#I keep playing him despite doing HORRIBLE because he is my son and I love him

[noodles-in-the-sink]

Trying so hard to learn how to play Prisoner by doing nothing aside from trial and error… I’m doing so horrible that I’ve had to use the default costume, so that people think I’m new

[weasleyreidstyles]

Serendipity Headcannons; Mattheo Riddle

series masterlist

A glimpse into our main boy's life leading up to sixth year (where Serendipity kicks off) – eventually going to do them for each character (the ones who are a constant in the series), except meadow since that's more reader-centric but let me know who i should do next (this is me putting off writing chapter 17 because its making me want to rip out my hair)

It actually ended up being so long (i got carried away) that i'll have to do a separate post for the nsfw😏 hcs that i also wrote down - if that's something that people want to see of course

warning(s): cannonical violence, mentions of parental death, menions of torture and abuse (tried to make this as mild as possible), allusions to self harm (literally one bullet point), mentions of blood supremacy/cannonical pureblood madness, mentions of alcohol consumption/drug use, mentions of being sick (sorry fellow emetaphobes), allusions to an ED

Obviously he's Voldemort's son (its a known fact; when his name was called shortly after Harry's during the Sorting Ceremony, people immediately began to fear him for his last name – avoided him in corridors and older students were horrible to him)

His mother died when he was born, so he never got to meet her. But she had loved Tom Riddle with all her heart, despite knowing what kind of person he was (I like the tom hughes fancast for an older version of him – TikTok editors have me influenced)

When he failed to kill baby Harry, Theodore Nott's mum took it upon herself to care for Mattheo (who was only several months older than Harry at the time) – she was close friends with Matt's mum

They may not be related by blood, but Matt considers Theo to be his brother as well as his best friend

Mattheo's childhood (up until he was eight) was relatively acquiescent, but obviously being the heir to the Dark Lord comes with its own traumas – he was plagued with nightmares he swears were real conversations with his father

When Theo's mum died, his father wasn't the nicest to either of the boys; they both grew to resent him – the man either ignored them, shouted at them or beat them senselessly (to build character)

They had a Governess in the years after Theo's mum died, so that they'd be well ahead of their peers once they got to Hogwarts - also a way to keep them out of Theo Nott Senior's way

During his sorting, the hat immediately placed him in Slytherin, but it wasn't as quick to choose, like it was with Draco or Blaise.

Harry had unconsciously made him public enemy number one when he found out who he was (I mean his dad did kill Harry's parents so) as well as Draco and co

Mattheo doesn't believe in the blood supremacy that is spouted around pureblood families – has never used 'mudblood' to insult anyone (draco take notes fr) – but thats only due to theo's mother and the way she raised her boys – also it would be so hypocritical because he's a halfblood (i think, idk the twisted lore of purebloods too deeply)

Professor Quirrell took a particular interest towards Mattheo (his dad was literally playing house on the back of the guys head)

He found out that Quirrell was Voldemort (?) pretty quickly when the Dark Mark was burned onto his left forearm – something that continuously happened in his nightmares so he thought he was in one when it happened

Partly why he didn't say anything – he was also weary that no one would believe him

He tried everything to get it off his skin – burning, scratching, spelling, even carving it out, but nothing worked. The Dark Mark was engraved onto his arm like it had buried itself within the very cell structure of his skin

He didn't gain as much attention as Harry did in first year. He went practically under the rader after the first couple of months, only interacting with his small group of friends (Theo, Draco, Blaise, Enzo and Pansy) and competing for the top academic spot in class – when Theo's father found out that both boys were being beaten for first place by a muggleborn (go Hermione!), he used the cruciatus curse on both of them - moreso on Theo :(

Second year was a completely different story however

When the Chamber of Secrets opened, people whispered that he could be the heir of Slytherin (because his father is literally Voldemort so technically they weren't wrong) and he didn't go as unnoticed as before

He developed a thick skin towards the insults and returned them with steely looks that sent people scurrying the other way

He began physically fighting some people when his restraint snapped at times though – he didn't have a way to relieve the tension from all the agression at this point

The only people who spoke to him with no fear were his friends

When the first student was petrified, he was brought into Dumbledore's office for questioning

During the dueling session, he watched in awe as Harry spoke to the snake but didn't dare say a word

He was the only one in his group that didn't bad mouth Harry at this time or call him the 'heir of Slytherin'

He's actually really smart (not at Ancient Runes though lol) and is among one of Professor Flitwick's favourite students

When Harry and Ron posed as Crabbe and Goyle you (Meadow) had posed as Pansy and he had thought it was strange to see her with the two of them, but she had a small crush on Draco in first and second year so he brushed it off as her trying to impress his friend

But he knew it wasn't her when Draco had mentioned Hermione (calling her a mudblood) and 'Pansy' had gone deathly still

He's been skilled at Occlimency for as long as he can remember, as has Theo. But Mattheo has a certain affinity (he calls it a curse) for hearing people thoughts without even uttering the spell – also why he's so good at preventing people like Dumbledore from using it on him

Wasn't aware of his father's diary being used to lure Harry to the Chamber of Secrets, but at one point he heard the whispers in the pipes and vehemently ignored it until it eventually stopped (big mistake, cus voldy holds grudges very well)

Once Ginny was rescued from the Chamber, he felt incredibly guilty even though he literally had no control of the situation – sent her an 'anonymous' gift basket as an apology (he knew it would never make up for what happened to her, but he hoped it would at least make her smile) – it did, she thought it was a gift from dumbledore though

One of the only times he was even a little kind to the Golden Trio and their friends

The summer after second year was hellish for him and Theo

The basilisk was obviously meant to kill Harry so Theo Nott Senior was angry that his master's big plan had failed (2 years running🤝)

Third year was more mild than the last (thank God, honestly)

Mattheo had made it onto the quidditch team now that half of them had left the year before

He's a beater and proud of it – lets out all that pent up agression on the field, which makes him one of the best in his house (dare i say whole school🤭)

Quidditch became his whole personality basically (he's a teenage boy duh – it's like the football obsessed idiots in the pub levels) and he came to love the attention it brought him – he was starting to be noticed by girls outside Slytherin and making enemies with the rival players

He decided then that he wanted to play quidditch professionally in the future – he would not be caught dead behind a desk in the Ministry (they probably wouldn't hire hom anyway, simply because he's a Riddle)

Because he was on the team, he was invited to more parties which he also enjoyed – the man can drink!

But he wasn't one to jump around like a madman like some people he saw at the parties. He and his friends (those on the team – Theo, Blaise and Draco) would sit around the sofas and play drinking games with others who were sat down – including you and some of your housemates at times – but never the Gryffindors

Sirius Black was on the loose which took the pressure of being Tom Riddle's son off his shoulders somewhat – no one actually dared to fuck with Mattheo now that he was a beater either

Buckbeak took a liking to him, surprisingly, as did the thestrals that only he, Theo and so few others could see

The dementors affected him as much as they affected Harry – he could hear his own mother's cries

During the boggart lesson, he was apprehensive of what he would see – would he see what he sees in his most horrifying nightmares? Or would it be something as trivial as a grindilow or something?

Safe to say he was glad that Professor Lupin stopped the lesson after Harry's turned into the dementor

Speaking of dementors, one of the only spells he cannot cast is the Patronus Charm – even his happiest memories are not strong enough to envoke the magic

People thought he helped Sirius into the castle at one point (absurd, i know)

He and Harry got into some arguments at times – Mattheo liked to provoke him for the fun of it, mostly so that competition on the quidditch field was filled with extra tension, but also because Harry and Ron are dickheads who like to talk shit about him and his friends (hypocrites because the Slytherins literally do the same thing lol)

This is the point where you're on his radar a bit more frequently – you, Ron and Hermione went to Hogsmeade a lot and were frequently in the same places as Mattheo and his friends

He does not like you at all, partly for the fact that you follow Harry and Dumbledore so blindly but also – you are one of the reasons he and theo get so much stick at home, along with hermione being top of the class, you are as well so he grows to resent you a little

He's always there when you're yelling at anyone who says something against your friends (usually Crabbe or Goyle – our mortal enemies fr)

When Sirius escaped the dementors people genuinely thought he helped (again, absurd i know)

Moving onto fourth year...he went to the Quidditch World Cup with Theo and Nott Senior disappeared after the match ended and festivities began

We all know what happened but when the Dark Mark appeared in the sky, Theo, Draco and Mattheo all looked at it in absolute horror, having heard the harrowing stories first hand from their families

Mattheo had a panic attack at the thought of his father returning – after the run in with him in first year, he's been certain that Voldemort isn't really dead, and this confirms it for him (because why the fuck would his father's mark appear out of nowhere?)

Because of that, the school year is off to a great start

He gets into fights left, right and centre – especially since quidditch has been cancelled in favour of hosting the Triwizard Tournament (i've obviously aged up the characters but lets pretend the age limit still exists in some capacity)

The Durmstrang students practically worshipped the ground he walked on – which was ego boosting to start with, but Mattheo quickly grew irritated by their constant infatuation with him – especially Karkaroff who always compared him to the great Tom Riddle or the 'Dark Lord' interchangeably

Whenever Professor Moody stared at him for too long, he got an odd sensation on his left forearm, where the mark sits, like spiders were scurrying and crawling around – he decides after the very first DADA lesson (unforgivable curses) that he did not like this professor.

There was just something off about him, but Mattheo couldn't quite figure out what – foolishly tried Occlimency but obviously it didn't work on the most infamous auror

Wasn't even surprised when Harry's name came out of the Goblet – he is coined 'Saint Potter' by the friendgroup (started of course by Draco)

He and Theo snuck out to the forbidden forest to see the dragons up close before the first task – almost got caught by Charlie Weasley, had Hagrid and Harry not showed up with Madame Maxine mere moments before he could spot them

He took a random girl from Beauxbatons to the Yule Ball because he did not want to deal with the hassle of Hogwarts gossip – but everyone gossiped about it anyway (busybodies)

Rumours went around about the two of them (you know like how Snape caught two people in the carriage🤭)

At this point, you were just his arch nemesis' best friend so you were not fully on his radar past sneering comments and jibes, but a small part of him can admit that you looked beautiful in your glittering dress (think Feyre starfall dress vibes)

The rest of the year went by uneventfully – he got on with his school work and remained one of the top of class except in Ancient Runes which theo tried to tutor him in....unsuccessfully

In the months leading up to the third task, Mattheo noticed Moody's skittish behaviour (also Karkaroff and weirdly...Snape) especially after Crouch was found murdered in the Forbidden Forest after the second task

On the day of the first task, he had the worst gut feeling he's ever felt – bigger than the day he found out that his surrogate mother had died

Sitting in the stands with his friends, near the back of the stadium, his arm begins to burn so painfully that he has to fight physically crying out at the crippling pain (Voldemort just got resurrected as a noseless alien)

Excuses himself to his friends' utter confusion and concern – Theo stops Pansy from running after him, letting him have space, somehow just knowing what Matt's sudden departure meant (he saw Mattheo cradle his left arm while he walked away)

Just before Mattheo walks through the exit, Harry apparates back with the trophy (portkey) and Cedric's dead body beneath him screaming that "Voldemort's back!"

He couldn't hold back the contents of his stomach at the statement because he knew it was true. He just knew it deep in his bones.

He had to hide behind the bleachers of the quidditch pitch while everyone was stampeding to leave, where he just sobbed and sobbed because he knew then what his future would be.

Theo found him an hour later and together they mourned for the future Mattheo had desperately always wanted

That summer was the worst he's ever experienced to date.

He met this snake-like version of his father, his only other memories being of a handsome man (Tom Hughes vibes) not whatever this thing was.

His father thanked Theo Nott Senior personally for taking such good care of his heir – this was such an ego boost for that horrid man

Mattheo was tortured into the perfect soldier that summer – tasked with training other Slytherins/purebloods into the regime

Its not very discernable but if his hands are still for long enough, they begin to shake unconsciously due to just how many times Voldemort used the cruciatus curse on him

His nightmares had become a reality that summer – he no longer slept, and only ate when Draco had to force him to

There was one silver lining at least

No one believed Harry Potter.

So Voldemort's army grew exponentially in secret, as did their knowledge of certain prophecies

We know that Professor Trelawney had the vision but Voldemort has a seer of his own – who made him aware of the order being in possession of a siphon but not able to say who it is (its meadow of course🤪🤪🤪)

His fifth year marked the start of the war, even if the otherside didn't know it just yet

At school, Harry started many explosive arguments with him, that he admittedly fed into a little bit out of pure amusement

His stoic facade was ever present this year. Not an expression painted his handsome face in the public eye. Rarely did anyone catch a glimmer of joy in those onyx eyes.

It was around this time, when he discovered that Harry was being taught Occlimency that you were doing some studying of your own

He heard the soft whisper of your thoughts in his head – a pleasant sound – mumbling little bits and pieces about the art, as if you were revising them over and over like a broken record

He knew you were Theo's patrol partner because Theo would not stop complaining about having to deal with one of Saint Potter's loyal followers (the two of you did not speak for 5 whole patrol sessions – lets say between September and November)

Thats when the idea sprang

Admittedly it started out as a way to satisfy his curiosity

He wanted to know why you were learning Occlimency and actually doing surprisingly well, despite not having someone to actively practice it on/with you, while Potter was not taking it seriously at all

So he asked Theo to try and befriend you – when asked why, he explained that he was curious and wanted to know if he hunch he had was right – his gut feelings are almost never wrong

Theo begins his task of slowly befriending you and relaying anything remotely important to Mattheo – no progress at first, until the two of you happen to bond over your hatred for the new DADA professor

He joins the Inquisitorial Squad because Theo's father wanted him to, and by extension said that the Dark Lord wanted his son to set an example too (lets not forget, in his prime Tom was literally the smartest in the school – was definitely head boy as well as an academic weapon)

This is how he finds out what Umbridge's detentions truly entailed

Speaking of Umbridge (she deserves her own tw actually), she had shown particular favouritism towards Mattheo and his friends, to anyone who was against Harry, really – never gave them detentions and let them off easily, even defended Mattheo's honour against Harry's 'heinous' accusations

But back to the detentions – both he and Theo found out about the blood quill around the same time

He was waiting for Theo to finish patrols so they could go smoke in the Astronomy Tower, when he overheard Umbridge talking to the two of you

Well actually she was talking to you – because apparently it was now against the rules for prefects to walk around past curfew (even though thats their literal role?) and she gave you a detention for it

When you asked why in Merlin's name Theo wasn't being treated the same, she said it's because he's on the Inquisitorial Squad and was therefore exempt from her detentions

You had detention the next day and did not show up to your next few patrols, but Mattheo saw the hints of a glamour covering your non-dominant hand (he would know because he's had a glamour over his scarred forearm for years)

Theo told him that you refused to admit that something was wrong - you hadn't even told your friends about whatever was bothering you

They found out by chance – a first year that had gotten lost was cradling their hand and the boys saw the words of the boy's own scrawl etched harshly into the flesh of his hand

When Matt was observing you in the library one day (happenstance, he's not a stalker lol), he was deducing how far along you were with Occlimency but found that you winced and held your head when he actively tried to enter your mind – not good for how long you'd been teaching yourself the art

So he gets Theo to talk to you mentally and the first time it happens is actually comical – you drop the contents of your potions incredients onto the floor out of shock before you whack Theo across the head with your hardbacked potions textbook

That's really how the two of you became friends, your friendship with Pansy following soon after

Now you're slowly building up the tolerance for Occlimency with a little help from a friend

Leading up to Christmas, the mark burns wickedly against his skin at all hours of the day

Then Arthur Weasley is attacked and Mattheo is surprised that no Weasley has come to deck him in the face for simply being Voldemort's son

Obviously no one does because everyone (barring you and Hermione) have been swept away to 12 Grimmauld Place

After Christmas he does get decked – George sends a bludger his way that most definitely had the power to break his entire arm (and definitely a few ribs); after the abysmal Christmas break he's had, he's almost tempted to let it happen – but his beater instincts kick in and he's pelting the bludger and all its momentous energy towards one of Gryffindor's chasers instead

His Dark Mark burns every time his father fails to retrieve his and Harry's prophecy

He begins to suspect that you are the siphoner when you perform wandless magic like its a second nature during breakfast one morning (you're using your magic to flip through the pages of your book, while you leisurely sip coffee, probably awaiting Granger's arrival)

His suspicions are more than confirmed when your magic seems to literally pulse like your pulling more of it from the air – it's almost indiscernible, but if he paid attention, he could see the symphonic ripple of your magic and the Great Hall's magic mingling in the air (and he knows Dumbledore can see it too)

He explains this to Theo without telling him so much that'll get him involved with what knowing this will mean for his brother

He passes all his O.W.Ls with a plethora Outstanding and Exceeds Expectations grades, except for Ancient Runes where he gets a mere Acceptable (which somehow still allows him to retake the class in his N.E.W.Ts options, funnily enough)

What's not funny is Voldemort's reaction to this anomaly of a result :(

Lets rewind to june 18th (aka battle of department of mysteries; RIP Sirius Black you icon, you legend)

The DA have just been busted (like two weeks/a week prior to the date above) and you're all in detention writing out the line "I must not disobey the Ministry" over and over again – to the point where it has become a permanent scar that you see everyday

Exams are happening and Harry has just been delivered a vision by Voldemort (he just passed out in a DADA exam🫣)

Saint Potter and his band of followers try to break into Umbrige's office and fail exponentially

The Inquisitorial Squad catch you all in the act of guarding the corridor outside her office while Harry, Ron and Hermione try and contact Sirius

You're all trapped in the office and everyone (including the Inquisitorial Squad) is shocked when she goes to cast the cruciatus on Potter – internally Matt is cringing and fighting the instinctive flinch

"You can't do that! It's illegal!" Your defence of harry is ignored as Umbridge puts Fudge picture face down – Matt swears your eyes burn a violent indigo, but it's gone in a blink

Hermione and Harry end up taking her to where 'Dumbledore's secret weapon' is and you lot are now all stuck with the Inquisitorial Squad

Theo actually only holds you loosely, and he's the same with Ginny – not forcefully holding her, but also not allowing her to break free at the same time

Crabbe and Goyle take Ron's bate and eat the Puking Pastilles from the Weasley twins' personal collection and you all escape

Then the battle eventually takes place and everyone knows that Voldemort truly has returned

Now onto the current timeline of Serendipity!!

Mattheo decides over summer that he wants to help the otherside desperately

Especially because Draco is now a Death Eater

And Enzo and Theo are set to become Death Eaters the following Christmas – punishment for what happened during the battle in June

Proposes the idea that he teach you Occlimency in exchange for you helping them get out – the group agrees and Theo and Pansy set out to persude you to help

Roll on the Serendipity plot where he slowly begins to actually care about you (scary feelings; unknown territory)

He's never felt this strongly about someone before, not in the way he feels about you

At first he enjoyed how infuriated you became with him; he also despised how many questions you would ask (but that was your nature and he grew accustomed to it)

You're the only one whose ever called him Théo, after the death of Theo's mother, the name was as good as dead to him, until you started calling him it – he never wanted you to stop

The feelings you invoke in him are what finally allow him to produce a full patronus – when the majestic form of a Hippogriff bursts from the tip of his wand, swirling and spiralling at the thought of you, he let out a genuine laugh

He's so soft for you – his persona changes in the blink of an eye at times – from cruel and brooding to gentle and compassionate

His friends have never seen him happier – admittedly were surprised to learn of your relationship, but when they watched the way the two of you interacted after you'd become a pariah to your old friends, they understood.

Mattheo is so protective of all his friends, and somehow he's even more protective of you – he had wanted to incinerate Harry and Ron on the spot for how they'd made you feel, but knew you would never forgive him for it, despite how badly they'd hurt you

He'd burn the world down if it meant you'd be safe, especially because you had the one power that his father desired to have in his ever growing arsenal

Mattheo always has to be touching you in some way (he's a physical touch kind of guy), whether that be a hand on your thigh when you're seated; an arm wrapped around you as you walk; interlocking pinkies, etc. He just loves feeling you near him.

You're such a typical Slytherin/Ravenclaw couple – your intellect amazing him all the time, and he's no longer miffed that you always beat him for a spot at the top in class – his ambitions and adamant loyalty are something that you admire dearly, and hold close to your heart

You both know without having to voice it that your love is unconditional and eternal. Its a love as rare as your magic.

~∞~

taglist:

(striked out users are ones that i couldn't tag)

@camille-1019 @lovelyygirl8 @xluansstuff

@babeylover @thejadeazalea @undercover-smutlover @adhxmoony

@dreamingofonceuponatime @thepassionatereader @urmomsgayforme5 @aphroditeisamilf

@devotedlycrookeddonut @purplegirls-posts @nofacenonamelikekira @foxboyapologist @lafrone @lovely-maryj

@nromanovaswife @leeknows-wife @dracygf @wildlyobserving @ravenclawprincess33 @melllinaa @vellicora @lantsovheiress @emiliahoward @stunkbiggu @vcosette

@prongsprincessworld @mattiesgirl

@rachmmb @x-kermit-x @sun-fiower-seed @cas-planet @certaindreampost

@weirdowithnobeardo @mikalovesicecream @benwadsworthsgf

@rainy-darling @faeriepigeons

@lovely-blackinnon @hiireadstuff

@gimalo135 @elsafromcabinsix @moonlightreader649 @blueshome

@nopedefe @spencerreidsthings

@navs-bhat @agent-tempest

@magimtz23 @y0urm0m12

@sbrn0905 @leona-hawthorne

@whatsupb18

[hanafubukki]

I'm snobbing for 4 days at the fact that what made Lilia's "dream" a dream is the Senate reaction after Malleus birth.

They were praising him. They congratulated him for hatching this baby. They were as happy as him for his birth.

And his spirit immediatly understood something was wrong. Making the dream's world shake and turning the Senate reaction on what they were in truth.

That's how deep this flying spirits words hurted him. But worst, they took Malleus away from him. This new born baby was about to die 10 minutes before. The child of his decreased friends. A baby he waited and tried to hatch for 200 years. Nearly half of his life at that time !

Lilia dream could have been about everything. Meleanor and Levan alive. Malleus hatching and living happily with his parents. Silver and him in the cottage. The present. But no. His dream was his painful memories, just until the happiest and relief moment of Malleus birth - with the only change being the Senate reaction.

Deep down, Lilia wanted to keep that kid. He wanted to cuddle him again and again and again. He wanted to show him the world. To raise him. Instead, the child was taken from him, and he received horrible insults.

This Book will give me a need for an hundred years of THERAPY ! And murderous feeling against flying dead spirits.

Also. Love how Overblot Malleus is such a cute kid with Lilia. Boi is in the middle of a desesperate magical crisis making him a bit crazy and emotionaly unstable. But when the occassion comes where he can play catch with his father he is just so happy ! Well. A bit crazy too. But his face beaming with "Now my inner child is out and we're going to live our best life".

- 🦋 Anon, returning to her incoherent thought going everywhere, swaping to any emotional state possible

Hello 🦋 Anon 🌷🌻💚

All of this!! All of this!!

With all the emotions I have been feeling and all the posts, wow, has it really just been five days? I'm so shocked. It always feels as if each update leaves us reeling more and more, and with more questions than answers.

The fact that the senate insulting him is what led him to give in to the blot and then it was them complimenting him during a time when he was happiest that shook him out really says something doesn't it?

How it was the happiest moment and he received complements. He's so relieved. He's overjoyed, but no, this didn't happen.

In fact, it was the exact opposite. And do you know what this implies, something terrible happened right after and he remembers it vividly. Because if he was truly happy and received these compliments, then surely, what happened next wouldn’t have happened.

Surely they wouldn't have taken Malleus away? And that's what breaks my heart. We didn't see it, but we know the next scene would have something that would break all our hearts.

The fact that we know what's going to happen is what hurts the most. We don't see it, but we know it will happen. and during such a sensitive time? My heart aches for all of them. Lilia and Malleus, the way they have been so hurt.

No wonder Silver was so protected and kept a secret until he was older 😭, can you imagine what the senate would have said if they knew?

The fact that his happiest moment was Malleus' hatching despite all the obstacles he went through 😭😭😭, just can you see all the love?? I'm in tears and they have been done so dirty 😭😭

Let's all just go into the game and make them pay, what we could have had. What Malleus and Lilia could have had 😭😭

All the Baby Malleus and Baby Silver fanart people have been drawing even shows others think the same way. The father and his sons 😭😭😭

YES!! That Scene with hide and seek with Malleus and Lilia; then the scene where they are fighting as if they are battling in Bean's day again 😭😭😭 ahhhhh Malleus just wants to have fun and play with his dad.

He just wants to spend time with him, despite his inner emotional state, he just wants to be with his family. He doesn't want to be alone anymore and I can't. I'll join you in that therapy.

[hyperfixingfr]

CW for abuse. Idk if I've said this already but a conversation with @rainbowwwzo last night prompted a thought. Why are we still trying to claim 2 and 3 have good families?

1 & 5 have amazing families (Cree aside). 4 has a family who's trying their best, although probably need to look into why their son has behavioral issues instead of sending him to boarding school. But they still have their best intentions for him!

However, 2 and 3 have both been shown to have abusive and neglectful families. Somehow, I still see some of you claim they aren't that way despite the piles of clips that prove them to be horrible for their children.

For one, Numbuh Two is PHYSICALLY ABUSED. He's wacked over the head with a cane for anything mildly annoying he does. And his mother does NOTHING. Even when in the same room watching it happen, she does NOTHING. His grandmother can't even remember his name. He results to LYING to try and get her to love him, and even that doesn't work. Do you understand how that would impact a child? Do you understand that his fear towards fighting in the show and tendency to yelp or scream is a trauma response, because he's abused? I'm not saying you need to headcanon the boy with 98 mental illnesses or something... But you'd really be mischaracterizing him and ditching what is so obviously shown in canon if you didn't have this impact him in some way, shape or form. I feel VERY strongly about his home situation being misportrayed in particular because I was once in a situation where I was living with only my abusive, demented grandmother and my mother who was too weak from her own mother's abuse to save me from being abused too. My home situation looked just like his and it almost offends me when people claim he'd be happy go lucky, no heavy mental battles, content with his life, best outcome of the group. Because I can tell you right now, absolutely not.

For Numbuh Three, she gets the most ignorance. Her father was shown to be emotionally immature, screaming, yelling and slamming when he couldn't scoop *ice cream*. I hate to say it, but do you think a man who can't even handle letting ice cream melt a bit would be treating his daughters right? Absolutely not. We'd be lucky if all he did was emotionally abuse them. But judging by his reaction, it unfortunately seems he'd lay hands if upset enough. He reacts this way constantly. And his wife isn't any better. She seems to be projecting herself onto her children. She seems dull and uninterested in doing anything worth-while, and seems more keen on keeping them entertained indirectly instead of directly via playing with them. She raises so many red flags that you'd only see in emotionally abusive or absent parents. And even if she weren't, you cannot discredit the fact that she'd be letting her husband do it to them instead. Because she hardly does anything about it besides saying "calm down". We all know Kuki's innocence is a fake mask, but it baffles me how many people cannot piece together that she puts it on to protect herself from the environment her parents have created. She acts innocent to protect her feelings, most likely from her father. If she acts innocent, people let her off the hook more, which means less yelling.

Tommy and Mushi both take on personality traits found in abused children. Tommy seals himself off after realizing he can't always have his brother available (would've been achieved had he been in the KND) which means he wouldn't have the support of anyone that likes him or at least tolerates him. Hiding away in his room would be the best way to avoid conflict from Lydia. While Mushi takes on a evil, "I need to be the center of attention" demeanor. She goes to extremes just to get back at people who had her best interest in mind. Usually children give up a grudge like that quickly. It's not as bad as Tommy's signs, but it does imply she's attention hungry.

I'm not saying to make them both look like emos listening to MCR daily. But please, take 2 and 3s home lives into proper account. Especially when trying to portray it. I don't like seeing all of these misportrayals of people saying they've got perfectly happy families because they don't and it's very obvious they don't. At least to me, who had experienced both an abusive grandmother + hopeless mother and emotionally immature angry all the time parent. Missing the basic "2 and 3 have bad home lives" feels like you've missed the point of the show. Of course kids with bad home lives are gonna be there fighting for a better home life. The show is about fighting for basic rights for children. Completely glossing over a very in your face instance(s) of children being treated less than human is crazy.

[trickstarbrave]

I have been consuming too many cdramas I just came up with a plot for one

Mc met and ended up becoming the wife to a rich ceo and fell in love with him. Their ceremony was very subdued despite how wealthy he was. Yet the in laws were always nice to her except for a few aunts and cousins who hated her. She wasn’t dirt poor but wasn’t as wealthy as him. She was surprised his immediate family even liked her at all.

He insisted they use contraception. She agreed. She loved him but at first he was very distant to her. Slowly he began to warm up to her and was kind to her, treating her well. She didn’t like feeling like she was freeloading though so she tried to find work. He got her a job as his assistant early on and told her they wouldn’t be open about being husband and wife and keep it strictly professional at work. She agreed. She figured at first this was a marriage out of obligation because his parents and grandparents made him marry her, so she wasn’t bothered by it.

A few years pass though and she’s now very in love with him but assumes he only started treating her better because his family made him. Then he started having sec with her because he was stressed from work. She saw how stressed he was from work after all bad then at work he was always in a better mood because of this. She didn’t knew w if he would ever divorce her, but thought he might some day.

Then his first love who left him years ago comes back. It turns out she left without saying anything because she got very ill and was afraid she might die on him and didn’t want to put that on him. She was content to die quietly overseas but her family made her get treatment and she is more stable but doesn’t have very long to live.

His family dotes on her excessively. Mc realizes now they might have treated her nicely, but it was nothing to the love and adoration given to his first love by his family. They used to say it was despicable she left their son, but now they’ve completely changed their tune and forgiven her so quick. She told herself “maybe it’s just because she’s sick? They used to play together often as children and now a child they think of as their own is sick.” Then it’s revealed in order to save her life her family spent most of their fortune on her medical treatment including experimental treatments. But it still wasn’t enough to fully help her. She uses a wheelchair most days.

Mc however then overhears the first love say “it’s so despicable how mc acted like a simple assistant when I met him at his office. Then I come to family dinner and it’s revealed she’s his wife! Completely shameless. While I was fighting for my life his parents married him off just to make sure he had a wife to deal with his home life yet she gets a job as his assistant! Acting bold to spend as much time with him at work as possible. He doesn’t even care for her, I’ve seen how cold he is to her at the office! He only acts nice at his parents house because his family values a peaceful home life. Yet she still doesn’t know her place!” To one of his aunts.

The aunt chimes in “I know, my sister doesn’t even like her truth be told. Whenever we’re at my house or out together she always badmouths her but says they must keep the peace. I bet she doesn’t even know her daughter in law neglects the home and being a wife to pretend to be a single woman in an office! Maybe she’s having an affair at work and her husband doesn’t know because he’s so busy with actual work? It’s not like he’d want to pay attention to that kind of plain woman anyways.”

“Don’t worry, he said he would divorce her for me when I asked. He will still do anything to make me happy. And would his parents really say no to a sickly woman they already treat as their own daughter? Even if they value a peaceful home life and dislike divorce, the public doesn’t even know he’s married and I am worth more than her. They won’t lose face.”

Mc feels horrible. She holds back her tears and feigns illness saying she didn’t feel well. Husband says he’ll take her home right away but she says “your friend is sickly and came here to share a meal with you and your parents, how could you possibly leave? If my best friend were in this position and you got sick, you wouldn’t have let me leave with you, would you?”

He relents, looking worried. She thinks to herself that he is either very good at acting. She used to think he was good to her because as he came to care for her, at least on some level. But if he cared for her, why would he not tell her something like this first at least? He promised his beloved he would divorce his wife for her within a week if her coming back into his life without even talking to his wife about it.

Then again, the mc starts to get anxious, wondering if she believed that entirely. Maybe he wasn’t acting and genuinely cared about her. It seemed like the childhood friend/ex was talking with an aunt who hated her, perhaps the ex gf was two faced and looked town on her background like the aunt did and was spinning tales. Maybe they hoped she would overhear and misunderstand so she would file for divorce first or start fighting them and look like the one who started it? Surely that wouldn’t be above the ex gf who already shown she was two faced. Or maybe, for extra drama, the ex gf had agreed to help out the husband’s family and tricked her into getting the aunt to confess. After all, her MIL suspected her sister wasn’t kind to the mc but the mc always told her that wasn’t the case, her aunt in law was just a bit awkward but to not misunderstand her as she was still always polite and tried to be good to her just like her MIL.

She didn’t know. But she decided to keep an eye out. At home he texted his ex gf often and smiled at her messages. She tried not to snoop, it was just what she saw. He always talked to her on the phone a lot, and when she needed to go to the hospital for more treatment. Ex gf came to the office often and there were already gossip magazines saying they got back together. And then while she was at work she went into his office to drop something off while he was at a business meeting out of the building and saw plain as day a divorce agreement draft sprawled across his desk.

Mc was upset. She goes to her own office and around half an hour later, ex gf comes in with her bitchy cousin. Ex gf sees her crying, and says she will keep this short since he must have told her what happened already. Mc is frozen. Her tone is very harsh and venomous. “Your husband only married you because your father saved his parents’ lives once. Before he died, your father made them promise to return the favor by making you their daughter in law and take care of you for him. Then they could die in peace.”

She was shocked. She lost her mother when she was younger, but to make up for her her father constantly doted on her. He never remarried because he loved his wife too much and worried about his daughter too. He always said his heart was already full since her mother and her were the most important women to him and gave him enough love and happiness to last a dozen lifetimes. He died a few years ago, shortly before she was asked to marry her husband in an arranged marriage proposed by his parents who claimed they wanted a mild mannered woman to be their son’s wife. He told her in private they wanted a daughter in law from humble origins who had parents that would try to take over their business or demand a merger. She understood, but wanted stability after her father died especially since her father died in debt, something he carried to the grave no one else but her knew, and she only knew bc she took over his estate. She said she would marry him. They gave her a generous wedding gift that was all her own as a large sum of money. She paid off the debts. Saved interest on the rest. She said she might need it later if he divorced her one day.

And it seemed like that day had come.

She was distraught tho to find out his parents were only nice to her out of obligation. He only pretended to like her likely for the same. They probably told him it later to try and get them to be civil. He could have told her, but instead he told his first love, his ex girlfriend, all of it.

“But they’ve agreed they’ve paid their debt enough. You were given money, and allowed to live as their daughter in law for several long years. And in the end, they want me to have the position of his wife, saying I needed it more than you. To top it off, they don’t even know you work here, but you have work experience as his assistant you can use to get a job just about anywhere!”

The mc was so upset. Even though her father was their savior, who asked only for them to take care of his daughter with his dying breath, they decided a few years of marriage and some money repaid the favor. He saved two lives and asked for them to take care of his daughter who was orphaned at 21, yet they felt a few years made up for it? Or perhaps they would later joke in private that few years around her felt like enough for two lifetimes? But it was not like she could fight it. Nor did she want to stay married to a man who pretended to like her just to have sex with her. Especially not around his family that were also fake. She would have preferred they all acted distant or were upfront about it.

“Sign the divorce papers when he gives them to you. Don’t drag it out thinking they will support you because they actually like you.”

With that she and her cousin leave.

Mc cries more. Then she cleans up, finished her makeup, and pretends it didn’t happen. She doesn’t want to stay married to him. She is thankful the ex came her to tell her that bc honestly it will make it easier.

She’s distant for a while. Her husband asks what’s wrong.

She asks him if her father asked his parents to have them marry because he saved their lives. He’s stunned and quiet before asking very seriously who told her. She says her mother in law got drunk at a friend’s event and drunkenly told the mc. Instead the mil was babbling abt how good her son was and saying she hoped he was good to her and always a perfect gentleman at home before she started talking about how he was when he was younger. He winces, knowing his mother did like to babble while drunk and just have told her by mistake. He apologizes, but they thought telling her so soon to her dad’s passing might have hurt her more. Her father cared about her and wouldn’t want to burden her with the knowledge he found a way to take care of her for the rest of his life while he was dying. It would have hurt her, but also she would be touched and wouldn’t be a burden on them by trying to act close. Instead they decided to lie to her, she doesn’t say this though, she just starts crying and he comforts her. 

He tells her her father saw they crashed their car and stopped to help them, called an ambulance, and waited by their sides doing first aid. He didn’t know who they were even but he tirelessly worked to help them. He even went to the hospital and paid their medical bills and didn’t leave their sides until he knew they were safe. They wanted to return the favor with money but he turned them down, saying he didn’t do it because he wanted something. She cries harder. Her mother died in a car accident and he wishes someone found her sooner to save her. He would feel obligated to save strangers so no one would go through what he did. Then she steps away, saying she wants some space. He relents.

Then, only a few days later, despite her being withdrawn he knows he can’t delay. He has to divorce her quickly. His ex is sickly and has a risky medical procedure soon that will potentially kill her. It’s a very low percent chance of success. It was always her dream to marry him. Even if she does survive it’s only going to make her life slightly longer, three years at most. She at least wanted to spend her little time on earth getting to be his legal wife.

His parents agreed he would remarry his wife afterwards. He would promise her they would have an even more lavish wedding. She would be his public wife after his ex passed away. This was just showing a dying woman a kindness and she would understand. He wouldn’t even sleep with his new wife under threat his parents would not allow him to remarry and and his ex had agreed.

He tells her they need to talk, pulling out divorce papers. She doesn’t look surprised, and tells him she already knows. He looks at her surprised instead, asking if his drunk mother told her that too. She smiles sadly and says yes. He says no wonder she’s been withdrawn, she knew all along while he worried how he would tell her. He asks if she knows everything. She says yes. There’s silence that follows

He tells her she’s allowed to be mad at him. But says “If you accept it, I promise you, the next wedding will be lavish.” She doesn’t respond. She wonders if he’s seriously going to invite his ex wife who he had a subdued ceremony with to his new wife’s lavish wedding. She slowly nods her head, unable to meet his eyes. He hugs her gently and she doesn’t reciprocate much. Knowing this was awkward, he leaves, thinking she must be angry at him but not so angry she wouldn’t agree to remarry him. She must just be hurting and she was someone who didn’t like to show weakness in front of others, even when she was hurting and it was with someone she loved. He would give her space for now, she can ask for more comfort and reassurances later.

They visit his parents. He tells them he asked her. They look at her sadly and go “don’t worry dear, she’s just sickly. That’s the onlv reason we’re doing it. She might not have much time left.” “Think of this not as an ending but a new beginning. It will hurt at first, but everything will fall back into place.” They were always so good at comforting her and saying what she needed to hear, even when she didn’t show them she was hurting very much and didn’t like bothering them. But it was just fake. Perhaps it was easier to guess what she wanted to hear than she thought.

She said she understood. His childhood friend was sickly. Like they said, she didn’t have much time left. Silently she tells her father not to be angry with them and consider it not them forsaking their promise but instead helping fulfill another dying person’s wish. She was sickly, while the mc wasn’t. They still promised she could visit whenever she wanted though she didn’t believe them.

She looks over the divorce agreement only a little. She doesn’t care about the terms and she can guess what they are. She looks at how much money they want to give her, and it’s more than she ever thought it would be. It was more than generous. She had no idea they were in that much of a rush. She could live well for the rest of her life without working. Not in luxury, but it would be enough for an apartment, food, and medical expenses, but also includes in it a nice luxury apartment. He told her she could negotiate it as she saw fit, and she wondered if he thought she would want to take even more money from him because she was greedy. Regardless, he’d pay her as much as necessary to get her away from him so he could marry his beloved.

She signs the agreement. She doesn’t need anything more than that. She won’t bother him ever again. After it begins processing, he proposes to his ex. The media goes wild.

She tried to stay in her job even while they were getting divorced, but seeing this his new fiancée begins harassing her, telling her even if he agreed no one wants to work with their ex wife. Is she planning to try and seduce him? He doesn’t want her anyways. She said no, it’s not like that, but his fiancée threatens to fling herself down the stairs if she doesn’t resign and no one will ever believe her if she says otherwise bc she’s a loving, sickly young lady to everyone else. They’ll think the mc tried to kill her. She is scared now. This woman isn’t just mean, she’s crazy.

She says she agrees. Fiancée tells her good and to hurry up. She writes a resignation letter and leaves. Her boss/ex calls her asking what this was and knowing he wouldn’t believe his beloved could do that, she lies and says it was too much to see him every day and she wanted to travel anyways. He is quiet, and says “is that really what you want to do? If you leave it will be difficult to come back.” She agrees. She doesnt care if he’d refuse her a job.

She makes a new account at a new bank they can’t snoop on and begins transferring money over. She thought they could remain cordial but his first love his crazy and she wants to completely avoid him from now on and make sure they had nothing to do with each other.

Then she starts getting harassing messages at her place. Then starts being followed. One message tells her vaguely “resigning wasn’t enough, leave this place!” She gets a new apartment on lease. It continues.

She knows his new wife is harassing her. She hasn’t contacted him since and blocked him on everything. She didn’t even get a wedding invite like he “promised” so it seemed like he didn’t even want to rub her face in it anymore. Why did his new wife care? She even changed her name and moved to a new city. Then her window was smashed open, with another threatening letter left that she should die. She realized this woman wouldn’t stop until she died. So she decided to fake her death, obviously. The people had been hacking her friends’ emails and phones to spy on her conversations. She decided to tell her best friend her plan in person while dressing up like she was depressed and trying to hide. Her best friend agreed, and also slowly informed her friends of the plan by going from person to person, just to her close friends in a way that wasn’t suspicious. They were all usually very social and visited often, the mc had been the one that was distant.

They all messaged her concerned in a way that was staggered. Saying she didn’t go to the last function. Or inviting her knowing she wouldn’t accept and then asking if something was wrong because she didn’t normally avoid get together like this. She continues to be silent while one friend got her a place to stay. She then sneaks out and fakes taking her life. Sent a message to her best friend saying she couldn’t do this anymore and to forgive her. She hides someplace obscure in an apartment. She’s changed bank accounts multiple times. She changes her name once more. She abandoned her old place. The new wife finally feels like she won as the best friend tells the others what happened. They pretend to look for her before giving up and crying together and holding a small vigil. They ask if they should invite her ex husband in the messages and her best friend says not to bother, he wouldn’t care either way.

She decides to live her life in hiding. She sees a cosmetic surgeon to remove the moles on her body. She lost weight from the stress and looks a bit gaunt but uses makeup to change her features subtly as well and keeps her hair dyed. Eventually she returns to the country under a false identity, even with sort of fake parents: people on her travels moving from place to place who lived in a village and lost their daughter. She got feverish and lost hey took care of her not asking for anything in return because she looked a bit like their daughter. She said she would repay them anyways as she lost both her parents and she would send them money and consider them as her new new parents if they’d accept it. They cried and agreed. She didn’t intend for them to be fake parents at first hut figures it won’t hurt her fake identity to have them.

Mostly though, she lives a life a bit isolated. Works from home as an excuse why she has any money. Claims to be from that village. She lives quite modestly. She’s afraid of being harassed like that again.

Meanwhile new wifey is not having a good time. She had mostly recovered from her illness, but her parents did use most of their fortune saving her life. She wanted to marry her ex she left to make it up to them by giving them some of his money. When he found out she miraculously recovered, wouldn’t he be happy? But it was when after her last treatment and she started to display dramatic improvement did he start to have his suspicions. He went to visit the mc but she wasn’t in her apartment. Let himself in as he had a spare key in case of emergencies and the place looked abandoned. It looked like someone rushed out of there Ava he found the old threatening letters and a window that had obviously been replaced. He confronted his new wife and she denied it, asking how could she accuse him of something so horrible? Was he angry she was recovering too well? Did he resent her for having to leave his real wife to take care of her? She would get sick again, this always happens with her treatment, she just appeared better at first and then got even worse.

He investigates his employees getting a bad feeling. Several employees were caught embezzling, all with ties to his new wife’s company. He then investigates her procedure and the doctor had lied to him, it wasn’t a risky procedure to save her life but a normal one as part of recovery treatment when someone is cured and is very safe. She tricked him for money.

He divorces her and makes her family pay him back by taking all of their assets and absorbing their company. Everyone curses her as a scam artist. He wonders where his wife is and starts investigating. She probably went into hiding after such horrible treatment. He wonders why she didn’t tell him. Did she start to think he wouldn’t believe her?

Eventually he tracks her down. It’s been so long. She didn’t ever respond to him when he tried to contact her before. He would explain everything and tell her he made them pay and do everything to make it up to her.

He finds her, and bumps into her while she’s out of the house. She acts like she doesn’t know him abd apologizes “excuse me sir” given she’s in casual clothes that aren’t expensive and he’s in an expensive suit. He calls her name and she doesn’t respond. He tells her he knows it’s her as he would recognize her anywhere but she gives her new fake name, putting on a stellar performance. He notices the mole on her arm is gone as is the one under her eye. Did he really get the wrong woman? Why does she look and sound like his wife?

And I’ve been writing this too long I QUIT

[justmenoworries]

Lore Olympus Episode 251 Spoilers

"Yet in spite of everything, [...] look at the man you've become."

You mean, a slave driver, an abusive dipshit and a horrible parent. Yeah, that's not the best argument, Persie.

I find it funny how LO often goes out of his way to have characters assure Hades that he's nothing like Kronos, but honestly? Hades is extremely similar to Kronos. Uncomfortably so.

They were both lonely and filled that void with women much younger than them, whom they were also in a position of power over, Kronos with Hera and Hades with Minthe and then Persephone.

Both like to play victim. Kronos loves to guilt-trip Hera for deceiving him and ignores that his actions would most certainly have doomed the world and Hera and the other Six Traitors had basically no choice but to fight back by any means necessary. Hades frequently whines to Persephone and others about how he feels oh-so-lonely and oh-so-isolated as King of the Underworld, ignoring that he himself is a huge reason for why other immortals percieve him as scary and unapproachable. He's constantly intimidating and bullying people with both his status and his money, see him threatening that one poor nymph with closing her business if she didn't give him private information about Persephone or him constantly antagonizing Demeter for no reason.

They're both tyrants. Kronos is self-explanatory. Hades is downright proud of exploiting the shades who come to the Underworld. He literally brags about making them perform unpaid labor. Hades also seemingly doesn't give a rat's ass about his people. He threatens both his employees and regular citizens on a daily basis. The only person in the Underworld he shows a modicum of care towards is Hecate and that's only becaus she's a long-time friend of his. And also because she actively enables all the shit named above. If you wanna cheat you could say that extends to Persephone, since she's also officially a citizen of the Underworld, but let's be real here, that's only because he's in love with her. I sincerely doubt Hades would put up an embargo and show up at a trial as the lawyer if any other citizen of the Underworld was being unfairly persecuted by Zeus.

Both Kronos and Hades are horrible parents. Kronos ate all of his sons alive but one and the only reason he didn't eat Zeus was because Rhea was wise enough to hide him away. Hades emotionally abused and neglected Thanatos for all his life, didn't show concern when Thanatos was M.I.A and when confronted by Thanatos over being a shitty father, instead of apologizing or showing anything even resembling remorse, he instead made excuses about how Thanatos wasn't throwing himself into his arms eager to be fathered after his own mother gave him up into child labor. I've said it before but I'm genuinely afraid for Dionysus, Hades isn't father material and I'm positive he'll repeat the same neglectful bullshit he pulled with Thanatos.

"There were times in the last few years of my life where I felt truly hopeless."

Sure would've been nice if we could've seen those times instead of time-skipping right over them. Persephone keeps talking about how hard the years in the Mortal Realm were, but all evidence we've had of that were her hands going green. And even that's gone now.

"But then I thought about you and [...] your capacity for love despite all the cruelty you faced."

Excuse me, what????

Name one person in this goddamn Webtoon Hades was ever genuinely loving towards that wasn't someone he once fucked or wanted to fuck.

I see the child is only referred to as 'the interloper' now. I'm guessing RS doesn't want readers to think too hard about the fact that hxp have been doing fuck-all to save an endangered child for several episodes.

And we're officially going for the "Delusional Jealous Woman" route with Leuce it seems. RS' hatred for all women that aren't her self-insert is so palpable it hurts.

"I miss Minthe."

Me too, Thetis, me too.

I'm honestly scared of where this whole Kassandra/Apollo thing is going, I don't want any more Apollo woobifying.

[lucistarsfire]

ignore these ghost ramblings I feel like sharing

they are random and not at all connected to each other.. just the thoughts that bounced out of my brain

• The Band Ghost: A semi-fictional metal band formed by Tobias Forge. I'm sure you all know the lore! It begins with Nihil, somewhat. The father of our original beloved Papas. Primo, Secondo, Terzo- and most recently found, Copia. Consider the falling romance for Nihil's last love- Sister Imperator. The two were vilely in love with a terrifyingly complicated romance. Isn't it beautiful? An unloyal dickbag and his beautiful horrible woman. I personally dislike them both as people but enjoy their characters deeply! In fact, the animated music videos and the story of their love does bring tears to my eyes.

• Primo Emeritus stands as he is the first known Papa, revealed to be the son of Nihil Emeritus. Though little was known about him, that doesn't stop the headcanons. I headcanon that he had long blonde hair, and bouncy bangs brought to thr front. I feel as though his hair was straight, but curved in at the ends to form a naturally rounded shape. I feel that he loved gardening and still would, be that he was here today. I see a sweet man all throughout life, at worst being a frustrated snap followed by a sincere apology.

• Secondo, whore of the clergy. The love of my life. This is the man who should probably kiss me on the mouth. Kidding. Mostly. I enjoy his character and the lengths of which I can take it in fiction. He's funny, he's kind, but he's also described as cold and bitter. I think I can see that. Different people see different sides of one. On that note, I'm very in love with my son-of-Secondo OC. In my character's canon, he doesn't find out about their blood relation until adulthood. But recently, I have played around with the idea of him actually being raised by Secondo. How would that have gone?

• Terzo Emeritus, my beloved muse. I could go on for years, I'm certain. A man of pure confidence and respect, up until his sudden and unfortunate death. I see him as traumatized upon return. Scarred, patched back together, but to have to be fixed means you were once destroyed. Perhaps deliberately, and in this case it was so. Torn apart after death and for what? I know in full heart that he was beyond broken. That doesn't mean anyone is meant to know it.

• Copia! My third favorite muse and the one I allow more of me into! His likes remind me of my own. Never did I feel so freed before him, how was I meant to know that he was going to be so relatable? The childish interests as well as being thrown into sudden positions of responsibility, his character is one you should be gentle with should you write. You wouldn't want to slip up such a delicate and worked upon story.

•I must continue. Nihil. I only spoke briefly before, but with the tiny sliver of younger-him that we have, it's my job to elaborate on him. My very purpose. One who's life was filled with shattered romances and one night who-gives-a-fucks, but never did he think he'd find himself playing around with one of his own ghouls. Hence my own ghoul, Air. Era 0 keyboards. A heart grasped deliberately, but unintentionally shattered. But Air was a proper worker, and despite his devastation when he couldn't keep what he had with Papa, it's only right to pretend it's okay, to pretend you're okay with him circling forever around her. Because he respects her too. I think with better communication, monogamy was never going to be good for Nihil. Nor Air. I don't know enough about Sister nor do I understand her enough to try to interpret her relationship with, well, relationships.

[rvllybllply2014]

Hi! Oh please don't worry over how long this took, I'm sorry our replies have gotten so long that it could stretch out like this ;w; I've started a new job btw so I'm afraid I really won't have as much free time to write such long replies as much, so I'm cutting this one a bit short, I hope that's okay! :(

I have to agree we never know what someone is going through or how their feeling, so a proper warning is always for the best! Still very sweet & thoughtful of you :')

Heh now that I think about it, the Brackens might be the only house to consider "dumber than a horse" as an insult to horses! If anyone would know just how smart horses are, it would be them! They could call Blackwood horses dumb though, just because of the Blackwood influence the poor horses have had to suffer XD

Lord & lady Tully are such a cute pair~ I love how he matches her feisty nature perfectly, and insisting she become a strong swimmer too! x3 Aw and I love how realistic their argument feels? Of course they would both react this way! They both have good points & both apologizing later sets the stage for a good marriage between them uwu

Lil bitty Samwell learning from both his grandparents & playing with his cousins is just too precious~ And I love lady Tully calling lord Blackwood out on his poor parenting & the emotional distance he puts between himself & his sons! I kind of wonder how he's react if after a bit too much wine he'd end up leaning against lady Tully, who instead of pushing him away, would hold him & stroke his hair as if he were her own son? Like she does for her daughter & grandsons? With lord Blackwood unknowingly seeking a mother's touch. Only to remember the next morning how lady Tully had held & soothed him like a child?

She's such a good grandmother to Samwell & Willem, and I understand lord Blackwood's insistence on her praying to the old gods, & she's too stubborn to be honest to him about her reason to refuse. Though I do wonder if he would have understood her concerns? Oof that argument is so hard to read, I understand lord Blackwood's hurt, anger, & loss but lying to his sons and burning the letters, not even storing them away..that just horrible D= Poor lady Tully & Samwell, knowing his father hid letters from their grandmother had to hit him terribly, and to have Willen parrot their father's teachings too! At least their Tully cousins questioned them at least!

Amos practicing flattery in front of his mirror is too cute! Along with Raylon's light teasing x3 Aw and speaking of Ser Raylon Rivers, can you imagine a secret relationship between him & Samwell in the background?

Neither of them wishing to burden their brothers with it, and feeling as though they especially can't mention it after their brother's brake up? :< And Willem keeping his blade on him while trying to distance himself from it emotionally is such a good contrast to Amos locking his blade away but keeping the key to it literally next to his heart, never truly parting from it emotionally..

Davos being the one to stake Aeron through the neck, oh my poor babies :'( Imagine if Aeron had lived but still is injured, with Davos fleeing with him and both waiting out the war while Aeron recovers, until they hear of the Blackwood attack on Bracken lands? 

Ooh I love how you wrote Willem finding the blade, how Amos never truly broke the chain connecting him to Willem.. And how the rape doesn't happen right away or all at once, how it gradually builds, and how Willem deludes himself into thinking Amos wants it. That despite his desire to punish him, he doesn't wish to see himself as Amos's rapist.. That threat to have Raylon taken before both houses, that he's already "broken in" is harsh..i totally understand Amos's fury!

Aw having Benjicot sent to Riverrun is a smart idea, though I also like the idea of him coming to Harrenhall to lead the Blackwoods, and while Oscar is tense at first, he soon sees just how much like Samwell Benjicot is? Saying he understands Oscar did what he has to and doing what he can to keep his own house in line? I could see Amos meeting him & seeing so much of Samwell in him ;w;

1A) Heh poor Aeron! I feel like the spanking he gets from Davos would be less sexual and more so an actual punishment, like for when he's genuinely unfair & rude to Davos, or does something stupid & knightly, risking his life for others, Davos wouldn't let that go without making riding too painful for his Bracken for a while, I mean what better punishment is there for his Bracken than that? I imagine he'd rarely need to use anything but his hand (which he prefers, he likes how much more intimate it feels) but occasionally, if he feels it's really needed to teach a lesson, he'll use the thin leather reins from he cut from Aeron's own horse.  He can't bring himself to use a belt but that's fine, the reins are painful enough!  

1B) Ooh I saw you wrote something for  this idea, so I'll comment on it tomorrow~ I did think up another idea involving spanking though. Now this would be a purley parental spanking, but imagine before the battle of the burning mill ever takes place, Raylon Bracken would come to blows with a group of young Blackwood men and get overpowered, being brought back to Raventree Hall by them so he can be ransomed back to his lord father. He's not treated terribly, locked away in a room instead of a cell, but of course that doesn't make him any less angry! And when Willem comes to check on him himself, Raylon in his anger continues mouthing off to Willem despite his warning... And after stomping his foot and throwing something at Willem in anger, Raylon would soon find himself lying over Willem's knees, told if he was going to have a tantrum like a little child, he may as well be punished like one..

Ah sorry this reply was so much shorter than others, there's plenty I didn't comment on, but you summed up all we've discussed perfectly~ Thank you so much for discussing all these ideas with me <3 I'm all ears to hear any you have as well! =)

Congratulations on the new job. And also no worries about reply length or anything like that.

Lord and lady Tully are definitely based on my best friend’s parents.

Also think I hit all your ideas I’m sure, so sorry if I didn’t.

And now I’m definitely thinking about Samwell and Raylon Rivers. They have been added to the list.

Just non descriptive mentions of rape, look at previous ask for the more descriptive parts of the rape and trauma.

Definitely older brackenwood with some davron once again.

Lord Tully insisted that since he had to learn how to ride like a Bracken then his wife needs to learn to swim like a Tully. Yeah the fights are just them not seeing eye to eye and just needing some time to let cooler heads prevail. Once that happens they’ll apologize because they know they both had valid points. They’re also trying to raise their daughter to be level headed.

Lord Tully once asked lady Tully why she felt bad for the Blackwood horses, when they had a tourney in honor of their daughters first name day. She explained that Blackwood horses had to deal with the dumb Blackwoods, that those horses are smarter than their owners. So of course she’s going to feel bad for them. Lord Tully just shakes his head, he just goes along with it.

The one and only time both lady Tully and lord Blackwood allow themselves to seek some form of comfort in each other is in the months leading up to lady Blackwoods death. Lady Tully had just gotten Samwell settled in for the night again, and Willem was already in his bed sound asleep. Both lady Tully and lord Blackwood had too much wine, they’re both six glasses deep when lord Blackwood starts to tear up.

Normally lady Tully would just walk away, while muttering a Blackwood can just be miserable by himself, no need to drag everyone else’s mood down, it’s already sad enough in her daughter’s room. But since she’s already tipsy and already mourning her daughter she figures that lord Blackwood is also mourning his wife. So she does the only thing that she can think to do which is move to the couch, in her daughter’s room and pat the seat next to her.

Lord Blackwood at first thinks that lady Tully is making fun of him, acting like he’s a small child like Samwell or Willem. It’s only when she says that she’s here to offer comfort, as his mother in law and a fellow mourner die he finally sit next to her. She’s the one to lean into lord Blackwoods space while pulling his head towards her shoulder. It’s only after lord Blackwood has settled down on her shoulder, does she start to pet his hair while telling him that it’s okay to already mourn someone that is alive. That although he’s a Blackwood, she’s here for him and her grandsons. She just lets him know that it’s okay to let his emotions out.

He accepts the comfort until Samwell comes in from the nursery telling them that Willem is awake and crying. Lord Blackwood starts to get up until lady Tully tells him she’ll take care of Samwell and Willem, he needs to spend time with his wife. And with that she gives lord Blackwood a kiss on his temple, and grabs Samwell’s hand telling him that they’re going to go take care of Willem.

Willem just had a bad dream, which was an easy enough fix. But Samwell wouldn’t settle down again, he was too worried about his mother and father. He’d never seen his father show any emotion. So lady Tully decides to bring Samwell and Willem into their mother’s room. It’s just a short walk back to the rooms, and when they arrive lord Blackwood questions if everything’s alright?

Lady Tully tells him that his sons need their parents, she also orders lord Blackwood out of the chair that he sitting in so she can sit there. Lord Blackwood starts to protest but she tells him to get in the bed, but to leave space between him and wife so the boys can sleep between them. She’ll tell them bed time stories until they all fall asleep. Once they’re asleep she quietly leaves the room.

It isn’t until the next day that lord Blackwood realizes that he allowed himself to be treated like a child by lady Tully. He’s a little disappointed in himself but he also realizes deep down that he needed someone to take care of him, to validate his feelings while also still being an adult. Surprisingly it’s not lady Tully or Samwell who brings up the night before, it’s Willem that does. He thinks it’s just a strange dream, that he had a nightmare and then his father brought him and his brother to their mother for comfort. It’s Samwell who tells him it wasn’t a dream.

It’s when the boys are at their lessons, that lord Blackwood decides to confront lady Tully about last night. She tells him although he’s just a Blackwood and was never deserving enough for her daughter she can see how much he loves lady Blackwood; he also gave her, her adorable grandsons. Also it’s okay to feel fear and grief for the future, they’re both about to loose someone important but they’ll always be related through the kids.

The funeral happens, the fight also happens, lady Tully keeps her promise to write but lord Blackwood burns them and years pass without Samwell and Willem seeing their grandmother until lord Tully writes to tell them that she’s sick and dying. And how much she’d love to see them one last time. They’re too late, but they do stay for the funeral and do find out about how she really had kept her promise to write. Samwell believes his cousins and concludes that lord Blackwood must’ve burnt them. Willem already so close to his father in appearance and attitude decides that although these are his Tully cousins, they’re obviously lying a Bracken never keeps a promise.

After the funeral Samwell resumes his duties of watching the boundary stones, where he meets little Amos and his half brother Raylon. Raylon was sent to check up on Amos, to make sure that he wasn’t starting a fight with the Blackwoods. So he was absolutely shocked when he saw Amos and Samwell talking. Raylon doesn’t approach them just yet, he wants to see how the little interaction plays out.

It’s only when Amos sees Raylon, does he decide to approach them. Raylon tells Amos it’s time to go back to Stone Hedge, and sends him on his way. Raylon stays back long enough to thank Samwell for being so kind to his brother, he likes to act like a big boy but he’s still just a ten year old child. Samwell says it’s no issue Amos reminds him so much of his younger brother, who’s just come back from the court. Raylon doesn’t ask any questions especially when Amos comes back to ask if he’s ready? Raylon tells to go ahead he’ll catch up he needs to finish this conversation.

Once Amos had left again Raylon asks Samwell his name, and if he can send ravens to him. Samwell agrees he sees Raylon as a friend and also a connection to his grandmother that he just lost. It’s only a few weeks before Samwell and Raylon realize that they might actually like each other, more than just in a friend way. Samwell is actually the first one to broach the subject of how there might be more than friendship between them, if Raylon would allow it? Raylon is surprised but doesn’t disagree, so as their brothers fall into love with each other Raylon and Samwell also fall into love.

Raylon sends raven on Samwells eighteenth name telling him that they need to meet that night. Samwell is sorrow by he doesn’t need to be Raylon just wanted to give him his present in person. Raylon had stolen the idea of gifting his lover a blade from his brother. He’d had the blacksmith make him a dagger with a ravens head as the handle and had a horse etched into the actual blade. That way he’d always be near to protect him. Samwell is touched by the gift and vows to get Raylon something just as special for his name day.

So when it’s Raylons name day Samwell gifts him a blade with a horse head as the handle and a raven etched into the actual blade. But unlike their brothers they continue to send ravens even after they too eventually brake up. Also both men keep their blades on them. They tell themselves it’s to keep tabs on how each house is feeling towards the other, Raylon wants to be able to advise Amos to the best of his abilities. But they also send updates about their personal lives. They each write to the other that they hope their sons can be good friends just like they were. Raylon also congratulates Samwell when he’s married and has his heir Ben.

The letters only stop after Raylon was killed in a freak riding accident, he’d been thrown from his spooked horse and trampled. The very last letter Samwell writes to Raylon is how much he loves him and he’s sorry that everything happened the way it did. He also asks how could Raylon leave him so easily and early? They both still had so much life left, but now it’s just him but he’ll do his best to live for him. He burns the letter hoping that his words will reach Raylon.

Several more years pass and Samwell gets a mysterious illness that takes him before Ben is old enough to run Raven tree hall. Willem takes over as regent and plots his revenge against Amos. According to Willem it was Amos who walked away from him and their future along with his heart, just like Amos’s ancestors walked away from the old gods. He imagined the old gods felt the same type of pain and anger he feels.

So as soon as the dance happens and he hears from Davos that the Brackens have declared for Aegon, he uses it as an excuse to attack the Brackens. He’ll finally have his opportunity to show that he’s never forgiven or forgotten Amos’s betrayal.

Willem is disappointed with Davos when he finds out that he had the chance to kill a Bracken but doesn’t. He orders the Bracken that he spared to be sent to the dungeons and left to rot. Since Davos couldn’t kill him, he’ll keep him alive but barely. He orders that Davos is not allowed down there, he can’t be trusted around that Bracken. Instead Davos is ordered to watch Amos’s son Raylon.

He wants Davos to watch a Bracken get taken multiple times while also knowing that if he misbehaves then his Bracken will also suffer that fate. Davos and Raylon still get friendly, Davos also stops his uncles men from raping Raylon on his birthday. Davos manages to tell Raylon that Aeron is still alive. Raylon is equal parts relieved and horrified. He hopes that he’s not suffering the same fate as him, Davos tells him that he isn’t sure it’s been almost a month since they last saw each other.

Willem is also delusional enough to believe that every cry from Amos is a cry of pleasure. That his begging is a way of calling back to their relationship, and how he’d always cry and plead for Willem to not stop. It’s obvious that Amos wants it even if he doesn’t explicitly ask for it. He’s just trying to play hard to get, especially when it’s in the camp on the way to Harrenhal.

Davos is forced to guard Raylon while on the move to Harrenhal, he tries to get to Aeron but he’s too well guarded. The only time Davos is allowed to see Aeron is at Harrenhal when his uncle Willem is beheaded for what he did in the river lands.

Oscar still orders Raylon and Davos back to Stone Hedge, Davos is still a hostage. Aeron is ordered to stay at Harrenhal, he’s needed to help fight, Davos and Aeron can see each other after the war.

Oscar also sends a raven to Raven tree hall demanding that Ben comes to Harrenhal. He needs Ben not to fight but to show his support towards him. Once Ben arrives at Harrenhal, he tells Oscar that he understands that he did what he needed to do, especially to secure the loyalty of all the other houses. Ben shows nothing but respect towards Oscar, which in turn causes the Blackwoods to show only respect towards him.

The first meeting between Amos and Ben, Amos almost feels like a small child again. Ben reminds Amos so much of Samwell, how he listens and weighs his words/actions before he does anything. Amos knows that house Blackwood will be in capable hands once Ben is old enough to take responsibility. Amos might also hug Ben, offering comfort to him; he’s sorry for his loss of uncle and for his father years earlier.

1A): Davos is more of a punisher when it comes to spanking Aeron. Every time Aeron back talks, trying to prove to Davos that he’s capable of being a knight, it’s over his knee until his ass is red. Davos only uses the reins when Aeron falls off his horse. Aeron was trying to show off to his friends and managed to fall, and ended up scarring Davos half to death he didn’t move for almost a whole minute and he couldn’t cross over to Bracken lands to check on him. Davos tells him this spanking is for his own good, it should teach him not to show off.

2): Raylon knows that he’s being an irrational brat, especially in front of Willem but he’s pissed. It was a stupid mistake on his part, he’d followed his horse into Blackwood lands and ran right into Willem. As soon as Willem realized who had ran into him, he knew he’d get a huge ransom from Amos.

But first Willem needed to get Raylon to stop snorting and stomping his foot and the only way he knows how to is bend him over his knee and spank him. He makes Raylon count to ten, and then evaluates Raylons attitude. If Raylon is still throwing a temper tantrum, then it’s ten more smacks. It will continue until Raylon has learned his lesson.

[trashlie]

Hi Ashlie it's lil anon again 💗 I hope you have adjusted to your meds and had fun experimenting with gouache... That sounds cool, I wish I could do that but too bad I don't have a single creative bone in my body 😭 it's okay I'll stick to playing viddy games...

There is something I want to bring up for your consideration that's been bouncing around in my head. When Hansuke mentioned that it was hard for him to get into medical school despite his excellent grades, people concluded that Yui must have stood in his way and Hansuke's mother probably made a deal with her, correct? That felt like such a relevant tidbit that will come up again, because otherwise why the effort to draw those panels. So... I think there might be a parallel to Nol here. We know he is going to spend the 4 year time skip abroad, right? But how will he get there, when Yui is so opposed to it and needs to keep him under her thumb? So 🤔 I've been thinking maybe Rand makes a similar deal with Yui so she lets Nol go. Not sure what the details of the deal will be, but it could even be something like "I'll get the kid into any school he wants if you step down from the CEO position within the next 5 years and let Kousuke take over, and don't plot anything against me ever again". It's a big sacrifice, but it feels like Rand had some extremely harsh realizations about how miserable Nol is after finding his scarf in the pool, and then finding him bleeding in the snow and the Ivan the Terrible reference. It feels so much like he has reached his end, "it's not my message to pass along anymore" felt so pointed. I also keep thinking about how guilty Rand must be feeling. He didn't only fail his own son, he failed to protect NESSA'S CHILD ;A; someone so precious and important to her, someone she loved so dearly. Even if it was unspoken it's clear that she counted on Rand to take care of their son when she couldn't anymore, and he failed her miserably. Gawd just thinking about that makes me wanna cry 😔😭💔 So maybe this will be what pushes him to step up and actually do something useful for his child, maybe that deal will be his self-sacrifice. What are your thoughts on this? I know I might be reaching, it might be Yu Jing's article that will help Nol go abroad, and I'm very aware of the death flags surrounding Rand, and maybe he'll just die or Yui kills him and that's that. With Kousuke having all these realizations it's not unlikely that Yui gets rid of Rand so they don't become allies. But I don't want his death to be so... pointless, I guess? BE A FATHER EVEN IF JUST ONCE IN YOUR LIFE DAMMIT ;A;

On a lighter but similarly emotional note, when do you think Shinae and Nol are going to be on a first/real name basis? It might be just me but I feel like it's coming 👀 It's been said a thousand times (and good, let's manifest it 🤞🏾) that they must be on the same page by the end of season 1 for the story to flow smoothly. And that must include the names as well, right? Because the names are a big part of the distance between them and to Shinae, "Yeonggi" isn't enough anymore, she wants "Nol". And, in theory, he must first accept his name before he is comfortable with her saying it, but maybe the other way around would work better. If he lets her into the circle of people who can call him Nol even if he isn't completely ready for it, maybe that will actually be the important first step to accept himself. Because if Shinae accepts that side of him and doesn't think he's horrible, then he can't be that horrible, right. Basically a you don't have to love yourself for other people to love you and with time you can see yourself through their eyes and find that everything you dislike about yourself doesn't make you unlovable because they love you regardless type of thing. Does that make sense? I hope you understand what I'm trying to get at 😅 He also doesn't want to be vulnerable and open up as Yeonggi, it's not part of that persona. But maybe once she is on the Nol side for good, he can be more honest, because she is already there so why not. Not that he'll immediately tell her everything, obviously, but just be more honest dude just tell her that you're scared and not ready for certain conversations yet instead of putting up a front! But either way regardless of when, the moment they say each others first/real names is going to be SOOOOOO meaningful so vulnerable so intimate I will simply die on the spot I will just explode 💥 -lil anon 😼 (who still can't keep their messages short)

Lil Anon!!!!! 💗 Okay, ngl I am a big proponent of "creativity is very much a skill anyone and everyone can learn" just that some of us (and myself included lmao) need a little more effort to learn. But also gouache is so fun because I'm realizing so much of painting is about the insinuation of things, rather than painting out every detail? And it's so amazing to me to watch those things come together!!!! But also.... I am not great at video games so I guess at the end of the day we really do have our strengths and weaknesses huh? alfjakjfjfa LMAO :3

Also heads up, the last part of this response will have FP 238 spoilers!

Oooohhhh this is such an interesting thought that I HAVEN'T thought about, but I HAVE been thinking a lot about Rand (I have this messy post in the works about him because as much as he makes me angry I find him really interesting in that, like every other character, he is very much someone trying to survive and his struggles to do so have had a lot of ramifications - especially in failing to protect his son with Nessa. I understand why people hate him but I just have SO MANY FEELINGS and like how... maybe a selfish part of him kept him near, even if he couldn't be a good father to him because of Yui, because he reminded him of her, and how maybe as Nol grows up he continues to see so much of himself in him, and how in Rand's eyes that probably is bad because he very much ended up trapped, he very much lost what he loved, he has very much lived in isolation. But that's a whole other thing but the point is: Rand is on my mind so this is a very welcome question!!!!)

I'd never considered the possibility of a parallel because I guess I'd just sort of assumed that information was given to us to show us how far Yui is willing to go, that she was interfering with her own nephew's career in order to - probably - lord something over her sister, to force her to do whatever it was she wanted, that we are meant to further understand that Yui is so unstoppable even her own sisters can't do anything, and that this isn't the first time Hansuke's career has been on the line. BUT WITH THAT SAID it would make an incredibly interesting parallel! I think in a lot of ways Rand did think he was doing what was right, what he could do. I think a lot about what he said when Nol pleaded guilty, about how he should have sent him away to a boarding school and that as much as a lot of that was said out of actual anger and agitation, at the end of the day Rand cares so much because he loves Nol, even if he was never allowed to act on it, even if he had to repress it and keep it bottled away where it began to fester. Something I think a lot about parenthood in general but esp in ILY is that no one has the foresight to know how things will work out, so parents are doing what they think is best. Often they are wrong, they make mistakes, but again, we are only capable of trying to learn from our mistakes, we can't see how things would play out. Would Nol have been safer at boarding school? Would he have actually been out of Yui's reach? But that's a whole other post (that is coming)

THAT SAID I think yes Rand carries a lot of guilt and knows that he has not been able to protect either of his sons the way he wishes he could have and now he is at this sort of.... fork in the road. Until now, Nol was so very alone, has been surrounded by people who can't be trusted, people of this society who would sell him out immediately. But Rand has seen in Shinae and Nol this connection that maybe he even recognizes much like the one he and Nessa had, that Shinae is very much like she was in her willingness to reach out to and protect Nol, her willingness to stand up for him against even the scariest opponents. In the same night he nearly lost his son, he saw how many people rallied around him, were willing to stand by his side and wait for him to wake up and I think that, yes, it gave him this sense of understanding. Nol is no longer alone, and while it's not him at his side, he knows that the people who are will fight for him, are people who truly love him the way he deserved all this time. And I think that's yes why he is willing to transition out of Nol's life - because he knows that he hasn't been able to provide him the protection he needs. That he CAN'T.

And the idea of him sacrificing himself for Nol's sake (and frankly, Kousuke's, too) would be interesting, because I very much think Shinae will "sacrifice" herself to Yui in order to protect her father, will take up Yui's offer if it means keeping away from her family. What an interesting parallel it would be, too, for both of these people who have put themselves in harms way to protect those they love (I know Rand doesn't seem it, but I think he is a person who has very much been a victim of him circumstances and that he has reached a point in this story that he is willing to get hurt to protect them, that he is finally openly fighting back the way he can in an effort to protect them).

I honestly.... HATE the theory about Rand dying even though the death flags are everywhere lmao ;_____; I feel like I'm constantly closing my eyes to them because I cannot bear to think of what it would mean for both Nol and Kousuke, for neither of them to get that closure. I hate the thought of Nol being left a literal orphan, of Kousuke never knowing that he was loved, like it KILLS ME but it really feels like we're hurtling there and aflkjkafjkafjkaf [SCREAMS] I'd so much prefer that like... Rand have a heart attack that incapacities him or something ;A; - especially because Nana has her own death flags and again, the thought of Nol just being left with NONE of his family?! GOD THAT KILLS ME.

But also I am very much in favor of Rand making such a sacrifice. Something I've been thinking about is that a lot of why Rand's hands were tied was because he was trying to get this far - and now that he has, now that Nol is in safe hands, maybe it IS time to make a sacrifice, to step out of Nol's life and "set him free", if he could give Yui something she wants enough to let Nol go. The thing is.... Yui is very much aware of the effect Nol has on Kousuke, and why it's necessary to keep him around, but perhaps with what Kousuke is learning, that won't remain a matter? I think there is a LOT that is up in the air right now, but I do think we are at a point where Rand COULD make that kind of offer, where he can finally face Yui and fight back in his own way and do something to set his son free of all of this. I think I lean more sympathetic to Rand than most do but I would love to see him take an action that can actually demonstrate to Nol that Rand has always cared, that until now he didn't have other options, that until now he'd thought that this was the safest route.

(But honestly? What was ;__________;)

I JUST WANT TRAGIC FAMILY CLOSURE SOOOOOOOO BADLY AND IT HURTS ME THAT WE MAY NEVER GET IT LMAO ;A;

BUT ON A LIGHTER NOTE YES YES YES ALL OF THIS YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS ;A; once again and as always YOU GET IT YOU TOTALLY GET IT!!!!!!!!

I think Nol and Shinae's story is VERY MUCH a matter of like.... yeah, you don't have to love yourself to be loved, that's bullshit, we all know it's not true. That maybe you can learn to love yourself by being loved. That maybe through the process of being loved you can start to see yourself through their eyes, the version of yourself that they see and love and that it can make that version of you come to life. That even though Nol sees himself as this unworthy monster, that he has been made to feel like he's nothing, a nobody - she can show him that he's something, somebody, she can say his name with an affection that no one else has ever said it with, that she can breathe new life to something that was taken from him and ruined.

I think we VERY much are approaching that point and Nol learning that Yui has been drugging even Kousuke honestly may be the beginning (or again I might just be being very hopeful). I keep reiterating that Nol needs to know this goes beyond him. I want Shinae to get to sit down and talk to him - not just about their feelings but about Yui, that even before Yui knew about their attachments, that she was already put through hell. Tell him about Kousuke's birthday, something that shows Nol even if he leaves Yui already has her claws in her, was already interested even before it involved him. Tell him about the offer because she will end up taking it one way or another and it's better than he knows how, so he's reminded how much she hates this woman, too.

And maybe if Nol can see that it's more than just him, maybe he can see that there is no point in pushing her away. And if that isn't enough, maybe she can convince him how very much they can't ignore any of this, to prove to him how badly she wants to know him, Nol, to see him and meet those secret parts of him he doesn't want anyone to say. To say the name that has felt like a lashing so many times used by everyone else in a way that takes it from nothing to something and makes him want to hear it move. To say her name again and be so familiar (so SO familiar god PLEASE) ;A;

Like IDK I know we've had this conversation a LOT lmao but it just feels like it's two steps forward five steps back if we don't get that closure if they don't have that talk. No one is asking for or expecting him to share everything - to just open up enough to show that he wants to. To admit his fear. If Shinae saw what Dieter did, that kind of fear, how intense it is, and couldn't connect it to what has happened to her, maybe she could get through to him better but at this point she just doesn't know, doesn't understand why he's pushing her. Maybe now that she's realized her own feelings - and can maybe wonder about his - it might make her think of what he said in the alley about fear and people getting hurt but it's a conversation they need to have directly.

And yes, I feel like even from a metaphorical point, he cannot begin to open up as Yeonggi, as this nameless person. They cannot begin anew with her uncertain what to call him, not allowed to use his real name, while he still calls her Yoo. What's he gonna do, maul her and swallow her heart and still call her Yoo? PLEASE. NO.

I feel like it MUST be coming, that some kind of understanding will be coming, even if they know they are separating for a while, even if they know that whatever is between them isn't something that can happen right now, I feel like they HAVE to separate on a true first name basis, right? ;A;!!!!!!!!!

AND I AM DYING FOR IT. /DYING/ I WANT HIM TO SAY HER NAME SO QUIETLY (AND MAYBE BRUSH HER HAIR BACK FROM HER FACE WHEN HE DOES) I WANT HIM TO TWITCH A LITTLE WHEN SHE SAYS THE NAME THAT HAS CAUSED HIM SO MUCH PAIN AND THEN INSTEAD MELT INTO HER. I WANT IT TO BE SO TENDER, SO INTIMATE, THAT HIS NAME NEVER SOUNDED THAT GOOD ON ANYONE'S ELSE'S TONGUE, THAT IT NEVER SOUNDED SO MEANGINGFUL AS WHEN SHE SAYS IT. The intimacy of being the first person to be allowed to say his name, to speak it with so much affection and care that it can undo what others have done to it, that it can breath back the life that was beaten out of it. ;A; What it would mean for her to say it!!!! That thrill of being allowed to share this very secret part, this very special part, something she is so hungry for!!!!!!

Shinae wanting to know everything about him is honestly SO FUCKING TENDER. Like, yes, that's what happens when we find ourselves liking someone, wanting to know everything, wanting to know about the things we were never present for and what shaped them into the person they are, but for Shinae there's that added layer because he has locked out everyone, pushed everyone away, and she wants to know the secrets he won't share, the parts of him that he hides, she wants to privy to every part of him. She wants him in his entirety, she wants to know him and be just as known and GOD to get to breathe his secret name, the forbidden name, the one he would not allow her?

GOD

I cannot even put it into words i just

[explodes on the spot]

WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WHEN IT HAPPENS FOR REAL? WHEN HE CALLS HER SHINAE AGAIN? LAKJFKAJKAFKJAFKAKFJJA i can't do this lil anon i aM SO, SO WEAK AND FULL OF EMOTIONS AND TENDERNESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS they make me feel sO TENDERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[incorrecttowerofgodquotes]

Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Season 2 Episode 8 Review

- This’ll take a while and have a lot of feeling and my own experiences, so please do keep in mine. Content warning for suicidal thoughts.

- Let’s start from the happier moments shall we?

- Secelia and Rouji have doomed the narrative. Secelia by standing and Rouji by speaking more than 3 lines. But still, they put the students lives first and act to save them. Secelia giving the new suit to Chuchu and Rouji interrogating Martin shows that they put a lot of importance on their jobs as school leaders. With the school now in shambles, I hope they move on to supporting the resistance against both the Space League and Prospera

- Kenanji is once again a pretty interesting character. He’s clearly suffering from some type of PTSD with Gundams as he was holding onto his arm to stop it from shaking. Also it’s cool that even though he’s moved up higher in the ranks, he’s still a talented pilot. But just when I was starting to like him again, his squad committed the ultimate crime. I will not forgive him

- Felsi and Chuchu claiming best pair of lesbians in the series, I’m sorry SuleMio fans. Felsi going out there to protect others and ultimately teaming up with Chuchu, despite their prideful and angry personalities. I expect Felsi to pilot the canons on the back of Chuchu’s new suit, the two working in tandem to save lives and kiss each other.

- Nika has finally returned to her true home, and while there’s definitely tension, right now she has to focus on saving others. Big props to Martin for standing up and be willing to hear her side. He’s really grown

- I like that Shaddiq’s harem squad weren’t OP. They’re still students, and even if they are talented, they don’t have enough experience compared to the actual professionals. A shame none of them died though. Okouchi plays cruel jokes on us

- Shaddiq is the biggest loser of all time. His pathetic white knighting for Miorine is sickening. He doesn’t see her as a person, he just sees her as an object. And the same goes for everyone else. Shaddiq has a savior complex, either something he developed or something that was drilled into him when he was young due to his talent. He has a point about how Earthian lives are more expendable, and I can sympathize, but the actions he takes are too horrible. He released Norea on purpose to get her to kill everyone. If Spacians are evil for killing innocent Earthians, then he is evil too for getting innocent Spacians killed. The end may justify the means, but that doesn’t mean what he did was good.

- Guel is the biggest gigachad of all time. Gives a cool speech shooting back at Shaddiq, disarms his suit, and then front flips outside of the exploding Darilbalde. While Shaddiq has grown complacent, Guel has seen the horrors of war up front. His father died by his hand, and an innocent child died in his arms. While Shaddiq can pass off his actions as the right thing, not harboring any guilt, Guel has taken on the pain of his sins and moves forward because of him. He knows the true pain of taking a life, which is why he leaves Shaddiq alive. He knows that if you’re dead, you can’t make up for all of the suffering you caused, that you can’t become a better person. He recognizes that Shaddiq has suffered just like him, and that it would be unfair to take his life for such a thing.

- Also the fact the fact Guel keeps performing better and better when more odds are stacked against him is crazy. Shaddiq was fully going in for the kill, with his handicap off, and Guel still beat him with just green beams. RIP Darilbalde, you saved your master.

- The fact that Sarius still refers to Shaddiq as his son, he really does love him. Best parent

- Lauda really going through it, huh? Imagine finding out your sibling killed your parent. Like, how do you even function after that? He put his brother up on such a high pedestal, but it’s all come crashing down. But will Guel be able to explain the situation, or will Lauda have his Joker moment before he can talk to him. With the phone call he received at the end, I don’t think Lauda will be sane enough to listen to anyone. Either he fights his brother or Suletta, possibly in the Schwarzette

- Petra…my sweet child. Her talking about all the things she wanted to die with Lauda reminded me of Sophie’s lamentations before her death. Her wants were so basic, but that just makes them even stronger. And you can tell Suletta realized that she wanted the same with Miorine. But sadly, while helping others, Petra gets caught up in the attack and is buried by rubble, dying. Maybe. I’ve seen some people say she might be alive and get the GUND prosthetics, which would make me extremely happy, but I’m too sad to hope. Some others have been saying she’ll be uploaded to the Schwarzette and while I find that far-fetched it would be pretty cute to have either Lauda or Suletta pilot it with her help.

- All right, this is the heavy part. Norea and El5n. Because he deserves a name, his real name preferably, but this is the best I can do right now.

- Norea, once again reminded of the fact that her and her people’s lives are played with by the upper class and that they’ll continue to hurt them, breaks and goes on a rampage. With no care to how much harm she’s causing, she acts out, because she herself is hurting. She’s carrying the burden of thousands of dead and suffering Earthians. Her howls of pain resound throughout the school as she lashes out, dying her hands red.

- But even still, despite all the pain she’s caused, El5n believes she can live a better life. He wants to believe that. Even if she carries the pain of all Earthians and the sins she commits, he wants to share that burden with her. Just as he believes he can live a happy life despite being just an experiment, he believes she can do so as well. He wants to see the world she lives in. He wants to see the girl who drew that beautiful lakefront. So he rushes out to stop her in Sophie’s Gundam, even if he might die.

- He tries to plead with her but she can’t accept it. She sees no meaning in her life if it isn’t being used to help others (save Earthians.)

- I’ll be honest, I experienced the same sense of emptiness Norea has. The feeling as if you have no future left. I remember near the end of middle school, I was given an assignment to choose what college I wanted to go to and what I wanted to major in and research it all, and like, I didn’t even think I was going to make it pass high school. I didn’t do the project because I genuinely didn’t believe I had a future. I distracted myself with anime and manga, much like how Norea focused on her drawings. It’s taken a lot of work to get where I am today thanks to having people care for me similarly to how El5n cared for Norea.

- His profession of care for her, saying he’ll stay by her side and that she wants her to show him the beauty of Earth, it all melted my heart. He spent almost his entire life locked up in a facility to be experimented on and had his very identity stolen away, but he finally found someone who feels just like him. Someone so desperately looking for a purpose after being shat on by the entire world. He reaches out to her and holds her hand, and Norea is reminded of Sophie, her best friend and only family.

- Finally, Norea puts down her weapons. Her rage isn’t gone, but the idea that someone cares for her makes her stop hurting others. But just when she can finally smile, her life is cruelly stolen away by a sniper shot. She’s shot straight through, the bracelet she and Sophie made together burning away, and El5n is left mourning.

- Just when he finally found someone who he could relate to, someone he wanted to explore the world he was sheltered from for so long, she’s gone. The one person who cared about him. Suletta only saw El4n and Belmeria only felt bad for herself. Norea was the first to see the suffering and lonely child behind the mask El5n put on and she dies.

- This is the very first moment activates his Permet by his own will, and it’s not to battle. Instead, it’s a manifestation of his grief and rage. He takes control of the GUND bits and uses them to kill the men who took Norea away, and then he leaves, because what else can he do? His entire life has been played with in order to serve some higher power. But he won’t back down after all this. Peil better sleep with one eye open, because he’s coming for all of them.

- While Guel showed great skill this episode, El5n, in my eyes, is the undisputed best pilot of the children. Able to keep up with a Permet 4 Norea in an unfamiliar suit and immediately hijacking the Gundvolvas and using them. He’s showing prowess on the same level as the Aerial, though I don’t think he’ll ever climb to her level. El5n will use these talents to carve his existence into the world. I hope he retakes his original name as he does this. No matter what you do El5n, I will support you.

- Suletta continues to move forward. Even though she doesn’t have Aerial with her, she spends hours removing rubble to save others. She couldn’t do anything during the attack, which is why she moves herself now to help others. And her persistence emboldens her friends, who jump into work just as she did. She survived, and now she has to choose what she wants to do. Does she want revenge? Does she want to help others? Or will she go see Miorine? No matter what she chooses, it will be her own choice made by her own will. No one can control her now

Where do we go from here? The Space League is moving now, ready to start a war. Prospera will be theif to fight Ochs Earth and start Quiet Zero, all just for Eri. But what will the young ones do? What can they do?

Well, that’s for next episode to show.

On this day remember to think about the millions of children who die in wars, conflict, or because of horrible circumstances. Let us work for a better tomorrow

[shesnake]

ok saurrr i JUST finished ep3 of the Lazarus project so SPOILERS for anyone who hasn't seen it. i know a lot of ethical questions are being raised here but i wanted to know your thoughts on the absolute horror of that episode and the ethics involved because im so confused and conflicted and horrified (in a good way!) idk like maybe here are just some thoughts but: the way people react to each other's tragedies is soo fascinating. the way wes was cold about the rebrovs' son's death but cried when faye dies and when threatened of her own life. the way shiv cries but does nothing (and yet is the only one who tries to acknowledge the horror), the way archie saw it coming and the first thing she does is point it out just to prevent future heartbreak, the way janet knew the risks and did it anyway and that STILL doesn't negate the fact that it was still horrible that she lost her son even though everyone knew it was a real possibility. and the way you can read rebrov's breakdown as a possible empathetic response to archie losing wes even though he also partly blames them for not saving the timeline sooner. the way that janet knows the agony that can result specifically from turning back time and yet helps george anyway because despite it all, she still chose to give birth to her daughter every time.

hellooooooo babe I appreciate these messages so much I love talking about TLP. ok SO:

in relation to wes.. SO many questions about her and the project itself. we are supposed to assume they have no allegiances with any country and operate independently, but they clearly have a western bias which makes me wonder who's really in charge? is their job not just western imperialism? how is wes the highest they can go up the ladder but she doesn't seem to have much idea of what's going on? what does she know? who the fuck is she???? if lazarus isn't tied to any government what keeps them in check?? who's playing god here? because I don't think it's wes.

lazarus agents all seem to be conditioned to be fine violating whatever geneva conventions it takes to get the job done for the greater good. they're all selected from imperialist militant intelligence backgrounds. shiv was brought in at a VERY young age because he "did the right thing" in the eyes of lazarus/wes and the kind of loyalty that cemented in him, probably grateful to have an answer/directive to this thing that's been happening to him all his life. lazarus is the highest authority and the closest thing to god for shiv. and they let him in BECAUSE he "did the right thing" in their eyes, so he wants to keep doing whatever that is. even if there was something he could've done differently in those last moments before the first checkpoint of ep 3, would he??? I don't think he would've at that point before later character development.

(side note: george also got time loop consciousness by a fluke and already had a solid background in tech so that he could easily work in their intelligence. sometimes I wonder what might happen to a random person with time loop consciousness who had no existing skills or resources useful to lazarus. would they just leave them to go mad???)

then there's the greater good in question. dennis is such an insane character to me because I get it!!! I really do!!!! tom burke also played a character not dissimilar to rebrov in my fav show utopia. he's objectively evil for wanting humanity's extinction to happen, but he's written in a way where we can actually empathise with that pain, because what happens to him and janet is sure as fuck enough to make you question god.

then with janet... I think her decision to go through the first pregnancy despite the risky timing speaks to how much she loved and trusted the people she worked with at lazarus. they were all brought together by their shared time loop consciousness and their fucked up jobs they can't talk about to anyone else. your coworkers are all you've got when you're all working for god. you can't Not be loyal you can't Not care about each other. (even when archie loses ross and decides to never love again she is such a FIERCE friend, even to george. shiv is the same.) that silly exchange with the whole group "janet had a bleed" "I can confirm agent rebrov has pamphlets" like they were/are literally a familyyyyyyyyyyy she thought they were going to keep her safe and then they FAILED HER.

and then with choosing to have her daughter... I think it stopped being a choice after the first couple resets but one could argue it might never have been a choice because it's what she feels she owes/is owed after losing her son? the way the daughter is born time loop conscious as well is insane. CRAZYYY episode of television

[pitroig]

SpyxFamily episode 25:  lessons on parenting

Or a reminder that Twilight is here for a very specific reason that we should not forget.

SxF episode closed season 1 with the first meeting between Twilight and Desmond Donavan. The animation encapsulated the same tension between Twilight/Loid that we perceived in the manga and with a beautiful play of lights and shadows conveyed the character duality, addressing the fact that, we like it or not, for the agent the mission goes first and above everything else.

I have a couple of thoughts about it:

1. it's sad 

Because Anya - cute, and small, and funny, and so many times rejected by other families - says that she doesn't know if his father loves her, and sometimes she’s afraid of how he reacts when she shows him her poor school performance, but it's ok because she loves him and that's enough. And despite we know that Twilight cares about her, he still uses her as a cover, his family as a mask, their bonds as and excuse. 

And yet, he uses the poor Damian - so love deprived, so lonely, so approval-seeking - to get closer to Donovan. All for the mission, of course, all for the greater good, but still: he is taking advantage of the untamed love of children for his purposes.

One of the main themes of the series (as also shown in the current arc in the manga) is what are we able to do in order to protect our loved ones. How far does Yuri goes with his torture to protect Yor? How many people should Yor kill for the sake Yuri’s smile? For how long Loid Forger is going to use Anya? Is the Handler truly worried about the Forgers future? And, what if the Desmonds and their detached love is a way of protecting their children, keeping them far and away of the danger? What if the experiments conducted on Anya by some hidden structure of the state were meant to create a super diplomat and not a war weapon?

As nations and countries and states conduct questionable operations in the spirit of their citizens safety, parents may be as ruthless when it comes to their children wellbeing.

I believe that at some point, Twilight will abandon his all-for-the-mission attitude and will think about his relationship with Anya - but is still a long run. (My suspicion is that the horrible scientist that didn't allow Anya to draw is going to be the real bad guy, but sssh 🤫

2. There is also a lot of hope

Loid Forger doesn't understand Anya. Like, the poor guy is absolutely clueless when it comes to his daughter motives, plans and actions - who can blame him. The little girl is as adorable as random.

But he talks to Donavan and makes a wonderful hidden paralelism of parenting and politics, when he admits that he tries to accept her and set a common ground where they can meet and start listening to each other. The same low key diplomatic core embedded in Anya’s talk to Damian.

And both talks lead to a brief but meaningful word exchange between father and son, and that's enough for now.

But it also leads to un unexpected development: Damian tomato red admitting that he really wants to get on we'll with Anya. Cutest crush ever.

PS: This post was written while in an airport stopover, sorry for the poor quality

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 37

Chapter 37: “Escape”

I originally only wanted to point out yet another Ray head pat, but then I noticed the adorable scene with the kids is the exact hallway we see burning up. Yes it took me this long to make that connection. Hush.

Leslie!! You sweet boy, do not play with butterflies! They're a bad omen in this series! But oh you’re so lucky to have a literal angel descend upon you like that. Pfftt okay that may be pushing it; I know Isabella has done some pretty horrible stuff, but that’s all in the future! Right now she’s a totally innocent and adorable kid!

I love Isabella with all my heart and soul (as if that wasn’t obvious enough) but I still believe they should’ve gave Leslie the credit he deserves for his song rather than have everything be named and referred to “Isabella’s Lullaby,” especially the mandolin version from the first season ost! They could’ve easily named that after him instead! Yeah the significance it holds in regards to her and Ray’s relationship is huge, but at the end of the day it’s still Leslie’s original melody.

Let me get it all out of the way and just say the anime handled Isabella’s entire flashback so much better. It has an unfair advantage since we can actually hear the song, but also because her emotions during Leslie’s shipment make way more sense. The boy she loves is leaving the house forever so naturally she would be upset! Why the manga has her waving and smiling as she says goodbye instead is something I’ll never understand. But hey, that panel helps show that the mandolin wasn’t a totally random addition to the anime when they decided to have Leslie use one in the previous scene rather than sing as he did in manga.

I know Isabella had Ray at 19 (or 20 actually..? it might be that, whatever) and whether she was that age or not when she was finally granted a mom position, I’m in awe that she looks as just as beautiful as she did back then as she does when the series starts. It’s like she didn’t age at all.

I know people will always call her a bad mom because of how she walked the kids to their death and sorta used them for her own survival, but then that logic applies to all the moms & sisters of the story as well since it’s basically in their job description. Despite all the women having the same goal, Isabella strives for perfection for the children’s sake as well. Pardon me for quoting myself in order to save me some time (y’all will see this a week later but currently writing this post out while I wait for my copy of TotK to arrive.. happy release day!):

“She provided her children with a normal lifestyle, not only to keep up the orphanage facade, but knowing that their lives would all be cut shorter than they anticipate. She gave them love in hopes that no one would ever have to feel the dread she felt after Leslie’s death and/or finding out the truth. She tried to delay that horrific fate by encouraging them to learn all they can (like teaching the trio about strategy and chess) so they could achieve higher tests scores and (unknowingly to them) add a couple more months or years onto their lives. Yes it was her job to raise these children to such high standards but she excelled at it for their sake too.”

Of course the glaring difference between Ray retelling the deal flashback and Isabella remembering it is their own emotions. In all of Ray’s flashbacks up to this point, Isabella was cold, threatening and beyond confident, but when we see it from her perspective, she is completely terrified (if only briefly) as she find out Ray is her son moments before he offers the deal to her.

“All those years spent perfecting a fake smile and emotionless exterior like she was trained to have and her son shatters it in an instant... That one moment of weakness speaks volumes to me.” -me, once again being lazy.

The fact the anime had a handful of opportunities to animate this moment from Ray’s perspective and chose to show us Isabella’s memory instead.. aahh, it’s a good move. Granted, Ray never delve into his mother-son relationship whenever he mentioned it previously, so saving that critical information for Isabella’s flashback made the reveal hit so much harder.

Isabella’s desire to survive is a valid reason to accept the mom position, but doing so out of pure spite against the demons so they couldn’t have her as their next meal is incredible and just fits her personality so well in my eyes. Of course the big downside to all that is leading other children to their own demise, but in no way was she ever ecstatic about it. While I think no death made her as distraught as Leslie’s did, she loved all the kids she raised and I have no doubt sending them all off to their own shipments was still extremely hard for her. As we saw in ep1, Isabella was humming Leslie’s song while walking Conny down to the gate and as we learned in this chapter, our lovely lady sings that song to stay strong.

Can I please hug whomever it was on the anime staff that had the brilliant idea to have Isabella let her hair down because DAMN she is so GORGEOUS!!

The anime is superior in so many ways for this scene. Not only because of how beautiful Isabella is right here (though it is a real big reason for me), but with everything else previously mentioned too. I swear I’ll never get over this though.. oh what I wouldn’t give to see Demizu draw this woman like this just once.

Go ahead and catch me sobbing over all of this!!

Simply amazing how she somehow concluded that Phil was in on the whole plan as well. But look at her, openly caring for the children without even worrying about her caretaker status anymore. Seems no different from before, huh? That’s because she’s always cared! If ya listen closely you can hear the broken chidoroki record saying “best mom” on repeat. And I certainly can’t forget to mention the comforting head pat as well. Aahh, no wonder your son does this so much to the other kids too.

Okay well, hate to burst your bubble here sweetie, but just because you won’t personally see the shipments, doesn’t mean they’ll all stop completely. I assure you they’re still happening in the other plantations, even with Isabella reducing the frequency of them once she becomes Grandma. And the whole idea of not watching others die.. ohhh, I wish I could be hopeful for you about that but unfortunately y’all are still gonna witness some hard loses and countless close calls soon enough.

I truly am so proud that the fifteen of them managed to escape that harsh reality they were forced into. And as much as I don’t wanna mention the anime anymore after this because of that unspeakable second season, it’ll probably still happen. I enjoyed all the comparisons so far since both medias just had relatively small changes here and there, but with the second season however.. yeah there’s gonna be a ton of complaints. (I do praise it occasionally, but it’s still a huge upset.)

Favorite panel/moment:

There’s so many I wanna choose from thanks to all the Isabella moments, but I really love this entire page. Seeing her sing Leslie’s song to the children to calm them (& probably herself) down is so sweet. I wish the anime had given us that. They had the main theme playing which includes the song’s melody anyway, so I can’t really complain too much about that. But learning she indirectly helped the escapees by retrieving their ropes so the farm doesn’t know exactly where they escaped from is also wonderful. She really didn’t care about her life anymore once she accepted defeat, which is kinda sad in a way, but still so wholesome that she’s prioritizing everyone’s needs and happiness above her own.

Oh, you know how Isabella sings the song to keep herself strong? Ya ever wonder if Ray’s done so for the same reason? Yeah he used the song to help confirm he was Isabella’s son, but the only other time we hear it from him was right before Emma finds him waiting in the dinning hall. Just imagining him being that scared to finally put his crazy pyro plan into action to end his own life and using the song to try and calm himself down.. ow, my heart.

[t4tpumpkinduo]

hello gm i just thinking abt age things dsmp style and well....

i've seen multiple people draw up their cq as like. 8-10 yrs older than cclingy and uhm. huh? huh? he's like. their slightly older peer 😭 both point blank and narratively

we have canon conformation that ccling are minors on account of the eyes that we have and the ears that we use. but if you wanna be difficult abt it the exile contract plainly states that cdrm wants to keep tommy in there 'until he's 18.'

which. uhm. first of all, hope he boils alive in a giant pot. secondly, that makes ctommy at THE VERY LEAST 17 at that point, logically younger. he never ages out of the exile contract. both ctommy and ceret confirm it took place over Multiple Months, and he must've not been in the age range to have that happen, as neither the conditioning + torture AND the subjugation of nlm are ever talked abt with having a nearby end in sight. (cdrm melt alive in boiling acid challenge. btw. )

anyways cq is likely 18-19 at the start of the dsmp because he talks abt having JUST gotten out of juvie. like this JUST happened. you don't say you JUST got out of smthing if it was 8 or 6 or 3 or even 2 yrs ago 😭 cuz it. Just Happened. what age do you need to be to age out of juvie. are you saying ccling were 10 yrs old in the beginning streams. cmon man.

on the topic of character ages, imo cschlatt my sweet lil princess is likely 21-ish bcs smplive is explicitly canon. how can he be a geezer when he and wilbur are canonical situationship, when he and connor are treated like peers. cclingy see him in the same admire box they see cwilb in like 😭 how would tht be possible if he was 93. and the geezer jokes are just jokes IN CANON. you guys are just ableist w no media literacy.

if anything i think it makes more sense for ppl to have hced cwilb as older but god forbid our blorbo be anything but the youngest possible age so h(i am forcibly removed off stage). anyways that said i Do think it makes sense for him to be 24ish. the smplive-isms mean he's likely still 3ish yrs older than schlatt and the way he acts is super. postgrad daddy issues burnout guy who can't get his anti psychotics filled. the narratives you understand. it makes sense for him to be young.

he does however have a whole ass old ass son tho? 😭 and i DON'T WANT TO HEAR 'ohhh what if fundy ages different what if he-' FUNDY DOESN'T. he confirms he's 22 in later streams and he's on equal standing w niki at the start who's like 18. he doesn't show any kind of rapid onset age growth on screen at all despite multiple years passing so WHY would that suddenly stop being a factor as soon as the cameras turn away. be serious.

(my hc abt that is cfundy got whisked away/went missing to vault hunters as a v v young toddler, [he knows who iskall is and is actively friendly w him, he even invites him to the dsmp!], and came back way older cuz time there works differently and it REALLY wasn't that long for cwilb maybe a couple horrible grief stricken years. and the gap and strain isn't smthing they're able to work through v well because. how can you be normal. abt any of that. yr dad coddles and talks down to you because he still sees you as his little boy because How Can't He but also yr a grown ass man and yr own person with yr own thoughts and wants and opinions. and yr still so deeply desperate his attention and his approval. he didn't raise you. and he loves these other kids way more than he could ever love you. let's kill ourselves over this btw.)

anyways idont really have a point to this i just like yapping ^__^ 👍ppl can have their own interpretations it's whatever do whatever who cares i don't begrudge that but like. idk it's v interesting how narrative age Does play a factor into sm things and the few clues left around fr character's canonisms are very fun to discover.

[fizzigigsimmer]

The power of narrative empathy.

This is kind of a strange post about Billy, but I’m just gonna let it flow. I’m gonna start with this, I am a Billy Hargrove fan. I am a black, queer, female abuse survivor and I make no apologies about loving this character. Also, none of what I just said matters, I just think it’s important to note that we are out here. Even if I wasn’t those things I would still have the liberty and hopefuly the empathy to feel for his character. Today I want to talk about how Billy was written, why I think that’s dead wrong and damaging to those of us who survive abuse without a halo, and I am going to use another beloved fictional victim to do it. He also happens to be one of the world’s most iconic and well known villains. Yes I am going to talk about Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, and how his story is real. How it happened to me and it’s happening to someone else right now, and how I see evidence of the same societal failure shown in the films playing out in real time every damn day in the Stranger Things Fandom when it comes to Billy Hargrove. So here we go.

For a highly condensed slightly satirical recap: The genocidal tyrant formerly known as Darth Vader started out as Anakin Skywalker. A gifted child slave whose only living family was his mother. If the words child slave didn’t clue you in, let me just tell you that my ravenous consuming of any and all Star Wars companion novels confirmed that Anakin regularly suffered abuse and was put into life threatening danger by a greedy master because he was a protege pilot. As a result, Anakin learned from a pretty early age that how he used his gifts might literally be the difference between whether he and his mom survived. Fun shit like that.

Despite all, Anakin was a good person. Yeah he was a little rash and a little angry sometimes, but he was also kind, brave, and loyal and had all the makings of a great person - in other words he was an ordinary child who just happened to have a special power that gave his FEELINGS agency in the world.

Enter the Jedi Knights, literal space Knights, and fellow feelings practitioners. They’ve developed a truly insane way of dealing with the fact that their feelings are a literal force in the world, by forming a kind of religion around not allowing themselves to feel very much at all and keeping the peace. They’re the ultimate good guys whose reputation proceeds them and our enslaved child instantly looks up to and idolizes them as heroes. He’s willing to put his life in danger to help them even when there’s literally no gain in it for him and then they happily use him in order to get some parts they need to get off the planet. He’s 9 by the way.

But Anakin isn’t risking his life for nothing nothing. Jedi master Qui-Gon Jin has seen Anakin is a fellow feelings user and immediately thinks he’s the prophesied “Chosen One”, who is supposed to bring BALANCE TO THE FORCE THAT GUIDES THE UNIVERSE. Based on literally nothing nothing and possibly an immaculate conception. Anyway, he’s convinced. Even though he already has an apprentice/surrogate son, he immediately starts love bombing this slave child and filling his head with promises that he’s gonna be freed from his horrible life and trained to be this great Jedi - promises he has no idea whether he’ll be able to keep by the way. So Qui-Gon buys a child and calls it a rescue, and tells him he’s going to have to leave his mother in bondage and cut off all emotional ties to her. Like he can never see her again or even feel too strongly about never seeing her again because Jedi’s aren’t supposed to love. Love is too strong a feeling and it leads to all the other BAD FEELINGS. So the nine year old child slave is told to be brave and start acting like a Jedi already and stop with the whole being scared/guilty about leaving his mother thing.

The nine year-old child slave who has just been separated from his mother for life, does not do that. In a turn of events that should really shock no one, instead he immediately trauma imprints on the first girl who shows him empathy after he opens up about his EMOTIONAL PAIN. He then spends the next decade fixated on this girl and crying out for help because he can not just turn off his emotions. He is constantly criticized, demeaned, and treated like a pariah for not just being able to magically rise above his trauma or control his trauma responses, in order to become the white knight he’s supposed to be for the republic. Side note, when I say dude was erratic AF and crying out for help AF, I mean that. There are several Youtube Psychologists who have done reactions to this character and an interesting theme  throughout all of them is how Anakin displays all of the typical indicators for Bipolar Disorder and Reactive Attachment Disorder. It’s interesting, and I’ve linked a favorite.

So back to this child slave who is either the victim of a three movie long mental health crisis or the Worst Writing Syndrome (I’ll take both for 300 Alex). Obi-Wan, Anakin’s big brother/father figure has no idea what the hell he is doing or how to help him, because he hasn’t processed his own trauma. Time for a side note about Obi-Wan’s former master Qui-Gon. He was an overly critical and emotionally unavailable teacher/father whose teaching style was essentially to give out tiny scraps of approval every now and again just so Obi-wan didn’t decide to swallow his light saber.

So there was Obi-wan, 25 years old, still out here trying to get daddy’s stamp of approval so that he can be a real man who has MASTERED HIS FEELINGS, but he’s being told he’s not ready and reminded of all of his short comings on the regular. It’s Tuesday in other words. But then dad finds this new kid and literally just stops caring about training Obi-wan. He tells Obi-wan it’s time he moved out and got a job with zero notice.

Qui-Gon announces to the Jedi Council that he wants Anakin as his apprentice. Which is super awkward because his actual apprentice is standing right there. When they point out that he’s already got one, he’s suddenly all ‘oh Obi-wan is ready to be a big boy now’. Obi-wan was rightly jealous, hurt, and low-key pissed off, but Jedi’s aren’t supposed to let FEELINGS get the better of them so he swallows sadness.

Qui-Gon might be a bit of a dick but he is still dad, so when he tragically dies right in Obi-wan’s arms and uses his very last breathes to beg him to train Anakin, this fresh as fuck Jedi-Knight suddenly becomes a father figure to a traumatized slave child. And the saddest thing is Obi-wan is a better man than Qui-Gon. He has every reason in the world to hate this little twerp, but he tries so hard to break the cycle and he be the father figure Anakin needs.

But the thing about breaking cycles is someone has to teach you how to do it. The Jedi Council is not out here encouraging Obi-Wan to be emotionally present and empathetic to Anakin’s unique struggles and challenges. And LOLS do he have them. In fact Obi-Wan is constantly in the council room defending Anakin against their prejudice for shit Anakin can’t control, and is often being criticized himself for being too soft with his apprentice. Like they would literally sit him down and essentially tell him to stop being an Anakin defender and apologist 😂.

So the end result was Obi-wan landed somewhere in the messy middle between the dad he promised himself he wouldn’t be and the one he wanted to be, and the child slave’s mental health continued to decline (surprise surprise) until he finally met a creepy groomer who manipulated him by VALIDATING HIS EMOTIONAL PAIN. Nobody intervened, although there was ample opportunities to do so. Anakin was literally as well as figuratively crying out for help the whole time. He didn’t get it. He was told to just stop being afraid. Just stop being angry. Just stop loving your mother and don’t think about what may or may have happened to her. Just stop and do the savior thing okay? JUST GET OVER YOUR FEELINGS ANAKIN.

And the rest is just tragic history.

I took the time to write all that because I have been in Anakin’s and Billy’s figurative shoes. I was abused more ways than I want to recount here, and I’ll just say it. It messed me the fuck up. I know what it’s like to cry for help, over and over again and never get it. I know what it’s like to be blamed for blowing the whistle the same day you’re blamed for behavior that stems from the rage of utter helplessness. I know what it’s like to break shit and hurt people who don’t deserve it because that’s what you know. And I know what it’s like to be told I have to break the cycle somehow, even though you wouldn’t know the first place to begin even if you were in a place safe enough to start.

I aged out of my abuse. Nobody rescued me. The systems failed me. I simply got old enough to move away from my abusers and then after considerable self harming behavior I got lucky and broke good. I reached my lowest low and realized I did want to live and that I had to fix my shit in order to do that. I started going to therapy and working to build the life I wanted. And in case this isn’t clear enough I will spell it out. The world did not look at me, an abuse survivor and empathize. There was not a reliable support system, no heroes in capes. I’m here, stable, loved and in a good place because I survived long enough to buy the help I needed. That’s it. It’s fucking tragic and as a society we have a lot to be ashamed for. We fail.

I empathize with Billy Hargrove because his story is my story. Right down to societies response, and the way his writers decided to condemn him from conception.

As terrible a writer as George Lucas may be that is the one thing he did not do. He could have condemned the character of Darth Vader with his narrative, but instead he wrote what is essentially a redemptive six part epic about an abuse survivor that the ENTIRE GALAXY FAILED. Anakin’s story is a text book case for why it is fucking awful to look at an abuse survivor and put the burden of healing on them. Like they’re just supposed to be organically “resilient” to the shit that you claim you wouldn’t even know how to survive, in order to be some virtuous example to others about how to “stay good”. 

People expect that of characters like Billy Hargrove because that’s what people expect of real victims too. You’re only worthy of empathy if you somehow survive the unsurvivable mentally and emotionally intact. That’s how the Duffer brothers related to Billy’s trauma. In their own words, he’s not written as what he is (an abused child) he’s a villain whom they wanted to look like a real boy so they gave him trauma. He’s written to be judged, hated for his inability to just magically STOP, and then die so that the story can plod forward.

And just in case you don’t yet see why that matters, just stop and think about how people are more accepting of the character who literally decimated planets and slaughtered children, than the teen who was abused and then possessed. Anakin is allowed to have fans who empathize with his struggles, who dream of the better life he might have had. Anakin’s sacrificial death is allowed to be the redemptive moment that it was, and he’s literally allowed to shed the name of Darth Vader and be remembered as the friend and brother that Obi-wan loved within his own narrative. Because he’s written with empathy.

And society responds to that empathy. I have never, not once, been shamed, ridiculed, or called a child murder apologists (or what the fuck ever) for loving his character.

Billy isn’t real, but the people who empathize with and see themselves in his character are real. Nobody’s required to like him, love him, or even want to think about him for that matter but this drive some people have to blanket judge other fans and start calling people weirdos and monsters for feeling anything for him that isn’t disgust - that’s what can stop. You can literally just stop. Back away from the keyboard and take a deep breath. Agree to disagree. Feel how you feel. But don’t go fucking far out of your way to tear strangers down over the internet.There’s no justification in the world for it. I promise.

[chaozsilhouette]

Retrograde Joy

I have been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while. The very idea of Wukong with amnesia opens so many possibilities with his changed mindset. While I pulled a great deal from canon, I added my own twist to make it even more heart-wrenching.

I regret nothing.

You have been warned.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

They had dedicated a full twelve hours to nonstop driving into a new mountain range.

Most of their trip was in an uncomfortable silence.

Despite their actions being for the salvation of the world, no one was happy with how things played out. They were supposed to be heroes. The good guys, who always did the right thing. So why was stealing an ancient artifact and betraying the trust of tenuous allies their first choice?

MK didn’t know what to think.

He felt horrible. 

Princess Iron Fan let them into their home despite their history. Red Son refrained from unleashing his latest weapons cache on them. Demon Bull King answered questions they didn’t even know they had. And how did they repay them?

At the moment it felt like the only option, but who knows. Maybe if they had waited until breakfast, the family would have been willing to discuss other methods with cooler heads. But they were on borrowed time and Monkey King was still out of it…

The more he stared at the ring, the more guilt weighed on his conscious.

In a veiled attempt to pass the time, MK took out his sketch pad and continued refining the outline of the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. He needed something to do with his hands, anything to keep him busy while allowing him to process his betrayal of a demon he had grown to appreciate.

Words didn’t need to be exchanged to know everyone was suffering from the same dilemma.

Mei barely made a sound, just scrolling through the pictures she took of the bull family’s territory and fortress. Looking over the images of architecture, food, and people, she tried to reason if they didn’t hurry all that would be gone. Yet as she came across a picture of Red Son looking at their families’ shared dinner with the smallest smile, she couldn’t help but wonder.

She knew what they were doing was wrong, yet she held her tongue. The truth was…she was scared. Those visions, memories, whatever they were, they scared her. Were they a warning, a sign of what would happen if they continued or stopped? She didn’t know and everyone was already so tense, she couldn’t add her problems, not until she figured out what they meant.

They were obviously connected to the Samadhi Fire, but why was she seeing them? Why was she the only one having them? Or were the others having their own visions and were just as scared about sharing them? 

She didn’t know.

She didn’t know.

Pigsy tried to focus on making sure everyone was well-fed and healthy. He absolutely knew their actions were going to have major consequences. To assume otherwise was the height of stupidity and to be honest, they demolished that milestone ages ago. Still, he held his tongue and waited for the so-called Great Sage to wake up so he could beat some actual answers out of him.

He had to endure over a decade of listening to his exploits and he did so because he loved seeing his kid smile. Yet now, when they needed the king, when he had the chance to prove himself worthy of all the fame and hype, he chooses to be practically worthless at every turn. All Pigsy knew was that if the monkey didn’t wake up soon, he couldn’t be held accountable for his actions.

Sandy drove on with little complaint, yet it was obvious he was in just as much emotional agony as the rest. He kept his eyes on the road and did his best to maintain a smooth ride, but as the hours came and went the number of therapy cats accompanying him grew and grew. His little soldiers kneaded his muscles and nuzzled whatever part of him they could reach. Soothing purrs echoed in his bones taking him to a place of contentment, however, this was only temporary.

Tang focused on the holy ring to distract himself, jotting down everything he learned from both his observations and from the history lesson the royal family was so kind to share. Yet even his lust for knowledge could not erase the sense they had committed an unbearable sin. 

Sure, he tried to dress up the feelings of guilt and his compromised ability to focus.

Heh, heh, it wouldn’t do to try and fully analyze such an ancient artifact in one go. There’s no telling what he’d miss with that attitude.

…And without access to his normal tools and resources, there was only so much information he could gather.

So, to keep himself busy and his mind fresh (along with serving as a fresh distraction), Tang took up the task of brushing Monkey King’s fur. While they did wash him at the Demon Bull King’s palace, they didn’t really give too much thought as to actually taking care of him. Yes, at the time they had other things to think about and needed to get as much sleep as possible, but now he could give him all the attention he needed. 

Tang did his best to be as gentle as possible, sticking to the fur on his head and trailing down his neck as going any further felt inappropriate with consent. Fortunately, or not depending on how you looked, there were hardly any tangles and those Tang found were relatively easy to smooth out without getting too violent. With every pass of the comb, golden sparks settled unseen against the immortal’s skin seeping into his pores to rejuvenate the ancient king.

Deep inside the recesses of the immortal’s mind, he sensed something familiar mingling with the trickles of power flowing into him, something he had to protect. 

For what felt like a small eternity, the stone monkey had his limbs bound by an ever-tightening web of responsibilities and failures. Iron-like spikes had been driven through his hands and feet coupled with the sensation of everlasting disappointment. Yet the worst part was the sense that he was alone. That be had no one left. That he had been forgotten.

It was enough to drive a being who had known endless torture to tears. Until his face was touched by a glorious warmth. 

The stress and responsibility that kept him tied down for what felt like millennia faded away as memories of a journey with family nuzzled against his consciousness. His pain melted away with his restraints, leaving only the feeling of acceptance and love. Wukong smiled as he held the images of his loved ones close, wishing never to part with them.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

Watching the sun begin the dip behind the mountains as the moon became brighter in the growing darkness, Pigsy knew things had to change.

“Enough! Sandy, pull over.” He ordered in a tone that was not to be disobeyed.

Sandy was quick to comply without hesitation, both out of loyalty and a sense of relief. “Is something wrong?”

“Did they catch up to us?” Tang frantically searched the skies for any sign of ominous lights that warned of the Shackled.

“No, but we need a break. We’ve been driving since sunrise, and I think we could all use some fresh air and a chance to stretch our legs.” Besides, there was a lot of tension they needed to deal with and that wouldn’t get done sitting in a van.

“Good point.” Sandy happily pulled into a little clearing surrounded by a large cliff face on one side and a massive grass field on the other, with a miniature forest dotting throughout the center. An ideal camping site. “With everything going on, I haven’t been able to do my daily yoga.”

“My tai chi schedule has slipped with all the fuss,” Tang admitted, putting away his books.

“Then it’s settled, we’ll set up camp here. With all the rocks and vegetation, we’re safe from the desert heat and should have plenty of advanced warning from any approaching forces.” Pigsy stepped out savoring the cool fresh air. The subtle sound of running water told him there was a stream nearby.

Already he felt better. This environment toppled both the dry desert and the burning landscape of the Demon Bull family’s fortress.

“Mei, you up for a continuation of our sparring session?” MK asked, referring to their little match before everything went to hell. Picking up a fallen tree branch roughly the size of the golden cudgel, he faced a fanged grin that would fill the nightmares of most sane men. 

“Only if you’re prepared to lose,” Mei smirked with her own stick at the ready.

Laughing the two went off into the field to prevent any of the others from getting hit by accident.

“Try not to go too crazy you two,” Tang pleaded.

“No promises,” MK shouted back with the first authentic laughter the group had heard since they started this journey.

The adults shared a smile, happy their boy hadn’t lost all his joy.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

“Any chance your super strength’s back yet?” Mei asked, giving her sparring weapon a few practice whacks.

“Nope, just enhanced durability.”

Oh, that was new. “When did you get that?”

“How do you think I survived DBK’s wrath?” MK rhetorically asked.

“Do I-”

“No. No, you do not.” MK cut her off with a haunted stare and a disturbing smile.

“So…training?” Mei asked, feeling a touch uncomfortable.

“Yes!” The boy screamed, getting into a defensive stance.

Out of consideration of MK’s condition, their spar was mainly one of form. A makeshift sword and staff clashed against one another as their wielders strove to be the first to land a hit. Sweeps and dodges were employed as while the two loved each other deeply, in a completely platonic way, they were not above playing dirty.

While the trading of blows could be brutal to the point where they needed to seek out replacement weapons multiple times, neither held any malicious intent. No, this was a friendly spar, nothing more. Laughter filled the air as the two allowed themselves to sink into the rhythm of combat. Compliments were freely shared as were congratulations when one claimed a round.

In many ways it reminded them why they were fighting, so they could spend the rest of their lives experiencing more moments like this knowing the people they loved were safe and waiting for them.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

In the light of the moon, the team gathered around a bonfire after a relaxing day and a delicious meal. It wasn’t as extravagant as the spread they had created for the Demon Bull family, but no one could complain. The looming danger of being in the residence of a powerful family that was just begging you to put a toe out of line, so they had free reign to butcher your loved ones does take the fun out of the process.

MK was especially happy in regaining his enhanced speed. Turns out that constantly being attacked by a terrifying dragon was a good motivator to get the fuck out of dodge. The others congratulated him on his progress and praised Mei for her improvement in wielding a weapon; even if it wasn’t the actual blade, it was impossible to ignore how she now held herself with more confidence as an armed combatant.

With the stars shining and the full moon illuminating the night, one could almost pretend it was a normal camping trip.

Naturally, that was the universe’s cue to remind the crew they were never safe.

Mo started hissing at a gathering of rocks a brief sprint away.

Having grown wise to the slightest hint of danger, everyone jumped to their feet, waiting for the latest threat to show itself.

Where the forest met the mountains, there was a small plain of rocks where the ground had cracked open revealing an eerie green glow. Strange sounds slowly built upon one another, the snapping of hard armor against stone, the hissing of a disturbed beast, the skittering of a thousand insects on hard ground.

Something was coming up.

The ground was shifting as massive chunks of the earth broke apart by an unseen force.

Brandishing her sword, Mei took point and shattered a thrown boulder before it could destroy their campsite. Her efforts protected the group but left her wide open for an unseen attack. Something pierced her left side and suddenly she couldn’t hold her sword, she couldn’t move, she couldn’t stand. All she could do was collapse as the pain took hold.

“Mei!” With his newfound speed, MK grabbed Mei and the Dragon blade, whisking them to safety in the T.E.A. where the others had holed up.

For a brief moment, MK felt the urge to ask her if she was hurt. Thankfully, he was able to hold his tongue. Obviously, she wasn’t okay! 

No one hunched over, gripping their side with their face scrunched up in agony would say they were okay as anything more than flagrant assurance. He knew that much. But he could check to see if she could still understand him. “How bad is it?” Again, stupid question, but he was panicking!

Fortunately, Mei was able to respond, but it was weak and wobbly. “Hurts. Really hurts.” Her voice was soft as the lightest whisper as if she couldn’t dream of a higher decibel.

Her body felt both numb and tense, like she had been struck with lightning and her body was caught between seizing with pain and blacking out. Sweat gathered on her face as her body became wracked with tremors.

Tang gently removed her hands that were clenched around the wound, seeing a few beads of a pale lilac liquid oozing out of a needle-sized puncture.

“Venomous demons, such headaches,” Pigsy growled, both out of annoyance for the ability and concern for the young dragon. There was no telling what kind of venom the demon had, it could simply induce pain, be temporary, or Mei could be dead in less than an hour.

MK didn’t know what to do. With most of his powers still out of reach, there was only so much he could do. Mei was much stronger than him and she was taken out in a second. He didn’t even see what hit her. Against that kind of speed and a poison capable of dropping a dragon, even one in human form, what chance did he have?

The T.E.A. rocked as something heavy rammed into it.

The left side nearly caved into itself as a massive dent nearly ripped the beds from the wall.

A loud roar showed that whatever was out there wasn’t done with them yet. It struck again and again; each strike targeted a different side. It was testing their defenses and it was only a matter of time before something gave.

Sandy was still recovering from the ambush with that unknown demon from his past. He was in no position to fight anyone. And while Pigsy and Tang would eagerly defend him with their lives, neither was likely to survive.

The only one who could actually protect them was dead to the world! With no way of them being able to reach him!

“What are you doing?!” Tang’s voice dragged MK out of his head. Blinking to make sure he hadn’t gone insane with worry, the raising of his eyelids proved he hadn’t gone over the edge, yet.

Pigsy had stomped over to the meditating sage, taking his collar into a trembling fist.

“It’s dangerous to disrupt a transcendental meditation!” Tang pleaded. There was no telling what could happen if Monkey King was pulled out before he was ready.

“Not as dangerous as whatever’s out there.” Pigsy started shaking the monkey using every ounce of pent-up frustration he had from this trip. The only change was the slight tilt of his head.

The father growled but whatever he planned to do next was forgotten as the vehicle shook. Pigsy dropped the celestial simian as he scrambled to hold onto anything when the TEA nearly capsized.

Alright, they couldn’t play it safe anymore.

“Alright, I have an idea.” Slipping on an oven mitt, Pigsy dug into his front pocket to pull out something odd. “Avert your gaze from the legendary Dusk Ghost Pepper!”

A wrinkled light grey pepper the size of a ghost pepper with markings a darker shade of grey that resembled a human skull. An ominous light was emitted from the dangerous ingredient, a warning most would take as plenty of reasons to steer clear of this agonizing force, clearly, it failed this time.

“This infamous spice is capable of bestowing third-degree burns from mere eye contact.”

“Ooh- OW!” MK could be heard tripping over his own feet as he desperately shielded his eyes from the agonizing heat coursing through his retinas.

“I said don’t look at it!” Pigsy barked in his trademark tone of worried and angry.

Meanwhile, Tang was still debating if this was necessary, and the status of his friend’s sanity. “And you felt it was wise to carry that with you, in your pocket?”

“Not important! What is important is making sure everyone lives to see tomorrow.” Pigsy stared down the annoying glowing pain in his ass that trapped them in this nonsense. It would be quite a lie to say he wasn’t going to enjoy what he was about to do. “Aright your majesty, time to pull your own weight!” Lunging forward he forced the monkey to swallow the crushed pepper whole.

Oils were released as wrinkled flesh met sharp fangs, releasing a literal explosion in the simian’s mouth. Golden eyes snapped open as the consciousness within was roused from a wonderful dream. His beloved family smiled at him as their faces faded away in golden light.

Wukong threw his head back as a burst of raw divine power lifted the king from his meditation pose and into awareness. The others were thrown back by the sheer might of the king’s inner strength.

For an instant, their fear of the Lady Bone Demon grew. If the Monkey King with all his power required a mystical weapon such as the Samadhi Fire to best her, just how dangerous was she?

Sensing the immense power, the unknown demon fled. They knew anything with that kind of aura was one they would do best to avoid. They would have to be patient and wait until the time was right.

Cracking his neck, the awakened sage’s fangs flashed in the dimmed light. “No need to panic Master. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven is here.”

With a mighty kick, the reinforced doors capable of withstanding a constant assault were ripped from their hinges and sent flying.

Wukong jumped into the clearing, eyes trained for any sign of his latest opponent. Yet not even the Golden Eyes of Truth revealed the source of the skittering and hissing he detected mere seconds ago. No doubt it would return, they always did.

“Hmm, looks like I scared it off.”

But for now, his family was safe. “Master, little brothers, it’s safe to come out now. The idiot, too.”

“Master?” Tang repeated in disbelief.

“Brothers?” MK and Sandy exchanged a confused look. This was…new.

“Idiot!” Pigsy growled. He saw that insufferable monkey stare him dead in the eye, he knew that remark was for him.

“Ugh…” Wukong groaned, adjusting his head so he could properly stare down the demon he assumed to be the infamous glutton. “Fine, Zhu Bajie, better?” His tail twitched in annoyance.

Okay, this was fucked up in so many ways, but Pigsy refused to fall for this arrogant ass’s tricks when a child was suffering. “If you’re done showing off, perhaps you could brother to help her!” He shouted, pointing at Mei’s trembling form.

Following the gesture, Wukong leaped back into the strange metal structure. His eyes immediately locked onto the child-like form his master was cradling that was emanating familiar draconic energy. “Huh? Sheesh. Ao Lie, what happened to you?”

Once more the group blinked in confusion.

“The demon you chased off hit her with something. All we know was that there was poison involved.” Tang explained as he gently rubbed Mei’s head, not certain his actions were having any effect but too scared to stop.

“One sec, Master.” Wukong enjoyed a brief laugh. Even after so many battles, his Master remained so emotional when it came to their safety. It was comforting in a way, to know someone would always care, regardless of how strong you were. “Always so worried.” 

Looking over the female body with the Golden Eyes of Truth, Wukong almost scoffed at what he saw. It wasn’t even lethal, merely to cause minor pain. Gathering celestial power into his fingertips, Wukong tapped the young dragon’s forehead. The results were instant.

Mei’s eyes snapped open with a faint golden glow. Twisting she faced the ground as her body was wracked with coughs. With each painful wheeze, the poison was forced from her body as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. For a full minute, her entire world was centered on expelling the dangerous liquid along with other bodily fluids until none of the foreign substance was left. MK and Tang grabbed her as she went still, stopping her from collapsing into the upheaved toxic mixture.

Sandy offered Mei some water, which she gratefully inhaled.

Wukong watched it all with a carefree smile. “There we go, good as new. Such dramatics over such a weak poison.” Who’d know the stuck-up prince was such an actor? He’d have to recruit his littlest brother for Macaque’s latest production. 

“Uh…Great Sage, who exactly do you think we are?” Tang asked as MK guided Mei outside, not sure he’d like the answer.

“What kind of question is that, Master?” Wukong was almost unnaturally cheerful as he picked up a therapy cat who had gotten curious. “Unless…” His expression suddenly became shadowed with worry as a dangerous thought appeared. It was so distracting he didn’t realize he had carelessly dropped the cat.

“You lost your memories. You can’t forget who you are!” He shouted, furiously yet mindfully shaking the scholar as though with enough force his wishes would be granted. By some miracle Tang’s glasses remained on his head, if lopsided.

In the back, Pigsy snickered at the whole thing.

Tang steadied himself against the immortal King, putting on his best smile as he mentally prayed for his words to have some effect. “I-I am fine, but don’t you think you are forgetting something? Something important?”

Golden eyes locked with dark brown.

The wind gently blew through the clearing, sending swirls of leaves through the air. The smell of a dying fire mingled with the area’s natural scents. Yet the sky was clear under the light of a waxing moon as millions of stars twinkled above.

In that one moment, Tang felt a connection was made, somehow his words did reach him.

“Hey, where’s my staff?” It was as if a switch had been flipped.

Wukong released the scholar as he started searching through the tall grasses for the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

The team shared another look, this one much more exhausted than the last.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Sandy asked.

“We had just sealed away the Kings of Cold, Heat, and Dust Protection on Master’s orders so they may reflect upon their actions in the hopes they could one day be released as better people.”  While he was all for second chances, Wukong still believed in there being limitations. Not everyone wanted to change for the better, not everyone could seek redemption. At least, not in this life. “Now we’re here.”

“I’m afraid it was stolen by our current enemy,” Sandy said. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t just tell Monkey King the truth, but something told him the truth would not be as well received as a half-lie.

“Ugh…” Wukong groaned. “It’s the One-Horned Rhino King all over again.” That guy was such a pain, in so many ways.

“I guess this will have to suffice,” he said plucking a single hair and transforming it into a flawless replica of his trademark weapon. It wouldn’t be nearly as good as the real thing, but for protecting his family it would suffice until he reclaimed his staff. He started going through basic exercises to reintroduce himself to the shift in weight.

“When Tang said it was dangerous to wake him up, I don’t think this is what he had in mind,” MK whispered.

“No kidding. This is a whole new level of weird.” Mei couldn’t help but agree, although she wished someone was recording this mess.

Still a bit dizzy from the rough treatment, Tang figured this would be the best opportunity to get a straight answer from the normally distant and cryptic monkey. “Are you back to full strength?”

Wukong halted in his staff twirling, face lowered as he considered the question.

“I am not, Master.” While it pained him to say, and he was still more than capable of demolishing thousands of enemies in a single strike, hiding this knowledge was pointless when one wrong move could rob him of his family forever.

“What! But you were meditating for days! How much pain were you hiding from us?” Tang rushed to take the simian’s head in both hands to inspect him for anything he could have missed.

This was his fault. He was the one who treated the king. He was the one who allowed him to fight too soon. He thought the injuries weren’t dire, but clearly, they were. He should have known the king would have downplayed his pain, he was like MK. Neither liked to interpret themselves as a burden.

Nuzzling the golden fur, Tang could only mentally berate himself for failing his patient. For putting his family at risk.

Wukong, however, was gleefully soaking in the gentle touches. Perhaps he should have clarified that his injuries were more centered around being spiritually drained than physically compromised…Meh. Wrapping his tail around his Master’s waist, the immortal king savored the sensations he couldn’t help but feel he had been deprived of for far too long.

Unfortunately, duty calls.

While he treasured the times his Master was willing to indulge in bold physical acts of kindness, Wukong removed himself from the embrace. There was still much to do.

“So, what’s this thing?” Wukong asked, prodding the strange metal structure they all had been confined to. Their scents were deeply infused into the structure, meaning they had been inside it for quite some time, but that didn’t answer his question. There were no chains or suppression seals, so it probably wasn’t a prison but knowing his enemies he wouldn’t rule it out just yet.

“That’s the T.E.A., it’s basically a modified van and mobile headquarters,” Sandy explained, quite proud that his mechanical marvel was still standing despite the beating it took from that unknown demon. While he should have been proud that it was still standing after taking such a beating, his soul wept at all the repairs he’d have to make to keep it from collapsing from under them.

“Eh?” Okay, Wukong was sure he knew what most of those words meant but the context was throwing him off.

“Oh, that’s right I never really explained how it functions. Here,” Sandy picked up Wukong by his scruff and placed him on his shoulder, giving the monkey a perfect view and a chance to tower over the pig demon, much to his delight. “let me give you the grand tour.”

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

“I warned you.” Tang marched up to his old friend, both terrified and curious. “This is why you don’t wake someone prematurely from transcendental meditation. We broke the Monkey King!”

Pigsy and Mei couldn’t help but laugh at the finishing statement. It was just too golden. Not even Mk could resist smiling.

Tang glared at the reactions while taking the time to adjust his glasses. “This is serious.” Taking Mk’s book, he flipped to a page where the five pilgrims were beautifully rendered as what was imagined to be their peak. “He thinks he’s still traveling with his master and younger brothers.” A belief that was further solidified by the Tang dynasty-inspired clothing they were sporting. “If we don’t figure out a way to get our monkey back, we’re going to be stuck with this one.”

At the sound of something breaking, Pigsy gathered himself. He wasn’t entirely sure how this worked, but they had to start somewhere. “So, amnesia rules, right? We just hit him on the head or something?”

“I’ll do it,” Mei offered. She may not be able to stand, but she’ll never pass up a free shot on her best friend’s so-called “mentor”.

“That could just make things worse.” Tang was quick to put an end to a humorous but ill-fated plan.

“Then what can we do?” MK asked, feeling pretty much useless and kinda scared. If Monkey King saw everyone else as his old family, then who was he?

At that, Tang took off his glasses to press the heels of his palms into his eyes until some of the pain relented. “I’ve never read anything like this outside fiction. I fear we’re in new territory. All we can do is wait for the memories to return on their own, that is the safest route.”

“But it could take weeks.” And last he checked the Lady Bone Demon wasn’t going to wait for them to sort this out.

Sighing, Mei drew their attention back to herself. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could go for a nap.” Not only was her body one massive bruise and felt as if someone had replaced her blood with lead but she could hardly move and was growing more and more impatient with their ‘Great Sage’.

She just wanted the night to be over.

Was it too much to ask for one day when things don’t go horribly wrong?!

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

The tour was strange.

Wukong had never heard a good chunk of the words his little brother was using, but that didn’t mean he didn’t pay attention. While he doubted he would be able to replicate such a vehicle without detailed instructions, it didn’t take away what he was learning. He always knew Sha Wujing was powerful and intelligent, but this was a sign of just how much skill and potential the Celestial Realm was eager to abandon. More than cast out, by the former general’s description, they were all too eager to torture him.

All over one meager vase.

Another sign his rampage was well deserved. But he’d do well never to let Master hear that. Just because he was learning greater restraint and respect for lives outside his court and family, didn’t mean he regretted showing those pompous fools the true meaning of fear. Just because he was trapped in that furnace didn’t mean he didn’t hear them bragging about Erlang burning his home in a thinly veiled act of spite.

They underestimated the rage he learned to choke down in those five hundred years. All he needed was an outlet, but that was for another time. Now his attention was on his incredible family.

Although he still had many questions.

“What’s with all the cats?” If there was one thing Wukong saw during the Sha Wujing’s tour it was a ridiculous number of cats. Not counting the one who he was pretty sure was infused with his little brother’s chi, he found no less than twelve cats lounging around this ‘T.E.A.’ 

“They’re my little soldiers, trained warriors to help remind me of what’s important in life and provide invaluable company.” Sandy declared, before remembering who he was with. Rubbing the back of his head as embarrassment grew, he turned his gaze away. “I guess you may find it silly-”

“Why would I?” Wukong was quick to cut him with a friendly smile. “You forget, little brother, I take care of thousands of monkeys in my kingdom. Their presence has always made my time at home more fulfilling. Whether they’re watching me spar with Macaque, playing around, grooming sessions, or curling up to have one big nap pile, the world feels so much brighter when we’re together.”

Placing a hand on the buff shoulder that provided an excellent perch, the king looked at all his little brother built for himself and their family with pride. “The fact you have so many so devoted to you proves Master was right, ‘the beauty of your heart can never be overstated’.” 

Sniffling, Sandy cradled the Monkey King, his heart too full of emotions to even speak, much less express how much such earnest comradery and sympathy meant to him. It didn’t matter if the Great Sage thought he was talking about someone else, after the recent reminder of his sins, he needed this.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

A light tap and the T.E.A. looked better than new.

But the team was not in the mood to conduct a proper inspection. With the Monkey King awake, but in a questionable mindset, they decided to turn in early and facing the problem with fresh eyes was the best choice.

This approach was quick to prove itself when the Monkey King drew a circle around the custom vehicle and glared at Pigsy to not even think about leaving.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

Sun Wukong wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew he could handle it. Of course, it didn’t hurt to double-check. Activating his golden vision, he took a closer look at his sleeping companion’s souls, wanting to see if there were any traces of the curse or spell that robbed them of their memory.

Zhu Bajie still radiated power, but it was far more restrained and untampered than last he checked. The power felt coarse and without direction, almost as if it was waiting to find the proper outlet. No, that wasn’t quite right. More like he was only part-way trained but stopped just as he was starting to make real progress, which didn’t make much sense either. If he didn’t train his mind and body to use it, the power would overtake him whenever he dared acknowledge it.

Sha Wujing’s essence was as mighty as ever, but it was scarred. Gnarled and twisted veins flowed throughout his being. However, Wukong released a breath seeing that while the ill markings were there they were not interfering with the nature of his being, at least not in a physical sense. The damage was mental in nature and given how it melded into the natural energy, it had been part of him for years and had even begun to heal. Sure, his little brother suffered greatly in his punishment bestowed by the heavenly court, but this… this was something else.

Ao Lie’s spirit was much brighter and looser than the last time he checked, making the prince feel younger and…well, freer in a sense. There was barely a sign of the honor bond bore he remembered (and yes that was due to centuries of feeling pressured by his family’s high standards), but there was no denying its true form was that of a noble dragon. The fact he was in the form of a young girl meant nothing, as his brother had transformed into a beautiful woman in the past to aid them (usually as a last resort).

Finally, his master…

Six golden iridescent wings fluttered gently against his back. A soothing arura surrounded him filling the space around him with a comforting presence. Although there was his fair share of strange, it almost looked like his own chi was strangling itself. Yes, it always looked like that, but it was never this bad. He would have to fix it at first dawn. And since when did he need spectacles?

These definitely were his companions and there was no obvious sign of spiritual or mental tampering, so why didn’t they remember who they are? Why were they so devoted to acting so differently? Why did their spirits look so damaged yet whole? What was he missing?

The second biggest mystery had to be where the kid fit into all this.

When he looked at him it was like looking at a mirror, if slightly distorted and watered down, but he didn’t recall making any clones recently and the boy didn’t feel like a clone. He didn’t feel like a stranger, and he carried the protective scents of the others and his own, but for the life of him, Wukong couldn’t remember the child’s name. Was he an orphan his Master took in with the hope of guiding him down the path of enlightenment? 

Meh, he’d get his answers tomorrow.

Nuzzling his master’s neck, pushing past the traces of parchment and ink to the core of sandalwood, Sun Wukong allowed himself to breathe. So long as they were together anything was possible.

Hopefully, this latest disaster would be over soon. He really missed his kingdom. He couldn’t wait to introduce his family to his subjects. He knew they would be in awe of Mount Huaguo. And he just knew they’d bond with his generals.

It wouldn’t matter if Ma tore into him for leaving them alone for so many centuries. Or if he had to pull multiple shifts to make it up to Ba and Beng so they could finally resume their ‘not dating’ schedule. He’d even assist in Liu’s elaborate tributes to the Seven Kings. Man, he was going to get roasted in the next meeting, he just knew it.

But none of that mattered, so long as he was able to see Liu’er again. 

He needed to see his old friend alive and well. To groom that silky ivory fur, feel the hairs against his fingers as contented purrs filled the air. To see those molted orbs glow alight with passion as he gushed over his latest play. For those gorgeous ears to flutter as his cheeks were dusted pink. To watch him care for the infants so the new mothers could have a moment’s peace, thinking one day it could lead to something more.

Yes, everything would be okay.

They just had to stick together.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

When the sun rose, a silent arrangement had been concocted.

Tang would lead Monkey King to the stream Pigsy heard yesterday so he could get a proper bath, while the others figured out what their next move would be as they made breakfast. Thankfully since Monkey King believed Tang to be the Great Monk, he had no problem following the scholar’s wishes. To be honest, the monkey had practically glued himself to Tang’s side when he learned it would be just the two of them.

No doubt a side effect of the Great Monk’s many, many kidnappings.

“So, what’s the plan?” Mei asked, polishing her sword. Mercifully, when she woke up she felt almost good as new. Sure, there were a few cramps, but nothing like last night. She agreed to take it easy for the day in exchange for not being tied to her bunk. (Not that it would have held her for long anyway. Hehe.)

“We can’t leave with him like this,” Pigsy said as he chopped vegetables for breakfast. “So, we give it another day.”

“What?!” The adrenaline junkies shouted after pressing their faces into Sandy’s hands to muffle the sound, just because they were shocked didn’t mean they wanted Monkey King to barge in.

“We can’t continue on with him suck in the past. We need to ease him back to his old self.” Even if he doubted Tang’s plan, he could see the issues if they did it and nothing changed. “We have time and no one’s ambushed us for a while, the demon from last night doesn’t count since they're too scared of Monkey King to make a move. Plus, with him thinking Tang is his old master odds are he’ll start acting like an actual member of the team.” The pig explained.

“Besides even if Monkey King restored the TEA physically, I need at least two hours to make sure all of the internals have been properly restored.” Just because Monkey King fixed it, did not automatically mean the retired warrior was going to shove his family into it. Not without an extensive check. “Unless you’ve regained your powers of creation?” Sandy faced MK, who wilted under the hopeful stare.

“No.”

“But what if things haven’t changed by tomorrow?” Mei pressed.

Pigsy tried not to let it show how the same thoughts had buzzed around his skull till they invaded his dreams. “We’ll think of something but going off on some half-formed idea won’t help.”

“So just play along?” MK asked, not sure how they’d be able to pull it off.

“Pretty much. Also, we have no idea where the next ring could be. So~ we’re pretty much stuck here until we come up with a lead.” Sandy added even though he shared similar doubts.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

Breakfast turned out expectedly chaotic.

“You have your own seat,” Pigsy said when the spot he vacated less than a minute ago to start serving everyone now had an unwanted occupant.

“I know.” Was his only response, accompanied by a cheeky grin.

Refrained from bearing his fangs, Pigsy mentally counted to ten. It wouldn’t help to start off the day fighting. “Would you please return to your spot?”

“I’m already in it.” Sun Wukong proceeded to stretch as his spine let out a series of satisfying pops. “Is there a problem?”

Taking a deep breath Pigsy went back to making sure everyone was satisfied with their portion. Task completed; the chef turned towards the king with darkened eyes.

Removing his outer robe, Pigsy’s dark eyes locked with mischievous gold. A fresh breeze wafted into the clearing and one by one tore the petals from a humble flower. In less than three seconds, only one remained until it fell like all the others as it met the unforgiving ground. Almost like a starter’s pistol went off, the two dashed in a random direction. The demonic chef chasing after the Immortal Monkey King, who was howling with laughter.

The others watched in worry, but not sensing any true malice, chose to let Pigsy get it out of his system. Besides he’d be even more insulted if they let his carefully prepared food go to waste.

“You’re way too stressed, idiot,” Wukong called out from his perch in the trees.

“And you are a menace to society!” Pigsy shot back.

“Heh, heh.” The monkey just laughed at the truth, far too proud of his accomplishments to ever deny it.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

“He’s so different,” MK said in a daze.

He had spent the last fifteen minutes listening to Wukong and Mei debate on the ideal revenge technique. They had agreed not to say LBD’s name, but evidently, Mei was not opposed to leaking snippets of her crimes. The sheer glee radiating off the king was staggering as he described torture methods that would cause all, but the most sadistic demons to run in terror. 

MK wasn’t sure whether he should be happy his best friend and mentor were bonding or terrified at the raw mayhem the two of them could conjure should they feel the urge.

“Not really. Still, the same idiot far as I’m concerned.” Pigsy stated not impressed with the monkey acting even more like a child. 

“No, I mean he’s so much happier. Everything about him now feels lighter.” Just watching him laugh so freely as he scampered around, eager to take part in everything, MK realized something truly heartbreaking. “He was miserable.”

His time without his family had ruined him. The loneliness and mourning had robbed him of his zeal for life, but now he was able to relive those glory days. To truly immerse himself in a time when the world was simple, and he was surrounded by love.

Yet the world would not wait for them to grant the Monkey King his dearest wish. “Do we have the right to steal someone’s happiest from them?”

At that even Pigsy paused. Happiness, true happiness, was hard to come by. There was always something getting in the way. If things weren’t so close to the edge of the apocalypse, then maybe he wouldn’t mind the Monkey King’s antics, but that wasn’t the reality they lived in. “That is a difficult question, kid. I admit, the idea doesn’t make me wanna sing, but the world can’t afford for us to let him live out this fantasy.”

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

Every now and then Wukong would jump to his feet, eyes narrowed, and staff at the ready. Sometimes he would dash into the small forest or up the cliff, but he was quick to return with a smile explaining it was a false alarm. Yet his eyes always carried the sense he was just waiting for something to go horribly wrong.

The others were glad they still had time before the next attack, but they were growing increasingly uneasy having to tiptoe around the obvious.

“I gotta be honest, Tang, I thought you’d be taking advantage of Monkey King’s…new outlook,” Mk said, careful with his words even if Monkey King was currently emersed in learning about modern engineering from a patient Sandy, who pretty much had spent the past hour happily explaining the purpose of every moving part that went into the T.E.A. But the teen assumed the scholar would try to get as many answers as possible from a reliable source.

Buddha knew how eager he was to learn from Princess Iron Fan.

“MK, I fully admit being a massive fanboy, but that also means I am all too aware of how he responds to being taken advantage of.” Tang’s eyes grew hollow as passages of unholy wrath and pictures detailing spilled blood of every shade flitted through his mind. “Close to you or not, I’m not taking any chances.” Besides he had been feeling a bit odd since he woke up.

Not bad per say, but different.

MK could only nod in agreement, especially considering his mentor now viewed him as a potential threat. They came up with a story of how he was a survivor of a demon attack they choose to take with them to aid in his Buddhist training so that one day he’d be able to protect others. Wukong seemed to believe it, but that didn’t mean he trusted him.

MK could still remember the fear that took hold when he woke up halfway through the night. He didn’t know why he was dragged from sleep as he didn’t sense the usual reasons, but immediately he was forced wide awake. On the other side of the T.E.A., where Tang had claimed his bunk, a pair of glowing bloody red eyes surrounded in molten gold narrowed in warning.

Honestly, MK was not certain how he managed to get any more sleep that night. Or ever again.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

The sun was setting, and everyone was feeling conflicted.

There had been no progress in restoring the King’s memories and according to social media and emergency broadcast networks, the crystal LBD had summoned to entomb Megapolis was spreading. Already ten more cities had become trapped in the growing ice and extensive evacuation attempts by local authorities and Demon Kings were underway.

Joint efforts were arranged to see if the ice could be halted or shielded against but had proven unsuccessful. Any forms of prevention were practically ignored, and the ice simply grew over the barriers put in place. The Celestial Realm continued to remain silent in the face of this overwhelming force, and hope was fading fast.

They needed to get going.

But they had no idea where they should go next!

“Why don’t we just show him the map? Maybe he’ll remember the sealing ritual, or at least where he hid his ring.” Pigsy brought forth.

“It’s worth a shot,” MK mumbled.

“Yeah, the worst that could happen is he doesn’t have a clue what it is, right?” Sandy pitched in, choosing to ignore all the ways this plan could go horribly wrong.

Clutching the map, Tang walked over to where Wukong had chosen to stand guard. He was worried. So far, they had managed to keep up the illusion (or Wukong’s memories were so scrambled he wasn’t willing to point out their mistakes), but he didn’t know how long it would last or how Wukong would react once he laid eyes on something so important. It could be the key to unlocking his memories, or it could be the thing that convinces the Monkey King they were enemies that were impersonating his family.

A twitch of the ear told Tang that his steps had been noticed, or that the Great Sage had chosen to let him know. Friendly golden eyes shifted to look at him while still keeping a careful vigil over their surroundings. “Hmm? Something wrong Master?”

Taking a deep breath, the scholar held out the map with both hands. “There is something we want you to look at. We believe it could be the key to your memories.”

The monkey’s head tilted slightly to the side. Tang restrained himself from gushing over the sheer cuteness, aided with the terror of the unknown as Wukong took the map and unraveled it.

The scroll held a map or was trying to imitate one as it hardly resembled any of the maps he’d seen during his numerous travels.

Wukong wasn’t certain what he was looking at, but he knew it was important.

No, he knew what this was. This was the map Master created as the final seal for the True Fire of Samadhi. He was there when the fire split. He was there when it lashed out, when it-

 M̴̲̱̻͇̓ơ̶̼̼̬̆̇͗̎͑̒n̵̡̨̪̙̮̰͓̭̹̰̄̉͌̀̓̔̔͂k̶̪̲̬͔̻̩̞̝̊͠ę̶̢̛̹̪̤͎͎̄͗̍̇̅y̷̡̢̞̬͎̐̓̀̆̾͜ͅ!̶͍̭̟͑

̴̖̩̣̜̼̣̈̾͘ ̸̡͓̭̣͇́́̅̏͑̾͋̇̂͌̑͋W̷̢͎͎͑ų̸̤̱͚̗̥̦̻̹́̔͐͝k̶̢̖͕̗̲̟͈̯̻̿͠͝ǫ̴̨͍̩̩͕̰̘̦͉͚̼͑͗̊̎͑̒͘n̵̖͙̮̪̿̌̀̎̎̒̀͊͒̃͒̈́g̴̢̜͍͔̼̪͕͈͎͚̮̓̄͐͌̃͠͠!̷̡͙̱̬̠̤̭̺̗̘̥̾͆̆̆̈͐͜

̵͕͔̪͛̓̈̾͋̀͘͘̚͘͝ ̵̨̡̢͇̮̯͉̯͍̓̑̉̔̉̾̋̊̉̕̕͜͝ͅI̴̪̹͖̅̒̾̈̏̔̀̐͊̌͐̇m̷͓̹̻͎̤̙̃̓̍͆͋̽̆̓̿̅̐̚͜͜ḃ̸̡͔̯̥͍̰͙̥̞̖͕̞̂ĕ̸̛̺̲̺̭͔͆̊͒̐͗͂͝c̶̡̭̘̣̻̹͎̰̜̀̔̀͘i̴͈̳̝͔̞͊̀͌̎̒͊̆̀l̸͓̫͚̈́̕e̷̛̼͕̬̋̂͛̈́̅͂̆͒̉̕!̶͉̮̃̃̍̐̈́͊̽ ̴͔̮̳̞͍̻̳̤͍̩̭͗̅͜

 “Master, why are we seeking out the holy rings?” The king’s voice sent a chill through the team.

“You said they were the only way to defeat our enemy,” Pigsy stated, seeing as Tang was nearly paralyzed with justifiable fear.

As the words touched the air, the world grew silent.

“I said that? I said that my incredible powers weren’t enough to protect you all. To protect Master!” Wukong growled at the despicable insult. Turning his head to meet the pig demon’s gaze, the chef almost backed away from the sight. Golden eyes had shifted into a vicious scarlet. “You expect me to believe that nonsense, Idiot!”

Refusing to back down, no matter who this moron thought he was. Pigsy clenched his fists and allowed his tusks to show. “I expect you to believe your own half-assed plan! It’s the only reason we’re out in the middle of nowhere!”

The two strode towards each other until they were less than a foot apart.

They could practically see the trade of lightning between the two.

“Okay, okay I think it’s best if we cool down before things go too far,” Tang said, hoping to prevent fists from flying.

From the corner of his eye, Sandy was slowly making his way over. No doubt to provide backup and hold back at least one of them. They really underestimated just how useful his strength was.

“No! We are settling this now!” Pigsy was sick of being this child’s favorite target for pranks and mockery, whatever was wrong with his head they needed to take care of it.

“You honestly think this time will be any different, darling.” The last word came out in an insultingly flirty hiss as scarlet slowly bled into his sclera. As though the original meaning was tied to something truly embarrassing for Zhu Bajie, and if Tang’s blush was any indication, it was a touch more than a simple deception.

Even so, it served its purpose to raise Pigsy’s blood pressure to dangerous levels.

The wind picked up speed and just before the yelling could descend into a brawl the air gained a purple tint. The tainted element swirled around the scholar, isolating him from the others while a powerful aura radiated demonic intent.

“Master!” “Tang!”

Wukong lunged forward, desperate to reach his Master, to keep him safe, but the king wasn’t fast enough. His claws only touched the dying winds.

He was gone…

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

There were times Tang truly pondered what sins he had committed in his past life.

Despite being abducted from his family in a sudden display of power, he was untouched. More than that, his robes had been exchanged for a regal set in a flawless shade of ivory and purple outlined in gold. They were more comfortable than anything he had ever known, but the symbol on the front prevented him from fully enjoying the experience.

Apparently, he was the honored guest of the honored Scorpion Queen.

She was indeed a vision of beauty, yet there was an undercurrent to her every move. A danger that could not be ignored no matter how bewitching her appearance. Apparently, she had taken notice of his interactions with the kids and declared that a meeting had to be arranged.

Taking note that his throat was suddenly bone dry, Tang debated exactly when he entered an ancient Chinese novel.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

Pigsy, on the other hand, was learning that there were problems not even a cat’s affection could solve. “What does this have to do with getting Tang back?”

The Monkey King was harnessing all his immense focus on this, the most delicate of tasks. Scanning the ground, he took note of the state of the soil and the recent disturbances. The monarch crouched low to scan the thick grass as he traversed the unknown terrain.

“Is this the same sort of garbage you tell MK, instead of being straight with him?” The long-time father figure pressed, folding his arms to keep them occupied.

Reaching down, Monkey King ripped out two large clumps of grass. “MK? Who’s that?” He asked, despite being introduced to his successor earlier that very day.

“Course you don’t remember the kid.” Growling, Pigsy couldn’t hold it in any longer. “One day you are going grow up to be a terrible mentor!”

Everything about this so-called King was driving him insane. Even with his “precious master" missing, he still treated the world as a big joke. The chef refused to believe this was the being his kid idolized, the one who they entrusted to teach MK how to be the world’s next great hero.

“Ha! A mentor? Good one, Zhu Bajie. Seriously, could you even imagine me teaching someone?” Monkey King carelessly twirled his staff in a flagrant display of cockiness. “Where do you come up with this stuff?” 

Sure, he passed down the self-defense lessons and war tactics he learned on his travels to his subjects, but mentorship? To become someone’s teacher? That required a level of trust and connection he couldn’t imagine sharing with anyone. Besides with all the responsibilities waiting for him back home, where would he even find the time?

In the back of the group, MK was choosing to ignore that.

He chose to ignore the fear.

He chose to ignore the bitterness.

He chose to ignore the loneliness.

He chose to ignore the hurt.

Soon this would all be over with, and they could go home. A watery film slowly settled over his eyes until he wiped it away. They could go home and pretend none of this ever happened.

Right.

Right?

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

Oh, Wukong. Why must you always hurt those who grow to love you?

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

“You know as well as I do that in order to find out what type of demon we're dealing with, we need to talk to the local Tudi.” Wukong happily explained as he scanned the horizon using his weapon as a perch.

“The local what now?” Pigsy asked, half convinced the monkey had just made up the word.

“Any idea what a ‘Tudi’ is?” MK asked. 

“Not a one.” Mei shrugged.

“Nope.” Sandy followed suit, equally lost.

“Merow.” Even Mo chimed in from Sandy’s shoulder.

Come to think of it, normally Tang would have a lecture ready and with their scholar kidnapped, they were sorta clueless. Huh? Never thought about that. Come to think of it, things did feel a bit more still than they were used to.

Were things really that noticeable when one of them was missing?

“Tudi!” The group was shocked out of their thoughts by the Monkey King. 

Never mind.

“Tudi!” He had called out to the local god, but seeing that more extreme methods were needed, proceeded to put a bit more energy into the summons.

“Tudi!”

“Tudi!” Picking up Pigsy and twirling him around.

“Tudi!”

“Tudi!” He danced in place, swinging his arms about as though he removed his bones. 

“Tudi!”

“Tudi!” Rolled on the ground while in perfect lotus position.

“Tudi!”

“Tudi!” He even squished his face against…something?

“Please tell me you are recording this,” MK begged, unable to take his eyes off the shameless display before him. In a way, the Monkey King’s younger self felt like looking in a mirror during his more feral moments.

“Before he even opened his mouth.” Mei squealed, never more thankful for how her blackmail senses have developed over the years.

The two muffled their snickering behind their hands to avoid corrupting the only modern recording of the King looking utterly ridiculous while being utterly adorable. Pigsy’s deadpan expression in the background only made it even more hilarious.

A brief rumbling was their only warning before Pigsy went flying.

Sandy was quick to catch his old friend as Wukong took a stance in front of the growing pile.

The pile was absorbed into the ground, leaving a small hole where a formally dressed man popped out of. His magnificent beard and wooden staff gave the impression of great wisdom.

Wukong’s expression shifted into one of joy as he took in the two-foot-high deity. “Ah, there you are.”

“He lives in a hole?” Pigsy asked, picking the least annoying question.

Planting his staff in the ground, Wukong lowered himself into a respectful bow. “Oh wise Tudi, a dangerous demon has captured our master and we fear for his safety. Do you know of any being residing within your domain who could be the source of our woes?”

The Tudi smiled under his snow-white beard and nodded. Yet when he opened his mouth all that followed was a stream of nonsensical noises accompanied by exaggerated expressions. 

Sun Wukong, however, seemed to be able to understand him just fine. “Hmm, interesting. Please, continue.”

Happily, the local god continued sharing, with Wukong nodding every few seconds. “Yes, yes, right.”

Hours passed and in time the starlit sky gave way to the pale pinks and yellows of a new day.

Finally, the Tudi had stopped and Wukong stood tall looking “You don’t say. Thank you for your knowledge.”

The change in tone snapped the others out of their varying stages of sleep.

“What exactly did he say?” Mei asked as she whipped her eyes, hoping for some good news.

“Our master is a prisoner of the Scorpion Queen.” Wukong declared.

“Scorpion Queen?” MK cautiously repeated.

The local mountain god nodded. “To enter her domicile, we must enter the Pipa Cave on Venom Mountain.”

“And where is this mountain?” Sandy politely asked.

“Over there.” Almost as if the old king commanded it, the dense fog that shrouded the land to the east parted, revealing a gorgeous castle decorated in varying shades of purple and gold. Even in the pale sunlight it gleamed and beckoned as though it were carved from pure crystal while holding a sense of dignity.

Compared to the fortress of the Demon Bull family, which eagerly took in modern advancements, this one appeared as an ideal representation of a palace of old.

“Finding that out took all night?!” Pigsy was practically spitting fire due to the effort of restraining himself from removing the simian’s spine.

Wukong just laughed. “Of course not. This guy’s just awesome. So many great stories”

“That doesn’t look like a cave or mountain to me.” Sandy pointed out, although he was grateful, they had a proper destination.

“Erosions done a number on this place, along with her occasional outbursts. The Scorpion Queen is supposedly a terrifying opponent not just for her strength, but her speed and deadly sting.” The local god had been very precise in his warning. He had witnessed many warriors fall by her unique skill set.

At the mention of the word ‘sting’, Mei gained a terrifying grin at the memory of lying helplessly on the ground writhing in agony. Revenge was a glorious thing.

“Anyway, she won’t be a problem for much longer.” Cracking his neck, Wukong summoned his nimbus cloud and was off before the others could get a word in. “Le~go.”

“Scorpions are classified as arachnids, are you gonna be okay?” Sandy asked their Monkey Kid who had grown silent at the demon’s title.

“Yeah, yeah totally. I mean, just because they’re in the same family doesn’t mean they are the same. I’ve seen pictures online and they haven’t filled me with the intense desire to either hide in the deepest hole I can find or arm myself with the closest flame thrower, so I should be okay. Heh heh…” MK said as his eyes darted from side to side and his words started merging together.

“Right…” Mei decided it would probably be best if she went ahead of MK on this mission.

The Tudi simply waved goodbye to the travelers, looking forward to their next meeting.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

In a lavish dining hall, two unlikely occupants were exchanging tales of the past.

“And then they just took it all and thought they could get away with it! I mean, really do they think things are that great for me that I wouldn’t notice?” The Scorpion Queen growled as she remembered the last group of thieves who dare barge into her domain.

“Things have been hard for everyone, but that’s just distasteful.” Tang agrees as he touched up the queen’s manicure.

While he had been biding time, hoping for a swift rescue, he could not deny that he was having a wonderful time. 

The Scorpion Queen was a kind woman, who only desired companionship. She hadn’t touched him since he arrived and took pleasure in intelligent conversation.

Then there was the food.

A delectable spread of fine cuisine. The mouthwatering aromas painted a landscape of heaven, whilst being so sinful one's soul would be condemned to the deepest of hells. 

He had to get Pigsy the recipes.

The numerous attendants lining the walls silently released a breath, grateful that the mortal was able to entertain their Queen.

This peaceful scene was interrupted by the sound of a powerful crash.

Rolling her eyes, the Scorpion Queen descended from her throne. 

“Ah, yes, your companions. They do have the decency to use the front door, right?” She inquired.

“Some of them…” Tang offered as he braced himself for the fallout. While Pigsy and Sandy were unlikely to purposefully commit property damage, the same could not be said for the others.

Growling the Queen took a stance against those who would dare rob her of her newfound happiness. With a flick of the wrist, her gold arm bands transformed into masterfully forged tridents.

Suddenly the eastern wall was kicked in, revealing the Monkey King and four companions.

Barely a breath passed before, the scorpion Queen and Monkey King launched themselves at one another. Their speed could barely be tracked by the naked eye. Each blow sent shockwaves rippling throughout the palace. 

Alarms sounded as the once orderly domain was thrown into chaos.

Seeing his old friend, Pigsy took advantage of the fight to get a closer look. “Tang, are you alright?” The swine gave the scholar a quick pat down to feel for any broken bones or bruises. Turning his face, it appeared he was not suffering from any obvious trauma and he didn’t feel any bumps.

“I’m fine, Pigsy. She was a wonderful hostess.” Tang said. “Although I am wondering how your day was?” It may have just been him, but the chef’s face looked a shade redder than usual.

“Other than reaching new levels of frustration I didn’t know existed, just dandy,” Pigsy said, not wishing to repeat all the methods of torture he wished to inflict on that overpowered toddler.

The two ducked as a new crater formed.

“I know you swore off fighting, but do you think you could hold her down? Ya’ know, so we can talk this out.” MK asked.

“Of course,” Sandy said, ecstatic his friend was thinking of more creative means to end the conflict.

Eyes narrowed, Sandy watched the two demons trade blows. He took notice of their stances, their reactions, how they twisted around unseen blows. When he noticed a pattern, he launched himself to intercept the Queen.

But she was not so easily defied.

“Sandy!” The team shouted as they watched the gentle giant be launched through a wall from an invisible strike. Looking closely, one could make out the veins of his left arm being flooded with a dull purple.

Green lighting danced across a jade blade at the confirmation of the demoness’s identity. Mei wanted to join the fight and pay the demon back for every ounce of agony she suffered. She wanted to, but she was not an idiot.

Sandy was far stronger than her and had decades of combat experience. If the Queen could do that to him, Mei would have to be patient for just a little longer. She’d wait for an opening and make her move.

The false staff and tridents clashed, both combatants channeled their demonic power through their chosen weapons, pushing them long passed the point of breaking. 

“In consideration of your allies, I’d suggest you surrender. I doubt you’d be so confident if they turned up dead before you could blink.” Scorpion Queen offered, bloodlust filling her gaze.

“How bold,” Wukong said with a smirk. “In my experience, the only ones willing to make such statements are the ones with the most to hide.”

“Contrary to those weaklings, my strength requires no embellishments.” With a mighty shove, she sent the Great Sage flying, only for him to land on his feet with a whisper.

“Then why all the illusions!” With a snap, Wukong unleashed a wave of gold energy and a loud crack echoed throughout the palace.

At first, nothing happened, but the Scorpion Queen made the mistake of looking down. Golden cracks started to form on her skin. Slowly they spread until her entire body was consumed in a blinding flash.

The beautiful woman had vanished, in her place stood a figure of nightmares.

Porcelain skin changed in hue until it became a pale green. Delicate lips were twisted to make room for large mandibles. Sweet pink eyes were unveiled to be wreathed in dark emotions as her very whites were drowned out. Her arms and weapons were in truth purple pinchers large enough to snap a man in two. While the pointed buns remained, her impressive braid was revealed to be a massive tail and an obsidian sharp stinger.

Yet the greatest change was the removal of her legs in favor of a body that belonged to a scorpion. Thick exoskeleton encased a large abdomen as six massive legs ending in lethal points supporting the body. She was even bigger than Spider Queen at ten feet tall and to make things worse her lower half was unmistakably organic in comparison to the other’s more mechanized spider body.

At the sight of her true form, or rather the reactions of those who saw her in her truest sense, for a brief moment the Queen was terrified. However, it didn’t take long for fear to morph into wrath.

“How dare you!” The queen roared; her pincers snapped viciously as drops of venom dripping from her massive stinger.

“Now what was that saying about true beauty?” Wukong taunted.

Hissing, she snapped her pinchers twice more before vanishing from sight.

Wukong gave his own savage grin as he too disappeared, only to reappear blocking the queen’s crazed, yet controlled assault.

The others stood back as it became clear the battle had entered a new level of intensity.

“MK?” Mei asked, not seeing her friend in sight.

Looking around, she came to find him hiding behind an overturned table curled into the fetal position with his eyes far too wide to see.

“I was wrong,” MK whispered as he trembled in sheer terror. “So very, very wrong.”

Climbing over, Mei leaned in close, not jumping back when he launched himself into her chest so he could wrap every limb around her seeking any and every form of safety. Mei smiled as she rubbed circles on her friend’s back, happy she could provide at least this for him.

The battle continued to rage.

And the surroundings paid the price. Walls were destroyed, pillars were smashed to pieces, and dozens of servants ran for their lives as the two monarchs traded blows. Neither was willing to concede, but it was obvious who would walk away as the victor.

While this may have started as a kidnapping, Tang was never in any danger. He got to know the Queen, her attendants, and how much she meant to her subjects. He couldn’t let Monkey King hurt her, nor could he allow this to continue.

He knew what he had to do.

This could very well be his last act. Taking in the sun’s light, Tang took a deep breath and prayed.

“Wait!”

The remaining members of Team Monkie Kid could not believe what they just witnessed. Not only did Tang purposely put himself in between two powerful forces in the blink of an eye, but a golden barrier appeared. It was odd, but the wave seemed to drain them of their desire to fight. The tension and adrenaline that had fueled them vanished leaving desires bare to the world.

Trembling, Tang was almost afraid to open his eyes. He feared the instant he did, all he would see was the darkness of the underworld. But this had to be said. “I-I get that you’re alone, but lying about who you are, forcing people to be your companions, it’s not the answer.”

The Scorpion Queen lowered her pinchers at the painful truth. It was one she knew quite well, but in a way always hoped it could be overlooked. “I’ve been alone for so long. I saw you caring for the children, being kind to the others, and I wanted to know what that felt like. To be cherished and appreciated for who I was, not for my power and status.”

It was always so painful. Trying to find happiness just for some idiots to take advantage of her heart. She had been hurt so many times by countless demons. Was it really so wrong to crave happiness?

Apparently, it was. 

When you looked the way she did.

“You can’t force bonds. It’s something that’s earned through communication and trust.” Even as Tang shared his wisdom, he knew the Queen was honest about her pain. She had suffered and would continue to suffer, but there was a solution.

“He’s right.” Wukong piped up, nearly scaring the scholar half to death. The king had been so quiet the others had nearly forgotten he was still there. “We are together because we choose to be.”

Sensing the demon had no desire to continue the fight, the king lowered his guard a touch, choosing to hug the scholar and pig with a large grin. “Can you imagine what I would be like on my own? I’d probably turn into a really manipulative jerk or something. Ha ha ha.”

Yeah, they weren’t touching that mess.

“There is a way we can end this peacefully with everyone walking away with what they want.” Tang calmly said, gently placing his hands on one of the pinchers. “Do you have a phone?” He asked, ignoring Wukong’s inquisitive stare.

“Of course.” She stated, curious as to where this was going.

“Here we are, a list of various demons I’ve befriended over the years. All are wonderful people looking to connect with others. I believe you will find long-lasting companions with at least one of them.” Tang offered a list of numbers accompanied by the names and titles of various demons he grew to call friends, including his own. “While I cannot stay here, in part to the danger the Lady Bone Demon poses to the mortal realm, I would not object to seeing you again. Is that acceptable?”

The Scorpion Queen was taken aback. She did not expect to be treated with such kindness, least of all when she looked like a monster. Yet here the sweet mortal stood, looking at her no different than when they had been exchanging stories.

“I will miss you, Tang. Good luck on your journey. Oh, one more thing.” She clapped twice to summon a servant, this one carrying a small vial filled with a teal-colored liquid. “The antidote for your friend. Since I used one of my weaker poisons once he takes this all he’ll need is food and rest to make a full recovery.”

Tang took the gift with a bow. “Thank you for your kindness. You have a beautiful heart.” Taking the initiative, he made a small jump and wrapped his arms around her elegant shoulders in a warm embrace.

Slowly, as though fearing this was but a cruel dream, the Scorpion Queen raised her arms to return the kind gesture. All too soon the warmth left her as the group departed, with the Monkey King repairing her home after a stern look.

The queen watched as the group left, her heart mired in bittersweet emotions. While she would have loved to have someone by her side as her equal for the rest of eternity, she would not deny the preservation of the mortal realm came first. She would have to be blind, deaf, and completely oblivious to ignore the danger the skeleton demon represents. She could only hope they would meet again soon.

But at the very least she came out somewhat richer than when she first laid eyes on the strange group.

Looking at the list, Scorpion Queen was surprised to recognize a few of the names. To be honest, she assumed quite a few of them had died centuries ago, yet here they were.

“Nine-Tailed Vixen, hmm?” Wasn’t she the honorable mother to a couple of mischief makers?

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ 

“You really weren’t scared?” MK asked as he didn’t see a single sign of fear from only pure human in their group. One would think he’d be scared for his life, yet he was completely calm.

“Not as much as I should have been,” Tang said, happy to be grabbed in his usual clothes. “This isn’t my first kidnapping with the intent of marriage.” That is not something one should be so familiar with, yet that was his life.

MK blinked at the sheer nonchalance. In all the time he’d known the scholar he never mentioned being kidnapped, let alone being coveted as a potential husband in the demon community. Then there was the golden barrier, he didn’t act like that was a new thing. Does that mean he always had it? 

Come to think of it, he knew Pigsy’s life story, and he was slowly piecing together Sandy’s past, but he barely knew anything about Tang. The scholar talked, a lot, but never about himself. He was always eager to shift the discussion to anything else. “I really know nothing about you.”

“That’s a good thing,” Tang assured. He’d much rather focus on his present and future than stay mired in the past.

“So, how many times has this happened before?” Mei pressed.

“27, and I guess this makes 28. For now.” Pigsy said with a sadistic chuckle.

“Pigsy!” Tang shouted completely flustered at the truth of his many, many near shotgun weddings.

“Wow, Mr. Tang. I had no idea you were such a ladies’ man,” Mei cackled.

“What makes you think it was just women?” Tang walked away with his own sly look. Leaving the teens both confused and eager to know more.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§ Wukong gently lowered Sandy into his cot, where his little soldiers wasted no time curling around him and doing everything they could to ease his pain.

Mk was quick to administer the antidote Scorpion Queen gifted them as Mei soaked a towel in the ice-cold water of Guanyin’s vase. With the last drop flowing down his throat and a cool towel accompanied by a purring symphony easing his troubled thoughts, the two teens breathed easier as their friend’s breathing evened out.

Outside Tang and Pigsy were watching the Monkey King digging through a random patch of grass.

“I think he’s getting worse,” Tang whispered.

“Oh, here’s my staff.” The Monkey King proclaimed as he raised an old stick from the field, grass and leaves sticking out of his fur. His golden eyes glazed over.

Pigsy, on the other hand, was just smiling.“Eh, I’m starting to like this version.”

Glaring at his old friend, Tang noticed a boulder precariously balanced on the edge of a ridge.

“Amnesia rules?” Maybe it was the strange fluttering echoing in his mind, but Tang had a crazy idea. “Stay here!”

Pigsy tried to catch the scholar before he could do something chaotic, but it was too late. “Tang! Don’t just, ugh.” Hopefully, he wouldn’t get kidnapped, again.

Then there was the book he dropped. Picking it up, Pigsy saw it was full of MK’s creations.

There was no question the kid had tallent, and as Pigsy flipped through the pages he stopped on the very image Tang had shown them two days ago. The image of the five pilgrims.

His opinion of the Monkey King’s ability to irritate him remained unchallenged, but he was starting to see where he was coming from.

MK 

Mei 

Tang 

Sandy 

Mo

They were his family and if anything happened to them, he wouldn’t know how he’d carry on.

Did similar thoughts once run through the Great Sage’s mind? Is that why he closed himself off for five-hundred years?

To have everything, all the power in the world, and still lose what really mattered. The very idea was heartbreaking. Maybe he’d never see the Monkey King the way Tang and MK do, but maybe he could grow to see him as he truly was, an old soldier who needed support to recover from old wounds. 

He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t hear a curious monkey walk up to him and lean over to see what was so interesting. When the King saw a beautiful portrait of himself, his eyes became stars. “You know, they got your face just right. Super on model.”

Taking the book, Wukong started examining the exquisite detail and shading.

“Yeah. So, ah, listen. I guess I just wanted to say before you turn back to, eh…” Taking a deep breath, Pigsy took a long look at the powerful immortal and tried to take what he learned to forge a connection. “Maybe, you ain’t so bad for the kid after all.” It was hard to admit, but perhaps the two of them were good for each other, just not in the ways he first thought. “Just do me a favor, eh? Keep him safe, alright?”

Why was he saying this? There was no guarantee he would remember this once he was back to normal. But he needed to say this. To show that he could trust Monkey King with one of his most beloved treasures. “I mean, when we get the three Rings of Samadhi-”

“Four rings.” Wukong corrected as he continued admiring the beautiful work. Silently he pondered if the artist did murals.

Whatever, Pigsy was going to say next was derailed by the casual reveal of such critical misinformation. “Four?! You never mentioned four-” 

Pigsy cut himself off in horror as a massive bolder crashed down where the Monkey King had been standing. He had witnessed some truly horrifying deaths in his life, but never anything this sudden.

“Did it work?” A voice rang out.

It was Tang, standing at the edge of a small outreach, hands on his hips.

From the back door of the T.E.A., MK and Mei stared with their mouths wide open at the sight (although Mei’s was more of a sadistic grin). Never in a million years would they have thought Tang was not only strong enough to move a boulder three times his size, but willing to drop it on the Monkey King himself.

“What the hell, Tang!” Pigsy roared before staring at the crater. His worry was split over concern of the crazy simian and the knowledge he was about to share.

“What? You were the one who suggested hitting him over the head.” Tang said, sliding down to meet them. And if they were honest, he looked a bit too pleased with his work.

“Yeah, not kill him.”

“You honestly think he could be killed by such measly force,” Tang questioned with a raised eyebrow. One would think MK’s invincible moments would leave a lasting impression. 

The rock shattered in a familiar pulse of golden light.

Flipping out of the crater, the Monkey King took a stance as he scanned the area for enemies. An angry glare shifted into one of confusion then pain as a torrent of flame burst from the simian’s mouth for a full second. Panting, the King wiped his brow as he tried to process what just happened.

“Ugh. Why is my mouth so hot?” The king stared into open space in confusion, only to jump as he was embraced on both sides by a sobbing MK and Tang. “And why are you hugging me?”

“Welcome back.” The scholar said, happy that their hero had returned.

Mk just nuzzled into golden fur, happy that his mentor no longer looked at him like he was a stranger.

“Okay~” The king awkwardly patted the backs of both mortals, unsure as to what he had missed, but he had a feeling he didn’t want to know.