Ketch........ it's a whole armada rolled into a single ship.

For those of you who are not fans of big numbers and out-of-lore-context specifications, here's SMG4 with a more simplified synopsis.

SMG4: That's a huge bitch.

SMG3 once again chimes in on the comms. SMG4 sets it to video chat.

SMG3: Hey losers, got any idea on where you are yet? We got a rescue team set up, so just say the word and we'll come get you.

Saiko: Tari! Are you there!? TARI ARE YOU DEAD!?

Tari: Hey Saiko! Don't worry, I'm fine. But......

Melony: This thing is more like seven other ships stitched together. It's also armed to the teeth with Tier 7 and above weapons and defenses........Emphasis on the "above." You won't be able to get within a mile of this thing without risk of getting shot down. I tried deactivating security, but the digital safeguards for this is crazy. I was lucky to even get a map.

Melony has SMG4 turn the camera towards the hologram.

SMG3: whistles This thing means business. I wonder if we can commander some of it.......

SMG4: Three. Focus.

SMG3: Right, right. So, I guess that means the rescue is a no-go?

Melony: Not if you wanna live to tell the tale.

Tari: What if we made our way to the bridge? We may be able to disable their defenses there and give you an opening.

Meggy: That's still risky though.

SMG4: Well, right now it's the best chance we got. Besides........ "it's only when you're ready to die that you'll truly be able to live."

SMG3: chuckles Alright. We'll wait for your signal. And at least TRY not to die?

SMG4: We'll do our best.

SMG3: I'm serious here!

SMG4: Yeah........me too. Four out.

Boopkins: Where do we go now?

Meggy: Melony. Upscale it for me.

The hologram is enlarged and Meggy takes a closer look at the ship's layout.

Meggy: Hm........ the Crew Quarters is where most of the crew is concentrated so that's a no-go, the Hangar is currently on lockdown after we wrecked it, and the Captain's Quarters is the most heavily guarded area on the entire ship. However........

She traces a path on the hologram with her finger.

Meggy: We should have a clear path to the Helm if we enter through the R&R Sector.

Boopkins: R&R? What does that mean?

Melony: Refreshment and Recreation. It's where crewmembers go to unwind while off duty.

Mario: Do they have food there?

Melony and Meggy exchange side eyes, knowing very well where this is going.

Meggy: Tari?

Tari places her metal hand on the collar of Mario's shirt and plants her glaive into the ground. She then nods.

Meggy: sigh Yes, Mario. They most likely do have food there.

Tari hangs on on for dear life as her glaive carves a path into the metal, slowing down Mario as he frantically runs towards the direction of the R&R Sector. This should allow for the others to keep pace and follow.

Tari: Ngh.......Guys!

Clench: GREG ALMIGHTY, HOW STRONG IS THIS GUY'S SHIRT!?

And so the group is off, but something seems to be keeping an eye on them.

Back on SMG3's ship, we see Saiko on the Top Deck staring out into the sea. We pan over to see Kaizo joining her.

Kaizo: Yo.

Saiko: Hey.......

Kaizo: So....... what's on your mind?

A rhetorical question, of course. He can already tell what Saiko is thinking. She takes a deep breath.

Saiko: Any news on the mods?

Kaizo: Four Eyes and Red Head are still working on it. Three is still waiting for the green light.

Saiko: How are Bob and Luigi doing?

Kaizo: The Garo has been pretty quiet, actually. It's weird. He's usually somewhat amused by the fish getting into trouble. But now he's just sitting there twirling his swords. As for Greenie, he's just been cooking again. Last time I was down there he was placing a Black Forest Cake on the table.

Saiko: It's probably a stress thing. Luigi is worried about Mario, and Bob is pretty fond of Boopkins. Even if he is an ass about it.

Kaizo: And what about you? You've been hounding me on being supportive for over a month. But now that I'm actually doing it you decide to give the cold shoulder?

Saiko: I'm just............worried. I know Melony and Meggy are with them, and I know they can hold their own but.......

She falls silent for a moment.

Kaizo: It's Birdie, isn't it.

She lets out a sigh. It's not Meggy or Melony she's worried about. It's Tari.

Saiko: I know she's been getting stronger lately, and she's improved so much since the incident with Pizzaface. But....... she's not the kind of fighter you and I are. And...... what if she gets hurt..... or worse and I.........

Kaizo lays a hand on her shoulder.

Saiko: I guess I'm just not used to her breaking new ground like this.......that maybe she's going too fast for her own good.

Kaizo: You can't stop her, Imōto. But you can still catch her if she falls. I know that, you know that, and I'm certain she knows that too.

She gives a slight smile, the first time since this whole situation started.

Saiko: Thanks Kaizo.

Chapter 9: Maritime Mayhem P.3

Back on the massive Ketch, we see our main group arriving at the R&R sector. Tari is busy holding back Mario while Meggy and Melony hatch a plan to get inside. With the help of Melony's ink magics and Meggy's law degree, the party now has a freshly printed temporary IP exchange contract.

Mario: halflife2fastzombie.mp3

Tari: Guys, I don't know how much longer I can hold him!

Meggy: Alright, this contract is effective for twelve hours. That should be more than enough time for us to get to the bridge, disable the artillery, and have our guys bring us home. Everybody ready?

Clench: YES! SOME TIME TODAY WOULD BE REALLY NICE!

Meggy signs the contract, and in a flash the whole party is given their disguises. Meggy becomes a Fallen Marauder, Melony becomes a Cabal Legionary, SMG4 becomes a Promethean Soldier, Boopkins becomes a Fallen Shank, Tari becomes a Corpus Crewman, and Mario becomes a Grineer Lancer.

SMG4: Okay Tari. You can let him go now.

Tari releases Mario and he is off to the nearest snack bar. R&R is actually a surprisingly nice place considering it's on a pirate's warship. They got TV, volleyball, an arcade, yoga, a library, and so on. It almost looks like they jacked an entire mini-mall. Some of the gang actually takes a moment to sit back and relax before heading to the bridge while SMG4 heads over to the bathroom to call SMG3.

SMG4: Three, this is Four. Do you read?

SMG3: Loud and cle- Dear God you're hideous! Moreso than usual, that is. Are you at the Bridge?

SMG4: Not yet. We're actually chilling out in R&R at the moment. Meggy managed to get us these temporary disguises so we can sneak in undetected. It's actually pretty nice here.

SMG3: Well, make sure you get there asap. Airship fuel ain't cheap, y'know.

SMG4: Will do. Talk to you soon. Four out.

Across R&R we see Mario sampling some delicious Grineer Protein Slurry, Boopkins playing around with some other Shanks, and Melony taking a quick cat nap on a yoga mat. SMG4 exits the bathroom and meets back up with Meggy and Tari.

Clench: I gotta say this place is REALLY nice. Oh! They have Megaman 64!

Tari: Ready to head to the bridge?

SMG4: Pretty much.

Meggy: I gotta round up the others. We'll meet you there.

Tari and SMG4 head to the bridge while Meggy meets back up with Mario, who has currently entered a food coma. The Lancer behind the Snack Bar is flabbergasted that any Grineer can down that much slurry in one go.

Meggy: C'mon Red, let's go home.

Mario: Mmmmmm So good and BURP tasty.

Back in Omnia Academy, we once again see SMG1 experimenting with the Orb the gang found in the ruins. One tap of an instrument on the Orb releases a Pingas Head.

SMG1: Hm.........

He then takes the Pingas head and touches it against the orb. On contact, the Pingas Head is reduced to a blue mote of Meme energy that the Orb reabsorbs.

SMG1: Fascinating. Two! Do you have the spare memes?

SMG2 comes in with a crate full of miscellaneous memes. The two hold hands and begin to convert the memes into energy. Just then, the Orb begins to glow and float on its own, and the floating balls of Meme energy turn blue and begin to orbit around it. In a flash, the Orb absorbs all the present energy before floating back down onto the desk. SMG1 and SMG2 are surprised to say the least.

SMG2: It looks like this Orb can draw in and produce Meme energy.

SMG1: This is not just any kind of Meme energy, Two.........

SMG1 stares at the Orb with a mix of astonishment and concern.

SMG1: This........ is Meta.

Back on the Ketch, we see that SMG4 and Tari have made it to the bridge. There are a few pirates there, mostly just Fallen Splicers and Corpus Techs with some Cabal Psions on guard. One of the Psions notices the two and goes to investigate.

Psion: Halt! What is your business here?

SMG4: Oh, um......... we're here to do some emergency maintenance on the security systems. We............ heard there were some glitches with auto-targeting and............

Psion: You're maintenance?

SMG4: Yes! Yes we are.

Psion: Then why aren't you two in the hangar? It's been radio silent for hours now.

He is an ass hair away from blowing their cover when Tari hatches an idea.

SMG4: Well........ you see....... uh........

Tari: IT'S ALSO HAPPY HOUR IN THE HANGAR!

The whole room turns their gaze to the two.

Tari: Uh, yeah! We were actually coming here to make the announcement while doing maintenance. Our latest haul was the biggest one yet! The captain wants to throw a......uh, a makeshift celebration in the hanger! Non-stop drinks and partying, and we're all invited! So........ LET'S PARTY!

The Bridge is silent, all eyes on the random Soldier and Crewman. Surely such bloodthirsty Marauders wouldn't fall for such an obvious ploy, would they?

....................

Psion: Well why didn't you say so!? Today's been such a slog fest. COME ON LADS, LET'S GO SHAKE SOME LEGS!

The whole bridge is emptied as everyone rushes to the hangar for the "party." Must've been a long day for them. Tari gets on speaker to make the "announcement" to the rest of the crew.

Tari: Attention all hands! The captain has invited everyone to a party in the Hangar to celebrate our latest haul! Drinks, snacks, and activities are all on him, so go crazy!

Cheers can be heard all across the Ketch as the crew rushes off, which means the gang has the Bridge all to themselves as Tari excitedly deactivates the ship's defenses. She also sees it has a cloaking field around it and deactivates that as well, revealing the full size of the ship to the real world. A quick cutaway gag reveals that the Ketch was indeed roughly , much to the rest of the gang's surprise as both Luigi and Whimpu faint at the sight of such a massive vessel. SMG4 chimes in on the intercom to state the obvious

SMG4: Alright, guys! You're free to approach.

SMG3: Copy that. Give us a bit and we'll pick you up.

We switch back to the Ketch's bridge where we see Meggy, Melony, and Boopkins meet back up with SMG4 and a very excited Tari.

Meggy: Well, you certainly seem proud of yourself.

Tari: I know! I mean, I don't know why but I got this sudden RUSH of energy and then it all just came to me and now we have a clear shot to get out of here!

Meggy: I guess that means we won't be needing this anymore.

She takes out the makeshift contract and marks it as VOID, allowing them to return to their normal forms.

Melony: I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to miss my bunk.

Boopkins: Aw man. I had so much fun playing with the Shanks! They're so nice when you get to know them.

Mario: The food wasn't half bad either. I wonder if we can get their recipe before we leave.

SMG4: Alright, alright. Settle down guys. SMG3 is on his way so we just have to-

Melony: WATCH OUT!!!!

Melony jumps in front of SMG4 and brings up her shield just in time to deflect an oncoming fire bolt.

SMG4: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!? I THOUGHT THE DEFENSES WERE DISABLED!

Tari: They are!

The group looks up to see their new assailant. There stood an imposing figure clad in bandages and adorned with clockwork armor. Their eyes glowed red with a burning flame from behind his mask.

Mario: Oh hello! Did you know there's a party going on?

Meggy: Red...... I don't think he's interested in that right now.

Meggy draws her bowgun and unleashes a volley of frost ammo, but the figure intercepts with a pulse that deflects the oncoming projectiles and blasts into her body. She could literally hear some of her bones snapping like twigs as she's slamming into the ground. She lies unconscious on the floor as Mario rushes to her aid. Don't worry, she still has plot armor so she didn't die, but she DEFINITELY isn't getting back up from that.

An enraged Melony immediately enters Deity Mode and rushes the assailant. However, she finds herself frozen right as her blade was about to sever his head. The assailant pulls out a gear-shaped device and places it on Melony's eye. She screams as a jolt of energy courses through her and her armor changes shape.

Tari: MELONY!!!!

She is now clad from head to toe in a similar clockwork armor as she drops to the ground. Slowly rising to her feet, she unleashes a gutteral shriek.

Tari: M-Melony?

Melony turns to her friends, no longer realizing who she is. One of her gauntlets transforms into a clockwork cannon lance.

With a jesture of his hands, the stranger commands her to attack.

Chapter 10: Maritime Mayhem Finale

So........... things aren't looking too good.

Meggy is out of commission, Boopkins is shitting himself in the corner, and Melony was just turned into a rabid death machine. Mario uses a Power Star power-up to somewhat even the odds, along with Tari putting her training to good use, but Melony's new upgrades are giving them both a run for their money.

Tari: Melony, snap out of it! It's us, you're friends!

The only reply she gets is a series of rabbit grunts as Melony swipes wildly at Tari with her blade. Tari can just barely keep up with her Glaive. SMG4 opens fire with his Shock Rifle, but the Arc bolts merely bounce off her armor plating like rubber. It does get her attention though.

SMG4: Oh poop.

Melony revs up her Cannon Lance and unleashes a hail of projectiles across the bridge. SMG4 narrowly avoids getting turned into Swiss cheese as he ducks for cover. Mario takes a different approach, going straight for the stranger for hurting Meggy. Fireballs, ice blasts, hammers, chainsaws, a piano, he throws everything he has at the bastard. But the stranger always blinks out of the way, not even paying attention to him. He seems more interested in Tari more than anything. SMG4 looks on hopelessly as Tari and Melony clash once more.

SMG4: Dammit, Three! Where the hell are you!?

We briefly cut back to SMG3's ship, where we see him fiddling with the engine. It appears they're having engine troubles and are too preoccupied to notice SMG4 calling them.

Tari keeps trying to reason with Melony even as they're locking blades, but she can't get through to her. It's like Melony is a rabid animal lashing out at everything she sees. Mario is still having no luck with the stranger, who simply swats him aside. He lands right next to Tari.

Mario: Mama Mia. What's this guy's problem?

Tari looks towards her corrupted friend and remembers the stranger placing that strange device on her eye. That must be what's driving her crazy. She looks over to Boopkins, who is still cowering in the corner, and hatches an idea.

Tari: Mario, listen to me very carefully.

SMG4 sneaks over to Meggy, who is just barely conscious at this point. He tries to drag her to safety, but Melony blocks their path. SMG4 once again opens fire but she slices the shock rifle in half and seizes him by the throat. She aims straight for her chest and he closes his eyes in anticipation of a swift end. Just when all hope is lost.......

Mario: Hey stinky!

The two look over to see Mario holding Boopkins.

Mario: Boopkins wants to show you something!

Boopkins: Mario, what are you doing?! AAAHHHH.

Mario tosses Boopkins closer to Melony, who drops SMG4 and shifts her focus to a new target. She slowly approaches Boopkins, dragging her Cannon Lance across the ground. The stranger looks up in curiosity to see Tari flying above. He seems interested in what she has planned. Boopkins proceeds to show Melony a variety of Anime oriented media. Body pillows, figurines, bath water samples, he shows her everything.

Boopkins: A-and this is my favorite Korone Chan pen, and m-my Mori Calliope mouse pad, and my Kronii backpack.

Melony is not interested and rears up her blade.

Boopkins: W-WAIT, HERE'S SOMETHING YOU GOT ME LAST CHRISTMAS!!!!

In a last ditch effort, he pulls out an old comic of his. This actually gives Melony a pause. She recognizes this one. There's a special line of text that reads...........

"In loving memory of renowned manga artist Axol Leonardo Lotle."

Her weapon detaches from her arm as she gently takes the comic from Boopkins' hands. It's the final volume of Two Piece. It was then she remembered him. The time they spent together. The bed he got for her. The anime he made for her. The times he protected her innocence. The sacrifice he made for his friends.......... and the vow she made to protect them.

Axol: Thanks for the adventure.

It was then that Tari descended onto Melony.

Tari: Rule number four!

As Melony desperately tries to shake her off Tari clutches onto the device over her eye. With a mighty pull and a shout, she rips the device off of Melony's face. Tari falls onto her back and Melony falls onto her hands and knees. The stranger watches as tears begin to fall from her eyes and onto the shattered clockwork mask.

Melony: sobs..........sigh......pant......NGAAAH!

Having returned to her senses, Melony summons the Fierce Deity Sword and unleashes a wrathful torrent of energy slashes in the direction of the stranger. He merely summons a barrier and deflects each and every slash, leaving Melony exhausted. He raises his palm, and an orb of burning red energy coalesces into his palm. It seems as though he's gonna finish the job himself. Tari springs back to her feet and steps between Melony and the stranger right as he unleashes a blast of concentrated energy. A bright flash consumes the room. The stranger had expected them to be obliterated.

But that wasn't the case.

When the light faded, we see Tari holding the ball of energy. We see raw power coursing up her arm and across her chest as the ball changes from red to blue. The stranger was actually impressed. Most others would've been reduced to ash.

Clench: Hey asshole! You drop this?!

A defiant smile creeps across her face, and with a mighty yell she hurls the energy ball back at the stranger. A thunderous boom can be heard across the ship as a blinding light consumes the room.

In the next scene, Tari finds herself back aboard their own ship in a bunk. She gets up and wipes the sleep from her eyes.

Tari: Ugh...... what happened? Melony? Boopkins?

She sees Boopkins is right by her bunk.

Boopkins: Tari, you're awake! Oh thank goodness.

She gets to her feet right as Saiko enters the room.

Tari: Saiko?

Saiko: TARI!!!! Oh thank God you're okay!

She immediately rushes in and gives Tari a big hug. Tari reciprocates, but notices a commotion going on in the other room. The two head over to the other bedroom and see Meggy lying in a bunk as Whimpu takes a look at her injuries with SMG4 by his side. Melony and Mario are sitting on another bunk when they notice the three walk in.

Melony: Tari! Glad you're awake. How are you doing?

Tari: A little sore and in need of a tune up, but otherwise I'm doing good.

Mario: THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED! The guy was like WOOOOOM and you were like NOOOOOO and he was like PEW but then you were like NUH UH and he was like "huh" and you were like KABOOM! It was lots-a fun!

Whimpu and SMG4 continue to scan Meggy and gets an assessment of her condition.

Meggy: See?...... I'll be fine. Just....ngh a little roughed up, is all.

She actually seems to be doing pretty good for the most part despite the multiple compound and hairline fractures, shattered sternum, fractured skull, third degree burns on her chest, punctured lung, ruptured kidney, internal bleeding, and the fact that she most certainly has a severe concussion.

SMG4: Well....... at least her plot armor seems to be holding up.

Meggy: Yaaaaaaaayyyy.

He contacts SMG3 on the comms.

SMG4: Hey Three. How fare out are we from the Castle?

SMG3: About a mile out. The ginger still breathing?

SMG4: For the most part. We are out of painkillers, though.

SMG3: Alright. Just hold on tight and we'll be back home in time for linner. Three out.

Boopkins notices the marks surrounding Melony's bloodshot eye.

Boopkins: Hey, you should probably get something for that.

Melony: Oh, it's fine Boopkins. Whimpu already checked it out, said there wasn't any serious damage.

Belle enters the room alongside Kaizo.

Belle: We're about a minute out from the Castle.

SMG4: Mario, give me a hand.

Mario: Okie Dokie.

The two help Meggy sit up. She doesn't seem to be doing so hot anymore.

SMG4: Try to stay with us, okay?

Meggy: I make no promises.....

SMG4: I'm serious.

Meggy: Heh.... hi serious, NGH....I'm Meggy.

SMG4: Alright, on three. One, two, THREE!

Her body is racked with pain as Mario and SMG4 help her to her feet and out the door.

Mario: You're doing good Meggy!

Meggy: Thanks Red, I- UGH!!

SMG4: Woah, easy!

Meggy: COUGH KAF KAF COUGH ......Oh geez......

She spits out a lump of bloody snot as she begins fading in and out, much to Mario and SMG4's concern.

SMG4: We need to get going. Now.

The trio proceed on their way to the top deck as Meggy continues to cough up blood. It's gonna be a long day.

Chapter 11: Tender Love & Care

It's a relatively calm day in the Castle as Karen tidys up. You see, SMG3 made a deal with Karen that Depresso would babysit her kids if she agreed to upkeep the Castle while the Gang was gone.

Karen: I wonder how Clownie is doing....... Eh, I'm sure he'll be fine.

So far it's been going well.......... for Karen. A quick cutaway gag reveals Depresso stuck to the wall with duct tape. Katie is the only one actually trying to help him while Zack is busy playing Call of Duty and Cory is just spinning around in place.

Karen had just fed BEEG SMG4 when she notices SMG3 coming in through the front door.

SMG3: Honey! We're home!

Karen: Oh, hi Three. How was your trip? You all make it back alive?

SMG3: Just barely. Speaking of which, is the guest room open?

Karen: Of course. Why do you ask?

We see Tari and Melony rushing in.

Melony: SMG3, we need that guest room. Tari, you get the medical supplies from the Storage room.

Tari: On it!

Karen: Woah woah woah, what's going - GASP!!!!

Karen is shocked to see Mario and SMG4 carrying a barely conscious and bloody Meggy.

Karen: CHRIST ALMIGHTY, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?!?

SMG4: It's a long story.

Karen opens the guestroom and readies the bed as the three make their way in. They gently and carefully lay Meggy on the bed as Tari enters the room with an IV and some medical supplies.

Karen: Alright, set it up over here.

Back in the Main Hall, we see Whimpu and Melony going over Meggy's condition. Melony seems....... out of it. Everything is muffled and there's this ringing in her ears. She jumps when she feels Luigi touching her shoulder, snapping her out of her daze.

Luigi: Melony?

Melony: Oh, Luigi. It's just you.

Luigi: Is there something wrong?

Melony: Sorry, sorry. Zoned out for a bit there. It's just........ where do we even start?

Karen comes out of the guestroom to give an update.

Karen: I had Tari ready an IV for Meggy. That should help with the internal bleeding.

Luigi: I have more painkillers ready, and Mario is off to get some One-Ups from the garden.

Karen: Hold up! That much rapid healing with this many injuries could cause more complications. We don't wanna risk anything healing backwards or upside down.

Luigi: Oh. Okay.

Karen: We also need to dial back on the painkillers a bit until she's stable. She has a concussion, so we need to keep her awake for right now. Any more right now and she'll ABSOLUTELY black out.

Whimpu: You really do know your way around medicine.

Karen: You kinda have to when you're a single mom with four kids. Melony?

Melony: Hm?

Karen: I need you to hold her down while SMG4 realigns the bones and applies the sutures. Can you do that.

Melony: Yes ma'am.

Karen: Luigi, I need you to get the plaster ready for the casts.

Luigi: Okie Dokie.

Tari steps out while holding her left shoulder.

Tari: SMG4 is ready with the sutures.

Karen: Alright. I'm gonna look and see if anyone else needs some help.

Melony and Luigi go back into the Guest Room while Karen goes off to meet with SMG3. Saiko comes in and notices Tari headed for the bathroom. Once she's inside, Tari heads for the sink and takes a deep breath as she removes her jacket. The left side of her shirt is bloody. She winces as she removes her shirt and sees that her left shoulder is covered in burn marks that stretch across her chest and up her neck. That's when Saiko knocks on the door.

Saiko: You okay in there?

Tari opens the door a crack

Tari: Yeah I'm just getting changed.

Saiko: Tari....... I can see the blood. Let me help.

Now knowing she can't hide it, Tari reluctantly allows Saiko to enter. To say she was concerned about Tari's condition is an understatement.

Saiko: Jesus......

Tari: It's fine, really. I can handle it. You should be concerned about Meg-

Saiko suddenly pulls Tari into a hug, much to her surprise.

Saiko: I should've been there. I could've helped. I could've smashed that thing and kept it from taking you, I........ I'm sorry.

Tears begin to well up in Saiko's eyes. Seeing Tari hurt like this makes her wish that she had been there. Maybe things could've gone differently, maybe they wouldn't, but that doesn't matter right now to Tari. She gently wipes the tears from Saiko's face.

Tari: What matters is that you're here now.

Back in the Guest Room, Meggy is screaming her lungs out as Melony holds her still and SMG4 reinserts the last compound fracture. Mario holds her hand as tears stream down her face.

SMG4: And.........done!

Meggy: NGH.......AGH.......pant.......pant Okay.........Okay...........

Melony steps out of the way as SMG4 gets to work on the sutures. Meggy winces with every pull of thread.

Meggy: Hey Mario. You wanna play Super Smash Each Other In The Ass Bros after this?

Mario: Meggy, I don't think-

SMG4: No, that's good! Mario, keep her engaged while I finish up here.

While SMG4 finishes with the sutures as Meggy and Mario are talking, Melony's leans against the wall holding herself. Luigi comes in with a tub of casting plaster.

Luigi: Plaster is ready. You sure you don't want any painkillers?

Meggy: Yep. Doc said my brain is bleeding, remember?

Luigi: Whimpu never said that! He said you had a concussion!

Meggy: Eh, Tomato Miyamoto.

SMG4: That's not how it goes, but she's right. She needs to stay awake, and if she takes anything right now it could be lights out. Melony, I'm gonna need you to hold her still again...... Melony?....... MELONY.

Melony: Oh, right! On it.

She places her hands on Meggy as Luigi readies the plaster.

Meggy: Bring it on, doc!

Luigi: Okay, here it goes.

Kaizo is entering the Main Hall when he hears the screaming. Meggy tightens her grip on Mario's hand and Meggy's shoulder as Luigi applies the cast. Mario keeps trying to pep talk Meggy as Melony holds her.

Mario: It's okay Meggy! Just think about video games and Ramen!

Luigi: Keep her still, I think I got it!

Melony keeps mentally repeating "I can do this" as the noise gets louder, but even that's getting drowned out. Meggy's screaming, Mario and Luigi's yelling, the increasing grip pressure on her shoulder, it's beginning to overwhelm her. It's too much as her breathing gets faster and faster as she can hear her heart beating in her ears. That's when SMG4 gives her a light tap on the shoulder.

SMG4: Alright, Melony. You can-

It's too much. Without warning, she jumps back and backs herself against the wall, hyperventilating as she holds her head and begins to tear up.

SMG4: Melony?

Kaizo is caught off guard as Melony rushes out of the Guest Room, right past him, and straight into the Storage Room before shutting the door. Everybody is shocked, unsure what to make of what just happened as Kaizo enters the Guest Room.

Kaizo: So, um......... is the ginger still alive?

Meggy takes a deep breath as the pain subsides for a moment.

Meggy: Yeah........ I'm good.......... But I think Melony..........

Kaizo: I saw. I'll look into it. Also, the cat said that you should be good to start on painkillers again. Keep it to small doses, though.

Meggy: Yaaaaaaaaaaayyyy.

SMG4: Thank's, Kaizo. We have things covered here.

In the Storage Room we see Melony curled up into a ball and quietly sobbing in the corner as the door creeks open. She doesn't even acknowledge Kaizo standing right beside her.

Kaizo: Hey......... can you talk to me?

She shakes her head. Kaizo notices red splotches seeping out from under the clockwork armor. She's been wearing it since they had escaped the Ketch. He kneels down and keeps his voice low.

Kaizo: Look. I know I'm not too good with this whole "comfort" thing, but I can see that you're hurt. And I want to help.

She slowly meets his gaze.

Kaizo: So......... what do you need?

She waits a moment before signing "Take it off, slowly" before raising her arm to him.

Kaizo: Alright.

She winces as Kaizo gently removes the gauntlet, revealing a pattern of circuit shaped wounds underneath. The arm and armor are both covered in blood.

Kaizo: Damn........ is the rest of it like this?

She nods, signing "I wanted to make sure she was okay first". Kaizo takes a deep breath.

Kaizo: Alright......... let's get the rest of this junk off of you so you can wash off.

Tari and Saiko exit the bathroom, with Tari's arm and chest wrapped in bandages. They see Kaizo exiting the Storage Room with Melony, now bereft of that armor and covered with a blanket.

Tari: Melony?! Oh my God what happened?!

Kaizo: She........ had a bit of an emergency. Don't worry, it's all under control now.

Melony signs "he actually helped out a lot" with a smile.

Tari: Is there anything we can do to help?

Kaizo: Yeah. Is the Bath Room open? Because she is in desperate need of a bath.

Tari: Sure thing! C'mon Melony, let's get you cleaned up.

Melony signs "thank you" to Kaizo as Tari escorts her to the Bath Room. He notices Saiko smiling too.

Kaizo: What?

Saiko: Nothing. C'mon, let's go check in on Meggy.

They both head over to the Guest Room. Judging by the lack of screaming, they're done with applying the casts. They've also started on painkillers judging by the copious amounts of giggling. In the room we see Mario sitting beside her on the bed, letting her rest her head on his shoulder while they watch meme compilations on his phone. We see Karen and SMG3 talking with SMG4 and Luigi, with Karen handing SMG4 a jar of green liquid.

Karen: This is a diluted extract from the One-Ups Mario gathered. Put an ounce of this in her IV once per day and once per night. If all goes well, she'll be back on her feet in two weeks.

SMG4: Understood.

Kaizo and Saiko enter the room.

Saiko: Everybody still alive?

Luigi: Alive and well! Say, where's Tari and Melony.

Saiko: Kaizo helped Melony out with her armor and Tari is helping her clean up.

Saiko didn't say it directly, but she was proud of Kaizo. Those kindness lessons were really paying off.

Kaizo: How's the shortstack?

Karen: Well, we got everything patched up the best we can for right now. I'm having someone come over to help monitor. I gotta head back home and make sure my kids haven't killed Mr. Depresso.

SMG3: Thanks for everything, Karen. We all owe you one.

As Melony steps out of the shower and Tari helps dry her off, a knocking on the front door can me heard. They head over to the front door and Tari is surprised to see.........

Tari: Whisk!?

Whisk: Hey guys. My mom called and said you needed some help.

Tari excitedly welcomes her inside. We zoom out from the Castle as Whisk is introduced to the rest of the gang.

Tari: Guys, look!

Karen: Hey Whisky, glad you could make it.

Luigi: Whisky?

Whisk: Mom, I told you not to call me that in front of others!

Meggy: MOM!?

Karen: Oh, so you've met my daughter.

Tari: Wait, Whisk is your daughter?

Meggy: Karen's your mom!?

Mario: And I'm-a Mario!

SMG4: MARIO!

This goes on for the rest of the night.

#smg4 fanfic #smg4 au #smg4 #smg4 tari #Nexus!AU

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