They varied. Some were like small bugs, some were like weird fused rats, some were like giant flying worms with teeth.
...we did. Normally only girls got magic there for some reason, but we were the first boys in history to get it too. So it was like...a whole Big Thing. We had to train for like three months together before they would even let us go out at all.
Sounds pretty weird. But that...explains why you were talking about what happened to your hand as if it was something from a while ago. And it also sounds like a pretty big historical event if you were the first guys to have powers.
[ give him a second to stare out at the water as he thinks. ]
So what then? You were out fighting monsters after that to protect the city?
For about six months, yes. It was...a lot like what I used to do back home, before everything was ruined.
That last night, though, monsters broke through the inner barriers--the last defense against them for most people--and started attacking our friends and families.
Was that good or bad for you? [ he's genuinely asking because sometimes it's nice to have something familiar, and sometimes it actually sucks when it's something you do not have any longer. ]
How'd the monsters get through? What'd you guys do? [ ... ] I'm going to take a guess that those people couldn't fight back either.
At the time, I didn't remember having any other life. I was just happy to save people and help my parents with their work. In hindsight... [ he doesn't say anything, but he does hunch over in his sitting position a little with a weary sigh ]
...that inner barrier isn't very strong. Any monster can break through it if given enough time and opportunity, and these ones did, I guess. They could defend themselves a little--Tama was there, she was beating one with a lamp, I think, and my dad had a flamethrower--but only magic could kill them. So they could hold them off if they were lucky, but it's a waiting game unless someone with magic deals the final blow.
[ ...he reaches over to pat him on the shoulder. yeah. he can kind of guess.
so he does not press on that and focuses on the monsters instead. ]
You'd think as the last line of defense it'd be stronger, but if there are other barriers outside maybe they didn't think it had to be. And I mean...our barrier at camp sometimes is weak, too, so maybe anything can be busted with enough time and coordination. Sounds like our monsters, too. Only certain types of materials can really hurt and kill them in the longrun, even if mortals can use other items to hold them off for a bit. That happened back in the Battle of Manhattan.
[ but moving on. ] So Tama and your dad and others were holding these guys off until you came in to fight. Were they okay when you got there...?
No, it was more like three separate attacks. We all lived in different places and split up to take care of the monsters near our homes. Ryuki's family was alright because Tama lived nearby and used to be a magical girl--she couldn't finish them off anymore, but she knew how to handle them. My family wasn't too bad off because my parents had weapons to hold them off until I could take them out.
[ they can talk about that later, right now he's more interested in this. also it finally occurred to me that this was probably inspired by sleepless domain. anyhow. ]
Makes sense. Take care of your own territory first to protect your home. How do you just...stop being a magical girl? Having an expert is better than nothing at least. And at least your parents could fight back long enough. Makes it a little less worrying about not getting there in time.
[ and then he registers that and his reflexive thought that doesn't get thoughtshared is "why was i there." ]
...man. Even in other people's adventures monsters still wanna kill me. [ a dumb joke. ] ...hence monsters trying to eat me like plankton or whatever, I assume.
[ ty i was so fucking excited when i realized i was on a cyoa for a canon i actually knew ]
It just...happens. Every single one loses their powers by 18 or so. Maybe we would've too, but we were kind of already in uncharted territory.
[ he huffs a lil laugh at the dumb joke tho ] I guess so. Thankfully Ryuki and I got there in time and you could get out, but...it was closer than I'd have liked.
[ i'm so glad, that's the best. makes a note to read this later
he thinks it is maybe unfair to lose power at 18, but he also kind of goes "well i guess if you live that long that is always a possibility in some places." demigods aren't always known for their longevity. ]
I think being the first magical boys or whatever probably changed things. Also Ryuki's, like, old already as it is. [ be nice to ryuki. but with that he does tilt his head curiously, watching him briefly. ] Guess this is the part where I say thanks for the assist. Were you that worried?
Thaaat's even weirder. [ because that means albedo had to have been even younger which also doesn't track to him. but, well, then again what does he know? he spent an entire cyoa as an animal crossing wolf.
but to that other point, he's taking that into consideration. it's weird to think about a version of himself that can't defend himself, because he's always kind of had to for the last five years. it's not like he always had people who could come and rescue him. so to hear this, he's both a little curious and a little weirdly envious in a way he can't explain before he flicks the thought into his mental recycling bin. ]
...then I guess I have my answer. [ mm. ] But we all got out because you came in time. That's the good thing. [ is it weird to say thanks for rescuing a version of me that's not actually me? wait, i already said thanks. gods, whatever. ]
I don't know. I want to say maybe yes, because those are still people you saved. On the other hand, I want to say no because you're very obviously yourself and you're here and not there. [ and everyone they left behind in their own adventure is not something he wants to think about either. ]
...I think it's complicated to think about when all we can really do is think about ourselves and the world we're actually in. If we worry too much about places we left behind and won't be going back to...makes it harder to move forward. But I might not be the best person to ask either.
Might be part of why I'm saying that, yes. [ don't just respond to people's thoughts, you lunatic. ] But I don't think it's bad of you to be thinking about it. I'd be a pretty big hypocrite if I said you have to move on from stuff immediately.
[ --oh i thought that text was calling ME out for danny responding to nico's thoughts and i was like BITCH WHERE, THERE WERE NO THOUGHTS FOR DANNY TO RESPOND TO ANYWAY, before i realized you were chastising your own character
well danny would do the same if nico had thoughts for him to respond to, so. he doesn't mind. instead he just keeps looking out over the ocean. ]
anyway it's fine. they can sit here and stare at the ocean and have to acknowledge that life is a nightmare, i guess. except, no, nico chooses to make this maybe a little weirder and continues talking. ]
...either way. Even if those worlds weren't real, what you were doing in them was since you were making those choices yourself. So that probably says more about you than you think.
That version of me was--he still had his family and friends. He hadn't become a ghost. He'd never hurt anyone. I was acting more like...the real Danny Fenton. The one I haven't been in years.
How can it say something about me when I was hardly me in the first place?
Dunno. Who exactly is the real Danny Fenton? You had the capacity to be that person once. What makes you think you couldn't again in the right circumstances?
[ he sort of makes a face because he can guess this is about vlad, and he does not like the idea of there being an obsessive power-hungry dude floating around and also being half of this danny. but of course there's the rest. ]
...I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Nimona a while ago. Just because you're made up a certain way and people have pushed you to do certain things doesn't mean you can't change who you are and what you want to be. So the base components of you aren't the same as that other Danny Fenton. So what? Why does he get to be the "real" Danny when you are just a Danny who has experienced things differently?
[ he looks at the sky briefly. ] It's sort of something I said to my friend Piper, too. You're really not just one thing forever. Maybe today you're feeling like half a Fenton because you don't think it's the same thing. But tomorrow maybe you're feeling like you are Danny Fenton who's living a different path than you started out on.
[ danny's fist clenches in the sand. ] That would be a nice idea, wouldn't it? But I've strayed too far off any path that Danny Fenton could ever belong to.
[ The annual Feast of St. Anthony in Portugal features a parade of giant sardines made of paper and plastic.
Danny abruptly stands. ]
You're...a really good person, Nico.
[ and then he speedwalks off the beach lol!!! sorry! ]
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...we did. Normally only girls got magic there for some reason, but we were the first boys in history to get it too. So it was like...a whole Big Thing. We had to train for like three months together before they would even let us go out at all.
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[ give him a second to stare out at the water as he thinks. ]
So what then? You were out fighting monsters after that to protect the city?
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That last night, though, monsters broke through the inner barriers--the last defense against them for most people--and started attacking our friends and families.
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How'd the monsters get through? What'd you guys do? [ ... ] I'm going to take a guess that those people couldn't fight back either.
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...that inner barrier isn't very strong. Any monster can break through it if given enough time and opportunity, and these ones did, I guess. They could defend themselves a little--Tama was there, she was beating one with a lamp, I think, and my dad had a flamethrower--but only magic could kill them. So they could hold them off if they were lucky, but it's a waiting game unless someone with magic deals the final blow.
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so he does not press on that and focuses on the monsters instead. ]
You'd think as the last line of defense it'd be stronger, but if there are other barriers outside maybe they didn't think it had to be. And I mean...our barrier at camp sometimes is weak, too, so maybe anything can be busted with enough time and coordination. Sounds like our monsters, too. Only certain types of materials can really hurt and kill them in the longrun, even if mortals can use other items to hold them off for a bit. That happened back in the Battle of Manhattan.
[ but moving on. ] So Tama and your dad and others were holding these guys off until you came in to fight. Were they okay when you got there...?
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No, it was more like three separate attacks. We all lived in different places and split up to take care of the monsters near our homes. Ryuki's family was alright because Tama lived nearby and used to be a magical girl--she couldn't finish them off anymore, but she knew how to handle them. My family wasn't too bad off because my parents had weapons to hold them off until I could take them out.
...then one broke right into your room.
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Makes sense. Take care of your own territory first to protect your home. How do you just...stop being a magical girl? Having an expert is better than nothing at least. And at least your parents could fight back long enough. Makes it a little less worrying about not getting there in time.
[ and then he registers that and his reflexive thought that doesn't get thoughtshared is "why was i there." ]
...man. Even in other people's adventures monsters still wanna kill me. [ a dumb joke. ] ...hence monsters trying to eat me like plankton or whatever, I assume.
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It just...happens. Every single one loses their powers by 18 or so. Maybe we would've too, but we were kind of already in uncharted territory.
[ he huffs a lil laugh at the dumb joke tho ] I guess so. Thankfully Ryuki and I got there in time and you could get out, but...it was closer than I'd have liked.
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he thinks it is maybe unfair to lose power at 18, but he also kind of goes "well i guess if you live that long that is always a possibility in some places." demigods aren't always known for their longevity. ]
I think being the first magical boys or whatever probably changed things. Also Ryuki's, like, old already as it is. [ be nice to ryuki. but with that he does tilt his head curiously, watching him briefly. ] Guess this is the part where I say thanks for the assist. Were you that worried?
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...you were a close friend of mine. To the version of me that had always lived there. And you didn't have the kind of defenses that my family did.
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but to that other point, he's taking that into consideration. it's weird to think about a version of himself that can't defend himself, because he's always kind of had to for the last five years. it's not like he always had people who could come and rescue him. so to hear this, he's both a little curious and a little weirdly envious in a way he can't explain before he flicks the thought into his mental recycling bin. ]
...then I guess I have my answer. [ mm. ] But we all got out because you came in time. That's the good thing. [ is it weird to say thanks for rescuing a version of me that's not actually me? wait, i already said thanks. gods, whatever. ]
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Well, do you?
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Do you think everyone there keeps existing once we leave?
I wasn't myself when I was there.
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I don't know. I want to say maybe yes, because those are still people you saved. On the other hand, I want to say no because you're very obviously yourself and you're here and not there. [ and everyone they left behind in their own adventure is not something he wants to think about either. ]
...I think it's complicated to think about when all we can really do is think about ourselves and the world we're actually in. If we worry too much about places we left behind and won't be going back to...makes it harder to move forward. But I might not be the best person to ask either.
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Might be part of why I'm saying that, yes. [ don't just respond to people's thoughts, you lunatic. ] But I don't think it's bad of you to be thinking about it. I'd be a pretty big hypocrite if I said you have to move on from stuff immediately.
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well danny would do the same if nico had thoughts for him to respond to, so. he doesn't mind. instead he just keeps looking out over the ocean. ]
Mmmm.
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anyway it's fine. they can sit here and stare at the ocean and have to acknowledge that life is a nightmare, i guess. except, no, nico chooses to make this maybe a little weirder and continues talking. ]
...either way. Even if those worlds weren't real, what you were doing in them was since you were making those choices yourself. So that probably says more about you than you think.
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That version of me was--he still had his family and friends. He hadn't become a ghost. He'd never hurt anyone. I was acting more like...the real Danny Fenton. The one I haven't been in years.
How can it say something about me when I was hardly me in the first place?
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Dunno. Who exactly is the real Danny Fenton? You had the capacity to be that person once. What makes you think you couldn't again in the right circumstances?
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[ quieter, with less sarcasm: ] The base components aren't the same.
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...I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Nimona a while ago. Just because you're made up a certain way and people have pushed you to do certain things doesn't mean you can't change who you are and what you want to be. So the base components of you aren't the same as that other Danny Fenton. So what? Why does he get to be the "real" Danny when you are just a Danny who has experienced things differently?
[ he looks at the sky briefly. ] It's sort of something I said to my friend Piper, too. You're really not just one thing forever. Maybe today you're feeling like half a Fenton because you don't think it's the same thing. But tomorrow maybe you're feeling like you are Danny Fenton who's living a different path than you started out on.
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[ The annual Feast of St. Anthony in Portugal features a parade of giant sardines made of paper and plastic.
Danny abruptly stands. ]
You're...a really good person, Nico.
[ and then he speedwalks off the beach lol!!! sorry! ]
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