#I don’t know if I would say I respect BY more overall bc that seems a bit far but I do think he like. genuinely and wholeheartedly believed

[punchouthottakes]

FLAMING HOT TAKE INCOMING, DISCLAIMER FIRST: punch out is a game with no lore and little to no characterization so it’s natural that different people have different takes on a character and I 10000% respect that and I love seeing how people interpret stuff differently from me!!!!! this is not a dig or a diss this is just personal observation!!!!!!!!!!

i don’t get why the overall fandom consensus is that don flamenco is head over heels in love with the blonde lady [that the fandom calls Carmen (this I do understand why)] in his cinematic trailer. it’s always been apparent to me that this guy is supposed to be like a casanova/serial womanizer/harem enthusiast douchebag kinda guy.

1. country of origin and profession: every enemy character in this game is supposed to be an exaggerated cultural stereotype/caricature, so it’s natural to assume that most of their character traits are not meant to subvert audience expectations, and flamenco is no exception! Spaniards are stereotyped as carelessly romantic, and toreadors seem to be associated with more socially conservative or dare I say, sexist/woman objectifying behavior. it would be logical to presume that flamenco also embodies these traits

2. contender intro slideshow: most people (and I as well) like to use the final slide of his contender intro as evidence of his romantic status. however, I fail to see how it shows him as faithful; on the contrary, the fact that the girls around “Carmen” are a. (for one of them) also wearing roses - the same color as the one he’s giving her, in fact - and b. clearly looking shocked and disgusted seems to show me that those girls were also the object of flamenco’s short-lived affection and that the blonde girl is just his next “target” so to speak.

now how to justify his in-battle voice lines referring to his affection for carmen? well look no further than Carmen, the opera by Bizet, where the titular Carmen ends up being with a toreador (like don flamenco). it could be possible that he uses “Carmen” as a pet name for all of his flings rather than the actual name of his one true love

please feel free to prove me wrong bc I see nobody else with this interpretation and I wanna know why everyone agrees that he’s a faithful boyfriend/malewife lmao

[multiheadcanons]

SPY ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A DOCTOR

aka medic lets spy take his place for a day and ig im gonna post three times today. will expand with drabbles for some of them and queue em bc i can’t stop thinking about this.

scout: doesn’t really notice anything except that doc is acting a different weird. makes a very pointed remark that medic won’t meet his eyes, much less stare him down like he loves to do. and that’s not like him at all. doesn’t say anything past that though.

soldier: doesn’t notice at all. thankful for a break from the doctor’s surgeries anyway.

pyro: oh they notice. SIDE EYE. that’s WEIRD. refuses to play along with it and leaves, and won’t talk to either of them at all for a solid month. very specifically will target the enemy medic and spy, then would turn and point at them. literally would give spy away on the battlefield any time he could. that was really hard for them to forgive. felt betrayed by medic; and frankly never liked spy.

demo: demo is not the one lmaoooo demo bursted into the infirmary thinking absolutely nothing about it, actively working on undoing his belt and unzipping his pants, explaining in depth he’s got this thing on his bits and if doc could just take a quick look— and spy screeched. dropped disguise immediately. and demo screeched. took it very well, if only because that was the funniest way that could have backfired and he was the one that got to do it. spy begged him to not tell anyone. frankly, demo did not want to know what the fuck was going on. he knows inquiring on anything the doctor is doing gets him into more shit than he wants to be in. but he will ask for the story out of the blue in like six months while they’re chatting, because this seems juicy.

engineer: engineer notices a change, but he likes it. spy does not portray medic very well. natty one on the performance check frfr. was very strictly business. didn’t even ask if he wanted to participate in an evolutionary surgery. didn’t ogle him. engie doesn’t even know if that’s the right way to put it, he just feels like the doctor stares too hard. but this time felt so much more… relaxed. easier to handle. it was easier for him to think this time. overall incredibly respectful. and he appreciated it. even told him so on the way out after his physical.

heavy: oh, you think medic didn’t tell him what was going on? bc you’re dumb if you thought that. he begged heavy to go with it. heavy did not like the idea at all. having this hushed conversation in the corner of a dark storage room, heavy very reluctantly gave in and agreed to it. and he was… amused at the experience. on his way out, he turned around to make a very clear remark: “you make a terrible doctor.” wouldnt say he regretted it though.

sniper: immediately notices. the second he stepped in. he’s got like… a spy sense, one could say. it was primal. he hadn’t even made eye contact with “medic” yet. but something about the air felt off. too calm. too pensive. and neither of those things describe that son of a bitch he calls his doctor. actually…. that’s kinda like that doctor on the other team… well, that’s okay, because he keeps a pocket knife on him, because if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. and he sprang into action. in his defense, he did think it was the enemy spy, and not… his spy. offers a half ass apology, but demands an answer for what the fuck is going on.

[alliluyevas]

🔥 joseph smith

trying to figure out what an actually unpopular Joseph Smith opinion is…obviously the largest group of people who actually HAVE opinions about Joseph Smith are Mormons and I don’t exactly agree with the faithful take on him but there’s also a lot of ex Mormons and overall my thoughts probably align in some ways closer to theirs to say the least, so that’s still not exactly an unpopular take. I’ll try to think of something that isn’t a common take in either camp.

I guess this isn’t so much an opinion on Joseph Smith as an opinion on both him and Brigham Young, but it’s unpopular: I actually think in some ways I find Brigham Young more sympathetic of the two? I think the modern LDS perspective is much more open to criticism of BY and is still kind of stuck in uncritical veneration mode on Joseph. And then even in ex Mormon circles it seems like a prevailing perspective that basically “Joseph was bad but Brigham was worse” which…I think he was certainly more openly racist and he was worse in that sense but I’m not sure as a blanket statement it’s true in all ways. IDK.

[darlingmaakun]

as a fellow mayoiP, it is mandatory for me to send something about mayoi bc if I'm nothing if I'm not a simp for him. how about mayoi with a very affectionate/motherly fem! s/o? like she enjoys taking care of people, cooking, making sure places are clean, just generally wife material girlie.

mayoi with an affectionate

s/o hcs

pairing — mayoi ayase x gn ! reader

authors note — i was really excited to start this because i loveeeee mayoi so much !! i tried my best on this so hopefully u like it >.<

word count — 435

this boy is 100% convinced he does not deserve you. 

i mean, how could such a worthless and disgusting creature attract your affection? at least thats what he thinks

the first time you really showed affection towards him, he nearly screamed and pushed you off of him

in his words, he doesn’t want to “taint” you. 

your first instinct was to stop and respect his boundaries

but once you saw his eyes frantically looking at your hands and back to his (which he was twiddling with to help the anxiety), you sighed and softly pulled his head into your lap

he started to freak out again, but this time you just ignored him and took his hair out of his braid

the action startled him as he started babbling more excuses why you shouldn’t be touching him, but once you started to run your hands through his hair, he became silent

i mean, you could hear a pin drop if you were really focused

so eventually, this became more and more common. 

also cooking dates with him?? yes !!

i don’t know if it’s cannon, but he seems like he would know how to cook

also, you know those tiktoks where it’s like “baking date but he just stirs the ingreedients” ? yeah that’ll be you guys 

he seems like he would enjoy cooking but not baking as much, so it’s a win-win (you get to bake for him and he gets to spend time with you) 

or imagine texting him throughout the work day, just for him to say that he’s been stressed, so you surprise him with his favorite home cooked meal when he gets home. 

with mayoi as a boyfriend, you’ve came to the conclusion that going on dates in public wasn’t going to happen often

so very often, your guys’ dates consist of cooking together (or on occasion, ordering in) and watching a movie whilst cuddling on the couch. 

because mayoi is a shy person, it does take a while for him to warm up to your affection, but once he does, he craves it all the time

actually, his favorite part of his day is winding down to go to bed, and cuddling up to you.

overall, it may take mayoi a while to get used to your nature, but in the end he loves you no matter how you are, even if he’s convinced he doesn’t deserve it. 

[k-tarotz]

i’m wondering how ni-ki views iroha from illit? thanks!🤍

this one actually feels refreshing

two of wands, ace of swords reversed, the emperor, ten of wands reversed, eight of swords reversed

okay so please know I am being as nice about this as I can be. I do not have ill intentions, and Ni-Ki’s energy is quite laid back as well, not serious or mean, I am just a straightforward person that says it as it is. so please do not misunderstand me. 🫡

so, I genuinely do not keep up with illit so I do not know how old this lady is, but he seems to view her as a child. someone childish, in need of some growth. not that he looks down on her at all, but it’s that he recognises some patterns in her behaviour that teenagers usually do? though, he might view her behaviour as younger than her age. - I would tell you, but like.. I don’t know her age. Like 2-3 years younger? -

but like, there isn’t anything malicious in his energy. it’s just like when you grow up and realise how oblivious you were to the adults around you when you were a kid, you know?

although I do think he views her in a mostly positive light, I will tell the more negative aspect of his view because I like giving honest readings even if some people might not like the reading itself!

he wants to like her, he can’t. - in a platonic manner. his higherself is just highlighting this. -

although he views her as a bright, sweet and cute kid, he also views her as two faced. not based off of nothing though!

he knows her idol personality vs her idol personality, and he seems to view it as polar opposites. so if her fans like her, they are kind of deceived without knowing much of who she actually is behind cam.

ni-ki seems like the kind of person who has strong boundaries, but is always himself, even when it comes to showing who he is at cam. even when it comes to his idol image. in his eyes, if people misunderstand the kind of person he is it’s on them, it just means they are very different from him.

he is an observant person, so he noticed how was her behaviour can change at times. it’s not that he is hung up on this or that he is being ill towards her in this, it’s just that he could have a personal bias towards people like this because of his own experience! it’s the feeling of ‘oh, that reminds me of ____’, so there is a negative feeling based on association, but he doesn’t hate or dislike her, he knows it would be ridiculous to behave like that lol. his energy seems more to be cautious. he seems like a guy who tends to overthink things and be in his head a lot, won’t lie. - ironically this is bc of engenes. -

on another note, I do believe he has over seen her pretend to be sad or ‘a victim’ towards her members just to get attention even though she was completely fine. - his words not mine, don’t shoot the messenger!!! - I think he views this behaviour as childish, immature and overall disrespectful to the other person’s time.

his mentality seems like ‘I wouldn’t do that, so if someone does that there has got to be something bad about them.’ this boy overall seems to have a lot of trust issues that sometimes hold him back from accepting people for who they are. it’s like he constantly subconsciously looks for the bad in people in order to see if it’s worth his time? weighting pros and cons, regardless if he plans to befriend them or not. this could come from his own mental health issues to be honest, so if he sees anyone posses qualities he once had that he hates there is an immediate discomfort and dislike created in him. if someone tries too hard for attention he doesn’t like it because he simply thinks its dishonest. as a kid he might have been dishonest but he reflected and grew out of that.. so when he oversees her pretending to be sad just to occupy some of her members time and attention he could just view her as kind of putting on an act? I am trying to be respectful about this but to be honest he views it as incredibly fake.

regardless, the pros out weight the cons! because even if he sees the negative in people he sees the positive as well, his view isn’t black and white. he looks at her as a sweet, bright, pretty, hardworking and kind person.

perhaps he seems to like how nice she is to her fans? there is this desire to be as considerate or thoughtful as her, to connect with fans as easily as she does. he doesn’t seem envious at all, rather motivated to take steps forward to becoming kinder or more interactive with his own fans as well!

It’s just that he wishes to see more of those positive traits if that makes sense!

this view seems to be made all based on sudden encounters in the work place, not direct interactions! They don’t seem to be close at all to be honest with you here.

that’s all! and with this being said I don’t hate this girl at all, I don’t know her. her energy seems really kind, gentle and youthful! I also do not hate ni-ki either, I have seen this boy grow up and I would never suddenly send any hate to him looking at how much people love to do that. I just gave a honest reading is all.

sometimes people are not compatible at all personality wise even if they do respect each other sincerely. and that’s okay! my words could have just made this seems heavier than it is, his view doesn’t seem to be deep rooted 🫶🏻

– Candy

[poorslaindoll]

Winter King episode theory regarding why Finn and Jake aren’t really… around…

Okay so I wasn’t gonna actually voice this theory until after the show was over (or at all bc theory stuff isn’t rlly my thing), but eh what the hell. It’s not exactly particularly relevant to the overall Fionna and Cake plot, but I just find it interesting.

Also I wanna preface this by saying that I might be forgetting certain details that would disprove all of this and render this entire thing pointless. So feel free to correct me because I love knowing that I just wasted my time.

So from what I remember in the Winter King reality, we specifically never hear or see any mention of Finn and Jake from anyone and they don’t seem to be around in any capacity. The roles of Ice King and Princess Bubblegum have been reversed and Finn and Jake’s roles have more or less been filled by other characters too (the ice scouts).

So as I was watching this, it made me come to a conclusion: This is the universe where Finn and Jake disappeared.

In e19s6 of the original show, “Is That You?”, Prismo gets brought back to life via Jake becoming his dream host or whatever. And as a result, Finn became a sword because time paradox shenanigans. Even back when I first watched that episode, I had always wondered what that meant for the timeline they came from. Was there just a world where F and J disappeared without a trace?

This could possibly be that timeline since (unless I missed something), it’s never specified when Winter King became Winter King. Like yeah he said it was about 100 years ago, but 100 years from when??? (Also, I know I’ve seen some theories that this is just a world where Finn was never born, but I think this could be a little more interesting.)

This could also explain why Marceline is gone. Because Stakes happens in season 7 and Marceline becomes mortal again. Maybe Finn and Jake not being there caused things to go differently and Marceline ended up either dying to the vampires, or dying of old age after a while. Then from there, anything could have happened. Including Ice King casting his madness onto PB and creating the world that we see in the Winter King Episode. There wasn’t anyone to stop him at that point.

I initially thought this theory was disproven by the recent Fionna and Cake episode, “Jerry”. I thought that maybe THIS was the actual universe where they disappeared. Mostly because Finn and Jake being gone could have meant the Litch had another chance at killing everyone. Either that or Orgalorg killed everyone and that’s why the sky was that yellow color (I thought this before I actually saw the Litch in the episode). But it turns out this was just the reality from the Litch’s original wish so imo that just means my theory still holds so :P

Anyway yeah… I’m probably forgetting some important detail that debunks all of this. Either that or I’m slow and this is common knowledge or something idk. It’s just been giving me brainworms so I figured I’d type it all out.

TLDR. The Winter King reality is the result of the F and J disappearing to become a cool sword and Prismo respectively and just never coming back.

[gh0stcav3]

this is deadass just me being completely insane abt chip 🎉 bit of a longer post cuz i kept adding shit to it bc i kept thinking of more stuff im insane abt

i think chip woulda been significantly less of a bastard had the hole in the sea not happened. not completely bc that guy woulda been raised by pirates who may have a few funky morals, and everyones gonna have their flaws, but overall yk? like chips obviously not the worlds worst guy or anything, he’s capable of change and above that, he wants to be better. be better to his co-captains, be better to the rest of his crew, be better to all the people he cares about. 

we don’t have a ton of information on the Black Rose, but i think theres enough to say Chip would have learned certain things earlier on, along with not going through as much toxicity as he did after the events of the hole in the sea. this isn’t to say i think he’d be just the worlds best person, but i think it would definitely change some things.

I think a lot of where his more bastard like tendencies came from when he was running with Price. the same way children learn from the example their parents’ set, or a friend group can influence how a person acts. Chip was going off what Price had told him, someone Chip trusted and respected. someone who was family to him. but as we’ve seen Price isn’t too great of a guy. Chip not knowing how far is too far for a joke, or what is just plain mean. him having a shit ton of internalized homophobia, him just overall not being an awesome guy, i think could be primarily traced back to the fact he didn’t have a good example for so long. his main example was Price.

i think Arlin, along with the other crew members, but primarily Arlin because he was Chip’s father figure, tried to teach what he should and shouldnt do to Chip. but in the grand scheme of things Chip wasn’t on the black rose long, and Chip was still young. i think Chip still remembers these things, but they got a bit muddy and buried after Price. As he began sailing with Jay and Gillion and their growing crew, he started to uncover those things he had been taught again, because he was no longer with an influence such as Price. 

i feel like Chip might feel kind of guilty, or like Arlin would he disappointed in him for how he turned out. wondering if he’d still make Arlin proud despite everything. despite the fact he wasn’t the best pirate, or even just the fact he wasn’t necessarily a good guy sometimes, even though he wants to be. 

Jay and Gillion helped him unlearn a lot of what he’d been taught by Price, along with relearn what he’d been taught before on the Black Rose. and of course learning new things with his two co-captains and best friends. i think Chip values that a lot, the help he got from his friends. them sticking around even when shit got rough, even when the challenges they faced seemed impossible, even though he’s still a bastard. the fact they’ve stuck with him, have yet to leave him like practically everyone else in his life has, is more important to him than he would probably ever say to either of them.

may end up adding onto this later on too i think about this so often

[mars-ipan]

nmarrss.. mar s im so hunrgy can you feed me priest au. im Starvinggg Pleasee ^p^ any table scrap i want to pick ur mind for it. ...

hello you two!!! i’m gonna be real i’ve been a bit all over the place lately (pjsk brain has put dangan brain on hold surprisingly enough, and also i’m prepping to go back to college next semester lmao), so i don’t have. too many priest au thoughts. but i HAVE been thinking abt some of the other characters who live in the town of jabberwock, illinois! :]

ok first off. i can’t put hajime anywhere without allowing him his soul bro. even i am not that cruel. so yes souda exists here! he is a mechanic, as to be expected, working out of the shop his dad runs. he and hajime meet when hajime spots him working on like…. let’s say a tractor or smth and goes over to help bc he recognizes the model. they’re buddies, they’re tight! souda is chill, but he’s also like. the epitome of 2000s casual homophobia. most of it comes from his dad, and tbh it wouldn’t be unlikely for souda to be bisexual and not know it (just like canon <3), BUT this au doesn’t focus on him so that’s just a little bonus nuance. For Funsies. as previously mentioned, souda and hajime get along well (souda’s is hajime’s closest male friend, aside from the Father), and they often hang out together. at first souda kind of calls into question some of hajime’s gentler/girlier habits, but overall he does see hajime as Very Masculine so he tries not to give him too much shit, especially since it really seems to bother him. he HAS absolutely called hajime a metrosexual for like. Conditioning His Hair. that sort of thing. but it’s all lighthearted and he does really care abt hajime. that’s his bestie

funnily enough the only other character whose role i’m 100% sure of is gundham’s. he’s one of hajime’s coworkers at the farm supply store! hajime works in more botany-related departments, whereas gundham focuses more on animal husbandry. hajime is on polite terms with gundham, but they’re not too close. in all honestly, hajime’s kind of intimidated by gundham. this guy dresses super scary and actively associates himself with demons and the occult….. it’s a little offputting for him (hajime has never met an alt person before </3 which is such a shame bc he would make a wonderful emo but i digress). overall though, he can tell that gundham cares a lot about his animals and treats them well, so he has respect for him regardless of his reservations. so long as he’s a good person, right? gundham is also dating sonia who comes to visit him at work sometimes (she and chiaki are friends as well, so hajime’s acquainted with her) but that’s all i really have on her right now.

i’ve been trying to think about who would usually run the sunday school. i think chiaki would help, but she wouldn’t be the type to actually teach it. y’know who i think would be fun for that, though? mahiru! this is very not-fleshed-out, but i think she possesses just the right balance of strict and caring to be a good teacher, and i think she’d be good with the woh. i… don’t actually know that much about church structure so i need to research if she’d get a fancy title for being the sunday school teacher, but overall that’s What She Does. of course she’s still best friends with hiyoko, but idk what hiyoko’s deal will be yet so that’ll take some time.

i think jabberwock absolutely has a hanamura diner, owned by a much less creepy teruteru (my au my rules i can fix him if i want) who’s trying to keep the place running to help his mom cover her medical bills. i think it’d be fun if imposter works there (i . may have to give them a name now that i’m thinking about it) but that’s a very young idea, needs time to germinate

that’s all i got for now! a little bit of worldbuilding, a little bit of making jabberwock feel like a real town. yah 👍 oh idea i just got now. what if chiaki works at a local arcade….. the kind that’s old and kinda musty…. yeaahhhh

[bigtittiecomitte]

[Small Rant!]

(Hope this is alright!! Sorry for my ask being so long and all over the place, but I just had so much to say!)

I honestly might leave the fandom, I'm REALLY tempted to at this point. Because, I don't know how much more of this toxicity, the behavior of Envy and V stans (NOT ALL, BTW) and the Nuzi hatedom, I can take..especially knowing that Envy and V stans are doing the same thing they did back when episode 6 released, attacking and harassing Liam Vickers + sending death threats...it's absolutely disgusting and unacceptable and shouldn't be normalized, AT ALL. These individuals who are doing this aren't real fans of the show and don't care about it, they don't give a shit about the love, dedication and care that goes into Murder Drones or all the hard work that goes into the show. They only care about wether their ship becomes canon or not and if they don't get what they want, they start harassing and shitting on the crew behind the show, especially the creator (Liam) and say they don't wanna watch the show anymore and it just proves they were probably NEVER fans in the first place and only cared about shipping and that's just so damn sad, it's especially pathetic and childish how some of these fans act..

I've said it before and I'll say it once more, SHIPPING ISN'T EVERYTHING, STOP MAKING IT A BIG DEAL. There's so much more to love and appreciate about the Murder Drones and there's so much to love about the show and shipping shouldn't be something you should even go into and look forward to when getting into any piece of media, MD isn't even a romance show. I'm overall just so damn tired and sick of this fandom, like REALLY TIRED..it's just so damn draining and exhausting especially when the same arguments are used again and again. The fandom just sucks and I fear it'll only get worse and I really don't know if I can stay for much longer. (I'm seriously missing the pilot-era days when the fandom was small and not that bad) but even though the community isn't the best, I'm glad we have some respectful and caring individuals in the fanbase like you and others, I honestly don't think the fandom isn't as bad here as it is on both TikTok and Twitter, the MD fandom side of things on Tumblr is more tame compared to the other social medias I mentioned.

Overall, MD is such a comfort show for me and has had such a huge impact on me, it's seriously one of my favorite shows, I'm not even joking. I'm incredibly thankful and happy for it's existence and also thankful to Liam, GLITCH, the animators, the VA's and just the entire team as a whole for making such a great and wonderful show! It means so much to me and I'll never stop loving it despite it's ups and downs + the community not being the best at times, I'm truly thankful for this show and those I've met in the fandom. ❤️💞

Hey you Dorky goober

No need to apologise for the long rant. Generally I adore long rants so win win for both of us (if anyone does need to rant about something then I’ll totally be here for you, I know what it feels like to not rant about something but you really do)

With you thinking about leaving the fandom due to the toxicity honestly I would not blame you at all. I’m someone who’s comfort ship is Nuzi so just seeing any hate would make me think about it for the rest of the day

Usually what I do when I see any toxicity is just laugh at it, laugh at how stupid their take is. Recently I had a fight with this Lesslie person and all I did was laugh at how silly it was like bro was getting aggressive bc people preferred Nuzi

I’m trying not to dogpile on toxic V fans + Envy shippers cause I don’t want to seem too obsessive over drama but for some reason it always gets worse

There are toxic Nuzi shippers but there aren’t as many as toxic Envy shippers like never in my life have I seen an Envy shipper getting doxxed because they like Envy. For some reason it’s always the toxic Envy shippers that make this fandom miserable

I don’t think they even know that they’re toxic shippers and desperately need to leave the fandom, most of them are kids but that never excuses any actions that they do because it’s the internet, once you post something it’s there forever

Murder Drones has so much in store than just romance and I’m saying this as someone who mostly posts Nuzi related things although I really do want to post more about the lore and I even planned for a full post on the details (I was pretty busy so I didn’t complete that but it’s in the drafts lol)

Not only the lore but just Murder Drones in general, the romance is great but so is the show, just everything about this show is filled with so much love and you can tell just by all the silly things they put in the backgrounds and the writing by Liam

Like the N x Uzi scenes are just small scenes like they’re put in different places but it works because the show isn’t focused on romance. I do think people forget that the N x Uzi scenes are quite literally important for the plot as well, it’s not just there for fanservice. Liam knows what he’s doing and anyone that tells him otherwise can go fuck off honestly

There are bad people but there are also a lot of good people in this fandom, a lot that do appreciate Murder Drones for even continuing. Screw whatever those 13 year olds on Twitter say, they don’t know crap about respect

[evenmoreofadisaster]

Okay okay 2 hypotheticals and one universe question

1. If one/two looked into the mirror of erised (Harry Potter magic mirror that shows someone their deepest desires) what would they see?

2. If they were in a hunger games scenario would one make sure he and two got to the end and then sacrifice himself (or at least have that be his plan) and would two know that was his plan and come up with a different one or would he be blindsided? (Also would either of them come up with the bluff of both “dying together” in order to survive?)

Lore/universe question

1. Are one and two actually completely unable to access their ninpo at this point? Like I read the q&a response from the rise writer on Twitter recently and he answered the weapons they got originally were more conduits for the existing abilities the turtles have and I wondered if it was similar in the emd universe or different or maybe something undetermined? (If it’s too spoiler specific feel free to just say undetermined so we don’t know if it’s undetermined to you guys or to us right now the readers!)

ooh great questions!

I think One would see Two living happily with the Hamatos + April. Above all, he truly wants Two to be safe and happy and I think somewhere deep down he knows that he can't provide the kind of love and stability that Two needs to have a good life (he still tries though). Two would probably see the ideal version of himself, which would change throughout the story in the details, but overall just be a respected and useful individual. Right now, he'd see a version of himself that is understood by Draxum and an equal to One.

2. HUNGER GAMES. One would definitely have a plan to get him and his brother through the games. If Raph and Mikey are involved, then he probably wouldn't tell Two his ENTIRE plan (assuming Two still wants Raph and Mikey alive). If they're not involved, as long as One knows that Two will be on the same page then One would probably inform him of the plan. HONESTLY though I wouldn't be surprised when they're the last ones standing that Two would double cross One--- mind you, One would probably see it coming so they do wind up fighting each other. I think it depends on what the stakes are though 'cause they'd definitely beat each other up but I don't think they'd go through with killing each other unless the stakes were really high--- but even in that case, One would probably just give up bc he won't kill his brother. Two might come close to it but I don't think he'd be able to go through with it. in the end, they band together and take out the whole organization lmao. Two would blow up the walls.

LORE:

Yes, they are. No ninpo for them. In EMD, the mystic weapons already have some kind of magic on their own, but the ninpo sort of enhances the weapon's abilities, which is why One can still use the portals. He just can't make huge portals and he can't do what Leo was able to do in season 2 or the movie. Any of Two's mystics comes from his mystic crystals, which he uses to make awesome stuff. But yeah, no ninpo, and, to him, that's a very big very bad flaw in their mutation. He's spent a lot of time and resources trying to fix it, even though Draxum doesn't really expect him to. So you can imagine why it's so jarring when their fellow Alpha 9 mutants seem to use their mystic powers just fine :)

[eternalpassions]

how do you feel about people who don't agree with you, your opinions or the ships you like? Do you feel strange interacting with them? Cause the things you wish for are the opposite of the things you wish for? Like the ship you like. Seeing yume together would make zeki cry and vice versa, literally. It seems like people are really passionate about fictional ships and characters and hate on real people for them. So how is it for you?

It depends on how deep I am into the ship honestly

I used to get really triggered at zeki’s opinions and hate about yume. I think something about this story touched me on a personal level and so hearing the hate touched me personally so it would make me uncomfortable to even think of being friends with zeki’s

I am a lot more rational about it now. I have some zeki moots who I think are very cool and good people. And they mutually respect my shipping preferences and have a good non biased view of the story. However, those zeki’s are still pretty rare and I still don’t feel comfortable with being friends with the ones who post the hardcore anti Kaname opinions.

I don’t get triggered by zeki anymore and I can even say I like some things about the ship. I don’t really get triggered by zeki in vkm anymore unless it would be something drastic that retcons the story like the troll anons I get lol. Certain things in vkm annoyed me but overall I got used to zeki being together but at the same time I am relieved that part of the story is over now.

I’m basically okay with zeki’s who are respectful but the ones who aren’t make me uncomfortable and I would rather not interact with them. I still have some of them blocked bc of how deeply uncomfortable they made me and still would make me feel. I do not cry seeing zeki together but many of them would cry seeing yume together so the feelings aren’t returned. I just don’t feel comfortable interacting with those people knowing I try to be understanding while the effort is never reciprocated with them and they continue to engage in toxic behaviors like changing the wiki, sending troll asks, how they harassed shippers and Hino, how the still change the wiki on Ai and yume’s pages. I just can’t deal with people like that

Thanks

[tojikai]

okay so i know i said i’d have a full review but it’s coming i promise lmao. but i had to say this due to some revelations in your answered ask.

- i still think gojo chose naomi bc its easier for one (bc to have that perspective of love like people don’t fight a lot and that arguing doesn’t exist is peak delusional behavior). the second one is bc she’s giving him more attention (and from my experience guys fold when it comes to attention especially from someone who encourages their bad behavior) and bc of reader’s monster-in-law gojo’s mom bc from personal experience if the mom is heavily involved in his life he will disregard your feelings for her even if she is wrong or just overall a bad person (i still think the timeline is sus i know you said he didn’t cheat but i’m still sideyeing it and have doubts bc of how permanent mark unfolded 😭) he is deliberately ignoring his responsibility to me over his ego. he couldn’t commit to trying to actually reconcile with his baby mom even after telling her to keep the baby only to leave for someone else, which is the number one issue for me bc she didn’t have to go through this if he wasn’t so selfish and a shit person. then is trying to propose to someone he left is baby mom for who hasn’t even been with him for a year and is actively thinking about more kids when he doesn’t even respect his baby’s mom and doesn’t know how to coparent. honestly just throw him away, just leave reader and yui alone fake love isn’t needed atp. for crying out loud you trying to have another kid after all of this too!!! i can’t with this slut 🙄 (bc guys can be sluts too)

- also him wanting to do better only due to the threat of his image to his daughter eyes is screaming narcissist like really big narc vibes. idk how he will be redeemed in my eyes since it just seems like he has overall issues with accountability and ego. i just feel like he’s trying to be better for the wrong reasons. like what about the reader she kept the baby bc of you and now you’re on demon time torturing her for something you wanted. i’m not as strong as reader, i would have already went no contact or just unalived and trusted her care to someone else that i trusted.

also have a question… if naomi knew what the reader dealt with that night would she still want him or would she break up with him bc she can’t be that dumb to realize that if he can do that to the reader then what are the chances of it happening to her? marriage isn’t permanent all the time that’s why divorce exists. and even if reader had money she would still have the issue she does now bc the education isn’t the biggest issue. it’s sluttoru

- paragraph/theory anon

wow, this is amazing, i enjoyed reading it. i like the part where u mentioned that perspective of love where people don't fight a lot is very delusional. i definitely agree w that. nothing worth having comes easy, so fight 😉 i love it. and the attention one too !! as for your question, i think it's gonna be answered in part 4 !! thank u so much for this, paragraph nonnie~ it's such an interesting read !!

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Thoughts on Natsai and Poppy then? Also does legacy have a Ravenclaw companion bc I don’t think I’ve seen anything for them.

Amit Thakkar. He is too adorable for words and I love him. But, sadly, I'm not surprised you haven't heard of him. For whatever reason, he isn't really a full companion character, at least not to the same level as Poppy, Natty, or Sebastian. He basically just. Dips. After one quest. He chooses to withdraw rather than participate, if I understand correctly, and doesn't even get his own quest-line. (If I am mistaken about any of this, I welcome corrections in the comments/reblogs. Again, I've not played, only going off Youtube footage.)

But it's certainly a little upsetting and just overall disappointing. Because it feels as though once again, Ravenclaw is getting the shaft for no identifiable reason. Even Hufflepuff is now more socially relevant than it used to be, what with the introduction of Newt Scamander and all. Ravenclaw has become the forgotten house, most casual fans don't even know that it's colors are blue and bronze. That it's sigil is the Eagle, not the Raven. (Yeah, thanks for that, movies...) And it upsets me on their behalf. Ah well. At least they still get far and away the coolest Common Room, and no one can take that away from them.

But enough about that, onto the others! I know very little about their stories, only bits and pieces based on clips that I've seen. I don't generally care about spoilers but I am enjoying Akemi Stormborn's Let's Play as it comes out, so there's that. All I can say is that I would die for both of these characters. Natty is delightful and even though she seems entirely calm, she is surprisingly down to fight for The Fifth Year, almost right from the get-go. She is such a boss. And can I just say that I. Respect. Poppy. I love her, I adore that little sweetie, but I also respect her. Especially given her origins, to be where she is now...she almost reminds me of Finn from Star Wars. Either way, whether it's an Animagus or an Animal Right Activist, I love me some critters and as a result, both of these characters endear themselves to me.

[messymindofmine]

So this is just something I need to say to get off my chest. It is not meant to be attacking or insulting anyone.

I know that many of us have all the reason in the world to be extremely angry with the writers after this season. I also totally understand why some people are just too afraid to get their hopes up after this season. That said, I do feel that perhaps some of the criticism that is flung at the writers is not entirely warranted. For example, I’ve seen people say that the way karate is represented in the show is unrealistic. However, I would argue that this is the whole point. The whole point of both Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do is that they are completely unique styles that are not a part of traditional karate. I actually feel that the show has done a pretty good job of expanding on the roots of both styles while remaining respectful to the art itself. Same with the movies for that matter. It is also important to remember that this is a tv show at the end of the day and shows and movies will always provide some level of mysticism or glamor to certain things bc that is what garners interest. After all, there are dojos within the show (like Topanga) that stick to traditional karate but we aren’t interested in those beyond the odd joke. Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do are made to be different from traditional styles, that is why they are at war. And I will say that I have seen a lot of professional martial artists praising the way the show has portrayed it and particularly praising Tanner for his performance so clearly they are doing something right. People also compare the movies to the show and say that the show is worse. However, let’s bear in mind that while movies have one major arc with a limited amount of characters and a set ending, tv shows have multiple seasons which requires multiple arcs and a much larger amount of actors, all of whom have their own individual characteristics and while there can be a set ending, there is no way of knowing when the ending will come and so it makes it harder for viewers to gage the content as a whole. While the writers of this show are not perfect, they have actually done a very good job of remaining consistent with the characterizations and with the overall story even if it’s in ways that we as the audience don’t always like. However, just bc we don’t like something doesn’t make it bad writing and it’s important to remember that writers are not as beholden to fan service as it may seem they are. Writers have a story to tell and they will tell it. Sure there may be moments of fan service along the way especially as a show continues beyond the first or second season but that is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, those of us who want a happy ending for Robby are also requesting fan service. Sure, what we are requesting is actually the right thing but it is technically fan service in its own right. 

Now, this particular point is more of a general observation that I have had of fandoms in general. I feel that people often look for things to be angry about. This is not meant to target any person in particular and is not even necessarily a criticism of this fandom in particular. It is just something that I have noticed and as someone who specializes in the field of media literacy and representation, it is not something that I can stay quiet on. One of the first things those of us who study media are taught is that there is a difference between critical thinking and criticism. Criticism is when you see something you perceive as wrong and label it as such without really thinking about if your own thoughts on it may not be entirely accurate. The truth is, if we look at a show and only criticize what we see without even delving into whether or not our perception of it is even completely accurate, we are only ruining our own enjoyment. Critical thinking is when you look at a piece of media and analyze it. Yes, criticism can be a part of it but that’s not all there is to it. It’s about looking at the piece and analyzing just what it is we are seeing. Thinking about why a certain scene played out the way it did and how that adds up to the story as a whole. What the real intentions were behind it bc every single scene and piece of dialogue goes through an insane amount of editing before it is even filmed so if something makes it into the final product, it is there for a reason. It is also about examining our own biases and how they might be affecting our perception on what we are seeing. Just to be clear, we all have biases, it’s just a matter of putting them aside when analyzing things. For example, I have always thought that they way Robby is treated by the fandom is reflective of the way our society treats kids like him. Media has a way of holding up a mirror to our society and whether it was the writers intentions to do so or not, that is exactly what this show has done. People love to feel sorry for abused children when those children exist only as a picture in their minds but when that child is real and shows their hurt and anger at the way they have been treated, the same people will turn on them bc they are “too angry.” That is what we have seen with Robby. People like Robby now bc he appears to have fully submitted to Johnny and everyone else despite the hurt they have inflicted on him and thus he is now considered likeable when before he was just too angry even though all Robby had done was express the hurt he felt. Now he is no longer doing that and people are happy. This is just like what can be seen in real life. 

This leads me onto my next point. I totally get why people are so angry at the writers. Believe me I am too. Since the season dropped, all I have wanted to do is storm the writers room and give them a piece of my mind. It almost doesn’t even matter what their true intentions are for Robby when the way they have framed and marketed the narrative makes him out to be the one who is wrong and makes light of his suffering. That said, upon rewatching, there are things that lead me to believe that there is more to Robby’s arc this season than what I had initially believed. And Robby does have an arc this season despite what it feels like. It is an awful and painful arc but it is an arc nonetheless. I could list all the moments that made me believe there was more to the story but that would just take too long so I will just state one. The moment when Johnny and Miguel are talking about Miguel and Sam and Robby makes that crack about fatherly advice. Bearing in mind that Robby had broken up with his girlfriend as well and Johnny didn’t say a single word to him about it beyond that “bitchy mood” comment and even then it was directed at both him and Miguel. Sure, when Johnny starts sputtering his defenses, Robby says that he’s just messing with him but if we are meant to believe that Robby no longer holds any hurt or anger and that everything is hunky-dory between him, Johnny and Miguel now then why include that comment in the first place? It is also important to remember that when we talk about our hopes for Robby, we are talking about an endgame that hasn’t happened yet. While I personally am not a fan of shows going on for too long, I can actually see the potential for a couple of more seasons of this show if it means a happy ending for Robby. For shows that go beyond five seasons, s5 tends to serve as a catalyst for something bigger in the seasons after it. I have seen this before with other shows. I know there were some things that felt really rushed this season but let’s remember that this season was shot the same year as s4 which is not something that was meant to happen. Obviously, the pandemic things up and that meant that the writers had to rush to get s5 out by the usual date in September especially since s4 had already been delayed to December. But this also opens the show up for more seasons where things can change. After all this time that Robby has spent in misery, it would make sense to spread his healing over the span of one or two whole seasons. 

There is also the issue of hostile media phenomenon. Essentially, this means that when people feel that a piece of media is against them, they view everything about it as being bad. Now, I personally feel that a lot of us have plenty of reason to believe that the show is against us after this season and it is really hard to see beyond that feeling sometimes. I am certainly not going to tell anyone who feels that way that they should do a rewatch and analyze things deeper bc the fact of the matter is, the anger a lot of us are feeling is totally valid. That said, I would still advise people to be careful about making assumptions. Our anger at seeing certain things can, as I said before, lead us to look for things to be angry about. After having watched the show from s1 multiple times and going as far as too take notes as I watch, I have to admit that I feel that a lot of the criticism that I see is rather unwarranted. Of course, everybody is entitled to their opinion but I can’t help but feel that by getting angry or criticizing everything about the show, we are actually doing ourselves a disservice. Let’s remember that there is a reason why we started watching the show to begin with. Even if we stick around for certain characters, let’s remember that those characters were created by the writers. Robby was created by the writers for a reason and I doubt it was just to inflict misery on him. If that had been the case, it would have been a lot less effort on the writers part to just never have included him in the first place. It’s important to look at things with a combination of the Doylist and Watsonian perspective bc that offers up a much richer understanding. Robby is quite frankly the one of the best characters that I have ever seen anywhere and as far as I’m concerned the best character in this whole damn show. There is a reason he is the way he is, it didn’t just happen by accident. All I am trying to say is that it’s ok to be upset at what we are seeing but we can only blame the writers so much. Ultimately, we as the audience make our own decisions as to how we view things and characters and there are those of us (granted we are few and far inbetween) that do get Robby so clearly it is not impossible. However, as I said early on in this post, media has a way of holding up a mirror to our society so as horrible as seeing the hate Robby gets is, it doesn’t surprise me at all and I can’t even entirely blame the writers for that

[stargazer-balladeer]

Jealousy [Genshin Impact]

Characters Included: Kaeya Alberich, Diluc Ragnvindr, Venti & Razor

Notes: Heyo! I was inspired to do this while playing Genshin Impact. Sorry if some may seem OOC, especially Razor’s. Hope ya’ll enjoy this and have a lovely day. 

Reader’s Gender: Neutral

Warnings: None

Kaeya Alberich

— I can see him as someone whose jealous not that often. Like he’s actually more amuse at the fact that someone is flirting with you when its obvious you’re dating the cryo-wielder knight.

— This guy is so chill (pun not intended) ngl. He leaves you be because he knows you can defend yourself from them. Though he will tease you afterwards.

— It just shows how much trusts he has in you. He loves to initiate affectionate things like hugging or kissing or picking you up bridal style. So pretty much everyone in Mondstadt knows you two are together by this.

— But if he sees that someone is clearly making you uncomfortable, its time for him to intervene. He will smoothly slide to your side, with a hand on your waist pressing you to his side, while smiling (or smirking) at the person. He will act his cheery self until that person takes a hint and go away.

— If you started hanging out with Diluc more often, he wouldn’t get jealous at all. In fact, he encourages you two to hang out. He loves the idea of his (adopted) brother and partner getting along. Though if you start hanging out with the pyro-weilder more often, Kaeya will surely drag you away to make you notice him. Leaving an bemused Diluc behind.

— Overall, Kaeya isn’t gonna be jealous, even if you tried.

Diluc Ragnvindr

— I can see him being more of a jealous-type than Kaeya but not too much. Like he trusts you to not leave for another.

— If you start to hang out with opposite gender, Diluc would leave it be. He lets you have the freedom you want. But if he sees that you’ve been hanging out with them a bit too much, then he’ll get jealous.

— How is he when he’s jealous? He grumbles while glaring at the person from afar. You can also see a pout on his face as he stares (reads: glares) down at the person. This usually leads to someone (ie: Kaeya) to tease him, much to Diluc’s dismay.

— Diluc wouldn’t say anything about it, since we all know he’s not much of a talker. He usually do something to attract your attention to get his daily dose of affection from you (like tugging on the back of your shirt, twirling a strand of your hair, or just standing in front of you). But unlike before, when he’s jealous, he’s much more affectionate. Like he’ll initiate a hug or kiss (or maybe sex) with you. But expect him to be blushing while doing it.

— You can instantly know when he’s jealous. Please don’t tease him though lol

— He is not a person who easily meddle with other people, especially your’s, affairs. But when he sees that someone is clearly making you uncomfortable, he wouldn’t hesitate to stand in front of you and stare at the person. No matter who it is, they’ll take a hint and run away (well, except for people like Kaeya or Lisa).

— The person he’s jealous of is none other than Kaeya. He is instantly a bad mood when he sees his adopted brothed talking to his significant other. He likes the idea yes, but he prefers with distance and not THAT close! He would definitely push Kaeya back, pick you up and bring you somewhere (preferrably at his house) while leaving a laughing Kaeya.

— Overall, it’s easy to make him jealous.

Venti

— He’s an easily-jealous guy, even though he’s a God 😐. Out of all the guys here, he’s the one whose easily jealous. (Let’s hope that this wouldn’t turn into a Yandere one 😐)

— Venti spends the last 500 years all by himself, so of course he wants your undivided attention. But he knows that its important in the human cycle to gain and lose people, so whenever you hang out with other people, he’ll pout and sulk but he understands.

— But he usually just join you and the person you’re hanging out with, it goes two ways. One, the other person being uncomfortable in Venti’s presence or, two, a trio hang out :)

— Venti is jealous of most people since he knows the sad truth that you’ll someday leave him to find another of your kin or die. Venti is scared of these possibilities. And that resulted in him being so insecure.

— He might comes off as clingy but please don’t leave him 🥺 He just doesn’t want you to leave him just yet.

— Believe it or not, he’s actually jealous of the Traveler, Aether (the male protagonist). For some reason, whenever he sees you two together, it sets a horrible feeling in his stomach. He hates it.

— Venti loves affection, just like Kaeya, but much more extreme. So expect him suddenly kissing you out of nowhere and hugging you unexpectedly. If you’re shorter than him, expect him to wrap his arms around your waist with his head on top of yours and sway you left and right. I can’t help but gush at how cute it all seems.

— Anyway, if he sees someone making you uncomfortable, he will appear next to you, smiling innocently, as he begans to talk with that person. I don’t think anyone would take him seriously so whoever that person is would ignore him. Venti would probably get annoyed at that, so you might need to drag him away before he could give that person a “piece of his mind”.

— If he sees you hanging out with Aether, he will definitely sulk or whine about it. If he sees someone else, let’s say Diluc, he would pout but wouldn’t whine. He grew to respect Master Diluc ever since the Dvalin’s incident. Besides, free drink :D

— Overall, he’s easily jealous and it wouldn’t be hard to make him jealous.

Razor

— I recently got him and just got his mission (bc I just finished the Dvalin’s Prologue thing), so yeah. Sorry if he’s a bit OOC.

— He doesn’t understand the emotions very well, since you know, he was raised by wolves. But I feel like he’ll be easily jealous, he just doesn’t understand what that feeling is.

— So if you start to hanging out with other people, he would feel lonely and (actually) envious. He will pout but wouldn’t call your attention, instead, just watches you from the shadows.

— Razor can’t talk fluently and actually doesn’t like to talk since it’s hard for him. So he prefers just doing the action, albeit similar to Diluc in a way. Though you might need to teach him how to do some things about being a couple.

— He’s jealous of everyone, not even the same gender is out of his list. He’s jealous because of how fun you seem to be having with them than with him, and how you look so animated while talking.

— Razor’s an insecure wolf boi, so he might copy what other people are doing with you. Like intertwining your hands, hugging you from behind and other things. He might also start giving you things like meat, flowers, etc.

— You might need to reassure him that you wouldn’t leave him all because of his “unique” traits.

— If he sees someone making you uncomfortable, he would raise a brow while frowning, clearly not knowing what’s happening. Yet despite this, he decided to go near you and ask if you need help. The other person might mock him because of his “language” and appearance. This time, it’ll be him trying to drag you away.

— If he sees you hanging out with someone else, he would follow you and that person around. He’s actually quite sneaky when following you, with a few close-calls. Though you might catch on once you notice a strand of light blue hair sticking out of a rock.

— Please just ask him to join :)

— Overall, he’s a jealous-envious kind of person.

[x] Main Page || [x] Mondstadt Page

[cdroloisms]

uhhhh ,, , hi ??

i feel bad bc i havent been here in. LITERALLY forever lmao - hope you guys r all doing good!! ive been working on some stuff but it’s been pretty slow going, and school is also A Thing, so i definitely havent been writing as much as i’d like. 

as an apology, have this? really self-indulgent feel-good syndicate + c!dream centric oneshot bc i felt like writing this so u know. why not. 

tws: implied torture, abuse, self-harm, disordered eating, starvation mentions, prison arc themes - overall everything’s just blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mentions, not too much angst here for once! c!sam and c!quackity critical, sorry guys but we r still in the prison arc and they still r on their “fuck human rights” arcs. 

Dream leaves.

 It’s a surprise - or maybe it isn’t one, Niki isn’t quite sure. She’d never grown to quite trust the man, she knows, and she can’t really tell if the bitter twist of emotion that swells up her chest when Phil comes to her city with the news is betrayal or resignation - what can she say. She’s gotten more than her fair share of broken promises. They don’t exactly faze her anymore. 

 None of them seem all that surprised, save Techno, who entirely fails to hide the worry that flickers over his face when he calls the Syndicate meeting to officially inform them of what’s going on. She shares quick, careful glances with the other members when his back is turned - despite how many times he’s been burned, Techno still seems so adamant at holding onto every thread, trusting all too easily those who would use and leave him behind without a second glance. He can handle himself, she knows. Still, that’s not going to stop her from slapping Dream upside the head for being yet another worthless person to betray her friend’s forgiving nature. 

 Nothing much changes in the next few weeks. Niki has to admit, it’s strange without Dream around - he’d not been an ally, much less a friend before dipping completely, but he had been some sort of constant - and Niki is self aware enough to know that she misses him, a little, the same sort of way you might miss an old routine once it’s gone, if only for the familiarity. She still visits Techno and Phil with various baked goods, knowing that Phil would have his hands full just keeping Techno from running himself ragged - makes sure to check on Ranboo, whose nerves have inevitably returned with Dream’s disappearance. To be honest, she doesn’t worry as much as he does - ally or not, she’s spent enough time with the Dream that had left prison to expect that he won’t exactly be able to get himself very far should he come for the four of them, and doesn’t particularly care about he might pull with the rest of the server - if things get bad, she’s sure Phil and Techno will have it handled. She asks Phil, once, what happened, and he shrugs. 

 “I don’t know, mate,” he heaves a chest to the side, pulling out a stack of stone blocks that Niki gladly holds for him. “One day we woke up and he was just- gone. Everything. Was like he wasn’t ever there at all.” 

 Niki hums. “Why’d you think he’d do something like that?” 

 “If I could understand half of why Dream does what he does, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now, would we?” He smiles at her from behind a crate. “Shall we bring these things upstairs and start on dinner?” 

 Niki laughs, knowing that the conversation about Dream is over. “Of course, Phil.” 

Dinner is a welcome distraction; all of them have gotten better at cooking in recent months, between her baking and the veritable library of recipes Phil knows that she’s never even heard of, but Phil is still the only one she really trusts to hold his own behind the stove - Ranboo is still a little too nervous around water, and fire, and much of everything, and though Techno can be a perfectly capable cook, he’s been distracted as of late. She has a strong feeling that left to his own devices, he’d just grab a stack of steak and disappear for another few weeks, searching the server for information. 

 Honestly, she’s a little thrown off by his behavior - he’d not done anything like this with Tommy, if she remembers right, and had hardly seemed affected by Wilbur’s betrayal on the Sixteenth at all (then again, she was a little too lost in her own head to notice if he was.) She tosses her head over to ask Phil, who’s leaning over a few carrots he’s slicing to throw into the stew he’s making, and the man pauses, frowns. 

 “From what I know,” he starts, words slow, careful, “they’d spent three months in there together, and the conditions weren’t exactly- stellar. According to what Techno said, I’d assumed they had come to some sort of understanding.” He goes back to the carrots, expression dipping into shadow and out of sight. “Guess I was wrong.” 

 Niki hums. She can see it, sort of - spending months together with someone, no matter how insufferable, probably would end with some degree of attachment - she thinks back to plotting through sleepless nights with Jack, anger and grief leaving them simmering, crabs in the same pot of boiling water, remembers looking into his dead-eyed gaze and seeing her own stare back - and feels a brief pang of guilt. Besides, Techno is Techno. She’d never met someone so willing to forgive, understand, reach out despite everything that’s happened - for Dream to take advantage of that feels almost too obvious. Of course he would - what were they all thinking?

 “He’s Dream,” she says as if that explains everything, flipping open the oven door and feeling a wave of heat blast her face. Phil hums lowly, understanding. “I hope Techno will be alright.” 

 “He’s tough,” Phil cracks a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, “And he has us on his side. He’ll get through.” 

 Niki opens her mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by the front door slamming open. Outside their quaint little cottage, the wind howls - it sounds like the beginning of a blizzard out there, flurries painting the world in a thick blanket of white. In the door, Techno strides into the entrance with loud, decisive movements, shutting the door loud enough to make the walls shake. Inadvertently, Niki finds her eyes drawn to the small pile of snow that he’s tracked into the house - Techno’s usually so careful to kick it all off on the porch, never liked it much when there was a pile of melting ice and snow dampening the floorboards and soaking into his shoes. He huffs harshly, stripping off a snow-dusted scarf from his face - a long, multicolored abomination that had been the product of her attempting to teach Ranboo how to knit. Phil has reached his side, hands splayed over his upper arms, eyes soft in the corners from concern. 

 “Techno, mate-” his tone is chiding but his movements gentle as he brushes snow off of Techno’s signature cloak, “you’ve gotten snow everywhere. What were you doing, dueling a blizzard?” 

 Techno shakes his head, not meeting Phil’s banter as usual, fur sticking up from the snow melted into it. His voice is gruff and holds little humor - unconsciously, Niki feels her shoulders tense. 

 “Phil, call a Syndicate meeting.”

 ---

 Phil, per usual, is unrelenting, so it’s not until a quick dinner and some hurried messages to their final member later that the Syndicate is gathered in their meeting room, Techno pacing the length of the room as they wait in their respective seats. He looks less frazzled than he did when he first entered the house, in part due to Phil’s sitting him down to eat and picking through his fur to smooth it out of its windblown spikes and tangles - Techno had grumbled at him to stop preening him, but looked a lot more relaxed by the time they were all finished with their food. Still, his ear flicks periodically, twitching toward ssome sound that Niki can’t hear, movements tighter and jerkier than she is used to. He’d always been a little flightier after the prison, but not quite like this - everything here feels like that but dialed up to eleven. Inexplicably, it reminds her of Dream. 

 “Techno?” Phil gestures towards his seat, prompting, and he settles into it with an obliging huff. 

 “Y’know, Phil, the code names are kinda pointless if we never use ‘em,” he says, words carrying no real heat - he looks back at the rest of them, lips thinning into a line. “Anyway. I called this meeting because I found a couple leads on Dream.” 

 “O-oh,” Ranboo stutters, tail lashing behind him. 

 “You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to, mate,” Phil reminds him gently, a sentiment that Niki affirms with a determined nod. 

 “There’ve been some reports- rumors, really,” Techno says, calling their attention again, and they all turn towards him, “of increased activity around the prison again. The Warden spending more time on its grounds, movement seen around the walls and around the portal- so I decided to go check it out for myself.” 

 Niki frowns, and watches as Phil does the same beside her - Techno had seemed to avoid the prison if he could help it, save for when he went on the initial mission to break Dream out. It was no secret to them that he didn’t exactly like the place. 

 “We could’ve helped if you asked,” Phil reminds him, and Techno shakes his head. 

 “I know, Phil. It’s just- that place is bad news. I’d rather keep you guys away from there if I can-” his hand goes to his head with a poorly hidden wince. “Sorry, Chat’s a little- worked up, at the minute.” 

 “Sorry, we’ll stop interrupting you,” Niki says, cutting off Phil before he says anything else. “So you went to the prison?” 

 Techno takes a second to gather his thoughts, mumbling quietly in the way that usually means he’s telling off Chat. “Right- I decided to stake out the portal. The rumors were right- Sam has been hanging around there, entered and left the prison four times yesterday. And today-” he hesitates, expression visibly darkening. “This morning, about an hour after the Warden arrived, Quackity came to the prison and went through the portal. He left the grounds about six hours later.” 

 “Quackity?” Niki frowns, eyes flicking over to how Phil has stilled in his seat. “What is Quackity doing at the prison?” 

 Phil ignores her question, reaching towards Techno, something indiscernible in his gaze. “Mate…”

 “He smelled of blood when he left,” Techno says, words sharp, and Niki feels her heart skip a beat. “Warden left about half an hour after, and I came back here.” 

 Ranboo clears his throat, sounding tentative. “Okay,” he drums his hand on the table when they turn towards him, eyebrows drawn, “but what, exactly, does this have to do with, uh, Dream?” 

 Techno and Phil trade glances, one of their bouts of unspoken conversation that Niki’s grown extremely used to. They seem strangely hesitant, she notes internally, Phil looking towards Techno with a question written clearly in the planes of his face. Techno sighs, a long puff of air through his lips as he closes his eyes and turns his face towards the table. 

 “You know how Dream was- injured,” he starts slowly, looking back up at them. Niki shifts uncomfortably - of course she noticed, it was impossible not to - if not the bandages that peeked under his sleeves and the cuffs of his pants, then how skinny he’d been, all skin and bones curled up uncomfortably in a pile at the corner of Techno’s couch. She’d not know the extent, by any means, and had always assumed that they’d been self-inflicted - she’d been in a bad enough place on her own before to know how your head can make you want to hurt, sometimes, how eating food can feel like choking on sawdust and the world could feel so much smaller when focused into delicate pricks of pain. Phil’s eyes are trained on Techno - on his face, then on the pinkish raised skin of a still-healing scar along his forearm, and she feels understanding settle like a rock in her gut. 

 “The Warden had apparently been lettin’ Quackity into the cell to torture Dream for the revive book,” Techno trails off, eyes narrowed and seemingly fixed on a random point of the opposite wall. “By the time I go there, it’d been goin’ on for months.”

 “But wait,” Ranboo’s tail moves even more erratically behind him, “You mean you think he’s back- there? How?” 

 “He has to be back in the prison,” Techno points out. “I can’t imagine anyone besides him that the two of them are goin’ to just start torturin’- Sam had been iffy about the whole thing when Quackity started in on me. It has to be Dream in there again.” 

 “But how did he get in there, then?” Ranboo asks, visibly confused. “Last time it took the entire server to lock him up!”

 “There were no signs of a struggle,” Niki points out, matter of fact. “I believe you, Techno, but I don’t really know how they managed to drag him back so easily. I can’t imagine he was jumping at the chance to go back in there.” 

 Techno shakes his head with an uneasy sigh. 

 “I have a feelin’ of what might’ve happened,” he says quietly. “And I really hope that I’m wrong and he’s less of an idiot than I think he is.” 

 ---

 They set out to investigate - and maybe attack - the next day, Techno and Phil taking on the bulk of preparations as Ranboo stays behind. He’d been understandably uneasy about the whole mission, so they’d left him back by the Syndicate room to set off their pearls in case anything went wrong. (“By the end of the day,” Techno had said, giving Phil a look with the corner of his lip quirked upwards, “don’t be like Phil here and think I meant the end of the month, alright?”) They’d all be supplied with armor and weapons, thanks to Phil, but she’d been handed the bulk of their potions, arranged neatly in her inventory by type in case they’d be needed. She lingers in the back of the room as Phil and Techno chat amiably over the sound of making last minute repairs on their armor, listens to Techno’s ceaseless reminders for Phil to be careful, watches as they make sure that their stasis chambers are properly prepared should they need them.

 (She watches as Phil nudges Techno’s shoulder when he lingers behind a certain chair, empty as long as she’s been part of the Syndicate, the fountain behind it bubbling quietly without a pearl inside. Techno sighs, expression strange. 

 “Should’ve set him up with one,” he says, quiet, and Phil pats him on the back. 

 “You couldn’t have known, mate. We wanted to wait a little before telling him about the Syndicate, remember?” 

 Techno hums, noncommittal. “Still.”)

 They Nether travel to the site of Techno’s lookout, which ends up being a little shambling thing with dirt walls dug into a small hill looking towards the prison portal, having hardly enough space to fit the three of them. Phil looks at it with no small amount of apprehension, and Techno shrugs lightly, wearing an expression that makes Phil turn to him with a look that makes Niki break into giggles. Techno crosses his arms- “in my defense-” and Phil looks up at the dirt ceiling with a long-suffering sigh. 

 “You couldn’t have made this a little roomier, mate?” Phil asks, voice dry as kindling, and Techno raises his hands by his head. 

 “Hey hey, it’s discreet, it gets the job done, it’s perfectly structurally sound-” the sound of the leftmost wall crumbling, along with the cloud of dust that puffs from it and fills their tiny space, undermines the tail end of his statement and leaves him sputtering, Niki falling into another fit of quiet giggles. Underneath it all, Phil sighs again, raising his wings behind him. 

 “...these are going to take so long to clean out.” 

 To his credit, Techno looks sheepish. “Sorry, Phil.”

 They sober up quickly; Techno turns around to the opposite side of the hill, where he’s hidden some peepholes inside the dirt - Niki settles herself by one, leaning forwards to put her eye to it and catch a glimpse of the prison looming over the water. It’s been repaired since the breakout, she notes, the gaping hole in the roof completely gone and replaced with obsidian, as intimidating and undamaged as it had been before, if not more so. Phil makes a considering sound from behind her.

 “Same plan as last time?” He asks, and Techno shakes his head. 

 “They’ve probably reinforced it, and Dream’s blueprints won’t include anything new the Warden’s added. I wouldn’t be surprised if they moved Dream to a different location completely. We don’t want to draw too much attention, either, we were cutting it pretty close during the breakout.” He narrows his eyes. “I was thinking we’d try something a little stealthier, this time. “ 

 He gestures at Niki, who blinks back at him with wide eyes. 

 “You got a couple of invis potions for us?”

 She distributes the potions among them all, one regular and two splash potions of invisibility each, and Techno points towards the prison once she’s done. 

 “The most important thing is to get through the portal,” he says with a grim expression. “Worst comes to worst, once we’re inside we can always blast our way through - but gettin’ through that portal is our first priority.” 

 Phil narrows his eyes at him. “The portal is locked, though. We’ll need to follow someone else inside- and I’m pretty sure Sam uses pearls, so he’s out.” 

 Techno nods. “Which is why I’m bankin’ on the prison gettin’ another visitor today. We’ll just have to wait.” 

 Niki swallows. “Do you mean-”

 “Quackity?” Techno turns away, not quite meeting her eyes. “I’m not totally sure, but he’s not exactly the type to just give up on his goals. He’s pretty predictable- an empire needs an emperor, always needs something new to rule- you know the type,” he says, tipping his head towards Phil. “He’ll be mad at Dream for disappearin’ on him and won’t miss the opportunity to prove he has the upper hand again. I’m not sure that he’s going to come today-”

 “-but you wouldn’t really be surprised, either,” Phil finishes for him, eyes steely with cold determination. “I trust your judgement, mate. Just stay safe- from what I’ve heard, Quackity has been...erratic.” 

 “When is he not,” Techno huffs a short laugh, shaking his head. “I’ll be fine, Phil. Just be careful, both of you. Don’t get too close. And if things get messy- which is what we’re tryin’ to avoid, by the way- then don’t do anything too risky. Our priority is gettin’ in and out alive.” 

 “We can handle ourselves, Techno,” Niki reminds him with a small smile. “And Ranboo is there in case anything goes wrong.” 

 “Alright, then. Here’s the plan.” 

 ---

 It takes quite a long time for Quackity to arrive, long minutes that Niki spends fidgeting in the corner of the room, brushing her hands over seams of the netherite plates that Phil had shoved into her hands, back at the Syndicate room. The set is inexplicably light - not weightless, by any means, as it is still netherite, but not nearly as bulky as any set of netherite armor she’s owned or seen in the past. The runes are precise, lines thin and exact, written with graceful strokes of lapis. 

 “Phil’s the best metalworker I’ve ever met,” Techno tells her with a small grin, catching her in the middle of tracing what she can make out as an Unbreaking rune along the metal strapped to her forearm. “But then again, he’s had the time to practice.” 

 “Are you calling me old again?” Phil huffs, and Techno flashes a smile her direction before looking at Phil with a slight grin. 

 “Well, Chat is,” he says, lips twitching when Phil glares back. 

 “You can’t just blame Chat every time you insult me, you little shit,” Phil groans, and Techno only grins wider. 

 “Phil, my ad revenue,” he complains, a dramatic lilt to his voice that has Niki stifling a snort, and Phil’s glare only grows deadlier. 

 “You’ll have more than your ad revenue to worry about if you keep this up,” he mumbles, going back to keep watch at one of the peepholes and stilling as he does. “Shit- Techno, Quackity’s here.” 

 Techno straightens up, hindered slightly by the low ceiling of their room. “Alright- we all know the plan, right?” 

 Niki nods in the affirmative, pulling out a splash invis and letting it settle in her hand, the glass cool beneath her fingertips. She reaches into her inventory and lets her armor fade into it, takes a deep breath and watches as the two across from her do the same. She doesn’t wear armor often, but so close to the prison, feeling mining fatigue settling deep into her bones - she’s never missed the security it offers more. Techno keeps watch, waiting- drops his arm in a signal. Now. 

 Niki throws the potion at their feet, flinching back at the sound of shattering glass and feeling its effects seep into her skin. When she opens her eyes, she can’t see anything but the inside of the room that they’d holed themselves in and the faintest of wisps rising from where their feet must be, curling around the grass. 

 (Please let this work, she begs to no one in particular as they walk towards the prison. And if you can hear me- please keep us all safe.)

 She hardly breathes as they follow Quackity across the path, holding someone’s hand in her own - Phil’s, by the feel of it - careful to muffle her footsteps in the grass and stand still whenever Quackity’s eyes come a little too close. Thankfully for them, he seems focused, hardly stopping or looking around at all as he walks towards the prison’s portal, movements stiff as he walks forward. He punches the button on the wall particularly harshly, and Sam’s voice comes crackling through a speaker a second later. 

 “I’m here for my visit,” Quackity says, punctuating the sentence with a snort of laughter that doesn’t sound particularly sincere. Niki hasn’t seen him in a long while, not after everything that happened in Pogtopia, and she feels a chill worm down her spine - this man looks nothing like the one that had laughed and danced and sung at her birthday party what feels like an eternity ago. What happened? 

 Sam sighs, the sound turning into a sharp burst of static through the speakers. “Hello Quackity,” he says, voice deep and tired. “Please step into the portal after I tell you to and then wait on the other side.” 

 “I know the drill, Sam,” Quackity rolls his eyes. “Just because the bastard was gone for a few weeks doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten how this damn place works.” 

 “Just going through protocol, Quackity,” Sam replies, and something about this response has Quackity exploding into a brief fit of laughter, the sound grating against Niki’s ears. She feels her grip tighten on Phil’s hand, air caught in her throat. 

 “Protocol- ha. Whatever you wanna tell yourself, pal.” Quackity smiles, cold and cruel, and Niki tries not to think about how she’d seen that same grin on Wilbur, eyes sparkling from the light of the lanterns hung from the bridges and walls of their ravine, remember how she’d looked into them and realized her old friend wasn’t there, anymore. Quackity disappears into the portal, and after a second, the hand around her own pulls her inside of it too.

 On the other side, Quackity taps his foot impatiently, crossing his arms and waiting- Sam’s voice comes through the speakers again, words clipped. 

 “Go through the portal,” he says, and Quackity does- once again, they wait for a second for his body to disappear, then go within it themselves, pressed close enough together within its frame for Niki to feel the warmth of a wing wrap around her shoulders for a quick second before they’re out of the hot, stifling air of the Nether and into a large, neatly made lobby of blackstone and quartz. They duck into a corner, watching as Quackity moves towards the front counter, the Warden waiting there with his arms crossed over his chest. He looks- tired. His movements are slow, footsteps loud against the floor, shoulders tense and back hunched. He walks around the counter, sword strapped to his belt, and Niki feels her breath hitch at the sight of dried blood still stuck to the blade in patches and splatters.

 “He ready?” Quackity asks, holding his hands out - Niki catches a flash of metal as Sam drops something into them, watches as Quackity raises what ends up being a pair of shears, dangerous-looking and gleaming with enchants, to the light. 

 “Yes,” Sam says, side-eyeing Quackity with a small glare. “You know, it’s supposed to be your job to clean those things off when you’re done with them.”

 “I told you, busy day back in Las Nevadas yesterday,” Quackity waves a hand- “I’ll do it, alright? Don’t get all pissy now. What happened to being partners?” 

 “You said we’d be done with this months ago, Quackity,” Sam sighs, and Niki feels a light tug on her arm as Quackity and Sam begin to walk towards the wall to the right of them, breathes in slow and deep as she follows Techno and Phil towards the others. The wall yawns open with the hiss of redstone firing and pistons pulling blocks upwards, opening into a dark hallway that feels like entering the maw of some sort of giant, insatiable beast. They step inside as one, and the door shuts behind them. 

 “We’ll be done soon enough,” Quackity says, and Niki feels hairs rising on the back of her neck. “Trust me.” 

 They stalk forwards through a labyrinth of blackstone, Niki brushing the palms of her hand against her clothes when it goes clammy from adrenaline. Halfway through, she pauses to tip back a second potion of invisibility, careful to keep her movements slow and steady as not to make a sound - the liquid is silvery, cool and light on her tongue, and she lets the effects wash over her with her breath caught in her lungs before moving forward. The tunnels are simpler than she’d expected, bearing little obstacles or checkpoints - Quackity makes a wry comment a second after (“Guard tunnels today, huh? Appreciate the hustle, pal-”) that confirms her suspicions. Despite the potion particles still whirling around their bodies and the sounds of their footsteps, too loud in her own ears, they manage to make it forwards without much trouble, entering a large room with a doorway filled completely with a curtain of lava. 

 “Set your spawn,” Sam says, still stoic, and Quackity rolls his eyes again before doing as told. Niki keeps looking back at the lava flowing past the wall, its heat filling the room and making her already slick palms even worse, and Sam moves to the side to flick a lever, eyes trained on the lava slowly bubbling in front of him. 

 “Give me your tools?” Quackity asks, and Sam sighs before doing so - Niki watches as he hands over a netherite axe, then potions, then a few raw potatoes that Quackity accepts and puts into his inventory. Sam raises an eyebrow once he’s done, hand tight around the handle of his trident. 

 “You bring your own sword, today?” He asks, seeming irritated, and Quackity shrugs. 

 “Sorry pal, I need to make a new one. Guess I’m borrowing yours again.” 

 Sam sighs again, louder, and hands over his sword as well, watching as Quackity swings it a few times experimentally. The blade skims a little too close to her on one swing and she can’t quite help the squeak that escapes her lips as she throws herself out of the way, feels her heart hammer in her ears as she backs up against the wall. Please don’t hear that please don’t hear that please don’t hear that please don’t hear that-

 “Quackity, wait.” Sam raises a hand, ear twitching as he looks over in her direction with narrowed eyes. “I think I heard something.”

 Oh fuck.

 “Well, guess show’s up then,” Techno drawls, and both of them whirl towards his voice, giving Niki enough time to pull her armor back on, scrambling to get her sword and shield in her hands as Phil does the same besides her. Pieces of armor appear where Techno is standing, then a bucket of milk- oh, why must her friends be so dramatic- and Techno’s standing there, smiling sharply, with Orphan Obliterator held loosely at his side. “Let’s get this done, then.” 

 As one, Techno and Phil blur into action - Techno moves forward to catch the prongs of Sam’s trident on his blade as Phil parries Quackity’s blows with his own sword- they move fluidly, easily covering each other’s backs as the room devolves into chaos. Niki remembers their guidance as she flits in and out of the fight, scoring quick hits to keep the Warden and Quackity off balance while remaining out of range from their weapons, and it’s not long before both of them have fallen with a spray of items and experience orbs scattered all over the floor. 

 Techno moves over to block off the exposed face of the bed with a block, looking over at the two of them with an uncharacteristically severe expression. “They’ll be back soon- we have to move fast. Niki, you have those fire res, right?” 

 She nods as she reaches into her inventory, finding the potion’s orange-pink glow and smashing it at their feet. They dive into the lava together, Niki scrambling to keep up, her arms struggling to move through the thick lava, loses sight of both until she flails into something directly in front of her and hands are pulling her up out of the lava. 

 “There you go, mate,” Phil smiles down at her as hauls herself to her feet, making a face at the feeling of the lava clinging to her clothes. “Yeah, swimming through lava isn’t exactly fun. You good?” She flashes him a thumbs up, and he laughs- “Niki, you’re still invisible.” She flushes pink- right.

 A few sips of milk later, she gives him a proper thumbs up, and he laughs, loud and bright. She looks past him to where Techno’s crouched over something- someone, she realizes with a start, in the corner. Dream’s back in prison clothes, ragged and ill-fitting, and he’s curled up with his back towards the front of the cell, shaking enough to be obvious even from where she’s standing. Techno speaks lowly, voice barely more than a deep rumble in the air, almost inaudible.

 “You there, Dream?” 

 She watches as Dream turns his head, looking up with wide, bleary eyes. His hair flops in front of his face, and something within her itches to brush it out of the way. “T-Techno?”

 “Yeah nerd, who else?” Techno smiles, and Dream seems to blink awake, drawing himself up with a shuddery breath. 

 “Techno- it’s a trap- what are you doing here?” he hisses, and Techno gives him a look, deadpan.

 “Yeah, yeah, it’s a trap- come on, Dream, we’ve been over this by now, bro. You have to know that their traps aren’t goin’ to do anything to me by now,” Techno rolls his eyes, reaching forward to steady his hands on Dream’s shoulders when the other man sputters and struggles to breathe. “Easy, now. Geez, you wanted to prove me wrong about being homeless bad enough that you came back here? We could’ve just made you a house, you know. You didn’t have to go this far.” 

 “I- they were gonna kill you,” Dream breathes, face twisted up uncomfortably, and his eyes flick past Techno’s face to where Phil and Niki are standing at the opposite wall of the cell. “All of you- they said-”

 “And that’s what I thought you’d say,” Techno groans. “Come on, you idiot, I thought you were smarter than this-” 

 “They were right there, Techno!” Dream fires back, eyes alight. “You- they were right there, what were you thinking, they could’ve-!”

 “And my best friend is a necromancer, remember?” Techno shakes his head. “Come on, Dream- Sam and Quackity? You know we can handle them in a fight, especially when you can just revive us if anything goes wrong. You don’t have to do this whole self-sacrifice thing, bro- there’s only so many times I can break into the same prison, y’know.” 

 “You’re so stupid,” Dream huffs, but he leans in anyway, head just barely settling against Techno’s shoulder. “I- I can’t believe. You’re so dumb.” 

 “Hey, don’t be sayin’ that to the guy that’s breakin’ you out of prison,” Techno laughs, slinging Dream over his shoulder with an easy motion and laughing harder when it makes him yelp. “That’s just bein’ ungrateful. You’re making Chat sad, man, and when they’re sad they don’t subscribe-” 

 “I regret this entirely,” Dream says, voice muffled against Techno’s shirt, tone completely flat. “Put me down- you idiot- I’m staying here. You’re worse than Quackity.” 

 “Rude. Now you’ve really made Chat mad. I demand an apology-” 

 “Boys, boys.” Niki can’t help giggling, watching the way their gazes snap towards her, rolling her eyes as she moves forward with a few potions held loosely in her hand. “Dream, do you want a health pot?” 

 Dream seems to deliberate for a second, before nodding at her, expression slightly strained. “...sure.” 

 “You two can finish your argument after we’ve broken out of the biggest maximum security prison on the server,” Phil drawls from behind her, arms crossed at his chest. “Come on, now, before Sam gets back.” 

 “Isn’t this the only maximum security prison on the server?” Techno asks aloud, an amused expression on his face - one that only gets worse when Phil glares at him with one ice-blue eye. 

 “Shut-” he sighs, shaking his head. “You two are chaotic little shits, you know that?”

 “Don’t compare me to him, Phil,” Techno complains, Dream mirroring his words with muffled protests of his own, and Phil breathes another drawn-out, long-suffering sigh as he rubs at the bridge of his nose. 

 “Niki, give us some fire res please?” 

 She finds the potion bottle between giggles, throwing it to the ground as she tries to choke down the laughter rapidly bubbling up her throat. “Of course, Phil.” 

 She looks back at Techno and Dream before jumping into the lava, the two of them once again lost in some sort of argument, Dream draped over Techno’s shoulder. He’s breathing easier now, she notes, and Techno looks looser too - a little less tense, leaning back with a perpetual quirk to the corner of his lip as they fire insults back and forth. This is familiar, she recognizes with a soft twist in her chest, the same way that Phil and Techno can finish each other’s sentences and look at each other with laughing eyes sharing the same memories of the past, the same way Ranboo watches Techno’s every step as he adjusts his stance and lifts his sword and Techno laughs and calls him a main character in turn, the same way she and Phil will settle together on the porch over cups of tea and sit at each other’s sides for hours. The rhythm between them is one well-established, the road well-worn - she imagines them, huddled in this dingy cell for months together, and breathes in slow and deep. 

 “Come on,” she smiles, making sure to keep it on her face when Dream meets her eyes with wide, startled ones of his own. Dream still isn’t an ally, and isn’t a friend. 

 But - she watches as he smiles back, something inexplicably warm in her chest - maybe, one day, he could be.