#nintember

Nintember Day 6

Nintember story #2! (@starprincesshlc , @jklantern ). I have once more elected to write about Feelings™, but this time from a perspective I feel we rarely ever get to properly see...

~~ Wings, Laughter, Mother, Fantasy, Star ~~

When we first met, I was afraid. I had known, for as long as I could remember, that I would eventually have to leave those I had grown up with, and that I may very well never see them again. My purpose had been taught to me from the beginning, but even still, I was scared.

And so, that fateful day, I shied away, resisting the sensation in my body to flee and hide. The other two brought before you alongside me ought to have been more preferable choices; one was eager to show off every skill they knew, few though they were at the time, and the other was excitable and affectionate, quickly trusting without a second thought. But you chose me anyway; me, the one who flinched at your touch and shivered at your embrace.

I did not know what to think at first, but then, you gazed at me with those shining eyes, and smiled at me for the first time in that way you always do, and spoke to me in that soft and caring voice. And it must have been those expressions that, all at once, pierced through my fear, because in that moment, just as you chose me, I chose you.

You brought me before another, one more individual who I had never met, one who looked quite a lot like you. She knelt to look me in the eye, and reached out toward me, and once more I shied away. She did not persist in her attempt, as you did, but instead stood and looked at you with an expression that mirrored the one you gave me, and spoke to you with the same quiet and warm voice. I cannot truly describe the revelation that that was, but it too began to chip away at my unease.

Then, you waved at her, and we left, and for a time, it was just the two of us. We wandered through woods and fields, alone, only joined by others when we came upon other towns, obtaining food and supplies, sleeping, and then heading out once more in the morning. I still remember the first of these now-countless nights, where, in that tiny room, I awoke to the sound of your crying. I looked at your face, wet with tears, and saw your eyes shining in a far different way, a far worse way. You reached out toward me, slowly, and I leaned into your touch, and you confided in me how afraid you were, how new and unknown the path that lay before you was. In your eyes I saw a reflection of my own fear, and in that instant I vowed to do whatever I could to help rid you of as much of that fear as I could. I wanted desperately to tell you this, aloud, in words you could understand, but I believe that you saw my expression as I made my promise, and understood anyway.

It was not long after that when someone appeared before you and challenged you. I knew, too, that such encounters were but a natural part of my life, and almost all of those like me, but my unease rose once more, and though my vow struggled to push it back, I stood and faced the other’s partner, maintaining as brave a face as I could muster. Though the voice with which you gave me instructions was loud and forceful, I could still feel the same gentleness and care, and despite neither of us having ever before engaged in a true battle, we emerged the victors. The joy I saw in your eyes, the elation I felt in my own soul… From then on, I wanted to bring about our triumph again and again.

However, it was not long after this that we experienced our first loss. That battle was to be the first of several great milestones on this path of yours, and we came agonizingly close to victory before suffering defeat. Your confidence in me never wavered; though I placed blame upon myself for failing to fully carry out your commands and underperforming in light of the pressure, you were insistent that the fault lay only with you, for not strategizing as well as you could have and not training and strengthening the both of us as much as you should have. To this day, I do not know where the cause of our failure truly lay, but we strove to be better, and in the rematch, we secured victory.

A part of me, a small but vocal one, wished that our journey would remain ours alone, but alas, that is not how the story goes, and you had soon found another friend and partner… and then another… and, eventually, three more. And each time, though it pains me to admit and though I hate to have even remotely thought this way, that same part of my mind feared you would begin to love them alone, and turn your back on me. But for each new addition to our team, you treated them with the same love and care you showed me, in the ways they wanted and needed, never diminishing in what you gave me or any of the others. And though they returned each time, even for your sixth and, so far, final new partner, those jealousies were always soon surely and utterly dashed.

In the early days of our journey, you were stunningly focused upon battles and strength, always seeking out new opportunities for us to grow and new techniques to use in fighting. But over time, you seemed to branch out, to take days more slowly and try new things. You had us all take part in several competitions that wanted us to use our combat abilities in different and strange new ways, and we did rather well in all of them. We participated in several contests of performance, and though we did our absolute best, we were almost always outmatched. We even attempted to compete in a few challenges about food preparation, and did not win a single one. But for you, it was never about winning. No matter how many times we thought we had failed you, you assured us that it was only about the experience, to taste all the opportunities that your vast world has to offer, never faltering in your determined smile and kind laughter.

In the later parts of our adventure, we spent more time in the wilderness, sleeping under the open sky instead of in rooms of metal and wood, huddled upon the ground around small fires instead of upon soft cushions around dimly-lit tables. I recall those nights most clearly, when we all would lay gazing up at the stars and clouds, unbothered and unburdened. We could not truly talk about what we saw or how we felt, for that is one of the few curses of this world that precious few can ever break, but our bonds and connections, I believe, still let the essence of these thoughts pass between us, just as they did that very first night. Once, when I caught your eye, I renewed my vow that I made to you in that fateful moment, trying once more to communicate it to you through expression alone. I may not have powerful wings to carry you amidst the winds, or strong flippers to show you the depths of the seas, or a vast body to wholly shield you from every storm, but I swear I shall do everything in power, and more, to protect you, to guide your way through darkness, through trials and tribulations alike, just as you have guided me.

I am larger now, stronger now, as are you. We have both come farther than I could ever have fathomed. You pushed me to be the very best that I could be, and though perfection is never truly achievable, I have chased it relentlessly, always reaching for new heights. Now, we stand at the culmination of all our victories, the final battle, the fight whose victory shall prove a crowning achievement in our long, long journey, a journey which shall not end upon our triumph, but merely be born anew, turning onto the next page.

Nintember prompt from @jklantern and @starprincesshlc

Day 16: Flight.

So… this is an event I joined just today, because I don’t have enough time to give it my full attention, but I wanted to give it a go at least for one day.

So, here is the context: this month, the Nintendo Company celebrates 35 years of activity. To celebrate it, @starprincesshlc​ and @jklantern​ organized an event called “Nintember”, in which people shares their love for Nintendo games by making a piece of work per day depending on the prompt.

At this point, the event is half-way through, but feel free to join in and give it a try!

CREDITS:

-Sun and planets model: Phobias;

-SFM Space Remastered map: Lazyneer;

-Samus Aran model:  BlueFlytrap (Baking vertex colors into the base texture, touchup on Samus, promo),  Sundown (porting, promo, base material work),  RandomTBush (scripts, files),  Hotfuzznarp (IK Rig);

-Ridley model:  Sundown (porting, materials), RandomTBush and jam1garner (tool development, research), ploaj (CrossMod Development, research),  KillzXGaming (Switch Toolbox, Research);

-Samus’ Gunship model: Taco;

Nintember, Day 7

Nintember Day 4