#I cannot get over him destroying the Core.

[the-selfinsert]

Reading through the Horrortale comic rn, and holy shit, Horror is an asshole.

[quietwingsinthesky]

i have been thinking about that ‘give your oc a kink’ post for days. because i think even would have a thing for hypnosis. yes, yes, for character reasons of overwhelming feelings of impending failure that make the idea of having the ability to choose anything at all be taken out of their hands look extremely appealing. but also because it would be so fucking funny in the worse timeline. imagine you get stuck in time hell with a guy whose whole thing is hypnotizing people, and u hate him. u hate him so. so much.

[werywrenniethoughts]

Help Wanted 2: Lets Talk About Sun (Spoilers for Help Wanted 2!)

Okay,

I've had some time to digest Help Wanted 2. What a freaking roller coaster. I'm assuming you all have played/watched/seen Help Wanted 2, so be advised if you haven't seen everything we have access to so far, I'll be bringing it up.

One thing I'll say upfront is its nice to know Sun and Moon ARE older like I theorized. They're tied to the Fall Festival which took place in 1970 per one of the prize collector posters and the fact they deal with the carousel. I think Steel Wool also tried to point out and confirm Moon is patient zero for....I guess I should say Vanny's influence in the PizzaPlex. He's definitely the favorite to be pitted against us. I'm STILL losing my mind over the Princess Quest Ending.

So, the DCA fandom has been all across the board, ranging from "I love sassy Sun" to "Sun is SO mean. This ruins my headcannon." I don't think it really does. At least, it doesn't have to.

Our first encounter with Sun in front of us is Arts and Crafts. This minigame is located in the world we eventually learn is AR. We also are clearly a new FazBear hire. Sun is definitely sassy, and let's face it, VERY critical of what he defines as a mistake. BUT the flip side of that coin is he is still nice when you do the art correctly. He calls you friend, he wants to help you. If the player eats the crafts, he loses his mind. It's because he's worrying for the player due to the effects eating the crafts will have on them, ie: "That is how you get ulcers!". (By far, MY FAVORITE line of Sun's btw. Kellen stated that line and the indigestion line were both improved btw- genius.) He still doesn't want Moon to get you, he doesn't want to get in trouble. The one threat is after you've been hitting him several times and you've outright pissed him off. (I personally, think the "I should turn off the lights myself" was a drama king being a drama king.) Then we take the mask off. We see everything destroyed and Sun acts like the Sun we've always known. "I'm perfectly fine where I am. It's better this way. It's safer this way." "Keep the generator on. Without it I won't be able to help you." He's the same as he's always been. We've just seen a new layer.

What we ultimately have to come to terms with, is that Sun is a control freak and a perfectionist. He thinks he "has" to be. He doesn't want you to move from your craft table so he can watch you like a hawk. Do the job you are assigned. Get in, get out. Do the art HIS way, and follow HIS rules. If you don't, bad things can happen. Bad things HAVE happened. Another explanation could also be that maybe he isn't as free of the glitch trap virus as we thought? He can be sassy, he can be brutally honest, he can be concerned for us, for children, and his own darkness can rear its head, all at the same time.

Steel Wool could also be trying to slam into our faces that Sun is incomplete. He is one-half of a whole. He has good intentions, he means well at his core, but he cannot stop, regroup, and act rather than react. He gets stressed, and can't cope and adjust. Instead, he demands control back when he feels like he's about to lose it. Moon is calm, calculating, and logical. It's why they need to be whole and why Sun is so grateful to Cassie when she fixes them to become Eclipse. As Eclipse, they both find the parts of themselves they've so desperately needed.

[vvitchllng]

In addition to Everything Else that happened this episode, I can’t stop thinking about the moment where Laudna asks him why Seedling isn’t enough why he wants This sword and Orym’s whole demeanor shifts and he looks Laudna dead in the eyes and says you’re right why Would you reach for a darker power.

Orym and Laudna are the characters with the most interparty conflict and they’re the same!!!!!!! At their core their strongest motivation is their drive to protect the ones they love at the cost of themselves if necessary. We see it all the time with Orym throwing himself in front of his friends over and over again, making deals with fae to try and keep them safe. And we see it all the time with Laudna and Delilah, where over and Over again she lures Laudna with the promise of being strong enough to protect her friends, to keep them safe. We saw it again tonight when Delilah manipulated her to get the sword by telling her it was a danger to Orym!!

Both of them looked at the power that caused their pain and decided to take it for their own, to use it to protect their loved ones instead, because if it was capable of such devastation against them, it was capable of delivering that same devastation to their enemies. Laudna asking why seedling isn’t enough (why he isn’t enough, the frustrated self-deprecating response “I have Push-ups!”) and Orym returning the question because Laudna Does have her own power separate from Delilah, she just doesn’t think its enough for what’s coming!!!

They both lost their families, but where Orym had the rest of his family, a purpose, a home, Laudna lost Everything and only had the voice of her murderer as comfort in the cold. So now they’re both taking on the power that destroyed their lives, but Orym can be rational and willing to have a discussion about doing so, while Laudna absolutely Cannot do the same because of how entwined she is with Delilah (with Delilah quite literally guiding her actions in addition to the years of psychological manipulation and abuse), and so they’re the same and yet so utterly different that they keep coming up against this fundamental inability to understand the other’s position because despite the same underlying motivations, their responses are so different.

Why would you reach for a darker power, why can you not understand why I’m doing this, why can you not see I’m doing this For You. Distorted reflections of each other wanting to be understood and at a loss when faced with the differences between them, what a fucking dynamic.

[tossawary]

Oh, terrible fun thought: what if the previous Qiong Ding Peak Lord actually approved of Shen Jiu? Like, oh, this kid is driven and ruthless, why can't Yue Qingyuan be more like that and less soft-hearted?

Because I think Shen Jiu would hold this kind of approval over Yue Qi's head, not knowing what the Qiong Ding Peak Lord did to his head disciple. "Ha, you abandoned me for this cushy life and your own teacher likes ME more than you." If Shen Jiu had heard what Yue Qingyuan confessed to Shen Yuan at Mai Gu Ridge, I think he would have torn the previous Qiong Ding Peak Lord's throat out with his teeth.

MAYBE Yue Qi's imprisonment in the Ling Xi Caves actually saved his life and the previous Qiong Ding Peak Lord was a really nice person who tried his best in a terrible situation. That's totally possible. We just don't know. It's possible that Yue Qi's cultivation system was so messed up that destroying it and rebuilding was the only known option to save this kid's life. But a year of solitary confinement seems... incredibly cruel to me. Was that really necessary? It does sound as though he was at least visited, but it's unclear by who or how often.

But in any interpretation / AU where the Qiong Ding Peak Lord just sucks as a person, him actually LIKING Shen Jiu would be particularly painful. Ouch.

~

Relevant quote from Volume 3 of SVSSS (I cannot remember the chapter or the page numbers):

But Yue Qingyuan’s next words would shake Shen Qingqiu to the core. “I’m truly…sorry.” Even his voice trembled. “Even though I wanted to return as soon as possible, even though I wanted to come get you immediately…I made a mess of things instead. You were right. In the end, I’m an impulsive person…

“After that, Shizun destroyed all the tendons, bones, and meridians in my body, then shut me inside the Ling Xi Caves for more than a year. My entirety was broken down, to be rebuilt anew.

“I screamed, I yelled, but it was no use. For an entire year, inside that pitch-black cave, no matter how crazed I became, how hysterical, no one listened closely to what I said, no one let me out…

“I pushed myself as hard as I could, but by the time I returned, Qiu Manor had already been destroyed for some time…”

[hkthatgffan]

Hey! You seem like a huge *Gravity Falls* fan, so I was hoping you could answer some of my biggest questions about morality in the show. Since the release of *The Book of Bill* (which I’ve read), do you think Bill could ever be redeemed or seen sympathetically? Is there a possibility for him to get better and maybe even have a happy ending?

I ask this because I see a lot of fans saying, "He's awful," or "He deserves everything coming to him a thousandfold," and "Don't sympathize with him!" But then I watch the show, and I see characters like Gideon Gleeful and Robbie who were also problematic—they did terrible things but still got happy endings.

I know Gideon went to jail, but he broke out and ultimately had a positive resolution. Robbie, for example, tried to brainwash Wendy into a romantic relationship (which is super messed up!). Even though it didn’t work, and Wendy only dated him because she thought he wrote her that song, Robbie knew what the CD was supposed to do. But instead of facing real consequences, he just went through a breakup and still ended up with a happy ending, with friends and a new girlfriend.

As for Gideon, he tried to kill Dipper, manipulate Mabel, and invade the entire town’s privacy—basically doing some of the same things Bill did. Yet, after going to jail and making a last-minute turn toward good, he still got a happy ending.

So I’m super confused. What should I be feeling? Is there a correct way to view these characters? What do you think?

Bill at his core is the personification of denial. We see in the book that the harbours some regret and hatred for what he's done to the people around him but he refuses to try and take it to heart and use it as a point to grow from. I mean, look at what he did.

He killed his entire dimension and family and yet tries to deny it was anything bad and that in fact he liberated them. He manipulated and almost destroyed Ford and yet denies ruining the friendship they had. He tried to kill Dipper and Mabel and yet acts like it was nothing. Bill is unsympathetic. He's a narcissistic sociopath who doesn't wanna admit it.

The difference with Robbie and Gideon is that they changed and grew past their issues. Robbie tbh was more so being a literal teen drama story while Gideon was made that way through his exposure to Journal 2 and how that corrupted him. Once both found a new lease on life, they were able to grow and become better.

Bill is not that. He cannot accept that he's not fine and that he's the sole survivor of his kind and has pushed everyone he knew out of his life through his own actions. We've all probably dealt with people like Bill Cipher. Be it a person, co-worker, significant other, friend, family member, etc. We've all had that person who acts full of themselves and manipulatively but in reality is suffering. But because of how they act and their refusal to do anything, you start to lose any sympathy or interest in helping or being there and just let them go. Congrats...you just escaped a toxic relationship.

As someone who has dealt with Bill Ciphers in my life like many of us probably have, it's easy to feel sympathy for him. Bill make his case out as such that you wanna feel like he deserves better. But he's a trillion year old being that has been doing the same thing over and over again and refuses to make an effort to move on and let himself accept what he did to his dimension and to people around him like Ford.

Ford on the other hand realized that and cut Bill out of his life. He's doing better now because of that and has his family by his side. Ford is an example of how to move on from such toxic situations and people and find happiness in your life again after that. Bill is the example of what happens if you can't.

Life is short. We all will die one day. We all deserve to lead a life free of people like Bill Cipher in it. The best thing we can do is follow Ford and find the people in life that make us happy and let go of Bill.

So, to answer your question, NO!

I don't think Bill Cipher can be redeemed or seen in a sympathetic way. He tried to. But he's shown even in the Theraprism that he can't. He's doomed to live forever with the shit he's done. And it's his own fault.

Bill can say he's fine but in the end...he's not. And he never will be. There is no redemption for Bill Cipher.

[signedaiko]

A thought just came to my mind of what if the DJD came across a human that regenerated? Like they tried killing them in every way possible and the human is just. Still there. They humans over here cackling while getting shocked by Kaon because they thought of something funny. Just some silly little shenanigans with an immortal human who also happens to be petty and insufferable :)

On a side note reading ur name felt like catching the familiar scent of something nostalgic bc that’s what I named my favorite doll when I was younger

Decepticon Justice Division [MTMTE]

In which the DJD finds a human far, far away from their planet, that they just cannot seem to kill.

Reader is: Gender Neutral | Human | Unaligned.

No matter how brutal, how totally destroyed you are, even to the atom, you will slowly repair your body

It's your hellish eternity, and you feel every part of it, but it is your reality

It wasn't that bad when you first started; you knew you could handle the destruction of being without air, so you took to space where fewer harms could come your way

Or so you thought

Everything changed when you ended up thrown into the war between the Cybertronians, facing chemical agents that'd dissolve your skin, pierce your links, and disintegrate you

But worst of all was when the Decepticon Justice Division found you, specifically Vos

The one you learned to be a scientist was nothing but a sadistic organic-hater that made sure every mix of elements was tested on your stomach, sliced open for display

They all took joy in your pain and even more in your predicament

It was your worst nightmare and their wet dream

Well, it would be bad if you hadn't long since rewired your pain sensory areas into a dead-ended lump in your brain

The worst you got was splitting headaches, but those were nothing compared to what you'd faced

As Vos cuts you open for the thousandth time, as Kaon shocks you with his new highest voltage, you could only crack a smile

Oh yes, these people took such good care of you; they were always pushing you towards improvement, always testing your limits

Some don't mind it, but others, like Kaon, it infuriates him

How many times could you recall being strapped to his chair, shocked till he had no juice left as he tried to convince himself he could outdo your little tricks

And yet, nothing

They keep you because you're a fun toy, and Vos 'claims' his ownership of you, and you'll stay their experimental toy

You're just as much of a psychopath as them, if not worse, so you'll fit right in with the circus of freaks as their first-ever masochist

Author's Note - That is such a specific thing to say about my name but also so sweet and so me-core your'e amazing! Thank you for telling me!!!

Bonus: Y/N sitting on Kaon, a giant robot:

[sentientgolfball]

Devotion

Part 1/3 of how Rain and Dew got together and perhaps also their first time

Read here or on Ao3

Word Count: 10k

Summary: Before Dew could become fire he had to make sure the new water ghoul would fit the needs of the Ghost Project.

Behind heavy wooden doors decorated with golden sigils stands four beings dressed in uniform. They have been working all evening for the ritual to come. When the full moon is at its highest point, a ghoul will be summoned. Dew is not entirely sure he is ready for it. He has only been Topside for a little over a year yet once that water ghoul pops out of the circle, he will be a mentor. He swallows thickly, the mask and the cloud of incense making it hard to breathe. He cannot be getting nervous now, this is his idea after all. 

He is the one who went to Sister Imperator proudly claiming he will be the fire ghoul they need. He is the one who twisted the Clergy's arm until they agreed to do the elemental transition, refusing to heed the warning of Delta. He is the one who agreed to wait, just long enough to make sure the new water ghoul is a good fit before he is burned down to his very core to be rebirthed. At the time it seemed like a great deal, he would get to become fire and thus be closer to the Morning Star and all he had to do was make sure the new water ghoul could pluck a few strings. Now that he is staring at the summoning circle though, he is starting to realize he may have bitten off more than he can chew. 

He shifts on his feet, the tip of his finned tail twitching between his legs. He vaguely knows about summonings, he was present for Mountain’s after all, but this one feels different. It somehow feels more intimate, knowing whoever pops out of the Pits will be his replacement. Knowing that he alone is going to be responsible for deciding if they will fit the needs of the Ghost Project; if not the Clergy will proceed with a fire ghoul summoning. He is solely responsible for not just his fate, but the fate of someone he has not even met yet. It makes his stomach churn and he has to fight to keep his fins from flaring. 

He tries to focus on what is happening around him. Anything to take his mind away from how in a few short moments everything is going to change. He watches Omega and the Sibling of Devotion converse as they prepare the necessary ingredients. Salt water, fresh water, rain water, and moon water all ready to be poured over the sigils painted on the floor. Knowing this is exactly how he was brought Topside is a weird feeling. He pictures Mist standing in his spot; was she just as nervous as he is now? Probably not. She was a Ministry ghoul long before she was involved with the Ghost Project. Who knows how many summonings she’s seen, how many water ghouls she’s helped adjust to a new world? Is she angry that he is here instead of her? He hopes not. If he messes this all up he will need her. He always needs her. 

His attention is stolen when the sound of muttering fills his webbed ears. Dew glances to his left to see Cardinal Copia quickly flipping through a gigantic book that looks like it is ready to turn to dust. He looks about as nervous as Dew feels, eyes wide while he scans over the ancient passages. He huffs as he watches him nearly drop the tome. He may not have known Terzo for long, but he still cannot believe this is the best the Clergy has for a replacement. 

Copia must feel Dew staring because he looks up from the book, catching his eyes behind the silver mask. Dew tenses when he closes the book and walks over to him. He offers Dew a weak smile. 

“It is exciting, no?” 

“You look like you’re going to pass out,” Dew says bluntly. 

“Ahah well yes but ehh it is still exciting.” He fidgets with his hands as he talks. 

“Didn’t you summon those air ghoulettes like last week?” 

“Si. Yes I did.” 

“Then why are you so?” Dew gestures to Copia. 

Copia sighs, “the rituals are easy to ehh mess up. I do not think I could live with myself if I accidentally destroyed an innocent being.” 

Dew scoffs at the word innocent, but he doesn’t say anything. There is a long moment of silence before Copia speaks again. 

“Are you not afraid?” 

“Afraid?” 

“Si. I am well aware of your ehh deal with Sister.” 

“Why would I be afraid? All I have to do is make sure the new guy is competent enough to hold a bass,” Dew says with more force than he intended. He does not understand why the Cardinal felt the need to approach him. The longer this conversation goes on the more Dew wants to yell at him to fuck off. He doesn’t need some sweaty human trying to be friendly when there is so much on his mind. 

“Apologies I ehh I suppose you are right. Your task is much easier than mine.” Copia offers him a lopsided smile. 

Dew glares at him through the mask. Easier? What a joke. All he has to do is provide a little blood and maybe say a few words. Dew has to do everything else. Of course he’s afraid. Who cares if the ritual is easy to screw up, it’s even easier to ruin a person. A faulty ritual can be blamed on a number of factors, but a person? Dew would be the only one to blame. Why did he think he was cut out for this? He should not have taken this deal. He should have demanded he be made into a fire ghoul so someone more experienced could be there for this new water ghoul. 

He cannot back out now though. Omega takes a deep breath, the scent of ozone filling the air when he exhales. The moon is at Her peak. It is time. Dew shuffles back into a corner, staying out of the way so the others can work. He is only here for formality. Copia, Omega, and the Devotion will be doing the actual rites. He is thankful really, he has no idea how much help he would be with the moon calling out to his own water. He can feel it responding to Her presence, but he cannot give in. He has to be present. He cracks his neck, eyes following the bustle around the room. 

The blinds that were previously drawn tight are thrown open, allowing the moonlight to stream in. Copia makes quick work of extinguishing the candles in the room so that it’s only Her light. The Devotion steps up to the circle of sigils. In one hand she has a leather bound book, in the other is one of the jars of water. As she begins to read the ancient passage Omega’s voice joins her. He repeats the same words only in Infernal instead of English. Dew’s ear twitches at the sound of the familiar language. It is different from what he spoke when he was in the Pits, yet close enough to make something in him twist. He wonders if this is some type of  quintessence dialect of Infernal or perhaps some ancient form of the language. 

As the Devotion finishes the passage she begins to pour the first jar of water. She starts at the first sigil, letting the contents spill counter clockwise to create a circle. She grabs the next jar from the stone altar, not pausing as she starts the next passage. Omega’s voice continues to drone along with her as sparks of quintessence begin to ripple over his body. She draws the first two lines of a pentagram with the next jar. The process repeats until every last drop of water has been used. Each time a new line is drawn Dew can feel something. It’s heavy. It’s strong. It sits in his gut like a stone at the bottom of a river. He doesn’t remember feeling like this when Mountain was summoned. 

When the last jar is emptied Copia approaches the circle of water. Omega picks up the dagger that had been sitting on the altar. He holds it in both hands, giving it his infernal blessing before handing it over. Like a mirror of who he was moments ago, Copia takes it from him with steady hands. He removes the glove on his left hand. There’s already a cut on his palm, just barely healed over. He brings the dagger to his palm, the edge placed right over the mark. He mutters a prayer in Italian before drawing the blade quickly across his skin. Dew’s nostrils flare when the metallic scent of blood hits his nose. His fangs throb. Every fiber of his being is telling him to go drink his fill, until there’s nothing left. He has to dig his claws into his arm just to keep his head clear. He will not be the reason this ritual fails. 

Copia turns his hand down, letting his blood drip into the center of the water pentagram. Omega and the Devotion finish the final passage as the ingredients combine. It's silent. The only sound is Dew’s breathing from under the mask. They wait. The tension is palpable as the seconds turn to minutes. Nobody moves. 

Copia opens his mouth to speak right as a fat raindrop lands in his eye. He gasps and brings his non-bloodied hand up to wipe it away. He looks to the ceiling as more begin to fall. Everyone in the room begins to relax as the drops pick up in intensity. Everyone except for Dew. Something is wrong. He can feel it. There’s something in the water. Something that’s not supposed to be there. As the shower turns into a storm his stomach churns. He rips his mask off and rushes over to the circle. 

“Close it!” He shouts over the pounding of raindrops. 

“Stay back. An active circle is volatile.” Omega holds an arm against his chest. 

Dew pushes on it, “You have to close it now!”

“Dewdrop why would we—“ Omega’s pupils dilate when it finally hits him. The taste of something else. 

He turns back towards the circle fully prepared to force it closed. But he’s too late. The drops begin to swirl, the shape of a body begins to form. Dew watches with a mix of awe and horror as the ghoul fully materializes. The moment it happens the ghoul falls to the floor. Unconscious. His dark hair is wet and clinging to his face. The bioluminescent stripes on his shoulders and tail are pulsing with each breath. An oceanic variant. His gills are flared, they flutter each time a raindrop hits them. Dew stares at him. He can’t look away. He doesn’t want to look away. He wants to reach out and touch him. He’s so enraptured he doesn’t notice the black smoke spiral that’s formed in the circle. 

He finally looks up when the sound of sizzling fills the air. A smoky hand has reached through, its claws digging into the wood of the floor. A head appears next. Most of its features are obscured by the thick cloud of smoke, but Dew can smell the fear. Omega scoops up the unconscious water ghoul as a torso starts to form. Dew is frozen in place. He doesn’t know what to do as this creature made of smoke takes form. He’s not even entirely sure it’s a ghoul. 

He can hear his heartbeat in his ears as the thing finally pulls itself all the way through the closing circle. His gills flare when its featureless face turns towards him. It takes a step forward, hand extended. Dew doesn’t know if he should try to fight it or run from it. He does know he needs to protect that water ghoul though. He lets the thing approach him, slowly backing away from it. If it keeps its attention on him then maybe the Devotion will have a chance to come up with a way to banish it. 

It doesn’t work that way though. A sharp hiss cuts through the panicked silence. Dew whips his head towards the sound only to be met with a vicious sight. The water ghoul is awake and pissed. Omega is clutching his forearm. There’s blood staining the ghoul’s mouth, dripping down his chin. Copia tries to get to Omega’s side but the ghoul swipes at him when he moves. He snarls at both of them, showing off rows of serrated teeth. 

The commotion captures the attention of the smoke creature. It slowly turns towards the water ghoul and Dew panics. He tries to get its focus back on him; hissing and calling out to it but to no avail. He looks towards the Devotion only to see her back turned. She has candles lit, pouring oil over a small silver plate and muttering something quickly. Dew curses and snaps his head back towards the creature just in time to see one of the residual raindrops drip onto its outstretched hand. It stops moving when it hits, a strangled sound emanating from it accompanied by the sound of sizzling. Dew’s eyebrows raise. 

“You don’t like water do you?” 

He looks up at the ceiling to see it’s still slick from the initial summoning, occasional drops falling. He swallows before closing his eyes, letting his element come to life. He focuses on what energy remains, tapping into it to recreate the downpour. He can feel the pull. He’s never been more thankful for a full moon in his entire existence. He’s not sure he’d be able to do it without Her. He furrows his brow, extending his hand towards the ceiling. When he’s sure he has a hold on the water that remains he quickly pulls his hand down almost as if he was pulling on a rope. All at once a sheen of water splashes down making a loud splat when it hits the floor. 

The creature falls to the ground, the same strangled sound filling the air. It’s barely audible over the sound of crackling, like water poured on sun baked pavement. Dew opens his eyes to see steam rising from its body as it writhes on the ground. His brief moment of victory melts away when the strange sound begins to morph into something more familiar. A scream. Dew watches in horror as the smoke begins to dissipate, revealing the figure of a ghoul. 

He’s not a water ghoul, that’s for sure. At first Dew assumes he’s quintessence, the grayish purple hue of his skin standing out. But then he notices the patches of shimmering gold all over his body. A hybrid maybe? 

He takes a tentative step towards him. He’s still shaking, head tucked between his legs and forehead pressing against the floor. Dew doesn’t really know what he’s doing, but what else is new? He just knows he needs to do something. He crouches down next to his huddled up form. He hesitates for a moment before placing a hand on his shoulder. The ghoul stops shaking, slowly raising his head to look at him. Dew sucks in a breath. His eyes are black and white. He’s not a hybrid. He’s a multi ghoul. 

Is it over? His raspy voice whispers in Infernal. 

Dew doesn’t get the chance to respond because the next thing he knows Omega is yelling at him. 

“Dewdrop move!” 

He turns just in time to see the water ghoul struggle out of Omega’s hold. He launches himself at the multi ghoul, eyes wide and lips pulled back in a snarl. Dew is knocked back, landing hard on the floor. The water ghoul snaps his fangs dangerously close to the multi’s face. He’s only stopped by the firm hands pressing against his chest and shoulders. They struggle against each other for a moment before the multi makes a move. As quick as lightning, he traps one of the water ghoul’s arms against his side. He bridges his hips with a hiss, rolling them over in one smooth motion. He wraps his arms around the water ghoul, keeping him tight to his chest as he flails. 

The multi ghoul’s eyes begin to shift; black and white melts away replaced by yellow and orange. The scent of cinnamon and campfire fills the room as the multi’s fire sparks to life. Dew feels sick. He jumps up, fully prepared to join the fight. 

“Wait.” Omega comes to stand beside him. 

Dew looks between him and the tangle of ghoul on the floor, “What do you mean wait? They’re going to kill each other!” 

“No they are not. Look.” Omega motions with a flick of his tail, hand still tightly wrapped around his injured arm. 

Dew turns to look at them again, stomach still churning. The water ghoul is still struggling, but slowly he begins to settle until eventually he stops all together. He visibly relaxes, resigning himself to the hold of the multi ghoul. The multi doesn’t make a move to retaliate any of the aggression. He just sits there keeping him in the warmth of his fire. 

“What in the absolute fuck?” Dew narrows his eyes. 

“You learn not to question the things that stop a scared ghoul.” Omega shrugs and takes a step forward. There’s a gleam of purple from the holes of his mask. He stares at the two new ghouls for a moment before a satisfied hum rumbles through his chest. 

“Alright Cardinal Copia. They are your responsibility now.” 

“Are you…are you positive?” He looks pale and his hands have a slight shake to them. 

“Quite.” 

He swallows, “Very well then…Dewdrop would you mind ehh…?” 

Dew jumps a little when his name is called. With all the excitement he completely forgot he actually has to do something now. He shuffles over to the ghouls on the floor, staring down awkwardly at them. He offers the water ghoul a lopsided smile before sticking his hand out. The water ghoul sniffs it before taking it. Dew hoists him to his feet. He’s taller than him, more broad. His eyes never leave Dew. He looks at him with an intensity that makes him feel like he’s going to be eaten alive. But there’s also something else in his gaze, something Dew can’t quite place over the adrenaline still pumping through his veins. Curiosity maybe? He’s not sure. He tries to ignore it, he has to at least pretend he can handle his new task. He can’t freak out just because he’s being stared at. 

Dew keeps his eyes trained on Copia as he tentatively approaches. The water ghoul doesn’t look away from Dew until Copia is right in front of him. He looks at the Cardinal with a blank expression, waiting to see what he does next. Dew just hopes whatever it is it doesn't involve more fang. 

Copia clears his throat, “You gave us quite the scare there pesciolino.” 

The water ghoul blinks at him. 

There’s a beat of silence. 

“Ehh heh right…well…I would like to be the one to formally introduce you to the Ministry. You will be joining us in the Ghost Project. Helping spread the Old One’s message, si.” 

Silence. 

Copia shifts, wringing his hands, “Si okay how about a name? A new name for your new life? You caused a rather big storm so…” 

Dew holds his breath. His naming. Sure, he saw Mountain receive his name, but that doesn’t change the fact that this moment carries so much weight. This is a name that will echo through every hall in the Ministry, through every branch of the Church, to every corner of the globe. The Cardinal will offer him the name and he can choose to accept it or not. If not, he will receive a placeholder title until he finds the perfect thing that fits. Names hold power, after all. Dew still remembers how it felt to receive his. How everything just clicked into place when Terzo addressed him. He glances at the water ghoul from the corner of his eye. 

“…we will call you Rain.” 

Something in his gaze shifts when Copia speaks the name. It’s almost imperceptible the way his eyes soften, but Dew notices. He can’t help the little smile that spreads across his face. Rain. Rain. Dew likes it. Rain is unpredictable, it can be a torrential downpour or a soft shower. It’s fitting for the ghoul that lashed out at everything that moved only to be stopped by a hug. A rather violent, unorthodox hug but still. 

“Welcome Topside Rain.” Dew finally turns to look at him. 

“What about me? What are you going to do with me?” The multi ghoul chimes in. He’s still sitting on the floor, propped up on his hands. 

There’s a beat of silence as everyone turns their attention towards him. It’s a unique situation, summoning multiple ghouls at the same time. Though the Cardinal seems to have a talent for it considering he somehow managed to get two air ghoulettes out of one circle. But that was different. Two of the same element can be useful. It’s not exactly difficult to get a second set of keys or find a job around the Ministry if one doesn’t make the cut. A multi ghoul though? It’s unheard of. The only other multi ghouls that exist within the Ministry are the Special and Cowbell. That Chimera is a freak of nature even by ghoul standards. Hiding in the walls, only coming out to roam the halls in the dead of night or when the Clergy needs its assistance. Cowbell is just an earth ghoul for all intents and purposes. He himself did not even realize he was a multi ghoul until he came Topside. 

There is no procedure for multi ghouls. There is no standard. They are rare and unpredictable. 

“I am fully prepared to do a banishment ritual,” the Devotion breaks the silence. 

The multi ghoul’s eyes go wide and he tenses. Dew holds his breath. That decision is up to Copia. He alone can decide whether or not to keep him Topside or throw him back like a fish that is too small. Dew has no reason to be concerned for this stranger, but the Pit is not exactly a kind place. Maybe he did have a good life Down Below, but considering he risked destroying himself to claw through a summoning circle Dew is confident in assuming it was not. 

Thankfully, Copia looks just as disturbed as the multi ghoul at the suggestion. He walks over to him and holds out his hand. The multi hesitates for a moment before taking it. Copia helps him to his feet. Dew stares a little dumbfounded at his size. He’s taller than Aether. Probably close to Mountain’s height when he’s glamoured. Suddenly he does not feel so small standing next to Rain. 

Even when the multi is stable on his feet, Copia does not drop his hand. He looks up at him, a gentle smile on his face. He clasps his other hand overtop the multi’s. 

“We are not going to just get rid of you. If you made it through then you are meant to be here. We will find a place for, si. I can promise you that,” Copia speaks earnestly. 

The multi ghoul returns his smile, relief flooding his features. 

“What do you say? Will you join us…Shadow?” 

He freezes and purses his lips, “Shadow?” 

“Si, a new name for—“ 

“Yeah yeah new name for my new life I heard that part, but I am nobody’s shadow.” 

Dew has to bite his tongue to not laugh at the look of dread on Copia’s face. Rain raises an eyebrow at him. Omega nudges him when he walks past him. 

“Don’t worry Cardinal Copia, this was bound to happen with the amount of ghouls you have been summoning. Not every name can be a winner.” Omega approaches the two. 

“Since you rejected your summoning name you will be given a placeholder until you decide on something for yourself.” 

He turns to look at Omega. 

“You will be known by your element. You are Multi.” 

“And I get to pick my own name?” He asks. 

“Correct. This is just a formality.” Omega confirms. 

He shrugs, “Alright I can live with that.” 

“Welcome Topside Multi.” Omega nods at him. 

With that the two new summons are given their ceremonial robes, a simple garment made of black silk, and the remains of the ritual are cleaned. Four becomes one as each group splits to take care of what comes next. Copia and Multi leave to visit with the Clergy. They need to be informed of the additional ghoul so they can figure out where he fits in. Omega leaves for the infirmary to get his arm patched up. As powerful as quintessence ghouls are, even they can’t fix themselves. The Devotion stays behind to oversee the cleaning. Dew and Rain make their way to the Papal ghoul den. 

Dew speaks the entire time, the need to fill the silence evident with the way he points out every little statue or stained glass window they pass. At this point he has no idea what he is saying, but he couldn’t stop if he wanted to. He glances at Rain occasionally, trying to gauge his reaction to the world around him. His expression remains neutral and Dew takes it as a win, at least he didn’t seem unhappy or scared. 

When they get back to the den it is empty, or at the very least no one is in the common room. Dew can smell one of the air ghoulettes nearby, the citrus and honey tells him it’s the shorter one. Cumulus he thinks is her name. He leads Rain into the hallway, turning down the right side. They walk past Aether’s door, stopping in front of the next one. Dew turns the knob and motions for Rain to follow him inside. 

The room is furnished but devoid of any personality. There is a queen sized bed, desk, nightstand, and vanity dresser. This is the first time Dew has been in here since he cleaned everything out. This used to be his room. It is one of the only rooms in the ghoul den that has a bathtub designed for soaking. The other one is in Mountain’s room and he couldn’t exactly give his up, he doesn’t fit into regular tubs. When the decision to make Dew fire was finalized he had to move out so the new water ghoul would have the ability to soak without having to trek to the bathing pools. It feels weird giving his old space to a stranger, but he can’t complain. Soon enough he will have no use for hiding underwater. 

“So…this is your room. I know it looks super boring right now, but once you start to find things you like you can do whatever you want to it.” Dew floats around the space. 

Rain sits on the edge of the bed, a noise leaving his throat when he feels the plush mattress. 

“Oh yeah, the beds are so nice. Beats sleeping on moss by a long shot. But if you think that’s cool you should check out the—“ 

“You can leave now.” 

Dew snaps his mouth shut when Rain’s deep voice fills his ears. There is a beat of silence as Dew processes the words. 

“What?” 

“You can leave.” 

Dew blinks. He wants him to leave. It’s barely been an hour of Rain being Topside and he already wants Dew to leave. Has he seriously fucked it up already? That has to be a record even for him. If Rain does not even want him around to settle in, then how is he supposed to figure out if he’s what the Ghost Project needs? He swallows thickly, mind racing with what he should do, with what Mist would do. The way Rain’s dark eyes look at him though tells him he should just listen. 

“Uh yeah…well if you need anything I’m uh the door on the right.” Dew just nods and then walks out, closing the door behind him. 

He stands outside of Rain’s room for a moment, letting what just happened wash over him. He sighs and walks to the common room. When he turns the corner he sees Mountain and Aether sitting on the couch. He forces a small smile when they notice him enter. 

“So how’d it go?” Aether asks, scooting over and patting the space between him and Mountain. Dew can tell he’s tense just by the tone of his voice. 

“You patched up Omega didn’t you?” Dew asks as he walks over and settles between the two bigger ghouls. 

“Not like anyone else could,” Aether sighs, “Is he really that aggressive?” 

“No I mean I hope not. He wasn’t as bad as the air ghoulettes, but well you saw Omega’s arm.” 

“Where is he now?” Mountain asks, taking a sip from a steaming mug. 

“He’s just…in his room. Hanging out I guess?” Dew shifts to slump against him. 

“You guess?” Aether raises an eyebrow. 

Dew groans, rubbing his hand over his face, “I dunno he kicked me out the moment he could!” 

The two bigger ghouls look at each other. They stay silent, letting Dew continue. 

“What did I do wrong? I mean his first words Topside were telling me to fuck off.” 

“I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong Dewbug,” Mountain assures him. 

“Yeah,” Aether runs a hand through Dew’s hair, “Summonings are rough and we have no idea what was happening to him before. He just needs to get used to everything. I mean Mountain didn’t even speak until we were halfway to our first show.” 

Mountain rolls his eyes and takes another sip from his mug. 

“So I should just what? Let him be alone?” Dew huffs. That doesn’t seem like something a good mentor is supposed to do. 

“Not necessarily,” Mountain hums, “but at least give him time to settle.” 

He sighs and closes his eyes as Aether’s fingers continue to rub against his scalp. They’re probably right, he just needs to let Rain come to him or anyone else for that matter. He can still recall his own summoning. He was always so on edge, didn’t trust a single person. He didn’t start to feel comfortable until Mist took him out to the lake and swam with him. He still thinks about what they talked about under the waves when he gets stressed. But Rain isn’t him. Maybe he does just need to be left alone and he’ll sort himself out? The thought alone makes something in Dew twists, but he shoves it down. 

“What’s his name?” Mountain eventually asks. 

“Rain,” Dew says, eyes still closed. 

Mountain doesn’t get the chance to respond before the doors of the den swing open, amber and spice filling the air. Dew can feel Aether shift around to look at the sudden intrusion. Mountain wraps an arm around him, pulling him closer with a growl in his throat. 

“And that’s Multi,” Dew supplies, completely unfazed. 

“A pleasure.” He grins at the three ghouls on the couch. 

“Who are you?” Aether rumbles. 

“That little sprite there already answered that question.” He points at Dew. 

Aether and Mountain both turn their attention towards Dew for answers. He shrugs. 

“Copia has a knack for double catches.” 

“He’s new too?” Mountain glances back up at him. 

“Yes. He is.” Another voice rings out. 

Cirrus enters the den, stopping just next to Multi. 

“I cannot believe you let a new summon wander around in the middle of the night by himself,” she snaps. 

Dew flinches, a sudden pang of guilt flaring. 

“Sorry…” he mumbles. He feels like he should apologize. He was the only one of them who was present at the summonings. He just assumed Copia would take things over but it appears he was wrong. 

Cirrus just shakes her head before making her way through the common room and turning down the left side of the hallway.

“You know I think I like her.” Multi’s eyes track her as she leaves. 

The three ghouls stay silent. Dew thinks she’s intense, though he supposes that’s all she knows how to be. He doesn’t know much about her or Cumulus, but he does know that Cirrus used to be the leader of her flock. Up until a week ago she was responsible for the lives and safety of who knows how many ghouls and now she gets a memory foam mattress. He tries not to take it to heart when she snaps, just like Aether told him, but some days it feels personal. Maybe he has a talent for new summons hating him? 

Mountain sighs and nuzzles his face into the top of Dew’s head, “It’s late. I’m going to turn in. Do you want me to show you to your room Multi?” 

He shakes his head and plops down on the loveseat, “Nah. Think I’ll hang out here.” 

“I’m gonna head out too,” Aether kisses Dew’s forehead, “Omega wants me to work the early shift tomorrow.” 

Dew feels a stab of disappointment as both ghouls mumble their goodnights to him. It’s not that he doesn’t want to be with Multi, it's just that he wants the comfort that only those two can provide. It has been a very long and exhausting day and he wants his packmates. Though Multi is his pack now he supposes. But he doesn’t know Multi. Not like how he knows Aether and Mountain. Sure he could follow one of them back to their nest, but he wouldn’t be able to sleep. He’s too wired from everything that has happened. He would just be alone, replaying the last few hours over and over as the other slept soundly. So he stays put, stretched out on the couch while Multi stares at him. 

“I never thanked you.” Multi is the first to break the silence. 

“Thanked me?” Dew cracks his eyes open to look at him. 

“Yeah back in that room when I was all…” he gestures vaguely at his body, “you saved me.” 

This grabs Dew’s attention. He sits up, turning his body to face Multi. 

“I was trying to kill you. How in the fuck did I save you?” 

“Well I like to think it’s obvious what my strongest elements are.” 

He’s not wrong. His grayish purple skin and the splotches of gold scream quintessence and fire. But that’s where multi ghouls are different from hybrids. They have every element flowing through their veins, not just two. Sure there are imbalances, one or two or even three elements can be more present than others, but still, they are all in there to some capacity. 

“Uhhuh.” Dew nods. 

“Can’t feel my earth and water for shit. Never could, probably never will.” 

“And so you jumped into a summoning meant for a water ghoul?” Dew deadpans. 

“Had nothing better to do.” He shrugs, fang filled grin still on his face. 

“Oh so you’re stupid. That’s good to know.” 

“I like to think of it more as willing to take new opportunities,” he laughs, “but it did hurt like nothing else. Could feel myself falling apart, that is until you dumped all that water on me.” 

It’s silent for a moment as the revelation hangs in the air. Dew shifts in his seat. He’s never been good with praise or gratitude. It always makes him feel like he’s lying, like he somehow tricked whoever into believing he's a responsible and competent ghoul. 

“Well it’s good to know at least one new summon doesn’t hate me.” Dew tries to joke. 

“Who? Rain? Please, that little fishy was all by himself when The Light snatched him. Who knows how long it’s been since he's seen another ghoul?” 

All by himself. Somehow knowing that doesn’t make Dew feel any better. Actually, it sort of makes him feel worse. Rain was presumably left alone in the Pits and even now that he’s Topside he’s alone. Dew has half a mind to knock on his door, just to see if maybe he has changed his mind in the last hour. He doesn’t though. Rain was the one who asked to be left alone. Maybe he prefers it that way? It’s not uncommon for oceanic water ghouls to live by themselves. That would be just great if they happened to summon a loner for a band position. 

“So…how did things go with the Clergy?” Dew asks. He doesn’t want to think about possibilities anymore. 

“You’re looking at an official member of the Ghost Project…whatever that means.” 

“No shit they actually let you join? Just like that?” 

“What? Didn’t think those humans would like me?” 

“It took the Cardinal two days to convince them to let Cumulus actually in instead of just as backup. How the fuck did you manage that?” 

“They offered me the spot and I said yes.” He shrugs, twining his hands behind his head. 

Dew narrows his eyes. He may not know Multi well enough to see his tells, but scent is never wrong. He’s lying. Dew can smell the subtle shift in that amber and spice scent of his. It became muddled. Muted. Replaced with something bitter. But what part is he lying about? Is he not actually in the band? Did the Clergy not actually offer him anything? Dew can’t tell. He is curious though. 

“So…what are you gonna be doing then?” Dew asks. He’ll find a way to pull the right thread. 

“Guitar.”

Dew freezes. What the fuck does he mean guitar? Aether is already on rhythm and Dew is supposed to be lead. He’s supposed to be. That was the fucking deal. Lords Below he is quintessence and fire. He could be either. They wouldn’t get rid of Aether…would they? Multi must sense the shift in his demeanor because the corners of his mouth twitch up. 

“And backing vocals. And whatever else little Cardi needs. Imperator’s words, not mine.” 

Dew relaxes slightly, but he’s still tense. He may have only been here for a little over a year, but even he can tell the Clergy likes to play games. He was there when Terzo was ripped off stage after all. Forcibly removed from the position of Papa for reasons that still are not clear. He would not be surprised if Sister actually did give him a deal. One of the only times Special appears is when the Clergy needs it. Maybe Multi will be the new Special? Dew’s tail twitches at the thought. Dew suddenly does not feel like pulling anymore threads. 

The two sit in silence for a long time, occasionally breaking it with conversations of Dew’s favorite things he has discovered since being Topside. He tries to not let his mind run wild and he begins to find Multi an interesting person to talk to. It’s comfortable. It’s easy. But eventually everything catches up to Dew. His eyes are dry and he swears he can hear his bones creak when he moves. He slowly stands from the couch after the next lull in their chat. He stretches and looks towards Multi. 

“Think I’m gonna go sleep. You wanna be shown to your room now?” 

“Nah I’m fine out here.” 

Dew raises an eyebrow, “You sure?” 

“Positive.”

Dew can see the exhaustion in his eyes, but he doesn’t force him. Maybe he should, but his mind feels sluggish. 

“Well you can pick any room that’s empty.” Dew murmurs before turning and heading down the right side of the hallway. He doesn’t get far though. 

“Hey Dewdrop?” 

He stops, turning around to look at Multi. 

“For the record, this new summon doesn’t hate you.” 

Dew blinks and turns back around. He ducks his head so that his hair falls over his face to hide the smile that creeps onto his face. 

“Goodnight Multi,” he throws over his shoulder. 

He barely has the mind peel himself out of his uniform when he gets back to his room. He does not even bother with braiding his hair like he normally does. He will be annoyed in the morning when he has to brush out knots and tangles, but right now all he cares about is crawling under his blankets and burying his head under a pillow. Once he’s out of his clothes he does just that, forgoing pajamas. Not a single patch of skin is visible in the mess of his nest. The only thing that shows he’s even there is the vaguely Dewdrop shaped lump curled up in the middle of the bed. 

Despite his exhaustion, sleep does not come easy at first. He is almost hyper aware of the fact Rain is just on the other side of the wall. Talking with Multi nearly made him forget about his shortcomings with the new water ghoul, but now that he’s alone it’s all he can think about. He thinks about the possibility that Rain was a loner in the Pits. If that is true Dew is fucked to put it simply. There is no way a loner is going to fit the needs of the Ghost Project. Even if he ends up being a magical prodigy on bass, it completely ignores everything else that goes into it. He has to be constantly surrounded by other ghouls. Not even ghouls from his pack, but others that the Cardinal may interact with. He’s not just a band ghoul. He’s a ghoul that was summoned by a high ranking Clergy member. He has innate responsibility that goes beyond plucking a few strings and showing up to rehearsals. If he cannot perform the more social aspects there is no way the Clergy will let that fly. Dew will not be able to become fire. He hopes to any Lord that is listening that Rain is not a loner and he just does not like him. At least then he can get what he wants, who cares if he’s hated? 

Sleep eventually claims Dew as his thoughts turn silent. For the first time in a long time, he dreams of the Pits. He dreams of what used to be his home. He dreams of the shining lake he was chased out of when he was deemed a hindrance to his school. He sinks down, down, down below the waves, unable to reach the surface no matter how hard he kicks. Just as the light disappears though he blinks and he is in Aether and Ifrit’s arms sitting on the dock of the Ministry’s lake. Both of them are whispering in his ears, but he cannot focus on them. He can only focus on his reflection in the water. It is not him. It is a silhouette with red glowing eyes, staring back at him. He reaches out to touch it. It feels almost familiar. He needs to see what happens. The moment he does the dock disappears and he’s thrown right back into the cold, dark depths. 

He wakes up with a start, sitting up so fast the pillow over his head gets launched across his room. He blinks and shakes his head, brow furrowed as he looks around. He turns towards the window, early morning light filtering in through the blind before glancing at the clock on his nightstand. 

“Figures,” he grumbles to himself. 

Even when he is exhausted he cannot sleep past sunrise. He could try to roll over, burying himself back in the warmth of his blanket nest, but he knows he will not fall back asleep. Once he is up that is it, he cannot go back. He does not know why, maybe it is because he is a light sleeper who knows? All he knows is that it sucks. The only other people that get up this early are the Ministry fire ghouls, called awake by the sun Herself. He knows well enough that Ifrit would rather sit in bed and watch Zephyr sleep than do anything else. He would sooner cut off his own fins than hang out alone with Alpha, so he is used to spending mornings alone. 

He sighs deeply, running his hands over his face before rolling out of bed. The chill of the room is the only thing that reminds him he did not bother with pajamas last night. He digs around in his dresser, pulling out a pair of black sweatpants to head to the kitchen. The den is quiet as he walks through the halls, though he is not complaining. Sometimes it is nice to simply exist in a space without having to make yourself known.

 It is routine for him. He goes to the kitchen to grab a before breakfast snack to chew on in his room while he waits for everyone else to wake up. He could go down to the feast hall or figure out how the stove works, but why bother? He does not like to eat meals alone. He would much rather go hungry. The silence is nice at first, but the longer it stretches the more his skin starts to itch. So he grabs a bag of dried seaweed and turns right back around to curl up and scroll on his phone while he waits. He pauses when he sees Multi still sleeping on the loveseat. He looks uncomfortable. He is sweating and he reeks of fear. Part of him screams to go wake him up, but the part of him that is still half asleep wins. He makes a mental note to prod at him later and heads back to his room with his snack in hand.

When he gets to the hallway though, something makes him stop. It's faint, but he can hear commotion coming from Rain’s room. It does not sound just like he is waking up, it sounds like a struggle. He can hear the sound of his deep voice, though he cannot make out what he is saying. He stares at his door, chewing his lip. Mountain, Aether, and Multi’s voices all overlap in his head telling him the same thing.

 Leave him alone. He asked you to leave him alone. He wants to be alone. 

He should listen. He should just ignore it and walk right into his room. He makes it one step past Rain’s door before turning around and grabbing the handle. He is almost surprised when it pops right open. Thank the Lords Rain has yet to discover locks. The room is dark save for the dim light of the sunrise. At first, Rain is nowhere to be seen and Dew’s stomach flips, but he quickly notices the door to the bathroom is open. He walks over, flipping the light on when he steps through the threshold. 

Rain is on the ground next to the bathtub clawing at his gills. He glares up at Dew, but he can see the panic in Rain’s eyes. Even if the mask was not slipping, Dew can smell the sharp scent of fear in the air. He drops to his knees, coming up beside him. Once he is closer he can see just how dry the skin around his gills are. He can see dots of blood where the skin is cracked. The sight makes him feel sick. 

“Shit fuck okay hold on just hold on.” He reaches up to turn the faucet on. 

The moment the water sprays out Rain practically leaps forward. He crawls into the tub, sticking his head under the running water so that it covers his gills. Dew can see them flare and pulse as he sucks in air. How could he be so stupid? Rain is an oceanic water ghoul. He has never existed out of water before. Dew did not even think to explain that he needs to soak. It is second nature to him as a freshwater ghoul. A ghoul designed to live on both land and water. He let something so important slip his mind and now Rain’s gills might be damaged. He really has fucked up in record time. He swallows. He needs to fix this. He needs to get out of his head and actually be there for this ghoul. 

He sits up on his knees, reaching into the tub to plug the drain. Rain’s hand darts forward, grabbing his wrist. Neither of them move. He keeps his head down under the faucet and Dew just stares at him. He can feel his claws prickling against his skin. Dew cannot pull away even if he wants to lest he shreds his own wrist. He can feel his heart hammering in his chest, pushing down every instinct he has. After what feels like an eternity, Rain slowly lets go of Dew. He still does not look at him though. When he fully drops his hand, Dew plugs the drain. 

“Now you can soak,” Dew mumbles. 

At the sound of his voice, Rain turns his head. Dark blue peeks out from behind wet strands of inky black. His eyes search Dew’s face and that feeling from the summoning room returns. He still cannot place it, the look he gives him. It makes him feel like the rabbit locking eyes with the wolf moments before the chase begins. He is not confident he will survive if Rain decides to spring. But he will not run. If this is what it takes to become fire then he will do it. He will prove his devotion. 

When the water is high enough to lick against the gills on Rain’s abdomen, he turns his attention away from Dew with a noise of surprise. He leans back in the tub, resting against the cool porcelain with his knees to his chest. Dew does not think he has ever seen a ghoul so big look so small. They sit in silence, the only sound filling the room is running water. When it’s high enough Dew flips it off. He wants to talk to him but he has no idea what to say.  He picks at the grout in between the tiles as a million things race through his head. Should he apologize? For what? Leaving when he was asked to? He cannot exactly ask how his first night was, it is pretty obvious given they are in this situation to begin with. Even he is not stupid enough to ask about his life in the Pits. That is a story he has to tell on his own, if he ever tells it. 

He keeps tracing the lines of the tiles with his claws until something catches in the corner of his eye. The bag of dried seaweed. He completely forgot about it when he saw Rain’s condition. He flicks it with his tail, pushing it close enough to him that he can grab it. He can feel Rain’s eyes on him as he struggles to open it. 

“Stupid fucking,” he mutters as he tries to pull it open, “forget it.” 

He puts the corner of the bag into his mouth, tearing it open with his teeth. When he looks up again Rain is right at the edge of the tub peering at him with big eyes. Dew nearly jumps at the sudden proximity, Rain’s face about only a foot away from his. He can see his nose twitch as he scents the air. He looks between him and the bag before tentatively extending it to him. 

“Want some?” 

Rain mirrors him, looking between Dew and the bag a few times before hesitantly reaching forward. He takes a handful before pulling back, putting a bit more space between himself and Dew as if he would suddenly change his mind about sharing the food. He watches Dew stick some in his mouth before darting his tongue out to taste it. Dew has to fight back a smile when he sees his pupils dilate. Maybe he can coax him out of his self isolation with food? He’ll have to beg River and Lake to catch some fish for him. And then beg Mountain to cook it. He thinks it would be worth it just to see any expression on Rain’s face other than a snarl. He wants to know what he looks like when he smiles. 

The thought catches Dew off guard, makes him pause. Who cares if he ever smiles as long as he can hold a bass? That is all Dew needs right? That is all he thinks he needs, but sitting here staring at Rain without his hair covering his face as he tries Topside food for the first time something else blooms. He does want to see him smile. He wants to see him laugh. He wants to see him comfortable. He does not just want him to be his replacement, he wants Rain to be his friend. Suddenly he cannot live with the idea that Rain hated him the moment he stepped out of the circle. Unfortunately Dew has never been great when it comes to his emotions so he ignores it. He has too many things to worry about and one of them does not need to be if Rain likes him or not. 

He is pulled from his thoughts when a deep voice fills the silence, “Why did you help me?” 

“Huh?” Dew blinks. 

“Why did you come back here to help me? Why are you sharing your food with me?” 

How the hell is he supposed to answer that? 

“I…heard you struggling and I got concerned. What type of ghoul would I be if I let you die the first night you’re here?” He tries to keep it light, almost joking. 

“A smart one.” 

“Well it’s a good thing I’m not.” He pauses when he hears himself. Rain raises an eyebrow at him. 

“That’s not what…nevermind. The point is you’re Topside. You don’t have to fight to survive anymore. You have a pack now.” 

It’s subtle the way the corners of his eyes soften, but it is there. He still looks tense, but Dew does not expect him to magically adjust just because he was a decent person to him. As long as he does not try to claw or bite anyone anymore Dew will take it as a win. 

“Can I have more of those things?” Rain eventually mutters. 

“All yours.” Dew hands him the entire bag. Rain does not take it at first though. “Seriously, it's fine. The others should be getting up soon so that means breakfast.” 

With the affirmation, Rain takes the bag from him. They sit in silence while Rain eats, but for once Dew does not mind. It gives him a chance to think. He needs to find the thing that will actually help Rain. Mist did that for him. He can do it for Rain. Maybe he should take him to the lake. Although River and Lake are usually out there and something tells him throwing him out there with more random ghouls probably is not the best idea. Why is this so hard? He taps his claws against the tiles, trying to come up with literally anything. All the while the scent of cooked meat slowly filters in. Mountain must be up. Maybe he can help. 

Dew stands, stretching his back with a pop that makes Rain visibly cringe. He eyes Dew with that unfamiliar look, “You’re leaving?” 

This takes him by surprise. Clearly Rain does not like other ghouls, and now he is concerned where Dew goes? 

“Uhh yes? Was gonna go see what’s cooking.” 

They stare at each other for a moment. Dew flexes his fingers. He might as well take a chance, what’s the worst that could happen? 

He extends his hand, “You can come if you want.” 

“The other ghouls will be there too won’t they?” 

“Yeah. Well. It’s early still so it will probably just be Mountain for a bit.” 

Silence. 

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. No one is gonna make you.” 

Rain nods, pulling his knees back up to his chest. 

“I can…bring you a plate? If you want?” 

He nods again. 

Dew smiles a little, “I’ll be back.” 

He leaves Rain’s room, shutting the door behind him before heading to the kitchen. Multi is awake now, no longer on the loveseat. Instead he is sitting at the table watching Mountain who is staring down at the pan in front of him with his arms crossed, spatula in hand. 

“Hey little sprite,” Multi greets when he sees him. 

Mountain blinks, looking up from the stove when he hears him, “Morning Dewbug.” 

He hops up onto the counter, nuzzling against Mountain’s shoulder, “What’re you making?” 

“Sausage and potatoes.” He replies as he presses the spatula down against the meat, sizzling growing louder as he does. 

Dew hums, “Can you make me two plates?” 

Mountain cocks an eyebrow, glancing at him from the corner of his eye. 

“What? Am I supposed to let the new summon starve?” 

“Oh the little fishy let you back in?” Multi chimes in. 

“Yeah…something like that.” 

“Few more minutes and it’ll be done. I made extra so bring him as much as you want.” 

Dew stays sitting on the counter, legs idly swinging while he zones out. Mountain and Multi are talking, but he does not pay attention to their conversation. He is not really paying attention to anything, letting his stream of thought flow. He is only snapped back into reality when Mountain nudges him. He blinks and shakes his head, eyes flicking up to meet Mountain’s. 

“Foods ready.” 

Dew can see four plates dished out and sitting on the table over his shoulder. Multi is already digging into his. Dew smiles. 

“Thanks Mount.” He presses a kiss to his cheek and hops off the counter. 

He takes the plates from the table, wincing a little at the heat. He carries them back to Rain’s room, using his tail to open the door. He is surprised to see Rain out of the bathtub. He is sitting on the edge of his bed, hair still wet. He looks tense when the door first opens, but he minutely relaxes when he realizes it is Dew. 

“I know it’s not fish, but it’s meat. I know it’s weird but trust me it’s so fucking good.” Dew hands one of the plates off to Rain. 

Dew takes a seat at the desk, turning the chair around so he can face Rain. He hopes he will eat it. He remembers when he was first summoned he refused to eat anything besides the bag of raw shrimp he found in the bottom of the fridge. It took Mist weeks to get him to try something else, something that was not seafood. He watches Rain eye the sausage, poking at it with his claws before picking it up and sniffing it. He takes a bite and visibly grimaces. Dew is sure he will spit it out, but he just chews it slowly. 

“You don’t have to eat it. I can ask Mount to make you something else,” Dew assures him. 

Rain shakes his head, “No it’s…fine. I can eat it.” 

Almost as if to prove his point, he scoops up some of the potatoes and pops them into his mouth. Thankfully he does not seem to have as much of a visceral reaction to them as the sausage. Dew wants to say something, but he also does not want to push his luck. It is amazing Rain did not just kick him out once Dew turned on the tub for him, so he is not going to test his limits. As long as he does not get sick Dew is happy. He will ask Mountain to make something special for him when dinner rolls around. Maybe he will even ask him to make his favorite smoked salmon dish. He is sure that is something Rain will like. 

“What happens to me now?” Rain eventually asks as they both eat. 

“Uh well we have a week before you have to start rehearsal? I think? I didn’t really pay attention so in the meantime I guess you just…hang out?” Dew has the sudden realization that perhaps he needs to learn how to plan ahead. 

“Rehearsal?” Rain cocks an eyebrow. 

“Yeah I mean that’s why you were summoned. To play bass for the Ghost Project.” 

“I was summoned. To play human music. In a human band. Summoned from Hell itself to be in a band.” 

“Well when you put it like that it sounds crazy.” 

Rain blinks at him. 

“It’s really not so bad,” Dew shrugs, “I think it’s really fucking fun.” 

“You’re in it too?” 

“Yeah I…used to play the bass.” Dew can feel the fins on his arms twitch. Technically he is not wrong. If Rain is deemed worthy then he will have no reason to ever pick up a bass again. 

“Used to?” 

Dew nods, “Can’t do it anymore so they uh they summoned you. I’m here to help you get used to it.” 

It is that he doesn’t want to talk about his planned elemental transition, it is more so he does not want to burden the new summons. It is bad enough dealing with Mountain, Aether, Ifrit, and Zephyr, he does not need people he barely knows pitying and worrying about him too. If he just never mentions it then he will never know how they look when tears fill their eyes if something goes wrong. He knows he will be fine, but if his time with them is brief then he only wants to know them with smiles. 

Rain hums, “So those other ghouls. They’re in the band too?”

“Yeah. Everyone in the den has played at some point or another. Mount and Aether are still in it,” he pauses, “and I guess those two air ghoulettes and that multi ghoul as well.” 

“Him?” 

Dew nods. 

Rain scoffs but does not say anymore. Interesting. That is going to be something he digs at when he is not so afraid of being kicked out again. 

The two talk for a while longer, empty plates long forgotten. Though, it is mostly Dew speaking with introjections from Rain every now and then. Dew ends up suggesting he meets the rest of the pack, but Rain is quick to shoot that down. Instead, they settle on something much simpler. A tour of the Ministry. They both get dressed after Dew steals some of Mountain’s clothes for Rain and they head out. He really cannot say if he is cut out for this whole mentoring thing, but watching Rain’s face fill with wonder as he shows him around makes something swell in his chest. He is more than happy to be the one Rain falls to. 

[bethanydelleman]

what do you think would have been the most personally tragic (plausible) outcomes for each of the heroines?

Catherine Morland - She was somehow forced to ride in John Thorpe's gig for a third time.

Now I'll be serious. I refuse to imagine my dear Catherine in a tragedy.

Marianne Dashwood - Willoughby seduces her and she ends up pregnant and ruined. I've written this, twice. Also, she could have died from her fever

Elinor Dashwood - Edward marries Lucy Steele, she ends up resigning herself to a prudent but loveless marriage or never leaves home, occasionally hearing through her family that Edward is completely miserable

Elizabeth Bennet - marries someone she doesn't really respect and becomes a female version of her father

Jane Bennet - never gets over Bingley, eventually settles for a loveless marriage and it kills her inside

Fanny Price - Edmund marries Mary Crawford and Fanny watches in silent agony as she destroys Edmund's (weak) moral core and he becomes an entirely different person. William's ship is lost and Fanny never hears from him again

Emma Woodhouse - kind of cheating since it's in the book: Mr. Knightley does fall in love with Harriet Smith and stops coming to Hartfield as often, leaving Emma loveless and lonely

Anne Elliot - Captain Wentworth marries Louisa Musgrove out of duty, he also realizes his love for Anne but sees no way out. Anne remains within his sphere through her connection to the Musgrove family, she is aware that he loves her but there is nothing either of them can do about it. After a few years and two children, Wentworth confesses and Anne is forced to remove herself to the house of a distant family member. She eventually marries and Wentworth takes on more and more risks as a naval officer, leading to his ship being destroyed and his entire crew dying. He survives and feels so guilty that he eventually hangs himself, leaving his disillusioned wife and kids to fend for themselves (don't worry, Louisa has a great family and a good fortune).

Lady Susan - Sir James refuses to die and escapes all of her attempts like a clueless cartoon character who cannot be killed. Her daughter is also widely reported to be more beautiful than her.

[naffeclipse]

Monster boyfriends... Monster boyfriends... Monster boyfriends....

I don't know whether you're comfortable with answering this question, and it's okay if you're not! But I sometimes wonder how the boys would cope after getting into a fight, argument or disagreement with MC. Mmm, angst.

Mmm, delicious angst. *chef's kiss*

Hawthorn has to take off afterward just to cool down. He catches a strong wind and sails for half the night over the thick woods of his home. In his mind, he's unraveling and weaving through the anguish of raising his voice and MC doing the same. It shouldn't have come to that. He should have handled it better, and now he fears the damage done. Does MC want him around anymore? Is it over? He wanted to apologize. He wanted to hold MC in his arms, but he was boiling and couldn't think past the argument—now he's frozen cold. He should have stayed. He shouldn't have said that. He wonders what the morning will bring. Can he return to MC, repentant, or will MC turn him away? He didn't mean for this to happen, but bad things don't care much for his input.

Grease is furious. He doesn't let MC walk away until a door is slapped in his face and MC screams at him to leave, and then he's talking off. He's tearing through the shadowy alleyways and destroying whatever he can get his hands on, clawing up cars, breaking glass windows, and shattering anything he can throw on the ground. Someone has to pay. It's someone's fault. It's not his and it's not MC's, but it's someone's. He has to put the blame somewhere other than a problem in a relationship—something he can't force or handle with his claws until it becomes shreds. He wants to see MC so badly but it makes him feral once more as he crushes dirt in his hands. The thought of returning to MC's house makes him physically ill, so once he's out of fuel, he stands there, broken pieces littered around him, staring down at what he might have done wrong.

Calmo is the type to sit and stew. He replays the fight over and over in his mind, noting logical inconsistencies MC made and relistening to the moments when his voicebox let out audio that was not true—so why did he say it? He is a machine. He is perfect. He cannot make mistakes and let problems grow into issues. But there's no self-diagnostics for relationships and he can't go out of the house to follow MC. MC stormed away. MC left. Good riddance. He doesn't mean that. He furls and unfurls his digits and tries to find the solution. An apology. A sincere expression of regret and an acknowledgment of wrongdoing. That's what a World Wide Web search provides as an answer, but Calmo does not feel like apologizing yet. His wires are still red-hot and his core whirls like a jet engine. This is a problem. How does he fix it?

[bookshelfdreams]

Hiii I hope this isn't too forward, but your tags re: Ed's evolving reactions to abuse and Izzy as abuse-survivor-wish-fulfillment are incredible and it would lovely as its own post, if you felt comfortable doing so!

Aww thank you! The post in question

Also, tbf, I'm just obsessed with the rule of 3, whenever there's the slightest chance of seeing a pattern like this I'll pound on it with a sledgehammer until it fits.

Anyway. Ed has 3 abusive white men in his life; his father, Hornigold, and Izzy. And all 3 he deals with, to escalating effect.

His father is the one who exerts the most power over him. Ed clearly comes from a violent household, and as a child, he is obviously completely at his fathers non-existent mercy. He beats Ed's mother, throws dishware against the wall, and there was a deleted scene where he yelled at Ed's mother for "turning my son soft" (oh how I wish they'd kept that in. I can understand why they thought this was expendable, but it would have made the connection between Ed's father and Izzy so much more obvious).

Ed cannot protect himself, or his mother, against this violence - up until the moment that he can. The moment he realizes he is no longer weak and helpless, he retaliates in the only way that he has ever seen conflicts be resolved. He knows that he can't intimidate his father into better behaviour, if he wants to end the abuse it has to be permanent. So he just fucking kills the bastard.

This is, of course, Not Ideal. Even 30odd years later, he feels monstrous and unlovable because of this moment. The violence scars him. Not because he was wrong in killing his father, necessarily; the show doesn't judge him for it. But Ed destroyed the life he could have had when he did it, and he wounded himself.

Violent solution? Possible, but he deserved better.

Next up, Hornigold, who is also a mean, abusive bastard. He represents the avoidance solution: Leave and never look back. We do not know what became of Hornigold after Ed left his ship, but 02x03 implies that Ed expects him to still be alive somewhere. Ed clearly suffered horrific abuse at his hands, both physical and emotional, and even though that is years in the past, he clearly never dealt with any of it. Gravybasket!Hornigold tells him "Sorry doesn't rebuild an abdominal wall. You gotta move on.": Don't expect an apology, don't try to make amends, just ignore what happened. Apologies are pointless, you can never expect your abuser to change his behaviour. So just try to get away from him and ignore him.

This also doesn't really work. In the gravy basket, Ed is clearly still desperate for Hornigold's approval - and is refused, as he probably was often when he sailed with him. "You're never good enough" is one of the core mantras of abusers. Hornigold is still living in Ed's head, and heart, and soul; the poison he fed him is still alive and well within him. Ed even tries a violent solution this time, but obviously that can't work.

Still, avoidance is better than violence. Hornigold is left behind, standing on that cliff, while Ed goes back into the light. Ed doesn't have to take him with him. He cannot make Hornigold regret what he did, but he can remove himself from his clutches.

And then there's Izzy. With Izzy, Ed obviously has the most ambivalent relationship. He seems to truly like Izzy, to some extend (why is that would be another post, but as briefly as possible: I think Izzy provides an interpersonal dynamic that is familiar, and therefore, a twisted kind of safe for Ed. Chronic mistreatment will embed in you the idea that there's something wrong with you, and that's something Izzy is all too willing to point out to Ed. Crucially though, Izzy is someone who's approval is actually attainable. Ed keeps around someone who will tear him down, yes, but who it is also possible to impress, and over who he has authority. He's going back to the previous relationships, only now he is in a position of power, and that may feel like he can fix them. Obviously this isn't exactly a healthy dynamic. Izzy, for his part, clearly gets a kick out of the power and status being Blackbeard's first mate gives him, and manipulating Ed into doing what he wants. Just watch how pissed he gets when his control over Ed starts to slip.).

And there's another, crucial difference: Izzy wants to come around. Izzy is the fantasy of the toxic person who realizes how shitty his behaviour is, and who deep down, cares enough to want to fix it. Who recognizes the pain he caused, and who tells Ed the things he most needs to hear: I hurt you, and I'm sorry. You didn't deserve this. I was wrong; you're fine.

And then - and this is also an important part of the wish fullfilment fantasy! - he dies. Ed doesn't have to deal with him anymore. We remove the possibility that he goes back on his apology, or tries to use that as a wedge to carve out a space for himself in Ed's life, or goes back to manipulating Ed. No. The apology has to be the final note this relationship ends on.

And this fixes it. Ed can look back on Izzy fondly.

He was a fucking nightmare. What a guy.

[teecupangel]

An Inverse! Au where Desmond or whoever replaced him has Templar origins but, instead of "our" templars, the templars are the good guys and the assassins are evil? Like, Vieri De Pazzi goes on an arduous and wrought adventure to kill (I forgot Ezi's daddy's name rip)?

Since this is an Inverse AU, the Desmond of this AU would most definitely stayed with the Brotherhood and believed him to be the rightful mentor of the Brotherhood, making him the big bad and pretty much what can be considered as the final boss of the series.

So the main character would be either Lucy Stillman or Daniel Cross due to their connection with the Brotherhood and the Order.

Of course, Berg or Numbskull would be a good alternative main character to have a more acceptable way to infodump in the story because they’re new in the whole secret war thing.

The modern day plot would be the Order is now in small teams that have been driven underground thanks to the Brotherhood holding a Great Purge under the last mentor and now the Assassins are hunting for any survivors.

The Animus is the Templars last ditch effort to find a way to create a counterattack against the Assassins’ relentless hunting.

And to do that…

They have to ask help from the descendants of Templars of old who are also being hunted down by the Assassins because they know the Templars are developing the Animus and they have their own.

Unorganized Notes

The start of the Brotherhood’s corruption could be at any time but the three main possible triggers are: 1) From the start with Aya and Bayek being driven by their rage of Cleopatra’s betrayal, making the Hidden Ones much more vicious and more on the side of ‘destroy everything against us’, 2) Loki’s Isuness corrupting the Hidden Ones between Mirage and Valhalla and having long lasting effects even after his death or 3) Al Mualim raising Altaïr to be his heir and son, effectively turning him into the second Al Mualim

Personally I think 1 is the best option mostly so we can have this corruption start at the very core, becoming the foundation of the Assassins themselves.

Al Mualim used the Templars to get the Apple and used it to gain knowledge that would jumpstart the Brotherhood’s technological advancement. Altaïr continued what he started and drove the Brotherhood into the shadows because there’s an ongoing alliance of quite a lot of formidable foes that are trying to destroy Masyaf.

The Italian Brotherhood under Giovanni Auditore used the Medici family as their puppets exert control over the lands. The Pazzi conspiracy was meant to be a decoy to the real plan to destroy the Auditore family. This fails and most of the Pazzi die and Vieri de Pazzi is trained by Rodrigo Borgia to the ways of the Templar. His revenge is half successful in a way that he was able to cut off the strings between the Medici and the Brotherhood and deal a fatal blow to Giovanni (whether he lives or not is up to you). This, however, caused Ezio Auditore to take center stage and destroy the remaining Templars in a rain of blood and fire all the while Petruccio Auditore becomes the pope, effectively making the Church under Brotherhood control for as long as he reigns.

The Kenway drama unfolds in a different way with Haytham Kenway becoming a Templar to go against his father who has taken the mantle of mentor. Birch is now the guy who showed Haytham the errors of the Brotherhood’s way and this becomes a story of the Templars were able to destroy the Brotherhood in the colonies thanks to Shay (who, in this one, still defected because of Lisbon but less of a case of ‘people don’t communicate well in this game’ and more of a case of ‘it’s a shame but it cannot be helped’ mentality)

of course, this means Ratonhnhaké:ton becomes an Assassin for revenge because the burning of the village is still becomes of Washington and Charles Lee is a Templar but he still did as ordered (but, instead of hitting a kid hard, he orders him to run and shoots near his feet to force him to run). Ratonhnhaké:ton is trained by his grandfather in this one because Haytham couldn’t kill him and his aunt ends up being an Assassin who is mainly there to kill her own brother because he’s a ‘disgrace’)

Arno and Élise still have their forbidden love thing going on but, this time, it’s the Dorian family adopting Élise after her father is killed by an unknown ‘person’ (this turns out to be Jennifer Scott who was hunting Shay Cormac down). Charles Dorian dies because he tried to unite the Brotherhood and the Order. Eventually, it’s found out that he was killed by Bellec and Arno kills him out of revenge. Élise doesn’t die on this one but they don’t end up together because Arno wishes to remain in the Brotherhood to do what his father tried to do but Élise doesn’t believe unity can be accomplished considering how merciless the Brotherhood is. She’s proven right as even to his death, Arno was known as a great Assassin but his call for peace was deemed ‘poisoned’ because he loved a Templar Grand Master

The twins did everything they did the game but, more chaotic. Maxwell Roth absolutely joined their cause because he’s just like that and this is actually an AU where Jack the Ripper doesn’t happen because Jacob AND Roth nurtured his hatred and wrath into something more refined and much more… well stealthier. In exchange, London has an urban legend about how the Reaper would walk the streets of London during that time, and all he sees will never be seen ever again.

[cherry-dream-star]

I watched Sonic 3 last week now Ian’s holy shit. It was truly the best fucking thing I’ve ever seen holy shit. There’s so much I want to say about it and just saying it was so good isn’t enough IT WAS PERFECT SO PERFECT I LOVED IT WAHHHNHHHH. I had to share my thoughts on it so here there are!

WARNING SPOILERS BELOW FOR SONIC 3

————————————————————————————————

Anyways I am gonna just ramble out everything I need for this because the brainrot is so real AND I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS SHSHHSEHHSSN

- i actually cried quite a lot actually so many moments just tug my heart especially the flashback moments with Maria and shadow man their story is so tragic they deserved so much better 😭 I kept jumping and giggling in my seat and just tried to keep my composure over certain moments ESPECIALLY WHEN LIVE AND LEARN PLAYED I HAD TO KEEP MYSELF FROM SINGING ALONG HWBWHDHDEHHWHJWJSJ.

- God the way the movie opened, where Shadows beginning to wake up and he’s seeing memories of Maria already like okay straight away to the pain and angst I see

- ALSO THEY COULDNT HAVE WRITTEN MARIA AND SHADOW MORE PERFECT I actually loved their relationship and dynamic in this sm they were so adorable and the memories of them spending time and being like family just tug my heart 😭

- also the first section of the movie when sonic and shadow had their first fight was amazing. Sonic asking about who did his highlights when chasing after shadow made me giggle for sm reason lol

- They’ve changed up Shadows backstory a little, not having him be man-made but instead coming from a meteorite and like a straight up alien. they’ve also written out Maria’s sickness which tbh im not entirely sure how I feel about that? Like tbh it’s not something like the worst change ever but it does make me wonder why they changed it especially since it’s a core part of her character in the main universe but tbh this is still a completely separate universe so really in the end it’s not the worst change and not something that completely ruins the experience. (It just made me curious really) but yeah everything else with Shadows backstory is absolutely amazing and I loved it!!

- ALSO SONIC CRASHING OUT AFTER SHADOW HURT TOM OH MY FUCKING GOD THATS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED AHHHHHHHHHHHH

- and the scene when Sonic runs over to Tom to see if he is okay and calling to him in desperation as shadow just watches seeing exactly himself in Sonic atm as he had lost Maria eughhhshshshshsh

- Gerald. Just Gerald. Like holy shit his character was so interesting here because in the main canon universe he is already a very complex character but here holy shit I really didn’t expect them to go with a very huge darker twist with it. Cause in the main universe he dedicated everything about his research towards Maria and curing her of her illness that he even went into lengths of accepting some alien warlord to help him make the ultimate life form knowing the consequences that could come with that. And here he used his grandson Ivo and shadow to accomplish his plans of destroying everything even themselves. You can tell here he really had lost it with the death of Maria but here he no longer even cared about Maria’s wishes and rather what he wanted to avenge her and it’s a even darker side of his character. The fact he used his grandson to get what he wanted like- hacking into his creations to lure him in and try to play the role of grandfather to only want to use his genius brain and the fact he never had anybody as a way to help him achieve in destroying the world. Like wow. Just wow.

- Keanu absolutely did a fantastic job as shadow. I CANNOT wait to see more of what he does with the character

- Revenge guac shouldn’t have made me laugh as much as it did LMAOOO

- Knuckles and Tails were wonderful in this movie they really feel like friends/brothers and the way the three of them really cared for each other was so sweet.

- Tom and Maddie were also amazing and I loved their parts in this movie sm. the fact they were WAITING for sonic and co to come back with a world disaster to deal with because they were bored 😭 they are so used to these wacky adventures it’s become such a norm for them that’s honestly so sweet 🥹

- The way Sonic and Knuckles were gearing up to fight each other with Tails being right in the middle before Knuckles decides to let Sonic know where the master emerald is was done so perfectly, that scene had me on the fucking edge of my seat

- I was also worried that they would do a third act break up with team sonic cuz I’m not usually a fan of that trope but they executed it PERFECTLY oh my god

- and at the end Sonic’s apology to them when he knew he was in the wrong and let his anger and vengeance get to him and knuckles going for a fist bump and Sonic just hugging him??? Oh my sweet boys oh how I miss them already they were the perfect team in this movie I can’t wait to see more team sonic again 😭🥹💙💙

- also I loved Sonic’s development??? I just love how every movie he’s growing more and more as a character I just love that sm

- God I wish we had more scenes with Maria and Shadow I’m just not over their interactions they deserved sm better 😭

- also I love tails’s role in this movie!! Dude was really the MVP fr and I tried not to laugh when tails washed away stone and shadow in the giant robot crap like dude casually caused violence and I love that for him lol

- Stobotnik was perfect in this film I literally started to sob when eggman told him off because stone realized something off about Gerald. And when that heart felt goodbye to stone played it was so wonderful and heartbreaking I was sobbing atp. if this is Jim’s last film then that’s okay he went out with a BANG (literally)

- ALSO WHEN LIVE AND LEARN STARTED TO PLAY???? AND SHADOW AND SONIC DID THE DAB UP THEY DO IN SA2 I HAD TO TRY AND COMPOSE MYSELF BECAUSE I WAS JUMPING IN MY SEAT I was pointing at the screen and saying “they did the thing they did the thing!”

- Also when Gerald made that misogynistic comment about women being in the military me and my friend (who went with me to watch it) just looked at each other because WHAT 😭

- I loved how the eclipse canon lookd a lot like the space colony ARK I love the reference to it sm

- I almost screamed in my seat when metal sonic showed up at the end AND NOT ONLY THAT BUT AMY?????? OHNMY GOD IM SO HAPPY AHHSHSHHSSHJ I’m still not over it

- now I want villain stone for the fourth movie like PLEASE ITS SET UP SO WELL HERE. Stone losing robotnik definitely would play a huge reason for his villain arc plus someone had to make metal sonic.

- ALSO I LOVED THE PARALLEL TO SONIC ADVENTURE 2????? WHERE INSTEAD OF SHADOW TURNING BACK TO HIS MAIN FORM AND SONIC KEEP GOING IT WAS THE OTHER WAY AROUND SHSHSDBEHSHWHSHSJ

- That entire scene when Sonic and Shadow were fighting in their super forms WAS LITERALLY SO INSANE MY JAW DROPPED WHEN SONIC MANAGED TO TURN BACK BUT LOOKED UP TO ALSO SEE THAT SHADOW HAD TRANSFORMED

- Also I just loved how Eggman randomly announced he’s Bi/pan it was truly beautiful

- AND ALSO SHADOW IS STILL ALIVE YEAHHHHH. I mean I did see it coming as he literally survives the end of SA2 (even though he originally actually wasn’t fun fact) but also the fact there is a confirmation on him getting a spin off it was pretty obvious lol but STILL especially since his “sacrifice” scene really hit hard. I really hope in his spin off we get to see rouge and maybe even learn more where he came from…especially from a certain alien warlord 😙

ANYWAYS honestly this movie is now the best movie out of the three. It was just an amazing experience and I loved every single moment of it, it was an amazing adaptation to SA2 for sure and I’m honestly still not over it at all, this movie was quite the experience and I definitely recommend it sm it’s an amazing movie and I can certainly say it made the inner child inside my heart very happy.

[sufferu]

first of all let me say this,

I fucking love your writing style,

it feels so genuine, and where reactionist whdaa is a great react fanfic

yours are a great immersion fanfic,

the characters feel so real so thank you for that,

bht getting back to your reponse,

I read up on your juemeila tag and it makes sense

but still feels icky

the reason your facing backlash is because at the core of rezero no matter how toxic it is, it’s a love story between Subaru and her,

the whole story is about what he does for her,

plus in reality the characters arnt naive , everyone knows how much he loves emelia so for her to get closer to Julius especially considering the timing is poor,

I love your writing and especially the feeling around rem and her toxic relationship with Subaru you fucking nailed that,

but as a new reader I would advice being hesitant on fully committing to Julius and emelia

I would hate for a promising fanfic author stories comments to be flooded with hate over a small detail on a otherwise amazing fanfic,

my personal opinion would be to keep the original idea of them bonding over the loss of the Subaru they love, but eventually having her reconcile with Subaru on a more equal platform,

because no matter how good of a writer you are , rezero fanfic readers are here for fluff especially with Subaru and that revolved around him actually getting the girl ,

Anyways ,

I’m excited to see what you write , keep up the good work bro, I see how fast you respond to comments and it’s clear your committed ,

First of all — I’m glad you’re enjoying Dogshow! I’ve had the idea in my head for a while now, so it makes me happy to see that other people are also having fun with that one, lol. And I’m glad you liked my thoughts on Rem!

But about the Julimilia thing…

Look. I’m not going to say that I absolutely cannot be convinced to change my mind/go in a different direction. Anything is possible. But the absolute last reason for me to do something like that would be because I’m scared of what other people might think of what I’m writing. Nobody is paying me to write this, lol, and while I do greatly enjoy reader engagement, I ultimately write fanfiction because I want to write it and because there are certain stories that I want to read that are not currently out there. I’m not going to stop what I’m doing solely because it turns out to not be the story that other people want to read: the impact that such a decision would have on my own enjoyment aside, I would consider that a betrayal of my own integrity as a writer.

And on a personal note — I really don’t care about Emisuba, lol, at least not to the extent that it’s this golden calf or something. I don’t have a real problem with it or anything — it’s cute — but if I think that destroying that ship will make for a better story, then I really don’t have a problem destroying it. The point of fanfiction is to do something different from canon, whether that relates to shipping, plot divergence, total aus, character studies from slightly different angles, canon-compliant additional scenes, etc. And if I think that exploring the question of “What if Subaru really doesn’t get the girl?” legitimately adds some sort of thematic value to the story that I’m writing, then I’m going to go ahead and explore it.

If I get backlash for it then I get backlash for it. Y’all are welcome to send me all the backlash for it you like, lol, I won’t stop you. Like I do joke about how I’m absolutely cooked as soon as I actually get to this plotpoint but like — an emotional reaction is an emotional reaction, and if I can invoke a strong one then I consider that a success as a writer. A win is a win.

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

How would you have written Zoya and Nikolai in the duology?

Assuming this is still meant to be a Nikolai duology, and we’re keeping preceding canon as is

So Nikolai in TGT is introduced as like what if the Darkling was a thousand years younger, born to privilege, and had a sense of humor. He’s introduced as a direct foil and a more accessible version of the Darkling’s values that Alina can engage with in order to understand and relate to him more. And then the trilogy ends with him getting the throne lol. You’d think any story focusing on him would center on whether or not he turns into a similarly ruthless tyrant

The other cornerstone of his characterization is the question of identity. There’s the obvious Sturmhond alter ego situation, and his performance, man of many masks motif. But there’s also a moral element to the dueling identities of a cutthroat pirate and criminal who is ultimately doing good for the country, vs the genteel prince, now king, who is at the heart of a cruel and dysfunctional monarchy. I don’t at all agree with the takes that like the series should’ve ended with monarchy being abolished or that revolution was the only acceptable conclusion. But since morality and the corruptive nature of power is like… the thematic core of the trilogy… I think we can address the fact that, until someone unlocks utopia, being sovereign ruler of any nation inherently means being personally responsible for a scale of death, suffering, and inequality that is virtually impossible to achieve as an individual. The trade off of respectability vs actually higher culpability in like a good percentage of what’s wrong in the world. He has way more blood on his hands as king than he ever did when feeding some guy’s fingers to his dog. Does that matter to him? It should lol, if it’s just a drop in the bucket then he’s certainly on the road to Darkling territory

But then he’s also getting the access to potentially fix some of the issues in the country. Does that make up for it? The Darkling seemed to think so. But how much is Nikolai willing to erode his personal moral character and sense of self for the sake of trying to fix things? Does he have an obligation to do so?

I think morality, responsibility, and identity can all be tied up into a single thematic question for him, and the duology should’ve imo hinged on that

Before KoS actually came out, I remember the main running theory was that the Darkling would probably come back somehow through him. Possessing him essentially. And I think that would’ve worked well, and made more sense than resurrection via bee saint in any case

Thematically, if Nikolai, as protagonist, is at the center of the quandary, then I’d personally position the Darkling as the literal voice in his head representing the side of sacrificing everything for the perception of an unattainable greater good, abandoning any hope of personal happiness, his own stated values, and then ultimately very literally destroying himself in the process

And then there is Alina as the retired Saint, whose response to the trolley problem was to simply walk away from the lever. Whatever happens, happens. She sacrificed everything for the perception of personal happiness, but had a large part of herself carved out of her in the process. Both represent a loss of identity

For what it’s worth, I don’t think Alina could be functionally very active in the plot for this theme to work. But she can be brought out every once in awhile and dangled in Nikolai’s face to represent an escape he cannot have but also a simultaneous worst case scenario

Like a fundamental part of Nikolai’s character is his ambition! Walking away means a very particular kind of failure for him— which is why the RoW ending didn’t work for me

Meanwhile, I’ve said it before, but the most interesting element about Zoya to me is that, explicitly, her break with the Darkling in TGT was entirely over him not warning her ahead of time to get her aunt out of Novokribirsk. It wasn’t ideological. I love the implication that she would’ve totally been down for a little mass murder otherwise

She also doesn’t seem to bother with any notions of greater good. Her priorities are more about personal benefit and protecting her own. She stands diametrically opposed to to the means-to-an-end morality question, but comes down on the side of “fuck morality.” I would say she is the most secure in her sense of self, and what she values, even if that may be a tad misguided at times. If you wanted to incorporate her KoS introduced backstory, her relationship with her family and like identity in the sense of a traumatic childhood she refuses to revisit could add an interesting layer to that. But also you asked me how I would write it and I personally thought she worked best as a silver spoon character/thought overall LB made some uh. racist choices there. So like if she’s supposed to have like a traumatic side of herself she refuses to revisit then honestly I would focus on her former devotion to the Darkling as a severe sore spot. Which would make him coming back in any capacity through Nikolai very fraught for her!

I generally like to interpret her as a bit of a fanatic going from cult leader to cult leader (the Darkling -> Alina -> Nikolai). Her loyalty to Alina seemed a bit grudging at first, and I think it would be more interesting if her situation with Nikolai was similar, but maybe even more wounded. Like she got burned not once but twice, the Darkling personally fucked her over. And then Alina (who she didn’t even like!) turned around and abandoned everyone, and her. So she could be this person who’s built for intense loyalty but is now afraid of it

She tells herself she’s in Nikolai’s corner now out of self interest. And she’s willing to do a lot of terrible things to further his position— because it furthers her own. As the newly minted commander of the Second Army, I think she should literally just get to be a Darkling 2.0. She can be Nikolai’s like scheming evil wizard doing fucked up things for the crown— and maybe even involved in a little side plot against him, if she’s still very invested in Grisha interests. Something that got lost in KoS from the trilogy was that sense of like Grisha mistrust and disregard for otkazat’sya. It was really exemplified by the Darkling barely viewing them as people because they just died so quickly lol but it was a general vibe about most of them. And I like the idea of Zoya sighing a bit about having to serve an otkazat’sya king when it seemed like finallllly they were heading for a time where Grisha would be calling the shots

And then she can get really scared when it becomes clear to her that, no, she has been tricked into actually caring about Nikolai

I’d generally also just get rid of like the Shadow Fold portal dimension Saints, dragon Zoya (ugh!!!!) or the tree hell stuff with the Darkling. I really like the concept of like the age of Saints and high magic being over, the Darkling tried to bring it back but it didn’t happen/literally killed him lol

Parem can stay as a threat, and maybe they are forced to experiment with it (can think about it at least, ties into the morality thing) or have to seriously think about introducing some merzost into the Second Army. Especially if the Darkling’s chilling in Nikolai’s head and casually knows how to do plenty of fucked up shit. In general though, I think the magic should be scaling down, and it would have to be a choice on the characters’ part to try to tap into something stronger, and for that to have real consequences

Re: personal happiness vs greater good, I think Nikolai should get an arranged marriage plotline that the story actually makes good on. I think that being threatened and then just not happening was rather cowardly. (An important storytelling tenet for me is that if you threaten something, it should happen in some fashion!)

He can marry a stranger for alliance or money and then feel completely trapped by it but try to make it work (or not try because he’s besotted with his evil wizard general and feel real guilty about that) I don’t mind fridging a wife tbh. Maybe even Zoya can somehow be responsible, either as part of whatever sketch scheme she has going on the side that tests her loyalties, or like out of Too Much loyalty if she thinks the wife is a threat for some reason

Generally I think he and Zoya would probs come to a head on best political strategies often enough. I think Nikolai is very focused on Not Becoming A Tyrant and Zoya meanwhile wants Results. And they should argue furiously over that a lot which is hot but also good for theme value

Also the Darkling acts as like their creepy disembodied advisor

I think at some point the Darkling should also try to scheme with her about betraying Nikolai. Maybe after she’s very pissed about some choice Nikolai made. (Should be either him being too self sacrificing OR not being able to stomach the appropriately hard choice from her perspective OR not adequately protecting Grisha interests). And maybe she says no but agrees eventually? Like they team up on something small instead which opens the door for a larger betrayal against Nikolai later. I think it would be fun if there’s some drama and scheming between the protagonists. If the plot is being structured as a duology then I think end of first book she betrays him spectacularly, and then end of the second one they choose each other in some fashion

Generally, I’d just like any sort of trajectory where Zoyalai try to decipher their loyalties to each other, how vulnerable they can afford to be, and like what kind of people they would like to be and what kind of sacrifices they are willing to make and towards what. And a general story focus of “the fairy tale chosen one fantasy story is over, it’s now time for the ugly business of ruling”

[miss-nandini]

May I request angst with Idia x f!reader? Like taking place after his overblot? Idia distances himself from reader because he hurt her during the fight? And when reader confronts him about how distant he has been in their relationship they end up arguing and he yells that he is afraid of losing her the same way he lost Ortho? Happy ending please! I love angsts with happy endings 😭😭🖤🖤🖤

A/N: Hey there! I hope you are doing well. Yes, you are absolutely correct. Happy endings are lovely 💜💜💜

I don't want to lose you! (F! Reader)

This anguished love,

This flawed love...

Idia Shroud, the super introverted depressed genius and a strange otaku guy. He is a weird one indeed, Idia who holes himself him in his room for weeks, Idia who has only one friend—that friend is a robot HE made. Ortho is his everything. It's hard to understand him. Barely anyone can get along with him, yet... why didn't you give up on him?

You are (Y/N) (L/N), brighter than the sunlight, so soft, so kind, so beautiful, so understanding. Are you even human? In his eyes, you should rank higher than an angel.

He doesn't deserve you—he never did and he never will, not after he almost killed you. Sure, you are still alive, sure you still clean up after your troublemaker friends, sure you are trying to talk to him— why are you even trying?

He is a stranger (Y/N)! You two only know each other because STYX messed up! No, just playing multi-player games online doesn't count. Sure, you two got closer over time, but that is still no excuse!

You thought otherwise. Maybe that's exactly why you were banging on your upper-class man's door for the past few minutes.

"Idia, please! You have to talk to me! I'm not going anywhere until you open this door."

Idia suppressed a long sigh. He could already feel a headache coming in. Must you be so persistent? Do you really want the whole Ignihyde dorm to find out about this?

After another moment, he finally climbed down from his bed and opened the door. You stepped in and he was greeted with a tight hug.

"Thank goodness! I was so worried!!" You exclaimed.

"(Y/N)...."

He almost pushed you away from him. The frown on his face clearly stated the he didn't want to hear any pep-talk. "You should go prefect. I don't want to worry your friends. Didn't you say Vil asked for your help or something?"

He tried to dodge the inevitable conversation. But, you weren't fooled by it.

"Idia, why are you being like this? Did I do something wrong?"

"I doubt that."

"Then, did I say something offensive?"

"Do you ever do that?"

"Idia, please just tell me what's wrong!"

"You are asking me what is wrong?! Ask what is not wrong instead. I almost killed everyone. I almost killed YOU and you are asking me what's wrong?! Everything is wrong with me, (Y/N)! I am horrible from my core. Why can't you see it?! Stop trying already! I don't need your pity!!"

"Pity?! Are you serious right now? I'm in no position to pity anyone, Idia! We all make mistakes. We all do shit we are not proud of. That makes all of us horrible, no?"

"Stop... (Y/N)..."

"No, I will say this only once, so Idia Shroud; hear me out carefully. You either man up and solve your problems—get a happy life with your loved ones, or run away from your problems, destroy yourself and your loved ones in the process. YOU have to be your savior, YOU have to be your salvation. If you cannot save yourself then nobody else can. If you cannot love yourself first then you can't love anyone else. In this path you are not alone, Idia, so make your choice. Your choice can either save or break everything you built with your blood, sweat and tears."

"Why... do you keep dragging me towards the impossible...? I don't want to lose you (Y/N)... I don't want to lose you like I lost Ortho..."

There it was. His feelings were out in the open. Idia kept stepping closer to you until your noses were almost touching. "So, please (Y/N)... go away. You can live happily without me..."

He couldn't stop his eyes from becoming a pathetic pool of tears. You make him feel things he didn't know he could feel. But, you are like a shooting star. He is only going to hold you down. Don't worry, he can watch you from afar like he always does.

"No... I won't. Not now... not ever..."

You cupped his face and leaned closer until your forehead touched his. "Stop telling me to go... my happiness is here, with you..."

"Are you sure...?"

He pulled you closer. For once, he wasn't afraid of affection.

"More than you can imagine..."