Living in the Shadow of my Former Self

RP/Ask blog. Indie, semi-active, semi-selective, AU-based Mr. Dark (Ales Mansay) from Rayman. Mr. Dark was transformed into a Teensie as punishment for his crimes, and was also stripped of his powers. He was supposed to lose his memories, too, but that didn’t happen... 

Also, Rayman is here.

Crossover and OC friendly. 15+ years experience. Paragraph preferred, flexible overall. 

Follows back from @notanother-rp-hub​

Penned by @silverstarsheep​

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Send my muse a character to imitate (Accepting)

“I'll take the lesser of two evils, thanks!” Rayman spurted a little too quickly. All the same, his nose scrunched up, and his sour expression said it all: he really didn’t want to imitate either of them!

Pulling his kerchief over his snout, he struck what he thought was an imposing stance, acting as though his fingers were tipped in claws. Making his voice low and gravelly, he boomed, “You're DOOMED! You'll never defeat m–” before he could finish the sentence, his character was quickly broken by a fit of coughing. He went a little too gravelly there, it seemed! 

Rayman’s interactions with Rabbid Peach:

“Um…!” Rrayman exclaimed loudly. His hair stood up in stock, looking almost like a pair of rabbit ears. His eyes darted from one side to the other, as if checking his surroundings to make sure that no one could overhear; specifically, the Rabbids.

“Well,” he started, his voice cracking, “If they only look like a Rabbid, I guess that wouldn't be so bad…!” he seemed to hesitate committing to this claim, “But I'm not going to lie–if they acted like one, I wouldn’t like that at all! I dunno what I’d do! I mean, what COULD I do??”

Even if he was starting to get used to Rabbids with his new teammates, the other, less articulate Rabbids were an entirely different story. Those still wanted him dead! And what if his friends turned on him if they became like those!

He suddenly imagined the Magician in the form of a Rabbid, and his entire body trembled, as if a chill overtook him. He shook his head brusquely, throwing his hands to the side, and stomping his feet a little.

The rabbid tenses up when he hears Rayman’s voice call out. He tries his best not to make it too obvious though how successful that attempt was completely up for debate. It just had to be him, didn’t it? Not that Rio didn’t want to work alongside Rayman. He did! It was just….things were complicated. That single word could accurately describe his inner thoughts on all of this. 

“I don’t mind. Just….be careful.” It comes out quieter than expected. One of Rio’s greatest fears was that old urge kicking back in. That violent state of mind where he had no concept of right or wrong. The one that had caused so much damage back in the past and more specifically within the Glade. If anything could cause it to creep back up it might just be Rayman. Professor Barranco had ingrained the limbless hero as the top enemy during their surface invasion.

Hands move to tug around his overalls. It’s something he does when he wants to occupy his hands. “How…How have you been? It’s been quite a while. You…probably don’t even remember me. I was just like all the rest anyway so, y’know…” 

Rayman froze mid-step. “Be careful.” Those words hit him in the gut in a way he didn't quite expect. While it would have been nice for him to assume that Rio had seen some hostiles up ahead, there was a sneaking suspicion that such was not the case. His foot slowly slid back into place, but his stillness was short-lived.

Tucking his hands into his hoodie’s pocket, he strode over with a gentle smile on his face. If they were going to succeed as a team, he needed to be able to trust his new Rabbid friends! He sat beside the overall-clad rabbit, staring in the same direction that Rio was.

Pondering the question, Rayman turned his gaze from the horizon to Rio, “I’m pretty good!” he replied with a chipper tone, “The Glade’s been fine, too! So fine, that I've had a few too many lazy afternoons,” the boy couldn’t help but laugh, “So I guess it’s about time I got kicked back into action!” He said this in a playful manner, trying to keep some levity in the conversation. But, he trailed off a little, thinking about the rest of what Rio said.

Scratching the side of his nose, Rayman looked back up at the sky, “Honestly, I didn't even know you were one of them. I'm not so good at telling Rabbids apart. At least, not unless they're wearing outfits!” he gave the other a smile, “You sure are different now anyway, so it's not like I would have recognized you at all.”

  He’s just been thinking. Rio does it a lot more than he’d like to admit. The quietness out here is nice. He’s just going to enjoy this while he can. 

Rayman spotted his teammate from a distance, surprised that the Rabbid was so far away from the others. Curiosity getting the better of him, the lad decided to go over and say hi. As he approached, he couldn't help but note how strange it was to see a Rabbid so perfectly still! Yet, it didn’t register that Rio was acting quite pensive.

Despite the past that he shared with the Rabbids, Rayman did want to do his best to try and get along. His teammates were making that easier, but the others still put him on edge, as much as he hated to admit it.

But, he wanted to put it in the past! So hanging out with them was his best bet. 

“I’m one step closer to meeting Mario!”

The name Jano alone was enough to make a chill pass through Ales’ body. His jaw tensed, and one could see lines forming on his nose as if it were scrunching up.

“When?” was the first demand to erupt from his mouth, “Why?” was the second, though he had his doubts that he’d receive an answer.

The hero’s visit to the Cave of Bad Dreams was certainly a surprise to him, and an unwelcome one at that. He could hardly think of any reason for Rayman to go there, however there were a few rumors–such as a great, bountiful treasure locked within its deepest tunnels, and the fabled Elixir of Life being in Jano’s possession. If Ales had a guess as to why Rayman would dare set foot in a den of nightmares, the elixir would be it.

Calming down a hair, he started to mutter to himself, “He is a very good dream, he can barely stand near a group of Antitoons without looking uncomfortable… So he does have a high enough resistance to nightmares on the whole…” he scratched his chin in contemplation, “I haven't noticed any difference in him, and perhaps it could have even been a Teensie’s age ago… He seems fine, so it’s very unlikely that Jano got to him…”

“The nice little Electoons, on the other hand...”

Rayman's eyes widened, not only at the shock of the accusation, but also the mention of his time in the Cave of Bad Dreams. Besides a small handful of people, he didn't think that anybody knew about his visit there during the Pirate’s takeover... But even fewer knew about the offer Jano had given him. He still remembered the chamber of glittering coins quite vividly. And the heinous voice that snaked its way into his ears…

He hesitated to answer at first, but as honesty was his best policy, he scratched the back of his head with one hand, and admitted, “Yeah,” shame drenched his voice, “I'm not even sure why! I don't have a lot of use for money outside of Teensie villages, and even then, so few of them actually let me pay!” he fiddled with his gloves, his blue eyes covered by his hair, “I don’t even know what I’d do with it, and Clark needed the elixir a lot more than I needed the weight in my pockets…” 

He muttered to himself, “But the gold sure was pretty to look at…”

Cuphead listens to the Teensie’s offer to act as a practice target, and the explanation of having a target to heal being helpful. Truth be told, there were plenty of scrapes and bruises along Cuphead’s body and head that he could practice on, if he noticed any of them. The boy’s a scrappy one, for sure. 

The cut underneath the dressing turned out to be overdressed, but he opted to not comment on it. He did have a rather skewed view on injury thanks to the whole debtor debacle, so maybe a bandage like that was normal and he just was used to more serious injury. Either way, the dark joke gains a chuckle from Cuphead, as he takes a couple moments to think. 

He had to actually figure out how healing magic would work- he knew first aid, but only in terms of bandages and the like. If healing magic would be anything, Cuphead would imagine it to be something soothing. That, combined with knowing how a cut like that would heal over time, gave him something to focus on as he starts trying to gather up the energy needed and heal it. 

He’s not sure if his attempt even works, though. “…I’ll admit up front, I’m kind of guessing how healing magic works.”

Upon Cuphead trying to cast the healing spell, Ales felt a gentle tingle where the cut was, however it seemed to do very little, and the cut refused to budge. He stared at it for a little while, as if expecting the spell to slowly take effect. Nothing happened. A look of disappointment flashed across his eyes, but he didn’t seem particularly bothered.

“Healing magic isn't that easy,” he admitted, “I don't really know much of it myself. If you really want to learn, a Teensie Doctor would be your best bet.” Scratching at the skin around the cut, being sure to keep his nails away from it, the Teensie tilted his head to one side in thought.

Ales grimaced, rolling his eyes ever so slightly. Although he quickly adjusted his posture, he couldn’t hide his disdain with the oversaturation of the seasonal flavor. Now taking on the stance of a salesman, he put on his best grin, and clapped his hands together.

“Of course!” he chimed in a near-saccharine way, “We have pumpkin spice cookies, pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls, pumpkin spice cake, and–of course–the ever-popular pumpkin pie!” he indicated the various pastries under the glass case before him, “A wide selection, as you can see! It’ll take a month to chase the smell out of our shop, in fact!” he added through bared teeth.

Getting back into character, Ales resumed, “We started adding pumpkin spice to our lattes. Who knows, maybe we’ll throw caution to the wind and start making some pumpkin spice sweet breads, and more!” he puffed, as if trying to keep himself together, “They're all very tasty, of course! And made by the best bakers this side of the Glade! So why don't you settle in! We have a BOGO right now–buy a pumpkin spice muffin, and you'll get  a free coffee! Pumpkin spice’ d up, or not!”