GENKI SILENT PROTAG. She'll probably strong-arm you into doing something ridiculous, and do so with the cutest smile on earth. She might also poke you with a naginata if you're a punk.
THE SASSY PROTAG. a phantom thief with a heart of gold. lives rebelliously and without regrets, though spends most of his time feigning a very unassuming persona. #nailedit
A true sunshine protagonist. Country bumpkin, slow on the uptake. Wants to be everyone's friend. Swordian Master of fire, incredibly hot-blooded. A GOOD BEAN. Please love him. He's my favorite and I am biased.
The original fabulous Tales science lady. Probably wants to dissect you pretty shamelessly. Loves and adores cute things. Inventor of the Swordians. Definitely the definition of Mad Scientist.
[it's pretty hard to miss, since it looms pretty closely overhead; it's not directly over their base right now—but it's in view for a reason.]
That's the aerial city of Dycroft. And it's ruler, Miktran, hoo... he's a real jerk if I've ever met one!
[no, there's more to this story, so harold actually sobers up a bit and cools her theatrics.]
That's where I'm from, but we left that place behind a long time ago, since we couldn't agree with what he wants. He wants Dycroft and the other Aerial cities to be all that's left. The Aetherians don't care about what's happening here.
They're a huge thing attached to Dycroft, it's called Belcrant and when it fires... it takes earth up into the sky to fortify their land. The more it fires, the worse it gets. Cities are destroyed, and the earth is falling apart. If we let this keep going, the whole planet will be ruined... the Aether lands will cover our sky, blocking out the sun and leaving everyone on this planet to die while they prosper.
[it's a huge issue.]
They have technology that can't be matched here... aside from what I can do. We don't have the resources, so this is basically our last stand. If we're going to take down Miktran, this will be our only opportunity to do it.
[Holy shit?! THIS IS SOME WILD LORE. Kashuu's expression shifts as she explains, jumping from confusion to understanding to displeasure. Not shock, though - of course not. As a tool of war, he absolutely understands that people can be cruel to each other. That people are mowed down all the time for reasons like greed or power or even "just because".
Still, this is definitely the first time he's ever heard of-- well, any of this. There are no aerial cities where he comes from. The threat their world faces comes in the form of the past being altered, not of what remains in the present being wiped out by rude punks who refuse to share the sun.]
Why? [Isn't that always the question?] Why does that guy hate this place that much? It's not like they're doing anything to those guys up in the sky, right? Do they just think these people are worth less or something?
[Another concept he's greatly familiar with, but still. It's a shame it's one that lasts between time and worlds.]
Pretty much! He's just an egotistical jerk who thinks his people are better than the ones here on the ground. That's why me and aniki left to fight down here!
[oh.
she admits it so casually, that she's from that place.]
That good-for-nothing Miktran thinks he's a god and not a king, but he'll get it coming to him! He thinks they've got the best technology... and maybe they do. But they lost their most productive genius, and that's going to bite him right in the keister in the end.
[at least harold says that confidently enough. this may be their last stand, but she's damn confident in her ability to succeed.
her ego is much less of a threat to the greater populace, even though it's absolutely a thing that exists.]
[ON THE PLUS SIDE because she already endeared herself to him in like .5 seconds by having great aesthetic because he's a Moron, he's got nothing bad to say about this big ol' ego. Clearly it's just confidence and not egotism!!]
Huh... So you're going like, directly against him. Like - the kinda thing where you see headlines like "one of his people spearheading the revolt", yeah?
[Honestly, it sounds like a setup for either an even sweeter victory or some sort of historical tragedy. He hopes he isn't around to see the outcome, though it's not because he shies away from war so much as shying away from any attachment toward weird worlds he accidentally tumbles his way into. He'll have to leave sooner rather than later, after all...
Even if apparently they're both okay with taking a few minutes out of War Dealings for manicures.]
—Y'know, it's even more impressive you look so cute if you're dealing with all of this on top of like, the usual war stuff.
[The usual war stuff being the whole... death dying mass famines sickness across the lands thing. Shouldering this kind of duty can't be easy; he tends to freeze up a bit even in the position of a captain.]
[it's fine, kashuu. she hums in response to his first question; it's pretty much just like that. she and karell are aestherians, after all. they're basically traitors, but they fight for the right side. it's better to fight and die for the side of the war that is morally correct than support an egotistical maniac just because that's where she's from.
fuck that.
she's not into it at all, so she'll gloss over that as she takes kashuu's hand to start fussing with them for the manicure proper. it's going to be great? he'll be aesthetic and bright? she can fuss about them, since atwight doesn't usually let her do these things.]
I'm pretty impressive! Just because there's a war and I have a ton of work to do doesn't mean I should sacrifice looking so cute! One thing has nothing to do with the others, as long as you're willing to put in a little effort!
[kashuu's not wrong. war is terrible and she doesn't blame anyone else for giving up on that stuff in times like these. she just refuses to concede at all costs, because that's part of what makes her who she is. she can't give that up!]
[Manicures are a great way to drain tension out of a room (if you like them as much as this nerd, anyway) and he immediately looks more at ease. War is awful, but taking the time out to do things like this is pretty dang important for various reasons. That's something he could absolutely agree with.]
That's a good thing, anyway! I mean, once you win and all, you'll have your picture stuck in every history book, yeah? So it's waaay better if all the pictures people remember you by are the super cute ones.
[A SAGE NOD... Who wants to be remembered by a bad historical portrait?? No one who understands the importance of a fresh and fantastic set of nails, he's sure.]
[WHY IS SHE SAYING ANY OF THIS LIKE IT'S OBVIOUS. Once again, Kashuu is completely lost and giving her a look that says as much. Help him, Harold, he has no idea what's happening...]
What are you trying to fool 'em for? Especially if you're still going for fame and all.
[so... sings-songy, as she pulls his hand up to blow lightly on his nails. she's been too busy inventing important swords to build a lens-powered nail dryer. she'll get there one day though, probably.]
I already know I'll be a legend, so why not have fun with it?
Right, right! And worrying about everything all the time makes humans die faster anyway, I think.
[BLUNTLY but also not exactly untrue... He's seen plenty of people torn to pieces by war and left completely unable to build themselves back up, and those are the ones who never last long. It's tragic, certainly - and exactly why he'd rather see people like Harold around, who know when to buckle down and get to work but aren't afraid to live a little, too.]
You've got that right. It's a lot better to just enjoy life in the ways you can!
[it's not untrue, and she knows it. but she's long since turned off most of her feelings—her brother is her only weak point, and even that, she'd be hard-pressed to really admit.]
Life's too finite to worry about everything all the time. ♪
I know a lot of people who worry all the time exactly 'cause of that, too...
[There's an unspoken 'humans are weird' sentiment here, but Kashuu refocuses his attention on his nails a second later instead of addressing it more directly.]
You should come visit sometime! There are tooons of swords in my army that don't understand how important it is to look cute. Maybe you could get it through their thick skulls instead of me.
[As if that wouldn't threaten to tear reality apart at the seams IT'S FINE. All's fair in love, war, and time/space travel.]
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[it's pretty hard to miss, since it looms pretty closely overhead; it's not directly over their base right now—but it's in view for a reason.]
That's the aerial city of Dycroft. And it's ruler, Miktran, hoo... he's a real jerk if I've ever met one!
[no, there's more to this story, so harold actually sobers up a bit and cools her theatrics.]
That's where I'm from, but we left that place behind a long time ago, since we couldn't agree with what he wants. He wants Dycroft and the other Aerial cities to be all that's left. The Aetherians don't care about what's happening here.
They're a huge thing attached to Dycroft, it's called Belcrant and when it fires... it takes earth up into the sky to fortify their land. The more it fires, the worse it gets. Cities are destroyed, and the earth is falling apart. If we let this keep going, the whole planet will be ruined... the Aether lands will cover our sky, blocking out the sun and leaving everyone on this planet to die while they prosper.
[it's a huge issue.]
They have technology that can't be matched here... aside from what I can do. We don't have the resources, so this is basically our last stand. If we're going to take down Miktran, this will be our only opportunity to do it.
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Still, this is definitely the first time he's ever heard of-- well, any of this. There are no aerial cities where he comes from. The threat their world faces comes in the form of the past being altered, not of what remains in the present being wiped out by rude punks who refuse to share the sun.]
Why? [Isn't that always the question?] Why does that guy hate this place that much? It's not like they're doing anything to those guys up in the sky, right? Do they just think these people are worth less or something?
[Another concept he's greatly familiar with, but still. It's a shame it's one that lasts between time and worlds.]
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[oh.
she admits it so casually, that she's from that place.]
That good-for-nothing Miktran thinks he's a god and not a king, but he'll get it coming to him! He thinks they've got the best technology... and maybe they do. But they lost their most productive genius, and that's going to bite him right in the keister in the end.
[at least harold says that confidently enough. this may be their last stand, but she's damn confident in her ability to succeed.
her ego is much less of a threat to the greater populace, even though it's absolutely a thing that exists.]
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Huh... So you're going like, directly against him. Like - the kinda thing where you see headlines like "one of his people spearheading the revolt", yeah?
[Honestly, it sounds like a setup for either an even sweeter victory or some sort of historical tragedy. He hopes he isn't around to see the outcome, though it's not because he shies away from war so much as shying away from any attachment toward weird worlds he accidentally tumbles his way into. He'll have to leave sooner rather than later, after all...
Even if apparently they're both okay with taking a few minutes out of War Dealings for manicures.]
—Y'know, it's even more impressive you look so cute if you're dealing with all of this on top of like, the usual war stuff.
[The usual war stuff being the whole... death dying mass famines sickness across the lands thing. Shouldering this kind of duty can't be easy; he tends to freeze up a bit even in the position of a captain.]
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fuck that.
she's not into it at all, so she'll gloss over that as she takes kashuu's hand to start fussing with them for the manicure proper. it's going to be great? he'll be aesthetic and bright? she can fuss about them, since atwight doesn't usually let her do these things.]
I'm pretty impressive! Just because there's a war and I have a ton of work to do doesn't mean I should sacrifice looking so cute! One thing has nothing to do with the others, as long as you're willing to put in a little effort!
[kashuu's not wrong. war is terrible and she doesn't blame anyone else for giving up on that stuff in times like these. she just refuses to concede at all costs, because that's part of what makes her who she is. she can't give that up!]
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That's a good thing, anyway! I mean, once you win and all, you'll have your picture stuck in every history book, yeah? So it's waaay better if all the pictures people remember you by are the super cute ones.
[A SAGE NOD... Who wants to be remembered by a bad historical portrait?? No one who understands the importance of a fresh and fantastic set of nails, he's sure.]
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[do you even want to know what that plan is, kashuu... do you...]
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Eh? What, your greatest plan doesn't involve mega-fame or whatever?
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[why does she say that like it's the most obvious way to go about this situation.]
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What are you trying to fool 'em for? Especially if you're still going for fame and all.
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[so... sings-songy, as she pulls his hand up to blow lightly on his nails. she's been too busy inventing important swords to build a lens-powered nail dryer. she'll get there one day though, probably.]
I already know I'll be a legend, so why not have fun with it?
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I guess I can kinda see where you're coming from... You're not really the kinda person who likes straightforward, boring things, are you?
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[why would she want to partake in that?]
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[CLEARLY HE DOESN'T GET IT. He's not the type to deal with boring shit, either...]
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[she knows people like that too, people like dymlos who are just so rigid!! they're afraid to take certain risks!! and it's boring!!]
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[Let him rant about all the elderly men he knows and how Set In Their Ways they can be.]
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[she says, living in the middle of a military base in a warzone.]
It's not all fun and games in war, but you have to have at least a few bright spots!
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[BLUNTLY but also not exactly untrue... He's seen plenty of people torn to pieces by war and left completely unable to build themselves back up, and those are the ones who never last long. It's tragic, certainly - and exactly why he'd rather see people like Harold around, who know when to buckle down and get to work but aren't afraid to live a little, too.]
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[it's not untrue, and she knows it. but she's long since turned off most of her feelings—her brother is her only weak point, and even that, she'd be hard-pressed to really admit.]
Life's too finite to worry about everything all the time. ♪
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[There's an unspoken 'humans are weird' sentiment here, but Kashuu refocuses his attention on his nails a second later instead of addressing it more directly.]
You're really good at this.
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[she says with a hum.]
I guess I might be. What can I say, that's just how I am!
[yeah, there's a little more to it than just that, but it's fine.]
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[As if that wouldn't threaten to tear reality apart at the seams IT'S FINE. All's fair in love, war, and time/space travel.]
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[she could probably manage it without ripping apart the seams of reality, she's pretty talented, kashuu.]
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It'll help boost morale, too! I mean, not that it's low or anything, but you totally feel invincible with a good manicure.
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[harold speak for "you, i like you." as much as she ever likes anyone, anyway.]
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