#AND NOW THEY'RE MAKING THE LATTER PART REAL
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THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING WITH THIS. GOD DAMN. THEY CONNECTED SUBMAS WITH THE STORY WHERE LIZA AND TATE GOT SEPARATED (Twin Stars Far Apart) ...
#pokemon#subway masters#twin stars far apart#THIS IS MY FAVOURITE POKEMAS EVENT EVER BC OF THE ARCHIE+JIRACHI BACKSTORY AND THE ALLUSION TO SBMS SEPARATION#AND NOW THEY'RE MAKING THE LATTER PART REAL#THEY'RE CONNECTING. THEY'RE CONNECTING#ARCHIE WITH JIRACHI BACKSTORY AND NOW SUBMAS CONNECTED SOMEONE IN DENA IS CATERING TO ME#chipsays#. what the hell is happening im brainrotting#pokemas
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i kinda think part of why people treat donnie as less caring than he is is like. sometimes not knowing when he's joking? like that time he threatens to be "semi-lethal" when splinter's in the truck with meat sweats. like i'm sure most of you knew he was joking but like. do some of you realise he like, would not have done that? like remember how he was sad? when splinter actually got hurt? same with leo in the movie? and all of them at every other time?
like he's self proclaimed funniest. and also a mad scientist aesthetic doesn't make a character a villain by itself it's what you actually do with that (yes he has done bad things within that area (haunted stare towards mind meld) but you have to admit he like. did fix those. and feel bad and hopefully learn his lesson but hey that's another analysis)
i have mixed feelings on villain donnie stuff, as an example, because like. ANY character put in a situation where they lose their way is really fun and if in character is really interesting as to what could cause that.
but when it's treated as like. inevitable. who he is, or phrasing his brothers are the only thing stopping him being evil. it's like hm. ugh. kind of hurts a bit actually but that's probably because i relate to him ghfdjk
like the seen in snow day with the tech bo chainsaw like. all he really DOES is cut a snowman there but he's just like. leaning into being "evil" with the chainsaw but like he's just being silly with it. acting like that's proof of anything is wild to me, without any other data points.
also kind of separate but i think there's a dissonance between what is like. seen as evil? between me and like most people lol. like the scene in the movie as well with like "finally, man and machine, entwixt in perfect bionic synergy" someone i watched it with was like "haha evil moment" or whatever where i was just like. yeah real that would be rad as hell. honestly gender also.
not saying he's never done anything wrong but i am saying he immediately tries to fix all of those things
anyway he does have a really interesting relationship with morals in my eyes but like, at his core he really cares about people, you know?
this isn't hate to anyone btw i just care about donnie a lot as a character and as really layered autistic representation
#rottmnt#rottmnt donnie#donnie analysis#making that a tag now because i know what i'm like#rottmnt analysis#i can write so much about donnie. idk if it's good. or accurate. but i can write it#unrelated but it's so funny when people say donnie's cishet or homophobic even (the latter as a joke but. not my type of humor personally)#and then say he's villain coded. like lol. i laugh. i know it's probably different sets of people for the most part but yeah#especially if they compare him to megamind specifically. like okay#megamind famous bisexual neurodivergent and you know. no longer even a villain at the end#like i'm not saying you're wrong i'm saying that it's actually more than just surface level theater kid stuff there (that too though)#like donnie has people who care about him from the start. they're not âkeeping him in checkâ (yikes?) they're caring about him. nuance#but yeah like. genuinely i think it's interesting how he's seen as villain-coded#like i know villains and queer-coding is a known thing but i'm just wondering. is that also a thing with autistic-coding#or do people just naturally not get autistic people in real life and find them scary and that just carries across in responses to fiction#idk#donnie villain fic where he sees how he's perceived anyway by fanon and just gives up on being good#joke but i guess you can steal that just write it well if you do. for me. idk if it'd even be a villain concept really there#he'd probably just be like. sad. and try even harder to be good.#also what about mikey villain fics huh. there's literally a cut episode that would be so fun to play with#anyway feedback appreciated#this was so train of thought i'm sure some of it's unclear
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as ever like: no two things Need to be juxtaposed, much less like material vs material deathmatch Only One Can Be Good, much less am i thinking i have thee objective word on fuckall b/c who does and it's like perfectly boring & unserious whenever someone just throws out Takes that are just "i think...[xyz] is [adjective]" like okay.
but anyways thinking of how, though differing in execution in a lot of ways ofc, deh & bmc start out in a v similar place & explore a journey to self-acceptance from a despairing starting point....it feels like a lot of the hindrance in deh's exploration of its own Theme there is in like, hey. :) hand on your shoulder. it's okay b/c you'll be able to be more normal. whereas w/bmc it's that it's okay b/c you'll be able to be more abnormal
#like hell yeah. and Normality is fake the way that things like Gender is fake so. what's more universally relevant here#versus like. the idea that a winning takeaway re: deh is Talking With Your Parents / Kid like#yeah that could be an improvement? in other situations; that Talking is dangerous &/or just not going to happen / be irrelevant#meanwhile nobody is ''normal'' & the idea of Normality & its Moral Goodness / Requirement does affect everyone#meanwhile that bmc is clear on jeremy's gaining supportive relationships means support for his relationship w/himself#whilest he's also able to feel better insulated from feeling Defined by whatever instance of feedback/input#whereas with deh it's like. All These People....but log off & all you need is at least one parent who doesn't hate you No Matter What#including your unfortunate abnormality....Just(tm) make the phone calls am i right? well now he at least has a part time job#meanwhile difficult to compare w/e's going on w/zoe/evan vs mpdg4mpdg jeremy/christine. latter are cute & a coherent relationship#former are [nothing] to [i'm taking psychic damage] & fuck if i know what's going on besides The Ultimate Romance(tm) (negative)#he was a boy she was a girl they could politely tolerate each other's presence. maybe forever :')#i really don't know what's supposed to be going on there so like. for real share Any reasons you like each other in Either love song abt it#anyways like No Need To Compare but for me the juxtaposition is natural b/c it Does feel like they can be looked at re: a v similar Essence#but one is fumbling around w/it & really Not sticking the landing especially while the other just does exactly what it's trying to do#and ofc it could only help that deh had to go so far from the original [???] ideas & more Farcical approach#vs i don't think bmc's envisioning ever changed so fundamentally along its development at any point#like deh's story does feel like it still has the remnants of the earlier farcier versions even in its bway form#story of A Bunch Of Wild Shit Happens To Our Protag Whaaat & sure ppl are humanized but you still never made room for like a quarter of the#alana & jared? they're alright but they died#anyways & in all these things it's like It's Not A Big Deal lol i am not here to strive to have thee true & final word#right tf on if you as well know them both & like deh more / think It was the more successful execution of its story#though i have natural enemies like say [trt loyalists who are Like That] or forever [deh haters who are Like That]....we're different#erased a tangent also mentioning how i like the Parent Approach of mr. heere's arc better than any parents in deh lol. like of course#it's Not about his Feelings or being Imperfect or Human. like ofc he has the feelings & is human & imperfect#but he just gets energized & focused like welp bummer but ofc i gotta give my kid more support w/whatever he's going through rn#like hell yeah. one fun song we're good to go#bmc#deh
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not to be on my bullshit again but currently i am entertaining the thought of "incompetent egotistical businessman who think he's hot shit" ron x "younger assistant with a crush who's actually been carrying him the entire time they've been working together" henry
#listen i don't inject enough dysfunction into my aus with these two i'm trying to fix that lmao#but god. henry keeps telling himself he's going to quit that he's tired of *his* part in ron's success being downplayed or ignored by him#and he wonders what he even sees in the guy half the time he's working with him#but then ron'll smile at him a certain way or tell him 'good job kid' or pat him on the shoulder and he gets sucked back in again#and sometimes he thinks about stepping back and letting ron fail to teach him a lesson but he cares too much about the doofus to ever#actually let him sabotage himself#and as much as he tells himself he wants to see it the thought makes him feel sick.......#meanwhile ron's oblivious af to henry's interventions and is definitely underappreciating him lmao#but he would also be devastated if henry ever went through with quitting and not just cuz he'd be forced to face the fact he's not actually#as good at what he does as he thinks he is#but cuz that's his henry that's his buddy.......he doesn't even realize how possessive-protective he feels over him until henry's on the#brink of leaving#or if henry's being shittalked by a rival or something#because henry doesn't really care about the latter he's not here for the business aspect anyway but ron feels angry about it for reasons#that he can't really even articulate (that being: gay reasons lmao)#oh yeah henry's crush seems unrequited but that's just cuz ron's self centered af here moreso than in canon#but ron has a thing for him too and he's just as touchy feely with him as he is in the show#actually he's probably more touchy with him cuz they're in such close proximity all the time oughglkjdsf#anyway these tags got off the rails and i have places to be so i'll leave it here for now#but man the brainrot is REAL lmao#party down#ronhenry#marshy speaks
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One of the more frequent load-bearing coconuts* in video games is the player character themselves: some quirk or limitation of the game engine requires that the player character must always be on screen, or at least loaded into the current map.
Most of the time, this isn't a problem, because when would you ever not want the player character to be present? There's one specific scenario where it becomes an issue, though, and that's when all of the following are true:
Your game uses in-engine cutscenes
At least some of those cutscenes occur on a different map from wherever the player character is located at the time that they're triggered (and the player character is not present for them)
Some limitation (e.g., of the game engine, of your targeted minimum system requirements, etc.) precludes loading multiple maps at the same time
Together this creates a problem: you need to load a map on which the player character is not present in order to run the cutscene, but the player character is load-bearing.
There are a variety of ways to solve this, but the customary approach is to make a note of the player character's current position, teleport them to the map on which the cutscene occurs, lock out their controls, turn them invisible, run the cutscene, then teleport them back to their former location when it's done. The upshot is that in every cutscene in which the player character ostensibly is not present, they're actually lurking invisibly in the background.
All this leads to what is possibly my favourite load-bearing coconut bug ever: Final Fantasy VII's disc 2 Midgar skip.
Basically, after you defeat one particular disc 2 boss, there's a multi-part cutscene where the action cuts to a conference room overlooking the battle; one of the NPCs present then calls another NPC on their cell phone, and the viewpoint jumps to that NPC's location (a mad science lab). The conference room map is used only in cutcenes, but the latter map, the mad science lab, is one the player can visit later.
Now here's the trick: for unknown reasons, that mid-cutscene jump to a different map re-enables the player character's controls. You're still invisible, and none of the NPCs present can be interacted with (i.e., because they're totally scripted); however, since the map on which the back half of the cutscene takes place is one you can visit later in the game, a bunch of non-cutscene assets get loaded along with it, presumably because it never occurred to the developers to disable them â critically including a boss fight trigger zone. This trigger is unconditional, since the only time this map can be visited legitimately, the fight is meant to occur.
This means that if you know what you're doing, it's completely possible to walk the invisible player character into that boss fight trigger during the cutscene. In spite of its other limitations, the game engine handles this without complaint, and play continues exactly as though you'd reached that boss fight legitimately, thereby skipping half the disc. From the player's perspective, it appears as though holding the joystick in a specific direction causes the cutscene to be interrupted mid-sentence by an inexplicable, out-of-context boss fight.
All because Cloud Strife is a coconut.
* To anticipate the inevitable well-actually, yes, I'm aware that the Team Fortress 2 coconut is a myth; somebody took a real phenomenon and falsely attributed it to a popular game for clicks, and now we're stuck with the term. If you don't like it, complain to whoever is in charge of how language works!
#gaming#video games#programming#game design#bugs#final fantasy vii#final fantasy#load-bearing coconuts#violence mention
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Double Trouble (Floyd x Reader)
Summary: A certain pair of twins are found roaming around NRC campus. No, not those ones. (AKA, Floyd and your kids come visit from the future.)
AN: This was supposed to be a cute short fic. Now it's 20 pages and three weeks later.
Warnings: Maybe a little ooc near the end. Kids and mentions of how they're made. AFAB Reader with she/her pronouns.
It was a pretty quiet day at NRC, which meant (Y/N) was waiting with bated breath for something to go terribly wrong.Â
âYou worry too much!ïżœïżœ Grim complained, hanging off her shoulder as they walked along the main thoroughfare past the Great Seven statues. âWe finally have a day off! No work from Crowley, no problems with the dorms, no weird stuff popping out. And! Sam had that sale on canned tuna!â Grim pawed at the can he was holding, trying to rip open the pull tab on top. With a frustrated huff, he reluctantly handed it over. Â
(Y/N) quickly popped open the can and handed it back to him. Grim gave a small cry of delight as he buried his face in the shredded tuna. âI know, I know,â She said, absentmindedly scratching him behind the ears. âI think Iâm just not used to it anymore. It feels like something should happen, you know? Like, they say right before lightning strikes you can feel the static in the air. And be honest, when was the last time we had a real day off?âÂ
Grim looked up, licking his lips. âWell, last month we - no, wait, thatâs when the fairies stole that magestone and had that fashion show. Oh, what about the weekend when we - no, that was Camp Vargas, huh? Uhh, Port Fest was really fun!âÂ
âWe were working at the food stalls the whole time.â (Y/N) grinned at her feline-type companion. âOr at least I was.âÂ
Grim frowned. âHey! Taste testing is an important part of selling food! You have to make sure your product is up to snuff!âÂ
(Y/N) giggled and took the empty can from Grim, putting it in the plastic bag that held the other odds and ends they had picked up from the Mystery Shop. âOf course, we couldn't have done it without you.â She shielded her eyes from the sun, squinting to look up at the sky as if to double check it wasnât about to start falling. âI just think that-âÂ
âMama!âÂ
Both (Y/N) and Grim jumped, the latter falling off the formerâs shoulder with a yelp to float in the air. (Y/N) blinked the white sunspots out of her vision looking around for where the exclamation had come from. No sooner had she started her search than a tiny force threw itself against her legs nearly knocking her over. (Y/N) looked down, seeing a wailing child bury his head into her hip, arms clasped around her in an iron-clad grip.Â
âWhoa, hey, hey!â (Y/N) said, trying to get her bearings. She pried the childâs grip away just enough for her to kneel down so they could be closer to eye level. The boy had a cherubic face, big eyes and big cheeks, with big tears rolling down them. He had teal-colored (your hair texture) hair. One of his teary eyes was a stormy gray while the other was (your eye color). A set of sharp almost shark-like teeth bit at his quivering bottom lip.Â
âDo Jade and Floyd have a younger brother or something?â (Y/N) thought.Â
She patted the boy's hair down and whipped the tears off his cheeks. He was taking big gulping breaths, trying to calm himself down. âHey, itâs okay,â She said in what she hoped was a calming voice. âYouâre okay. Did you get lost? This can be a big scary place, huh?âÂ
The boy took another shuddering breath and flung himself in (Y/N)âs arms. She fell back, sitting roughly, as the boy buried his face in her shoulder.Â
âGeez, who the heck is this crybaby?â Grim muttered, floating nearby with his paws on his hips.Â
âGrim, donât be rude!âÂ
âHeâs the one who ran into you! Thatâs rude!â Grim floated a little closer, cocking his head to look at the boy. âYou know, he kinda looks like-âÂ
âAh!â (Y/N) yelped, pain suddenly rushing through her hand. She had been patting the boyâs hair, trying to help him calm down, when he suddenly turned his head and bit down hard. Jerking her hand back, (Y/N) could see a fresh set of indents forming a perfect semi-circle around the joint of her thumb, two of the points already beading with blood.Â
Grim immediately jumped to the defense. âHey! Whatâs the big idea?âÂ
The boy let out another wail, picking himself up and dashing away before (Y/N) could take another breath. âHey, wait!â She called after him. âItâs okay! Come back!âÂ
âOkay?!â Grim said as incredulously as he could manage. âHe bit you! Look, youâre bleeding!âÂ
(Y/N) whipped away the blood from her hand on her skirt. âHeâs clearly just scared, Grim. It was probably just an instinct. Come on, we better find him before he gets into any trouble.âÂ
Ignoring Grimâs grumblings, (Y/N) jogged off in the direction the boy had gone. She wondered why a kid so young would be alone in a place like this. He was, what, maybe seven or eight? Not to mention obviously terrified. And⊠Wait, had he called her mama? (Y/N) faltered a little when she remembered that. Maybe it was like when a kid called someone they were close to auntie or big sister? But why mama?Â
âSay that again and Iâll bite your fingers off!âÂ
(Y/N) was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of a childâs voice yelling some⊠pretty violent threats. She couldnât imagine the small crying boy from before saying something like that. Was there another kid wandering campus? Was it a family visit day or something?Â
(Y/N) turned the corner to see the boy facing off against a group of students. Or, no, it wasnât the same boy. Sure, he had the same round face, teal hair, and mismatched eyes, but he held himself in a completely different way. Instead of curling in on himself with fear, his shoulders were back, chin up in defiance, his sharp teeth pulled into a scowl, tiny fists balled with rage instead of anxiety.Â
(Y/N) didnât want to believe it, but the students looked like they were getting ready to square up with a kid. Channeling into her de facto role of campus peacekeeper, she put herself between the kid and the students, saying, âHey! Whatâs going on here?âÂ
One of them jabbed his finger at the boy. âThis kid came out of nowhere and started insulting us! Saying our magic was weak!âÂ
âIt is!â The boy said, peering around (Y/N)âs legs. âMy papaâs the strongest guy at Night Raven College ever! He could take you all on at once! Tell âem, Mama!âÂ
âMama?â Another one of the students said. âPrefect, you know this kid?âÂ
âUh, not exactly, itâs kind of complicated. Look, heâs just a kid, he didnât mean any harm. Letâs just all cool down for a second okay?âÂ
Another student stepped forward, punching his fist into his open hand. âI think he needs to learn some manners. And if his âmamaâ isnât going to teach them to him, we will.âÂ
Instinct kicked in and (Y/N) scooped the boy up in her arms. âNow, just hang on a second, youâre not really going to fight a kid, are you?âÂ
âYeah, I can take all you sea cucumbers on!â The boy shouted from her arms. âYou look like a sea cucumber too, and their face is their butt!âÂ
âThatâs it!âÂ
As the student advanced (Y/N) took a step back. Her arms full, her body reacted without thinking about it. Her leg flew up in a high kick, landing squarely in the approaching studentâs face. His face bore a perfect shoe print as the young boy in her arms started cackling. (Y/N) took advantage of the momentary stunning and booked it out of there.Â
âGrim! Cover!â She yelled. Grim blew a spray of blue flames at the pursuing students, giving the new trio an opportunity to escape relatively unscathed.Â
(Y/N) sprinted through the halls, the boy clutched in her arms, Grim flying close behind them. Dodging into an empty classroom, (Y/N) took deep breaths as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. The boy leapt out of her arms, clapping his hands.Â
âThat was so cool!â He exclaimed. âUncle Grim was all like âFoosh!â And Mama kicked like âbam!â He had a footprint on his face! Did you see that, Mama? Did you see?âÂ
(Y/N) held her hand up, trying to order her thoughts for a second before speaking to the overly excited boy. âI saw, I saw. Did you really just go up and start insulting those guys? They have to be twice your age, you could have gotten hurt!âÂ
The boy pouted, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking away. âI know. Iâm not supposed to start arguing with people. Iâm sorry.â He recited the apology as if he had done it plenty of times before.Â
(Y/N) knelt down in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder. âLook, I just donât want you getting hurt, okay? I know youâre probably really tough but you canât blame me for worrying, you know?âÂ
The boy grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. He threw himself into (Y/N)âs arms in a big hug. âI know. Thatâs why I have Papa and Mama! Nothing bad happens when youâre around! Oh!â He gasped as if suddenly remembering something. âMama, have you seen Cas anywhere? We got split up! I need to be there to fight anyone who tries to mess with him!âÂ
(Y/N) rubbed his hair. âWhat did we just say about fighting?âÂ
Meanwhile, at the Monstro Lounge, Floyd was having one of his rough days. First, he had to break up a fight between a bunch of customers in the Lounge, which might have been fine normally, except they all cowered and begged forgiveness as soon as he got there, so we didnât even get a chance to squeeze anyone. Then, Azul had started bothering him for his grades in his history of magic class. Like, yeah, it was easy and he could finish the homework no problem, but it was so boring! Why should he have to put effort into something like that, anyway? He was a great mage. Practical exams were a breeze. Why did the paper assignments even matter? Third, Jade kept talking his ear off about some rare new mushroom someone had sent him. Something about how it could let you see into the future, or bring stuff back from the past, or something. Floyd sort of zoned out in the middle of his brotherâs explanation.Â
And, worst of all, he hadnât seen his dear Shrimpy all day! Usually, on days off, heâd go track her down, making himself home at Ramshackle dorm, looming over her while she tried to study in the library until she finally paid attention to him and they could go do something fun, or dragging her to his basketball practice so he could show off. But heâd been stuck inside all day. He was starting to get stir crazy.Â
All he could think about was wrapping his arms around her soft, plush form and squeezing as hard as he could, until she gasped and made those cute sounds he liked.Â
Floyd giggled, kicking his feet. Maybe he could sneak out? Yeah, he could be sneaky when he wanted to! It couldnât be that hard, right? He was already out of the Monstro Lounge, past the main entrance of the dorm. All he needed to do was go down the tunnel to the mirror chamber and-
âWell, hello there, Floyd.â Busted. Floyd grimaced, turning around to see Jade smiling at him, holding a huge stack of paperwork. âI was looking for you. Professor Trien gave me the assignments youâve missed. He asked me to make sure you got these done before your next class. You donât have anything else to do today, right?âÂ
Floyd groaned, rolling his eyes. âCome on, Jade, I donât want to do that! Whatâs even the point, huh? Whatâs some paper going to prove about casting spells?âÂ
Jade gave a faux sympathetic look that Floyd could spot from 10 miles away. âOh? So you did have plans today? Such a shame that youâll have to cancel them, then.âÂ
Floyd grit his teeth as Jade shoved the stack of papers into his arms. He briefly considered dropping them all and throwing a punch, if he didnât know for a fact that Jade was one of the only people who could actually match him blow for blow. Floyd could count on one hand the amount of times they had physically fought with each other, but man, did no one ever suspect that the more calm and collected twin could be just as brutal.Â
Jade took Floyd by the elbow, not so gently leading him back into the main dorm, when Floyd froze, ears perking up at a sound.Â
Jade frowned. âFloyd, I said-âÂ
âShh!â He interrupted, putting a finger to his lips. Floyd cocked his head to the side, trying to hear that sound again. Suddenly, he shoved the papers back at Jade, bounding down the hall and taking the stairs two at a time down to the lobby.Â
The main lobby of the Octavinelle dorm took the same decor ques as the Monstro Lounge, or maybe it was the other way around. The lobby was seemingly empty, but Floyd was able to narrow in to the sound he had made out earlier, the hiccuping sound of a kid trying very hard not to cry.Â
Floyd stalked over to one of the couches, peering over. A small boy was huddled against the back of the couch, trying his hardest to make himself disappear.Â
âHey, there, Guppy,â Floyd said, leaning over the back of the couch. âWhatâs with the sad eyes?â
Most children might have been frightened by the sight of a shark-toothed, manic eyed mer looming over them, the moody lighting on the lobby casting haunting shadows over his face. But the boy looked relieved, jumping on and over the couch to latch himself onto Floyd.Â
âPapa!â He wailed. âIâm sorry, Iâm sorry! I got lost and I couldnât find Argo, and then I found Mama, but I had big feelings and I bit her! I know Iâm not supposed to bite when I have big feelings, but I forgot and it was an accident! And then I ran away from Mama, and I know I shouldnât have, and I still canât find Argo, and-and-and-!âÂ
Before he could say anything else, and before he had the chance to start crying again, Floyd scooped him up under the arms and brought him high in the air. âWow, you have strong looking teeth!â He praised. âI bet you can bite real hard! Show me, show me!â Floyd flashed his own sharp-toothed grin, exaggerating gnashing down. The boy sniffled weekly before giving a half-smile. âHey, come on, you know what I mean. We want a full smile, right, Guppy?â Floyd tossed the boy into the air, catching him and swinging him around so his legs flew out behind him. Despite himself, the boy started giggling. Floyd smiled, booping him on the nose. âThereâs those teeth. Look how strong you are!âÂ
The boy covered his mouth with his hands, trying to stifle his giggling. He made claws with his hands, baring his teeth. âGrr!âÂ
Floyd gasped dramatically. âOh no! This isnât a guppy at all! Itâs a shark! Jade, help me!â Floyd theatrically collapsed to the floor, making sure to keep the boy at arms length above him so he didnât get hurt. The boyâs mood had fully switched now, laughing and holding his arms out so he could pretend to fly.Â
Jade stood in the doorway, smiling softly at his brotherâs antics. But, more pressingly, wondering how a small child had found his way into Octavinelle in the first place. And, possibly, why he happened to have a certain family resemblance?Â
âPardon me,â Jade said, stepping forward. âI couldnât help hear you say âPapa?ââÂ
âAnd then, I swung on this rope over the river, and it was probably, like a hundred feet high! And I let go and did a huge cannonball and it made the biggest splash ever!â The boy, (Y/N) had found out was named Argonaut, was regaling her and Grim with some pretty fantastical exploits from the last camping trip he and his brother Caspian had taken with their Uncle Jade. The name drops were getting much too specific, and (Y/N) still needed to find out what happened to Argoâs twin, so she decided a visit to Octavinelle was the best next thing to do.Â
âWow, you did all that?â She asked. Argo walked beside her, holding her hand and swinging it back and forth in a large arc. âA hundred feet is pretty high. You must be brave.âÂ
âThe bravest!â He said with a big sharp-toothed smile. âPapa said I have to look out for Cas because he gets scared real easy. But he knows tons of stuff and heâs really smart, so thatâs okay.â He frowned a little. âI canât read really good, so Cas helps me out. Thatâs why weâre a team!âÂ
âYou sound like a very good team. Weâll find him soon, okay?â (Y/N) could tell Argo was worried about his brother. Even if he kept putting on a brave face, being lost in a big, strange place like NRC would put any kid on edge, not to mention that Argo had no idea how he or Cas got there in the first place.Â
âMy tummy felt bubbly like when I had too much soda that one time and there was a big light and then I was here,â He had said when she asked.Â
âMore magic nonsense,â (Y/N) thought to herself. She decided she was never getting used to it.Â
Stepping through the mirror to Octavinelle, the air temperature noticeably dropped at least ten degrees. The light took on the cool blue hue of the water surrounding the glass tunnels around the dorm. Its own little pocket dimension, or however the dorms actually worked, was like living inside an intricate aquarium full of coral reefs, darting fish, and cool temperatures to remind the largely mer-based population of home.Â
Stepping into the Mostro Loungeâs lobby, (Y/N) turned to Grim and said, âOkay, you stay here with him. Iâm going to try and find-âÂ
âArgo!âÂ
âCas!âÂ
Argo sprinted away, colliding with his double in the middle of the Lounge floor, almost knocking a poor waiter off his feet. The two boys hugged as if they hadnât seen each other for years instead of the better part of an hour. (Y/N) felt a pull on her heartstrings at their reunion.Â
âCute,â She muttered. She took a step forward. âI-â
âShrimpy!âÂ
Before she could get another word out, (Y/N) was tackled in a bear hug. Floyd pinned her arms to her sides, picking her up and swinging her around. Behind the daze of dizziness and the feeling of her ribs creaking under pressure, she couldnât help but compare her normal greeting from Floyd to the smaller twinâs reuniting.Â
âUrk, hello, Floyd. Good to see you too.âÂ
âAww, thatâs all you got to say? With our kids here and everything?âÂ
âWith our- what?!â (Y/N) squirmed out of Floydâs hold and stumbled back.Â
Floyd pulled the two careening boys close, beaming like a proud father. âCome on, Shrimpy, you met our little leptocephalus, right? Iâm Papa and youâre Mama, right, boys?âÂ
âYeah, Mama,â Argo said, âDonât be silly!âÂ
âArgo,â Cas muttered, tugging his brotherâs sleeve. âSomething kinda weird happened, you know? Mama and Papa look different. I think this is where they met.âÂ
âYeah, Night Raven College, the best school in the world!â Argo threw his arms up in celebration. He turned back to Floyd and (Y/N). âCas and I are gonna come here too when we get big. Weâre going to be great mages just like Papa and Uncle Jade and Uncle Azul and Uncle Ace and Uncle Deuce and Uncle Grim and everyone!âÂ
âEveryone, huh?â (Y/N) said, starting to feel dizzy.Â
Cas pouted at his brother. âThatâs not what I mean, Argo.âÂ
âHeâs right!â Grim cut in, paws on his hips with a smug look on his face. âSince I am going to be the worldâs greatest mage!âÂ
Floyd poked Grimâs exposed tummy. âYou were last on that list, seal.âÂ
âMrow!â Grim started flailing his paws at Floyd, who easily kept him at bay with one long arm pushing his head back.Â
âAh, hereâs where you all went.â Jade came up to the group. He was gently cradling one of his terrariums that had a strange-looking purple and silver mushroom with a dripping cap nestled inside.Â
âHi, Uncle Jade!â Argo waved.Â
âHello, nephew.âÂ
âIs that one of your fancy mushrooms, Uncle Jade?â Cas asked, standing on his tiptoes to try and get a better look. Jade held it down so the twins could see. Casâs eyes sparkled in fascination while Argo screwed up his face in displeasure.Â
âIt is,â He said. âAnd I believe this is why you two came to visit us.âÂ
âWhat do you mean?â (Y/N) asked, picking Grim up to rescue him from Floydâs teasing.Â
Jade turned to his brother. âFloyd, do you recognize this?âÂ
Floyd stuck his tongue out. âBleh, yeah. You made that nasty tea from that mushroom the other day and tricked me into drinking it.âÂ
âTea?â (Y/N) asked. âOh, was that the tea in the thermos you had the other day?â She frowned. âYou tricked me into drinking it too, Floyd. You said it was tasty and so excited to share it with me, then laughed when I started choking on it because it was so bitter.âÂ
Floyd had picked the boys up, holding one in each arm. âThatâs because itâs funny when itâs you, Shrimpy.âÂ
She narrowed her eyes. âMmhmm, sure.âÂ
âI apologize that you were roped into my experiment, (Y/N),â Jade said, not looking or sounding apologetic at all. âBut I believe it led to an even more fascinating result than I could have hoped for. This,â He held up the terrarium. âIs an oracleum mycoculous, the fortune-telling mushroom. A very rare specimen a fellow mycologist friend of mine sent me from the Shaftlands. He knew I attended NRC and he asked me to study the effects of magic on this particular species.â
âA fortune-telling mushroom?â (Y/N) asked. âLike, if you cut an apple in half the shape of the seeds can tell your future?âÂ
âItâs a bit more extreme than that. Itâs rumored that when prepared in a certain way, eating an oracleum mycoculous can give one insight into future challenges, typically giving a person a strong intuition into choices they should make in the near future. My colleague had heard rumors that making a tea with the mushroom infused with magic could give the person who drinks it clearer visions of the future. I only intended for Floyd to drink it and record any dreams or premonitions he had, but if you drank it as well, Prefect,â he booped Cas on the nose, who giggled while intently studying the mushroom. âIt would seem we were able to bring your future children from your future to our present.âÂ
(Y/N) gulped hard, finally starting to accept what she had been suspecting this whole time. âOur children?â She squeaked.Â
Floyd nuzzled the two boys. âAww, Shrimpy and I had little guppies!â He smiled wickedly. âHow many tries do you think it took before we ended up with these fry?âÂ
(Y/N) felt her face explode with heat. âFloyd! That - I mean - Weâre not even together!âÂ
âIf I may,â Jade said. âThe visions associated with the oracleum mycoculous are said to only be possibilities. It shows you options for possible futures depending on certain choices made. So perhaps your boys were drawn from one of these possible futures.âÂ
(Y/N) felt dizzy at âyour boys.â âOkay, wait, hang on-âÂ
âMama, are you okay?â Cas asked. He reached out to her. (Y/N) felt a thud in her chest and took him from Floyd.Â
âIâm okay, Cas,â She said, trying to hide her anxiety from showing on her face. âJust a little confused, is all. I bet your actual parents are really worried about you.â She turned to Jade. âSo, how do we fix this?âÂ
He smiled slyly. âI have no idea. But wouldnât it be fascinating to find out?âÂ
âAbsolutely not.âÂ
The Leech family, plus (Y/N) and Grim, although, if the current children were to be believed, (Y/N) would be part of the Leech family in the future, stood in front of an annoyed-looking Professor Crewel in the alchemy classroom.Â
âSorry?â (Y/N) asked.Â
âI absolutely do not approve of any relationship of this sort. Any pup of mine could do much better.âÂ
âAww, Beakfish,â Floyd pouted. âThatâs no way to talk to your future son-in-law, is it?âÂ
Crewel frowned deeper, his grip tightening on his teaching pointer that often doubled as a whip. He obviously didnât approve of Floyd commenting on his pseudo-adoption of (Y/N). Although he had been in somewhat of a custody battle with Headmage Crowley in that regard. (Y/N) anticipated a negative reaction from her one father figure, but at least there was a higher chance Professor Crewel would be able to get something done in a timely manner, rather than the crow-coded Headmage dramatically lamenting without much work actually being done.Â
(Y/N) frowned, feeling her face heat up again. âSir, weâre not actually together or anythingâŠâÂ
Floyd draped himself over her shoulders, trapping her in a backward hug. âAww, my wifey Shrimpy is so mean to me. Whyâs your Mama so mean, guppies?âÂ
âMamaâs not mean!â Argo defended, taking one of her hands. âMamaâs the nicest! She lets me stay up past bedtime and eat tons of ice cream and watch PG-13 stuff on TV!âÂ
(Y/N) looked down skeptically. âDo I really do that?âÂ
He smiled slyly. âIf I say itâs in the future then would you?âÂ
âNice try.âÂ
âGrandpa,â Cas said, looking up at Crewel with big puppy eyes. âYouâre going to help us get back to Mama and Papa, right?âÂ
Crewel faltered. Not even he was totally immune to the childâs charms. He crossed his arms, huffing in feigned annoyance. âWell, of course weâll get them home. But after weâre having a serious conversation about your future prospects, pup.âÂ
âLike I said, weâre not even together,â (Y/N) protested weakly.Â
âJade,â Crewel said, holding out his hand. âThe oracleum mycoculous.âÂ
Jade clutched the terrarium close to his chest. âBut itâs my only sample. I made the other one into the tea that Floyd and (Y/N) drank.âÂ
Crewel raised an eyebrow. âAnd we are in this situation because of that. Iâll have to use the mushroom to reverse-engineer an antidote to send these two back.â Jade reluctantly handed the mushroom over. âIâll start research right away. Hopefully, weâll get some answers soon. In the meantime, Iâll have to entrust these two in your care.âÂ
âNot a problem,â (Y/N) said. âYou guys can stay at Ramshackle with me and Uncle Grim.â (Y/N) caught herself, wondering when it had become so easy to refer to her friends as âUncleâ as her theoretical future children did.Â
âPapaâs gonna come to, right?â Argo said.Â
âAbsolutely not!â Crewel said, griping the terrarium so tightly (Y/N) was afraid it might break.Â
Floyd sniffed. âYouâre going to tell me I canât be with my children? Youâre going to separate us?âÂ
âYouâre already on thin ice, donât push your luck.âÂ
âIâll take care of it, Professor,â (Y/N) said before tempers could rise any further. âThanks for helping us with this.âÂ
âOf course, dear,â Crewel said, his tone softening. He cast a suspicious eye at Floyd, who was getting a bit too close to the alchemy ingredients along the walls, lifting the boys up high so they could get a better look. âJust let me know if you need any help.âÂ
In the end, Floyd did end up staying at Ramshackle for the night. (Y/N) could hear the three Leech boys loudly playing in the living room while she tried to make something quick for dinner. Macaroni and cheese would probably work. Kids liked mac and cheese, right? Even if they were mer kids from the future. Or, half mer? (Y/N) wondered how that worked, specifically biologically speaking. Did the boys have mer forms like Floyd and Jade did? Did they look more human in some parts and more eel-like in others? It occurred to her that there was still so much basic mer and beast-man biology she had no idea about. But how do you ask that sort of thing without it being awkward about it?
âMama!â Cas called, poking his head in the kitchen. âCan Argo and I go pick out our rooms?âÂ
âI call the big one!â Argo yelled, sprinting past his brother up the stairs.Â
âHey, donât run inside!â (Y/N) warned.Â
âYeah, and you canât have the big one,â Cas scolded. âThatâs Mama and Papaâs room.âÂ
(Y/N) gulped. A sly smile stretched over Floydâs face. âYeah, where is our room? I should go unpack right?âÂ
(Y/N) shook her head, trying to get rid of certain thoughts while organizing others. She clapped her hands together. âI know. Why donât we build a pillow fort in the living room? Itâll be like a big sleepover.â She weakly kicked at Floydâs shin, more out of show than real malice. âBecause thatâs all this is.âÂ
âLike when there was that big storm!â Argo said, racing back down the stairs. âAnd the lights all went out and we had to stay away from the windows so we made that big tent in the middle of the kitchen!âÂ
(Y/N) smiled fondly at a memory she hadnât made yet. âSure, like that.âÂ
âI know where the biggest pillows are!â Grim called, racing up the stairs. The boys eagerly followed, making plans for their blanket fort that would stretch all across NRC campus.Â
Floyd sighed dramatically, draping his full body weight over (Y/N)âs back as she tried to stir the macaroni and cheese. âHowâd we get so lucky, huh?â (Y/N) purposefully ignored him, something that didnât slip Floydâs attention. âTheyâve got my looks, of course, handsome devils. Hey, do you think we live on land or in the sea? Ooh, or we could do both! Like a summer house! I bet I make a ton of money, I got to take care of you and the guppies, right? Aww, youâd be a cute little house wife. Iâll come home after work and youâll say âWelcome home!â, I canât do your voice too good, itâs higher than mine, you know? But youâll say âWelcome home!â and Iâll give you a big hug and say âIâm home!â And Iâll bring you and the kids gifts and weâll play games after dinner, and when theyâre all tuckered out and in bed Iâll pick you up and go to our room and Iâll squeeze you real tight and say-âÂ
âFloyd!â Floyd jumped at (Y/N)âs sudden exclamation. He felt her body tense and then sag in exhaustion. âJust⊠You shouldnât say that kind of stuff, you know?â
Floyd blinked. âHuh? Why not, Shrimpy?âÂ
âYou know why.â She didnât say anything after that. Floyd let the remark sit. After a minute of silence between them, listening to the cheering and shouting from the boys upstairs, (Y/N) finally sighed and said, âYou shouldnât say stuff like that to a girl. Not when you donât mean it.âÂ
Floyd chuckled feebly, his heart not in it. He felt torn between squeezing tighter and getting as far away from here as possible. âHow do you know if I mean it or not?âÂ
âBecause youâre always like this. Youâve been like this since weâve met, youâre like this with everyone. And you know-â She cut herself off. She seemed to be deliberating something serious and finally continued. âAnd you know how I feel about you.âÂ
Floyd felt his mouth go dry, his heart started thumping a million miles an hour, and his stomach turned into knots. He had to say something. This was one of those moments where you had to say something, right? Of course he knew how she felt, it was pretty obvious to everyone how she felt, Floyd included. And the garden, especially what had happened at the garden. Or, rather, what hadnât happened. Â
Now, had he taken advantage of that little fact over the school year to wring out some more entertainment out of the magicless Prefect? Well, yes, of course he had. Had he meant to have his own feelings grow into something he couldnât manage over that time? No, but it had happened anyway, sneaking up on him and socking him in the heart like a mantis shrimp when he least expected it.Â
He tried to say it without saying it. He tried to show it without saying it. But why couldnât he just say it?Â
â(Y/N),â Floyd started. âI-âÂ
There was a crash from the living room, accompanied by a shriek and laughter.Â
âPapa!â Cas called. âWe need help!âÂ
Whatever seriousness had come over Floydâs countenance disappeared in the blink of an eye. His signature wide grin cut across his face. If anyone was paying attention, they would notice his smile didnât reach his eyes. He quickly reached over (Y/N)âs shoulder and stole a spoon, scooping a chunk of the mac and cheese from the pot to shove into his mouth before dashing out into the living room.Â
(Y/N) stuck her tongue out at his retreating form before turning back to the stove. As she slid the dish of mac and cheese into the oven to finish cooking, she paused. Had Floyd used her real name?Â
âArgo!â Cas whispered in the darkness.Â
A large quilt hung over their heads, precariously draped between several chairs. Pillows were stacked on all sides making soft walls and they had layered several duvets and couch cushions below to create an improvised mattress. Mama was on the couch, which served as the left-most barrier of their fort, the quilt draping down close to her head with Uncle Grim curled up on her lap. Papa lay sprawled between Cas and Argo, arms and legs out like a starfish.Â
âArgo, are you awake?â Cas asked again.Â
He heard his brother mumble something before his head popped up from the other side of their dad, hair flattened against one side of his head and sticking out in every direction on the other. âWassup?â Argo said sleepily.Â
âDid you hear what Mama said with Grandpa Crewel?â Argo rubbed his eyes and shook his head. âShe said she wasnât dating Papa!âÂ
Argo squinted at his brother in the darkness. âBut they are. Mama and Papa said they started dating at Night Raven College.âÂ
âBut theyâre not yet. Remember what Uncle Jade said? Weâre only from one future. What if Mama and Papa donât start dating in this future?âÂ
It took Argo a second to register what Cas was suggesting. His eyes went wide and he gasped loudly. Cas shushed him and Papa mumbled in his sleep, finally turning over on his stomach without waking up.Â
âYou mean we wonât exist?â Argo whispered, panicked. Cas nodded. âWhat do we do?âÂ
Cas smiled. âDonât worry, I have a plan.âÂ
The next day, amid a bright blue sky painted with thin wispy clouds, Floyd had insisted on visiting Heartslabyul to âShow off his guppies to his best friend, Goldfishy!â (Y/N) sarcastically predicted that this could only end well.Â
The group of five had, as anticipated, balked at the two visitors and their explanation for being there. But the boys had taken to seeing their pseudo-uncles like, well, like merboys to water. They were outside, near the rose garden maze. Argo was practicing some kind of gymnastics, holding Deuceâs hands tightly, walking up his stomach and chest to flip in a practice summersault. Cas munched happily on a cinnamon roll almost as big as his head while watching in fascination as Ace showed off some card tricks.Â
âHave you heard anything from Professor Crewel?â Trey asked, setting down a new plate of danishes on the table. Â
âNothing yet,â (Y/N) said, taking a napkin and wiping off some smeared frosting from Casâs face. âBut I assume something like this will take some time to get right.âÂ
âAnd youâreâŠâ Trey waved his hand in a circle. âDoing alright?âÂ
âIâm⊠Okay.â (Y/N) looked over at the boys now playing tag. âThis isnât the worst magic thing thatâs happened since Iâve been here.âÂ
âThat doesn't mean it makes everything easy,â Riddle commented, gazing over the rim of his tea cup. âEspecially given your⊠choice of partner.âÂ
(Y/N) rolled her eyes. âIâm well aware. Floydâs not too bad, though. Heâs pretty good with kids.â
Riddle huffed. âConsidering he basically is one himself Iâm not entirely surprised.âÂ
âHmm? Are you talking about me, Goldfish?â Floyd said, appearing out of nowhere. He grasped the back of Riddleâs chair, pulling back so Riddle was thrown off balance, throwing his arms out to try and reestablish equilibrium. Riddle scowled, face turning red. He looked like he was going to say something, but bit his tongue as Cas and Argo ran up and started digging into the pastries. âItâs not nice to gossip about people.âÂ
âYeah,â Argo said, a mouth full of cherry danish. âItâs impolite. Youâre the one telling us about manners all the time.âÂ
âAll the time?â Riddle asked.
âWhen you come over for dinner!â Cas chimed in. âYou come over with Papa cause you work together and we all eat and you help me and Argo study!â Argo stuck out his tongue at the last part.Â
Riddle went from red to white. âWe work together?âÂ
âYeah! You and Papa are best friends!âÂ
(Y/N) was momentarily worried that Riddle was going to faint.Â
âAnd Uncle Ace and Uncle Deuce come over all the time! Uncle Deuce is going to teach me how to ride a blast cycle!â Argo said.Â
âWeâll revisit that later,â (Y/N) said, ruffling his hair.Â
âCan Uncle Trey still teach me how to bake?â Cas asked. âUncle Cater was going to help me make a Magicam account to show off the stuff we make! Before Argo eats all of it.âÂ
âDonât be so good at baking and I wonât be so good at eating,â Argo replied, stuffing another danish in his mouth before darting off, Cas close behind him.Â
âI feel dizzy,â Riddle mumbled.Â
âSounds like youâre keeping busy,â Ace said, watching Floyd duck around the hedges with the twins.Â
âWhen am I not?â (Y/N) said. âBut at least it sounds like weâre all still close in the future. I like that.âÂ
âIt sounds like you donât go home, though,â Cater said, mostly to himself. âBack to your world, I mean.âÂ
(Y/N) hummed. âMaybe home is what you make of it.âÂ
âHey, Goldfishy?âÂ
Riddle growned, shrugging off Floydâs arm for leaning on him. âWhat is it, Floyd?âÂ
Floyd was quiet for a moment, such a rare occurrence that Riddle looked up at him to make sure he had been heard. Floyd was looking out at the rose garden, watching the two children darting around bushes, chasing and being chased by Ace, Deuce, and Grim. (Y/N) stood nearby, watching with a serine look on her face, chiming in every once and a while to make sure the younger boys (and the older ones, too, letâs be honest) were being careful of their surroundings.Â
âYou know about all that formal romantic stuff right?â Floyd finally asked.Â
âI donât know about âromantic.â What are you getting at?âÂ
Floyd has a lazy smile on his face. âDo you know how to write a love letter?âÂ
Riddle felt himself blush. âIâm not getting in the middle of whatever exploits youâre up to, romantic or otherwise.âÂ
âAw, come on,â Floyd said, poking Riddleâs check, causing Riddle to swat at him like a fly. â(Y/N)âs real nice, you know? She deserves something fancy. And I want-â It was rare that Floyd was at a loss for words. Riddle looked up at him, seeing determination and focus scrunch his brow as Floyd tried to choose his next words. âI guess I want to prove it to her. That I like her. That I really like her. That I-â Floyd groaned, letting his body go limp and dragging Riddle with him to crash to the lawn. âSee? Iâm not good at this kind of stuff! Help your best friend out!âÂ
Riddle yelled, âIf you werenât so cavalier all the time, youâd be able to focus when you had to be serious!âÂ
Ace stalked through the high hedges of the rose maze, having been called It in the boysâ game of hide-and-seek. âBetter watch out,â He called in a sing-song voice. âUncle Ace is going to find you!âÂ
âPsst!â Ace whipped around, seeing Cas peeking out from behind a hedge, waving him over. He went over, seeing Cas, Argo, Deuce, and Jade sitting together, huddled under the shade of the maze. Argo had smuggled a few more pastries from breakfast and was tearing them apart to share with the group.Â
âJade?â Ace asked. âWhat are you doing here?âÂ
âMy dear nephews called me,â He said.Â
âPapa let me borrow his phone!â Argo said, holding up the cell, smears of frosting covering the screen. âHe doesn't know he let me borrow it, but Iâll give it back before he misses it.âÂ
Cas put his hands on his hips. Ace had never seen a more serious looking eight-year-old. âThatâs still stealing, Argo!â He huffed. âWhatever. We have something super important to talk about!âÂ
âYeah!â Argo chimed in. âWe need to make sure Mama and Papa kiss!âÂ
Deuce choked on his cinnamon roll. Jade tilted his head and smiled.Â
âOya?â Jade said. âThatâs quite the goal.âÂ
âWe want to get Mama and Papa together!â Cas clarified. âBecause theyâre in love and stuff! And we want to exist in the future!âÂ
âI donât know how much we should be messing with (Y/N)âs love life,â Deuce said. âIt feels kind of invasive, you know?âÂ
âAnyway,â Ace said, crossing his arms. âItâs Floydâs fault anyway.âÂ
âIs it?â Jade asked.Â
Ace gulped and scooted away a little before continuing. âWell, yeah. Come on, we all know (Y/N) likes Floyd, for some reason, whatever, thatâs on her. If Floyd canât string together 2+2 then thatâs on him.âÂ
âFloyd isnât exactly subtle with his emotions, either,â Jade said. âHe might have issues directing them to a specific conclusion, however.âÂ
âSo, you think he likes (Y/N), too?â Deuce asked.Â
âUndeniably.âÂ
Ace rubbed the back of his neck. âYou know, liking is one thing, but we are sort of talking about future marriage and kids here.â He nodded his head at the twins.Â
âBut Mama and Papa are in love!â Cas insisted. âAnd the stories Mama tells us says true love conquers all!âÂ
âThat does sound like the sort of sappy thing (Y/N) would say,â Ace relented.Â
âI mean,â Deuce said. âWe canât really force anything, right? If they decide they want to get together thatâs up to them. But,â He winked at Cas and Argo. âA little push couldn't hurt, right?âÂ
âGreat!â Cas said. âPhase one is complete! Now, we need recruits for phase two!â
It was Day 3 of having Argo and Cas at NRC. (Y/N) was fretting about what to do with the boys while she and Grimm went to class.Â
âI can skip class and stay here!â Grim volunteered.Â
âAbsolutely not,â (Y/N). âYour grades need all the help they can get.â Floyd had offered to spend the day with the boys as well, when he had tried to worm his way into spending another night at Ramshackle. But (Y/N) had insisted he go sleep in his own bed at his own dorm. And it totally had nothing to do with the fact about how her heart had fluttered the morning after his first night there, when heâd woken up with a big yawn, hair a mess, and smiled lazily at her while wishing her a good morning. Nope. Absolutely not.Â
âWeâll be okay, Mama!â Cas promised. She had set him and Argo up at the kitchen table with a box of crayons and coloring books she had snagged from the Mystery Shop (Sam really did have everything in stock). âArgo and I will stay right here and not do anything sneaky!â Argo punched his brotherâs shoulder. (Y/N) raised an eyebrow, even more nervous about leaving the boys in the large dilapidated dorm for an entire school day.Â
âDonât worry about it, Prefect!â Phineas, Ezra, and Gus, the Ramshackle ghosts, said, materializing in the kitchen. âWeâll take care of them.âÂ
(Y/N) sighed in relief. âThank you, guys. Boys, you be good for the ghosts while Uncle Grim and I are away, okay?âÂ
âYes, Mama,â They both said dutifully. They listened intently for the sound of the front door closing before jumping up and smiling at the ghosts.Â
âOkay!â Argo said, clapping his hands. âPhase three of Operation Angelfish is a go!âÂ
For once, everything seemed to be going as normal. (Y/N) and Grim went to classes, got an update on the return potion from Professor Crewel (Just waiting for it to reduce to a concentrated form), had lunch, went to gym, nothing out of the ordinary. Which, as previously established, put (Y/N) on edge.Â
Everything seemed to be normal. Too normal, as far as (Y/N) was concerned. If she didnât know better (and she did) it would seem like her friends were going out of their way to make it seem like nothing important was going on. There had been at least three times already where (Y/N) had walked up to a group, only for them to immediately stop talking, or very obviously switch topics, all while casting side-eyes at each other. She also couldnât help but notice that she hadnât seen Floyd all day. Well, maybe out of the corner of her eye, or hearing his voice, but it was always cut off, he was pulled away by his brother, or one of her friends suddenly desperately needed her over there right this second.Â
She tried not to take this as some kind of commentary on the possible future relationship the two out of place children suggested. It wasnât really that bad, was it? Her having feelings for Floyd? She knew Ace, Deuce, and Grim were pretty shocked when she had first confided in them. (âI think I like Floyd. Thought?â âAnd prayers.â) And while no one had ever said anything explicitly negative, besides the occasional teasing or complaining about her crush, there wasnât anything actually encouraging either. (Y/N) knew she let Floyd get away with way too much most of the time, and only after interacting realized how moon-eyed sheâd been acting. Half the time she thought Floyd might return her feelings, and the other half felt like he was taking advantage of her swayed good graces. It made her head spin and chest ache.Â
And now, with Cas and Argo appearing out of nowhere? Saying that they were married in some possible future? Happily married with children? The picture the boys painted was idyllic. The kind of thing (Y/N) had only seen in magazines or at the end of some Jane Austen novel. (Y/N) felt herself blush every time she thought about it, whether it was out of embarrassment or longing, she wasnât sure. Dinners together, people from NRC coming to visit all the time, (Y/N) bringing traditional holidays from her world to celebrate, a beautiful house by the Coral Sea where the boys would learn to swim in their human and mer forms.Â
Was there a lingering darkness in the back of her mind that told her this meant she would never go back to her own world again? Sure, of course. Was there a nagging that this was only a possibility, and her own future still had a chance of being completely different? Yes, definitely.Â
Did that stop her from planning how exactly she would formally confess to Floyd once she made sure Cas and Argo got home safely? Not a chance.Â
Finally, it was the end of the day. (Y/N) was already planning in her head what to make for dinner when she heard someone call her name. Well, sort of her name.Â
âChild of man,â Malleus called, raising a hand in greeting from the quad.Â
âOh, Horton,â She said, jogging over to him. âHi, I donât usually see you around now. How are you?âÂ
Malleus puffed up with pride, a self-satisfied smile on his face. âIâve been recruited.âÂ
âRecruited?âÂ
âBy my future nephews. Iâm meant to distract you.âÂ
âFuture-? Ah, I see.â (Y/N) had an adorable image flash in her mind of the twins and their doting Uncle Horton. âAny particular reason Iâm being distracted?âÂ
âIâm not meant to say.âÂ
If they had managed to wrap Malleus into whatever they were doing, (Y/N) thought it couldnât do that much harm. Why not let the boys have fun while they were still in the past? But just to be sureâŠ
âGrim, youâll make sure the house doesn't burn down while Iâm gone, right?âÂ
Grim saluted, giving a conspiratorial nod at Malleus before flying away.Â
Malleus offered his arm which (Y/N) took while they strolled away. âShould I be worried about what youâre all planning?â She asked.Â
He hummed. âNot at all. Now, have I ever told you about the controversy surrounding bat-styled gargoyles versus griffin-styled gargoyles in 15th century cathedral architecture?âÂ
Floyd was mad. Actually mad. Sure he got annoyed or frustrated every once and awhile, but actually angry? That was a rarity that no one wanted to witness.Â
Not only had Shrimpy not let him stay the night at her dorm again, which, fine, it was her house, but heâd been trying to see her all day to no avail. Either someone would pull her away, Jade would appear out of nowhere and stall him until she was gone, or theyâd just keep missing each other. It would have been one thing if circumstances kept them apart, coincidences were coincidental after all, and itâs not like they had never gone a day without seeing each other. But this was intentional, pointed and deliberate. He was in a Shrimpy drought and the people around him were building a dam.Â
And he couldnât find his phone anywhere.Â
Eventually, he couldnât take it anymore. His skin felt too tight and all the lights were too bright and he wanted to scream. He cut his last few classes and returned to Octavinelle. He had already started tearing off his jacket and shirt as he walked through the mirror portal, leaving clothing in a scattered trail as he marched his way to the decompression chambers that let out into the surrounding water around the dorm. He jumped into the water, the icy chill shocking his human system. He felt his muscles stretch and a comforting pressure encase his body as he shifted back to his mer-eel form, legs melding together as one as he whipped through the water. He shot through the water, scattering fish as he went. He didnât have the patience to play with any of them today. He was finding he didnât have the patience for a lot of things.Â
Sheâd try to tell him, once, that she liked him. That maybe she loved him, or that could have been him projecting. (Oh, dear Seven, did he love her?) Sheâd asked him to meet him in the gardens after school. She said sheâd been thinking a lot and there was something extremely important she needed to tell him. Heâd poked her, saying she should just tell him now, in the passing period between classes surrounded by curious and eavesdropping classmates. Sheâd said no, that she still needed to get her thoughts in order. Sheâd written a letter, she said, that she was holding firmly in her hands, but she thought he would appreciate a more direct approach. So. Garden. After school. Sheâd be waiting. And then the bell had rung and sheâd run off.Â
And heâd left her waiting.Â
He hadnât shown up. Heâd heard later that sheâd been there so long the grounds keepers had to ask her to leave so they could lock up the bio-dome at night. Heâd seen her the next morning, eyes red and puffy, huddled with her first year friends who were speaking in low, comforting tones, trying to be affectionate and reassuring in that awkward way teenage boys did. And he had waltzed right over, picking her up and spinning her around. And she hadnât mentioned the garden. She hadnât mentioned the letter. She never mentioned any of it again. They fell back into their old rhythm, the one Floyd knew, the one he was comfortable with, the one he could predict.Â
He should have gone to the garden.Â
Why the hell hadnât he gone to the garden?Â
Floyd burrowed into a reef section of a shallow, tearing at floating kelp with his claws and snapping jaws. He was trashing and writhing, kicking up the loose sand so it created a hazy cloud around him. The sand started getting in his mouth and eyes but he didnât care. He welcomed the sting of it.Â
Argo and Cas being here meant everything was okay, right? If they had kids in the future, it meant everything worked out, right?Â
Floyd was mad. He was angry.Â
And he didnât understand why.Â
âFloyd!â Floyd looked up, seeing Jade swimming towards him.Â
He scowled, turning away to focus on wreaking havoc on the underwater flora. âNot now,â He said through gritted teeth.Â
âFloyd, this isnât the time-â Jade tried to reach out and touch his brother. Before he could make contact, Floyd whipped around with a snarl, swiping at Jade with his sharp claws.Jade quickly jerked out of the way, his surprise quickly melting to aggravation. Jade surged forward, catching Floyd around the stomach and tackling him to the sea floor. Floyd gnashed his teeth, clawing at Jadeâs back. âWhat exactly do you think youâre going to accomplish here?âÂ
âGet off!â Floyd writhed, wrapping his tail around Jade and spinning to loosen his brotherâs grip. Momentarily free, Floyd took the opportunity to lunge at Jade again.Â
A fight, good. This is exactly what he needed. He needed to do something physical, something violent, something to get his mind out of whatever stoop he was stuck in, something so he didnât have to focus on how bad he felt, something where the outcome could be predictable and certain, even if the certainty was pain. That was better than not knowing. That was better than letting feelings he couldnât control take over his mind.Â
He and Jade wrestled, throwing each other into the sand, striking with teeth and claws, whipping with their tails. They didnât cast any spells, which is the only way each twin was able to understand the severity of their fight, even if it was a subconscious understanding. Fighting was one thing, using magic against each other was another.Â
Finally, the two faced off, gills heaving with underwater breaths, scratches and gouges bleeding, eyes locked. Jade pushed back a little, careful not to make any sudden movements.Â
âDo you really think this is the best use of your time right now?â He asked.
Floyd snapped his teeth. âWho asked you? What do you know about anything, anyway?âÂ
âI know (Y/N) tried to confess to you.âÂ
Floyd froze, then felt another surge of anger bubble under his skin. Why did Jade know? What right did he have to know (Y/N)âs inner thoughts when Floyd himself couldnât even have them?Â
âShe told me,â Jade continued. âOr, I gathered from context clues. She asked if you had ever dated anyone back home, what sort of person you liked. She wanted to know if you prefer meeting in person to discuss important things or if she should leave a letter. Not that she really needed to discuss much. I would say itâs been rather obvious to anyone paying attention for the last few months. The real issue, I find, is why you havenât confessed yourself.âÂ
Floyd yelled, grappling Jade and sinking his teeth into his shoulder. Jade bit his lip to keep from crying out. He took advantage of the grapple to twist and pull Floyd into a headlock.Â
âI went there,â Jade continued through gritted teeth. âI went to the garden. I was planning on spying, I thought itâd be fun. But you never showed up. I kept waiting, and so did she, and you never appeared. Why in all of the deep blue sea didnât you come?âÂ
âI donât know!â Floyd confessed. He went limp in Jadeâs grasp, all the fight going out of him. He let out a choked cry, something Jade hadnât heard from his brother in who knows how long. âI donât know, I donât know!âÂ
Floyd sank to the rocky coral outcropping, collapsing. Jade observed him for a moment. He swam down, curling up next to Floyd.Â
âShe still has feelings for you, you know.âÂ
Floyd groaned deep in his chest. âI canât.âÂ
âCanât what?âÂ
âCanât tell her. I canât hear her say it. What happens after that, huh? What happens after we both say it?âÂ
âI donât know.âÂ
âThatâs the problem! How do I know what to do? Do I change, does she? And what if neither of us do? I canât risk it, I canât lose her!âÂ
âYouâre losing her anyway.âÂ
Floyd felt his anger flash again and lashed out with a claw which Jade easily dodged. The fight drained out of him again and he flopped back down.Â
Jade regarded Floyd. When he determined that Floyd wasnât about to fly off the handle again, he came closer. âDonât you think itâs selfish, keeping your feelings all to yourself?âÂ
âEels are cowards,â Floyd mumbled.
âBut humans are brave.â Floyd peaked up at Jade. âThey canât survive long in water, they donât have the heightened senses of beastmean, nor the longevity of fairies. They donât have claws or teeth or endless magic supplies. But theyâre brave and stubborn. Thatâs how theyâve lasted so long, become such a force in the world. And thereâs a certain human we know that is exemplary in that regard.âÂ
Floyd hummed. âSheâs amazing. Sheâs pretty and smart and clever and strong and⊠What if I mess up, Jade?âÂ
Jade patted Floydâs back. âThen Iâm sure sheâll let you know and youâll figure it out together. Relationships require two people, after all.âÂ
âYou think sheâll forgive me? From before?âÂ
âIf you apologize, Iâm sure she will. And, brother dear, I have the perfect setting for such an apology. Come on, we need to get you fitted with your suit. And maybe some stitches there above your eye.âÂ
âOw!â (Y/N) cried as she banged her shin for the third time.Â
âSorry, Mama!â Argo said, pulling her hand to maneuver her around the low table.Â
âItâs fine. Are you sure I have to keep this blindfold on?â She reached up for it.Â
âNo!â Cas gasped. âItâs a surprise!âÂ
(Y/N) sighed and let herself be pulled along, gritting her teeth when she stubbed her toe on the side of a chair.Â
After Malleus had brought her back to Ramshackle after their walk and gargoyle lecture, she had immediately been set upon by the boys who kept insisting that she absolutely not look anywhere near the backyard. Almost immediately after walking in the door, Vil appeared seemingly out of nowhere and shoved a garment bag in her hands. The dress was beautiful, of course, and probably worth more than she could ever afford, in her old world or this one. It seemed like almost everyone she knew was bustling around the dorm, being extremely secretive. Finally, her boys had come to get her, giving her a blindfold to wear and gingerly escorting her down stairs.Â
âHer boys.â When exactly had she started thinking of them like that?Â
(Y/N) felt a cool breeze as she stepped outside. She could feel the boys walking her up the hill in the backyard, stopping suddenly.Â
âOkay, Mama,â Cas said, his voice bubbling with excitement. âYou can look now!âÂ
(Y/N) removed the blindfold and gasped at what she saw. The large oak tree in the back dripped with tiny string lights and paper lanterns. Fireflies gently bobbed around in the oncoming twilight. A small table, (Y/N) recognized it from the Heartslabyul rose garden, had been set up underneath the glowing bows, decorated with a candelabra.Â
âOh, boys,â (Y/N) said, taking each of their hands. âThis is beautiful. Is this what youâve been up to all day?âÂ
âMostly!â Argo said.Â
âYup, now itâs phase 4!â Cas said.Â
âPhase 4?â (Y/N) asked. The boys just dragged her over to the table and pulled out the chair for her. They made to rush away before Argo hastily corrected himself and pulled out a wireless speaker from behind the tree trunk. He took out what suspiciously looked like Floydâs phone, sinking it up to the speaker. Soon, it began to play a string quartet. Argo smiled triumphantly, he and Cas taking hands and rushing back to the dorm.Â
(Y/N) smoothed her dress and sat down, watching the fireflies and sunset with the calming music in the background. There was a tea set on the table and she poured a cup. She paused for a moment before filling up the cup across from her as well. As she sipped the tea, she saw the silhouettes of Cas and Argo dragged someone around the side of the dorm. In the low light, she couldnât exactly tell who it was, but based on the lanky form and fond body language, she guessed it was Floyd. She sighed inwardly, half excited to see him and half dreading it, especially in such a romantic location. So this way the boysâ real plan. She wasnât sure exactly how to feel about that.Â
She stood up as Floyd came closer, stepping into the circle of light around the tree, ready to disperse whatever plot the boys had set up, before gasping. âFloyd! What happened?â Although Floyd was wearing a nice suit and tie, he had a black eye, a split lip, and a cut above one of his eyebrows that looked like it had been hastily patched with stitches. She rushed to him, her hands hovering around him. âAre you okay? Should we go to the infirmary? Who did those stitches - why do you have stitches!â She frowned. âHonestly, I keep telling you to stop getting into fights! One day youâre going to fight someone stronger than you and then where will we be? Look at you, youâre still bleeding!âÂ
Floyd only grinned, leaning down so his forehead touched hers. âShrimpyâs worried about me.âÂ
She weakly pushed him off. âOf course Iâm worried. Gosh, did the boys see you like this?âÂ
Before she could take a step away, he wrapped his arms around her, crushing her in a tight hug. âI like when youâre worried about me.âÂ
âIs that why you keep doing stupid stuff?âÂ
Floyd hummed. âMaybe. If it makes you pay attention to me, then itâs worth it, right?âÂ
(Y/N) didnât know how to reply. She felt heat building up in her checks, a mixture of embarrassment and longing and something else she couldnât quite place.Â
âFloyd, I-â âI like you, (Y/N).â She froze at his words. âI couldnât say it before. I mean, I could, but I didnât. And thatâs my fault. It was bad, I was bad, I still am bad. Iâm sorry. Iâm really sorry. I just - Youâre so much of everything. And I want that everything. I want us to share it, forever. I want to see you all the time because you make me so happy and I want to make you just as happy. I think we can be, together. I promise Iâll try, really hard. And I-â Floyd sniffed as (Y/N) pulled back. His face was flushed, tears dotting his lashes. He was trying to keep up his usual confidant grin, but it crumpled at the edges. âIâm sorry, Shrimpy. Iâm so sorry I hurt you, that I acted like nothing was wrong, that nothing happened. I love you, you know that right? You know it now. I love you.âÂ
âOh, Floyd,â She muttered, brushing his hair away from his face. âIf I kiss you now, is your lip going to start bleeding again?âÂ
Floyd broke out into a real smile, letting out a choked laugh. He crushed (Y/N) to him, picking her up and spinning her around. He peppered kisses on her face while she giggled too. She took his face in her hands, gently lowering him closer and kissing him.Â
Back at the dorm, spying out the windows, Cas and Argo high fived.Â
The next morning was bright and sunny and (Y/N) couldnât help but think it was all for her.Â
Cas and Argo were making their rounds in the quad, saying goodbye to their uncles, many of whom grew misty eyed and the imminent departure. Floyd was squeezing her hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb.Â
âAlright, pups, everyone settle down,â Professor Crewel called, waving everyone over. He took out a paper bag and shook out two dark purple oval candies, handing one to each boy. âHere, this will get you back to your time in the blink of an eye.â He patted each of their heads. âBe good, pups.âÂ
The two took the candies and rushed over to Floyd and (Y/N). Floyd crouched down and picked each boy one at a time, throwing them in the air and catching them before repeating with the other. (Y/N) pulled them both into a tight hug, kissing the tops of their heads.Â
âI canât wait to meet you boys for the first time,â She said.Â
âWeâll see you soon, Mama!â Argo said.Â
âMama,â Cas said. âYouâre going to take care of Papa, right?âÂ
(Y/N) laughed as Floyd frowned. âHey, shouldn't I be the one taking care of Mama?âÂ
Cas frowned, a perfect mirror of his father. âOnly kinda. Mamaâs the one who does all the taking care of.âÂ
âWell, when you get home, tell your Papa and he promised you ice cream.âÂ
(Y/N) quickly whipped away the tears that were forming in her eyes. She cleared her throat to try and speak without faltering. âSpeaking of, Iâm sure your Mama and Papa are worried about you. I think itâs time to head off. But one more hug.â They crashed back into her open arms. Floyd threw his arms around all of them, squeezing tight.Â
Finally, the Cas and Argo each took the others hand, popping the candy in their mouth. Cas screwed up his face and Argo stuck out his tongue at the bitter taste of it. (Y/N) couldnât help but laugh, comparing their reaction to hers when Floyd had first gotten her to drink the oracleum mycoculous tea. It seemed there was no good way to mask that taste.Â
Before their eyes, the twins started to fade out, as if they had been projections. They stared in fascination at their disappearing bodies. They looked up and waved and everyone waved back. Eventually, they slipped out of view. The group waited another moment, giving some sort of solemn respect to the family they would meet again in the future before dispersing.Â
âSo,â Floyd, leaning down to speak quietly to (Y/N). âYou never did answer me, Shrimpy.âÂ
âAnswer what?âÂ
He grinned deviously and (Y/N) immediately regretted asking. âHow many times you think it took before we got them.â
#fanfic#my work#twisted wonderland#twst x reader#twst#twisted wonderland x reader#floyd leech#floyd leech x reader#floyd x reader#magic plot points#this took me way to long#you have no idea#wafflefriesfic
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The core problem of Campaign 3's god debate is that the only real support offered by the anti-god side is "some people are mad at the gods" and no one -- in-universe or out -- seems to realize that the mere existence of people who dislike the gods isn't sufficient to make "should the gods stay or go?" into a hyper-complex morally grey debate, any more than the mere existence of global warming denialists is sufficient to make the factual reality of climate change into a hyper-complex scientific debate. "People who are mad at the gods exist, therefore the current system is broken somehow" is the mentality of people-pleasing: if someone is mad at you, it proves that you're a bad person who did something to make them mad, and you are now morally obligated to internalize everything they say about you and devote all your energy to appeasing them.
I am, personally, of the opinion that it is vitally important for people in positions of power to maintain a healthy awareness of their own fallibility and cultivate lines of feedback from lower down in the chain the way software developers provide bug report forms; however, the reality I encountered when I accepted a forum moderation position years ago is that, if you're an Authority Figureâą of any stripe, for every person with a good-faith criticism of a poor ruling you made while overtired or an outdated policy that needs to be revised, there are a dozen who shake their fists at you because they want someone to be mad at. And when you look at the actual substance of the complaints being made (nearly all of which display a fundamental refusal to grapple with the scale the gods operate on and how that affects their decision-making) and ask "what, if anything, could/should the gods have done differently?" and "is getting rid of the gods actually a viable solution to this problem?", they're all firmly in that latter category.
To go down the list:
Vecna: If we're treating "people who are mad at the gods" as a Marginalized Groupâą whose grievances are Good Pointsâą and Worth Consideringâą simply because they are grievances with The People in Powerâą, then Vecna is part of said Marginalized Groupâą, seeing as he holds a massive grudge against the gods who helped banish him beyond the Divine Gate and per the campaign books his ultimate goal is to eliminate the worship of all deities other than himself. One can only imagine how hard he's kicking himself for failing to find out about Predathos before his own ascension.
Ludinus: His parents will still be dead whether he succeeds or fails, and preventing the same thing from happening to others is what the Divine Gate is for. Killing the gods would not only not prevent similar tragedies, it would, at least in the short term, actively make things worse: assuming Tharizdun doesn't just eat everything, how does he expect Lesser Idols like Uk'otoa to react to a glorious new age where there are no gods to keep them in check and millions of newly deity-less clerics are stuck watching people die whom they could have saved if they still had their spells? Moreover, what happens when people discontented with his glorious new era swear vengeance on those they blame for taking their gods from them, as Ludinus swore vengeance on those he blames for his parents' deaths, or start idealizing the lost age of the gods and looking for ways to somehow bring them back, as Ashton does with the Titans? Does the perspective of people who like the gods then become Worth Consideringâą, if they've gone from being Privilegedâą to being a Marginalized Groupâą who have been collectively traumatized by the loss of something precious to them?
Aeor: One of the major takeaways from Downfall was that Aeor was extremely decadent, corrupt, stratified, and generally dystopian at its height. Their main reason for wanting the gods dead seems to be not liking the existence of anything more powerful than them, and anyone arguing that the gods are Too Powerful To Exist needs to explain why the tiny cabal of mages at the tippy-top of Aeor's societal pyramid, wielding power that 99.9% of Exandrians will never have access to, were not themselves Too Powerful To Exist, especially given their evident imperialist ambitions.
Dorian: I won't downplay the genuine grievance there, but a. Opal was victimized by one of the Betrayer Gods, and what to do about them is a question that Vespin Chloras and Cassida Previn, for all their hubris, approached with considerably more nuance, and b. per the post linked in the previous bullet point, if your ultimate goal is to prevent all ill-advised deals with powerful entities and the unpleasant consequences thereof, where exactly do you stop?
Tuldus and Hearthdell: Plenty of irreligious people across Exandria are living their best lives unmolested, so the whole "you must be religious OR ELSE" isn't something the gods themselves are demanding in a systemic way, and getting rid of them wouldn't prevent all oppression any more than it would prevent all cataclysms and mass deaths. (It might not even stop the oppression committed by those specific religious people; per 'personality predates ideology', the ones who are in it to bully others and feel righteous about it will simply look for a different excuse to do so if their current one is taken from them.) There's a genuine debate to be had about how much responsibility the gods bear for their followers' actions and one could, more reasonably, accuse them of having become too lax and needing to be more stringent about telling their priests to cut that kind of shit out (though that in turn opens the question of how much they can micromanage their followers' behavior before it becomes genuinely smothering and oppressive), but it runs counter to the "the gods have too much control" narrative the Vanguard is pushing.
Liliana: Every parroted accusation she levies at the Exandria's pantheon is something Predathos and its worshippers are far, FAR more guilty of, but Predathos doesn't present itself as a caring, benevolent entity in the same way the Prime Deities do, and she expects us to believe that it admitting that it's bad somehow makes it good. (There's a Slacktivist quote that I think sums up the underlying logic here: "Once you've decided that the Most Important Thing is to avoid the wolf in sheep's clothing, your safest course of action is to embrace the wolf in wolf's clothing.")
Ashton: Essentially blames the gods for refusing to micromanage reality on their behalf and, in focusing so much on his own pain, hasn't stopped to ask what the world would look like if the gods actually felt obligated to micromanage reality on behalf of everyone who petitioned them that way, not just him personally. My dad is an agnostic and specifically doesn't believe in a god who answers prayer because what's a god to do when there's a baseball game and both teams have fans praying for their victory (or when there's a war and both armies include adherents of a given faith)?
Bor'dor: It's one thing to say that the gods have certain obligations to their followers and quite another to say that that the gods are supposed to keep their followers swaddled in bubble wrap 24/7 and prevent them from experiencing any consequences for their own actions whatsoever, and arguing that the Wildmother should have somehow stopped Bor'dor's family's suicide charge from resulting in their deaths is the latter.
Vox Machina: Continue to hold a grudge against the Matron for taking Vax away and would like to believe her being gone would make him mortal again, but when you stop to think about Vax as a person with his own feelings and opinions about his relationship with the Matron, instead of as a passive object to be fought over, the "what if Predathos eats the Matron?" scenario looks a hell of a lot bleaker. There's also the question of whether or not Predathos would consider Vax himself edible; a mere celestial might be one of those half-crushed potato chip fragments at the bottom of the bag in comparison to a god, but when you've been trapped and starving for thousands of years...
Zathuda: Objects not to being told 'no' but to the existence of forces who could potentially tell him no, which to me reads as an asshole whining about how unfair and oppressive it is when people see his assholery and tell him to cut it the fuck out.
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A lot of the time when professionals interact with psychotic people, they try to reduce our distress by getting us to stop believing things. For me, that only made things worse. It was confusing and distressing. I felt angry, scared, and misunderstood. The best way I've found to cope with delusional thinking is something I discovered on my own. I'll give an example here so, huge TW for unreality and paranoia.
Scroll away if you're not able to hear delusional thinking.
Yesterday I started freaking out thinking people could hear my thoughts. This is something I've occasionally experienced since I was a child. When this comes up, I always think there's some massive conspiracy, where everyone can hear my thoughts but they react to me as if they don't hear anything. And they're all in on it. This time, it was triggered by intrusive thoughts that I started judging myself for.
As you can imagine, this is distressing. I started talking to people through my mind, which only made it worse. I couldn't focus on what was happening around me. What I did to reduce that distress is.. weirdly nonchalant. I just sat there and thought "Well, if this is true, it's not like they're going to change how they interact with me. Everything is the same as it was. Nothing I can do about it, might as well just keep on keeping on."
That calmed me down enough to start focusing on what I was doing, and eventually completely forget about it until now. Whenever I try to treat my delusional thinking as something I have to stop immediately... it literally only makes my mind double down. But if I work within what I believe - what I "know" - I can find another way to look at it that isn't so scary.
This works with my hallucinations, too. I sometimes see shadow people; they're more like jump scares than anything. They startle me, and I start to wonder if people I'm looking at are real. But that latter part only really happens if I get fearful of them. To avoid that fear, I try to think of the shadow people as just friends watching over me, checking in. They don't do anything, after all. They just pop up, stand there, and disappear.
(Talk of unreality ends here)
So, yeah. This doesn't work for everyone, and it doesn't always work for me depending on what I'm experiencing/how I'm feeling. But without this, I'd be far worse off; it doesn't take too many missteps for me to spiral. I guess my point is, my reality doesn't have to be "normal" for me to be healthy as a schizophrenic person. It just has to be something I can live with, as happily and safely as possible.
And that's ok. Neurodivergent people are allowed to exist, and some people are helped best by finding ways for them to exist as they are without so much distress - rather than trying to eliminate troubling symptoms entirely.
#softspoonie#schizospec#schizophrenia#schizoaffective#schizophrenic spectrum#unreality tw#paranoia tw#actually paranoid#actually hallucinating#actually delusional#actually schizophrenic#actually psychotic#psychosis#mental health#mental health awareness#mentally ill#mental illness#recovery#mental health recovery#neurodivergent#actually neurodivergent#psychotic spectrum#schizo spectrum#actually schizospec#chronic illness#chronically ill#sanism#ableism
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Okay, this is my first time doing this, but I need to say this, to the people who claim Sasuke's a bad clan leader, or that Fugaku and Mikoto would've accepted his relationship with Sakura had the clan survived, you're all idiots and I am not sorry for saying that.
I don't watch or read Boruto as I don't consider anything past chapter 695 as canon, but I'm still going to get this out of the way first. Sasuke never wanted to marry that bitch Sakura, he never wanted a kid with her or whatever. This man is the victim of a state-sanctioned genocide, torture, and humiliation at hands of his own brother whom he loved dearly and admired, and it was all done on orders of the state after decades of systemic segregation, oppression, prejudice, and discrimination. Sasuke was forced to relive the massacre over a million times in the Tsukuyomi and went through this twice once when he was 7 and again when he was 12 or 13, with the latter experience putting him in a coma following Itachi breaking his wrist and ribs, and this nearly killed him had Tsunade not helped him (literally the ONLY good thing she did in the series). If anyone here in the real world experienced this, they'd either be dead or in some kind of mental hospital. The point is that they would be mentally destroyed, and they'd barely be able to function in society. Regular depression already fucks people up as is, and Sasuke went something no one should ever have to go through and it's a miracle he's still able to function as is.
Sasuke also repeatedly to Sakura to fuck off and leave him alone. That bitch repeatedly pestered and harassed him for years, emotionally wearing him down until he agreed to hump and dump her ass once. This bitch emotionally abused this poor guy, so it's no surprise he not only didn't want shit to do with her or her sithspawn of a daughter. This guy wasn't emotionally or mentally stable after what Itachi did to him at 7, and he hasn't been since. Hell, it's said in one of the databooks that Sasuke originally wanted a normal life with family and friends, but Itachi ruined it with his torture sessions. Those of you shitting on Sasuke for not being a good clan leader for not communicating with Sakura or Sarada or something, don't use your heads, those two dumbasses aren't even Uchiha.
Now, onto the other part of my argument, neither Fugaku nor Mikoto would've accepted Sakura being in a potential partner for Sasuke had the Uchiha survived, however, before I start this portion let me admit that this will be hard for me to properly articulate and so I apologize in advance so with that said let's get into this.
Putting aside how shitty and lackluster of an individual Sakura herself is, she also offers or brings nothing to the table.
As other people have so beautifully said before, the Uchiha are one of the oldest and strongest clans in the series. Their lineage goes back thousands of years, dating back to the time of Hagoromo, who himself was considered a myth by the public in the present. Because of this, there's a great deal of prestige, honor, pride, and recognition that comes with their bloodlines' age. Not only that, but the Uchiha are more distinct and well-known than any other clan in the series. The Uchiha are the ONLY clan to possess distinctly potent and voluminous chakra, and because of this, they're only ones who possess and wield one of the most powerful and coveted kekkei genkai in the series the sharingan. This stems from them being the ONLY clan to have inherited the potent chakra and dojutsu of the Shinju.
The Uchiha have their own clan specific culture, mores, values, beliefs, and traditions strictly unique to themselves, for example, the clans' crest can only be worn by the members of the clan who've demonstrated mastery over their signature fireball katon jutsu and as Fugaku says to Sasuke it represents the will of those with fans who manipulate fire, use or mastery over this jutsu also makes that Uchiha a fully fledged member of the clan.
The Uchiha were known and feared throughout the world for their strength, prowess, and renown as a battle clan, so much so that other villages had rules when facing off against them. Every time someone saw or confronted Sasuke, they always brought up his lineage with reverence and fear. Two Kumo shinobi saw him and Taka carrying Bee away, and while they considered rescuing Bee, they immediately changed their minds upon seeing the Uchiha crest on Sasuke's back and instead reported to Ae about what happened. A whole crowd of wealthy patrons showed up at the Chunin Exams to see the last Uchiha battle it out, and that's why Sasuke wasn't disqualified for showing up late to his battle with Gaara during the Exams. During the Warring States Period, the Uchiha were virtually unstoppable with only the Senju due to their jutsu variety and their chieftain the freak Hashirama Senju rivaling them.
Taking all of this into account, there's no reason for a distinguished clan/bloodline like the Uchiha to take an outsider like Sakura into their midst and spoil the bloodline. Bloodline purity is a thing in the real world and persists to this very day. It's actually considered to be a huge transgression for members of distinguished clans, families, and lines to bring outsiders in and spoil their bloodlines by marrying them to the point that they're cast out and probably disowned to the highest caliber for doing it.
I wanna briefly talk about Sakura herself and explain why neither Fugaku, Mikoto, or the rest of the clan wouldn't have accepted her into their midst.
As a shinobi, Sakura is a complete nobody. She has no feats, strengths, capabilities, skills, or whatever that her remotely capable.
Her chakra reserves ridiculously tiny, she can't even handle a trickle of biju chakra. Her skillset is a complete copy pasta of Tsunade's, her skills as a medical nin are surpassed by those of Tsunade, Hashirama, Kabuto and even Sasuke during the time he had Orochimaru's white snake abilities in his system and even after he lost that, as Sasuke's self-taught himself to funnel raiton through his body to avoid mortal injury which he's done during his battles against Deidara, Bee, and Danzo. Sakura hasn't improved on, reinvented, or created her own jutsus. Her super strength is just an extension of her byakugo. She's got no talent for genjutsu or handling vast amounts of chakra. Her speed and agility feats are nonexistent, and her intelligence feats are lackluster too.
Sakura also doesn't come from a distinguished clan or bloodline. Neither she nor her parents are civilians. Let me take this time to clarify that the hidden villages house NO civilians within their midst, the hidden villages are MILITARY powers, everyone within them are soldiers, it would be antithetical for these villages to house civilian populations within them as the civilians contribute nothing to the overall prosperity and function of the village as again these are military powers within the countries. Sakura and her parents are from a smaller or minor clan within the series.
Sakura also doesn't train or take her training seriously. Sasuke points this out to her in canon during the earliest chapters of the Chunin Exams arc, and Sakura still did jackshit about it, only finally taking her training seriously after Sasuke left Konoha for good and defected to Orochimaru. And since the Uchiha again are a battle clan and the most elite clan in canon, someone like Sakura ain't being allowed within a hundred feet of them.
As an individual, Sakura, as I said above, is very lackluster and shitty. This girl has petty self-esteem issues. She knows she's lacking in various departments and tries to compensate for this by latching onto others like a leech and using them for her self-worth, Ino was originally this before Sasuke unwittingly came along. She's very shallow and vain, too.
She knows absolutely nothing about Sasuke from minor things like whether or not he wore glasses, to serious things like him being an orphan, which is ridiculous since everyone else at the academy knew these details before they were made genins. She doesn't question or try to understand Sasuke or his motivations.
She's an asshole to pretty much anyone and everyone around her whenever Sasuke's not around in canon, including other women.
She broke off her years' worth of friendship with Ino over a boy who didn't know she existed and wanted nothing to do with her. She's also made numerous attempts to downgrade and put Ino down, despite the fact that Ino was the first person to treat her with kindness, helped her with her bullies, and was the first person to validate her. Ino was also the one to try and mend and patch up their relationship. Hell, Sakura wanted Sai to call Ino ugly and was pissed when he didn't.
During the War Arc, she disrespected Tsunade, her own mentor who turned her from a nobody to a decently capable medical shinobi.
She taped a picture of her in her thirties over a picture of Karin with Sasuke and spreads rumors to Sarada about other women, like Ino trying to take Sasuke away from her.
She frequently insults and assaults Naruto, and it isn't comedy relief as she does this even after he saves her or treats her nicely. She assaulted Sai for calling her ugly despite the poor guy being a slave and Sakura name calling Naruto on a regular basis. She also attacked Konohamaru before calling her an ugly bitch (which was based on his part lol). She was also pissy about his and Naruto's sexy jutsus only to act like a fan girl when he showed her hot naked dudes, like Sasuke. So she's a hypocrite.
And she doesn't care about her own parents, and actually disrespected them, Naruto's parents, and Sasuke's as well. She tried in canon to invalidate the importance and love Sasuke had for his parents and clan, and that's tremendously disrespectful. Hell, in Boruto, she repeatedly chased after Sasuke despite being pregnant with Sarada putting her at risk, discarded the umbilical cord, which is a serious taboo, wrecked her house when Sarada asked her a simple question or two about her father, Karin frequently sends Sarada gifts instead of Sakura.
The Uchiha as a whole care deeply about one another and all within their clan, and someone like Sakura, who's again vain, shallow, petty, selfish, disrespectful, and ignorant would NEVER be considered fit to join them.
Let's play a little game of What if? Because this is something I've thought about for a while.
Following Sasuke's successful usage and mastery of the Uchiha fireball katon in front of Fugaku who himself chooses to make Sasuke his heir, Hiruzen decided to not only personally meet with and apologize to Fugaku and the Uchiha for the false accusations and punishment over the 9-Tails attack, but he also grants the clan the rights and positions of power that they deserved from the beginning, even stepping down as hokage and letting Fugaku become hokage then and there, but Fugaku maintains his decision on Sasuke being the next clan head. If this scenario took place, there's no way in Hell Sakura's going to be anywhere near Sasuke. He would've been even more untouchable for her than he already was in canon. Sasuke was already very clan oriented and duty bound in canon. He was fervently loyal and devoted to his clan and cared deeply about what they and his family thought of him, outsiders be damned. Fugaku isn't allowing any of his children, especially his heir, to marry an outsider like Sakura. The Uchiha clan in its entirety wouldn't have accepted this either. There's no way they would've accepted their future chieftain marrying a non-Uchiha, and if they did accept it, they would've accepted someone of equal standing or prestige as them. Fugaku and Mikoto would've arranged a marriage for Sasuke, and he wouldn't have objected to that. After all, Sasuke was pulling out all the stops in canon to make his father happy, and he was already extremely close with Mikoto and was well liked and respected by the rest of the clan so marrying someone his parents picked out for him is something Sasuke's definitely doing.
Let's also not forget that Sasuke's extraordinary on all fronts, in terms of beauty, skill, strength, talent, and prodigiousness, all of this, and his chakra volume and potency are through the fucking roof even the standards of his own clan. Sasuke's Sharingan is the most powerful and potent within the series since or after Indraâs which is insane as only Indra inherited his fathers chakra.
Orochimaru and Obito both knew and explicitly stated that Sasuke's Sharingan and chakra were more powerful than Itachi's. In canon, Sasuke was supposed to be THE vessel for Orochimaru, the last one he'd EVER need. Obito's entire Infinite Tsukuyomi plan hinged on utilizing Sasuke at EMS and connecting him to the Gedo Statue, something Nagato, Konan, Zetsu, and no doubt Kisame knew all to well. Kabuto knew this, too, and he himself had his own plans for Sasuke. He blackmailed and helped Obito fight a war for Sasuke, and that war was fought to see who between them could get to Sasuke first. Everyone wanted Sasuke for one reason or another, either for his looks (Sasuke's the most good-looking character in the series), his talents and skills, and abilities everything. Madara, Tobirama, Orochimaru, Obito, Zetsu, Gai, Jiraiya, Cee, Darui, Bee, Mei, Hagoromo, Kurama, Karin, Jugo, Suigetsu, Kabuto, Kakashi, Hiruzen, Neji, Tenten, Deidara, Nagato, Konan, Kisame, and Fugaku (when Sasuke performed their clans rite of passage jutsu at the age of 6 only a week after being shown it once) all of them to varying degrees were aware and dumbstruck by Sasuke's gifts and many of them wanted him.
Sasuke's skills with the sharingan, chakra, and Ninjutsu are beyond profound. He's genetically capable of awakening the EMS and the most unique rinnegan in Shinobi history.
In this alternate timeline, Sasuke's going to be trained to hell and back by not only Fugaku and everyone who he deems fit to train him. As he grows and matures Sasuke's parents and clan, ARE going to take notice of all of these aspects and gifts of his, and they're going to be especially picky about who his bride would be, as the next head of the Uchiha clan especially one like Sasuke with his looks, skills, talents, wealth, and prestige can't and won't marry just anyone especially without the consent of his parents and clan.
In this scenario, Sasuke's future wife would either be another Uchiha (the most logical conclusion) or someone else from another distinguished clan or bloodline. I see people mentioning Ino and Karin on this topic since their love for Sasuke while still being in part because of his beauty is still way more genuine than Sakura's. Karin was saved a few times by Sasuke, and he ultimately was the one who allowed to take control over her own future. She knew and understood Sasuke the most, and her relationship with Sasuke is the most erotic in canon.
Ino's love for Sasuke was described as tender by her father, and it was never about herself but how he brought her joy.
Frankly I don't object to either of them being with Sasuke, although I would like someone to help me understand how Ino from a bloodline perspective would be a good match for Sasuke as Karin is an Uzumaki and her clan has been around as long as the Uchiha so I can see why Fugaku and Mikoto would've accepted her as a future daughter-in-law, but Ino I feel like I'm missing something else or I'm just over thinking it in regards to her. Ino and Karin are also better individuals than Sakura and capable shinobi, their skills, abilities, and lives having nothing to do with Sasuke and instead being completely independent of him. Neither of them were pushy and respected Sasuke's boundaries to a better degree than Sakura.
This was a long-winded post, I know, but essentially, Sakura ain't ever hooking up with Sasuke at all, Fugaku and Mikoto ain't letting her anywhere near him.
Before I close this off, I want to ask anyone who reads this. Who else do you think Fugaku and Mikoto would've accepted as Sasuke's bride in the little what if I put above? Let me say I'm not a shipper, and like others, I find the Naruto fandom's obsession with shipping to be incredibly stupid and annoying. I am staunchly in the Pro Uchiha, Sasuke, Madara, Indra, Fugaku, and Mikoto camp, the Uchiha its members and lore, as well as the real world myths and lore used by Kishimoto to create them all capture me. But admittedly, I do agree with some people who agree that Karin and Ino would've been better partners, and that really had me thinking about who else Fugaku and the rest of the clan would've saw as fit to marry Sasuke and join the clan, so yeah I'm curious to know your thoughts and opinions on this topic as well, however, I do not agree with the Sasuke x Hinata ship, I want to shoot that down quickly, that shit ain't happening.
But again, this is a very long first post of mine on Tumblr, so yeah, thanks for reading.
#pro sasuke uchiha#pro fugaku uchiha#pro fugaku#pro uchiha#pro uchiha clan#anti sakura#anti sakura haruno#anti sakura fandom#sasukarin#inosasu#sasuino#karinsasu
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Oh yes, the feeling that you have to rely to the creeper who you loathe so much that you have come to hate even the rooms he resides in, that he's not the scariest thing in your life, that you have to run to his arms for safety. Horror! Dracula claiming him was the high point of the entry (than the almost-bite)
Honestly, yeah. The dynamics between Dracula and Jonathan are so scary, to the point that all the supernatural events are the cherry on top rather than the main course, as far as the horror of this section goes.
Dracula does so much manipulation here, holds so many different kinds of power over Jonathan, and multiple levels of each too. He's got physical power - both in the sense of the castle being a prison, and in the sense of his incredible strength. He's got social power - as a noble, and as a client/boss. He's got monetary power over Jonathan too, able to potentially make or ruin his career. He has so much control over Jonathan's ability to express himself - he's the only company available to him, he's forcing him to keep up a pretense of friendship, he's limiting and controlling his communication with others. Jonathan has no escape: he can't go out of the castle because he's locked in, he can't go many places inside the castle because he's locked out of them, and now he can't leave the rooms Dracula wants him in because otherwise the vampire ladies will get him, and within those rooms there is nowhere safe from Dracula himself. Jonathan has seemingly no action he can take: if he sneaks around behind Dracula's back, a greater threat awaits. If he acts openly, Dracula's own threat may become realized. If he doesn't act at all, he's doomed. If he acts at all, he's doomed. If he trusts Dracula, he's doomed. If he doesn't trust Dracula, he's doomed.
Of course, the supernatural elements are the mechanics by which Dracula increases the stakes, the threats underlying the charming veneer. Specifically, the introduction of the vampire women is what puts Jonathan in this seemingly inescapable box, and one with potential threats to something even greater than his life.
But Dracula's playing this Bluebeard role and could have done so with some more mundane threat as well, without changing too terribly much about his own actions. Where he's scariest (at least to me) is in these interactions with Jonathan, in these manipulative webs and traps he lays out in his words, in the way he pushes so many boundaries until they're forced to collapse or warp under the pressure. Jonathan's privacy keeps getting worn away. Dracula's speech and touch get more familiar and more possessive. He started out the first night blaming Jonathan for the things he did himself ('oh, why did you make your conversation so interesting we had to stay up all night?') and escalates until now he's making Jonathan be the one to act, and to suffer the consequences: whether in forcing him to lie to his loved ones, or in dangling the bait of sleeping outside his room and then only barely saving him when he does. And Jonathan has no real choice but to act. To fail to do so, in one way or another, would mean giving up all hope at escape or likely even survival. But because he has to act, he winds up feeling complicit. He ends up in situations where Dracula thanks him, forgives him, saves him. It keeps putting them on seemingly the same side, with Jonathan in a lesser/reliant role. And that's all a huge lie, at its core. But in a very real way, it's true too, to an extent. More and more, he's getting layers of resistance scraped away, and having to seek safety from Dracula now is so, so horrifying. In many ways all he truly has left is his will to live, his internal determination to resist - and now he's been given powerful incentive not to trust in that latter part too much. It's absolutely brutal.
He's walking a wire that just keeps getting thinner and thinner. All he can possibly do is try to keep this balancing act going, and hope for something to change that will give him more options down the line.
#dracula daily#jonathan harker#count dracula#rikiteekeetavee#replies#dracula claiming him was nearly the worst part of the entry. but for me jonathan's thoughts about it after the fact are even worse.#and it's not nearly rock bottom yet!
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Hi there. ^_^ â„ First, LOVE your art!â„
2nd, for your Katara joins Zuko in hunting the Avatar AU idea, I have a question. :)
If originally Zuko was hunting him to restore his honor, but now he's part of the White Lotus, does this make the White lotus evil? (The kind that think they're doing it for good, but they're delusional, because their idea is clearly bad.)
Or, if they're not evil, what is Zuko's new reason for hunting the Avatar, if not for his honor? :)
Hello, and thank you for the question!
I hope you don't mind me making this a sort-of continuation to this post, but the replies are connected, in a way.
Now, it may come as no surprise that I love to play with canon divergences. So it stands to reason that one minor change to canon became the basis for Zuko's character in this AU. Mainly, that he stayed behind with Azula to eavesdrop the rest of Ozai's audience with Fire Lord Azulon, and thus was witness to the latter demanding his death in exchange for Ozai's right to the throne.
Zuko, unable to sleep that night, is wide awake when Ursa comes to see him. He delays her, deeply afraid of what's happening, and follows her silently through the dark halls of the palace when she leaves. But Ozai intercepts her. Ozai kills her, and Zuko watches.
It changes everything and nothing at all at the same time. Zuko's desire to be the Perfect Prince isn't because he wishes for his father's attention and loveâinstead, it comes from a place of grief. Zuko's is a simmering rage that drives him to one day take the throne (the very same throne that turned his mother to ashes and gave her no ceremony) from Ozai in revenge. But to do so he first needs to be ready for it.
Zuko learns to listen. Slithering through the shadows of the palace and pushing himself beyond his limits. But the Agni Kai happens. And when everything is lost, Zuko turns his misfortune into an advantage.
Uncle had started to introduce him to the White Lotus before his banishment, so Zuko becomes a member after he's fully healed. He makes the best out of what little he hasâa crew full of agents, traitors and dissidents, and a position and name in the Fire Nation military that, while precarious in nature of his banishment, still allows him certain sway from within.
Time passes, and he grows. He goes to missions for the White Lotus, puts a stop to several plans for minor invasions and battles (nothing major, as to not cause suspicion) and works hard and subtle to better things wherever he goes.
He makes plans. Reckless, half-impossible plans to depose of his father. But they are useless and, most often than not, bloody.
The conditions of his banishment are clear. He is stripped of all titles and rights as Prince and can never set foot on the Mainland ever again. He's no longer the Crown Prince to the Fire Nation and has, by the Divine Law of Agni, no right to the throne. That is, of course, unless he does the impossible, captures the long-missing Avatar, and brings them to the Fire Lord. And that, for obvious reasons, is not an option. It hasn't been an option for the last one hundred years.
Until it is.
Capturing the Avatar is not something Zuko does to regain his honor or earn his father's respect (the first, because he had never lost it; the second, because he's never had it in the first place). It is a necessity. Something he must do if he wants to reclaim his title as Crown Prince, take the throne from his father and end the war once and for all.
But, let me tell you a secret. This AU? It was born because I woke up one day with a single phrase repeating itself in my head, over and over again:
The Prince refused to play Pai Sho, not because he was bad at it but, rather, out of boredomâhe never lost a single game.
And that's just it. It's a game.
He can't take an untrained, childish fifteen year old Avatar to his father. But he can give the kid enough time to get ready. Chase him around, play the Bad Guy, push him away from the real dangers out there. Oh, he will deliver the Avatar to the Fire Lordâhe just needs to keep his cover as loyal prince long enough for the boy to play his part and become a fully realized Master.
The Gambit is dangerous and double-edged, but all of Zuko's moves on the board are part of the same strategy. This, after all, is just another game of Pai Sho.
And he never loses.
#dema answers#atla#zutara#zuko#avatar the last airbender#katara#hunters au#Katara joins Zuko AU#zutara au#fire lord ozai#uncle iroh
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So I finished the latest story...
This is pretty horrifying from a cookie's perspective. One of cookiekind's main forms of happiness is their ability to express their various colorful flavors/personality. I suppose it's the same thing as tripping a living human of their sentient and individuality. Ego death. Leaving behind hollow flesh
We be committing unspeakable crimes against nature with this oneâš
We be crumbling our colleagues while slowly losing our mind with this oneâš
On another note, "eyecing" make its glorious return. I have no memory of it being used before the Mystic Flour update. Can anyone point out the other times it was used, if there's any?
????!!!!! OMG HIIII
MORE CJ PAWLIKOWSKI VOICE ACTING YES YES YES
Don't do it, don't give me hope...
I know he's the last to be released u don't need to tease me like that
So the other-space here clearly refer to the Dark side of the Moon, right? Is there any other-space I don't know about? Also, I guess this confirmed Shadow Milk is the only one able to do this astral projection thing. On one hand, it increases his chance of appearing a bit more before his own update, on the other hand, we most likely won't see the other Beasts having any talking-role any time soon
The implications here...
So the Beasts may likely have their own voices of their Light just like the Ancients does. And "Soul Jam"... Without an (s), Shadow Milk is specifically referring to his Soul Jam here, I can't believe my headcanon of the Light of Deceit/Knowledge whispering things to him is becoming true
It's a thing unique to Shadow Milk and not the other Beasts too. Interesting how both the voices of the Light of Truth and Deceit operate differently from the other Lights' (referring to the theory that the Light of Truth have never make an actual appearance since all instances of it in-game were all Shadow Milk's disguise)
... Clownage. Whelp! time to integrate that into my daily vocabulary!
Alright, so we got confirmation Smilk is not only aware of Dark Enchantress' plans but he's actively helping her out. Whenever he's oblivious to her other, secret plans (stealing the Beasts' Soul Jams) or he's aware and already have a counter measures to it though, is still up in the air.
My money is on the latter. Shadow Milk have shown time and time again he's way more knowledgeable than he let on. The way Dark Enchantress was depicted in his previous "play" does show us a certain level of... Appreciation(?) but who's to say he actually trusts her? It really does feel like a "I rub your back if you rub mine and then we'll backstab each other" kind of deal. Now I'm curious about the other Beasts' opinions on Dark Enchantress as well.
Where's Dark Enchantress anyways? We haven't seen her make any on-screen appearance in a while. I, um, I missed her a lot actually. I missed the diabolical meema
Laughing at Wind Archer cookie repeatedly telling Smilk to stfu from the moment they've met. He's saying what we've all been thinking
Also laughing at Shadow Milk basically only here to make cryptic riddles and mocks our Wind Archer. He really does have nothing better to do lol
Yeah that's right, FRIENDSHIP will save the day!
For real tho, tons of intriguing implications about the Ultimate Cookie with this one. I gotta mulls over them for awhile...
GUYS NEW SMILK'S SPRITE JUST DROPPED
HE'S ROLLING HIS EYES. HE'S SO DONE I'M DEAD
"In conclusion, this changed nothing!"
Kidding, kidding! I was getting real worried for Wind Archer there despite knowing full-well it's not crk's style to let something happen to a character unless they're a minor villain or an elderly *grinding my teeth trying not to bring up Elder Faerie again oops too late-*
The unexpected yet sweet moment of empathy Wind Archer have toward the Ultimate Cookie combined with the stunning animation toward the end were definitely my favorite part of this little adventure. Although I half-expected for him to have his magical girl transformation like White Lily and Dark Cacao right then and there-
"Beast-Yeast EP 5 coming soon to theaters near you! Remember to stay tuned, mkay? Okie dokie? Pinkie promiseee?"
#see me analyzing this mf's dialogues like there's no tomorrow#this one did not get spellchecked either sorry for all the mistakes#it's kinda more of a first reaction thing#crk#cookie run kingdom#wind archer cookie#shadow milk cookie#1m4 rambles#text#game screenshots#crk spoiler
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I had an idea for a g/t story but i'm probably not going to take the time to write it out any time soon. In the meantime, enjoy this list of concepts i have rattling around in my brain
Takes place in a world where humans, tinies, and giants all exist and are all familiar with one another
It's technically an urban fantasy, with things like modern technology and societies existing alongside magic and medieval cosmology (don't worry too much about what that entails, it never really comes into play besides brief references)
There are more humans than there are giants, and more tinies than there are humans
Since everything in this world is "human sized," humans are the functional majority
Mixed societies exist, but are in their early stages, so non-integrated communities are still just as common
Growing/shrinking spells exist, but are only permanent on non-living things (organic materials that are no longer "alive" still work, though)
Finally, the actual focus of the story: a human streamer/youtuber (from a non-integrated community) making content focused around spending a day as a giant/tiny
Video titles include "I SPENT A DAY LIVING AS A GIANT (NOT CLICKBAIT!!!!!!)" and "24-HOUR BORROWER CHALLENGE?????"
In the latter scenario, there is an actual borrower living in their apartment, who has to try and hide from the human while the human is going around trying (and usually failing) to do borrower things
(Borrowers are a known phenomenon in this world, but humans and borrowers rarely encounter each other
Borrowers are often seen as "backwards" and "savage" by humans and the "more evolved" tinies who live in integrated societies)
The human streamer inevitably finds out about the borrower when they explore the walls of their apartment and find the borrower's home in there
The borrower is worried that the human will react badly when they find out about them, and is especially scared about what they'll do when they go back to their normal size
But the human also has a secret: they aren't a normal human under a temporary shrinking spell, they are a size-shifter
(size-shifters also exist but are extremely rare, and their abilities are poorly understood, leading them to be viewed as dangerous and out of control
it is possible for size-shifters to control their abilities, but it takes a lot of time and practice)
Since the size-shifter is used to be A. small and B. misunderstood, they allow the borrower to stick around as their roommate
and then they fall in love
Also since the streamer had a lot of uncontrolled shifts before they learned to control their abilities, they're mostly playing up their reactions to being giant/tiny for the "first time" for the camera
That's all for now. I've got more ideas for this story, so let me know if you want a part 2. And maybe I'll find the time/motivation to write this story out for real at some point. I want to use the clickbait-y video titles as the titles for two different stories, so look out for those sometime in the future.
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I think my brain has decided to dump mind control/hypnosis into the same bucket as fursonas and TF.
Specifically the one where it's like "this would be extremely interesting if you could do it, but you can't, so why bother with something that's only fantasy?"
Which is strange that it happens here. Like, there are definitely interests/kinks that are completely fantasy but I'm still into them, still enjoy reading about and seeing art of them. (I'm not gonna specify which ones because this is not a TMI Tuesday post)
But for some things my brain decides that I'm provisionally into it but only if it can be done for real. Like... Imagine someone who is into bondage but has zero interest in bondage porn/erotica, only in doing it for real... And then imagine they're someone who can't do any bondage for partner/disability reasons. That's where my brain is at.
I'm not sure if it's that I'm not interested enough in these things, or I'm too interested.
Like the former makes sense: if I was majorly into TF, I'd be into it even though it's impossible. The fantasy would be so erotic/interesting that I'd be all over it, even knowing I'm very unlikely to ever get slowly turned into a deergirl with antlers.
But the latter might be closer: I'm too into these things. My brain is like "omg this is the best idea ever! We need to do it now!!!" and then the disappointment at realizing it's impossible just sours me on the whole damn subject.
Like I can't get the motivation to design a fursona because it keeps reminding me that I can never be the cute cow. I don't want to have a fursona that's just a thing in pictures and stories, I want to have hooves and big horizontal ears and NOT BE A FUCKING HUMAN.
It's annoying because I think in all these cases it's something I could legitimately be interested in and get a lot of enjoyment out of! Like, furries are awesome! (and I am one, even without a fursona). They have lots of fun with their fursonas. I could commission art of my fursona using old computers! I could design keyboards for use with my hooves! It could be tons of fun.
And TF? Don't get me started. I am constantly saying I need to be less human. I theoretically love the idea of turning into something else. But nope. I can't enjoy it, maybe because I'm going "why isn't that me?"
And I've read some mind-control/hypnosis stuff recently and I'm having the exact same reaction. There some parts where I'm like "this has a lot of interesting ideas! Why can't I do this?" oh yeah because it doesn't exist. Damn it.
And that "damn it" emotion is when I close the story. So I can't really enjoy the parts of it I like, I'm too dissuaded by the disappointment.
I dunno if this is an autism thing. I've known some other people on the spectrum have similar issues with just deciding subjects are zero interest to them, after only a quick glance. I don't know if that's the same or a similar thing than I'm talking about.
(also, hypnotists? Don't come saying "but hypnosis is real!" to me. I know, but it's not real in the ways I'm interested in)
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My feelings on: part 8, Tears on a withered flower: the most annoying fandom to date so far.
I ask if this one was really that great since I've been seeing it all over the place on tiktok and Instagram and reading it myself, I can see why it would garner an audience because it's another "working woman finds a better man after her loser ex cheats on her with a stupid damsel girl" type story. It's kinda good but in my opinion: it's not THAT good but there is only 23 chapters I read so far so I'll let it marinate before I actually start going after it for the plot.
What I really wanna talk about is the fanbase of tears on a withered flower because while the manhwa community does have a problem with internalized misogyny this specific fanbase takes the cake.
I don't like saying the term "glazing" but it's the only way to accurately describe the way they treat the FL Na Haesoo because they are absolutely feral. First off, I've seen them lose their shit over other fans simply saying "I think that this female character has a prettier design then Hae soo." And these stans reply with the most immature and even down right laughable comebacks. I took some screenshot of a tears of the wither flower slide show to give you an idea.
"Hae soon is the main character for a reason."
Who's gonna tell them that protagonists can be written poorly?
Trust me, I'm sure no one's jealous of a fictional character.
Okay the context basically was that Hae soos coworker was just being real with her based on what she knows about Hae soos life and apparently fans took that as her being jealous and when people who actually read the god damn plot and use their critical thinking to point this out, the stans basically go "nuh uh" and continue to scream even louder. Personally when I read that chapter i took it as brutal honesty, from her perspective Tae Ha was hitting on a married woman and the two barely knew eachother. A little harsh but she's not jealous of Hae soo đ like we barely know this girl!
I think the most complained about aspect of tears on a withered flower is the anatomy, specifically the anatomy of all the characters your supposed to really like/care about.
I don't mind that Hae Soo is built like that cause while her anatomy definitely is unrealistic it's also a cartoon comic and cartoons have lots of bizarre forms of anatomy that don't always need to be accurate. With that said I don't find it a coincidence that the FL who is the most fleshed out and only grown woman who isn't meant to be disliked or made fun of is a tsunade cup sized babe with big thighs, a tiny waist, a nice butt, and a baby face.
Yeah I'll say it: Hae soo is another example of authors wanting to make a non conventionally attractive woman since she's supposed to be older (like 33) who is also overworked so she doesn't take care of herself but in the end they didn't have the balls to actually go through with it so they not only gave Hae soo an amazing figure and hair but they also gave her a clear face, tiny lips and barely noticeable eye bags which I still can't tell if they're even eye bags or just her eyelashes.
When anyone even dares to point out that Hae Soo's design is weirdly propionate compared to the other female characters you get hid with the "Your just jealous that you can't have a man like Tae Ha!!"
look i don't mind disproportionate anatomy in cartoon comics but if you give me character designs with more accurate proportions, I'm going to choose the latter for prettier looking designs.
Another thing about this manhwa was the dialog. I like it at times because it can be so poetic.. and then they just throw in some comically evil sentences for the villains that most sane people would not make the public aware of in a modern day setting. It's not something that really annoys me I just thought it was fun to laugh at every now and again while reading.
conclusion: I think the best way to describe tears on a withered flowers fanbase is kinda like how Netflix treats Bigmouth. No, TOTWF is definitely no where near levels of uncomfortable as Bigmouth but it's in the way that it really isn't as good as everyone claims, it's okay at first and then it got old and some people started opening up that the thought Bigmouth was garbage only for a bunch of stans to barge in with "You just don't get it!!" People won't let it go, they keep insisting it's the best piece of work to exist and anyone who doesn't like it is a jealous loser.
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A chronological analysis on Twilight and Yor - Part 20
*This is part of an ongoing post series. If you missed the Introduction/Part 1, click here*
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After Yor meets Yuri on the train, she's reminded of the fact that he's "all grown up" and doesn't need her to take care of him anymore.
As I described in Part 8, earning enough money to support Yuri was the main reason Yor became an assassin. Since she didn't have the luxury to pursue anything worthwhile for herself, taking care of and being useful to others became her main focus in life. But since Loid and Anya don't benefit from her assassin work, and now Yuri doesn't either, she begins wondering why she needs to continue doing it. This question is reinforced a few times later: first, when they're on the train and she realizes how much she enjoys being with Loid and Anya as a family, without having to worry about work. And again, during her initial meeting with Olka.
When Olka tells her that she wants to get away from the dangerous life of a gangster to a peaceful, quiet life, Yor takes a moment to reflect on those words, as they were the same thoughts she had on the train earlier â thoughts of what it would be like to live a normal life with your family without all the fears and dangers that come along with being involved in the underworld.
Olka asks Yor why she's so worried about her family discovering her identity since they're just a cover-up family, which leads to a softly emphasized scene of Yor with a noticeably sad expression, as she reluctantly admits that, yes, they are a family just for show.
We know from previous episodes, like the cooking lesson and post-Fiona date, that Yor has since realized that being in the Forger family makes her happy, despite the fact that they're a "fake" family. However, she doesn't know if Loid and Anya feel the same way, especially Loid. For all she knows, he's letting her live with him as his wife more as a favor to her, and because it's convenient for their front at Eden, and not because he personally finds happiness in the arrangement. While he did tell her during their previous date that he wants her to continue playing the role of Anya's mother and his wife, Yor doesn't know whether he feels the same happiness being together as a family like she does.
Yor becomes even more motivated to help Olka when the latter mentions that she's left so much of her old life behind her now.
Perhaps her eagerness to help Olka comes from her sad resignation to the fact that she herself can't attain the kind of life Olka is heading towards, so at the very least, she wants to make sure Olka can attain it.
Meanwhile, we see just how much Twilight's spy work has "traumatized" him, to the point of being on total high alert on the ship even though Sylvia specifically ordered him to relax. Not only was he immediately suspicious of the lottery for the cruise ticket, but even after he's on the ship, his ever-calculating mind can't help but imagine the worst scenarios. He begins looking out for any signs of terrorism and dubious behavior, much to Anya's dismay.
However, thanks to her coaxing, he catches himself and makes a conscious effort to turn off the "spy mode" in his brain (as much as he can anyway).
Later, we see Yor being nervous when having dinner with the executives, obviously not comfortable in such a formal situation and still afraid that she'll be spotted by Loid and Anya. However, when given a task she knows best â assassination work â we get to see a side of Yor that has yet to be fully highlighted in the seriesâŠa side that's serious and confident, without her usual doubts and hesitations.
Her social awkwardness and uncertainties disappear as she takes on a total "in-charge" demeanor when guiding Olka and company back to the room. But Olka has spent enough time with the underworld crowd to see that, while Yor is very good at her work, it doesn't suit the sweet, gentle person that she really is. Even before the real danger starts, Olka tells her that she doesn't seem like the underworld type, and even suggests that she spend time with her family when the ship stops at the resort. Olka must have sensed from Yor's hesitation and sad expression in their previous conversation that she truly cares about them.
It's unfortunate that Yor doesn't have a permanent confidant like Olka â someone who not only knows her true identity as an assassin, but also senses that she has real feelings for what should be a "fake" familyâŠand is supportive of that in her own subtle way. Twilight has Franky, and Sylvia somewhat, as people who know him as both a spy and as a (fake) family man. But even though they're not openly supportive of the fact that he's catching feelings for his family, they're still people he can not only confide in without having to hide his true identity, but they care about Anya's well being too. Yor doesn't have anyone like that. While Shopkeeper and McMahon know her true identity, her relationship with them seems to be strictly business. So, as brief as her time with Olka is, it was good for Yor to finally converse with someone who understands her inner feelings that she herself is having trouble realizing.
While Anya and Twilight are having dinner later, Anya mentions that it's been a while since they've eaten dinner without Yor, to which Twilight comments that it does seem lonely without her. He could have replied with any number of less melancholic responses ("It does feel weird" or "She must be very busy" to name a few). So the fact that his first thought was how lonely it felt does seem to indicate a momentary lapse in his spy facade, to which Anya rightfully calls him out and he immediately tries to deny it (with a slight but telling blush).
When they visit the gift shop, we see that Twilight is still having trouble learning how to find enjoyment on the trip, despite the fact that Sylvia made it an official mission. It's tragic to think that even when given orders to have a relaxing family vacation, he simply can't turn off the suspicions and anxiety in his mind. But his anxiousness about people potentially eavesdropping on him soon changes to concern about Anya's mental health. Similar to when he took her to work and had her play in the sandbox, he completely misinterprets her actions as displays of emotional trauma.
I love the interpretation from @sunfoxfic about this side of Twilight's character, to quote:
"His trauma really grounds every action he takes - everything he does is to protect others from experiencing the same trauma. Loid is a highly pragmatic and sympathetic man, and in that way, he's unwaveringly kind to everyone but himself."
Just like the sandbox incident, the scene with Anya at the gift shop is a prime example of Twilight's empathetic side that he keeps hidden from everyone else. Only we as the audience know how much he agonizes about the well-being of those who may have experienced similar trauma as he did. Since Anya's reactions make no sense to him, he can't help but conclude that she has her own share of deep-rooted trauma as well. And, as I've reiterated many times before, rather than express anger or blame her for anything, he puts responsibility on himself to do a better job at trying to understand her. And all of this relates back to what he told Desmond during their first encounterâŠthat he won't stop trying to understand others.
While Yor is keeping watch that night, she has plenty of time to reflect on what happened the day before. As she sits there for hours in silence, we see that her expression has taken on the "robotic" look she had at the very beginning of the series "pre-family," back when her assassination work was all she focused on in her life. This is probably the longest amount of time she's had to continually concentrate on work since meeting Loid and Anya, so it makes sense that her eyes would start to harden like that.
However, when she realizes that she never tried to contact them, her eyes immediately light up as she imagines a scenario where she meets up with them on the ship.
She then starts to wonder why she was hesitating so much when fighting Barnaby. She thinks it could be because she was afraid, not of death or pain, but the fact that if she had gotten seriously injured, she may have had to leave the Forger family. This makes her think back to when Olka asked her why she was so concerned about them since they're just a cover-up family. As I've previously mentioned, Yor has come to realize that being with Loid and Anya makes her happy, but she's also resigned herself to the fact that that happiness can be taken away from her at any minute. So far the biggest threat to her place in the Forgers has been Fiona, but she was able to remedy that by talking with Loid. But this time the threat comes from something where talking isn't an option: an important job from Garden. This is why she tells herself that she needs to keep her priorities straight â as far as she's concerned, her personal happiness is secondary compared to the importance of the job at hand. As she continues to think about the people whose happiness she strives for â Yuri, Loid, and Anya â the same thought she had upon meeting Yuri on the train comes back to herâŠif none of the people she loves benefit from her assassin work, then why does she need to keep it up?
Continue to Part 21 ->
<- Return to Part 19
#spy x family#spy family#sxf#spyxfamily#loid forger#yor forger#twiyor#sxf analysis#sxf meta#loid x yor#loidyor
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