Chapter 24 The Face

Ludwig let out a breath. His nerves were shot to hell and back, his heartbeat as fast as a bullet whizzing past. He put his fingertips to his lips, trying his best to keep his anxiety at a manageable level. Once he and Lemmy turned the corner, he stopped.

"Okay Lems, looks like you're going to be the sacrificial lamb," he said. He swallowed a lump as sweat beads formed all over his current body. "And considering that you're me at the moment, that means that BOTH of us are getting placed on the altar." He turned to face Lemmy, his brow furrowed and his hands shaking. "So, in order to salvage anything from the glittering pile of ash that used to be my dignity, I'm going to teach you some stuff." He gestured to Lemonade. "You obviously look the part; you just need a little help getting into character."

Lemmy nodded, biting down on his lip as he did so. "Sounds good."

"Yeah," Ludwig responded. "Now, we can't do anything about your voice because I don't want to go down that rabbit hole again. However, if you implement the things I'm about to teach you into your performance, then you might even need the voice." He let out a breath. "I hope you're a fast learner Lemmy, cause this is the How To Be Ludwig course at the Honors level."

Lemmy nodded again, doing his best to look confident. "I think I can handle it."

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. "Think? You can't just think this; you've gotta KNOW."

Lemmy smiled. "Okay. Then I KNOW I can handle it!"

Ludwig let out a breath. "Alright. I guess that's a start." He stood up straight. "First things first; fix your posture. I don't slouch." Lemmy immediately adjusted his stance so that he was standing taller, at least by a little bit. "Slouching makes you look sloppy, and Ludwig von Koopa is not sloppy. He's Confident."

"Confident," Lemmy repeated with a nodded.

"Yes. With a capital C and all syllables emphasized. Con Fi Dent."

"Con Fi Dent."

"Yes. You know that you're about to annihilate your opponents; crush them like coconuts and hear the lamentations of their women." Ludwig exhaled. "You're on the right track, but your stance still needs a little bit of work." Ludwig stood as straight as a pillar. "Straighten your spine, hold your head up high."

Lemmy attempted to do this, but he very noticeably wobbled, which in turn caused him to flinch. "This is kind of hard."

"Come on Lemmy, you can do this." Ludwig gestured to himself. "If I can do it in a body that never does it, you can do it in a body that does it all the time."

Lemmy let out a small breath. "Okay." He stood up straight, his spine like a pencil. He held his head as high as he could without looking too weird.

Ludwig beamed. "Yes! You've got it; that's me in my full five foot four glory!"

Lemmy blinked. "That's how tall you are?"

Ludwig hesitated a little. "Give or take a quarter of an inch." He turned around. "Okay. Now, for your stride." He positioned himself so that his back was facing Lemmy, but he was angled in a way so that he could look at him comfortably. "Watch how I do it." He took a few steps forward, doing so in a way that was clean and crisp, sharp and versatile.

Lemmy put his hand to his chin. "Huh. Interesting."

"This is typically how I walk,' Ludwig said as he turned back around. "I do it in a way that tells people who they're about to tangle with." He turned back around, all without stopping. "Classy. Capable. Calculated. Confident…" Ludwig made a circular gesture with his hand. "You seeing a pattern, Lemmy?"

Lemmy nodded. "Yeah. I am."

"Good! That's good.' Ludwig stopped and turned to face his brother. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret Lems. I picked this one up through my years on the battlefield." Lemmy leaned in closer. "Confidence is usually intimidating to those who don't have it. And this is especially true in a fight If you appear tough and strong, even if you're anything but, then you're guaranteed to at least throw your opponents off a little bit." Ludwig straightened his posture again. "If I were to describe my own personal style in one word, it would be confident."

"Really?" Lemmy snickered. "Most people I know would describe you as arrogant."

Ludwig paused, his expression showing the fingerprints of irritation. Just as quickly as they were there, however, he dismissed them with a wave of the hand. "Eh. It's close enough." He cleared his throat. "Now, before I ask you to show me your walk, there's one more nugget of knowledge you need to have in your possession. That being, you can't trip up."

Lemmy blinked. "You mean I can't second guess myself?"

"No, I mean that literally; you CAN'T trip up." Ludwig looked serious. "If every step is calculated, then tripping over your own feet would obviously be a miscalculation, which of course can spell disaster for the entire equation."

"Huh." Lemmy nodded. "Duly noted."

"Good." Ludwig took a deep breath and stood up straight. "Now, show me your walk."

Lemmy straightened his posture and began walking. He did his absolute best to replicate the stride that Ludwig presented. His steps? Sharp. His movement? Cunning. His stance and appearance? Intimidating as hell. He walked like how one would expect the king of the world to walk. He did it so well that Ludwig gave an impressed nod.

"Nice!" He smiled. "You really weren't kidding when you said you're a physical actor; you're pretty much flawless!"

Lemmy beamed. "Thanks!" He walked back over to Ludwig, all without breaking character. Ludwig's tense posture looked significantly less tense than when they started.

"Okay, you're doing great!" He placed his fingertips back to his lips tentatively. "Now, there is one more thing; the cherry that will top this extravagant sundae. The face."

Lemmy's eyes grew wide. "There's a face?" he whispered.

"Oh yeah, there's a face." He looked ultra serious when he spoke. "This face is another factor I use for intimidation. If I were to describe it with words, I would say it's a cross between a scowl and a glare. It looks something like this." Ludwig made the face. Or, at the very least tried to. With Lemmy's humongous eyes and oddly shaped snout, it just…didn't look right.

"That looks bizarre," Lemmy said.

Ludwig sighed. "I was afraid it would," he said wearily. "I don't have access to my usual tool kit at the moment, so I'm trying to work with what I've got. However, considering that the proportions of your face are significantly different from mine, a few things are bound to get lost in translation." He gave Lemmy a look that almost looked pleading. "Did you at least get the basic idea?"

"Uh…maybe?"

"Okay. Then let's see."

Lemmy nodded and tried his best to replicate what he thought Ludwig was trying to teach him. This caused Ludwig to cringe. "No, Lemmy; it's a scowl, not a smirk." Lemmy lowered one eyebrow and pouted his lip. "No, Lems, that one doesn't even depict a real emotion!" Lemmy wrinkled the ridges in his forehead and bared his teeth, causing Ludwig to shake his head.

"Okay, now I look like I stuck my finger in a pencil sharpener." He sighed, the sound ladened with desperation and exhaustion. "Come on Lemmy, this shouldn't be too hard! We're only a year apart in age; we're roommate for crying out loud!" The discomfort showed through in his expression. "Please Lemmy, I need this to go well. I'm more than comfortable with ruining my own life; at least if I do it by myself, I know how to put the pieces back together. I can mess up my life; I just don't need someone else to do it for me."

Lemmy nodded, his heart aching with empathy for Ludwig's plight. "I get what you're saying." He thought for a minute. "Maybe it would help if I had a better example. Was there ever a time where you made the face off the battlefield?"

Ludwig blinked. "Oh, I think there might be. Give me a minute." He closed his eyes and snapped his fingers before his face rose back up. "Oh! I've got it! Do you remember that time two years ago when Larry tried to prank me by replacing my hair products with motor oil?"

Lemmy snickered. "Yeah."

"Great! Do you remember the face I made when I stepped into the common room to yell at him?"

Lemmy nodded and made the face Ludwig made in the memory. The real Ludwig clapped his hands and grinned.

"Yes! That's it! That is the face! That is a classic Ludwig von Koopa face!" He smiled at Lemmy. "Okay, now remember that face, cause you're going to go out there and show it to those gang members!" Ludwig clapped once again. "Okay! Enter stage right! Lights, camera, ACTION!"