thefifthchild | Labyrinthium Inbox

[ From the username NIGHTWING comes this:

There's no accompanying text or anything this time around, but he is getting a photo of Gumshoe next to his Blue Badger snow sculpture.

The man is clearly in the middle of saying GOUDA! instead of CHEESE! ]

I see you've made a friend.

[The Blue Badger is pretty funny looking to be fair.]

Yeah, and I've met a detective.

[ this joke. ]

And apparently a guy in a trench coat too.

[Sorry Gumshoe but also not.]

Now it sounds like YOU made a friend.

I don't need friends, they disappoint me.

[The reference is intentional. It's also true.]

The detective in the trench coat is in desperate need of better training if he hopes to improve at his job. I've undertaken the responsibility.

There's other people of interest I've made note of.

He did imply that he was bad at his job.

I know you met Red Queen.

She seems competent. I suggested she collaborate with you over her idea to create a standing defense team - given your own experience with leading such endeavors.

[And his own failures in that regard.]

What's your assessment?

[ u__u my guy ]

It was weirdly relieving, meeting someone like us—just from another reality. Almost normal.

She checks out so far. Smart. Reliable. Brave. She's either genuine or knows exactly what to say to other vigilantes, and for the moment I'm okay with that.

[ he's not about to unmask himself, buuuuut. ]

There's also Katsuki Bakugou. I think he can be relied on in a fight, but he's greener than Beast Boy and seems to be a corporate sell-out.

[That's probably unfair but also he's still irritated by their arguments on the subject so he's decided to be harsh.]

Also he's a an irritable prideful prick. And that's coming from me.

She says she's been a teacher and a pirate. I wouldn't be surprised if the answer is both.

Someone's gotta teach the pirates.

Katsuki... is that Dynamight? Explosion powers, but he didn't have them when he got here? If it's the same guy, I had a pretty solid chat with him.

Edited (i changed my mind WHEEZES) 2023-02-24 00:20 (UTC)

[Breezing past the dumb joke because he's learned to tune it out.]

Guess he's a suck-up too.

What's your verdict?

Acts tough. Probably for a reason. The kind of character who is more insightful than he seems, considering his rough speech. Since most people have powers in his reality, it seems to me that not having them suddenly would have been rough. We're all out of our element, but some more than others.

Sounds like they have classes full of super kids. It'd be more surprising than anything if there weren't superhero schools there. Sounds like there's a hero he thinks highly of. That's usually a good sign.

Decent kid.

[ tl;dr he agrees on likely reliable. ]

I've met the snow version of his hero, yes.

Reminds me of Superman. Clark mainly, but I guess Jon as well. He's annoyingly cheerful. You'd like him.

[He begrudgingly admits to the Jon part because the sight of All Might makes him want to hurl - why's he always smiling like that? - but yeah, it's a similar impression.]

I don't know about insightful. He's extremely naïve. But I suppose he'll learn the hard way, the same as the rest of us. He shows potential, and as a hero he cares enough about helping people that he feels the need to lecture me about both doing that and the power of friendship, as if I haven't heard the exact same speech from you, Father, Stephanie, Jason and even Ravager of all people, to varying levels of staggering hypocrisy.

Irrelevant tangent aside. I agree with your assessment, largely. I don't particularly like him, but as a hero he seems competent enough that I'm willing to put up with him for now.

Have you met Azula? She's more of an active concern as far as I'm concerned.

[ He can't help it. Parts of that message get a grin out of him.

But, more importantly: ]

No, she's not one I've met yet. Tell me about her.

She's the princess of the "Fire Nation", which is battling the geniuses behind "Central City" for the worst named location in the multiverse. Conquered a city at age 14, and delivered it to her father who was pursuing world conquest under the Fire Nation's banners. She's ruthless, intelligent, skilled, cunning.

I don't believe she's outright dangerous so much as... motivated by self interest. And she's definitely a cruel person. I told her about R'as Al-Ghul and she approved of his plans of world domination and genocide, and seemed to take the fact that I'd disavowed him as a personal slight.

[He... falters at this part. The real root of the problem.]

She reminds me of myself.

[I want to help her goes unsaid.]

Edited 2023-02-25 13:26 (UTC)

[ Ahh. He thinks he gets it. ]

Alright. I'll keep an eye out for her. I trust your judgement and...

[ He will help you. That's what he means by it. ]

There's always something deeper behind people like that. Or if there wasn't before, there could be now.

Your assistance in this matter would be.

[Help, what wouldn't his dad say.]

Valued.

[Uh. Sure.]

I think so as well. I don't imagine she'll make it easy, though.

[ NAILED IT... ]

Oh, I'm used to that. [ pointed. ] Besides, if it was easy... it wouldn't matter as much.

Yes, I've heard how much of a handful Tim was. [Tossing him under the bus.]

This whole family is a pack of menaces. I wouldn't have it any other way but I do get to say it.

As your Robin and the designated expert on the subject, I should point out you're just as bad.

Hey.

Actually, doesn't that just mean that I fit in?

I can't tell if I'm offended or proud.

[ maybe a suitable pinch of offended and a lot of proud? ]

[ a considerable amount of time has passed yet freyja still felt no different than how she did after waking up from that nightmare.

the mere idea of setting foot in town scares her. even if supposedly death works differently here, no one would ever forget about it, not especially freyja herself. she could still remember every horrified scream, how the blood tasted in her mouth and how soothing it tasted as she quenches her desire to lash out in anger. just thinking about it makes her stomach drop; there's no way she could visit the town after losing control like that.

so she retreats in her home or in deserted places like the forest. it's safer there, and she could play her music as loud as she wants.

freyja sits on top of a tree branch, she has her beloved player on speaker mode, she's staring mutedly at a hologram of a rock band that came 20 years before her time. fire bomber is one of her inspirations since she was a kid, how their music speak against violence by advocating empathy. for the longest time, their songs helped distract her from the horrors of the war between the earthlings against her people; it gave her hope that one day people would find it in them to understand one another.

"love will save your heart," the lead singer, a man with gravity defying hair, gently sings as he smiles to the camera. "the honest eyes sketching dreams." the melody is sweet and gentle despite the band's anti-authority aesthetic. ]

But is it too late...

[ her voice is low but audible enough for anyone to hear in close range. ]

[Damian isn't far away from her. He'd been scouting the woods to see if anybody else had turned up - it's become part of his routine since his s - since Batgirl appeared.

But he stops to listen to the music when he hears it. He doesn't want to interrupt her. These moments are something he understands well - when dealing with the aftermath of the blood on your hands. Damian dealt with his by digging graves until he fell unconscious.

He listens to the end. And her question echoes the one echoing around his head.

Is it too late?]

Of course not.

[For you, at least.]

[ freyja nearly drops her player when she hears a familiar voice speaks up. it seemed like she was so caught up by her own thoughts that she didn't pick up the sound of footsteps.

"love will save this worldー" the music is cut off short as the hologram fades away. freyja turns around to put on a half-hearted smile at the other teen, her rune flashes blue. she isn't sure if damian has heard what she was saying before, or at least, she hoped he wasn't. it was better this way, she still doesn't know how to talk to people, much less about last month. ]

And here I thought I was by myself here. Didja come to feel the wind here, too?

[ her legs start to swing anxiously, as if she's ready to jump and run off at any given minute. ]

[He shakes his head. He's aware that he startled her, he can't quite help it. At least she didn't fall off. He jumps off his own branch and latches onto the tree she's sitting on, climbing up beside her.]

I found my... sister around here a while ago. [She wasn't his sister by the point she remembers, but that's what she is. Even if she wasn't... well, Shiva trained him since he was little, so that's another complicating factor.] I've added it to my patrol route.

[She glances down at her.]

...Are you okay? [There's a beat of about half a second before he continues...] Stupid question, I know but...

[ she files the mention of a sister for another time as she grows silent from his question. the more freyja blinks, the more watery her eyes feel.

before she answers him, she brings up her bandaged hand to wipe away the tears. ]

Remember when I talked about the Var Syndrome in the app? I guess the whole werewolf thing got me thinking 'bout it.

[ the similarities between both conditions hadn't gone unnoticed to her, between the uncontrolled aggression and the physical effects. the possible body count.

It wasn't like I never thought about how people felt after they realized what their body forced them to do because of mind control. It's- It's a lot to take when you experience it at first hand.

[ her eyes flicker back to her music player, absent-mindedly rubbing the aged electronic. her rune starts to pale until there's no color left. ]

I can't go back to town any more.

[ With no pre-empting or explanation from the curiously absent Rika, Keroro appears in Damian's front yard and promptly sets up shop. ]

[Since this is shortly after his brother disappeared, Damian simply holds Keroro and pets him gently, feeling jealous of his lack of comprehension when it comes to grief.]

Labyrinthium Inbox

POST-SNOWMAN adventures.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

millions of years late... backdated before sleepr

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

post rika drop!

no subject