#I did RESEARCH for this ask and honestly it was a delight

[tj-crochets]

I'm asking anonymously, but would you be willing to trade a plushie for a crocheted plushie? 👀

Maybe! Depends on what plushie you want and what plushie you want to trade for it

[letoasai]

dp x dc Chronos part 5

Part 1 - Previous - Master list

Diana was furious. 

She’d known her young uncle for only a handful of hours but here she was, ready to go to war for him. Perhaps that was what her grandfather had meant earlier, his words still ringing in her ears. 

I have a task for you, Diana. One i do not think you will turn now but i’ll give you the illusion of choice.

Perhaps it was less an illusion and more her grandfather merely knowing ahead of time how she would react. If Danny was to be believed – and he did seem such a trustworthy boy – his Clockwork knew every path one could take. 

She knew there were still questions to be asked, but Danny had been able to tell her a great deal before his eyes began to droop and she insisted he try to sleep. The curtains to the room had been left open and she watched as his eyes happily glazed over at the sight of open space before him. It had only taken minutes for him to fall asleep. 

Now she had a lot of work to do and she planned to get as much done while Danny slept as she could. 

She entered the conference room with a quick stride, many members already present for the meeting she had ordered via text. They’d learned that some equipment didn’t work well around Danny. Visuals were blurry at best and audio crackled into something indistinguishable. Diana had instead been texting information to Bruce and Kal to look into while she focused on the boy. 

“Were you able to find anything?” She asked immediately, not elaborating on which fact she was talking about. She’d sent them so many little snippets that she didn’t really care where they started. 

Batman just grunted, and despite wearing his cowl, she could see just how unhappy he was. 

“You’re not going to like it, but you expected that.” Superman said, papers laid out in front of him. He wasn’t the only one doing his research. 

Green Lantern and Flash were still there, the latter looking like he was having an existential crisis over the topic of ghosts. 

Martian Manhunter had also arrived, his frown informing her that the others had caught him up on what had been happening. 

“Can we confirm the truth as Danny has laid it out for us?” She asked, taking a seat. 

“Oh, yeah.” Hal muttered, rubbing a hand down his face. “Constantine will arrive later, but he could confirm the new High King of the Infinite Realm went by Phantom. Never heard him sound so horrified as him learning that someone had punched a hole into another realm in their house though. Inter-dimensional war crimes on our end are stacking up.” 

“Our end?” She asked. 

“The GIW…” Bruce began, sounding a mixture of exhausted and livid. “Are completely out of their depth and did not have the authority to just name a species unidentified to the rest of us as non-sentient. If the Infinite Realm retaliates, and John thinks it’s a possibility, it won’t just be aimed at the GIW alone but the entire dimension. That makes this more of a mess for us to clean up than it already was.” 

They’d already decided to help, that was what they did. But there was a difference in lending a hand and righting a wrong and taking responsibility for someone else’s fuck ups because they had to. 

“Can we prove it?” Diana asked. 

“Absolutely.” Kal nodded. “Honestly, for a government agency, their security is a joke. There was a backdoor already in place. We can ask Danny about that later.”

Diana nodded, certain the information would be good in his hands. She turned her attention back to Bruce. “The Fentons?” 

There was a certain level of disgust that tried to choke her out in that situation. Danny had been so hesitant, the betrayal fresh and painful. She had lived in the World of Men for a long time now and it had as many delights as it did drawbacks, but to learn what Danny’s parents had attempted to do to him left her burning to seek them out herself. 

His mother had lost her privilege to refer to herself as such.

She didn’t care what the circumstances were. Capture and torture with the intentions of vivisection was inexcusable. The target being a child made it all the more heinous. Diana knew Batman would understand without her saying a word. 

“Run of the mill mad scientists. They might have been onto something once when it came to energy but their bias took over. Even if they had been correct about ecto-entities, their language is incredibly inappropriate. No licenced and competent science journal would be associated with that.” He stared at her unhappily. “They’re lunatics. The fact that their children grew up in their home is outrageous.” He hit a button on the remote and a location appeared on the computer screens. 

A bricked house on a street corner, enormous Fenton Works sign taking up most of the front. It was an eyesore, but not as much as the sci-fi looking shuttle sticking out of the roof. The OHSA violations alone should have had the building condemned and there was no way permits had been granted for any of that construction. 

It was a supervillain's dream and not the least bit subtle. It should have been a crime in itself for the town to allow it to remain in a residential area and was shocking that no calls to Child Protective Services had been made. 

Yes, Danny was an exceptional being, but Diana understood now all the likely scenarios where he could have died in that house. Danny had called his death an accident, but she wasn’t so certain about that. “They were the ones to hurt him.” Diana said, hating how her throat was tight. She was already emotionally compromised. 

“Yes, i know.” 

Diana’s attention snapped back to him. “How?” 

“Simple reasoning. They are unstable ghost hunters with questionable science. Danny was removed from his home for his safety. Chronos said he needed a guardian. That doesn’t paint a pretty picture.” Bruce muttered. “Either his guardians couldn’t care for him, or shouldn’t care for him.” 

She felt her shoulders relax somewhat, knowing that such a logical conclusion should have occurred to her too. She really was worried about Danny’s recovery. “We can add it to the file i know you’ve created, but i’d prefer if no one asked him about that at this time. This last attack only happened several days ago and it is still fresh on his mind.” 

Bruce’s eyes narrowed, always a hound when it came to sniffing out abused kids. “This last attack?” 

“They’ve been after him for a while.” Diana hummed, though she’d only had a vague example or two since Danny hadn’t wanted to get into it. She couldn’t imagine how he’d just returned home every day to parents who tried to capture his other persona. 

“We must factor in his identity.” Martian Manhunter approached them, having been listening. J’onn had been doing his own research the last several hours. He laid down a startlingly clear picture of Danny in his white haired ghost form. A print out of an Amity Park newspaper article. 

“What is that?” Bruce frowned, sliding it closer to read. 

“The hero of Amity Park. Phantom. The articles are biased and unfavorable, but that is not the current accepted public opinion. Phantom protects the living from ghosts. He also protects the ghosts from the ghost hunters.” J’onn explained, voice carefully neutral. “Phantom appearing other places, perhaps shouldn’t coincide with where Daniel Fenton ends up.” 

“A name change could be warranted. If that’s what he wants.” Bruce adds. 

J’onn gave a single nod. “It’s a great deal of pressure on one teenager's shoulders. Being a king of a realm on top of that…” 

It was silently agreed upon that Danny deserved this break and Diana was going to get it for him.

“It was only a matter of time before something had to give.” Diana said, turning enough to speak to everyone in the room. “Well he won’t be dealing with all of that alone now. We start with dismantling the GIW, appealing the Anti-Ecto Acts, and smoothing over our relations with the Infinite Realm.” 

“Only that much, huh?” Flash muttered, trying to wrap his head around the science of ghost hunting. 

“Why not get some of the kids involved. Young Justice, maybe?” Hal was rubbing his eyes, not looking forward to the consequences of this mess. “Once he heals it might do him some good to be around others closer to his own age. People he wouldn’t need to hide half of himself from.”

When put like that, Diana could only agree. 

“I’ll mention it to him.” “I’ll get the information i have to Lois.” Clark said, sliding his papers into a binder. “If public opinion of Phantom is already decent in Amity Park, then we’ll up the exposure to put pressure on our oblivious government.” 

“I’ll take a few of the GIW facilities.” Bruce muttered, but he had that familiar tone that said he was about to let his children go buck wild. “A little recon…” he added vaguely. 

Before anyone else could put in their own two cents, the sensors went off, exactly how they had before Chronos had arrived. A paranormal knock of sorts before the very air seemed to split in two, a glowing green portal building around it. 

“Here we go again.” Barry muttered, each of them surrounding the portal as they’d done early for safety’s sake but they were less inclined to fight immediately. 

As J’onn was seeing it for the first time, he remained near Diana, keenly watching the portal manifest. It wasn’t Chronos who stepped out though, it wasn’t human at all. 

From the portal stepped a creature that Diana didn’t have the name for. Bipedal, humanoid, but beast like in appearance. Horns on his head and spikes from his tail made of ice were noticed secondary to his arm of ice that still encased his bones inside. His fur was white, his claws could easily kill and he was covered by a kilt and cape. 

What gave Diana pause as the bag slung over one shoulder, the tell tale signs of a medical cross across the front. 

“Who are you?” Superman asked, more polite than their earlier run in with her grandfather. 

The creature, a ghost presumably, held himself rigid. He was doing a great deal to make himself appear smaller then he was but his gaze was assessing. He was ready to fight if necessary. 

“I am here for His Majesty, the Great One.” Was his response. 

Diana stepped forward, deciding this was exactly what she suspected. “I am Diana. Granddaughter of Chronos who Danny fondly calls Clockwork. You are Frostbite, come to check on Danny, yes?” 

All of his attention was on her now, but he seemed to see what he wanted in her after locking eyes. “I am. Frostbite, Ruler of the Infinite Realm’s Far Frozen. I have come to see Our Savior the King, as his primary physician.”

“He’s a doctor.” Flash whispered. 

“Fascinating.” J’onn muttered, sounding a little winded by whatever he was sensing. “He is who he claims.” 

“I’m relieved.” Diana muttered, approaching him with a smile this time. “Please come with me and i will take you to Danny. I’m afraid we did what we could but his unique biology left us questioning our choices. He is resting in a private room.” 

“Did something happen to setback his recovery?” Frostbite asked, serious over the care of his charge as he followed Wonder Woman out of the conference room without so much as a glance back at the other heros. 

“Excitement, i believe.” Diana offered. “He may have been a little too excited to show off his alternate, living form and seemed to forget his condition.” 

Frostbite actually snorted. “Sounds like him.”

“I did not realize how badly wounded he was. We had been talking about our arrangements and he was answering my questions about ghosts. He appeared sore, but fairly pleased to speak with me. Given what he had just been through…” 

Frostbite grunted his agreement. “His heart is soft, but his will is unlike anything i have ever known. Many of us saw this tragedy coming, but he insisted on seeing it out for himself, hoping for a favorable ending.” 

Diana cracked her knuckles out of habit, that anger still simmering. “He will be safe in my care, i assure you.”

“The Great One is the rightful King to our realm, but many forget he is still just a child.” Frostbite said, eyeing her even as she led him through the Watchtower. 

“It is not something i am likely to forget.” Not after she’d seen how small he was in their medbay bed. “He’s resting but weak, you can help?” 

“As long as he has not taken more damage, i’m sure i can.” Frostbite said, a gentleness to his voice as they stopped at Danny’s room. Diana went in first to prove the area was a safe one but that may not have mattered given how quickly Frostbite followed her. 

He was at Danny’s bedside in an instant, having somehow moved passed her without knocking into her. He could have gone through her for all she knew. For all he seemed to be a hulking beast, Frostbite was nothing but gentle as he examined Danny. He looked over any and all work that had been done to Danny since his arrival, and checked the bandages across his torso. He went as far as to grab the clipboard on the foot of Danny’s bed to read, having no trouble understanding the medical jargon. 

From his medical bag, he pulled out several small bottles, all of them growing a toxic green. Injections were given to the teenager, and it didn’t seem to matter that he was in his living, dark haired form. 

“Has he explained to you what it means to be a halfa?” Frostbite finally asked, breaking the silence. 

“Only in vague, teenager terms.” Diana said. She’d been quite sure that Danny’s flippant attitude was more a coping mechanism than anything.

Frostbite just hummed. “Then i will have to fill you in.”

[ahhhhhhhghghhhgg]

Malleus x reader: Malleus is trying to ask reader out by using fae courting

TW: Malleus being adorable and you being oblivious, not proof read

The reader will just be referred to as you (like you yourself not Yuu)

You were making dinner for you and grim (or trying to with whatever you could scrounge up) when you heard some rustling outside your dorm, honestly you weren’t really surprised by the odd noise, it wasn’t uncommon for one of your friends to escape there house warden and show up at your door so you put down the bag of rice in your hand, went to your door, and opened it to find… nothing, well not exactly nothing just nobody. The only thing there was a small pile of shiny things like some coins a few pins and a particularly cool rock, you smiled and picked up the trinkets knowing exactly who had put them there, this had been happening for a few weeks now. You’d hear rustling and go out to check only to find a pile of shiny things. Now you knew it was none other than your friend Malleus, and you knew it was him because the first time this happened you looked around to find the culprit and saw him hiding in a nearby bush, you wouldn’t have been able to spot him if it weren’t for the two distinct horns coming out of the rather shaken up bush, you just giggled to yourself and and rolled your eyes as you picked up the gifts and then watched from a window as he scurried out of the bush and disappeared in a cloud of green. This wasn’t the only new behavior of your friend, in the past few weeks you had noticed he had been a lot more touchy, not that you minded, he’d rub his cheek on yours and nudge you lovingly, he’d want to cuddle more than usual and he’d often place your hands on his cheeks. He had also asked you to help him clean his horns (a very big step for fae, to touch one’s horns is very intimate) you of course agreed you’d lay his head in your lap as you gently scrubbed and polished his horns, you’d massage the base of his horns and his scalp too which he enjoyed very much. Malleus was aware you had no idea about fae courting however he assumed you’d catch on. (You didn’t) you loved Mall very much but you didn’t want to call you two anything other than friends incase Malleus didn’t feel the same, he on the other hand had assumed by now that you were already dating, after all you did accept all his gifts and physical affection, you had even been giving him gifts too! (Including a gargoyle plush you made for him) you only caught on when he finally made a VERY clearly romantic move…

You: *complaining about how you and grim have nowhere to go during school break*

Malleus: “child of man, why not just come with me to Briar Valley? I’m sure my grandmother would be delighted to meet my partner and you can even bring your large rat (Grim) with you”

You: “thank you Malmal! I’d love to come stay with you…”

You: “wait partner?????”

@orpydorpy

I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS!!! I tried to do as much research on fae courting (especially dragons) as I could, and I’m really sorry if there is spelling errors I have dysgraphia so please forgive me 😭

[suiana]

yandere! auctioneer x gn! reader

"800 million!"

"900 million!"

"900 calling once! calling twice! and... sold to the man in white top hat !"

the crowd sighs while the man in the top hat smirks triumphantly, happy with his item. the item being a small ruby heart stolen from the biggest bank vault in France.

yes, this was no normal bidding event. it was an underground bidding event, hosted illegally by thieves, corrupt people, even criminals! and our auctioneer for the night was none other than the infamous ringleader of the illegal bidding centre.

wanted by every country, he's committed countless crimes and escaped unscathed, leaving little clues to where or who he is. in fact, the only clue he's ever left at every crime scene was the title 'auctioneer'. no DNA, no traces, nothing. he was simply a master at escaping.

and he was also a master at taking things that weren't his.

soon, a cage covered by a red cloth gets pulled into the stage. the grand finale. everyone sits in anticipation, holding their breaths as some helpers carefully remove the red cloth. and there, sat a person, you.

"this is our final item for the night and it's none other than... the next heir to the biggest company in the world - y/n!"

the crowd cheers loudly, mouths watering in delight as you glare at all of them. yes, you had been kidnapped by the auctioneer. it was a mistake on your part. blindly trusting a random guy on the streets when he asked for your help... you should've known better than to follow him to a secluded area.

though what's done is done and now you can only hope for the best. that is... for him to bid on you. after all, you knew none of the people in this illegal auction den except for him. and he honestly wasn't that bad. maybe except for how his eyes would glint with desire and insanity at every mention of you... and the fact that he's a huge criminal and wanted in every country.

in the short time he had spent with you, you had come to learn that he had done lots of research on you. observing you since months ago, he practically knew you better than everyone else in your life. understanding why you did what you did and how your processed things. it was a little scary how he knew so much about you, but what terrified you even more is the fact that he has killed others for you.

from murdering those who wish to harm you, to those who want your affections. what..? didn't he want to sell you away?! but why would he do such a drastic thing?! whenever you inquired about his intentions with you, he'd merely smile, saying that it was for the auction. he couldn't possibly be sellin. you away when he'd kill people who tried courting you, would he?! he's not a sadistic bastard..! right?

so you waited with bated breath, hoping that he'd just stick his tongue out and laugh at the bidders, claiming you as his and that the final item of the night wasn't up for sale. though that was only wishful thinking. after all, how could you trust someone who commits crimes for fun?

"mm... I see you all are interested in my y/n... don't worry~ you'll get to bid on them... from hell~!"

he chirps as he snaps his fingers and the sound of gunshoots flood the auction hall. people scream in pain and terror while you sit in your comfortable cage, eyes wide as you stare at the massacre brought about by the guy who kidnapped you.

shit, he was truly crazy-! you inch away from him as he stalks towards your cage, steps heavy and menacing.

"no one is allowed to bid on you. you're mine. because how could I ever auction off the most priceless gem?"

he smiles sweetly at you, though that sweet smile conveys a more sinister feeling. a chill is sent up your spine as his face comes close to you, only the cage separating you from him.

"you're my priceless gem that I'll never auction off darling~ and this massacre is a gift from me to you~"

your eyes shake in fear as you go still in your place. shit, how would you ever escape this guy?!

"and you can't escape from me. ever~! or I'll bring you to another auction... and send another present your way~!"

ah.

so there was no escape.

[emphasisonthehomo]

Threshold teaser snippet! Vague spoilers.

•

“Were you serious about wanting to look for a new mattress?” Evan asks a week later.

It’s mid-morning. Tommy still has a little over 10 hours left of his shift, and is squirreled away in a corner of Harbor Station where he can have a conversation and be about 80% sure his coworkers won’t overhear. They’re talking just to talk. It’s nice. Evan must have slept in, because there’s still an obvious line on his cheek from the crease of a pillowcase.

“Yeah.” Tommy says, leaning against the wall and holding his phone close, “You were right, I do need a new one.”

“Good,” Evan says, all business, before picking up a pile of paper and tapping them on the counter a few times, “Because I did a little research, and I was thinking, you know. Since the squeaking of springs is kinda an issue, I’d look into some foam mattresses for you. And there’s some really good ones on the market right now–”

Tommy adjusts the volume to make sure he can hear everything Evan’s saying over the bustle of the station around him. Evan’s in his kitchen, his phone propped up on something. The top of his hair is out of frame. As Tommy squints, he can see that Evan’s holding several printed pages of consumer reports.

“–and obviously you’re gonna want to avoid something with fiberglass,” Evan continues seriously, “How that’s legal, I have no idea. Probably lobbyists. So anyway those are already out. IKEA apparently has some, but those seem really cheap. I didn’t want to make assumptions about your budget, but I did take those off the list, because you can do better than that��”

Tommy blinks. He’d made what was honestly a joke comment, and in the interim Evan apparently decided to study up and become a mattress expert on the possibility that Tommy was serious.

I’m going to fall in love with this man.

It’s a ludicrous time to come to that conclusion. Tommy’s at work, this call could end at any moment because of any number of emergencies, and Evan is rambling on about mattress companies. The thought still bubbles to the front of Tommy’s mind perfectly formed. There’s no agonizing over it, no hesitation. It’s the natural answer to a question Tommy hadn’t consciously been thinking about.

Of course.

Of course it’s Evan.

“You should come mattress shopping with me,” Tommy says, when Evan stops to catch his breath in the middle of an in-depth account of the pros and cons of memory foam versus non memory foam.

“It’s your mattress Tommy,” Evan sounds caught off guard, and looks mildly irritated that Tommy stopped him in the middle of his explanation.

“It is,” Tommy admits, and then because he doesn’t want make assumptions and repeat the same mistake he made a few months ago, he continues, “But I’m serious about you. About us. Maybe it’s a little soon, but I hope that I’ll be waking up with you a lot for the foreseeable future. You should have some input too.”

Evan goes comically still, his mouth half open. He puts the papers down onto the counter. A few flop out of his hands and slide off of the counter and onto the floor.

“Evan?” Tommy asks, equal parts concerned and nervous.

Shit.

Tommy should have waited to bring this up in person. Evan blinks several times, before turning on his heel and walking out of frame.  

“Evan?” Tommy repeats sharply, brain scrambling as he tries to figure out what to say. How to fix this, “You don’t have to.”

Evan pops back into the frame, hunched over as he picks up the paper that fell. Tommy’s breath gets caught in his throat. Evan straightens, fidgets with the papers in his hands, and then looks back at the camera. His cheeks are pink, he’s biting at his lower lip, and his dimples are out in full force.

Tommy relaxes.

“Just to be clear,” Evan starts slowly, and he looks almost giddy as he continues, “You want to go furniture shopping with me?”

“Yes,” Tommy says, grinning himself because Evan’s delight is always infectious, “You’ve done a lot research, it’d be a shame to waste it. I was just going to order one online.”

“Well, thank god I’m here to stop that from happening,” Evan says, his smile widening before he gets serious again and goes right back to business, “What’s your preference for firmness levels?”

I’m going to fall in love with this man.

“Firm?” Tommy offers, because he does know he’s not a fan of super soft mattresses, “But not too firm.”

Evan’s shirt rides up as he stretches across his counter to grab something off screen, before he returns with a pen and starts scribbling something on another piece of paper.

“Mine is medium firm,” Evan says. Of course he knows that.

“Yours is nice,” Tommy says, even though he honestly hasn’t thought much about it before. The best thing about sleeping in Evan’s bed is that it comes with Evan.

“So I’ll narrow down firm and medium firm models,” Evan says, “We can bounce on some mattresses and take it from there.”

“Your next shift starts tonight, right?” Tommy asks, visualizing his calendar to figure out when they can bounce.

“Yes,” Evan nods seriously, “You can pick me up after if you want? I’ll find a place I think will be good.”

“That’d be perfe–”

In the distance Lucy yells Tommy’s name.

“Gotta go,” Tommy says, “Bye Evan.”

“Bye Tommy,” Evan says, “I l–I’ll text you!” 

[starry-bi-sky]

honestly your dpxdc clone au gives me life, its adorable as all hell and im a sucker for found family but with that being said, its so freaking hysterical to me that Danny is going full feral liminal menace at Wes any time hes near and Wes himself is still 100% into it the freak (affectionate) and thats not even pointing out the paralles it could possible create since danny and dames gives massive parallels to dick and damian and dick does have a thing for redheads.

yeesSSSSS! I was planning on hoarding this to myself but i can't not reply. and i'll be able to find this again with the clone^2 tag so win WIN. i'm so glad you are as delighted by this as me. It's so hilarious to me that Danny just becomes a complete freak whenever he spots Wes, and I'm the one who wrote it into existence. Like- like i don't know how to explain my vision in words but like, its like Danny sees Wes and immediately goes 'what can I do to make his day worse'. And then he goes and does it.

(honorary read more because i talk a lot)

He's relatively normal around his friends too, which makes him going full-fledged unhinged around Wes even funnier to me. Like, Danny will spout weird shit sometimes to Sam and Tucker, but usually its prefaced with him talking about patrol or there would be context before he said anything. With Wes? Though?? he will just. say anything, completely unprompted. Slings an arm around his shoulder like they've been buddies since primary school and then spits out a weird new fun fact he learned about the bodily anatomy while researching his latest cold case. All vaguely-threatening but utterly insane things to say as way to start a conversation.

And sometimes its not even that, he'll walk up to Wes and ask him if he saw the latest daytime fight between Phantom and Skulker. And then he'll say "yeah i missed it myself but I saw clips of it being posted online" and then watch Wes mentally explode him with his mind. or he'll disparage Phantom for having such a young partner with him, "Can you believe he'd let a kid fight ghosts with him? I'd never let my brother ghosthunt with me if I was Phantom."

All of this with such a deceptive look on his face but the most delighted, shit-eating gleam in his eyes. Wes is chewing glass and he wants to yell that he does let his brother fight ghosts with him. Also you told him yourself that nothing would've stopped your demonic (Wes' words) little brother from joining you.

Damian gets in on the fuckery occasionally, but since he's not around often with Wes about, it doesn't happen nearly as often as it does between Wes and Danny. Sam and Tucker know he's screwing with him too, and both of them are a little wary about him being careless with his secret id. But he's been doing this since he was 14-ish and it hasn't backfired yet. So. They're not actively stopping him.

Danny walks back to his lunch table after terrorizing Wes and Tucker just asks him what he said, because Wes was about as red as a tomato when he walked away. Danny offhandedly sighs and innocently says he tried to have a conversation about Phantom with him. Wes didn't seem to like it all that much. Weird.

And yes, yes. Wes is totally into it and is slightly enraged about this fact, because not even he knows why he's into it. The freak (affectionate). Danny gives him this troublemaker smirk, and i did say smirk, and Wes doesn't know whether or not if he wants to smack him or kiss him. Or both. Like, yeah, pine, white boy, pine.

(And this is a dramatized image but I'm also highly entertained by the idea that Wes keeps getting routine dirty looks from various peers because they, too, have a crush on Fenton. Except Fenton doesn't talk to anyone else unless its his friends and sometimes Valerie, and Weston, the guy who keeps accusing him of being the local vigilante, is somehow routinely having conversations with him?? And BLOWING IT?? Like everyone else thinks he's fumbling so bad, and yet fenton keeps tALKING to him.)

And yes!! i'm always so pleased whenever someone brings up the parallels D+D have to Dick and Damian, because that was lowkey my intention when I was making the solo clone damian au. Although it was supposed to be more implied since I don't really know much about Damian and Dick other than they're very close and Dick was Damian's Batman for a year. And then of course the very smaller parallel (??) 'what if' between Bruce and Damian and D+D in clone^2 considering who they are both clones of.

And man this just makes me want to talk about when batfam meet D+D because I just want them to see D+D be so brotherly towards each other. Like I want them to see Bby Dames wearing his goofy fun fact shirts and stealing Danny's hoodies/flannels/etc and blatantly lying about it when Danny asks. Only for Danny to then throw him over his shoulder like Tadashi from BH3 and jump around.

And also. I do not know what Damian Wayne's (DW as I'll call him) stance on being called "Dami" is - the general consensus I've seen is that its usually used as a playful nickname in order to get a rise out of him, and he doesn't really like it.

But baby Dames being called that freely, and often, and its sometimes used to get a rise out of him but thats typically what nicknames do. Its used as easily as his full name is with the same amount of affection. And its like his main go-to nickname. "Dami" and "Dames" with the occasional "Bud/Buddy", "Squirt", "Little man", etc. Not once is he ever called 'demon-spawn'

(which i know is a fanon nickname but its a relatively popular nickname)

but yeah, uhhh. i think thats all of my thoughts on the matter. for now lmAO

[pharawee]

Thank you so much for your thorough response. I'm not always good at following production companies. Please ignore this if I'm overstepping, I've already asked for a lot of your time and research, but other than 9naa are there other companies you boycott because of how they treat actors? I know there were some issues with 2moons and I know there were some issues for Saint, though those were long before my time in the fandom.

That's completely understandable. There's so many companies now that do BL - some of them aren't even primarily into entertainment (a skincare company did The Promise, and I think there's at least one car dealership delving into BL things now too, while other companies are purely for investment and why would you even follow those if they're only about money?).

I'm trying to stay up-to-date because I'm interested in the industry side of things but I probably missed a lot of stuff as well.

Here's what I know for sure:

Motive Village

Motive Village did 2Moons. Then they did 2Moons2 with the same characters (and story!) but all different actors. THEN they did 2Moons: The Ambassador with (some of) the same characters (and story) and different actors again.

Why did they do that? Probably because they're so bad at managing their actors that they're all collectively running away as soon as possible. But that's not even the worst part. One of the actors from 2Moons2, Din Teerapat (then known as Earth Teerapat), was actively excluded and blocked from all promotion while being completely trapped in his contract. Other actors weren't paid and were badly mismanaged. Then there's very serious allegations that Din might have been (I'm phrasing this as carefully as possible) harrassed by one of MV's higher-ups. Din never spoke about it and has since decided to move on.

Aam Anusorn, who directed 2Moons2 (and isn't related to MV in any way) has spoken up about this, and his series Call It What You Want is supposedly based on some of what happened.

Other actors who "escaped" MV include Bas Suradej, Copter Panuwat, Kimmon Warudom (who went on to sign with Star Hunter for a while and did the very delightful Gen Y which is basically 2Moons fanfiction), Tae Darvid & Tee Thanapon (who did Triage), Boun Noppanut (who was never with MV but wasn't paid for his guest role in 2Moons), Joong Archen, Pavel Naret, Benjamin Brasier & Dome Woranart. The latest escapee seems to be Park Anandatej who will be in Monster next Door.

Benjamin Brasier and Dome Woranart seem to be back to working with Motive Village recently and I'm honestly a bit ?? ??? about it.

Y.Entertainment

Y.Ent did Unforgotten Night and For Him the Series. Recently, the leads of For Him, Tor Atagorn and Dew Nitikorn (along with Yoon Phusanu who starred in Unforgotten Night and had a cut guest role in For Him), have come forward saying that they were never paid for their work in For Him. Additionally, Tor has opened up about being continuously harrassed and stalked by someone on and off set during filming. It affected him so badly that he is now in therapy and on medication for depression and anxiety.

Just yesterday Yoon Phusanu held a press conference because he still hasn't been paid. He's one of the few actors who actually have the means to hire lawyers and go against his company. His lawyer has stated that not many young actors in Thai BL can afford to do the same.

9NAA

9NAA did Check Out, Venus in the Sky and, most recently, Kiseki Chapter 2. You know about 9NAA already but for everyone else reading this and wanting to know what's going on with them, here's a short summary.

Here's some other companies involved in Thai BL who have done some mildly questionable things:

Maximon who have since rebranded as Harikarn (with another company now named Maximon that might also have been emerged from the original Maximon... it's complicated) might have not paid their actors for Chains of Heart until the series had long finished airing. Haii Sarunsathorn and Boom Raweewit, the leads, made some very carefully worded joke tweets about it - which kind of makes you go hmmmm. There was also a freelancer who spoke up about not getting paid for his art, but nothing more ever came of it. Both Maximon and Harikarn have since ramped up production again - with some of the same actors - so I'm not especially concerned for the moment.

Well.Thailand recently annouced a bunch of new BLs and then promptly went bancrupt. One of their former producers immediately picked up the slack and founded EntSync in order to take over all projects and talent. They've already held the blessing ceremony for Black Forest and everything seems to be back to normal for the moment except for Born to be Y the series which should have aired this month but has since been indefinitely postponed.

Fix Entertainment is behind The Whisperer and is holding the series' final episode hostage because apparently a planned fanmeeting didn't sell enough tickets so they seem to have run out of funds. This is very ?? ???

Studio on Fire recently announced that one of the leads of their upcoming series Live in Love will be replaced, citing creative differences and "different work attitudes" (hate that phrase yet?) as the reason. Weirdly enough, said lead (Non Ratchanon) is from another company and was part of an acting pair with their own actor Hearth Chindanai. Hmmmmmm.*

*This kind of reminds me of what happened with Saint Suppapong during and after Love By Chance when he was basically almost bullied out of the industry because he wasn't with the same company as all of the other actors.

As I said, there's probably more but I didn't include actor scandals, unfounded rumours or stuff that has already been resolved.

[thewritingmagician2022]

Helloooo can I request the brother reaction to mc cracking their bones when stretching? I do it quite often because I sit down for ages but it helps relieve tension so much.

I love your writing style as well! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

Thank you so much for the compliment and the request - they both mean a lot to me!

I want to apologize because I know this isn't my best work for sure; I'm currently sick and I also hate joints cracking lmao but I hope you still enjoy.

Lucifer: Lucifer is like me where he’s going to cringe, just a little, and his eye may twitch. The sound of you cracking is so jarring and inelegant, especially to a demon who doesn’t have that problem. I can see it being one of those “ugh, do you have to make that sound?” kind of things for him and he’ll side eye you if you do it in public. You can definitely use this knowledge to intentionally annoy him if you want to. 

Mammon: Mammon hates it. The first time you did it, he thought you broke a bone and was subsequently in tears about how you managed to do that to yourself. Why are humans so breakable?! Once he realizes it doesn’t hurt you, he calms down a bit but he definitely still gets the ick out of sheer worry each time it happens in front of him.  However, he does delight in how much it bugs Lucifer and wishes he could crack his own knuckles to do the same. 

Levi: like Mammon, Levi was absolutely shook at first that you’d somehow busted your knuckles playing video games with him (that’s the first time he heard it was after a long gaming session) and all he could think about was how he didn’t know you were such a hardcore gamer being able to keep playing after that. Once he learns the truth, he basically ignores it. He lowkey wishes he could crack like that too because he’s always tense/tight from spending so much time sitting and you make it sound so relieving.

Satan: Satan finds it fascinating; he likes learning about all the little quirks of being human. He researches about the effects cracking joints can have and exactly why it happens. I imagine that he would ignore it for the most part once he’s used to it. He does like the idea of being able to crack his knuckles, especially in that threatening way they have in movies and books, so when you guys are arguing with people he may gesture to you to do it. It might not be as scary coming from a human but it’s still plenty intimidating to watch a human crack their knuckles and have Satan pop out at the cue. 

Asmo: Typically it’s an ick for Asmo. It just doesn’t sound cute, you know? You sound old and rickety and vulnerable, like all humans do. He'll mostly ignore it though he does scold you if you do intentionally. He’s that person who would believe the urban legend about it causing arthritis and will regularly remind you to be careful so you don’t end up broken or with messed up looking joints. 

Beel: Beel has a panic moment, like Mammon. He’s worried that you’ve injured yourself in some way and is immediately all over you, asking if you’re okay and what happened. It takes a while to explain to him that it’s just air trapped between joints and that clearing it out actually helps you feel better. After that, Beel is always happy to ask if you need help cracking. He’s nervous to go too hard and hurt you but he’s the kind of person who will pick you up to help your back crack. 

Belphie: Honestly, I imagine Belphie’s got a little bit of PTSD that flares up when he hears the cracking. It reminds him of when he murdered you and heard/felt all of your bones cracking. It’s really unfortunate and the first time it happens, he runs off and avoids you for a solid day or two because he can’t look at you without hearing the sound. He’ll look up ways to help your joints so it doesn’t happen as often and you have to be careful not to purposefully do it in front of him, even if you try to assure him that this is totally different and safe. 

[krispdreemurr]

so disclaimers before I begin: I have been semi-consciously avoiding anything but the most basic of takes on ch3 bc i am allergic to writing other people’s characters where they can see. so this is just me and my dear friends beyond I think I saw another lesbian tenna and liked that. also none of this is like “how I think canon will be” it’s just for funsies

so, Mike! (she/they)

[art thanks to @everyone-needs-a-hoopoe ! please behold their pop filter. they’ll bap you with it.]

mike and tenna [he/him but in a lesbian way] are old colleagues, working on the same all-consuming dark world tv network together. tenna quickly became the shining star holding it all together, while Mike stuck mainly to backstage work. she was honestly content with that; she was always better at making other people shine than being seen herself, and was happy with that.

(continued under read more)

however, as time passed and Toriel irl stopped watching TV and so on, Tenna got frustrated and increasingly status-conscious and more and more worked up. he wanted so badly to draw attention back and to be known again, and it was kind of eating him up inside.

mike took it on themself to try and fix things.

she did research, she went exploring, she wandered far backstage… and eventually, of course, she met a man.

she came back to Tenna with tips and tricks, better understandings of the world, and Tenna, caught up in his own world, took Mike’s new passion as being about Mike wanting fame herself. he was more than happy to oblige his old friend, and got her an air slot and an interview show. this was… not what Mike had wanted, at all, but she was too caught up to not go along.

and for a while it kind of worked? with the Insights Mike was getting, she was able to run an incisive, sharp show, probing at the deepest secrets of her guests. tenna seemed delighted by it all, encouraging mike to put on more of a character and go further and further, while meanwhile the man in the dark encouraged Mike to look further and further for answers.

and during this time, through the man’s guidance, she even made a friend! she helped him get his ads on air and told him to never give up on his dreams, and he told her to never stop getting bigger and to push herself beyond any limit she thought she had. they were close companions, and definitely didn’t enable each other’s worst tendencies or anything.

it wasn’t sustainable, though. finally they burned out. on air, they went into a long rant about all the truths of the world, swinging wildly between false tv-ready personas, less and less coherent, until Tenna cut the channel and ordered them out.

she’s been on the fringes and in the backstage since, trying to find some truth, some way to make things right again. she remembers one thing the man told her - that there was a power that could be used to restart from the beginning and tell the story all over. maybe if she got another shot, this time…

when the three-four heroes appear, she’s on their side, at first, or at least providing neutral ground. she wants to get Tenna and the Lightners to talk it out and make it work. when that backfires, though, well. maybe they have some demands to make of Kris.

object-wise, she’s mostly just part of the TV nature, but she takes some from a radio newscaster Kris fell asleep listening to on a long drive sometime in the distant past. her Secret Boss Speech Quirk is that she can only ask questions - she’s a microphone, her role is to amplify what others are thinking, not to make her own thoughts known.

in terms of “things to make Kris have a meltdown” - I’ve talked a lot about kris having to choose the flashy showmanship of a dark world over a quiet night with a friend, about how despite everything they hope that by being the hero and leader they can be known and loved a little… but a role in the spotlight that doesn’t suit them is always bound to crush them in the end. mike is proof that forcing yourself to be something you’re not to earn love and affection from those you care for is always going to end with you being even more alone than before.

there may also be room for some parallels of her and Ralsei, with her frantic wants to help, smooth everything over, and be loved. admittedly I've thought less on this angle but like Ralsei does deserve his own parallel weird themlet

she really needs better taste in women.

[the-grubdog]

Big ole' relationship headcanons chart B) For these I just went with what would give me the best story telling options (or what Just sounded outright entertaining) while occasionally taking cues from canon.

A few corrections:

Arrows with two points are supposed to mean the relationship is mutual, while arrows wirh just one point means it's one-sided. Mentor/Mentee relationships are a weird exception where the arrow is meant to always go from the mentor to the mentee... I only did this right for Puddle and Vonda being mentors for Santi lol. Thankfuly the other mentor/mentee relationships involve the students so it should be easy enough to tell what I mean.

On a similar note; Pitunia and Dalmo's friendship is meant to be mutual

Alph would be friends with Collin and perhaps Russ, but the chart was getting cluttered and I couldn't fit the arrows.

Similar goes to Brittany; she'd probably get along with Yonny, Kingsly, and François.

And again, Boris should be friends with Frise but I ran out of room LMAO

I know this is a little tricky to read and also has some intresting headcanons, so if you have any questions feel free to ask! :3

Below will be some additional notes about the chart lol

Vonda and Puddle have kinda just declared themselves as Santi's mentor. Specifically when it comes to romance and gender shenanigans.

Wolfgang has all of the industry connections minus( Russ)

idk if Komo would like Russ either now that I think about it

Frise, Boris, and Lapi are all friends. Frise is also friends with Vonda. Frise keeps trying to get the other two to meet Vonda but they're intimidated bc she's famous.

Idk when exactly on the time line this takes place, but eventually Bernard and Santi get that situationship sorted out. Russ gets over Muggs and gives a relationship with Molly a shot, much to her delight.

Maybe Kayz will be with Chowder, maybe not. Haven't decided the outcome there. Honestly leaning towards them staying friends.

Pitinia just finds Bernise annoying lmao.

When I say "your guess is as good as mine" I really do mean it LMAO. I feel it means something slightly different for every relationship I used it for.

anyone here who was a leafling is part of a support group. They don't all consider each other friends but they do trust each other a lot.

The three students inherently trust the other people in Mika's friend group and will go to them for advice and such.

Olimar is friends with the entire Rescue Corps (one of his arrows is meant to be pointing at the friend group as a whole) but is particularly close with Bernard.

Santi and Chewy are part of the same friend group, but again are a bit closer to eachother than the other members

The entire Research Task Force considers eachother friends. Once again tbough, Komo and Twyla are particularly close. Pitunia and Sy are particularly close. And Kit and Osa are particularly close.

Most of these relationships were forged during the events of Pikmin 4.

[amphibious-thing]

Philippa Gregory and Lazy Research: the Issue With Pop History as Exemplified by the Misinformation Surrounding Geneviève d'Eon in the Book Normal Women

If you frequent bookstores or libraries you might have seen Philippa Gregory's new book Normal Women in the best sellers or most wanted displays. The fact that Geneviève d'Eon, a trans woman, is included in a woman's history book is marvelous. D'Eon has been denied her place in woman's history for far too long. So what's the problem? Well Philippa Gregory's lazy research is the problem.

For full transparency I have to admit I didn't read the whole book. And honestly based on what I did read I probably wont read it because the short section I did read left a lot to be desired. While the section on d'Eon is short Gregory sure can pack a fair bit of misinformation into 7 paragraphs.

The most glaring error is d'Eon's name. Gregory claims her name was Lia however this is simply not true. D'Eon's full name was Charlotte-Geneviève-Louise-Auguste-André-Timothée d’Eon de Beaumont, or Geneviève d'Eon for short. When d'Eon transitioned she changed her first name to Charlotte, but she actually went by her middle name Geneviève, which was one of her baptismal names. The name Geneviève had both personal and religious significance for d'Eon having been given to her by her godmother. She talks about this in the draft of her autobiography:

I did undertake to make a novena to my patron saint, Geneviève, in the hope of gaining insight, since the name Geneviève was given to me at baptism by my godmother, the sister of my father and of my uncle.

(The Maiden of Tonnerre, p9)

She also mentions her name when writing about the joy of being able to live openly as a woman:

At present I am living in profound peace; and my joy is so great that I praise God in three languages so that a greater number of people may partake of the happiness of the angels in this life while awaiting the crown of ordinary martyrs, Nunc Genofeva d'Eon est nomen meum; quam suave et dulce est laetitia mea! [My name is now Geneviève d’Eon; how delightful and how sweet is my joy!]

(The Maiden of Tonnerre, p87)

[Ticket for Geneviève d'Eon's fencing display at Mrs. Bateman's house in Soho, c. 1793, via The British Museum]

The only evidence that suggests d'Eon may have used the name Lia is from a flirtatious letter written by her then boss the Marquis de l'Hôpital during her mission in Russia. L'Hôpital, who was 30 years her senior, calls d'Eon "ma chère Lia" and "ma belle de Beaumont". In other letters l'Hôpital often complains about d'Eon's lack of sexual activity, often making comments about her penis. It's unclear how d'Eon felt about the name Lia or the multiple sexual remarks made by her boss. (see Mémoires sur la Chevalière d'Éon by Frédéric Gaillardet, p16, 77, 80, 94, 99 & 110 for the l'Hôpital letters)

Gregory isn't just confused about d'Eon's name, she also mixes up details of d'Eon's life claiming that d'Eon dressed as a woman during her mission to spy on England in preparation for an French invasion, stating that d'Eon "moved in London society as Lia de Beaumont." I've never seen any strong evidence that d'Eon was dressing in woman's clothes for this mission and Gregory doesn't provide any evidence of this either. Certainly d'Eon claimed to have dressed in women's clothes during her mission in Russia but not England. (see The Maiden of Tonnerre for d'Eon's claims that she adopted a female alias in Russia)

Gregory also claims:

In August 1777, Lia de Beaumont chose a male identity and wore a grenadier's uniform to volunteer for military service in the American War of Independence, but was prevented from joining the conflict

While d'Eon did attempt to rejoin the French army in 1778 & 1779 she did not "chose a male identity". D'Eon asked to be able to rejoin the army as a woman. In February 1779 d'Eon published an open letter to "several Great Ladies at Court" hoping for support in rejoining the army:

Foreseeing that there will be less fighting on land this year than last, I earnestly entreat you to use your influence with the ministers, in favour of my petition (as stated in the enclosed copy of my letter to the Comte de Maurepas) to serve as a volunteer in the fleet of the Comte d'Orvilliers. Your name, Madame, is one to which military glory is familiar, and, as a woman, you must love the glory of our sex. I have striven to sustain that throughout the late war with Germany, and in negotiating at European courts during the last twenty-five years. There is nothing left for me to do but to fight at sea in the Royal Navy. I hope to acquit myself in such a way that you will not regret having fostered the good intention of one who has the honour to be, with profoundest respect, faithfully yours. La Chevalière d'Eon.

(Originally published in Correspondance Littéraire, Philosophique et Critique, translation by Alfred Rieu in D'Eon de Beaumont, His Life and Times, p233)

Nowhere in this letter does d'Eon claim to be a man. In fact she writes "as a woman, you must love the glory of our sex" (emphasis mine) and signs it in the feminine "La Chevalière d'Eon."

Gregory also includes the following quote from Madame Campan's book Memoirs Of The Court Of Marie Antoinette:

He was made to resume the costume of that sex to which in France everything is pardoned. The desire to see his native land once more determined him to submit to the condition, but he revenged himself by combining the long train of his gown and the three deep ruffles on his sleeves with the attitude and conversation of a grenadier, which made him very disagreeable company.

I have to ask why Gregory felt this needed to be included? Why is Campan's speculation on d'Eon's gender given more weight than any of d'Eon's own writings on gender? Shouldn't we prioritise what d'Eon said about herself over the speculation of an acquaintance of hers?

Why not include this quote:

I would prefer to keep my male clothes, because they open all the doors to fortune, glory, and courage. Dresses close all those doors for me. Dresses only give me room to cry about the misery and servitude of women, and you know that I am crazy about liberty. But nature has come to oppose me, and to make me feel the need for women’s clothes, so that I can sleep, eat, and study in peace. I am constantly in fear of some sickness or accident that will, despite myself, allow my sex to be discovered …. Nature makes a good friend but a bad enemy. If you chase it through the door, it just blows back in through the window.

(Monsieur D'Eon Is a Woman by Gary Kates p71)

Or this one:

If certain modern philosophers do not approve of my conversion, it is because they do not believe in God, the law, or the King. God forgave me, the living law vindicated me, and the legal systems in England and France awarded me full rights to wear a dress. Louis XV and Louis XVI were my patrons, the Queen who is the daughter of the Caesars had me dressed in her court by Mademoiselle Bertin; the very woman who dresses the Queen did not turn up her nose at dressing Mademoiselle d'Eon grandly.

(The Maiden of Tonnerre, p134)

Or maybe this one:

Having been a decent man, a zealous citizen and a brave soldier all my life, I triumph in being a woman and in being able to be cited for ever amongst those many woman who have proved that the qualities and virtues of which men are so proud have not been denied to those of my sex.

(La Vie militaire, politique et privée de Melle d’Eon (1779): Biography and the Art of Manipulation by Anne-Marie Mercier-Faivre)

Gregory isn't alone in the choice to highlight Campan's speculation over d'Eon's own words, Wikipedia also does this, which makes me wonder if she originally got this quote from d'Eon's Wikipedia page. Perhaps Gregory doesn't know what d'Eon wrote about gender because she hasn't read anything d'Eon wrote about gender.

It's clear that Philippa Gregory's research on d'Eon was frankly lazy and nothing exemplifies this as much as her thinking d'Eon's name was Lia. But why does Philippa Gregory think d'Eon's name is Lia when primary source evidence clearly shows otherwise? Well it's certainly a common myth that d'Eon used the name Lia de Beaumont as a alias while working as a spy in Russia. The assumption was originally made by Frédéric Gaillardet in his largely fictitious book Memoires du Chevalier d'Eon. Gaillardet assumes that d'Eon used the name Lia de Beaumont because of the letter from the Marquis de l'Hôpital in which he calls her "ma chère Lia" and "ma belle de Beaumont". Whether or not d'Eon even did have a female alias while working as a spy in Russia is a controversial point amongst historians. However even if we assume she did use the name Lia as an alias its still not really her name.

I don't think I've seen a single historian claim d'Eon's name was actually Lia but I have seen many people on social media claim this was her name. The logic seems to be that if d'Eon used Lia de Beaumont as an alias that it was probably her preferred name. With most secondary sources on d'Eon using her deadname and never identifying d'Eon by either her first name Charlotte or preferred name Geneviève the issue gets confused. Lia seems like the preferable choice of name to people who don't want to deadname d'Eon but also aren't aware of any other feminine name she went by.

But why does Philippa Gregory think d'Eon's name is Lia? Surely Gregory isn't getting her information from social media? Right? But none of her cited sources identify Lia as d'Eon's name. In fact one of her cited sources, D'Eon Returns to France: Gender and Power in 1777 by Gary Kates, is one of the few secondary sources that does mention that d'Eon's name was Charlotte. Is Gregory even reading her own sources?

This issue isn't unique to Philippa Gregory it's a common issue in pop history. If you want to cover a broad topic that will appeal to a wide audience, like 900 years of women's history, you almost certainly are not going to study every aspect in significant detail. Can we really expect Philippa Gregory to do in-depth research into one individual she only talks about for 7 paragraphs? Of course not. So the research gets lazy.

[rosiesdisneydrama]

Witch Way Next? CH2: Our Inciting Incident

Fiddleford was worried about Stanford. Well, actually, he was worried about a lot of things. It just happened that the majority of those things connected back to his best friend and college roommate. He was really starting to wonder what it was they were even trying to do anymore

And a single phone call adds more things for Fiddleford to worry about. (And, maybe, a sibling relationship that he could help mend.)

AN: I've never written Fiddleford before, so I hope I did him justice in this chapter. I also spent a lot of time grounding things/talking about background info in this. Like how grants work (which, to me, also explains why Ford was so hellbent on the portal).

I'd like to keep a (roughly) once-a-month update schedule for this story, to give myself more time to write and to give readers more time to ask questions or give their thoughts on what I have. (Mostly writing time tho.)

Please leave a comment and tell me what you think/like about this story and AU. I welcome all comments and questions!

Ao3 Link

Fiddleford was worried about Stanford.

Well, actually, he was worried about a lot of things. It just happened that the majority of them connected back to his college roommate and dearest friend.

Ford was a genius. He was an amazing researcher whose zest for the unknown and impossible had drawn him in years ago and never fully let him go. It had made college a delight, learning and exploring and challenging what people thought was impossible. He remembered the secondhand pride he’d felt when he’d heard that his friend had been given a government research grant after they’d graduated.

Fiddleford had been delighted when Stanford called him to help with his research in Gravity Falls.

Yes, some of their adventures were more terrifying than exciting, but it all felt worthwhile initially. Uncovering the impossible, seeing things that had only ever been in his dreams with his own eyes.

But lately… Lately, something was just- Not right. He couldn’t eloquently explain what was bothering him. But something had shifted from when he’d first signed up to work as an assistant for Stanford and now.

Stanford was very adamant about his self-sufficiency. Getting him to ask for help, or even acknowledge when it needed to be more than just the two of them, was like pulling teeth from a hog. It was like he was allergic to the word “help” for anything more than the phrase “write this down”. And that wasn’t even getting into the man’s tunnel vision when he was working.

Honestly, some days Fiddleford was sure the man would have starved to death if it weren’t for him making sure to put food in front of him.

And that he bathed. Bathing was important, too. Not just for appearances, but to keep things clean enough to avoid contaminating experiments.

(That had always been one of his best weapons to get his fellow science-types to do important self-maintenance.)

And he was so secretive now. More so than he'd been back in college and they were still learning about each other. Getting personal details out of his roomie had been shockingly hard in those days, but now the exact nature of their inventing was just as much a secret at times.

Working with his best friend used to be fun and exciting. A new adventure each day! It had changed from those days. And he didn’t like how it had changed either. Something just wasn’t right anymore.

Not right with the area. Not right with their labs. Not right with Stanford.

But Fiddleford had no idea how to broach the topic. Or even what, specifically, was the root issue.

Well, actually, he could think of one thing. The very thing Stanford had called him to Gravity Falls for in the first place. That damn portal.

It felt… Beyond the reality he knew.

Sure, he made it his bread and butter to bring science fiction into the real world, but the idea of being able to hop between dimensions… It was a lot to wrap his head around, even if he could see it all in theory.

And Ford was adamant that his portal could do it once they finished building it.

He was an engineer, but there were days where he couldn’t fathom the calculations and construction ideas that Ford seemed to pull from thin air for that thing.  And, somehow, managed to make it work, despite it. He went at it with a fervor that Fiddleford wasn’t fully sure he liked. There were times when Ford just wasn’t himself and it made his hair stand on end.

Something was up with that thing, and Fiddleford really wished Stanford would just tell him what it was so he could help.

He wanted to go back to those days. When everything was new and exciting. When they were unraveling the mysteries of the area when they weren’t locked up in the basement. (When he didn't need the memory gun to find peace at night…) Sure, some of the adventures were more scary than he normally would have liked, but… They were finding things that could change the world. Challenging what people believed was and wasn’t real and finding proof to back themselves up. And he’d made so many leaps and bounds in mechanical engineering because of it all.

Now though? Now he was starting to wonder why they were even doing the things they were.

Between them, they had enough things they could publish and patent to set themselves up to live comfortably for decades. All they had to do was write it all down and send it out to the offices and publishers. He’d already sorted out the final and best versions of his general inventions and got them ready for final print.

But the only notes Ford had put to paper this year were either in his journals or scattered randomly on sticky notes and printed papers throughout the house. None of it was properly consolidated into a single thesis or volume that he could send out. Hell, parts of his research weren’t even kept in a single room. He really needed to start gathering things together and sorting them out, the folks giving him the grants were bound to start asking for his results soon.

(His grants were biennial, so he only needed to publish or submit something big every two years. He had to submit something before the end of his sixth year in the area.)

Sure, Ford had the receipts for stuff he’d been buying with his grant money so he could mostly prove he hadn’t wasted it all on frivolous things. (No fancy sports cars or hot tubs or anything like that.) The scientific community needed proof that research was being done. They wanted written papers, completed blueprints, or even finished inventions. No taking the money and running while vaguely assuring people that there was research being done.

The brunt of Ford’s grant money was going into the portal after he’d finished building the house. And his sub-basements. And the bunker, too. The last one was still in progress, technically though. They were still finalizing the security for it but it was just about finished.

And yet, for some reason, Ford had yet to sum everything up all neat and clean for the folks who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) come to Gravity Falls and see it all themselves. At least, not for his upcoming survey in the spring.

Fiddleford would have to start nipping at his heels to get him to start drafting things to show. Waiting until the last minute would just make things harder for him. He certainly had enough projects to choose from for it, it was high time Ford narrowed his options to figure out which one he planned to show off.

(Maybe he could build the whole thing around that odd egg he’d found while they were first building the bunker? It was still in lockdown until the specimen room was finished but it wouldn’t be hard to pull it out of storage and start working with it. If it ended up hatching, then they at least would have a subject for the cryogenic tubes.)

He sighed over his cup of coffee, looking out at the color-changing leaves outside the window. Fall was slowly working its way into the town, painting the forest around the house in beautiful shades of orange, red, and gold. The colors were a warm contrast to the chill in the air.

It was a right pretty sight. He could see the appeal of “leaf-peeping” as folks called it. Taking time to admire the changing seasons.

Maybe he ought to invite Emma-may and Tate up sometime to see it. He oughta’ take a few pictures himself to send back home. He was sure there was a cheap camera squirreled away in his apartment somewhere that he could use.

(He needed to do more for his dear wife. Things were getting rocky between them and… He wanted to fix it. He loved her and he wanted to take care of her and Tate as best he could. And lately, he hadn’t been feeling like a very good husband. He needed to do something special for her.)

He was fairly sure there was enough room in his little apartment for them both to stay without it being too crowded. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Tate would love to see the area during Halloween. The folks around Gravity Falls seemed like the sort who’d go all out for it. Summerween had been a gas and Fiddleford was actually pretty excited to see what they would do for Halloween proper.

But those were future plans.

Plans he’d hoped to run by Ford before they set to work that day. He should have known better than to think it would be that simple.

He’d showed up early that morning with the week's groceries packed into his truck since Ford had a dreadful habit of forgetting to do them. It was just chilly enough outside that the box in the bed of the truck where the groceries were didn't need to be refrigerated to keep them cool. He fully planned to make something for the two of them for breakfast once he got to the lab. Maybe discuss a plan for the day before they went off and started working.

But, of course, Ford wanted to hurry outside and check on something that was supposed to only show up in the early morning and had hurried outside before Fiddleford had finished walking into the house.

Which left Fiddleford at the table, by himself, having long since finished eating and waiting for his friend to finish whatever it was he was doing. By now, the food he’d made for Stanford’s breakfast was cold. Ford would have to reheat it when he finally came inside since cold eggs and sausage didn’t taste very good.

He propped his cheek in his hand, staring into his coffee like it could give him the answers to the universe. (If only things could come that easy from a cup of joe.)

And nearly jumped out of his skin when the phone started ringing.

Stanford (to his knowledge) never got phone calls. So if someone was calling his home, then it must be important. Or an emergency.

He scrambled up, yanking the phone off its place on the kitchen counter.

“H-hello? Uh, the residence of Dr. Pines?” Shoot, was that the kind of answer Stanford would want him to use? They never talked about how to pick up if Fiddleford answered the phone before Stanford did… Or how Fiddleford should introduce himself if he did. “Th-this is his assistant, McGucket, speaking.”

"Hello Mr. McGucket. I'm Marsha Jakes, an ER nurse at St. Bartholomew's General Hospital in New Mexico. May I speak with Dr. Pines?” Came the calm, professional voice of a woman he didn’t know. He faltered for a moment when his head finished processing what she’d said.

A nurse? From New Mexico? Why would she be calling Ford?

Fiddleford's eyes flicked to the window. Stanford was still outside and the phone cord was too short for him to take it to the door…

“Um… I'm sorry, he's out at the moment. Can I… I can take a message for him?”

“Well… It would be better if I could speak to him. But if he's out I suppose a message will have to do for now. He needs to come down here as quickly as possible. Are you aware if Dr. Pines has a brother?”

A brother? Yes, Fiddleford was pretty sure he had two brothers. There was Shermie and… an estranged one that he hadn’t talked to in a long time (as far as he knew, at least).

He was pretty sure the fella’s name also started with “Stan”, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Stanford didn't talk about him too much, but he’d mentioned a few things when they shared a room about the guy.

(And maybe a drunken ramble once? They had both been very drunk so he couldn't remember how much had been said.)

Fiddleford could remember a few of those details. Ford’s brother had stopped living at home around the time Ford left for college. The two of them had, at their father’s insistence, taken boxing lessons as kids. They used to play at a beach near home a lot, having the usual treasure hunts little kids would play at that age. And said brother used to have a pet possum when they were kids.

(Fiddleford wasn’t as sure about that last one… Maybe it had been a neighbor kid who’d had the possum?)

So, yes. He knew that Ford had two brothers, at the very least.

“Ah, yes. I believe he has two brothers.” Fiddleford felt his heart sinking as he spoke. If a hospital was calling about one of Stanford’s brothers then… Oh no…

“A man we believe is one of his brothers,  a mister Stanley Pines, was brought into our ER this morning and has been in surgery for several hours now.”

Fiddleford sucked in a sharp breath. Oh god…

"His condition is serious. Dr. Pines is the closest family we could find contact information for on Mr. Pine’s person, in a pocket address book he was carrying. And we’d like him to come in if they’re related.” The woman’s voice remained calm and professional as she spoke.

“I- Of course! I’ll tell him right away, what’s the hospital’s phone number? In case he thinks it’s his brother and decides he needs to head down?” Fiddleford frantically scrambled for a small notebook, hurriedly scribbling down the number the nurse rattled off.

"If it turns out that we’ve made a mistake and they’re not related, please call us back and let us know.”

“We will. Thank you for calling. I’ll try to get him to call back as soon as he can.” He set the phone down on the receiver and then sprinted for the door, clutching the little notebook in hand.

Fiddleford burst through the door, stumbling slightly over the front mat. His head whipped over the yard, trying to spy the sweater-clad form of his friend against the fiery leaves of the trees. He spotted him at the edge of the woodline, hunched over something and scribbling away in one of his journals.

“Ford!” He yelled out, voice cracking slightly from the volume. He could see Ford jump and turn to him. “Y-You got a call! It’s important!”

Ford was quick to cross the distance, lightly jogging across the grounds and up to the porch. If it was because he wanted to know what the call was about or because he didn’t want either of them to strain their voices yelling, Fiddleford wasn’t entirely sure. But he appreciated not having to yell the news into the forest, either way.

“Had- had to take a message since you were outside. You- you have another brother, right? Other than Shermie?” Ford frowned at the question and there was a note of… Something that Fiddleford couldn’t quite put his finger on.

(He wanted to say it was annoyance. And maybe just a little bit of… Bitterness? And something else that was too small for him to puzzle out right then. He could untangle his friend’s expression later.)

“Yes?” was the short, slightly hesitant answer.

“Would his name happen to be Stanley?” Fiddleford asked. The sick feeling in his stomach grew worse when Ford nodded. “Ho boy, that’s- Okay, we might wanna go inside then. The- The call was about him.”

To his immense surprise, Ford groaned in a mix of anger and annoyance.

“Stanley’s gotten himself in some kind of trouble, hasn’t he?” He didn’t wait for Fiddleford to answer before continuing, anger and frustration seeping from his tone as he did. “Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, he has. It’s Stanley, he used to always get himself in trouble. It’s a wonder he hasn’t called sooner to ask for help. Probably to ask for money, or because he needs to be bailed-”

Fiddleford’s jaw worked uselessly, caught flat-footed by the reaction. This was… Not what he was expecting. He could see Ford working himself up (for the completely wrong reason) over what he thought the call was about.

“No! That ain’t it at all!” The words came out at a near-shout, cutting into Ford’s rant and forcing the other scientist to look at him in surprise. (Fiddleford didn’t like raising his voice unless he had to.) “Ford, the call was from a hospital. In New Mexico! Yer brother’s in the hospital!”

He watched Ford’s face freeze.

“A-A hospital?”

“Yes, he’s in their ER. Got brought in this morning, they found yer address in something he was carrying and called to ask ya to come in. It’s- The nurse said it’s serious.” Fiddleford could see the anger on Ford’s face being replaced with concern. Fiddleford continued, “They said you were the closest family member they could find a contact for. An’ if they’re looking for family then…”

He didn’t need to finish that sentence, he was sure. Stanford was a logical fella, he could fill in the blanks himself.

Ford was arguing with himself, Fiddleford could see it in his face and the way he was holding himself. Since he started out being angry, it wasn’t a surprise that he needed a moment to wrestle it aside. He was probably logic-ing his way through the information he’d just gotten. Finishing the sentence and coming to terms with it all in that rapid metal-fire way he always did.

“I- I think we may need to pause our work for a bit,” Ford said, his words hitching ever-so-slightly. “I need to make a phone call. And pack for a trip.”

“O’ course. Don’t forget to grab their address when you call.” Fiddleford passed him the notebook with the hospital’s number.

It took an hour, roughly, for Ford to make the call and confirm that he’d be coming down. And for Fiddleford to haggle his way into convincing Ford to not only use his truck for the drive but to let him come as well.

Because, sure, Ford could make the trip on his own with the local bus service but it was just more convenient to have your own mode of transport. And, with the two of them, they could take turns driving down, which would make the trip less exhausting and boring in the long run. (Going from Oregon to New Mexico was a mighty long drive, after all!)

Plus, he really didn’t want to leave Ford on his own when he knew his friend’s brother was in the hospital.

Ford had caved under the logic, and finally agreed to his friend’s terms and set to packing up a bag for himself. And Fiddleford headed back into town to pack a bag from his apartment.

It took roughly fifteen to twenty minutes for him to get from Ford’s house to his apartment. It was a decent building, not too big and not too small.

His place was on the ground floor, in one of the bigger apartments they had in the building. It was actually, technically, a two-person apartment but he’d gotten his lease at a steal. However, that may have been due to the fact that Gravity Falls was a pretty small town and most of the young folks were leaving town once they got old enough. It was pretty common for young folks to go where there was work and Gravity Falls didn’t have much work.

It wasn’t quite a retirement town but it wasn’t a hopping hub of activity either. There wasn’t much reason for most young people to stick around. Which left a lot of places with extra room and no one to fill them.

But that left plenty of room for folks like Fiddleford to find a place to stay without getting gouged for it.

He jogged inside, quickly grabbing one of his larger suitcases from where he’d left it in his living room, knocking a large number of notes onto the floor as he did, and dragging it to the bedroom. Tossing it onto his bed, he unzipped it and started rifling through his wardrobe to figure out what he wanted to pack for the trip. And the necessities always came first.

Firstly, he needed to pack clothes that were lighter than the ones he was already wearing since New Mexico was undoubtedly warmer than Oregon was. At least one extra change of clothes in case something spilled on him. Then he needed to pack up some of his toiletries from the bathroom, with some extra medications for headaches or if he (or Ford) hurt themselves by accident. A spare change of shoes, since he planned to wear his boots down. He probably wouldn’t need them, but it would be good if he wanted a set of shoes he could change to in a hurry.

He only needed to pack one case since this would, hopefully, be for a week or so at most. At least, he hoped they would only need to be there for that long.

(It would be terrible, for everyone involved, if Stanley had to stay there longer than that. He could feel it in his bones.)

Though he couldn’t help grabbing a small box of tinkering projects to bring with him. Nothing that would require a huge amount of tools to work on, but enough to keep his hands busy. He had a feeling he would need things to keep him occupied during all the times he wouldn't be allowed in because he wasn’t part of the family.

Maybe he could use some of them to help distract Ford, too. He would probably need it since it was his brother who was laid up. (Even if he would probably deny that he was worried.)

Fiddleford knew he would want distractions if it was one of his siblings was in a hospital.

He also snagged a couple of books, to give them both something to keep their minds busy as well. Mostly technical manuals, but he had a couple fiction books too.

Then he packed it all into the back of his pickup, making use of the larger tool crates anchored in the back to keep the cases from sliding around. (He was glad he’d snagged one that was much larger than he’d needed while coming down to Gravity Falls.)

Then he’d hopped back into his truck and made the long drive back to Ford’s place.

Ford was sitting on his porch when Fiddleford pulled up, one ragged-looking suitcase (which was a bit smaller than his own case) sitting beside him and a large leather satchel hung over his shoulder.

“Everything ready to go? Got the address handy?” He asked, looking over the few items Ford had packed for himself. It… Wasn’t a lot. He hoped that meant they were both hoping things would be okay and that they wouldn’t be staying for very long down there.

“Yes, I have everything. I wrote the address down on a notepad that I’ve put in my coat pocket. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Ford said with a sigh, standing up and gathering his case to put in the back of the truck. Fiddleford helped him lock it down in the back, and then they both climbed into the cab.

And then they were off and on the road, all the way to New Mexico.

-----------------------------

Fiddleford didn’t think of himself as a busybody. He wasn’t prone to sticking his nose into other people’s private business. If people didn’t want to tell him things, he didn’t try to force them to. Even if he couldn’t help calling out when he knew someone was hiding something. Though that was less about wanting to know than not wanting people to lie to him.

(He didn’t like it when people lied to him. If they didn’t want to talk about it, that was fine. He just preferred when people said that instead of being dishonest.)

He was a scientist, curiosity was in his nature but he tried to keep it to machines and theorems over people.

Except he hardly knew anything about Ford’s other brother, even after rooming with Ford for four years in college. So it really wasn’t strange that he would ask his friend about the guy. (Especially considering how he’d initially responded when Fiddleford said someone had called about him.) Really, it was only a matter of time until his patience ran dry and his curiosity became too much. 

And it did, roughly an hour into driving them both down the interstate. 

“Soo… Stanley,”  he hesitantly started, glancing at Ford from the corner of his eye. “You’ve mentioned him before. Back in college.”

“Yes. I probably have.” Ford’s response was terse and short. Not angry, but not terribly cheery either.

“You’ve never said a whole lot about the guy. Can ya… Tell me about him?” Fiddleford asked. There was a moment of silence in the truck. “If ya want to, o’ course. It’s fine if you don’t. I just- I’d like to know a bit about the guy before I meet him. Assuming the doctors are right and it is yer brother, obviously-”

Ford cut him off with a gusty sigh.

“No, it’s… I should tell you. Since there is a very real possibility you’ll be meeting him soon.” He let his head fall back, thumping lightly against the back of the seat. “I just- need to think of what I should start with.”

Ford took off his glasses and wiped at the lenses, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before he started talking.

“Stanley is my twin brother. Our parents were expecting only one child but ended up with two. I was born first, then came Stanley roughly fifteen minutes after,” Ford said tiredly, setting his glasses back on his face. “It was a surprise that our mother had been delighted about. She believed having twins was good luck.”

“Really now?” He uttered, keeping his eyes on the road despite his mind running wild. It took a tremendous amount of Fiddleford’s self-control to keep himself from reacting to that. The last thing either of them needed was for him to send them off the interstate or get into an accident before they’d even left state lines.

A twin? His best friend had a twin brother? And Ford had never told him about the guy before! He’d have thought that a twin would have been far more likely to talk about their sibling than just a few in-passing anecdotes and vague mentions. And yet, Fiddleford was only just learning about Ford’s twin brother while on the way to a hospital for the guy.

It was a head-scratcher for him, he loved his siblings and was only too happy to tell folks about them all. But, he had to remind himself, not everyone's family was like his own. And the Pines’ family didn't seem the sort to talk much about themselves unless it was about their livelihoods.

(He supposed this was marginally better than it could have been. At least Fiddleford had been aware that Ford had more than one brother before this conversation.)

“Yes. We’re technically identical twins if one were to ignore… Well.” Ford lifted a hand, spreading out his fingers. He didn’t need to finish the sentence for Fiddleford to understand what he meant.

“Identical twins… Well, I’ll be.” Fiddleford flashed a small grin. “Guess I’m gonna be seeing double for a bit.”

The little joke made Ford let out an amused snort.

“We have the same face, but it’s been a very long time since we looked properly identical. Stanley was more athletic while I was more academic. When we were teenagers, he had continued to take boxing lessons even after I left and ended up far more muscular than I was. I’ve caught up a bit since then, but I rather doubt Stanley has let his skills fall into decay.” Ford said, fingers idly tapping a random pattern on the car door. “He always preferred more… Casual clothing than I did. Simple T-shirts and jeans and such. He had a varsity jacket he’d gotten from a thrift shop that used to wear every fall. It’s probably been thrown out, he’s likely outgrown it by now.”

Fiddleford nodded, smiling as he tried to picture Ford’s brother in his head. He sounded… Sporty. And all he could imagine was a jock version of Ford and that just left him biting back snickers.

(No offense to his friend, but he just wasn’t the type. He was so far from that type that it was hilarious to try and picture it.)

Ford’s smile faltered.

“I… I haven’t seen him in a little over a decade now.”

Wait, what?

“A decade?!” Fiddleford was in disbelief. He couldn’t imagine not seeing or hearing from any of his siblings in a year, never mind a decade.

“He… There was an argument. Around the time our school was being visited by scouts for various colleges, looking for prospective students. I made a special project to present in hopes of getting a scholarship from one of them.” Ford’s voice was growing tense as he spoke. In that way it usually did before he clammed up entirely to avoid losing his temper.

Fiddleford vaguely remembered this story. Or, at least, a version of it that Ford had told him before.

Back when they were in their first year at Backupsmore, his roommate had told him that the school was his emergency plan and not the school he’d wanted to attend. Ford had wanted to go to West Coast Tech but he hadn’t made the cut. He’d never elaborated on it, only muttering about someone being jealous.

 He’d thought it was an angry classmate but had it been…?

“He… He broke my project on the day of the presentations. And refused to take responsibility for it when we found out. Our father was furious with him. I was furious with him as well. The whole thing was… Messy.”

Fiddleford bit down on his reaction. It was a terrible thought, that Ford’s brother had sabotaged him. Except… Except something didn’t feel right.

Maybe it was a sign of Fiddleford’s own hopeful, sunny disposition but he couldn’t quite believe that could have been what happened.

He had shared a room with Ford for years and felt like he’d come to know him fairly well. He had learned some things about his friend, from both actions and context clues he’d picked up over that time. Ford had a habit of jumping to conclusions when it came to people and their possible motives which he didn’t do with his research. He would either be completely oblivious to what other folks thought or felt about something, or he would assume the worst about them without getting all the facts.

(He could remember one, particularly vicious fight that Ford had gotten into with a classmate when he’d thought the guy had stolen his blueprints for a project. It was the nastiest Fiddleford had seen his roommate get and had taken at least three teachers to calm the two down.)

If Ford’s father was the same way, then it was possible that Stanley hadn’t been given the chance to explain himself before the “argument” broke out between them all. And sometimes the reason someone wouldn’t take “responsibility” for something was because they didn’t do it. 

“Stanley, he… He left home that night. I saw it through the window of our room but couldn’t hear what he and Pa were saying very well. But he left with a duffel bag, his car, and the furious promise that he would be richer than any of us when we saw him again. I was- I left for Backupsamore not long after that. It was the only school I could afford without a scholarship to help me.” Ford shook his head, that bitter frown returning as he did. “He calls our Ma, on occasion. I’m not sure if he talks to Pa. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he deliberately avoided talking to him. He’s never tried to contact me during that time.”

Fiddleford still had that itch in the back of his mind. The one whispering that there was probably more to the story. He was only hearing one side of it, after all. And from one person who felt like the other had wronged them intentionally. (Whether or not it was true.)

“Have you tried?” Fiddleford couldn’t help asking. “Reaching out to him instead?”

It’s what he would have done, but Ford wasn’t him.

“No. I… I don’t have a number for him. Ma told me he… He travels the majority of the time. I don’t think he’s ever given her a number to call. He was always the one calling her.”

Well… He supposed that made some sense. If Stanley traveled for his work and Ford never had a number to call, it would make sense that they would have fallen out of contact with each other. And it would have been harder and harder to get back in contact as the years went on.

And Ford could hold a grudge like no one else Fiddleford had ever met, so the same was probably true for his brother. If the two of them got in a fight, then the chances of them just getting over it and making up on their own were near non-existent. So one or the other reaching out to try and make up probably wouldn’t happen for anything but the most extreme of circumstances. Or if someone on the outside was helping.

As much as Fiddleford wanted to keep asking, to lay some potential groundwork to help Ford move past this grudge, he knew his best friend fairly well by this point. Ford’s patience for talking about someone he was furious over was running out.

It would be better to let things lie for a while and come back to Stanley later. He wouldn’t be surprised if Stanley was the same way if he was asked about Ford.

Hopefully, they wouldn’t start fighting when they were finally put into the same room.

(But Ford obviously cared. He wouldn’t have been willing to make the drive so soon, so readily, if he really, genuinely hated his brother. So there was still hope, in some form, that whatever was between them could be fixed.)

Maybe Fiddleford could help them, then? Acting as a third perspective to help ground them. He couldn’t imagine holding a grudge against one of his siblings for so long… He couldn’t help wanting to help them out.

He could ask for Stanley’s perspective on the matter, and his side of the story, and see if there was a way to help them both. Figure out what had actually happened so they could finally make up with each other, At least enough for the two to be able to talk to and about each other again without things devolving into a fight. Or shutting down and going no-contact.

It would take time, effort, and patience. And Fiddleford had plenty of all three.

[mobius-m-mobius]

HI i just saw ur lokius fairytale post aaand like kinda rotating that cinderella scenario around my head any chance you have any other thoughts to add onto it ?

Hey anon, really glad the fairytale asks stuck with you because we've been having so much fun with them! Honestly I'd not had a chance to think of more until getting this but after having a little time there's a scenario I'm kind of loving which may or may not have spiraled from the og Cinderella concept so apologies in advance 😅

(also putting this under a cut because y'all know me and whew did this get longer than even I'd expected 😂💖)

Cue Ravonna sending Mobius on a reconnaissance mission to get details on Odin being up to something which seems to differ from the usual flow of that timeline, the details are vague enough for him to wonder where she's going with this but they both know the chance for him to get close enough to Asgard is too tempting to pass up and there's an upcoming ball with enough invitations that one more shouldn't be a problem. So he tries his best to at least blend into the background long enough to slip away and search for info but the fact that he's pretty much the only person at the party not boisterously jumping through hoops for Odin's attention or favor draws Loki's attention him like a lightning rod, lol, which doesn't escape mutual notice and since the only other option would be Loki making a scene to draw attention to whoever this mysterious(ly hot) stranger is no one seems to know, Mobius can't help pointing out he's not exactly someone that would be sent in as a physical threat so maybe if he's allowed a few minutes to explain he could make it in Loki's best interest 👀👀

Loki's skeptical but intrigued, and it's not like he was enjoying the night beforehand anyway so he follows expecting some obvious lie of an excuse as to what Mobius is doing there but instead Mobius quite bluntly tells him he's there for dirt on Odin that could be mutually beneficial for them both.

This part he keeps to himself ofc, but by now he's figured out whatever's going on clearly has to do with/is centered around Loki's future and after so many years of researching Lokis he's secretly harbored a crush and honestly does want the best for them if possible so it's very easy to at least tell the truth about why he's trying to sneak around in the first place. Loki doesn't completely believe him, but he's infinitely more interesting than anyone in recent memory and Loki's desperate to learn about him so he haughtily declares Mobius no real threat, and will guide him through the palace personally to seek out this all important info, with the threat of imprisonment if the night ends empty handed.

Mobius cheerfully agrees with the knowledge he'll be long gone through a time door before things come to that, and the night is kind of playing out like a fantasy he didn't even realize he had so because he knows it won't last he lets himself be a little playful with Loki, praising his magic and asking questions he hadn't been able to answer from his files, like which flower first comes to mind when he looks out at the gardens?? Loki of course bristles at first but soon realizes how much comfort there is in the way Mobius speaks to and about him, and how his words bask brighter and warmer than any sun 🥺

However, because of this he can also tell Mobius knows far more about him than he previously let on, and can't figure out why he seems so delighted by all the qualities everyone else has been so bothered by his entire life so as they search through Odin's private study he starts needling for details to match, eventually getting nothing but things that completely baffle him like how Mobius obviously has horrible taste in food and that he seems wiser beyond his years than any Midguardian he's ever seen yet somehow seems to have nothing of personal value in his life except something called a jet ski?? And he's taken aback how, when pressed, Mobius isn't even upset about it but just a bit sadly resigned. They share a moment of bonding over their prior loneliness and start to grow even closer, leaning in just before a crash sounds from the hallway and the sounds of drunken guards calling for there whereabouts of Prince Loki echo, forcing them to break apart as Loki panics about how to explain Mobius' presence and bringing Mobius back to reality about how far he let the night spiral by indulging so it's all he can do but stumble out an apology for everything as Loki tries to find a way for them to sneak away before turning back just in time to see the gleam of a time door disappearing in the middle of the room 😔

Now the whole "glass slipper" element is a harder one since it's not like even if Mobius left behind something TVA related Loki would be able to trace it back to him so this is where I headcanon he dropped a folded magazine photo of a fav jet ski he liked to carry around as a reminder of why he works so hard, that he had taken out to show Loki was he was talking about earlier and Loki uses to trace back to Don, alerting the TVA due to the obvious branch it cases, and then you can only how everything Mobius knows implodes from there which would probably take me a year to detail but is very fun to picture and yes because I love him this would also result in Don meeting the Loki of his timeline because he deserves love too 😂😂

[indigos-stardust]

@undertheopensky here's some answers to your questions! I do have a whole series planned and these are actually just scenarios that happen in it lol

#how does green come to find vio’s anxiety closet?#what differentiates it from a regular closet?#does he find it while vio is IN the closet???#why does vio have an anxiety closet in the first place?#not that i can talk i used to hide under my desk and cry bc Paperwork#but like what’s the REASON#how did he come to find the closet helped? DOES it help?

Vi is a hermit. That is a fact. And while he fine at first, you see the realization and mental processing of everything he suppressed has started to hit him! And due to some *ahem* miscommunications he is trying to bring back Shadow and deal with his guilt of everything that happened and internalizing everything :). So what though? Sure he's rationalized that he just lacks the same humanity as the others and is not only a cruel person but also one who doesn't even possess the quality of being loved unless he's serving the others. And honestly they can't know about any guilt he has either! that's risky.

The thing is, lil dude is convinced that "he's the only one who understand the horrors and implications of his actions, and the heartlessness he had when he executed them." And that if he starts talking about what happened, not only would they be disgusted in him, but they'd also grow suspcious of Vio's "research for the rebuilding of Hyrule" and catch him as a traitor for real this time!

So yeah he's basically numb and repressed all the time with occasional intense bursts of anxiety. And well I'm gonna be honest, closets are nice small safe spaces where he can't be seen. (I have a drawing of the floorplan of their house if ur interested). Green and Vio's rooms are wall to wall. So when Vio thinks everyone has left the house its nice to have a morning sob in the anxiety closet. At this point the others have picked up that he has "self care" issues because he's "just so devoted to helping Hyrule" but then Green was sleeping in one morning and well.. Lets say the element of wind is a light sleeper. And, well he went into vios room... Asked Vio is he was okay, and vio was just trapped in the closet. Of course, Vio at that point was doin the thing where you try to stop crying but your breathing is weird. So yeah green just found vio as a flustered curled up crying mess in his own closet.

Green has indeed used this to blackmail into taking better care of himself. The closet mostly just provides security for him because he's like mega paranoid and hyper aware of everything. He kinda just started doing it out of desperation because being in a closet is the best way to not be heard having a panick attack at 6 47 am.

#blue-vio interactions are AMAZING and i will always be delighted by them#but why does vio have panic attacks?#did blue know about it beforehand?#did anyone know vio got panic attacks?#did VIO know vio got panic attacks?

OH I have a whole fight and character developement arc between those two! And yes vio has bitten blue and blue did throw a heavy book at his face to "help him learn a lesson sense reading the books wasn't helping so far" Their autism styles clash extremely hard. Their triggering of each other's issues clash even harder! I've got a whole thing written out if you think I should make a post on it~ It should answer the rest of ur questions lol. But yeah vio just thinks that "oh sometimes the stress kinda hits me because I sleep bad meh" bro is so suppressed he doesn't even realize that he's having emotions. (very, very intense ones). I have. pages and pages of ideas and dialogue about this

#what does ‘how red sees the colours’ even mean?#is red colourblind or is this a character study thing

Oh yeah! I do Character study things with these guys all the time, whether its their communication styles, their changing group dynamics, small quirks, and etc! Btw generally speaking, Red started out really admiring everyone else for different reasons, but honestly the more he gets to know them the more cute and silly he sees them XD. Blue's just a grumpy kitty in reds eyes lol. Green is such a silly little airhead sometimes! And vio is so cool and smart- Oh no HES A WET CAT- So yeah he definitely has a way higher emotional intelligence and uses his "innocence" to his advantages. Whether that's emotionally manipulating them to be mentally healthier, get extra cookies, or get away with his mischief <3

#shadow walking in on zelda midmurder: yeah that makes sense. would be fantastic bonding too. or at least hilarious.

Would you like to hear my "effects of the invasion of Hyrule on princess Zelda and her englithenment and reasons for murder?". ALso no, shadow is terrified of her. absolutely horrified and this makes it a billion times worse XD I also have notes on this if you are interested. Zelda's is more "I am going to eliminate any threat to my friends, and if I have to kill then they can't know. It will harm them, but I need you to cover my tracks. I'm sure you wont say anything, now will you?"

[vraisetzen]

Your ‘Notte Stellata’ is honestly super awesome. It’s one of the best written fan fictions that I’ve ever read for sure.

You are SO talented at plotting! This story was planned out and written so, so well. I can really tell that you’ve put a lot of thought into this story.

And you did the period justice! My gosh, that is honestly so rare! But you did such a good job — I think that’s super cool.

You are SO GOOD at characterising Kokushibo. I think that was honestly the best characterisation of Kokushibo that I’ve ever seen! I know it sounds silly, but I almost lament the fact that I’m done with this story because I’d love to go through this journey again with fresh eyes.

I must say — you have used some of the most interesting and stimulating descriptions that I’ve seen in a long while. I had to pause multiple times while rereading and reread passages because you’ve included such gorgeous thoughts and imagery.

And the way you write dialogue is phenomenal. Can I just say — isn’t it so cool that you’re able to tackle almost any character from ‘Demon Slayer’ and pay them due deference? You make them sound like themselves. I thought that Tengen was such a clever addition to the story.

But also… when I saw Kagaya and read his dialogue, it just cemented in my mind the fact that you really get these characters. Because yes, that is exactly what he would say.

Your story really bumped up Kokushibo to the top of my favourite characters from ‘Demon Slayer’ list. I think it’s incredibly cool how you gave him more depth and made him almost even more interesting than he is in the source material.

You are an awesome writer, truly. I would sincerely love to read more works by you if you choose to share your works with us.

Thank you for allowing me the chance to read and think about your story!! You are AWESOME! Wishing you only the very best.

Thank you for your lovely words! It's wonderful knowing that you enjoyed Notte Stellata!

Staying true to the time period is something with which I was especially insistent; it was important that the Reader's mannerisms and personal beliefs reflected fleeting, but pivotal time period that was the Taisho era. I'm a huge history nerd, so doing research for this fic was a lot of fun! And most of all, I'm glad that it helped with establishing a sense of realism throughout the fic.

Likewise, it's glad knowing that I captured the characters and their dialogue properly! In the case of this fic, which basically poses the question, How would Kokushibo, as the first Upper Moon, respond to falling in love with a human Slayer?, it was fun dancing the delicate line between personal headcanons and going back to the manga to understand how Gotouge would have done it. The same went for Ubuyashiki as well — although it was tempting to have him dismiss the Reader from the Corps, it seemed much more apt for him to do something entirely different from what the Reader expected.

And with that, the dialogue came in very naturally; I was initially concerned about sounding too Joss Whedon-ish, since Tengen and the Reader were quite quippy with each other, so I needed to make sure that there was an element of sincerity and honesty with these two older members of the Corps.

Lastly, I'm delighted to have bumped Kokushibo on to the top of your list of favourite KnY characters! He's my definite favourite for sure, and I think he is such a complex character that is often reduced to his worst aspects. In that sense, the Reader was a proxy for him to reexamine those human parts of himself that he gave up too easily in the pursuit of power and strength.

Thank you once more for sending this ask and for your kind, thoughtful review! I will definitely be writing more in future, with a Muzan fic in the works (though nothing too official), and I hope to do as well, if not better, in that piece. All the best to you too!

xoxo, V ♥️

[newtsfrogstoads]

your username compels me to ask: favorite species each of frog, newt, and toad? any non-frog/newt/toad amphibians you particularly like?

my favorite frog is the golden mantella but honestly all the tiny brightly colored poisonous ones are delightful

These are such hard questions for me. There's so many species that deserve their own essays. I think I'll break this ask into several posts and answer each question over time because I could ramble about amphibians forever.

Let's start with frogs. My favorite frog would have to be Diane's bare-hearted glass frog AKA the Kermit frog:

I really really adore glass frogs. They're small, cute, and are fucking rad scientifically speaking. There's very few translucent land creatures because, unlike in the deep blue where light reflects very differently than in the air, it's hard to hide yourself and your innards (especially those bright red blood cells). But these little frogs with their semi-see-through tummies and limbs disappear to predators by making themselves look transparent:

These frogs are nocturnal too, so you would think they'd be more visible when they're asleep during the day when the light is brighter. Nope. They become more translucent by MOVING NEARLY 90% OF THEIR RED BLOOD CELLS INTO THEIR LIVER:

Glass frogs are so good at hiding that even their blood can hide. This if insane because it doesn't even cause blood clots. Scientists are trying to figure out how these frogs do it to see if they could solve clotting issues in humans with this same mechanism.

Of course, Diane's bare-hearted glass frog became my favorite of the glass frogs due to its resemblance to my childhood icon:

This unique frog species was discovered in Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica around April 2015 by researchers Brian Kubicki, Stanley Salazar, and Robert Puschendorf from the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center. It was named after Kubicki's mom :)

It's discovery also caused such a huge stir on the internet that even Disney published a QA with Kermit talking about it. I think they scrubbed the video, but I did find some quotes from articles that I think are gold:

"The reason this new frog looks so much like me is that her mother and my mother are sisters. It’s a family resemblance.”

“Yes, we’re cousins. In fact, I’m related to every single frog in the world, and I’m close to most toads, too."

"Googly eyes run in our family."

"Shorten your name if you want to make it in show business. Maybe something catchy like Diane Glass or Kermina Kardashian."

"Being green is easy compared to being transparent. I thought that I blended in with so many other ordinary things. And that people tended to pass me over 'cause I wasn't standing out like flashy sparkles in the water or stars in the sky. But when you're transparent, folks really look right through you. It's almost like you're invisible… which might come in handy around Miss Piggy... I take it back. I want to be transparent."