#I haven't yet figured out what she does for a living either

[canisalbus]

Oh my goodness ludovica in modern clothes is so cute! I’m an Asexual, so I mean that in the friendly platonic sense not the creepy objectification sense, but that first outfit looks like she does some gardening or plays in an indie band or something in that outfit, the second one (collared shirt?) looks like she runs a small bookstore or a finance company, and the third looks super cozy like I’d see her in a small coffee shop with her gf just enjoying the autumn colors and flavors. Really nice!

.

[ame-to-ame]

there are things that you don't do for a year or more and pick up just right where you left off and these days i fear loving you might be one of them

[jaxinkh]

Why Pokedex entries are weird

Now, I'm not the only one that has the first part of this, but I haven't seen others go a bit deeper into this yet. Obvious answer first:

You are a child and filling these in yourself.

Now, others say this to, but I haven't seen this take here:

Your character is a little freak, doing stuff they really shouldn't.

In the Pokemon Universe, it's normal and customary that; when a kid leaves Elementary school they have a little adventure to help them figure out what kind of person/trainer they want to be in the future. So they go to their local (volunteer) Pokemon Professor, get a starter Pokemon and a Pokedex and set out into the world!

But that's not a regular, pre-filled Pokedex with factual information. It's a junior Pokedex that they can fill in themselves. After a week or 2 when their adventures ends they can take it home and laugh with their family about the entries years later as a memento. No actual professor looks at them for their research, unless it pings an undiscovered Pokemon, but how often does that happen?

But you, player character, are a little freak.

You were SUPPOSED to go home after camping in the local woods for a few weeks and making it to the next village! Every kid does! But YOU actually went out into the world! Only you immediately went after the gyms and beat your way through! the only reason people aren't concerned when they see a unfamiliar 12-year old in town is because they think you came from the neighboring city, they have NO IDEA you are MILES, sometimes an OCEAN away from home! You are living completely off your winnings in battle, your little fund you got from mom only lasted until the next town! You were expected to call mom for some cash to get home but you went further and battle for a living.

Not only that, but you decided that you were going to be a hero! You saw a thief/gangster/terrorist/edgelord that was causing trouble and you beat their ass, so now you are off to topple a criminal empire! Which almost always turns out to be involved with Legendary or Mythical Pokemon, so now you are fighting GODS.

When you FINALY come home, your poor mom has been so worried that she is either in shock, depressed or straight up thinks she's hallucinating you coming home again, so she barely responds to you being home. By the time she realized that it actually was you you're out the door again!

You're a terrible child, and no one can stop you.

[styrmwb]

References to Previous Final Fantasies in Dawntrail

Or, how 9 + 11 + 6 = 14, somehow. (SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY)

I've played every mainline FF, plus a few others, so one of my favorite things about playing XIV is seeing what they do with previous FFs, and how they incorporate it into the world/story. Dawntrail very very much did this, to the point that I could literally predict plot points before they happened. (THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT I LOVED THIS)

So I figured I would put down my fanboying in text form, for people to read the insanity of a madman who has played too many JRPGs from a single series.

Note: I have not completed every single side quest, but I have done the entire MSQ, every dungeon, and 3/5 of the role quests. This isn't a complete collection, just what I noticed :)

V

Krile's "real name" is Maya. The original Krile in FFV was Krile Meyer Baldesion. (XIV might also have the middle name but I don't remember! I'm gonna put it here regardless!)

VI

Valigarmanda is the first Esper you encounter in VI, right at the start of the game. Its summon attack is Tri-Disaster. I really liked how they kept it frozen in ice, just like the original, and because Tri-Disaster is a SMN ability, they changed it to Tulidisaster to fit the Tural location.

Pictomancer was first in VI as well, being Relm's job. She even got to be in XIV as well, being credited as the Archon who created the art (HA). Shoutouts to the Relm reborn joke it needed to happen

IX

One of the two most important games in this expansion. There is A Lot here.

The preorder bonus/deluxe edition had a Wind-Up Zidane and Garnet, the two main protagonists of FFIX.

Alexandria is lifted directly from IX. The name, the style of the buildings, and even the castle with the crystal popping out of the top, shown in the dungeon and in Yesterland in Living Memory.

(This is the Dissidia NT version, but I wanted a picture that showed the castle and the roof architecture)

Solution Nine is named after one of Zidane's Dyne abilities. While not direct, Living Memory, the final zone, is very reminiscent of Memoria, the final dungeon of IX. I wonder if you can get a special sword by completing the entire MSQ in under 2 hours?

Living Memory also features quite a few locations from IX. The Canal Town looks very similar to Treno, and features a location called the Daguerreo Medical Collection, named after the city as well. Underneath Proto Alexandria in Yesterland, where the data terminal lies, looks very similar to the part of Alexandria Castle where Steiner can grind to level 99 (I don't know how else to describe it if you know you know). In the Windspath Gardens lies the Cleyra Museum of Nature, also named after the IX city.

Some quest text in Living Memory tells you about other locations in the Unlost World. Lindblum, the city that holds hunts and is very technologically advanced; Conde Petie, where the Dwarves are from (mentioned by a Milalla who said he was from there), and the Iifa Tree. There might even be more here, that I either missed or haven't done yet.

Another quest has you go on a treasure hunt for a password. This password? "I Want to Be Your Canary", the play from FFIX.

Solution Nine has a couple buildings with monsters from IX as signs. One building features a Mu (Which is also mentioned in Living Memory), and another building features Yans, both friendly and not friendly.

Another monster that I noticed a reference to was the Gimme Cat, which is featured on the popcorn in Living Memory. It's also mentioned as an energy drink, but called a "Gimme Bat" instead? I guess it does have bat wings.

While XIV doesn't have any direct plot important characters from IX, the ones we do have are very reminiscent of its cast, and clearly are done like that on purpose.

Otis is Steiner (with maybe a little tiny bit of Beatrix depending on how you look at it). Captain of the Knights of Alexandria, he speaks in an older fashion, similar to Steiner, and is very loyal to his princess.

Sphene is an interesting mix. The most obvious one is Garnet, both being Queens of Alexandria, being named after stones, and loving their people. The other one, which might be argued isn't intended, is Garland.

(No, not those guys. The other one.)

Garland in IX is an artificial being whose purpose is to continue his world's life. To do this, he would try to fuse Terra (his planet), with Gaia (the main planet), and control Gaian souls for Terra instead. What did Sphene do? Try to fuse her reflection with the Source, to use their souls for her own people. I personally think this is a very clear similarity.

In general, because of this similarity, the latter half of Dawntrail shares very similar themes with IX's plots, dealing with death and souls. I also think it's pretty funny that both start out pretty happy and cartoony, and end fairly depressing and existential.

Another plot point used in the MSQ is the play sequence. While IX's is based off love, and XIV's is the history of Alexandria, both feature a sword fight scene. (99 out of 100 nobles approve).

Finally, several songs from IX are used in Dawntrail. In the above mentioned play, Swords of Fury plays, just like the original. And a few scenes later, Vamo'alla Flamenco (previously used for the DNC quests) plays, though it should have been during the sword fight!! Prima Vista Orchestra and Fleeting Life are used in several scenes, usually involving Sphene. Something to Protect also appears, but in a scene I can't recall. Finally, the Court Jesters' theme gets a remix as the main song in the Strayborough Deadwalk.

X

There is a singular joke in Heritage Found made about dodging lightning bolts right before the flash so they don't hit you. The person who wrote this line wanted to induce PTSD in as many people as they could with only a single line of dialogue.

XI

The other most important game in the expansion. In a way, Dawntrail FEELS like it could have been an XI expansion in another lifetime. I might be looking too much into it, but I feel as though this was foreshadowed back in the first patch of Endwalker, as Dawntrail takes A LOT from the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion.

In Endwalker, the Alzadaal's Legacy dungeon was based off of the Alzadaal Underwater Ruins in Aht Urhgan. The dungeon used many models from XI, such as the Rampart, the Xzomit (hell yes!), and the Acrolith. The dungeon had a visual similarity, as well as the areas in the dungeon being named after zones in Aht Urhgan (Bhaflau Thickets, Arrapago Reef, and Mount Zhayolm). I know this is Endwalker and not Dawntrail but trust me it's important for the foreshadowing.

Gulool Ja Ja was a boss in the Besieged mode of ToAU, leading the Mamool Ja Savages to assault Al Zahbi. Both incarnations of this character are VERY different from each other.

Similarly, Gurfurlur was also a boss in Besieged, leading the Troll Mercenaries. It's very funny to me that both of these warmongers became such nice people in Tural.

The Yok Huy as a whole are actually Trolls from XI. The different name I assume coming from the fact that Trolls are already an enemy in XIV, in Labyrinthos.

While this isn't direct, and is probably unintentional, the fact that the final boss in Vanguard was a naga/lamia like entity only makes me wonder if it was somehow a callback to Medusa and the Undead Swarm, the last remaining Besieged invaders.

Zoraal Ja is a Notorious Monster in the areas around Aht Urhgan.

To continue on with Mamool Ja facts, Mamook is an area in ToAU. They don't look very similar, but they do both share the title of Autarch as their ruler. Mamool Ja in general come from XI, so it's no surprise that in the expansion that well, expands on them, it uses XI for inspiration.

This next one might be a little insane. The general plot of Treasures of Aht Urhgan, is that after killing Promathia, a god that wishes to end all life, the Adventurer goes to a completely different area to have a relatively calmer adventure. Here, they meet a female member of royalty named Aphmau. Her brother, Razfahd, unable to rule over the country, has a conquering nature, and uses an Automaton body to control Alexander for his goals. This... can't be a coincidence, right?? We kill the Endsinger, who wanted to end all life, go to a completely different area to have a relatively calmer adventure with our female member of royalty, Wuk Lamat, and we fight against Zoraal Ja, her war hungry brother that is unable to rule, so he uses the power of Alexandria (a mech suit) for his goals. You... you see what I'm cooking here right??? RIGHT!?!?!

To piggyback off of this, Wuk Lamat very much fits the role of the XI heroine. A girl who is very clearly the main character of the story, and hangs around you more than anyone else.

Edit: one last thing that I forgot to put down before posting, one of the hunts uses the Magic Pot model from XI. We love Magic Pot.

I THINK that should be everything I found? I know for a fact we're going to get more since the Alliance Raids are based of off XI (I'm so excited)

XIII

A couple enemy models were used from XIII.

The Silver Lobos in Urqopacha use the XIII model. I'm fairly sure they've never been used in XIV yet, but I could be wrong.

Similarly, the Strayborough Deadwalk uses the Gremlin/Ahriman enemies. I do not think they've been used before this, feel free to yell at me if I'm wrong :)

Type-0

While not like, direct, the concept of erasing the memories of anyone who has died (especially seen as a blessing) was a major plot point of Type-0's world.

I think that's everything? My memory isn't the greatest, so I'm sure there's something I noticed that I missed, and again; I haven't done everything, so there might be even more out there that I've yet to find!

Please, feel free to comment anything else that you may have noticed, and hopefully you enjoyed reading :)

[alchemistc]

Eddie practices his arguments with Steve.

The thing is -

Here's the thing. It's not that he's expecting an argument. So far every time either one of them have been irritated with one another, or pissed off about something, they usually just, like, talk about it and shit. Healthy-like, which is -

Totally fucking weird for Eddie My-Parents-Fought-As-A-Love-Language Munson and Steve Still-Figuring-Out-Its-Okay-To-Be-Loved Harrington. It's weird, it is, and Eddie can't help but wonder if Steve is just bottling shit up until it explodes out of him and he realizes that this thing they're doing just isn't worth it anymore.

So.

So Steve does this thing, right?

This thing where he rolls his jaw and sometimes it pops and it makes Eddie want to stick a curly straw up his nose and scramble his own brains. And he's such a fucking neat freak that every time he's over, he ends up rearranging Eddie's room - not even in purpose, just. He likes to touch things, and Eddie gets it, he does, but touching things usually leads to picking things up leads to setting them back down and before Eddie's had time to look up, Steve has swept empty beer cans into the trash and lined up Eddie's models in a neat row like they're troops readying for battle and since he's like a war buff they're always lined up like a little battalion which is cute but also frustrating as hell because - because Eddie's chaos is organized and now he can't find his fucking lyric journal with the song he's very much not ready for people to see, or know about, or -

The point. The point is Eddie has been gearing up to talk to Steve about it for three days now and he's now at the stage where he practices. Works out the scenarios, muddles through possibilities, tries to anticipate every way it could go tits up.

He's never - Steve is most of his firsts, and he knows it's dumb and romantic but he'd like Steve to be all of his lasts, too, and so what if that means he's pacing the length of the trailer (all the while perfecting his Steve-voicr, which has been a tough one to nail but he feels like he's getting there. He's smarter and more eloquent than he lets on, is Steve.) and arguing with himself. Resetting, back to the start, working through a disastrous turn where Steve accuses Eddie of cheating on him (nope, reset, Steve's well aware Eddie wouldn't, cut that from the options).

"And seriously, Eddie, how could you think I'd do that shit to you, you know -."

"What the hell?"

Eddie whirls.

Mike Wheeler is standing in his living room, staring at Eddie like he's grown a second head. Which. Shit. They haven't actually, like, told anyone that they're...doing whatever it is they're doing (There's things Eddie wants to call it, but he hasn't brought them up yet because they're terrifying and super fucking telling and even though he's pretty sure he and Steve are on the same page he doesn't want to presume) so the kids don't know. No one except Robin knows, and she's states away and busy so.

"What the hell right back, Wheeler, what are you doing here?"

"I left my chem textbook here last night. You said I could come get it."

And - sure, he definitely had, but he'd sort of been staring at the hollow where Steve's neck and shoulder met and imagining biting it when he said it, so -

"So you broke into my house?"

"The door was unlocked."

"So you walked uninvited INTO MY HOUSE?" And he's maybe hamming up the annoyance as cover, but Wheeler just stares at him.

"Are you practicing breaking up with Steve?" Wheeler asks without preamble, with zero inflection, not even a quirk of his brow, and Eddie -

Flounders, is a generous term for it. Really what he does is shriek, and cackle, and then cover it up with the weirdest laugh either of them have ever heard which covers nothing at all. "What are - why would you - what makes you think - listen, Michael, you can't just break into people's homes and accuse them of - of - what exactly are you accusing me of?"

"Of having really terrible taste in men, Eddie, where's my textbook?"

"I don't fucking know, Wheeler, Steve rearranges shit all the time so who the hell knows where he would have -."

"It's probably on the bookshelf, then," Mike says, and then squints. "Are you...practicing arguing with Steve?"

"How do you even -?"

"Neither one of you is subtle."

"Shut up, Wheeler."

"If that's how you talk to Steve it's no wonder you have to practice your arguments."

"I'm not - you're infuriating."

Mike squares him with a look that reminds Eddie of when he's calculating hit points and strategizing his next move. He frowns. Sighs. "I have like ten minutes before I have to leave. Steve doesn't think you're cheating on him, so let's start from the top."

---

"The kids know," Eddie tells Steve, fingers shifting in Steve's hair, and Steve's lashes flash as he looks up from Eddie's lap. Mike had been - well, Wheeler might be half a decade younger but he'd been pretty instrumental in helping Eddie nail down the right approach to "Please stop cleaning up my messes you're ruining everything." so another non-argument is in the books, and Steve had looked confused about it but he'd agreed to try not to move shit around at least.

("I'm still cleaning up all the trash, though, you live like a goblin."

"It's hot that you know what a goblin is, baby."

"Nerd.")

"Are you...okay with that?"

"Are you?"

"I asked first."

It's not that he doesn't want to answer, it's just.

Okay he doesn't want to answer. Jesus Christ, he'd used Mike goddamn Wheeler as his Steve stand in to practice an argument that hadn't happened and he's still scared to call Steve his -

"I... don't really know. What to tell them." And that's - shit, not what he meant to say, Jesus.

"What do you mean?"

Steve crinkles his nose, and Eddie hates how goddamn cute it is, because he really wants to just, like, boop the tip of it and then suck Steve off but -

Where's Mike Wheeler when he needs him?

("If you ever tell Steve about this I'll tell Will to TPK your party for the next ten campaigns."

"Why would I tell Steve I'm helping you save your relationship?"

"Brownie points. So you can hold it over Henderson's head. Blackmail."

"I used to be terrified of you, but you're actually super lame, honestly."

"Preaching to the choir, my friend.")

"I mean, what...what do we tell them we...are?"

"Are you freaking out about calling me your boyfriend?"

"...no."

He shifts, and Eddie's fingers slip through the strands of Steve's hair as he shuffles, scoots, sits up and twists to face Eddie.

"I am, right? I mean...you want me to be?"

Eddie hasn't practiced this conversation, because - because it's presumptuous, because it felt sort of like jinxing it, because -

"Yeah. Duh. Of course I - shit. Yeah. Yes."

Steve's smile is bright and a little knowing. "I have a confession."

"I'm not sure I want to hear it."

"Trust me, you want to."

"Okay fine," Eddie tells him, eyes on Steve's hand as he slots their fingers together. Eddie hooks his pinkie along the edge of Steve's sleeve. "Twist my arm, why don't you?"

"I'm actually kind of glad they already know. I've been trying to figure out how to tell them for a while. I've been, like - creating scenarios in my head to try to figure out how they're going to take it."

There's - okay, so Eddie's thinking a lot of things, right at this moment, like how Steve apparently also creates mind-scenarios to play out before a situation happens, and how they might want to test out their creativity in other areas, actually, and that derails his whole train of thought for a moment, but "How long?"

"How long what?"

"Have you been trying to figure out how to tell them?"

Eddie's not insecure, exactly, but he is a big fan of knowing what people he cares about think of him and how often they think of him and -

"I mean, since, like, the first time I kissed you?"

Eddie is stupid crazy about Steve Harrington. He's fully fucking feral for this man, honestly, it's dumb. Absolutely ridiculous.

"I'm in love with you," Eddie tells him, and the tips of Steve's ears are pink.

"I know," he says, with a smarmy little grin because Eddie had admitted (under duress, and screw anyone who doesn't think a naked Steve Harrington in your lap is duress) he'd been obsessed with Harrison Ford for like a full year in his tweens, and Steve takes every opportunity to remind Eddie he knows.

"I'd also very much like to circle back to you creating scripts in your mind about telling the kids about us."

"Henderson's always a nightmare, I swear to god."

"We gotta teach him some humility."

"He respects you more than he respects me, you teach him."

"You gonna say it back?"

"Well not now," Steve says, and Eddie wants to bite him.

---

"I love you," Steve says, while Dustin and Mike and Max argue about who knew first.

Eddie hasn't practiced this one. "I know," he says, and Steve's brow quirks when Dustin catches the exchange and groans.

[mixelation]

reborn au plot.... stuff. has plasticity spoilers. also canon characters die!

i said this recently, but i don't have much in the way of an overarching story after tori's, like, 17. part of this is just that i haven't made some major decisions about the premise (like what orochimaru is up to) and part of it is that...... what problems would even challenge these characters. like we have a bunch of weird interpersonal shenanigans but like obviously one appeal of this au is giving tori opportunities for Feats.

so i decided on a Feat.

i think as an ongoing looming threat, i might have some petty proxy war stuff going on. no one wants to reignite a multi-nation shinobi war, but everyone is scrambling to grab things for themselves, especially since konoha just like.... stole from iwa??? ame burned down half of kusa? oto-nin are just? in the wind???? someone probably hires orochimaru. people are out trying to snatch jinchuriki left and right.

so i was thinking thusly: one of the bigger nations captures fuu for the seven tails. ame sends an akatsuki pair which includes tori. somehow, the situation goes completely to shit. multiple nations are involved. the seven tails is released, killing fuu. everyone wants this weapon and they don't care if they had to kill a young girl to get it.

akatsuki's solution is that they should simply control all weapons. tori knows this will fall apart. she also knows that, even if she wrestles the raging seven-tails into a container and gets around the multiple nation's people ALSO vying to capture it for themselves, and she takes it back to konoha, this also solves nothing. and so she thinks: if no one can resist the temptation of a weapon, then i will remove the weapon.

this is the part that's a pretty big plasticity spoiler, but also a few people guessed it so i don't mind sharing. basically, the shinigami doesn't like tori because he can't have her. she's a weird, foreign thing that shouldn't be there. functionally, she can't die. she can be irreparably maimed, so she still has a healthy fear of most life-and-death situations, but she technically can't die. (she's unsure if this still applies in this universe in the earlier parts, but we'll let her figure it out eventually.)

the side-effect of this is that she has more bullshitty leeway with summoning the shinigami than other people. it can't take her soul so it will take things around her more indiscriminately, so she's not going to use it if her allies are around. but if she's fed up and doesn't care if everyone dies? fuck it, we're going to kill the tailed beast itself.

i want how this to be accomplished to be kind of metal and/or gross. you know that scene in plasticity where tori is simultaneously herself AND the shinigami and she's confused? like that but they're eating the seven-tails.

tori comes to later and the whole battlefield is dead, from the shinobi to the plants and wildlife. whatever other akatsuki was with her is either some probationary schmuck, a canon character who got separated, or hidan-but-he's-not-revived-yet (i'm leaning towards this last one). at first i was like "how does she explain she killed a tailed beast" to other people but THEN i decided

tori realizes she's done something she should not have been able to do. she's just created another weapon people will want to use. so she gets up and goes home, and she lies.

the seven tails killed everyone and ran off. yes, even the forest. even the little bugs in the trees. the soil is irradiated. i guess it was pissed off. how did i live? aren't i a barrier specialist..........?

and then of course everyone goes out looking for the tailed beast. like, you can't just have a wild bijuu running around!! but they can't find it. it's nowhere. it will never be found because it no longer exists.

probably at some point she'll tell someone, most likely itachi and/or deidara. hidan might confront her about it. but i just love the idea of her getting a major feat and then immediately denying it.

also she may or may not decide to repeat the experiment

[local-void-creature-izzy]

(Please note this theory will get longer once I complete Penacony, I haven't started yet due my busy schedule with college and exams)

-Sampo is the Successor of Aha, Aeon of Elation-

The reason why I say successor rather than the actual, original Aeon, is because:

Aha is described as an Aeon that does not truly comprehend nor understand humanity, with it, the emotions tied with humanity. It understands joy, with being the Aeon of Elation, but that's all it comprehends

While as Sampo still very much has that sense. And showcases emotions beyond that joy.

Aha's people, can be categorized into two groups:

The Masked Fools, and the Mourning Actors

The Masked Fools are a group of people that truly believe in Aha. "They believe that the truth of the world is a joke, and the ultimate meaning of all things lies in mere laughter" -HSR Data Bank

The Masked Fools are described as extremely radical when it comes to their beliefs. Doing whatever they can in that pursuit of joy, pleasure, elation. Causing Chaos every where they go.

While the Mourning Actors are that of the opposite. "They are firm believers against Elation. They believe life is full of ups and downs, that agony makes people mature but fleeting joy only offers hopeless and unreachable temptation." -HSR Data Bank.

They believe all beings should renounce joy, and endure grief to temper their spirits.

They are described as people that ride a gondola that spans the stars in order to perform. They collect and wear different masks from different worlds, while recording the sorrows of intelligent life.

And they are said to have been blessed by Aha itself, with Aeon like powers. As joy and sadness are two sides of the same coin.

Now obviously with these two opposites technically being under the same Aeon, it would not surprise me with they were essentially at war with each other.

Think of it like, Masked Fools is Celestia, while Mourning Actors is the Fatui.

- I believe Sampo's home planet is either on its last legs, or is no longer in existence. With both sides under Aha being complete opposites of each other and from what it sounds like in the data bank, not getting along, it was probably only a matter of time before they became the planet's undoing, Sampo being one if not the only survivor because he was hand picked by Aha.

Now another thing that is known to us, to an extent, is that Aeons can die or be killed.

Canonically there are at least around 4-5 Aeons that are dead or presumably dead due to their unknown whereabouts.

Aha is stated as Alive, but also, Aha is one of the few without a humanoid or somewhat alien form that you can at least make out a comprehensive figure in giant entity. Aha is canonically a series of in-animated masks and objects used in theatre/circus. A vague humanoid silhouette can be seen, but is clearly overshadowed. And if an Aeon can die, then how can you claim it is truly eternal?

Aha is described as few things but unpredictable and calculating seem to be the most consistent going as far as to shapeshift into a human for some time in order to trick Akivili (Aeon of Trailblaze) and its followers, the nameless, which resulted in Aha blowing up half of Akivili's Express and an entire planet.

- Another known fact of Aha, is that it refers to itself in third person, something Sampo also does.

I believe Sampo is a product of forbidden love. A child born of a Masked Fool and Mourning Actor, possibly born out of wedlock, thus carries traits of both.

Sampo is labeled as a Masked Fool but also seems to not go as extremely and knowns when a line shouldn't be crossed and what lines to not cross flat out.

He may do what he does for a living, but knows when enough is enough and is cautious in his line of work in order to not get caught.

Canonically Sampo has been shown or told to us by others if not him, that he has helped Natasha (Main Doctor of Belebog's Underground) in gathering anything she needed medically in order to treat her patients as most supplies were above ground and the underground had been locked down from going up when Cocolia was in charge, he had his ways of going back and forth.

And he is also great with kids, Hook, who is the leader of the moles, a little gang of her friends that try to help around the underground the best way they can, and a playable character, as been shown to go to him for help or information and he actually takes it seriously, not wanting to upset or hurt her because she's just trying to help out in what way she can and who is he to ruin that.

Now he is clearly not the most stable individual, there are several indicators that he isn't 100% stable such as his E4 constellation and one his idles showing him with lifeless eyes.

Said E4 con called "The Deeper the Love, the Stronger the Hate"

The fact he canonically is so sneaky and agile that his footsteps do not make noise, leave footprints in snow, or disturb water if he walks on a puddle or something similar.

Not to mention, he can quite literally appear and disappear whenever he feels like. Several times in quests he is with you, the next second he's gone, only to reappear like "i was here the whole time, what are you talking about?"

So what I think is:

I believe Aha's time is coming if not already come, and no one has truly noticed yet. But Aha being how it is, planned ahead and chose a successor to carry on its pursuit of laughter that leaves one breathless, that will lead to unexpected delights that uplift the soul towards divinity.

So if Sampo is someone born from the two groups under Aha, then Sampo would be the perfect candidate. As he is someone that can understand Aha's ideology and way of thinking but also comprehend emotions and humanity in a way, Aha can not.

Aha chooses a child that most likely had a horrible and possibly traumatic childhood, because of him being born of both sides, and possibly born onto a planet with horrible conditions for living

And that with how it currently stands, it's either a matter of: How long Sampo can conceal it?

Or

How long Sampo can buy time until Aha completely passes and truly take on the role of successor, because as he currently stands he is in a incomplete state that will only finish the transformation when Aha is no longer in the picture.

(Also the closest we have to a "home base" for Sampo, is Epsilon which sounds like a planet that may act as a temporary yet is probably the main residence for Sampo, yet from how he describes it.

Its not a planet he's in any hurry to get back to, because according to him, is a giant vanity fair. So most likely the planet is just a giant ego fest)

This all based on my speculations with my current lore knowledge and interpretations.

[eliluvschan]

Blame it on the Mistletoe

pairing: bang chan x reader

word count: 904

warnings: -

genre: fluff

a/n: Merry Christmas everyone <3

i stormed out of my house and into my car after a bad fight with my boyfriend, Sung-ho. i am furious at him. he comes home very late, every night, drunk as hell. then shouts at me for nothing in the morning, and other than that i'm gonna break up with him anyway, because i think i'm in love with someone else. but that someone doesn't know i like him and as far as i know, he doesn't like me back either.

i slammed the door shut and drove over to Bang Chan's house. my best friend for over fifteen years. he's been by my side since we met and probably cares about me more than that piece of shit known as my so-called boyfriend.

we met when we went to the same elementary school until he moved to Korea when he was thirteen and always comes back to Australia around Christmas to be with his family.

i parked my car in the driveway and got out, breathing in the cold air, and then shivering. i grabbed my present from the backseat and tightened my muffler from around my neck. i made my way to the front door and knocked. he invited me to Christmas dinner with his dongsaengs. like every year. the door opened, revealing Hannah.

she smiled at me, before he attacked me in a hug. ''Y/n! i missed you so much!'' he squeaked out. ''i missed you too, Han. how have you been?''

''good, i just debuted and i'm excited for what's more to come!'' she says as we walk further into the house. we talk some more as she takes my coat and we walk through the hallway to the living room.

i follow him to see a beautiful tree decorated with everything. it looked perfect. except the golden star at the top was missing. and under the tree stood Chan himself. one hand on his hip and the other holding the star as he looked up.

''Channie!'' i called. he turned around, smiled hugely and scooped me into his arms. ''i missed you!'' he said. ''i missed you too! 4 months went by too slow!'' i pout as he laughs. i smile at his adorable laugh and his beautiful brown eyes sparkled. in case you haven't figured out, Chan is the person i'm in love with.

''Hey, Y/n!''

i turn around and hug the rest of the Bang's. they are like family to me and i love them all so damn much. Chan turned to me. ''hey, can you help me with this?'' he held up the last piece of decor. the star.

''sure, what do you want me to do?''

''get on my shoulders and put this up please?'' he asked.

i looked at him. ''o- okay.'' i said reluctantly taking the star from his hand. he grabbed my waist and lifted me on his shoulders. i felt a chill run down my spine as his chin brushed against my thigh. i put the star up as Hannah and Lucas cheered.

he put me down and thanked me. i smiled at him and went to help Mama Bang set up dinner.

—❀— 

Jack, Jessica, Lucas and Hannah were still in the kitchen. doing the dishes, putting stuff back whatever. Chan and i were sitting in the lounge, staring at the tree.

''i'm gonna break it with Sung-ho.'' i told him.

''really?'' is it just me or did i really hear hope in his voice. ''why?''

''he- he treats me like shit. comes home drunk every night, shouts, and does a lot of other things.''

''he doesn't hit you does he?'' he picked up my preset from under the tree.

''nope. not yet anyway.'' i told him as he shook it, trying to figure out what it was.

he opened it, and took the beanie i had gotten for him. he made a duck face. ''yeah, i like it too.'' i laughed. ''where's mine dork?''

he put a finger on his lips. ''shh.''

we sat in silence for a while.

''Y/n?''

''hmm?''

''come here.'' he said standing up and bringing me close to the tree. ''make a wish?''

i looked up at him. ''what?'' he asked. ''hey, it's Christmas. don't be a joy-killer.''

i shrugged and closed my eyes. 'i wish the idiot next to me would like me more than a friend'.

i opened my eyes to see Chan standing very close to me, smiling softly. he pulled me closer to him by the waist and backed into the wall behind me. he smiled at the ceiling. i looked up and saw it as well. mistletoe.

i smiled back at him and then i don't know what made me do it, but i leaned on my toes and pressed my lips to his. i slowly kissed back, pulling me closer to him. i pulled away and rested my head in his neck. he rested on top of mine.

''i love you, Y/n.'' he whispered quietly. i just smiled and kissed his cheek. who knew wishes came true this soon? he kissed my forehead. ''what are we gonna tell the others?''

''i, uh.'' he looked around, we were still pressed against the wall. he looked up to where the mistletoe was hung and his expression cleared. he looked down at me.

''we'll blame it on the mistletoe.''

~

[fleouriarts]

time for a jamie and co LORE POST!!!! here's them with their (immediate) families. all the actual lore and such below

JAMIE: only child with a single mom. since furries in this universe can only have kids within their taxonomic families, adoption is really common among smaller families like prionodontidae. however jamie's mom erica really wanted a bio kid, so she ended up marrying another linsang who she liked... well enough, but not that much. they get divorced when jamie's a little kid. she had jamie at an older age; by the time he's in college her markings have already started greying, which is why she looks a little dull next to him. nowadays she works as a teacher and she loves her son vewy much :3

SANTIAGO: santiago is the only one in the main cast with different species parents. cross-species kids are just the species of either parent with a 50/50 chance cus i don't feel like dealing with hybrids... HOWEVER sometimes genetic fuckshit happens. because of said genetic fuckshit, santiago grew to a cow size instead of a sheep size. i couldn't fit all the family relations shit on the actual image but emilio is santiago's OLDER brother (hes 25) but people always assume hes younger because santiago is a giant. magnolia and amapola are twins and both 8. mariana is either a teacher or a librarian (haven't figured it out yet) but she used to paint when she had more free time which is how santiago got interested in painting and eventually went into fine arts. jorge is a plumber and emilio is a graphic designer. santiago is the first in the family to leave their hometown (key west) for a degree (emilio went to a local college) and his mom + sisters were SOOOOOOOOOO SAD so he comes home to visit as often as he can. also since he is in family bovidae he has several cousins/aunts and uncles/etc that are different species. all i know for sure is that one of them lives near jamie and co's college and is some sort of antelope (leaning towards bongo bc i like them). also using this poast to announce that i changed santiagos outfit here is his new cute flowers and bees sweater look

JOHNNY: her family works on a chicken (and other assorted birds) farm, the chickens are for both eggs and meat while the other birds are just for eggs. this is actually a common set-up in the dorian furryverse, it's hard to farm livestock as a carnivore (because all the livestock are deathly afraid of you) so herbivores usually do the job even if they can't actually eat what they farm. johnny's parents are sorta "confused but got the spirit" about her being a butch lesbian. jimmy is an ass about it but he gets better. shoutout to this horse color calculator for helping me figure out which coat colors were plausible for them

NULL: null has an older brother and does not talk to their parents. sakichi is six years older than null and they were never very close; their parents treated sakichi as the "successful" child and null as the "problem" child. they're also quite conservative. null realized they were agender in high school but stayed closeted at home, they planned to come out to their parents immediately once they got to college and were able to support themselves. something happens that instead makes them come out a few days after their graduation and they get kicked out. null doesn't know where to go and ends up living at johnny's farm for the summer before college (sakichi lives far away doing some tech job and so can't take them in). the clantons are basically null's family at this point. once null legally changes their name they remove their last name entirely (it probably says X on their documents just cus there has to be SOMETHING there). sakichi and null see each other very occasionally, and sakichi still talks to their parents, but only when absolutely necessary. it's not malicious, he'd just feel too guilty cutting himself off from them completely

ARGYLE: argyle is an only child with well-off parents, his mom is a lawyer and his dad is a quirky ancient history professor. his parents are like EXTREMELY doting so they were secretly kinda glad that he came back home so they could see him more often. argyle was really scared that they would hate him for going into a less stable field, but his parents love him to death and are ready to support him in whatever. suzanne was probably a nightmare at pta meetings i'll be so real

[lucianalight]

This is something my friend and I were discussing, but since neither of us watched the show and we just watched Ruth's clips because we love her 😅 I figured I would ask you.

How does Night Nurse's employment work in this universe? Is she a slave to Tamlyn Tomita's character? If she, at the end, said she didn't want to stay with the boys on Earth, would she get to make that choice?

As always this answer turned out longer that I expected🤦🏻😅 so TLDR; it's not clear how the employment works but the Night Nurse has to follow her superior's orders. Whether she can make her own choices depends on her origins and how Afterlife works but we don't have a definitive answer for either one of these questions yet. And I haven't read the comics so what I wrote are mostly speculations based on The Sandman and dbd TV shows.

Here's the long answer:

It is not clear how exactly Afterlife works. I would have said it's under Death of the Endless' supervision but the whole strict, bureaucratic theme of the office doesn't really match her vibes. It's clear that the people there, despite their power, do not have the freedom to do what they want. For example to get permission to go to Earth the Night Nurse had to have a specific location of the ghosts she wanted to retrieve. But does she have free will to disobey her orders? To answer this I have to make a detour first.

The Night Nurse works in the Lost and Found Department and her superior-Tamlyn Tomita's character-who is said to be very busy and has the number "002" on her office's door is in fact Niko. Niko was infected by dandelion sprites and was saved by dead boy detectives. As a result of her near death experience she could see the ghosts and became the dbd's friend. She had died just a few days ago protecting them.

So this powerful entity who according to her, could do anything she wanted was human once. The curious thing is that she didn't remember the boys, not until she saw her human name on their wall as one of the closed cases. So we can assume that all the other people in that department were also human once. A pair of twins that are mentioned as one of the closed cases can be further proof of that. The twins work under the Night Nurse could possibly be the same twins.

But why are these people working there? The Night Nurse mentions that death isn't an option available to her and technically she can live for eons. Maybe it is a place for the ones who can't actually find their afterlife? We see Niko dies but we never see her meeting Death or the blue light that comes with her. Instead we see Niko with the dandelion sprites in an igloo. This is probably the result of the polar bear lucky charm she had with her when she died but what that lucky charm did and why the sprites were there and how she aged or why she didn't remember the boys at first are all questions that we don't know the answer to.

All of this though can give of us some clues. Like wherever Niko went, time doesn't work the same and she could age. She somehow existed before she was born and died on Earth. So can the Night Nurse be one of the future cases the boys haven't helped yet? She has the ability to see people's traumas and when Crystal tries to see inside her head she sees a skeleton with lots baby hands inside her that terrifies her. I wouldn't be surprised if her human life is tied to sth traumatic involving children.

It is also interesting that one of her main interactions is with Kashi, someone in a terrible situation with no trauma, someone kind with no alterior motive that helps her sees and considers different ways to what is always been done. Free will and doing what one's like to do are also topics that are mentioned in relation to her character. So if there's a second season those are some of the themes that can be explored with her character.

But I think it also matters who the number one is Afterlife is. Dream of the Endless decided to give free will to his subjects. Whoever the number one is in Afterlife, is probably the one who has the last say in this.

[casual-praxis]

Okay, so I know I said I wasn't going to do much with this AU since I was focused on a different one at the time (and I still am), but I've been thinking about the post-canon for this AU a bunch and I couldn't get it out of my head.

The designs are fairly simple (most changes occur post-canon), but there's still a few details in there that I'd like to talk about! Peep below the cut for more yappin' if you'd like.

(I just figured out how to add line breaks yeehaw)

I started with Green since I had the clearest picture of her in mind. I like to think they all got a mishmash of traits from the original Link here, so Green has the og Link's ponytail, but its length was divided between her and Red. All in all, she resembles Link the closest but isn't an exact match. I also made the executive decision that she simps for Zelda. She's just really worried about her future girlfriend, okay?

Blue didn't quite turn out how I'd hoped, but if I ever do something more with this stage of the AU, I can always make adjustments. Her hair is supposed to be the fluffiest, matching the og Link's texture. She's a little insecure about it making her look "too girly" or cute since that's not at all the image she wants to have, but she learns over time that being cute and badass can still go hand in hand.

Red is the one I was looking forward to drawing most, but she's still fairly simple as well. She wears her hair in a side ponytail to "not step on Green's toes", but also because she thinks it's cute (she and Blue don't see eye to eye on this early on, as you can imagine). She has a bomb-shaped hairbow that she made herself (tying into her post-canon shenanigans), but I haven't yet figured out when she acquires it.

Vio was supposed to be holding her bow here but I couldn't quite figure out how to draw it at that specific angle, so it's in hammerspace for now. Outside that, Vio's design has the most variety. She's meant to learn emotions over time within this au, and this progression is marked by the flowers in her hair. She starts out with none, but as they journey, Red starts to teach her the basics, and with it weaves Zelda's favorite flower into her braid. Once she joins up with Shadow, she's gifted a violet (because Shadow thinks it's punny, and for subtext reasons) that she starts using to pin her bangs out of her face. The flowers begin to wilt as time goes on, first the wildflowers, then the violet, until none remain and the final act is approaching. Shadow gives her one last violet before dying, though Vio doesn't actually start wearing it until the Four Sword is put back and they remain behind. Lots of lore for this one.

Finally is Shadow, who I'm actually surprised turned out so well. I went back and forth on whether I wanted her to wear the hat or not, but I ended up deciding against it since none of the others wear their hats either. Her hair pretty much acts like Shadow's hat in canon, it moves independently of her and the tips of it are smokey and wisp around. Along with Red, I have decided she is short. It just felt right. She does have claws and fangs, but she keeps them a little more on the down low until a suitably dramatic moment occurs to reveal them.

And that's all that comes to mind for now. I've had this idea floating around in my brain since I got back into the fandom, but never had the motivation to poke it too much and see what it do.

The post-canon is what I've mainly been focused on, so maybe I'll try and doodle a few things for it sometime. I took inspiration from one of the bonus comics in the manga where they all stay split after the sword goes back, so that's the canon ending for this au.

It goes fairly far into the future, with all of them settling into their own lives somewhat independent of each other (they all see each other multiple times a week with the exception of Vio, who travels a lot with Shadow ((who may or may not have been brought back through dubious dark magic rituals))).

The brainrot is real, but hopefully entertaining for anyone who made it this far.

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

Season 1 episode 7 [The Thing Lay Still] - part 3/3

- Okay, the triple confrontation Daniel/Louis, Daniel/Armand and Louis/Louis is long but there's so much to say, I have to quote it entirely:

[Daniel] "Well, isn't that neat and tidy?" - THANK YOU DANIEL, I know I can always count on you to point out the flaws and holes in the fabric of Louis' recollection.

[Louis] "'There was a ship. We did get on it.'

[Daniel] 'Yeah, I read that, the first 50 pages. Not exactly the, uh, adventure-of-our-lives feeling I'm feeling.'

[Louis] 'It was a traumatic escape.'

[Daniel] 'Yeah, but she didn't say that explicitly. […] But, um… there's a feeling that she hated your guts there for a while. Why is that?'"

Trust Daniel to always see the little thing that would be inconsequential to anyone else.

[Louis] "'I was haunted by my brother's death, by the abandonment of my sister, by the murder of Lestat, I…'

[Daniel] 'Murder? What murder? It was an act of mercy. You didn't kill Lestat. You spared him out of some fucked-up idea you had about love.'

[Louis] 'Love? I bled him like a pig and waited for the death rattle.'"

Oh, Louis. You are so good at lying to yourself. Good thing Daniel's too much of an excellent investigative reporter to let you fool him like you're fooling yourself. Notice how Louis looks as Daniel undoes all his lies and smoke mirrors? Like he's still trying to cling so hard to the story he's told himself for the past 80 years, like the lie is the only thing that keeps him upright, like if he admits the love, admits he wanted to save Lestat, that would completely undo him and there would be no going back?

[Daniel] "You were shot point-blank by an alderman. You were dropped a thousand feet and survived. You torched Antoinette just to make sure. Where does the trash go, Louis? You take the trash down to the street, some guys show up in a truck and they throw it in the back, and then, they drive it out to the middle of nowhere, right? No. They take the trash to the dump. And having lived two blocks away from the dump just outside of Fishkill, New York, with my first wife, I can state, with authority, what else you'll find there. Rats. Big fucking rats, the size of Kevin Durant's sneakers. Enough blood in them to bring back the dead. Especially one in a trunk with locks on the inside. You knew it, Louis. You had to. The biggest rat eater of them all."

Thank you for bringing back Moonlight Sonata! Haven't figured out yet if it's intra or extradiegetic tho. I love its presence in this episode. It's my favourite piece of classical music (I know, very original) and it's so gothic par excellence.

Mention of the first wife, Alice/Armand, no, I will not get down from this hill.

I love how Daniel's theory posit Louis as having done some planning for himself outside of Claudia's and even Lestat's, with the trunks locking on the inside and the rats needed to revive.

[Rashid/Armand] "'This session is over.'

[Daniel] 'How many days in the Islamic year? How many names are there for Allah?'

[Rashid/Armand] '355 and 99.'

[Daniel] 'Why does a 200-pound bouncer pass out after he sucks him off, and you, a wet T-shirt away from 130, doesn't even blink?'"

Ha, Daniel said 'okay who the eff are you and why am I smelling bullshit'. Meanwhile Armand said 'oh shit we're getting too close to dangerous waters and Louis is about to lose it, better reassert control'. But also, Muslim!Armand. Definitely. Not a throwaway line, not just pretence. Rolin Jones I'm counting on you to not fuck this up.

[Louis] "'I couldn't burn him.'

[Daniel] 'But Claudia could.'

[Louis] 'No', she couldn't.'

[Daniel] 'She stuck a pen in his neck. She recorded his last words in his own blood. The girl did not have a fuckin' problem tossing him on the grill, okay?'"

And Louis' wall of lies is breaking and shattering… And the pebbles of the zen garden, his other big trauma, don't help either…

[Daniel] "You cursed her into the darkness. You chose Lestat over her time and time again. You don't need a memoir, Louis. You need a hundred sessions of EMDR. You know the shit they put soldiers through when they see one of their platoon buddies get blown up in front of them?"

Say it, Daniel! These messy vamps need therapy.

Making jokes to avoid the sheer anguish in Louis' face, voice and body language, both in the 1940 flashback (the image of Louis holding Lestat's body and yelling is tattooed on my eyelids) and in 2022 (Louis sitting in his zen garden hugging and rocking himself, eyes screwed shut, trying to block Daniel and Armand's voices and the memories lives rent free in my mind).

[Daniel] "'144 years and you're still Louis the Pimp, paying a whore to sit in a room and talk with you. 'Cause why? You got some story you wanna tell the whole world about yourself?'

[Rashid/Armand] 'When you hear it you'll be ashamed, ashamed of what you say to him now!'"

Please don't hold back, Danny, do tell us what you think exactly. But hey, Louis needs to hear it.

The fuck are you talking about, Armand… Also notice how agitated he is? Feeling protective of Louis, or feeling like he's losing control of the interview, the interviewee and the interviewer all at once?

Love Armand taking off is gloves in the background. So subtle, so crucial. And then the lenses.

[Daniel] "'This is the same shit that happened in San Francisco.'

[Louis] 'Not exactly.'

[Daniel] 'How is it any different, Louis?'

[Armand] 'This time I won't save your life. Louis can sometimes act out. I protect him from himself, always have. Stopped him that night in San Francisco.'"

Oh, hello, Armand's decided to play Superman. Aaaaah, Armand's orange eyes, I love them!!!

Can we talk about Armand's infantilisation of Louis? "He acts out, I protect him from himself"… Like a child that can't regulate his feelings and needs to be put on time's out. The manipulation is deep and multi-layered, it's not just the memory alteration. Notice how Louis is pretty much dissociating, staring at the grey wall, face slowly becoming inexpressive and voice returning to flat and empty, from the moment Armand started telling off Daniel?

[Daniel] "'You were there.'

[Louis] 'You don't remember.'

[Daniel] 'No, I don't remember.'

[Louis] 'What was that you said about memory? 'A monster', was it?'

[Daniel] 'But I saw you standing in the sun.'

[Armand] 'As we age, the sun loses its power over us. What's a mediocre star to a 514-year-old vampire?'

[Louis] 'Daniel Molloy, I'd like you to meet the vampire Armand, the love of my life.'"

One, don't be too cocky, Louis, there's plenty you don't remember about that night too yourself.

Two, and we've come full circle again, the monster memory making itself fully known after lurking all season long.

Three, shut up Armand, the Sun is not a mediocre star, it's part of the entire reason there's life on this planet, show some respect. Sun deities are some of the most frequent deities around the globe. You need to come back down to earth.

Four, all the books being out of reach to Louis, another way Armand's exerting subtle control.

Five, "love of my life", BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAGA *deep breath* HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA, that line kills me every time I hear time. Why you lying Louis, stop fucking lying all the time. Sorry, Armand.

Daniel seeing them side by side and hearing that stupid line after listening to Louis ramble and compose poetry on the spot about Lestat for the past week or so: "hm. I sense bullshit of the highest degree. Time to destroy that whole tower of lies one by one.".

Aaaaaaaaaah, that was such a rich and intense episode!!!! What a grandiose season 1 final!!! So many different elements that have got to be revisited by other perspectives to get the full painting. So many seeds planted for season 2 and even season 3!! The writing is flawless, the acting is exquisite, the music is gorgeous, the costume, set design and stage direction are masterful. I am in love with this show.

ep1 | ep2 | ep3 | ep4 | ep5 | ep6 | part 1 | part 2

[moonpedri]

game over.

summary: meeting your ex at your friend's birthday party was the last thing you wanted, yet you somehow couldn't stay away from him.

pairing: pedri x reader

genre: fluff (sort of?), suggestive

warnings: none really, just a bit of toxic/fuckboy!pedri, making out

word count: 2.2k

a/n: this is my first fic i ever published. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing!! <3 (not proof-read)

────────────

The music around you is loud, blaring through the speakers. The people in front of you dance to their hearts content, watching them as you sit on the sofa somewhere in the corner of the room. You lean back and laugh at the birthday boy in the middle of it all, moving like rent was due tomorrow morning.

Sira joins in at her boyfriend's antics.

Tonight was Ferran's birthday. And as with every birthday of his, he liked to go all out. Especially with the house parties. Especially especially because it was his first one in Barcelona, having spent the last one in Manchester. He was happy to be back in Spain and more so to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

It has always been a childhood dream of his and by extent yours too. The two of you grew up together in Valencia and always dreamed of living in the big city up north. You for your studies and him for the football. You managed to leave first, enrolling into the University of Barcelona. Ferran took a little detour to England before joining you 2 years later. It was one of the best news you have ever received.

Both you and Sira helped preparing this party and you are happy that so far everything went well. You still aren't sure how Ferran knew so many people in the short time he has been here in Barcelona but the house is filled up to the last bit - which worried you at first but, oh well.

It wasn't up to the ideal athlete lifestyle either, but who followed that nowadays anyways? It was his birthday and they don't have any important games in the next few days. Though maybe training's going to be a pain in the ass tomorrow, but that didn't have anything to do with you.

You focus on the crowd in front of you again.

Next to Ferran is another figure, one that was quite familiar to you. You two lock eyes for a split second before you turn your head away. Displeased, you take a sip of your drink.

Sira, who noticed immediately, looks at you with a smirk on her lips. "Have you still not talked it out?"

You sigh, "There is nothing to talk out really."

She hums, "Hm, sure. That's why you two always look like you want to make out and rip each other's throat out at the same time."

"Sounds kinky.", you say, not adding anything more and take another sip. You really didn't want to talk about him. Sira on the other hand suddenly takes great interest in the topic.

"__, come on. This can't go on like this forever. You know what always worked whenever Ferran and I fought? The jealousy card."

You look at her exasperated, "Are you trying to give me relationship advice right now? We didn't fight, we ended things, Sira. I don't want him back."

"Then stop looking at him like every two seconds."

You hadn't even noticed. You groan, "I'm going to get myself another drink." And with that you hurry to the kitchen. Far far away from Sira and her stupid advices. She calls after you, but you ignore her.

Yeah, okay. Maybe you looked at him like what, two times? So what. You haven't seen him in a while, of course you were a bit curious. That was only human, right? After all, you had a right to be curious.

Annoyed that you think about him again, you open the door to the kitchen only to be greeted by the devil himself; and apparently an accomplice of his as well, as some girl was clinging to his arm.

A curse almost leaves your mouth at the sight.

Pedri.

He looks good, he always does. His face was freshly shaved and his dark locks frame his face oh so perfectly. He wore a dark T-Shirt that highlighted his toned upper-body, it was truly unfair how attractive he was right now.

At the sight of you, the blonde girl next to him dugs her long nails deep into his biceps. She is pretty, you notice quickly, which just makes the whole situation worse.

You stand there for second, thinking. As much as you want to, leaving was absolutely not an option. You wouldn't give him the satisfaction. You want Pedri to know that you don't care about him anymore, just like what he said to you all those weeks ago.

So, you straighten your back and squeeze past them and straight towards the fridge. You hear the girl scoff behind you, probably annoyed that you interrupted whatever they planned on doing. Trying to seem unbothered, you open the fridge and lean down to grab one of the energy drinks stored at the bottom. You could have kneeled down too, but maybe you wanted Pedri to see. The dress you wore was short, barely covering your ass. And seeing this girl in his arms, alone in the kitchen, irks you for some reason.

She could never be you, and you wanted to remind Pedri of that.

You could feel his eyes on you, "I know that I was the best thing that probably ever happened to you, and that you miss me, but did you really have to follow me all the way back to the kitchen?", he says and the girl next to him giggles. It makes your blood boil. Who does he think he is?

You turn around, just in time to catch him checking out your ass, and smile at him, "You're so full of yourself, it's actually disgusting, you know?"

He pretends to think, "I've heard those word a few times before, yes. In a different context though."

Oh, how you hate him. You detest him so so much, and yet it makes something churn in your stomach. "I hate you.", is all you say before you leave the kitchen. You believe to hear a "Likewise" leave his mouth. Bastard.

Maybe Sira was right. The jealousy card worked, but not how you wanted to. Not on him, but on you. Somehow the thought of leaving Pedri alone with that blonde bitch irritates you. It enrages something deep within you. And you want to turn the tables.

Without really thinking too much about it, you move your way into the middle of the dance floor, grab some guy's hand and move your hips like you were on the broadway. Like you were Britney fucking Spears.

Two could play this game. You chuck down the last bit of your energy drink and move in-between all these sweaty bodies. It may looked wrong but it felt good to let loose.Lost in both music and thoughts, you suddenly someone bump into you. You recognize the brown locks immediately.

Pablo Gavira. A very close teammate of Pedri and possibly his best friend.

You met him a little bit later than Pedri but nevertheless considered him a pretty good friend of yours - even after everything that happened.

"Oh, sorry- __, hey."

"Hey.", you say and involve him in some small talk. You haven't seen him in quite some time either. Due to the loud noises though, the two of you were forced to talk to each other in close approximity. Not that you complained, he is an attractive guy, you just never saw him that way.

Gavi knew his boundaries, you both knew them. And you don't think he was interested you in that way either. However a little fun never hurt anyone, right?

You tucked Gavi a little closer and moved your hips against his. Your hands hold firmly onto his shoulders and to anyone around you it may have seemed like there was definitely more going on between you two.

To Gavi and you, though, it's nothing. It's fun. If Gavi knows what your true intentions are, he doesn't show it.

You catch movement from the left side of your eye. Pedri and the girl stand in a group of people now, talking and chatting with each other. You recognize Sira and Ferran to be part of them.

Sira spots you first and smiles mischievously. Next to her, Pedri now turns your way as well. He furrows his brow immediately and you look back to Sira, who is signaling something to you. You understand, of course. Giving in into her "advice", you grab around Gavi's neck and push your chest against his. As Gavi's hands wander down slowly, you lean in closer to his face.

But Pablo wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what you were doing. "And here I thought you just wanted to spend some quality time with me.", he whispers into you ear, acting fake-hurt by your actions. You reckon that he is joining in on this little game you are playing, knowingly playing with fire too.

Innocently, you reply, "Am I not?"

"Hm, are you not?", he asks and tucks a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

You laugh, "Who knows," his hand is now on your lower back, ",but I have to admit you're surprisingly good at this."

"Ah, now you're hurting my feelings for real. Why is that surprising?"

"I don't know, I just didn't expect it I guess. You never gave me an opportunity to think otherwise.", you say and the tips of your noses almost touch.

It was mindless chit-chat really. To anyone looking from outside though, it definitely was not just mindless chit-chat; which is exactly what you wanted. You look over to your left, dark brown eyes boring directly into you. You can't decipher the look on Pedri's face; but it isn't difficult to point out that it's not positive. You grin at him and watch as his jaw clenches.

Right then, Gavi turns your face to him, index finger under your chin. "Well, at least you know now.", he glances behind you and chuckles, "He's going to kill me later, but for now good luck."

He lets go and suddenly a large hand circles around your waist and pulls you back. You hate the way you lean into the touch unconsciously; how your body responds quicker than your brain and recognizes it straight away.

Gavi winks at him (or you, you're not sure to be honest) and turns back to the crowd.

"Game over, princess.", Pedri whispers into your ear. Goosebumps spread all over your body. "You think I don't know what you're up to? I'm not stupid."

"So why are you here then?"

He lays his hands on your hips and spins you around. His face is impossibly close, "Because you're a fucking minx and it's annoying me."

You look at him unimpressed, "Fuck off, Pedri."

His tight grip on you prevents you from leaving. Pedri grabs your jaw, "That was your plan all along, wasn't it? Getting me all riled up, try making me jealous with my best friend out of everyone."

"So what?", you look up at him. And he only stares back. You could have pretended to be innocent, but you were done. You wanted to lay all cards open. He couldn't do anything about it, you weren't his.

"I thought you hated me?"

"I do."

"Yeah?"

You hum, "So much." You haven't realized how close he was to you now, your lips only inches apart.

Pedri looks at them for a split moment. Then his eyes wander down your body and it takes everything in you to not buckle under his gaze. You remind yourself that you were strong, not weak. You wanted to leave him high and dry, show him that he couldn't find anyone better than you. But that task proved itself to be harder than you initially thought.

So you tug him forward by the hem of his pants and pull him down by his neck, clawing at it almost. "And did my plan work?", you breathe against his mouth.

Pedri's lips on yours are the only confirmation you need.

He kisses you with force and so much desperation and frustration. You did with just as much. It's been too long.

His hands roamed your body, stopping at your ass. It hurt to admit how much you missed him on you. He squeezes the flesh of your butt, pulling you into him and you gasp into his mouth. "God, I missed you so much.", he roans.

You don't know how long you continued to make out, exploring each other as if it was your first time.

Only when someone bumps into you, the two of you part. You feel your heart beat hard against your chest. Stil trying to steady your breath, you look at him - unsure on how to proceed. But your lord and savior, in the form of Ferran, saves you from the awkwardness

"Pedri!", he calls him over. The boys are gathered in a group, and whatever they managed to do, they wanted to show Pedri.

He looks over to them, signaling them that he's coming.

He turns to you with a smirk. "We should definitely repeat that.", Pedri winks and caresses your face. He leaves a soft kiss on your cheek before leaving. His actions and words didn't match, which confuses you even more. But that was a problem for another time.

For now, you just bite your lip and smile after him. "Yeah.", is all you manage to say.

────────────

© moonpedri - DO NOT copy, translate or post my work anywhere without my permission!

check out my masterlist for more! 🤍

[bouncybongfairy]

Bodega Dreams Part 2

Miles Morales x Fem Reader

Summary: After finding out that not only is Miles is The Prowler but that you are also pregnant. You now must navigate how to repair the trust lost in your relationship.

Word Count: 3k+

(This story has a character who is getting an abortion. If that offends you: Block me.)

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

When you woke up the next morning, Miles still wasn't home. You didn't bother going out of the room to see if he was there because you didn't want to face his mom. You didn't really want to see Miles, either. Thinking about sorting all the emotions of the situation made you want to pass out. You wish you could say differently, but you didn't contemplate whether to tell Miles about the pregnancy. Deep down, you knew he had a right to know, even though it's your choice to do what's best for your body. If you didn't tell him, you had to live with the fact that you'd be keeping something so big from him. He didn't tell you about being The Prowler for the same reason. Having a child with someone is such a spiritual and intense experience and did you really want that with someone who kept such monumental secrets from you? This whole ordeal really cemented the insecurity she had about being so emotionally dependent on Miles. Even if you decide to leave, where would you go? Were you supposed to live with your dad in his prison cell or maybe at your mother's grave? You haven't even graduated highschool yet. 

You get out of bed and walk over to the bathroom and look in the mirror. Your face was swollen and your hair was going every which way. You decide to hop in the shower, doing nothing more than sitting in the hot water. It did make you feel a bit better, until you heard Miles gently knocking on the door. 

"Y|N?" he asked as you cut the water off. 

"I'm here," you said flatly.

"We need to talk," he said, you actually almost chuckled.

"What is there to talk about? You want me to accept that you're The Prowler which you've been hiding from me for God knows how long. You seem to be okay with literally murdering innocent people for whatever excuse or mission you're clearly willing to stick to no matter what. So what is there really to talk about Miles?" You spit the words out like venom. 

"I told you I was wrong for that. I figured the less you knew the less danger you'd be in. I didn't want you to be constantly worried about such complicated things," He said. 

"That's bullshit," you said, wrapping a towel around yourself and walking into the bedroom. 

"How am I protecting you from such a violent and vicious world bullshit?" he asked. 

"What did you think was going to happen when I found out? Did you really think you were going to go years without telling me? We are in a relationship that I thought was an open book, I didn't realize you were ripping out pages as I was reading. Don't fucking sit there and try to act like you were protecting me from knowledge because we both know knowledge isn't something that anyone needs to be protected from. You were protecting your own image you wanted me to have of you. It's really off putting that you're trying to make it seem like you had to lie to me to protect me. Like that's actually weird as fuck," you said throwing on a tee shirt and biker shorts. 

"Okay. I hear you and I understand that this hurt you," he said, getting less defensive.

"It's not that it hurt my feelings. Well I mean yeah it did but my trust in you is just gone. I just need time to clear my head, I love you but this is just such a fucked up situation," you said throwing on a pair of shoes and grabbing your purse. 

"Does your mom know?" you asked?

"Where are you-"

"Does. Your. Mom. Know?" You asked again which was followed by a heavy silence. 

"Oh that's rich, you protecting her too?" you asked rhetorically.

"What time are you gonna be home?" he asked, following you from the bedroom to the living room. 

"I just need to run down and get a couple things from the store. I love you," you said, giving him a kiss on the cheek before heading out the door. 

You have never been so relieved to smell the rotting garbage on the curb in your life. You didn't want to be in the house right now. You reach into your bag to pull out your pen but when you remembered your situation. You threw it back into your bag in frustration and walked to your favorite deli and ordered a cold sub and a diet coke. You haven't eaten anything after vomiting your brains out last night. Your body was past empty at this point. After you left you hopped on the subway and made your way down to the cemetery, buying a bouquet of flowers from a street vendor. 

You felt stupid for getting ready so fast because it was 60 degrees and you were in some damn biker shorts. You wanted to go see your moms grave, it just made you feel calm and at peace. You missed her in times like this, she died when you were about 12. You were grateful for the childhood memories but in your teenage years you needed her. Sometimes you think your dad wouldn't have spiraled if she didn't pass, as awful as the sounds. It's nobody's fault but that almost makes it worse, accepting that it was just her fate was harder than blaming someone. 

Once she got to the cemetery she pulled some weeds away from her grave stone. She used her napkins from the deli to wipe away some of the debris from the stone. After that, you laid your jacket on the ground and started to eat your food. You are a spiritual person, so you didn't feel like you needed to relay the last 24 hours to her verbally. You feel as though she watches over you and knows what's going on as it happens. You set your sandwich down and let out a big sigh. 

"This is just a fucked up mess huh?" you asked rhetorically washing your food down with your soft drink.

You spent the time at the cemetery self reflecting on what you were going to do. It was your decision to be with Miles even if he is The Prowler. You understood that this could put you in danger, enemies who wanted to hurt you just to get to Miles. That was a choice you could make but a baby can't help the life they are brought into. Would it really be moral for you to put your child in a situation where they could be killed or used as ransom or whatever? Even if you didn't consider his alter ego, you were both barely 18. You wanted to go to college, have a career, travel and experience everything life has to offer with Miles. Not to mention the clone, your brain really couldn't even process that; it literally gave you a migraine. You wiped a few tears from your face and stood up. You pack your things up and make your way out of the graveyard and stop at the store before heading back to the apartment. 

When you walked in, Miles was sitting on the couch. He jumped up once he heard the door open, practically running to you. 

"How are you?" he asked you, running his hands down your arms. 

"We need to talk," you sighed walking back into the bedroom.

"Yeah, of course," he said following you. 

"First, I want to say that I understand why you didn't tell me. I think it was stupid but I do get why you thought it would protect me. I'm extremely hurt that.. you wouldn't tell me such an important part of your life. I'm not saying that I completely forgive you and want to move on but, there is something that- I'm pregnant. I feel kinda like everything that happened last night really opened my eyes to how many things you have to consider when having a baby. I don't think we should have this baby especially with everything we have going on," you said with tears pooling in your eyes. Miles covered his hands with his face and ran them down his cheeks slowly.

"Holy shit," he said standing up, starting to pace. 

"I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but you will respect my decision." you said, he shook his head in agreement. 

"I'm so sorry that I put you through last night especially knowing, you know. I respect your decision of course but you also have to respect my feelings about it," he said, getting on his knees in front of you. You were sitting on the bed, he rested his elbows on your knees and looked up at you as he spoke. 

"Well what are your feelings about it?" you asked.

"I love you so obviously the thought of raising a child with you intrigues me. I want to be able to have a future and a family with you but like you said it's your decision," he said

"Even if I decided to keep it, would that really work? You're.. The Prowler. I can make the decision to stay with you even though I know I'm at risk. I can't bring an innocent child into that," you said, taking his face into your hands.

"I know," he said rubbing his hands, "Tomorrow, I want to take you down to the warehouse. To show you everything i've been up to. I don't want to hide anything from you anymore," he said standing up and sitting next to you on the bed. 

"Is it safe?" you asked. 

"It's safe when the lion is the one who is inviting you into the den right?" he asked.

"Not unless the lion wants a little snack," you joked back.

"I might be feeling hungry by then," he said making you laugh, this was the first time you smiled at each other since the entire ordeal. 

~

You meant what you said about how you couldn't forgive and forget everything he kept from you. It did make you feel better that he was wanting to open up more and show you what he's been up to. This is the first step to healing the relationship in your opinion. You're just trying to take things day by day, stressing out constantly would just make everything worse. Once you woke up in the morning you started getting ready to go with Miles to work. Then after you were going to planned parenthood to set up an appointment. You expressed to Miles how you were a bit nervous because of everything you've seen about the protestors who harass people who come in and out. He reassured you that he wouldn't allow anyone to do so.  You both were in the car pulling up to the warehouse, Uncle Aaron allowed Miles to take his truck for the day to run errands.

The building was dull from the outside, it didn't look abandoned but not necessarily occupied either. There were no cars in sight and trash littered the ground, stray dogs fighting over who knows what. There was a line of tents that ran along one of the fence lines. Once you got into the building you were a bit confused because it appeared to be completely empty. He led you to the corner of the large room and let go of your hand. He pushed a broken refrigerator about five feet from its original placement, revealing a set of stairs. Once you were downstairs your eyes widened; it was like you stepped into a whole new world. 

Tables that were packed to the brim with technology and weapons that looked like they came from the pits of world war three. Not only just machinery but what appeared to be a lab, different test tubes filled with different colored liquids among other things. Open duffle bags of money, more money you'd ever seen in real life. You were pretty taken back with everything you were seeing. 

"What is it that you do exactly?" you asked, running your fingers along one of the tables. 

"We're essentially body guards for our boss Kingpin. If he has a problem with someone then that person has a problem with The Prowler," he said, grabbing your hand. 

"So you promise me you're not just killing for fun?" you asked, turning to face him. 

"I would never purposefully end someone's life for shits and giggles. Ever." he said. 

"Are you happy doing all this?" you asked.

"I am, I feel like I really do help keep people safe. The people that Kingpin sicks us on can be some of the most vile people you could imagine. Not only that, I try to give back to the community. You know Mrs. Rodchester who lives on 112th? Ever since her husband died, her entire social security goes towards her rent. The other day Uncle Arron and I were able to stock her entire fridge and buy her things like toilet paper etc. There's a man in our building whose wife died, leaving him with 4 kids under 15. We took them back to school shopping and were able to pay for a gravestone. I know we can cause harm but I don't know I really try to be as good as I can," he said.

"Thank you for taking me here and showing me more about what you do. I feel alot better about this entire thing," you said, pulling him into a hug. 

"Me too," he said. 

You were both on your way to the clinic, you were a bit sad but deep down you knew this was the best decision for your situation. Miles had taken some money from one of the bags and stopped at Mcdonalds. When you pulled into the parking lot you were taken back by how outlandish the protesters were. Holding signs with fetuses and bible verses under them. Yelling and trying to talk to every car that exited, trying to show fliers through the car windows. Thou shall not judge though right? You felt bad from women who didn't have a choice being told their evil for something they can't help. Like women with ectopic pregnancies or rape victims who may not necessarily want an abortion but need to for their health. 

After walking into the lobby you only waited about an hour before getting your appointment set up. It was a week from now and you were feeling relieved that it was being taken care of. You read online that a lot of girls have guilt even if they wanted to go through with it. You however didn't feel this way, you were confident that you were making the right choice for yourself, Miles and your pregnancy. He was being so supportive, he held your hand the entire time and kept telling you: I support you no matter what. As you guys were walking out of the clinic, you were shocked at the hell that broke loose while you were inside. Police cars were everywhere, and three protesters were in handcuffs, you laughed when you saw them. That smile quickly faded once you saw a young woman covered in blood. Apparently one of the protesters threw a bucket of pig's blood on a woman walking back to her car. 

"I wasn't even getting an fucking abortion I came here to pick up my damn birth control!" she practically screamed as an officer comforted her, wiping some of the blood off her face. Once you got back to the car, tears started to flow down your face.

"What's wrong?" Miles asked. 

"Maybe it's just hormones but I feel so bad for that girl. What if that was me I just- people can be so cruel," you said showing a handful of slightly cold fries into your mouth. 

"Yeah pro-life until it's the life of the woman of the fetus," he said, putting the car into drive and making your way home. You were exhausted once you got home, you let your body flop onto the couch. Rio was making spaghetti which you were excited for. She put vegetables in it like mushrooms and zucchini which you really liked. 

"Where have you guys been, I feel like I haven't seen you either in a couple days," she said, wiping her hands on your jeans, pulling Miles into a hug. You could barely keep your eyes open so you excuse yourself and go lay down. Miles followed you explaining that he had to go meet up with Uncle Aaron to handle some business. You don't really remember what you said because as soon as your head hit the pillow you were out. 

~

"Come on Mami, come eat," Rio said as she sat on the bed rubbing your arm up and down to wake you up. You slowly got up, feeling like a bear coming out of hibernation. You walked out and there was already a plate ready for you.

"Thank you so much, it smells so good," you said sitting down. 

"Of course," she paused before continuing, "so, I found this in the bathroom," she said holding up your pregnancy test, you could physically feel the blood draining from your face. 

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you I was-" you started before Rio interrupted you. 

"Don't apologize, you are loved and supported here and I want you to know that I support you. No matter what you decide. Does Miles know?" she asked, sitting down next to you, putting her hand on your knee. 

"Yes he knows, he came with me to planned parenthood. I'm not going to keep the baby, I just don't think our relationship or either of our mental states could handle a baby. I'm not ready," you said, starting to cry for the thousandth time today. 

"You know only Jef and I know this but before Miles I had an abortion. He just got accepted into the police academy and I wasn't even halfway done with nursing school. Not only that, I had such bad morning sickness that I lost 15 pounds. I couldn't eat, sleep or focus; I couldn't get anything done, nothing. My point in telling you this, I want you to know that life can move forwards even as big of an obstacle as this is okay?" she asked and you pulled her into a hug. She laughed and wrapped her arms around you tightly. 

"Thank you for everything," you said. 

"My bonus daughter," she said, pulling away and holding your face in her hands. She then turned on the T.V as you both started to eat. 

"I am currently reporting live from a planned parenthood in Harlem, New York. Three protesters died after an assault of a woman who was doused in blood after picking up a prescription. Police have indicated that The Prowler is tied to this case due to the debris left on the scene and the nature of the attack. Heather Morretti reporting with Channel 101 News." The women spoke loudly through the speaker. 

"Serves them right," Rio said, getting up to grab a drink. You sat there dumbfounded and confused. You immediately get up and run to the bathroom, throwing up everything you ate today.

Authors Note:

Thank you for reading, I was feeling a bit insecure about my writing before posting the first part to this story. I'm so happy to see that people enjoy my work and it makes me feel proud to cover a topic that many women feel they can't talk about without getting attacked. Abortion is health care and as @kickbacknxtdoor said when someone has so many things on their plate, a baby truly can be out of the question and that isn't something to be ashamed of. Again, abortion is health care that every person should have entailment to. If that triggers you, tough tatas.

@sosongstrawberry

@isabelcor3

[splatoonpolls]

SPLATOON OC TOURNEY ROUND 4 BATTLE 4

Talia Yareli by @gingergari vs Tami by @wyrm-in-a-closet

PROPAGANDA/BACKSTORY

TALIA

Talia (age 24 (~16 in splat1), pronouns he/her) is from Calamari County! Her family consists of her mother, her older sister Moselle (28, a firefighter) that she looks up to a lot, and her younger sister Ren (18). He originally moved to Inkopolis to make a living as a pro battler, which he did for a few years with his roommate turned girlfriend Peri, maining both Dynamos depending on the kits given. Then Grizzco opened for business, and it turned out that they paid pretty well all things considered, and that they were both *really* good at it. (They also thought it was fun for the most part) Since they were consistently hitting the upper ranks of Profreshional, when Grizzco expanded to the Splatlands the pair were invited to relocate as Eggsecutive VPs to help support the branch and to help train up some new recruits. That's how Victoria (Eggs) and Fiorello (Safety) ended up joining them :] Speaking of nicknames, Talia has the worst name memory in the world and has a lot of trouble remembering the names of people and occasionally objects, so he gives them a nickname she remembers a lot better. (Peri is a nickname! But sometimes Talia falls back on pet names until he remembers either her nickname or actual name) He is very worried that he comes across as rude for it (or anything in general) so tries to be as friendly as possible. He was the one that gave Safety the life preserver gear as a gift! Talia is a huge fan of Big Man (finds that he relates to him the most) and did cry when he lost the leader splatfest :( Also cried when he was homesick and tried to get her favorite dish, clam mochi, at a Splatlands restaurant which turned out as you would expect. His favorite splatband is Sashimori. Talia is friends with my Agent 3, but does not know the truth about Grizzco.

TAMI

An inkling born to ordinary parents who worked at Gone Fission power plant. However, a salmonid big run happened in the area, and because Grizzco didn't yet exist, it had to be abandoned, and Tami's parents were killed. Tami herself, who was also there, was badly injured and lost her right arm, was found by some salmonids, but because she was a young inkling the salmonids didn't know what she was and so instead of killing her took her home. She then spent almost her entire life growing up with the salmonids, and became a very skilled fighter, but also starting a band with a couple other salmonids. They make music that's like horrible to listen to and will overestimate you. Once she was 14, she joined the war on salmonids on the side of the salmonids. Over time Grizzco expands and poses a larger and larger threat to the salmonids, so Tami decides that she's going to go try and put a stop to it, because she's the only one who could make it to inkling civilation without being killed, although that doesn't change the fact she didn't know the language, culture, or anything. After spending several nights on the streets of splatsville, Tami is found by Tide, an octoling who's been living there for some time. Tide takes Tami under their wing, despite them knowing nothing about each other. Over the next few months Tide teachers Tami inkling language, has Tami participate in battles (where she fuckin rocks at it bc she's been literally trained for war), all while Tami searches for more info on Grizzco, but unfortunately nobody knows shit about it. Finally she happens across Cuttlefish and eventually falls into Alterna, where she has no idea what's going on until eventually wow Mr. Grizz is there. She fucking kills him and then just kinda leaves without really joining the squidbeak splatoon she just wanted to kill Mr grizz. Anyways then she and Tide probably go back to salmonid or something I haven't really figure this out. Sorry for the text wall

[curiositythecryptid]

stop thinking about You.

Ris rambles about DRS2E7 because it made me cry. Do not read if you haven't watched DRS2P1 yet.

Let's start from the beginning.

They're trying to learn a new technique, the Rising Dragon, that is their only chance against a new foe. In order to do it, they need to master the principle of Motion, which is all about moving in harmony with the universe around you. They're going through a training course, taking turns trying to get the technique right, and it's Kai's turn. Kai fails, Egalt criticizes him, and this is where the scene starts.

"Who are you saying lacks spirit?" Fire is sometimes associated with spirit- with what's vibrant and intense. Kai is like that, he's full of spirit, it's one of his main marking traits as a character, to be vivid and confident. Just like his hair, Kai holds on tightly to anything that makes him feel unique. "Ah, you better not be talking about me!"

Nya asks to do the course as a pair for Kai's sake. Kai realizes that and quickly goes "I can do this myself, Nya!" He has to be able to! Just like he Has To Be Able To Light A Fire*, he has to Figure The Thing Out, he has to solve the problem because there's no mom or dad around- ah whoops.

(*TLDR: Lighting a fire is a survival skill, and survival doesn't listen to "excuses". What is needed in the moment is needed and that's it- either he figures it out or his family gets hurt, that's the logic he's used to.)

"I know what's holding you back." "What?" "You. Stop thinking about you. Start thinking about Counter Shot."

This is an old song. "Kai, start thinking about yourself as part of a team!" This is an OLD song. The smith siblings are very independent, self-confident people, and they're very hard on themselves. Independence is not a bad thing, but it can get in the way. Nya understands that better than Kai does, because she had an arc around it. Around not being able to solve everything herself, but rolling with the punches and trusting others to continue what she started.

Stop thinking about you. Start thinking about Counter Shot.

Stop thinking about how you need to Handle It. Start thinking about the thing that needs to be handled, start thinking about the goal, not about the price of failure.

In the end, the drill stays the same. They're doing the same course they would do if they were alone. The only difference is just the mindset of doing it together instead of Being The One To Handle It. It goes from "I'M gonna do it!" to "we're DOING IT!"

And then we get the flashback- and this is what we see:

That house.

That frame of the blacksmith shop is so important to me. They look so small in front of the house, and they ARE small, and for a while they were the only people living in it. This has almost the same vibe as someone looking at the mountain they're going to climb, standing before a challenge.

This is where the map is hidden. This is where Maya and Ray will be taken from. This is where they learn to blacksmith. This is where they're going to grow up. This is where will take care of eachother and this is where they will inevitably hurt eachother.

This is where Nya will be kidnapped. This is where the entire series started.

When I see that house, I can't help but see that history. The camera has them holding hands, looking nervous to complete the challenge. It zooms out, but INSTEAD of focusing on the horseshoes- the game they're getting ready for- it pans out to focus on THE ENTIRE HOUSE. Growing up is a challenge they will face together.

sure, it's an establishing shot. But coupled with their body language, it's. Something. They're standing together, holding hands, nervous about getting the course right. They're facing the house where all of that history will happen. This draws a parallel between Counter Shot (we're DOING IT!) and that house (growing up, surviving and everything that came with it).

It's saying, "this is a game they will play as a team."

But growing up, running the family business, lighting up the forge to work every morning, heating up their food in time for lunch, taking charge and coming up with a solution whenever there isn't an adult around to do it... that doesn't feel very much like a game anymore.

If HE doesn't Do The Thing, who will? Nya. At least, that's how it used to work- if he fails, he's giving Nya more work, and she's just a kid and younger than him, so he can't let that happen. He's giving those around him more work and he can't have that happen because they've already got too much on their plates.

"[what's holding you back is] You. Stop thinking about You. Start thinking about Counter Shot."

Start thinking about getting this done regardless of how you need to do it- there's no shame asking for help. (There's no shame in loving yourself, there's no shame in self-care- things he proudly does and states!)

Nya knows Kai very well, and in this moment she knows exactly the kind of mindset that he's sinking back into, visible in how worked up and defensive he's getting about it. So she comes up with a plan. Something from way back, some situation in which he didn't have that mindset nagging at him.

Seeing Kai and Nya have fun as kids is so healing to me. From the way he looks and sounds thinking about it, it's healing to Kai, too.

The establishing shot draws a parallel between their history and the game, and Nya sets a parallel between the game and Kai finding harmony with the world around him. But what is that harmony?

"I am perfectly still, Master." "Wrong!"

Egalt estabilishes that you're never still, even if you try to, because your body moves of its own accord, and because the world around you pushes and moves you.

Your body moves of its own accord. No matter empty the world, the house might have felt, it was still where they lived, where they were alive to make memories, memories he grows up to find special.

The world around you moves you, whether you see it or not. Nya looks after him, too, no matter how alone he thinks he is, he can't escape the fact that there will be things others will help him with. He can't escape the fact he isn't alone, all he needs is to do is see that.

Kai is not moving alone: that's Motion, and that's the Rising Dragon.