#When the confrontation happens and it's revealed he was evil this whole time before anyone can rip eachother to shreds one of the kits | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

olivia200312 · 3 years ago

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Prime Missing~ TFP! Optimus x Half-Predacon! Reader *Request*

Requested by the lovely CreatorCat

Plot: Hi there! Could I please request a TFP Optimus x half Cybertronian and half Predacon female Autobot reader? Only Optimus knows she is like that. Her Predacon form is a dragon and her vehicle form is a mustang car (Wildstyle colors from Lego Movie). Her fighting style is dancing (dance fighting, usually coordinated with music only she can hear in her earpiece, unpredictable). It takes place during Beast Wars where they meet Ultra Magnus. Optimus goes missing and the reader is very upset because she has a crush on the Prime.

Ultra Magnus grows a crush on her after seeing her fight in battle. He is concerned she'll get hurt because her style doesn't fall into the protocol and can't be monitored. He forbids her from joining the ranks in battle until she 'shaded up'. The reader is devasted and falls into sort of depression because that she wouldn't be able to dance or fight anymore and that was what she lived for. Optimus returns (finally) to find his crush (the reader) not herself anymore. They have been 'broken' and fight the way that Ultra Magnus saw fit. He's horrified because this wasn't 'his Y/N' and confronted Ultra Magnus. Afterward, Optimus takes the reader aside and confesses and she smiles for the first time in 'forever'. The next battle she's in, she breaks protocol and does her original style of fighting much to everyone's happiness (except Ultra Magnus). She also reveals her Predacon side to protect everyone from the Decepticons and Predaking.

What do you think?

That's a long request ever since I got a request to write a high school version. Lol. So, I read the entire text here and began to think. Do not think it is a bad way. I absolutely love the request but however, I don't like a few things. I'm not familiar with Beast Wars at all. I know only like literally one character and that is Optimal Primal. He is in fact the new Prime in Power of the Primes after Optimus' death. Don't believe me? Watch the 10 episodes or follow the OC book that I'm working on since I'm partnered up with Alita-One and others on Quotev. Furtonaly, I don't like Beast Wars at all since it's different. I also couldn't help but cringe a bit since it's TFP playing in Beast Wars. I remember some clips and scenes where Optimus actually goes missing after the base got exploded and Ultra Magnus appearing. I also remember Predacon's Rising.

Also since I don't like hurting other lovely characters (either rejected or friend-zoned), I made Ultra Magnus different. He'll be not crushing on the reader, but don't worry, he'll get tasted with his own medicine. Revenge will arrive.

Head area:

Brain: Processor / Brain Module

Head: Helm

Face: Face plate

Ears: Audio receptors / Receptor Orifice / Audials

Nose: Enstril / Olfactory Sensor

Eye brow: Optical Ridge

Eyes: Optics

Mouth: Intake

Lips: Dermas

Teeth: Denta/Dentas

Tongue: Glossa

Chest area:

Chest: Chassis / Thoraxal Cavity

Back: Hexa-Lateral Scapula

Spine: Bipedalism cord / Back Strut

Chest and back armour:

Chest plate

Back plate

Mid-section plating

Neck guard

Side plating

Arm area:

Arms: Arms / Restarlueus

Forearms: Bitarlueus

Hands: Servos

Fingers: Digits

Arm armour:

Gantlets

Shoulder pads

Arm guard

Lower area:

Pelvis: Pelvis

Butt: Aft / Skid-Plate

Thighs: Tibulen

Calves: Cadulen

Feet: Pedes - the high heel bits are called Struts or Heel Struts.

Lower armour:

Skirt plates

Aft plate / Skid plate

Thigh guard

Ankle guard

General/Internal components:

Muscles: Cables / Pistons - It depends on the area in question.

Veins: Fual lines

Stomach: Tanks

Lungs: Vents - used to stop the con/bot from over heating.

Heart: Spark

Tattoos: D-con/A-bot Insignias and the lark

T-Cog: The thing that allows all Cybertronians to transform, be that their arms or their whole body.

Bonus:

Penis: Spike

Vagina: Valve

Body: Frame

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

"Jack, meet Ultra Magnus," Arcee introduced her human partner to the missing commander of the Autobots.

Jack looked shocked as he took a look at Ultra Magnus. He was light blue while Optimus was dark blue. The commander had a strict look on his faceplate. What was his problem? Sure, there was a war still going on because since Cybertron, the home planet of the Cybertronians, including the Autobots, Decepticons, and the Predacons, was dead so the idiotic Decepticons moved the war towards Earth when they discovered that the Autobots had been hiding there. Honestly, Megatron was too evil and stupid for actually settling the war on Earth. Earth! The planet was involved in many wars already, especially WWI and WWII.

But let's get to the point: what's been happening?

Well, the Decepticons discovered where the Autobots had been hiding. Before it got blown up, Optimus ordered everyone to leave the base and a serious warning: don't use the phone to call or send anything. If they do, then the Decepticons can track your signal, which can lead a serious danger. Jack went with Arcee, Miko with Bulkhead, and finally Raf with Bumblebee. Eventually, the base got exploded. Optimus got seriously wounded that Smokescreen found him. He was a smart rookie for hiding him so that Optimus can possibly heal and be safely hidden. Sadly, the damage was too much that Optimus was slowly offlining. He didn't want to leave, especially not Y/N. She was a half-Predacon and half-Cybertronian. She was an Autobot. So, it means that Y/N's carrier or sire was a Predacon while the other was Cybertronian. She was found wounded in a forest by Optimus and he took her to the Autobots base. Poor Y/N... She remembered how scared she was when she was there. I mean, she was wounded, lost on Earth, and didn't know anyone. She lost her creators thanks to the war. She eventually learned fast how to take care of herself.

When Optimus met her, he couldn't help but thought that Y/N was a unique and beautiful femme he'd ever seen. I mean, she was half-Cybertronian and half-Predacon. He had seen full Predacons before like Predaking. Soon, he'll meet Darksteel and Skylynx who were brothers. Y/N had wings and a tail so she was very unique. She was thankful to fly and control her balance more. The human kids loved Y/N. Miko, of course, asked too many questions that at one point, Jack and Raf had to stop her since they noticed when Y/N got uncomfortable and scared.

But anyway, that all happened before the big explosion. Optimus grew in fact closer to Y/N that he was the only one at the base who Y/N trusted. She would stay by his side, help him and ask questions. Optimus gladly helped her whenever she was scared or asked questions. He also found her adorable in secret. He sometimes asked himself about her like her wings for example. Were they sensitive? Maybe they were? He will only know if he touched it. If Y/N ever allowed it.

While Y/N was with the Autobots, it didn't mean that she met everyone. She didn't meet Ultra Magnus at the time. He was a strict commander of the Autobots and was light blue and red. His vehicle was very similar to the Prime. His shoulderplates were weird, kinda. No disrespect. But oh boy, Y/N hated Magnus. When he saw her, he was only coldhearted and strict towards her. Y/N's fighting style was dancing but the commander didn't like it that he forbid her to do so. It was like this:

The Autobots just came back after a fight again with the Decepticons. The fight was brutal this time. Apparently, the Decepticons had a new 'weapon' and it was a full Predacon! It was a male and in fact, the ruler of the race when they went instinct many years ago thanks to Megatron himself. Shockwave managed to bring the king back from the dead. His name was Predaking. He was huge! After all, he was a male and a ruler. Since Y/N was half-Predacon, she actually can't transform. Some Cybertronians who were half-Predacons, couldn't actually transform. Some can, some couldn't. Y/N didn't mind that she couldn't transform. She liked how she looked, even having a Predacon tail and wings.

But everyone was wounded. Y/N fought against the male Predacon himself. Their fight was rough and they bit and clawed. But Y/N managed to trick him by dancing. Fighting was a little bit of dancing if you didn't know. You were moving and using your whole frame. It was exhausting for Y/N, but she won.

Ultra Magnus, however, didn't like her fighting style that he brought her into a private chamber. He closed the door and faced her, with his usual strict expression. "Soldier, I want you to change the style."

Y/N lifted her optical ridge up in confusion. What did the commander mean by that? Her armor? Her outgoing? What was it? "What do you mean?"

"Change your fighting style. Also, I forbid you from ever going to fight with us."

Y/N couldn't believe what she heard. Was he really serious? Was he going to forbid her from going out to fight? But what about Optimus Prime? He still wasn't found! He was missing ever since the big explosion that the Decepticons caused weeks ago. The human kids spread around together with their guardians and they weren't allowed to not use any technology or else the Decepticons will track them down. Jack, stupid enough, used his cellphone to text his mother that he was fine. It was understandable for a kid to text its parent to let them know that they were fine. But when it came to the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, then it was important to listen to the advice.

Ultra Magnus simply left the private chamber, leaving the poor half-Predacon femme alone.

That's basically how it happened. Ever since that day, Y/N didn't come out a lot from her berthroom. She was very spark broken ever since the strict commander told her those words. He forbid her from searching Optimus, who was still missing at the moment. How could he say that? Y/N cared deeply for Optimus just like the entire team. He was their leader but also someone that would protect others and be willing to sacrifice his life.

Y/N would only recharge all day. She ate and drank of course but it wasn't a lot like she used. Basically, how a normal Cybertronian ate. If you didn't know, humans can die from broken hearts. It was in fact a Broken heart syndrome, also known as stress cardiomyopathy or takotsubo syndrome. It was very sad to have that like heart disease. Not only humans can have that syndrome but also Cybertronians, especially the Predacons, full or not. Y/N attracted that syndrome. Everyone says that action speaks louder than words, but words hurt more than actions. Y/N had shortness of breathing and having chassis pains. That was the most common syndrome of heart disease.

Ratchet, the medic of the team wasn't blind at all and was trained to notice signs of any health problems. Since Y/N was showing those signs, he did the tests and diagnosed her with Broken Heart Syndrome or should I say Broken Spark Syndrome? Ratchet kept a close optic on her and made her take medication, especially if she showed signs of chassis pains and shortness of breath.

But meanwhile in the main room of the base...

Ratchet was updating Y/N's health on the Cybertronian computer since it was important for the medics to keep new updates so that they can keep the information. There was actually no standard treatment for the syndrome that Y/N had, but you can survive with medication and as long as you're being careful. Not only do doctors like Ratchet keep updates safe but also dentists as well. Ratchet was mad at Ultra Magnus for saying hurtful words but kept it quiet. It was time that others should watch out for what comes out of their mouths. Words can damage someone and give an illness. He began to ask himself how would Optimus react if he found out about that...

Bumblebee then walked up to Ratchet and beeped a question at him.

Ratchet signed and looked over his shoulderplate. "No, Bumblebee. Y/N is still a little bit weak to come out. I am doing the best I can to help her on track. But her syndrome doesn't have a standard treatment. Just like on humans."

Bumblebee frowned and let out a sad whirl. He saw Y/N as his good friend and cared for her as a friend. He was mad at the commander for saying those words that he nearly attacked her. Didn't the idiotic commander notice at all how much he damaged her? Why was he even doing this?! Just because she was a half-Predacon!? Bumblebee clenched his fists in anger as he started to shake.

Ratchet, being a smart aft medic, noticed it and quickly placed his servo on the scout's shoulderplate. "Easy, Bumblebee." Just as Ratchet wanted to say something further, his computer caught a signal. He quickly went to the device and Bumblebee looked curiously over his shoulderplate.

"Hahaha!" Ratchet began to laugh and clapped his servos happily. That caught everyone's attention as they walked up to him, except Y/N, who was still sadly in her berthroom to rest. She did hear Ratchet's happy laugh, which was confusing, but she didn't bother to check since she felt weak. Ratchet turned around fast with a big smile on his faceplate. "Optimus is alive!"

That caused everyone to cheer happily. Y/N fell asleep at that time. She didn't hear Ratchet's loud voice that said that Optimus was alive and coming soon to the base.

2 hours later~

"Awesome! Optimus is now like 2.0!" Miko happily jumped as she was fascinated by Optimus' new look.

"It's good to have you back, Optimus," Arcee said with a smile.

Everyone was saying how happy they were to see and have Optimus Prime back. The leader was smiling as he listened to everyone with respect. He was happy to see them as well. Even though he was almost offline for good, he thought about others, especially Y/N. But wait, where was she? He saw his friends but not Y/N. He frowned. What happened to her while he was missing? He wondered about her every day. He nearly did join the AllSpark and taking the servo of his mentor, Alpha Trion. The old smart mech understood his student's decision. He even teased Optimus to get the spark of the half-Predacon. He blushed.

Ratchet seem to realize Optimus' frown and he immediately knew that it was about Y/N. He walked up to his leader. "Optimus, I have to speak to you. It's urgent."

Optimus nodded in understanding. Of course, he heard Ratchet's serious tone, which meant that he was deadly serious, especially for being a medic. His job was to take care of others and help if needed. They both went to a private chamber to speak while others stayed. Ultra Magnus, however, got a bad feeling...

Ratchet closed the door and turned to face Optimus. "Optimus, while you were gone, others had a fight against the Decepticons. They had a new 'weapon' it was a full Predacon... a mech. He's named Predaking, the ruler of the Predacons. Y/N fought against him. I must say, I am impressed with her fighting moves. Dancing. Ultra Magnus didn't like her style at all. I saw them going to a private chamber. I learned from Y/N that Magnus forbid her from going out and he forced her to change her style..." He sighed and took a deep breath. "As a result, Y/N has Broken Heart Syndrome, also known as stress cardiomyopathy or takotsubo syndrome in humans. But I called it the Broken Spark Syndrome. She has trouble breathing and having chassis pains. I made her take medication."

Optimus couldn't believe what he heard. How could Ultra Magnus do this? He was getting angry. The commander took it too far by his words. He look calmy at Ratchet and nodded. "Thank you for the information old friend. I will speak to commander Ultra Magnus and see Y/N."

Ratchet nodded back and they left the private chamber. Ultra Magnus knew that he was busted. Optimus slowly walked up to the commander, with a disappointed and angry expression on his faceplate. He took the commander to somewhere private and let's just say that Optimus was so stern. He also finally punished the commander for what he said to Y/N. Ratchet was satisfied and mumbled under his breath: "As humans say: 'Get rekt'."

Optimus then walked through the hallway corridors, searching for Y/N's berthroom. Each bot had a nameplate hanging against the door. It was easier for everyone to find each other, except for humans since they were so small. But good that the kids remembered which room was who. They drew small symbols on each door of the bot. Ratchet got a symbol of a doctor, Bumblebee got a bee, Arcee a motorcycle, etc. Y/N had a dragon, even though she couldn't transform into a Predacon.

Optimus knocked on the door gently as he found Y/N's door. After no response, he softly opened the door and peaked in. He smiled softly once he saw Y/N recharging peacefully. But he was still worried about her health after all. He walked to Y/N, closing the door softly to not wake her up. He caressed her helm with his gentle digits and he smiled once he heard her purr. Predacons can purr a lot. Yes, even Optimus can too but not a lot like the Predacons can, even half ones. Optimus continued to caress as he sat down carefully, lifting Y/N's helm and laid it on his lap. For some reason, laps were so comfy. No wonder humans and Cybertronians fall asleep easily, even falling asleep on someone's body. It was so cute when a male slept on top of the female as a couple or friends. Family too. But mostly, females slept on top of the males.

Y/N softly moaned in her sleep as she moved a bit. She felt very comfortable. But that's when she groaned and had trouble breathing. She panted and Optimus got worried. He then noticed the medication on her nightstand. He grabbed it and then Y/N gasped and sat up, her servo on her chassis.

"Easy, Y/N," the familiar deep voice said.

Y/N snapped her helm towards the very familiar deep voice and gasped. it was Optimus! Wait, he was really here?! She was about to say something but Optimus silenced her by cupping her cheekplate, causing her to blush a lot. He helped her take the medication and soon, she breathed normally. But she felt then sleepy again. Optimus noticed it and softly pushed her down. "Recharge, Y/N. Your body needs more rest."

Y/N smiled softly and fell asleep. She can now catch a lot of rest since Optimus was alive and well. She found him more handsome. His new look, now strong body, etc. But she loved his hips, smile, voice, and smirk. As she was sleeping, she felt soft dermas on hers. Optimus was kissing her, just like in the movie Sleeping Beauty.

I apologize if it isn't familiar a lot. I decided to try and make it a little cuter for the fans, especially the ending part.

#optimus prime #transfomers #transformers prime #tfp #tfp optimus prime #fluff #one shot #romance #x reader #reader #x predacon reader #broken heart syndrome #comfort #missing #optimus prime x reader

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aj-lenoire · 3 years ago

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i wouldn't call it manufactured tension or say that it loses importance, what makes cassandra's name showing on the gun so big even knowing what happened is not the betrayal in itself, but the fact that percy loses all hope yes but cassandra does too, she felt the same way as he did about getting a part of family back, and now she's being literally forced to turn on him, she can't fight it, she can't tell him she's being controlled in any way, and she's a child on top of all that. it's the tragedy of what percy thinks is happening vs the reality of cassandra can't say, and even the tragedy of orthax manipulating and using percy for his own hunger the same way the briarwoods are using cassandra for power.

(X)

you’re absolutely right in that what matters is what the characters think is happening, because that informs their behaviour, which is why i’m confident that it’ll still be fucking excellent to rewatch, since it’s what percy does with this ‘knowledge’ that leads to one of the best climaxes i’ve seen in a good while (insert sex joke here)

but i do stand by the fact that knowing cassandra didn’t actually betray him—it was a decision both born of desperation and one that was not actually her own—does leave... i dunno something to be desired for me personally from the scene

because the whole ‘loved one is brainwashed and hasn’t actually turned evil’ is... it’s not a bad trope at all—and there have definitely been times where i’m super relieved this is the case, it’s not what i would personally have wanted from this specific confrontation. it might just be that i’ve seen that particular flavour a lot, and i haven’t seen the ‘no they actually turned’ nearly as much

i completely understand where cassandra would have come from had she actually turned—her entire family was murdered, she was tortured, her brother left her to die in the dirt not realising she wasn’t dead. stockholm syndrome is...... well it’s nonsense as far as the origin goes (long story short the police and on-site negotiator were massively incompetent) but living with the briarwoods for five years would do a number on anyone’s psyche even without magic vampire manipulation, and i would’ve believed that she actually turned as a result of all that—or, less dramatically, that she hated percy for what he did as well as the briarwoods and needed a little time

so with that in mind, the reveal that she’s actually being (almost?) entirely puppeted by the bad guys and once she’s free of them she’s completely fine with percy didn’t feel cheapening but it felt like the lesser of two interesting choices—they could have had a legitimately heartbreaking confrontation of different perspectives; percy ran and left her, but he was also a child and he didn’t realise she hadn’t died. neither of them did anything wrong in that moment but that doesn’t mean the results of his actions—choices in a situation where every choice was going to be bad—don’t drive a wedge between them

but instead she was 100% under the briarwoods’ influence and 100% cool with percy after being released—and obviously she’s been through hell and is just as stoked as he is to see she still has family—but the fact that percy immediately runs off with the vox machinae before they get a real moment to actually process together what did kinda cheapen the moment for me a little; turn off evil vampire switch A and sister B is now set to be a happy little side character who only shows up when brother C needs a favour or whatever

in that sense some of the tension is manufactured, because unlike the demon nudging percy towards his worst intentions (with the exception of that wacko and not-gonna-lie-kinda-underwhelming battle in the center of the mind where he was just outright shifting percy’s perception) it was entirely cass being puppeteered, so the tension was more between the briarwoods and percy than cass and percy, unlike with the ‘take off the mask’ scene, since percy was able to somewhat fight the control

again, this is just my opinion—i still think that whole scene will be awesome and i can’t wait to rewatch it—but it would’ve been cooler if the name appearing on the gun had been... like i guess ‘a little bit earned’? like not just the result of a demon dick and vampire roofies. i would have loved to see cass and percy have to actually come to terms with what happened between them

like, because, as stoked as percy was to still have a sister, he was also massively guilty about leaving her, and in the same way i could see cass being insanely relieved to be away from her captors while also still being a little bitter that the reason she was even stuck with them for that long was because he left her behind

but whatever gets the prettyboy with the gun acting deranged is a-okay in my book so YMMV

#god this got so long #sorry guys #the legend of vox machina #percy de rolo #percival fredrickstein von musel klossowski de rolo iii #cass de rolo #aj asks #hey nonny nonny

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sternbilder · 4 years ago

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User Concert Q&A Excerpts, Part 1

(Part 2 here)

Not sure if folks out there are aware, but there was a "User Concert" last September where the director and cast of Buried Stars answered various questions about the development of the game, characters, etc.

There was originally supposed to be a live Q&A section at the end, but they ended up canceling it due to the pandemic and asked fans to submit their questions online instead. The ones that they answered are all compiled here.

I haven't seen an English translation out there so I thought I'd take a crack at it myself! I only picked out questions that I personally thought were interesting (because the whole thing is like 37 pages long and there maybe 4.5 of you out there who are going to see this anyway L O L) but if anyone has any questions/requests (like if there are any mentions about X or Y) I'd be happy to answer them!

This got long as hell, so I'm splitting this into 2 parts and putting it under a cut, but here's part 1, which are questions related to the main game as well as any post-game speculations.

Obviously, #spoiler warning for Buried Stars below.

Q. 무대 붕괴 사건을 겪지 않았다면, 진범은 살인자가 되지 않았을 거라고 생각하시나요?

If the stage collapse incident had never happened, do you think the true culprit would have still committed murder?

A. 아니었겠지만, 어쩌면 살인자가 되는 경우도 있었겠습니다. 대상은 자신이겠지만… Probably not, but it's possible that they could still have become a murderer. Though I suppose the victim would be themself…

Q. 신승연 PD가 이규혁에게 "그 제안"을 한 이유는 무엇일까요?

Why did PD Shin Seungyeon make “that proposition” to Gyu-hyuk?

A. 이규혁이 진상을 알고 있는지 떠봄과 동시에 자신이 통제하려는 시도였을 것입니다. 이규혁의 거절 이후 신승연의 마음에는 의심이 자라나기 시작했습니다. 협박장 역시 이규혁의 짓으로 생각 했고, 끝내 사고 현장의 그 발언이 나오게 되었습니다. She was trying to feel out whether Gyu-hyuk knew the truth, and at the same time, attempt to control him. After Gyu-hyuk’s refusal, doubt began to grow in Seungyeon’s heart. She mistook the blackmail letter as Gyu-hyuk’s doing, and in the end she ended up saying what she did at the accident site.

Q. 베리드 스타즈를 플레이하며 스토리에 인간의 선과 악, 이면 등의 철학적인 고찰을 담았다고 느꼈습니다. 이에 디렉터님이 생각하시는 "인간"은 어떤 존재인지 궁금합니다.

While playing Buried Stars, I felt that the story contained reflections on things like the virtues and evils of humanity, duality, and other philosophical topics. I'm curious as to the director's thoughts on what the nature of "humanity" is.

A. 베리드 스타즈의 등장인물들을 빌드하며 한 생각으로 국한한다면, "가면을 쓰고 자신을 감추지 만 동시에 가면 아래를 내보이길 바라는 존재"인 것 같습니다. If I had to limit it to what I had in mind when creating the characters of Buried Stars, I think that a human being is "something that wears a mask in order to hide itself, yet at the same time wishes to reveal what's underneath."

Q. C 루트에서 "그것"은 이규혁의 모습으로 현신했습니다. 한도윤이 바라던 것이었다는 이유였지 요. 그렇다면 민주영, 이규혁, 오인하, 장세일, 서혜성, 신승연의 경우 "그것"은 무엇으로 나타��을 까요?

In the C route, "That" appeared in the form of Gyu-hyuk. The reason being that that was what Do-yoon wished for. If that's the case, what form would "That" have taken in the case of Juyoung, Gyu-hyuk, Inha, Seil, and Hyesung?

A. 한도윤이 이규혁을 본 것은 "자신이 배신자가 아님을 증명해줄 사람"을 간절히 바랐기 때문입 니다. 잔해에 파묻혔을 때 생각했던 것처럼요. 그 외에 TOP 5 이규혁에게는 한도윤이, 오인하에게 는 민주영이, 민주영에게는 비러브드 멤버들이, 서혜성에게는 어머니가, 장세일에게는 신승연이, 신승연에게는 자기 자신이 보였을 것입니다. The reason that Do-yoon saw Gyu-hyuk was that he desperately longed for "a person who is proof that he is not a traitor," just as he was thinking when he was buried under the rubble. Gyu-hyuk would have seen Do-yoon, Inha would have seen Juyoung, Juyoung would have seen the BELOVED members, Hyesung would have seen his mother, Seil would have seen Seungyeon, and Seungyeon would have seen herself.

Q. C 루트가 이규혁 시점이었다면 한도윤의 전화 내용은 어떤 것이었을까요?

If C route had been from Gyu-hyuk's POV, what would a phone call with Do-yoon have been about?

A. 한도윤 자신을 “절대 믿지 말았어야 했다”고 했을 것입니다. 동시에 "믿지 말아야 했다고 이야 기하는 자신"을 끝까지 믿어달라고 빌기도 했을 것 같네요. Do-yoon would have said, "you never should have trusted me." But at the same time, I think he would have also begged him to please "trust in him until the end, even though he himself told him he shouldn't have."

Q. 서혜성과 이규혁이 둘 다 살아남는 엔딩이 없는데 혹시 계획했다가 빠진 거라면 이유를 알고 싶습니다.

There's no ending where Hyesung and Gyu-hyuk both live, but if there was one planned and it was cut, I'm curious as to why.

A. 이규혁과 서혜성이 둘 다 생존하는 엔딩은 최초부터 계획에 없었습니다. 둘은 서로 양립할 수 없는 존재이며, 이규혁이 본격적으로 탈피하는 계기가 서혜성이기 때문입니다. 다만… 그게 아냐 에서는 모두 생존합니다. 죄송합니다… …. From the start, we hadn't planned on any endings where Gyu-hyuk and Hyesung both survive. This is because the two cannot coexist; Hyesung is a catalyst for Gyu-hyuk to truly shed his skin, so to speak. If only that weren't the case, then everyone would have survived. I apologize…

Q. 모 인터뷰에서 한도윤에게는 "커뮤니케이션"과 "햄릿"이라는 키워드가 있다고 본 기억이 있는 데, 혹시 다른 인물들에게도 그런 키워드가 있는지 알고 싶습니다.

In a certain interview, I recall seeing that "communication" and "Hamlet" being listed as keywords for Do-yoon, and I'm wondering if the other characters have similar keywords as well.

A. 계열은 다르지만 레귤러 조연은 진상에 맞추�� 내면을 대변하는 정서가 하나씩 설정되어 있었 습니다. 이규혁은 "자기혐오", 민주영은 "분노", 오인하는 "공포", 서혜성은 "수치심", 장세일은 "열등감"입니다. Each of the supporting cast has a specific emotion that represents their inner selves according to their own realities. Gyu-hyuk's is "self-hatred," Juyoung's is "wrath," Inha's is "fear," Hyesung's is "shame," and Seil's is "inferiority complex."

Q. 오인하는 민주영을 "빛이 나는 사람"이라고 생각하는데, 그렇게 생각한 첫 순간이나 이유는 무엇이었을까요?

Inha called Juyoung “someone who shines brightly”; what was the moment or reason that made her think this?

A. 먼저, 오인하는 옛 비러브드 팬-그중에서도 민주영의 팬-이었을 것입니다. 키워드 대화에서 민 주영을 오래전부터 알았던 티가 나지요. 오디션에서 만나 대놓고 티를 내진 않았겠지만, 항상 주 목했을 것입니다. 또한 "변화"를 위해 쇼의 지시에 복종했던 오인하와 달리, 민주영은 아니라고 생각한 일에 반대를 표명하며 대립했을 것입니다. 이런 점들이 오인하에게 더 깊은 인상을 남기 지 않았을까요? First, Inha was a former fan of BELOVED—and of Juyoung especially. In the keyword discussions, there are some hints that she’s known about Juyoung for a long time. When they met during the audition, she didn’t show it, but she always paid special attention to Juyoung. In addition, unlike Inha who always obeyed the show’s orders in order to “transform,” Juyoung would have objected to things that she didn’t like and opposed/confronted them. Wouldn’t this have caused her to leave an even deeper impression on Inha?

Q. 신승연이 서혜성을 조금이라도 사랑했긴 했나요? 단순히 가지고 논 건 아닐지 궁금합니다.

Did Seungyeon love Hyesung even a little bit? Or was she truly just toying with him?

A. 기본적으로 "가지고 놀았다"고 생각합니다. 가끔 인상적인 면을 발견하기도 했겠지만, 일단 시작부터 잘못됐습니다. 학폭 건이 불거졌을 때 신승연은 해명조차 듣지 않고 결별을 선언했고, 이 에 서혜성도 해명을 포기했을 것입니다. 신승연은 오디션 쇼에 안타깝게 매달린 서혜성의 영혼을 한 번 더 부숴버린 사람이겠습니다. Fundamentally, I think she was “just toying” with him. She may have discovered some aspects of him that impressed her, but it was a bad relationship from the start. When the school violence scandal was exposed, Seungyeon broke up with him immediately without even hearing his explanation, and Hyesung gave up trying to explain from his side as well. I suppose for Hyesung, who was hopelessly clinging to the audition show, Seungyeon was someone who crushed his spirit twice.

Q. 서혜성의 부친은 이혼했거나 죽은 건가요? 학폭 사건 이전의 서혜성은 어떤 아이였을까요?

Are Hyesung’s parents divorced or deceased? What was he like as a kid before the school violence incident?

A. 서혜성은 외동이며, 아버지는 일찍 돌아가셨습니다. 장세일의 뒷조사에서 보신 대로 어머니는 시장에서 건어물 가게를 하고 있습니다. 혜성이는 쭉 시장 상인들 틈에서 자랐을 것입니다. 퇴학 전에는 말썽꾸러기지만 인사성 바른 아이였겠지요, 학폭 사건 후에는 시장에 발길을 끊었으리라 생각합니다. Hyesung was an only child, and his father passed away at an early age. As seen in Seil’s investigations, his mother was a dried fish vendor at a fish market. Hyesung would have grown up with the vendors at the market. Before his expulsion, he was seen as a mischievous but polite and friendly boy, but after the incident he stopped going to the market altogether.

Q. 서혜성의 말투만 유독 나이 들어 보이는데 이유가 있습니까?

Hyesung’s particular speech style makes him sound older, is there a reason for this?

A. 서혜성은 시장 상인들 틈에서 자라 갓 스물치고 고색창연한 구석이 많은데요. 아마 시장 어른 들은 어린 서혜성을 예뻐했을 것이고, 우정과 놀이를 중시하는 성정도 여기서 비롯되었을 것입니 다. 어릴 때는 말하는 게 웃긴다며 인기도 있었겠지만... 고등학교에 진학해 송건욱을 만나며 많은 게 바뀌고 말았습니다. Hyesung grew up amongst the market vendors, so though he’s only twenty he has a lot of aspects to him that are old-fashioned. The elders at the market likely doted on him as a child, and this was probably where his emphasis on friendship and playful nature came from as well. When he was younger, his funny style of speech probably made him quite popular...But after entering high school and meeting Song Kun-Wook, everything changed.

Q. 구조 직전 분장실에서 신호 불량으로 PlugHole의 메시지가 끊기는데, 원래 이어질 내용은 무 엇이었나요?

Just before the rescue, PlugHole’s messages are interrupted due to a failed signal, but what would have been the next message?

A. "사실 나는" 뒤의 내용은 "진실보다도 네가 무사히 나오기만을 바라.” 였을 것 같습니다. After “Actually, I...” I think the next message would have been “want you to get out of there safely, even more so than I want the truth”.

Q. 신승연이 장세일이나 오인하에게 건넸다는 위로들은 진심으로 한 말이었을까요?

Do you think Seungyeon’s words of comfort to Seil and Inha were in earnest?

A. 신승연은 장세일에게도, 오인하에도 진심을 말했다고 생각합니다. 다만, 순간의 진심일 뿐이라 얼마 뒤에는 기억도 하지 못했을 것입니다. I think her words to both Seil and Inha were in earnest, yes. However, it was only in the moment, so she probably didn’t even remember them after a little while.

Q. 신승연은 마지막에 제 명을 재촉한 느낌인데요. 왜 위기의 순간에 그런 말을 했을까요?

It feels to me as though Seungyeon really dug her own grave in her final moments. Why would she say something like that in a moment of danger?

A. (범인도 마찬가지로) 패닉 상태였던 것과 더불어, TOP 5는 자신을 거역할 수 없다는 생각이 기 본으로 있었기 때문입니다. 신승연은 "금수저" 이규혁의 실체를 알고 있었기에 먼저 찌르고 들어 가면 자신을 구할 수밖에 없을 거라고 보았겠지요. 어쨌든 저는 당시에 둘 다 패닉 상태였을 거 라 생각합니다. 정상적인 판단이 가능했다면 말에도, 행동에도 분명 수위 조절이 있었겠지요 (Just like the culprit), she was panicking, and she also fundamentally believed that the TOP 5 were incapable of disobeying her. Since Seungyeon knew the truth about “Silver Spoon” Gyu-hyuk, she thought that if she came in with the offensive Gyu-hyuk would have no choice but to rescue her. In any case, I believe that at that moment both of them were in a state of panic. If they were in a situation where they retained their normal sense of judgment, then of course both their words and their actions would definitely have had more restraint.

Q. 오인하의 관계도 이벤트를 보면 부친을 신고했을 때 "웃고 있었다"는 본인의 대사와 달리 겁 에 질린 이미지가 등장합니다. 이 차이를 넣은 의도는 무엇인가요?

In the rapport conversation with Inha, she claims that when she reported her father she “was laughing,” but the image that’s displayed contradicts this by depicting her as fearful. What was your intention with this disparity?

A. 제 이야기를 할 때 솔직해지지 못하는 사람의 심리와 더불어, 담담한 듯이 이야기하는 오인하 가 그때 얼마나 두려워하며 한 발을 내디뎠는지를 부각하기 위한 설정이었습니다. I was trying to depict the psyche of someone who can’t be honest when talking about themselves. Despite how calm she acted when telling the story, I wanted to emphasize how terrified Inha must have been when taking this first step.

Q. 오인하와 서혜성은 언제부터 사이가 나빴나요? 나중에 사이가 나빠진 거라면 초반에는 서혜성 이 오인하를 누나라고 부른 적도 있을까요?

When did Inha and Hyesung stop getting along? If it wasn’t right away, was there a time when Hyesung called Inha “noona”?

A. 서혜성이 오인하를 누나라고 부른 적은 없었을 것 같습니다. 또한 둘은 서혜성이 민주영에게 공손하게 (?) 굴지 않은 사건에서 본격적으로 티격태격을 시작했을 거라 생각합니다. I don’t think there was any point when Hyesung called Inha “noona.” In addition, I think that the incident where Hyesung refused to be polite (?) to Juyoung was when they really started quarreling.

Q. 무대 붕괴 사건이 일어나지 않은 상태에서 이규혁이 신승연 PD의 비밀을 알았다면 어떤 선택 을 했을지 궁금합니다.

What would have happened if Gyu-hyuk had discovered Seungyeon PD’s secret in a situation other than the stage collapse incident?

A. 적어도 죽이진 않았을 것입니다. At the very least, he wouldn’t have killed her.

Q. 이규혁이 어렸을 때 친모에게 학대를 당했나요? 태어나지 말았어야 할 자신 탓에 수모와 고통 을 당했다는 표현을 보니, 혹시 어렸을 때 직접 들은 말을 옮긴 것인지 궁금해졌습니다.

Was Gyu-hyuk abused by his birth mother as a child? Considering his saying that he never should have been born and that he was the cause of her humiliation and suffering made me wonder if maybe that’s something that he heard her say when he was young.

A. 육체적 학대는 없었습니다. 친모는 이규혁에게서 계속 이병희를 떠올리고 그 그림자를 좇았을 것입니다. 이규혁은 제 존재로 친모가 이병희에게서 벗어나지 못했다고 생각해왔습니다. He was never physically abused. For his mother, Gyu-hyuk was a constant reminder of Lee Byung Hee, and she spent her life chasing after that shadow. Gyu-hyuk came to believe that it’s because of his existence that his mother could never be free from Lee Byung Hee.

Q. 이규혁이 넉넉하지 않은 가정환경에도 실용음악과를 선택한 이유가 궁금합니다!

I’m curious as to why Gyu-hyuk chose to major in applied music even though he didn’t grow up in a well-do-to household.

A. 친모가 그것을 강하게 바랐기 때문입니다. That’s because those were the wishes of his birth mother.

Q. 이규혁이 가족과의 관계를 "서로 기댄다", "의지한다"는 어휘로만 설명하는 것은 의도인가요? 관계도 이벤트에서의 과거 설명과 특정 후일담에서 "힘들면 기대라, 서로 의지하며 살아가자"고 한 부분이 유사하게 느껴집니다. 이런 스크립트 어휘에 세세하게 신경 쓰신 건지 궁금합니다.

Was it intentional that Gyu-hyuk only describes his relationships with his family using words like “depending/leaning on one another”? His story about his past in his rapport events and in particular his epilogue where he said “If you’re having a hard time, lean on me. Let’s live life depending on one another” feel very similar to me. I’m curious if using these particular words in the script was a deliberate detail.

A. 맞습니다. 이규혁은 "비슷한 처지가 서로 의지하는 형태"의 관계만을 쌓아왔기 때문입니다. That’s right. This is because to Gyu-hyuk, relationships where “people in similar circumstances depend on each other” are all he’s ever known.

Q. 장세일이 베스타 탈락부터 스탭 일을 할 때까지 부모님과 어떤 관계였을지 궁금합니다.

What was Seil’s relationship with his parents like after being eliminated from Bstars and before he started working as a staff member?

A. 장세일은 군인 가족으로, 오디션 이후 특히 아버지에게 수치스러운 자식이 되었을 것입니다. Seil comes from a military family, so after the audition his father especially saw him as a shameful son.

Q. C 루트에서 ???가 "돌이키기에는 늦었다"고 하는데, 이 "늦은 타이��"이 무엇에 대한 것이었는 지 생각하신 바가 있었나요?

In C route, ??? says that “it’s already too late to turn back”, but do you have any thoughts on what they mean by “too late”?

A. 한도윤의 마음 안에서는 "배신", 즉 “마스커레이드가 이미 끝났음을 인정한 순간”을 되돌릴 수 없다는 의미였을 것입니다. It means that in Do-yoon’s mind, it’s impossible to undo the “betrayal,” i.e., “the moment he acknowledged that Masquerade is already done for.”

Q. 한도윤은 유독 1달 넘게 병원 신세를 지는데요. 어쩌다 혼자만 그렇게 다친 걸까요?

Do-yoon is the only one who stayed in the hospital for over a month. Why was he the only one who was hurt?

A. 한도윤은 시작 시점부터 잔해에 파묻히는 큰일을 당했습니다. 정상적인 몸 상태는 아니었을 거 라 생각합니다. 구조되고 나서야 자신이 얼마나 다쳤는지 알았을 것 같습니다. At the very start of the game, Do-yoon suffered an accident where he was buried under the debris. His physical condition wasn’t exactly normal because of this. It was only after his rescue that he realized how badly he was hurt.

Q. 트루 엔딩 이후 한도윤은 마스커레이드에 다시 복귀했을 거라고 생각하시나요?

After the true ending, do you think that Do-yoon would ever return to Masquerade?

A. 개인적 의견이라면, 돌아가지 않는 길을 택하지 않았을까 합니다. 신승연의 말처럼 "이미 마스 커레이드는 끝났다"는 사실을 본인도 스스로 인정했기 때문일 겁니다. My personal opinion is that he would probably choose not to go back. The reason is that, as Seungyeon told him, “Masquerade is already done for,” and he himself already internalized that truth.

Q. 트루 엔딩 후 한도윤은 밴드 멤버들과 영원히 척을 질지, 몇몇과는 연을 이어갈지 궁금합니다.

After the true ending, will Do-yoon continue to be on bad terms with the other band members forever, or will he continue to have relations with some of them?

A. 꽤 시간을 가진 뒤에 결국 모두와 연락하게 되지 않았을까 생각합니다. I think that after quite some time has passed, he would reach out to all of them eventually.

Q. 트루 엔딩 이후 오인하와 민주영은 이규혁에게 찾아갔을까요?

After the true ending, do you think Inha and Juyoung would have gone to see Gyu-hyuk?

A. 민주영은 퇴원하고 재참가를 위해 다시 상경한 무렵부터 이규혁을 방문했을 거라고 생각합니 다. 오인하에게는 조금 긴 시간이 필요했을 것 같네요. I think that Juyoung would have paid him a visit around the time that she left the hospital and came back to Seoul for her re-entry in the next season. As for Inha, I think it would take her quite some time.

Q. 서혜성이 안타깝습니다. 정들어버릴 때쯤 가서 더 그래요. 살려내도 결국 바뀌는 게 없는데 이 친구가 행복한 엔딩이 있을까요?

I feel bad for Hyesung. Especially because he was killed right as I warmed up to him. Even if we save him, things don’t ever change for him, so is there such thing as a happy ending for him?

A. 서혜성은 베스타 쇼에서 만난 기회를 통해 ��급히 자신의 길을 찾으려 했지만, 그가 택한 방법 을 통해 행복을 찾을 방법은 없었던 것 같습니다. 생존 루트에서는 이런저런 시도 끝에 남의 비 밀을 폭로하는 것으로는 반등할 수 없음을 알게 되고, 반대로 제 두려움을 드러내고 가해자 송건 욱과 맞부딪히는 게 진짜 반등의 시작임을 깨닫지 않았을까 합니다. 진짜 싸워야 하는 대상은 거 기 있으니까요. 나중에는 생존한 장세일하고도 만나보지 않았을까요? 퇴원한 한도윤까지 세 사람 이 만나는 일이 분명히 있었을 것 같습니다. Hyesung recklessly tried to find his own path through the opportunity that Bstars afforded him, but my thought is that there was no way to find happiness through the method he chose. I think that in the route where he survives, he comes to realize after various attempts that exposing others’ secrets won’t help him rebound, and on the contrary, that facing his fears and confronting his assailant Song Kun-Wook is the real start of his comeback—because that’s where his true fight awaits. Later, I wonder if he also would have met with fellow survivor Seil? I definitely think the two of them plus Do-yoon would meet again at some point.

Q. 후일담 (3)의 오인하는 언젠가 꿈을 이룰까요? 그 무대에 오르는 한도윤이 있을지 궁금해집니 다.

Will the Inha from epilogue (3) ever reach her dreams? I wonder if Do-yoon will be one of the people to perform on one of her stages.

A. 오인하는 끈기 있게 노력해 꿈을 이루었을 것입니다. 크루 멤버들로 시작해 언젠가는 민주영과 한도윤의 무대도 만들어냈기를 바랍니다. Through patience and hard work, Inha will achieve her dream. She starts with her crew members, and my hope is that eventually she gets to work with Juyoung and Do-yoon as well.

Q. 이규혁은 항상 누군가와 유대감을 느끼려는 것 같고, 강하게 의지하며 살아가기를 바라는 것 같은데요. 트루 엔딩 시점으로 출소하게 된다면 또 누군가와 강하게 의지하며 살아갈까요?

Gyu-hyuk seems like he’s constantly looking for someone to feel a connection with, and wishes to live life leaning heavily on them. If he’s ever released in the true ending timeline, will he once again live his life depending on someone?

A. 트루 기준으로 출소하게 된다면 이젠 누군가를 의지하거나 도피처로 삼지 않고 홀로서기를 할 수 있게 되었길 바랍니다. My hope is that if he is released post-true ending, he becomes the kind of person who doesn’t need to rely on or turn to others for refuge, and can instead begin standing on his own.

Q. 트루 엔딩 이후 한도윤은 음악 자체를 포기하나요?

After the true ending, does Do-yoon give up on music altogether?

A. 혼란에서 벗어나 자신이 행복해지는 길을 찾았으리라 믿고 있습니다. 거기엔 아무래도 음악이 있었을 것 같네요. I believe that Do-yoon is able to free himself from the chaos and find a path that leads him to happiness. I feel that whatever that path is, music must be a part of it somehow.

Q. 트루 엔딩 후 오인하와 민주영은 계속 연락을 하며 지냈을까요?

After the true end, do Inha and Juyoung keep in touch?

A. 자주 연락했을 것입니다. 인하가 "만들어주겠다"던 무대의 약속은 민주영에게도 마찬가지일 테 니까요. They would keep in touch fairly often. The promise Inha made to "make [Do-yoon] a stage" would naturally also have extended to Juyoung.

Q. 하수창과 한도윤은 트루 이후로 좀 친해질까요?

Will Suchang and Do-yoon become friends after the true ending?

A. 전 친해졌을 거라고 생각하지만 어느 쪽이든 도윤이가 좀 행복해졌으면 좋겠네요. 제가 도윤이 에게 선빵을 날렸다고요? 그건 그렇지요… I think that they will, but regardless, I do wish Do-yoon can be a little happier somehow. Are you saying that I’m the one who sucker-punched him? Well, that’s true, but…

#Buried Stars #cam thoughts #My Stuff #My Translations #liveblog: bstars #maybe if there's enough interest I'll do more but *checks tags* somehow I don't think that'll be likely #corrections welcome; i'm not a professional translator; etc. etc.

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themadauthorshatter · 4 years ago

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It's been a while since I did one of these, and I'll be expanding over more of the series.

Here's Part 4 of headcanons I have for Never!Tedros!!

Even when she becomes the coven's new leader, Tedros still hates her guts and it definitely has to do with her treatment of Agatha and letting Dot get kicked out.

In retaliation, he asks Agatha to take her in, which she does, and explains what happened to Dovey, who allows Dot to stay, much to the annoyance of the Evil teachers and a lot of the Nevers, even Sophie.

They have they're confrontation at lunch and Sophie shouts at him that Agatha tricked him, too, lest he forget. He already knows this, but walks away anyway to be with Agatha.

They have some angsty-fluff moments with Tedros asking if she's afraid of him, which she claims she isn't because, no offense to him, he's all bark and no bite with her. He admits to knowing she'd tried using him, but also admits he's glad she gave up on that because it wouldn't have been a good thing if he'd figured it out and she lied to him.

During the bridge encounter, Sophie claims Agatha is the Evil one, and that Agatha is the witch, not her, even going as far as to say she and Tedros are the good ones and deserve an Even After together.

"At least I know I'm evil, you stupid girl."

I should mention Tedros takes a turn for the dark when he is confronted by Ravan, Vex, and other Never boys and dragged into a bathroom, so they can beat the crap out of him for all the stuff he's pulled.

Having been in Good for about a month, he's immediately overwhelmed by all the evils surrounding the students, even a few of Sophie's, which reveal her attacks and intentions for the schools.

Ravan goes to get a hit in with a weapon of some kind, but Tedros grabs it and stands up, angrier than ever before.

Anadil is unfortunate enough to see Tedros leave the boy's room with some blood on his face, but uninjured. He glares at her and walks away without talking.

She finds all the boys unconscious with scratches and slashes on their faces and bodies. The weapon Ravan had is now broken, having been used against them to the extreme.

Come the circus of talents, when Agatha comes in pretty as a picture, Tedros warns her not the stop him, and thanks her for being nice to him.

She sees why when she and a witchy Sophie go toe to toe.

Too bad Tedros attacks Sophie before they can start actually do anything.

I should mention that, as a sort of update on his talent, Tedros can USE these evils to his advantage and can force them into visibility, which is exactly what he does.

He shows all the students what they are on the inside, revealing the monsters he's scene since day 1 of arriving at school.

After a HUGE fight breaks out between Tedros, who is consumed and corrupted by the evils he's seen, letting them take over, and Sophie, who just gave up on being good like before.

Sophie attempts to kill Agatha, but she's caught by Tedros, who's grown shadow-esque wings and looks like some sort of demon dragon.

As he holds her, the two flying maybe eight feet off the ground, he admits he may have gone overboard and apologizes to her for almost dying.

He then reveals he knows about Sophie's plan to not only give the Nevers a ball, but also destroy all of Good and steal the Storian.

"What are you going to do?"

Tedros smiles. "Being a prince. I don't like Beatrix or a lot of other people in Good, but I like you all enough to know I don't want Sophie to end your stories."

"What do you mean? What're you-"

He sort of lands on the ground and lets Agatha stand, resting his forehead against hers. "Agatha, thank you for being in Good."

"You say that like I had a choice."

"No one ever said you had to be my friend, but you did, anyway."

He kisses her on the cheek and takes her to her dorm, which he locked from the outside, in the door, before taking off towards Evil, telling her to not stop him.

She gets to Evil by turning into a cheetah and, like before, tries to crash the No Ball to save everyone.

EVERYONE only believes her ehen Tedros arrives and attacks everyone, using the evils to his advantage.

When Sophie and Agatha are magiced away to Gavaldon, he only stands, emotionally empty as they vanish.

He's locked himself into his room and is sitting with his knees up and with his head resting against his knees.

Hates Aric.

Sleeps and stays in the Doom Room to avoid him, and the other boys because they won't shut up.

Does step up to be the leader of the boys, but does not order any kind of attack on the girls.

When the boys start getting rowdy, courtesy of one of the Everboys, said Everboy gets in Tedros's face when he confronts him. Aric backs up the Ever, and Tedros says nothing as he rams his fist into the Ever's stomach and swings an insanely hard punch into his jaw, which knocks him out instantly. The whole room is quiet as he basically demotes Aric as captain and gives the position to Chaddick; Aric is now responsible for disciplining anyone that steps out of line, which is nice enough, but he'd rather have the power to choose who gets the whip. With a low, "I want this entire castle spotless. You have the rest of the night and the weekend to do it," Tedros leaves, Chaddick following when Tedros asks him to very warmly, despite the scene that just unfolded.

When boys start refusing, Tedros hands them over to Aric, telling him that he can use any method he wants just as long as the boys are still alive.

No one refuses an order after an Ever and a Never leave boisterously shouting they're not afraid of a sewer rat like Aric and return quiet, pale, and injured from getting tortured.

Surprisingly, Tedros is the most collected with Tristan, almost returning to his Book 1 self, except more chatty. Tedros notes how Tristan smells a little different and that the redhead's been distant. Tristan denies it, spawning an evil for lying that Tedros sees.

He tells Tristan to keep his distance, and that he was one of the Everboys that was really nice to him; it's a small thing, but it means the world to him.

When Agatha and Sophie arrive, Tedros has locked himslef in his room. The boys are whipped into shape and don't really step out of line, all except Aric, but he tells the two strongest boys to keep Aric on a leesh if they have to.

Cue a lovely Tagatha reunion where the real Tedros comes back for a little bit.

She tells him about what the School for Girls are saying about him, even talking about how he rules over the boys with an iron fist, but Tedros states that if the boys wanted a different leader, they should've picked someone else to step up.

He tells her he won't hurt her, if they have to fight, but he will tear Sophie apart, so she'd better keep Sophie safe, if she cares so much about her.

Agatha leaves, apologizing for the fact that she might still love him. Tedros apologizes to her for the same reason.

Turns out the boys don't need to pick a new leader because the male teachers do it for them, and lock Tedros in the Doom Room.

He doesn't mind the other boys ignoring him. He doesn't mind the fact that he's not allowed to eat even when he tells the truth. He doesn't mind Aric being a dick or Tristan disappearing into thin air.

He minds greatly when he meets Filip, who has Sophie's evils and makes the mistake of trying to befriend him.

Just to put a target on his back, Tedros allows Filip to win. He wants alone time too, because he's been thinking about Agatha a lot.

Turns out not ALL the boys hate him, because Chaddick tries sneaking him food.

Tedros refuses and asks to be left alone.

A few days later, Filip finds Tedros lying on the ground, passed out and weak from not being fed. He wakes him up and tries to get him to have some lamb, but Tedros kicks Filip away

"Stop whatever game you're playing! I know it's you, Sophie!"

Filip blanches as he stands, flustered. "I... W-Who's Sophie? I'm Filip. Remember?"

Tedros glares up at him and scoffs. "You think I can't tell when you're lying? That I don't know when someone's trying to trick me!? Unless you're here to torture me or rub it in my face that I messed up and you have everything, go away and don't ever talk to me again, you witch!"

Filip(Sophie) is gutted by this, stunned as Tedros adds in a, "Speak of the Devil," as Aric strides in, armed with a whip.

Aric makes Filip leave and gets a few lashes on Tedros as he shouts that the prince is weak, a fool, and useless to eveyone, adding emphasis on weak if he can't even rely on his princess to save him.

When Aric's done with him and leaves, Tedros forces himself to his feet and unpockets a key he snagged off "Filip" when he kicked him.

He gets out and looks for Sophie, who's partnered with Hort for the trial by tale.

He finds Yara instead, heavily injured and dying as he rushes over to her side.

"I tried," she sobs. "I-I tried to get here sooner... and warn you, but he... he came out and-"

Tedros takes her hand, too upset to be angry. "Why, Tristan? Why be with the girls? I would've helped you!"

Tristan, Yara, holds his hand tightly and smiles. "You should've seen it. It was so pretty. And the girls were wearing blue for once."

Even though he has tears in his eyes and running down his cheeks, Tedros can only smile and shake his head. "You're a bloody fool."

"So... So're you."

Tristan apologizes for hiding the Storian away from Tedros, and thanks him for being possibly the only boy in the school for boys that was really nice to him, even though he defected to the girl's shool, in the end. With one last smile, Tristan dies, Tedros setting him down and backing away before shouting and releasing a sort of shadow-y energy, sonic boom that flattens a bunch of trees. He screams, he cries, and he basically mourns the fact that he lost someone he genuinely cared about and saw as a friend, maybe even a brother.

Even though he's weaker than before, tired, emotionally drained, and barely able to stand, Tedros still finds Filip, who's revealed to be Sophie, and, too tired for words, smirks as she tries to explain herself to a very hurt Hort, who she picked as her partner.

"Look who's putting her lessons to good use."

She turns on Tedros and shouts she always tried to help him, even when it would result in a punishment, and where he got worse she got better.

Tedros snickers and asks why she manipulated Agatha and lied to the boys, even Hort, who's her friend. On skaky legs and with unfocused eyes, Tedros murmurs, "You can take the witch out of Evil, but there's no taking the evil out of a witch. No wonder Agatha hates us both."

Just as he falls, Agatha races out of the trees and catches him, apologizing that she hadn't been the one to take the potion and help him and admitting she never hated him. She actually never stopped loving him and believes that he isn't so evil he can't be loved by her.

Tedros asks how she knows, considering the events prior, and Agatha shakes her head; if he was truly as evil as he thinks, she would be dead, her and Sophie both, and both schools would've been destroyed. He can think all he wants that he hates both schools and everyone inside them, and that he's an evil force of destruction that will never sit a throne, but Agatha knows the truth:

He loved going to both schools. He loved being around people, more specifically people who showed him the most minimal shred of kindness, regardless of whether or not it was genuine or out of obligation. He loved being the only one up at night and enjoying the silence of both schools, loved pulling pranks that were harmless, save for causing gray hairs. He loved being friends with Chaddick and Tristan, who took him in and showed him how great it was to even have friends. He loved the lessons in good and the trips between both schools.

Most of all, she knows he loves her, even though she tried tricking him into falling in love with Sophie so they could leave.

Tedros can't help but cry and not seeing any evils grow from Agatha, knowing everything she said was true and that he's an idiot for needing it spelled out for him.

They kiss, ending the conflict between boys and girls, and getting their Happily Ever After. Hort does a good friend move and looks away to give them some kind of privacy, but Sophie is frozen, realizing that regardless of whether she's good or evil, she's not getting Tedros. His heart belongs to Agatha, who feels the same way.

When Evelyn Sader appears with the Storian, bringing back Rafal and dying in the process, Tedros still tries to fight him.

He gets his ass handed to him, and gets that gash in the original story.

When they're sent to Gavaldon and found by Callis, who tends to Tedros, Agatha guves her the run-down, including the fact that Tedros is indeed a Never and the Prince of Camelot.

Callis sighs at this and admits he's good at being still for her, considering how he was so fitful while unconscious. Agatha then admits he sleep walks.

With that in mind, they check and find him awake and staring at Callis, holding a hand out to her as Agatha shakily introductions them.

They trade introductions, Callis at least because Tedros is back to being quiet, and Callis returns to patching him up.

Tedros is quiet as she finishes up, though only breaks his silence with this:

"You're so lucky to have such an amazing daughter."

Sorry this took sonlong to work on. I'm trying to sort of clear the clutter in my Drafts so I can work on more new stuff. This was really fanfic-y, too and I deeply apologize for that😅

Either way, I hope you guys enjoyed this!

#school for good and evil #sge tedros #tedros of camelot #never! tedros #tagatha #sophie of woods beyond #agatha of woods beyond #sge sophie #sge agatha #sge aric

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cm-top-10 · 3 years ago

Text

C.M. Top 10: Most Dark & Gore Scenes &/or Characters in Cartoon Series

Warning: The following top ten may contain possible spoilers for those who haven't seen newer series. This post may also contain forms of graphic violence & some gore scenes that maybe too much for you to witness. So for your safety & others do not look unless it's at your own risk.

You've been warned...

We all discover at some point in time that not everything you know is allover the rainbow. Most times we see things we can't unsee or learn dark secrets of someone you thought you knew your whole life. & sometimes we learn things the hard way. Or the messed up dark way...

So for this 1st dark Top 10 features the most characters with a dark histories, secrets or just straight up dark/gore scenes. Which character did you not expect to have a dark side? Sadly you be the judge...

1. Invincible - Omni Man beating his son to a pulp.

After learning the dark truth that was revealed to Mark about his father's true intentions. Nolan tells his son the truth about why he was sent to Earth & why he killed the Guardians.

Telling him the reasons why he's here was so he could eliminate any potential threat to the Viltrum Empire. & that he was raising his son not out of responsibility or heroics, but to have him as a bred soldier of the Empire to kill anyone who stood in their way.

& he wanted Mark to join their cause with him.

After Mark angrily refused to help him conquer the planet. Nolan nearly beats the life out of his own son & yells to the top of his lungs saying how pointless it is to protect his home world. While killing millions of innocent people in the process of their brutal fight.

However before he could finish him off, Nolan suddenly realized what he did to his own child & fled the Earth in machspeed, shedding a tear.

They say fatherhood is complicated, but not like this...

2. Castlevania Lords of Shadow - Gabriel's dark fate

While on his journey to slay all three of the Lords of Shadow. Gabriel slowly learned they were the founders of the Order & told him the truth of his order's true intention from each Shadow Lord who too were being used by the Brotherhood of Light. Then when he finally reached the final Lord of Shadow, he learned about his wife's death & fell into dark despair.

Over time his heart grew darkened. & knew nothing but bitterness & sorrow...

But after defeating the three Lords, Laura appears to tell Gabriel that he awakened another ancient evil known as the Forgotten One. Who had plans to destroy all creation & they had to venture to the Brotherhood's fortress to find the entrance to where he was imprisoned.

However only dark begins can enter the realm. & the only way he can bypass it's effects & to defeat this ancient evil, was to become one himself...

So Laura asked him to drink her blood & free her of her torment. Hesitant at first he did what was asked of her & dranked every last drop of her blood, until she died.

He then defeated the Forgotten One & saved mankind. But at a cost of his soul & happiness.

Thus becoming a vampire.

A vampire the world would soon know & fear as Dracul the Dragon.

But that is another story...

3. Baki the Grappler - Yujiro Hanma

As most know Yujiro is the world's most unstoppable & cruelest warrior in the history of fighters. Not even the U.S. Military dares to go near him. Yes Yujiro the Orge has struck fear into many people, even military personnel of different countries. & he did it with no weapons & has turned the U.S. into his personal playground for death & battles.

But the most cruelest thing he's done was ripping the face of one of China's most respected Kaioh masters while facing him in battle, testing his worthiness. The reason Yujiro did this challenge was not to prove his worth but to show all of China & their leaders that they are worthless to him. & showed them all that he doesn't care about their hatred towards Japan noir their worthiness.

& he struck that fear into all who witnessed Ryu Kaioh getting defaced & brutally defeated. Yes this is one man who's definitely going to hell & is going to smile about it.

Because Satan himself would be pissing his buttflap in his sights in fear. While Yujiro fucks his succubus wife in front of his face knowing how little fucks he gives about his "sins."

4. Primal - Sauropod Massacre

After being infected by the Zombie Virus. The infected sauropod becomes a mad rouge & slaughters it's own herd in a bloody rage & massacre.

It left no survivors, ripped them apart & destroyed many of the herds' eggs leaving nothing remaining...

Truly whatever zombie virus this was it drove this poor creature mad & didn't stop until everything wasn't breathing.

Luckily Spear & Fang were able to run it into a dormant volcano. Where the infected dinosaur burnt to ash.

Hopefully now the poor beast is at peace...

5. Star Wars Rebels - Master Luminara's remains

In the search for Luminara to replace Kanan to be Ezra's new master. They soon learned too late that her remains were being used to lure any surviving Jedi out of hiding. So that any Sith Hunters like the Grand Inquisitor would slay them on the spot.

Sadly no one knows whatever happened to her corpse after they escaped. Or if the Empire even still has her.

Rest in peace Luminara wherever you are...

6. Legend of Tarzan - Death of Clayton

While battling in the trees, Tarzan defeated Clayton by tangling him into the jungle vines. But during his blind rage he angrily swiped vine after vine, until one wrapped his neck. Tarzan tried his best to warn him, but in his rage Claton cuts the vine that he was holding on to.

Then after it broke they both plummet to the ground. Tarzan landed safely, Clayton however was hung from above by one of the vines wrapped around his neck after it snapped it straight out from the fall.

There truly are things worse than fate...

7. RWBY - the Death of Adam Taurus

After weeks of stalking Blake & her group. Blake had no choice but to confront Adam for the last time with the help of Yang. The battle was harsh, but in the end they managed to out-think him by stabbing him from different sides. One in his chest & one in the back.

He then fell to his death over a huge waterfall after hitting his head over a ledge before plummeting into the water. Hopefully they've finally seen the last of Adam Taurus.

But let's also hope he doesn't pull a Cinder...

8. TFP Beast Hunters - Predaking beats the scrap out of Ratchet

After using Ratchet to wipe out mankind. The Decepticons threw him into the frails of a vengeful Predaking. Predaking then beats & claws Ratchet, throwing him around like a rag-doll. Until he was ready to finish him off, luckily Ratchet convinced him to hear him out. & told Predaking the truth about what had happened to his Predacon army.

After he told Predaking that it was Megatron who ordered his race's extermination. He asks why he did so & Ratchet replys--

Ratchet: Being on the receiving end of your might. One theory springs to mind, Megatron fears you & any like you.

In his blind rage Predaking stormed his way to Megatron, wiping out anyone who stood in his way.

Which led to his own demise, but that is a story for another time...

9. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Stealy Joe gets his ass beat by Jotaro

Now this slimy bastard got what he deserves. Not only did he try to humiliate & blackmail Jotaro into doing his bidding. This cocky motherfucker goes & threatens a random little girl out of the blue. If Jotaro didn't face him like a man & does what he says.

With him up to here with the man's assholeness, our boi Jotaro decided enough is enough & beats the ever loving shit out of this guy. & after punching him multiple times, he literally sends him flying into a wall & throws him his receipt.

Rest in Hell, Joe you worthless bastard!

10. The Falcon Captain America & The Winter Soldier - Captain America U.S. Agent gets his arm broken.

John Walker the former Captain America was given a mantle he wasn't worthy of. Don't get me wrong as much as I had my doubts of him, I was willing to give him a benefit of a doubt. That is until he soiled Steve's good name by using his shield to kill a man in cold blood.

During his blind rage of vengeance, he chased down one of the Flag Smashers & constantly beats him over-&-over with the shield. & then kills him with a fatal blow to the chest area in front of tons of people.

After he murdered one of the perps, Falcon & Bucky tried to ask him to hand over the shield peacefully...

You can take a wild guess what Walker's answer was. He then attacked them with rage & ego, losing his shit. However that ego died as soon as Falcon & Buck breaks his arm to get the shield back. He was then discharged by the U.S. government & was relieved of his duties as Captain America.

Not only that but he then found his way into a dark path he may not be able to uncross.

But that part is another story for another time.

Either way he got dealt some shitty karma.

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artmunstudios · 4 years ago

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What's 2 similarities & 2 differences U have noticed between Ozpin & Oscar?

Aaahh I was wondering if you were going to ask me! I’ve been seeing you around asking this question and the answers have all been interesting! So I’ll take on a response that people aren’t taking on then, yes? This will be a long post, so if anyone is interested in reading past the first analysis just click the ‘read more’!

Their Origins

Ozpin is at the core based off of two characters. One of those characters, Oscar is also connected to. There are obviously more characters and whatnot they reference, but for the sake of simplicity, I will only be addressing their clear initial inspiration. Ozpin is based off of The Wizard of Oz, also known as Professor Oz primarily in the Oz Book Series; but his full name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, which he abbreviated to Ozpin Head. (Thank you @immortal-green-snom for this tidbit!!!) In the book series, after he had left in the air balloon in an attempt to help Dorothy get home, Professor Oz was revealed to have done a lot of slimy and heinous things to keep the throne of the Emerald City, and by extension, the Land of Oz itself. While he does get better in the latter books he reappears in, he was portrayed as being manipulative, a bit pathetic, but extremely intelligent and a master of illusions. I wouldn't be surprised if the writers of RWBY were trying to get that across in Ozpin's traits, but to be quite honest, they kinda failed at making him even a morally grey character, as a lot (not all, he isn't guitless, but again, a lot) of the arguments used in-show, and the FNDM itself, are all about things that were either not in his control, or something that was painted as being his fault/harmful, but was actually the opposite of the situation. The biggest example of this is Raven trying to trick Yang and Weiss into believing Ozpin had forced her and Qrow to become birds/have the ability to do so. In a lot of ways, Ozpin and Professor Oz are actually opposites of one another in terms of personalities, which may have in actuality been the overall intention CRWBY had, but we can only speculate. Professor Oz is extremely selfish, while Ozpin is selfless, even to a point where it actually becomes harmful to others. Professor Oz would have done anything to be in power, while Ozpin has done everything to relinquish himself of a position of power, which I find very interesting. This may be due to him even trying to somehow relinquish the burden the God of Light has placed on Oz as a whole, but is ultimately unable to give up that specific task. Even though, truthfully, he needed to relinquish that particular stronghold all along. Professor Oz is clearly a leader, and despite his negative traits, is actually a very good one. Ozpin...as much as I love him as a character, is not the greatest leader. He is, however, an excellent advisor/second-in-command. Professor Oz is only a mere mortal man pretending to be something more, while Ozpin is something bigger than a mortal man, but is pretending to be nothing but a man. Expanding upon this, they also are desperate to be the opposite of what they are. Professor Oz wants to be what he portrayed himself as, and for Ozpin, it's very much the same situation. There is a lot more I could say, but let's move on to Oscar!

Oscar Pine, like Ozpin, is based off of two characters at the core. Again, it is likely that he represents more than two, but for the sake of simplicity, let's discuss only the two. From the moment I saw Oscar, I knew right away that he was based off of my favorite character from the Oz Book Series...Tip. Tip, short for Tippetarius, was too a farmboy who longed for much more, who knew that there was more out there, despite being notably content in their lifestyle. The only difference was that Tip was a slave to an evil witch, but he escapes her in the second chapter with a companion. He is described as being just like any boy; rugged, mischievous, playful, and a lover of all things fun while still being quite shrewd. Unlike Ozpin and Professor Oz, Tip and Oscar are, in fact, extremely alike. Even down to their colors and appearance. Despite how Tip is colored, he actually has light brown skin (though considering the time period, we all know why this fact was dismissed), and black hair. And his treasured beanie cap was green and orange. His clothes also had a primary color scheme of brown, and were dirty due to the work he had done on the farm. Oscar and Tip have the exact same personalities, which was what affirmed to me that Oscar was meant to be his primary parallel. What got me the most was their sarcasm. Tip is still the most sarcastic and genuinely street-smart protagonists in the Oz Books. Not to say there were no other protags like that, but there was something to be said about how Tip was one of the few protagonists to actually act as a leader in the traveling group. Just like Oscar, Tip is also quite emotional, and they both have a sharp temper that they express not in loud outbursts, but by quips that you know could be quite hurtful if they wanted them to be. However, between the two, Tip is the loudest, should you put them in the same room. However, I suspect that as time goes on, Oscar might start becoming quite vocal when he doesn't like something, as I've noticed that the more he develops, the more he acts like Tip. Their behaviors are similar as well; when something personal is going on between two parties who clearly knew each other before him, both Oscar and Tip have a tendency to hang back and simply let the moment play out. They both start out as being sort of bystanders, just going with the flow while occassionally giving very good advice/strategies, but they start to become more of a leader as time goes on. In fact, leadership seems to be in their blood. There is actually a reason for this.

Ozma of Oz

There is a single thread that connects both Oscar and Ozpin, and that is the second primary character they represent. That character is the infamous Princess/Queen Ozma of Oz. Ozma, in many ways, is a lot like both Ozpin and Oscar; and may be the kind of person they become once the merging is complete. She is shrewd, but gentle. Sarcastic and blunt, but very elegant and fun-loving. They have a particular grace in how they handle their politics, but she admittedly gets into more trouble than rulers of kingdoms should. She is, ultimately, the perfect archetype of a ruler. And had completely reformed The Emerald City to be an environment that is very much like Vale's open-mindedness, with the advanced technology and efficiency of Atlas. Ozma, in the books, was actually revealed to be Tip; or rather, Tip was Ozma. After being transformed into a boy as a baby by a witch under Professor Oz's command, they were whisked away by said witch, and had been working under that witch until they had escaped as a young boy. Many speculate that Ozma was meant to represent the transgender community, and I know many transgenders see Ozma as an icon. Frank Baum was the type of guy that wrote things that were ahead of his time, and seen as very controversial by the few who could actually read the metaphors planned out. It was even implied in the later books that Ozma and Dorothy get married, and there were many illustrations made from the original novel illustrators of Ozma and Dorothy looking like a couple. What's even greater is that despite the change of gender from Tip to Ozma, she still very much contains her boyish traits despite the frills and queenly garb. As stated in one of the last lines in the second Oz Book;

"I hope none of you will care for me less than you did before. I am still the same Tip you know..."

When I realized Oscar was Tip, I knew Ozma was going to be put into the equation. I just,,,, wasn't expecting..... t h a t.

Oscar and Ozpin

Time to actually answer the question I was asked JSDJFDKDFKFK--

Oscar and Ozpin are different in one particular way: Trust. Ozpin trusts nobody. Truthfully, he doesn't even trust himself, I don't think, and that is likely why he didn't have much of a plan these days. He doesn't trust himself to be competent enough to complete the task assigned to him, he doesn't trust humanity to pass, hell, I don't think he even trusts the Gods to be capable of taking care of humanity considering the shit job they did in the past, and how poorly they have handled Ozma and Salem. In simple terms, Ozpin trusts too little. Oscar, on the other hand, trusts...a little too much. There, I said it. And I'm willing to say it again. Oscar trusts too much. Whether or not that will change after the end of V7 and what happened in V8 is left for debate. Oscar seems almost incapable of seeing the downside in some situations, like, for example, confronting a General who has completely gone off the deep end, unarmed and alone. And he trusted a man who needlessly beat the shit out of him for something that nobody, not even Salem, were truly at fault for. And while that trust paid off, unlike how it did in the past, it is a bit of an alarming trait that I genuinely think will simmer down either after all that happened in V8, or it will eventually when that trust truly bites him in the ass.

Another polarization between Oscar and Ozpin: faith. This ties in a little bit with the trust theme, but there is enough to talk about on its own. While Ozpin does believe that humanity is overall good, I think he has lost faith in their capability to work together long enough for there to be any sort of permanent peace. And, admittedly, he isn't wrong to think that. I think you would have to be very foolish if you genuinely think there will ever be a point where humanity will stop fighting amongst themselves; in other words, Ozpin is fully aware that the God of Light's task is genuinely impossible. And honestly? I think the GoL knows it is, too. Oscar has faith as well, but he views the dire circumstance in a different way that may be the key to solve the seemingly unending puzzle of Salem and their task. He gets faith in humanity not through the overall picture, but in the smallest things. Oscar likely believes that it doesn't matter if all of humanity is united, because he too knows that will never happen. But, he is certain that there is a lot more power in the smallest of unions and actions; a racist woman reforming and helping to comfort a faunaus child. A woman who helped a group of people tear down a kingdom realize the fault of their actions, and try to save another kingdom's people. A man who, while being genuinely wise, was so blinded by rage that he could not see past his own nose, change in order to save what little good has sprouted from something so terrible that he helped sow. The little things matter so much more, and unlike Ozpin, he doesn't think that they need to grow any further than that.

So, what makes them similar? Two distinct things. They both are very personal. Even if it is in different forms of expressing, Oscar and Ozpin are quite personal, especially when it comes to their advice. But they also really feel for the person they are talking to. And while Ozpin felt Hazel was too far gone, he felt for him and understood and even agreed with his anger. Their empathy is truly something else; and it is also their weakest point. Not to say that having empathy is bad, but their empathy leads into another trait that they have in common... They let people walk all over them. All. The. Time. To a point where it is actually very frustrating, and it even hinders their development as characters. Ozpin let Ironwood walk all over him, and never spoke in defense for himself. Ozpin let the council walk all over him, and never defended himself. Ozpin allowed for so much of the blame to be placed on his own shoulders, that it is extremely unhealthy, and something I wish the show would address, but have come to accept that it won't. Especially when this trait is reflected in Oscar as well. He blamed himself for failing to convince Ironwood, he allowed for Jaune to verbally and physically attack him, and outright refused to let Jaune apologize. They both brush off their wellbeing so often, that watching Oscar do the same only confirms to me the suspicions I had as to why everyone was genuinely so blind to figure out what was going on in their heads and when they were struggling. Because both Oscar and Ozpin refuse to acknowledge their own struggles and shortcomings.

But, to be frank, that is more of a writing issue than a character reflection, in my personal opinion. And I'll continue to see it that way until the show actively acknowledges that unhealthy behavior.

There ya go! My very very long analysis of Oscar and Ozpin; I hope I brought something unique among the batch of this question!

#rwby ozpin #rwby oscar #rwby ozma #ozma #oscar pine #oscar #ozpin #professor ozpin #rwby #rwby analysis #character analysis #artmun answers

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lesbx · 3 years ago

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merlin finale thoughts [long]

i cant honestly say i’m mad at the ending, more just like, annoyed? the writers took what could’ve been a really poignant and satisfying ending to both a beloved series and the in-fiction prophecy that’s been touted the entire time, and stepped on it for a six second long gag right before the credits roll. the show could’ve worked perfectly with the last shot either being arthur’s funeral pyre sailing away or, my preference, with the “Long live the Queen!” scene focusing on Gwen’s face as she has to deal with the news of her husbands death and the responsibility of leadership being thrust upon her at the same time, an emotion that mirrors when arthur himself became king, like that could’ve been really cool! like the pieces were there, it didn’t need any of the extraneous moments, like gwaines death for one. literally totally unnecessary and like, just rude for it to just be so unceremonious! gwaine was part of the three, strength, magic and courage, in arthur’s quest. he was important!! and he is effectively killed off screen (not technically but the act of what kills him happens entirely off screen even if his last breath is drawn on screen) and is not even mourned. like it cuts away from that scene so fast and never returns to the subject, no quick funeral shot or anything. why even have him die if you can’t afford to spend any time on it? also wjat the fuck was with just how long they spent on percival escaping his ropes just for him to arrive too late anyway that was so stupid? on a tangentially related note morgana used the nathair too much it’s like the writers came up with that and then were like “this is how morgana is going to solve every problem from now on” ok tangent over. i do feel also like arthur and morgana should’ve had more to say to each other in the end. what could’ve been a final conversation between siblings who had strayed so far from each other and been so hurt in their own ways, amounted to morgana twirling her mustache evilly while merlin sneaks up and does a one-liner and kills her instantly like she was a skyrim bandit. it works on a first viewing bc the tension holds up but after seeing it you can’t help but feel like it could’ve been done better.

if they were somehow pressed for time there’s obviously Other things that could’ve been cut for the sake of a more thorough ending. the whole evil gwen arc could have been left out, it was incredibly unnecessary and served no purpose for literally any character development despite lasting multiple episodes. even the end with merlins whole “remember what saved her” thing was nothing bc it never had any payoff bc arthur didn’t even live long enough to contemplate it let alone renounce his hatred of magic. not to mention the plain fact that i really doubt anyone got to season 5 and was still thinking that “well are gwen and arthur REALLY in love” was a question that still needed answering, i mean literally gwen betraying arthur’s trust was ALREADY a thing they did in the show that was long since resolved. even stretching the evil gwen thing all the way back to its inception in the dark tower episode, it felt very tacked on bc they must’ve reached the end of that episodes story and realized wait we didn’t even have them confront morgana at the end so we have to invent an entire new endgame to that ploy so it looks like we did it on purpose.

that whole arc could’ve been cut and there would’ve been no ripples in the story from it.

mordred’s entire role there in the end was also crazy like. the stunt they come up with to turn his allegiance against arthur was literally him having a never before mentioned girlfriend who shows up just to be executed so that could enrage mordred, and this in turn leads to them spoiling what could’ve been a really good reveal, merlin finally revealing his magic to morgana in a life or death fight, but no mordred just up and tells her and she barely has time to be surprised before the credits roll and the next episode jumps forward in time. her attitude towards merlin doesn’t even change after finding out he’s the man she’s had nightmares about, she still goes on about how he’s a serving boy and then actually just stands there and accidentally let’s herself get killed by him bc she’s still like No mortal man can kill me lol >:3. no battle no nothing shes just like oh you Do have a sword that can kill me whoops xP

IM NEVER POSTING THIS <jk am posting this

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gthreepio · 4 years ago

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i’ve been thinking about the future of the mcu and realized there’s a LOT that i didn’t know/didn’t remember in terms of where things are going so i figured i’d sum it up incase anyone else was in the same boat!!

quick recap of (unresolved) mid-credit scenes:

doctor strange: mordo (a sorcerer that is one of strange’s mentors, who by the end of the movie becomes disillusioned with magic/the ancient one and quits) confronts pangborn (the paraplegic who healed himself with the mystic arts, who tells strange about mystic arts in the first place) and steals his magic because according to mordo, there are “too many sorcerers." of note, this guy is typically a villain in the comics but hasn’t been thus far...

gotg2: ayesha (leader of the sovereign, a golden skinned alien race obsessed with genetic purity), after spending most of the movie chasing the guardians for stealing some stuff, is revealed to have created an artificial being named “adam” which is presumably, adam warlock. (other stuff that is less relevant: kraglin appears to take up yondu’s mantle; the ravagers regroup and several old and obscure comic book characters are introduced [charlie-27, aleta, martinex, mainframe]; the watchers are watching things.)

far from home: j jonah jameson basically tells the whole world spider-man’s secret identity, and frames him for what happened with mysterio....making him public enemy #1. ALSO, turns out nick fury and maria hill in the movie were ACTUALLY the two skrulls from captain marvel (talos and soren) attempting to do their job, while the real fury (and presumably hill) is ... up in space on some spaceship!!!

wandavision: monica (who we can assume is photon) is called by “an old friend of [her] mother’s,” up in space, which presumably means fury, talos, or carol. ALSO, wanda sits in the middle of nowhere reading the darkhold and hears the voices of her children who.. by all accounts, should not exist.

aaaaand what we know about future movies (i’m not even going into the tv series.....):

black widow:

takes place after civil war

nat confronts a “dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past,” likely has to do with taskmaster who has apparently taken over the red room where nat was trained as an assassin

prominent new characters: yelena belova, who will take over the mantle of black widow after this; alexei shostakov aka red guardian, an ollllld marvel hero analogous to captain america except for the soviet union.

tony stark will make an appearance... SOBS

shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings:

shang-chi has never been seen in the mcu before, but he is, essentially, a superhero that is a master martial artist, and in some adaptations can also create duplicate (fake) versions of himself to confuse opponents

main villain will be the the mandarin who we have *sort of* seen before... he is the leader of a terrorist organization called “ten rings” whose main goal is to destroy world peace. brief history -- in iron man 1: one ten rings cell kidnaps tony stark and tries to force him to make weapons (he of course, makes his suit instead). stark and ten rings become enemies and fight a bunch. nat and nick fury fight them too. in iron man 3, the villain aldrich killian hires a dude to pretend to be the mandarin and claim responsibility for a bunch of stuff, but its not the ten rings or the mandarin at all. this makes the mandarin v mad and he has a dude kidnap the faker to punish him. they also briefly show up in ant-man, when a ten rings agent tries to buy the yellowjacket suit that darren cross is selling. BUT IN SHANG-CHI....... looks like we are FINALLY going to see the real mandarin after over a decade!!

the villain razor fist will also show up, he is lesser known... he has no superhuman powers but he has surgically replaced his hands (1 or 2, depending on the version) with a steel blade, and is highly skilled at hand to hand combat.

besides the presence of these characters, the only bit of plot we know is “shang-chi is drawn into the ten rings organization and forced to confront his past.” so... yeah. we don’t know much at all.

eternals:

quick explanation: the eternals are an immortal alien race who have been secretly living on earth for thousands of years. they were created by the celestials, who are most prominently in gotg2.

more entirely new characters!!! their names are: thena, who can form any weapon out of cosmic energy; gilgamesh, who can make a super strong exoskeleton out of cosmic energy; ikaris, who has superhuman strength, flies, and can project cosmic energy out his eyes; kingo, who can shoot cosmic energy projectiles from his hands; makkari, who creates sonic booms, has super speed, and is deaf; phastos, who has enhanced intelligence, and is also gay (and married with a kid!); ajak, who has healing powers; sprite, who can project illusions; sersi, who can manipulate matter; druig, who can mind control; and dane whitman (black knight), a human with a mystical sword.

regarding the plot... it seems the eternals have kind of dispersed, but have to come together again to fight the deviants, who are their “evil counterparts” (also created by the celestials, though i’m unclear on why). thena and gilgamesh have apparently been in exile, unclear why; sersi, who is posing as a museum curator, has apparently been in love with ikaris for centuries and it seems as if their love story may be central to the film; and kingo is a bollywood film star in his spare time. aaaaand that’s pretty much all we know.

directed by chloé zhao of nomadland fame!

spider-man no way home:

based on the post-credits scene in far from home, peter parker will now be known as spider-man to everyone. unclear if he’s going to be seen as a bad guy due to mysterio framing him, but i guess we’ll see!

jamie foxx is electro, and alfred molina is doctor octopus; which is VERY interesting considering they played these roles in other spider-man franchises, once again stirring up excitement for possible multiverse.

there have been *multiple* reports that andrew garfield, kirsten dunst, tobey maguire, and emma stone will be in the movie but tom holland has repeatedly denied this... so... who knows.

there are also rumors that matt murdock / daredevil (from netflix) will be in several scenes! not confirmed though.

MJ is still his girlfriend and i hope it stays that way!!

doctor strange will be featured in the movie, taking on the mentor role now that tony stark is gone :( this will be interesting as i.. haven’t really seen them interact much before. because of this inclusion some people speculate that the film may draw inspo from some comic storylines where peter’s secret identity is restored with magic.

doctor strange in the multiverse of madness:

scarlet witch is essentially co-starring!!! it’s going to be really interesting to see if they bring vision or the twins into this at all, though i’m not counting on it.

seems like mordo will be the main villain -- recall the ds1 post credits scene where he is apparently running around trying to steal people’s magic.

america chavez will make her debut!!!!!! i have no idea how this plays into anything but i am so excited!!

regarding the plot, all we really know is that strange has been researching the time stone, mordo messes with him, and this results in him accidentally unleashing “unspeakable evil.” presumably there will also be heavy involvement of the multiverse, and who knows what kind of craziness that will bring!!

initially was going to be directed by scott derrickson who did ds1; however he stepped down to being just EP due to “creative differences.” i am presuming this is because derrickson really wanted to make this more gothic and horror than disney was comfortable with. i REALLY hope they keep some of those elements though and don’t erase the idea entirely! anyway, it will be directed by sam raimi now (of evil dead and spiderman 2002 fame).

the film also reportedly ties in with the loki series (will loki show up!?) and spiderman 3 (which is obvious enough, given that strange is in that movie and those curious electro and doctor octopus castings...)

thor: love and thunder

directed by taika waititi again, hell yeah!!! and he has stated, the film will be “so over the top now in the very best way" and would make ragnarok look like a "run of the mill, very safe film" .... so.... oh god

so many great returning players!!! including.... valkyrie (now the king of new asgard), jane foster, lady sif, korg, star-lord, mantis, drax, nebula, and kraglin (takes up yondu’s mantle after he dies in gotg2)

in this movie, thor isn’t thor anymore.... it’s JANE!!! she gets cancer :( and is undergoing treatment while simultaneously being thor. i’m a little nervous how this will be handled, but i’m excited. (it’s based off an amazing comic series by jason aaron)

the big bad: gorr the god butcher, played by christian bale! the gist of it is, this dude HATES gods because nobody helped when his family was dying and in need. his weapon is “all-black the necrosword,” forged from the head of a celestial, and allows the user to create wings and fly at extreme speeds. honestly, he sounds cool as fuck.

valkyrie is going to be made canonically bisexual!!!

it will explore more of korg’s backstory, and also include... space sharks!?!?! an alien race from the comics.

taika has called the script “very romantic” so take that as you will

black panther 2

will again be directed by ryan coogler

not much is known at this point, does not have an official name

t’challa will NOT be recast (which i’m happy about) so..... honestly no idea what to expect for this one. i think we can probably expect shuri to have an expanded role. all we know so far is they will be “exploring the world of wakanda.” not clear to me how this is different from the upcoming wakanda D+ series.

tenoch huerta has reportedly been cast as a villain, but no one has any idea who. there’s also rumors that donald glover is in “informal talks” to play a role. note all of this is unconfirmed.

captain marvel 2

will be directed by nia da costa (candyman!) and written by megan mcdonnell, who is one of wandavision’s best writers!

will take place in the present day

will feature kamala khan / ms. marvel, monica rambeau / photon!!! this will be so interesting.... kamala is a huge fan of carol’s in the comics, she is her mentor/idol. the ms. marvel series will also resportedly lead into cm2. and monica, well, monica knew her when she was a little kid. wandavision implies that there’s some bad blood between carol and monica though, not sure why. maybe because carol left and never came back? (until endgame)

post-credits scene of wandavision appears to tie into this, having monica go up into space at the reqeust of her “mom’s old friend.” again, not clear who that is. this could also be a tie in to secret invasion though, so we’ll see. or both.

zawe ashton has been cast as an unknown villain... a lot of people are actually speculating that she may play rogue? which would be fascinating, as there’s a comic arc where rogue steals her powers and memories. BUT there’s still no confirmation that X-men exist in the MCU so for now i remain skeptical.

they are looking to cast a ‘john boyega’ or ‘michael b jordan’ type which makes me wonder if they are going to create a new character, a “younger” war machine to be her love interest? (note: carol and rhodey are a huge thing in comics!) carol obviously does not look her age but her and don cheadle.... that just doesn’t work. which is why i wonder.

ant-man and the wasp: quantumania

in addition to scott and hope, pretty much all the major players are returning including: luis, hank pym, janet van dyne

cassie lang has been recast with an actress 5 years older, which is really making me wonder if they are going to make her stinger in this movie! (aka one of the main young avengers)

the villain: kang the conqueror! this dude time travels. original name nate richards. in the comics, kang travels back in time to rescue his younger self (nate) from an attack that would help shape him towards a life of villainy. kang also gives him some fancy armor. his younger self actually is like, what the fuck dude? and renounces his destiny, becoming a hero. and he makes his armor look like iron man, calling himself iron lad. who is a young avenger. which also makes me wonder about cassie lang.

otherwise not much is known!

guardians of the galaxy vol. 3

james gunn is returning, i’m mixed about this...he really does *get* the guardians though.

based on the gotg2 post credits scene, i think we can assume adam warlock will be a HUGE part of this. there are multiple versions of him, some villainous and some heroic, but no idea how this is gonna turn out.

no word yet on whether thor will be involved, or if those ravagers they introduced will be involved.

fantastic four

will be directed by the spiderman guy, john watts.

otherwise we know literally nothing.

aaaaand that’s the roundup!

#mcu #marvel #black widow #shang chi and the legend of the ten rings #eternals #smnwh #spiderman: no way home #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #dsitmom #thor: love and thunder #tlat #black panther 2 #captain marvel 2 #ant man and the wasp: quantumania #amatwq #guardians of the galaxy vol. 3 #gotg3 #fantastic four #mcu thoughts

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dantelionwishes · 4 years ago

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I saw @cryptidanaphafsi do something like this, and I wanted to try something similar!!

IM GONNA BE HARDCORE LOREDUMPING ABT EACH VERSION BELOW THE CUT.............

RUBY/SAPPHIRE: the og gameboy version where he didn’t have a name revealed back then!

1. RUBY ver.

he would be in a team Magma Costume, running towards the player directly to battle you

After the battle, Archie will come and drag him away from the player

The young boy will complain and say he wants to do cool evil stuff like his dad, Maxie

Archie will explain that the little boy is Maxie’s son, and that he’s taken charge of taking care of him because it’s too dangerous for a child to be part of the criminal organization

2. SAPPHIRE ver.

he would be in a team Aqua Costume, running towards the player directly to battle you

After the battle, Maxie will come and drag him away from the player

The young boy will complain and say he wants to do cool evil stuff like his dad, Archie

Maxie will explain that the little boy is Archie’s son, and that he’s taken charge of taking care of him because it’s too dangerous for a child to be part of the criminal organization

3. EMERALD ver.

He is not present in the Emerald Version! This is the canon story where the international police were in charge of keeping him because both his parents are criminals.

“ORAS”/DPP: technically the “canonverse” of the current poppy!

Technically, he’s the main character in the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum versions

Replaces Maylene (no hard feelings girl, it’s just because he’s the fighting-type gym leader!)

Story is still in the making/to be revealed! I’m still working on it ;^)

POKESPE: the manga is a wild ride, so this is gonna be a long one--

1. RUBY/SAPPHIRE arc

Ruby, at some point, encounters younger Poppy (unnamed during this arc), dressed in a Magma Costume who childishly challenges him to a battle before ignoring him

Sapphire, during a different time, encounters him as well but while wearing an Aqua Costume, also challenging her to a battle

Sapphire obviously wins and tries to get information out of him, but realises he’s just a kid playing around in a costume before letting him go

He cries about his loss and goes back to his dad, revealed to be Archie

He’s in Archie’s custody because, unlike Maxie, he’s posing as the director of Hoenn TV so it’s deemed “safer” for him to be with Archie

He’s seen again with Archie during the night Maxie challenges him to a battle

Maxie demands to give him back his son, while Archie retorts by saying that he’s HIS son, not Maxie’s

With a battle beginning, Archie tells his son to run away as far as he can, so that Maxie won’t get a chance to grab him while they battle

Maxie’s Pokémon stop him from running away, and their kid is forced to stay and watch his parents fight (he almost gets hurt, but both parents make sure they don’t accidentally hit him)

Both Archie and Maxie truce at the end of the battle, and Poppy is overjoyed to see both parents getting along

He’s excited to tag along with his family, but both Archie and Maxie firmly tell him that it’s too dangerous for him to join them

And until the end of the arc, both team leaders are busy with their evil plans lmao

Their son is last seen inside a police department, holding close both his Aqua and Magma costumes before a police officer (presumably Looker) walks up and tells him the bad news of their demise

2. EMERALD arc

He isn’t present during the Emerald Arc

This is the timeframe when Poppy was having his own little story in Sinnoh

Guile Hideout, however, mentions a certain someone he wishes he could see again

When Archie gets Jirachi, he starts off his wish with it being related to “wanting to see…” before changing his wish to getting Kygore

3. DIAMOND/PEARL arc

Poppy is a bit older, and is introduced beside Platinum, where both are playing together in the Veilstone Game Corner

It might come as a shock to the readers that his personality is different, and mentions nothing about Archie and Maxie

He is revealed to be the gym leader (albeit in training) in charge of Veilstone Gym

Poppy promptly forgets he and Platinum played together in the Game Corner (how forgetful he is becomes a comical joke the whole time)

After being defeated by Platinum, he is the last to resolve the Team Galactic conflict by the Veilstone Department Store

This causes him to want to fight Team Galactic for messing with his city

Diamond and Pearl find both Poppy and Cyrus at Celestic ruins

Cyrus is there to find information about the lake guardian trio, while Poppy is there to do the same (except for a specific lake guardian, Uxie)

Poppy confronts Cyrus for information both about team galactic and about the lake guardian

Although Cynthia comes to fight Cyrus, and Cyrus escapes, Poppy vows to track him down

All Sinnoh Gym Leaders show up in Spear Pillar, even Poppy, to defeat the Galactic Commanders and ambush Cyrus

They are all defeated, injured, and to be taken to a hospital, save for Poppy who is able to get up because of his conviction to see the Lake Guardian, Uxie

Because he is injured, this is the first we see of Poppy wearing his canon iconic bandages

Because Poppy was carrying Cyrus’ unconscious body, he is also hit by Giratina’s shadow force, taking him to the distortion world

4. PLATINUM arc

Honestly a super short arc

This is where the distortion world stuff happens

Cyrus and Diamond talk to each other here, but Poppy is elsewhere where the main characters find him together with Uxie and the two other lake guardians

If, at first, he was headstrong and stubborn into defeating anything in his path, this time he seems very distracted and rather absent-minded, even during the legendary whole battle

Before everyone escapes from the Distortion World, Poppy hears a voice and the portal closes before anyone could help him escape

4. ORAS arc

I haven’t actually been updated with POKESPE (I dont even know what happens in black and white) so I’m basing this off what i’ve read

Poppy shows up alongside Archie and Maxie, having both the Team Aqua and Magma logos on his hat

He seems to have remembered everything and fights beside both his fathers after remembering and finding them

He acts as their right-hand man, like a vice leader

The voices he heard while in the distortion world were from Maxie and Archie, which is why the three of them appear together

Poppy is desperate to keep both Archie and Maxie by his side once they start disappearing, begging them to stay

Both fathers ask their son to protect the planet in their favour before fading away

Despite being heartbroken over their forever disappearance, he sheds bittersweet tears that they were able to work together as a family before separating

#pokemon #pokemon rse #pokemon oras #pokespe #pokemon dpp #gymleadersona #gym leader poppy #pokemon ruby and sapphire #pokemon omega ruby #pokemon alpha sapphire #pokemon platinum #pokemon adventures #pokemon special #lionhe(art)

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elyvorg · 4 years ago

Photo

Here’s an AU with some delicious potential: what if Kokichi had chosen Shuichi for his plan, rather than Kaito?

And, no, despite Kokichi’s decision being the one initial difference in this AU, this really doesn’t significantly change anything for Kokichi himself. He still explains his plan to someone and then ends up just as dead. This is not about him.

Rather, as my illustration suggests, this AU would really be about Kaito, and what’d happen if he were in Shuichi’s position for the events of trial 5. I don’t quite have the focus necessary to write this as a full-on fic, but instead, how about a nice lengthy outline of how this story might unfold?

Daily Life

- The initial point-of-no-return at which Kokichi finalised his decision to use Kaito in his plan in canon was after his mastermind reveal, as he captured Kaito with an Exisal. So in this version of events, he’d capture Shuichi instead.

- Kaito would still get himself knocked out by one of Kokichi’s Exisals, mind you. This might happen exactly like it did in canon out of general anger at Kokichi, before Kokichi then brushes Kaito’s unconscious body aside and grabs Shuichi instead. Alternatively, Kokichi could grab Shuichi first, and so Kaito gets himself knocked out in a desperately reckless effort to save him.

- As Shuichi is carried away, still conscious but completely powerless in the grip of totally-the-evil-mastermind’s Exisal, worrying about Kaito and despairing over the outside world he just saw, he kind of just shuts down in defeat. Like, literally, to the point that his protagonist status shuts off. (At least, if we want to imagine this AU happening just like the game.)

- …And the protagonist status switches back on as Kaito as he regains consciousness. He’s immediately panicking over Shuichi being gone, blaming himself and feeling like he’s failed Shuichi yet again. (Given this, I think I prefer the option where Kaito gets knocked out after Shuichi gets grabbed, so that his very first thoughts as the protagonist the second he regains consciousness are worrying about Shuichi.)

- also the world’s ended apparently and that’s probably something he should be freaking out about too, but the whole Shuichi situation is much more immediately urgent and easier to wrap his head around, so he’s focusing on that

- Maki manages to convince him not to immediately go recklessly charging after Kokichi. Everyone’s exhausted and mentally drained, and Kaito’s injured on top of that (not to mention sick, she thinks, not that she voices that because she knows he’ll deny it). Right now they just need to try and get some sleep.

- Which, of course, is something Kaito’s been sick enough to be barely capable of for like the past week. He spends the whole night worrying ferociously about Shuichi and trying to think up some kind of plan to rescue him… but he ultimately accepts that he has no idea what he’s doing and he’s best off getting the others’ input on this, especially Maki’s.

- He also has plenty of time during the night to actually freak out about the end of the world, and in true Kaito fashion (and exactly like he did in canon), he copes with it by clinging to a completely baseless hope that maybe the world just hasn’t ended. What they saw out there could just be a huge elaborate lie, somehow? That’s the only way this situation wouldn’t be as unbearably awful as it seems – it’s the only way they’d have a reason to not give up – so Kaito’s sticking with that thought.

- And if that is the case, then he has absolutely no clue how to prove that – but Shuichi would be able to, with his awesome detective skills. That’s all the more reason they need to rescue him as soon as possible, then!

- The next morning, Kaito and Maki are already up and about without needing anyone else to prompt them. Both of them, for rather different reasons, are able to not let the despair of the outside world stop them from focusing on the obvious most important task of rescuing Shuichi.

- Since Kaito’s up, however, he also wants to get the others on board with this, too. He doesn’t like the idea of all of them moping around in despair, not when it’s possible (he has no idea how, but it is, he’s definitely not just baselessly clinging to this in order to cope!) that things aren’t as bad as they seem. And if he can get them focused on helping him rescue Shuichi, that’ll be a nice distraction for them.

- So Kaito drags everyone to a breakfast briefing that same morning, meaning that the killing game hasn’t gotten boring at all. Which means that Tsumugi doesn’t need to make a Flashback Light to spice things up again. Who needs artificial motivation from that when Kaito’s giving them real motivation? So there’s no Hope’s Peak nonsense at all in this version of events.

- Kaito’s pep talk manages to convince Himiko and Keebo (and Tsumugi’s act) that maybe things are better than they seem and that they’ll need Shuichi if they’re going to prove this. They all band together for a Shuichi Rescue Operation that looks a lot like the Kaito rescue operation from an alternate universe where Kaito was captured instead.

- Unfortunately, Himiko, Keebo and Tsumugi didn’t have the presence of mind to charge their Electrohammers last night. Kaito and Maki did, but they’re still only half-charged by now anyway, so it looks like the Shuichi Rescue Operation will have to wait until the next morning for the best chance of success.

- Maki is still feeling somewhat like murdering Kokichi is their best option because he’s supposedly the mastermind. However, she’s a lot less determined to do so when she hasn’t been brainwashed by any of the hope-must-defeat-despair bullshit from the Flashback Light. That plus Kaito being able to pick up on her intentions and talk her down from it means that, ultimately, she decides against it. Letting Kaito run around did exactly the opposite of making the killing game start up again – funny, that.

- While they’re waiting, for the sake of feeling like he’s doing something and not just wasting his very-limited time, and because he’s still just incredibly worried, Kaito goes to the hangar in the hopes of checking on and maybe being able to talk to Shuichi.

- (He still kind of feels like a huge failure about letting Shuichi get captured in the first place and not even being able to rescue him without everyone else’s help. But then again, there’s still something Kaito can do for him, right? Anyone, even a hero as awesome as Shuichi, would be feeling lost and needing some encouragement after what they all saw outside, and Kaito can at least do that for him, if nothing else. Maybe heroes aren’t completely invincible after all.)

- Shuichi has indeed just been listlessly in despair since he found himself in the hangar’s bathroom. But hearing Kaito’s voice calling out to him, seeing that familiar bright grin, having Kaito tell him with what sounds like complete conviction that the outside world might just not be destroyed, and you’re the one who can prove it, and that’s why we’re all coming to rescue you tomorrow morning… that really, really helps perk Shuichi up again. Kaito is the best luminary.

- Several other parts of that conversation go roughly as they do when they’re on opposite sides of that window. Kaito’s health is fine of course why is Shuichi even asking; and meanwhile Shuichi bringing up Gonta just prompts Kaito to praise Shuichi and tell him even more how awesome he is and how everyone’s relying on him. They are friends.

- One way or another, Kokichi has got wind of the fact that everyone’s coming to rescue Shuichi the next morning, meaning that tonight is the last chance he realistically has for his plan to go down. So, even though Maki does not enter the hangar to try to murder Kokichi and nobody gets shot with any poisoned arrows, Kokichi tells Shuichi the plan and gets him to carry it out that night.

- (Honestly, it’s not completely certain whether Shuichi would agree to the plan given that he has none of the desperate-to-be-a-hero motives that Kaito did. That’s got to be why Kokichi chose Kaito in canon despite the million other reasons why that version of the plan would obviously fail. But for the sake of making this AU an interesting story, let’s assume Shuichi goes through with it. It was definitely always possible that he would.)

- So, the next morning, with Kaito rallying everyone into high spirits as they all charge into the hangar to rescue Shuichi…

- …Kaito is abruptly confronted with a familiar pinstriped sleeve sticking out of the hydraulic press amidst an enormous pool of blood.

Deadly Life

- Everyone else, even Maki, immediately assumes that Kokichi murdered Shuichi. They were all relying on Shuichi to solve the mystery and properly end their reasons to despair; of course Kokichi, the evil sadistic mastermind who enjoys their suffering, would have killed him horribly like this before they could rescue him, all to make them suffer even more. It just makes sense. Plus, Kokichi’s the mastermind and the killing game’s still going, so how could he be the one who’s dead?

- Kaito is having none of it. Shuichi’s gotta still be alive somehow. It’s Shuichi! He’s bound to have pulled off some super-clever trick to escape this and already secretly be in the process of figuring out the killing game and ending it all, right? That’s exactly what Shuichi’s always been good at! Don’t they all want to believe in Shuichi like this?

- Someone points out that if Shuichi is alive, then wouldn’t that mean he’s probably the one who killed Kokichi? And nope, Kaito’s also not having any of that. Shuichi’s obviously not the type to kill anyone; can’t they all see that!? (But then again, Kaede and Kirumi and Gonta weren’t either, and yet, in an attempt to save everyone… And Shuichi’s always cared about saving everyone, hasn’t he?)

- (But no, that still can’t be true, because if it were that’d mean Kaito would have to watch Shuichi being executed and still have failed to protect him, and NOPE nope nope. Shuichi is somehow alive and also not the blackened, that’s definitely possible, it has to be.)

- Also let me please stop and remind everyone that Shuichi is not at all dead and is hiding inside the red Exisal in the hangar, hearing the pain Kaito is in over this and feeling thoroughly responsible. Still, it lifts his spirits at least a little to hear that Kaito really does want to believe in him this much!

- Maki tries to tell Kaito that he’s behaving exactly how he was in Gonta’s trial and that simply believing in something won’t get him anywhere. Kaito probably responds to this by getting more riled up and angry, which only kind of proves her point. And he knows that’s what he’s doing, but he can’t stop himself.

- (Shuichi can’t be dead. All of Kaito’s words and encouragement to him would mean nothing if Shuichi just died anyway because Kaito was still too useless to save him. He’d be nothing but a failure as a hero, just like Gonta’s trial had already proven he was, except worse. Kaito can’t have failed Shuichi this badly. He just can’t.)

- Himiko, Keebo and Tsumugi start to comment because of all this that maybe Kaito really is just too naïve to accept the truth; maybe they should never have listened to him trying to insist that the outside world isn’t dead when they saw it with their own eyes. Maybe there really is nothing at all to hope for in this situation at all.

- This does not help Kaito’s mood.

- Kaito ends up snapping that, fine, if they’re all just gonna give up on Shuichi like that, then he’s gonna do this investigation himself and prove that he’s right about this, dammit!

- Kaito begins a very pointedly determined investigation – look, guys, he’s not giving up on Shuichi – but… who the hell is he trying to kid? He’s always been terrible at these things. Shuichi was the one who could do all of this, could look at all these random clues and somehow just know what everything meant and piece it all together like magic. Not Kaito.

- (which also gets him caught up in thinking about what if Shuichi really is gone – not only does that mean Kaito’s a horrible failure, but it also means everyone else is screwed and never going to get out of here because they need Shuichi for things like this)

- (but no he’s not thinking about that; he’s not worrying about anything, because Shuichi’s definitely alive and spotless and he’s going to prove it)

- After Kaito’s spent several minutes wandering around the hangar staring fervently at things and not really taking any of it in (because his mind’s too caught up in warring with himself over how dead Shuichi definitely isn’t to focus properly), Maki approaches him.

- (Maki is able to be a lot more level-headed and rational here than she is at this point in canon, because she didn’t break into the hangar and accidentally murder someone she cares about last night.)

- Awkwardly, without looking Kaito in the eye, she mentions that if he wants an investigation partner, she’s here.

- Kaito can’t help but stare at her kind of bitterly. He thought she was perfectly willing to give up on Shuichi and assume he’s dead, wasn’t she?

- Maki still thinks that’s the most likely scenario, but… Kaito’s right. She wants to believe Shuichi could still be alive. So maybe, if she investigates with Kaito, he can help her find a way to believe that it could be possible after all.

- Something within Kaito hears he can help her and latches onto it without another thought. He manages a grin from somewhere, and with a “Why didn’t you say so sooner, Maki Roll!?”, they’re investigating together.

- Maki is, of course, doing the majority of the observations and deductions, while Kaito is mostly just cheering her on and praising her (specifically whenever her observations manage to have a vaguely positive outlook about Shuichi’s possible survival). There’s something comfortingly familiar about it all.

- On Maki’s end… she still isn’t actually sure if she can truly believe Shuichi is alive. That’s not really why she approached Kaito. She did it because she couldn’t stand seeing how much he’s suffering and how alone he feels with it.

- Really, she’s grimly expecting this whole mess will end with Kaito being forced to face the agonising truth that Shuichi really is gone – but she can’t bear the thought of him having to face that alone. She’s hoping that being there with him during the investigation and trial might mean he’ll be more willing to accept her support when the time comes.

- Obviously she can’t tell him that, though. He’s in a fragile and volatile enough state as it is, and she saw what he got like towards the end of Gonta’s trial. Telling him that she’s trying to help him at all is a bad move, never mind that she’s specifically trying to help him accept the truth that he’s still refusing to acknowledge could even be true.

- So, really, the only reason Maki’s saying she wants to believe in Shuichi being alive is because she knows it’s the only way she can approach Kaito right now without him pushing her away.

- Even so… it’s not a lie. Maki does want to believe Shuichi is alive. She doesn’t want to lose another friend. She’d never have bothered to say it if not to get Kaito to listen to her, because what she wants has never mattered next to the uncaring reality she’s always been stuck in, but… it’s true.

- And… it really does matter to Kaito, doesn’t it? Not only that he wants Shuichi to be alive, but also – he’s grinning at her and encouraging her every time she observes that something doesn’t necessarily indicate Shuichi’s dead, because her wanting Shuichi to be alive matters to him. And she can tell it’s not just in the sense of having someone agree with his desperate denial, either. Kaito really cares about the fact that she’s not giving up.

- So, while she’s determined to be there for Kaito if the worst does come to pass… maybe Maki really won’t give up on Shuichi, not just yet.

- It’s not exactly the reason she actually turned to him, but Kaito is helping her believe that the impossible could be possible all the same. He’s so good at that. It really would be nice if she could see Shuichi again and they could train together like before, all three of them, wouldn’t it?

- It’d hurt so bad if she turned out to be wrong, but – it’d hurt Kaito even more, and yet he’s still willing to take that risk. To him, that’s infinitely better than just giving up and accepting defeat from the start. Maybe it does make some kind of sense, in that ridiculous, reckless Kaito way, for her to hold onto what she wants and fight for it despite the whole world being against her.

- During the investigation, Kaito picks up a small handful of Truth Bullets based on Maki’s observations. But also, towards the end, despite still not having found anything conclusive pointing to Shuichi being alive, Kaito reaffirms in his head how definitely alive he is anyway and gains a final Truth Bullet called “Shuichi’s Survival”. It’s very clearly not actually based in any evidence and is just fuelled by Kaito’s desperate insistence that this is totally the truth, with a description something like, “Shuichi is alive somehow. He’s just gotta be.”

- Monokuma announces that the trial’s about to start and makes a pointed comment about how everyone has to be there. Maki observes that he’s talking about the unidentified survivor, and Kaito’s spirits lift. Shuichi’ll be there in the trial! Of course he will; why did Kaito never think of that before!? He’ll help everyone figure out this whole mess!

- (But… why isn’t Shuichi already showing up to help them, if he’s alive? That’s what he’d obviously do. Kokichi hiding from them makes perfect sense, but, not…)

- (But no, it’s fine. Shuichi’s gotta be alive and Kaito’s not gonna think about anything else.)

Class Trial

- Shuichi still isn’t there in the trial. Monokuma is hiding him behind the scenes, spouting some nonsense about a “unique opportunity” to keep things mysterious. Shuichi’s podium contains a death portrait with a question mark on it, which Kaito finds to be in incredibly bad taste when Monokuma knows full well that Shuichi is obviously alive, dammit.

- Things feel weird and wrong and kind of awkwardly aimless without Shuichi there to lead the discussion and know how to solve things. Still, Kaito does his best to keep everyone on the same page like he always does, and Maki isn’t doing a bad job at all of filling the gap left by Shuichi in terms of being the most logical voice in the room.

- In every single Nonstop Debate, “Shuichi’s Survival” is one of the available Truth Bullets. It is never the correct answer, of course – but if you fire it anyway, there’s specific failure dialogue for it in which Kaito desperately baselessly insists Shuichi must be alive somehow. The others – even sometimes Maki – respond in a way that indicates they’re gradually losing faith in Kaito’s ability to approach this rationally, which of course takes a chunk out of his Influence gauge.

The Exisal

- After a few minutes of inconclusive discussion over whether Shuichi’s sleeve being in the press proves he’s under there or not, Monokuma realises they aren’t getting anywhere interesting and decides to bring out the survivor to spice things up.

- Kaito is relieved that finally they’re gonna see Shuichi again and this trial can get back to feeling like normal. He definitely isn’t even a little bit terrified of any other possibility, because there is no other possibility.

- In walks not a person but an Exisal, and Kaito marvels that, man, Shuichi’s really going for style points here, huh—

- —and then everything falls apart as the Exisal speaks, taunting them in what is very unmistakably Kokichi’s voice.

- Kokichi is alive. And if that’s the case, then, doesn’t that mean… the victim has to be…?

- (And why does Kokichi have the gall to taunt them while referencing a Frank Sinatra song that Kaito happens to like? Geez, he can’t even sing it right, the annoying moron.)

- Kaito furiously demands for Kokichi to show his face and stop hiding like a coward (like a murderer, like the person who murdered Shuichi—)

- (…In amongst his desperate totally-not-deflecting fury, though, Kaito can’t help but also notice that there’s something weird about Kokichi here. Well, Kokichi’s always weird, but something about this is weird for Kokichi.)

- Exisal Kokichi claims that he can’t open the cockpit because “that horrible assassin over there” would kill him if he did. Scowling at hearing Maki called that, Kaito is sure she wouldn’t – but it does kinda make sense that Kokichi might assume she would and want to protect himself. He is the mastermind, after all. (Isn’t he?) Hiding like this is the kind of cowardly thing that fits Kokichi – and the mastermind – perfectly well. (That’s not the weird part, but something’s still definitely weird.)

- Wait, but… if he won’t show his face, they don’t know that it’s really Kokichi, right? Then maybe…! – but someone else points out that, even so, it’s obviously his voice coming from the Exisal.

- Kaito is stumped for a moment, until he suggests, utterly grasping at straws, that maybe… maybe the Exisal has like a voice changer or something???

- At this, Monokuma suddenly pipes up to confirm that, actually, Kaito is right on the money, the Exisals do in fact have voice changers!

- Everyone is rather bewildered that Monokuma would just offer that suspiciously-convenient information up so readily… but then again, Monokuma never lies about information for a case. So it must be true, then?

- Exisal Kokichi sighs and switches to Exisal Shuichi for a single line to tell them that, true, the Exisal does have a voice changer, but that alone isn’t enough evidence to prove or disprove anything about who’s inside it. Then he switches back to Kokichi and seems very gleeful about everyone’s reactions to hearing Shuichi’s voice – especially Kaito’s.

- Someone looks at Kaito and asks, even though he was right about the voice changer, is he really going to try and suggest that Shuichi is somehow in there and just pretending to be Kokichi for some reason?

- It does make way more sense that this was just Kokichi taking the opportunity to cruelly mess with them – but still. (And if it is Shuichi in there, why would he be deceiving them like this?)

- Kaito settles on the stance of “I dunno, I’m just saying it’s possible that Shuichi’s still alive, okay!?” because hell if he has any idea how to actually prove anything from this, but it’s something that he can hold onto.

- With that – with everyone else assuming this is still just Kaito being in denial – they all drop the voice changer subject, and Exisal Shuichi is never heard from again.

The video

- Apparently quite eager to move on from talking about the voice changer, Exisal Kokichi brings out the video to prove that it’s definitely him in here anyway.

- Kaito is, uh. Not Happy. at seeing the moment Shuichi was apparently horribly crushed to death. But even this, and even Exisal Kokichi asserting that the video couldn’t have been edited, is still no match for Kaito’s powers of desperate baseless optimism and never giving up no matter how impossible things seem.

- In the debate about the video, shooting “Shuichi’s Survival” gets not just failure dialogue but an entire back route in which Exisal Kokichi taunts Kaito about his denial and how gruesomely Shuichi was killed. This is much like the back route in canon, except instead of taunting that it’s hard to believe a “smug idiot like Kaito” got squished, Exisal Kokichi says it’s hard to believe that happened to an “invincible hero like Shuichi”. Oops, looks like he wasn’t so invincible after all! (Shuichi was probably rather bewildered when he saw himself described like this in the script.)

- (this version of the back route also has no nonsense like Kaito internally claiming his emotional reaction to this is a lie, because it sure freaking isn’t (just like it made no sense for Shuichi’s to be either, grumble))

- Of course, the actual way through this debate is pointing out the press’s safety function. When the others conclude that this just means Shuichi was killed beforehand, Kaito argues that, sure he’s not moving and it’s too far away to tell if he’s breathing or not, but Shuichi doesn’t look dead in the video before the press descends!!!

- Maki informs him that there are any number of ways Kokichi could have killed Shuichi such that it didn’t leave a mark on his body that would be visible in that video. She shrinks a little at Kaito’s betrayed look at her when she points this out. She’s just saying that it would have been possible and so his argument doesn’t prove anything, that’s all.

- Meanwhile, Kaito still can’t stop being hung up on the fact that Kokichi’s acting weird. Not in the sense that showing a video that apparently proves him guilty is weird – or, well, that too – but there’s something else, something about the way he’s talking, that Kaito can’t quite put his finger on.

- (Shuichi’s people-understanding skills aren’t as sharp as Kaito’s, and so his acting skills aren’t either. He’s doing his best, but the fact is that he’s just not quite as good at pretending to be Kokichi as Kaito is – and even Kaito wasn’t perfect at it. Meanwhile, Kaito’s people-reading skills are top-notch, albeit in a very intuitive way that doesn’t have any conscious reasoning behind it. So, without realising it, he’s starting to pick up on the ways in which Shuichi’s acting is just a little bit off.)

The other suspects

- Kaito insists that they can’t just give up and assume Shuichi is dead this easily, so he keeps pushing them to think of other possibilities. One thing that’s at least a little worth discussing – not that Kaito’s super happy about this either but it’s better than the alternative – is whether one of the five of them could be a suspect.

- Like in canon, Himiko still wandered towards the hangar and had a brief chat with Shuichi, although nothing much came of it (no crossbow delivery request). Keebo went there later to try in vain to talk Kokichi down. And, of course, Kaito also visited the hangar to talk to Shuichi that afternoon. So there’s a slight chance that one of the three of them could be the culprit.

- Perhaps someone (definitely not Maki, and especially not Exisal Kokichi) suggests the idea that, of those three, if it really was one of them, isn’t Kaito actually the most likely to have killed Shuichi? He’d had that whole falling out with him – so maybe he was still so angry with Shuichi about Gonta’s trial that things got out of hand?

- Kaito is horrified that it could even cross anyone’s mind that he’d ever do that to Shuichi, that he’d ever even still be angry at him after he’d calmed down from the lashing out during Gonta’s trial that he never should have done.

- (And wait, did they all think he was still angry at Shuichi in the following days, and that was why he couldn’t face him? Is that what Shuichi thought was going on and why he didn’t ever try to talk to Kaito? Geez, Kaito really messed up so bad with that whole thing, didn’t he.)

- Kaito asserts that obviously he’d never hurt Shuichi – and besides, when he went to the hangar yesterday to talk to Shuichi, he made up with him! Things are good between them now! (Emphasis on the present tense, of course.)

- This is the first Maki’s heard of this – Kaito wasn’t exactly in the mood to mention it until now and she didn’t want to ask. She makes sure Kaito knows that she’s glad to hear that; Kaito confirms it with a grin and probably apologises for worrying her with the whole thing and definitely isn’t at all thinking about how little this will end up meaning if Shuichi is actually dead. (Though Maki is relieved that, if Shuichi does turn out to be dead, at least this’ll make things a bit less painful for Kaito than they would have been if he hadn’t made up with him at all.)

- Exisal Kokichi is probably pretty quiet during this whole discussion, because I kinda doubt Kokichi would have predicted this topic and scripted any lines for it, and Shuichi very much does not trust himself to convincingly ad-lib about this.

- Kaito glances at the silent Exisal and muses that wouldn’t Kokichi normally be spouting some of his usual bullshit about how you can’t trust anyone right now? He was quite happy to jump on the idea that Kaito could have been the culprit last case. Huh. Huh.

- (Or, alternatively, maybe Kokichi did script something for this. In that case, either Shuichi decides that no he is not reciting that bit because it’s not worth it to hurt Kaito even more, or he does recite it and instead Kaito picks up on Exisal Kokichi sounding slightly off yet again.)

- Ultimately, whoever half-heartedly accused Kaito drops it. They didn’t even really want to think he did it and just suggested it because, well, it was Kaito who insisted they try to think of other possibilities. But in the end, there just isn’t any evidence that anyone except Shuichi and Kokichi ever went into the hangar itself.

Kaito is (not) fine

- At some point during the trial, Kaito would definitely end up coughing up blood. It’s late enough into his illness that this’d be a pretty frequent occurrence by now, and in a class trial situation, he’s forced to spend hours around everyone else without any chance to quickly go cough his guts out where they can’t see. He’d hold out for as long as he could, but at some point he wouldn’t be able to any more.

- Everyone else reacts with frantic concern – they knew he was still sick; he should have been letting them help him! – which Kaito desperately tries to brush off. They’re in the middle of a trial, dammit; they don’t have time to be worrying about him right now! This isn’t a big deal; he can handle it!

- …And, to be fair, he can. He’s been in so much pain this whole time and just carrying on like it’s nothing, because he has to, especially right now. They really unfortunately don’t have time to be giving Kaito medical treatment when Monokuma refuses to let anyone leave their podiums until the trial’s over. So Kaito’s just going to casually continue the trial with flecks of blood all over his shirt like it’s nothing while stubbornly ignoring the worried looks everyone keeps giving him.

- Exisal Kokichi joins in with this conversation to taunt Kaito about how pathetic he is and how much he’s been hiding from everyone. Because this would very definitely be something Kokichi predicted and put in the script.

- Shuichi was probably rather alarmed when he saw the “here’s how to react to Kaito coughing up blood” section in the script last night. Part of him was hoping this was Kokichi exaggerating to mess with him, but, nope, he had to use it after all.

- Even so, seeing Kaito in so much pain, realising that he really has still been so sick this whole time, makes Shuichi desperately worried enough that it’s rather hard to put on the Kokichi act and pretend to be callously gleeful about the whole thing.

- And… Kaito notices. Even through his pain, he can tell that there’s something really obviously off about the way Kokichi’s taunting him. It’s not the words – the phrasing is still exactly like Kokichi. And of course it’s still technically Kokichi’s voice. But the intonation just sounds all wrong.

- This isn’t how Kokichi would say this stuff at all. Heck, it’s never sounded quite like him this entire time – but this time stands out even more than the rest. Kaito still can’t put his finger on why not; he just has a hunch.

- (The others haven’t noticed anything at all. Maybe they’re too busy worrying about him to see, or maybe they just aren’t as good at picking up on this kind of thing.)

- Kaito’s sure of it now. That’s not Kokichi in there.

- And if it’s not Kokichi, there’s only one person it could be…!

- In that instant, “Shuichi’s Survival” gets updated in the Monopad. The description of it now reads, “Shuichi’s definitely alive! It’s him inside that Exisal! I’m positive!”

- Kaito has no freaking clue how this could be possible, but that doesn’t matter, because he knows he’s onto something here. His hunches are never wrong.

- He hasn’t said a word about this to anyone else, though. No matter how much he knows he’s right, hunches aren’t evidence in a class trial. They wouldn’t listen; they’d just assume it’s baseless wishful thinking. Which, to be fair, it really kind of was up until now – but not any more.

- (The others don’t even seem to have noticed him having this revelation, either, probably because it happened while he was still doubled over in pain from his coughing fit and they were too focused on worrying about that.)

The truth

- Kaito almost tells them that he’s sure Shuichi is alive anyway, if only for Maki’s sake – he was trying to help her believe this, and surely at least she would trust his judgement?

- But he doesn’t quite yet. Something tells him he needs to figure this out better before he goes blurting anything out. It’s definitely Shuichi in there, but, never mind the how of it – why?

- If Shuichi’s in that Exisal, not only is he alive, but he wants them to think he’s Kokichi. He wants them to think that Kokichi killed him. Why the hell?

- And, wait, if Kokichi having killed Shuichi isn’t the truth (and Kaito finally genuinely believes that it isn’t and is no longer just desperately running away from that apparent fact), then, doesn’t that mean that Shuichi killed Kokichi?

- The only other option would be that Shuichi is trying to protect the real person who killed Kokichi – that might make some kind of sense – but Kaito’s also sure at this point in the trial that nobody else in the room is hiding anything.

- The only one who’s hiding something is Shuichi. The only one who makes any sense as the culprit in this case is Shuichi, and he’s trying to get away with it.

- At this point, Kaito is having an outwardly horrified enough reaction that Maki does notice that he’s realised something bad, and she asks him what’s wrong. (Completely oblivious to what he’s thinking about, she’s starting to worry that this is reaching the point where Kaito begins to face the painful reality that Shuichi really is gone.)

- Kaito brushes her off and insists it’s nothing important. His stomach just still hurts pretty bad, that’s all. (Which, to be fair, isn’t exactly a lie.)

- He can’t tell her yet; it doesn’t make sense yet.

- Shuichi would never be trying to get away with his crime and get everyone killed; that’s just not possible. The only reason he’d ever want to do that might be something like the reason Gonta had, but that’s not relevant now they’ve all seen the outside (which is still definitely not the truth) anyway.

- Hell, Shuichi wouldn’t even kill someone without a very, very good reason. Not even Kokichi, the mastermind, because he’d never want to repeat Kaede’s mistake.

- (Though, wait, if Kokichi’s really the victim and the game’s still going, is he even actually the mastermind? …Whatever; that doesn’t matter right now.)

- Kaede, Kirumi and Gonta all killed someone, too – but that never meant that Kaito was wrong to believe in them. They were still exactly the people he always knew they were. They only killed because they had reasons Kaito couldn’t have known at the time that made them genuinely believe they were doing it to save everyone.

- So that has to be why Shuichi’s doing this, too. Kaito has no idea how, but it has to be. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.

- The others were mistaken or misguided in their belief that this would save everyone, but… if anyone would ever be right about it, surely it’d be Shuichi? He’s always known what to do. He’s always known how to save everyone.

- Kaito believes in Shuichi, more than anything. Not just that he’s a good person even despite being a murderer, but that he’s an amazing hero who’s going to save them all. Kaito doesn’t have a clue why or how Shuichi pretending to be Kokichi and convincing them all Kokichi is the blackened is going to save everyone – but he doesn’t need to. If Shuichi wants this to happen, that’s what’s gotta happen.

- Everything makes sense now – at least, as much as Kaito needs it to – but he’s still not going to tell Maki what he’s realised. He can’t.

- (He won’t let Shuichi down again. Not this time.)

The lie

- During Kaito’s big internal epiphany, the others have been continuing the discussion, but they haven’t exactly been getting anywhere. There’s just so little to talk about.

- Exisal Kokichi has kept chipping in to taunt them about how ambiguous everything is; maybe he did it, maybe he didn’t, you idiots don’t have a clue! – and Kaito can tell now, now that he knows and is looking out for it, that every single word of this is clearly not the real Kokichi.

- Part of the reason the trial has ground to a halt is because Kaito’s been so quiet. Despite his lack of conclusive arguments, he’s still been one of the biggest driving forces of the discussion this whole time. So Maki prods him to speak up again, asking him what he’s been thinking about.

- (Some tiny part of her is hoping that he’s somehow figured out some impossible Kaito miracle that proves Shuichi really is alive. But… he hasn’t, has he? That was always too much to hope for. It makes far more sense that his silence is just because he can no longer deny the inescapable truth of Shuichi’s death and doesn’t know how to cope with it. So really, this is her trying to gently coax him into facing it at last.)

- With Kaito still silent, things suddenly shift into a Nonstop Debate. Everyone prompts Kaito to say something, explaining that they still haven’t been getting anywhere without him and asking if he has any more ideas. The debate rounds out with Exisal Kokichi, taunting that of course Kaito doesn’t have a clue; he needs to just face reality already, because there’s not a single shred of conclusive proof that Shuichi’s even alive!

- Both of those bolded statements are agree spots. The correct way through this debate is to take “Shuichi’s Survival”, turn it into a Lie Bullet, and fire “Shuichi’s Death” at Exisal Kokichi’s statement.

- There… there really isn’t, is there? Everyone’s been working so hard to try and prove it this whole time, but… they’ve found nothing. And he can’t think of a damn thing either, despite how badly he wants to believe it. Damn it… does that… does that really mean…?

- …It isn’t even that hard for Kaito to act out his reaction to finally accepting Shuichi’s death. We know he’s a good actor when he needs to be – and here, he’d be playing himself, in a state of mind that he’s been this close to genuinely falling into for the past several hours. His act is very convincing, and nobody else in the room is a good enough people-reader to see through it.

- Even Maki completely buys it. While she’s been trying to hope for a better outcome, this whole time she’s still been expecting that this is how things would end for Kaito. This is what she always assumed his long silence was about. Rather than question it, or try to be the one to encourage him not to give up, Maki just wants to support him through it.

- She reaches out to him, telling him that she’s so sorry, that she hates it too, that she’s here for him. Kaito just mumbles something about how they don’t have time to worry about him now when they still need to finish the trial.

- (Kaito’s not sure he could quite convincingly act out actively grieving for someone he knows isn’t actually dead, so he’s trying to make it look like he’s basically accepted it but is putting off the grieving part until the trial’s over. That’s something that a lot of people have been doing in this killing game, so it’s a pretty convincing lie to tell.)

- But there’s one person who doesn’t buy it: Shuichi. It’s not that he can tell that Kaito’s acting is fake – it’s that he can’t believe that Kaito would ever, ever just give up on him like this without seeing absolutely conclusive proof that he’s dead. It’s easier for Maki to accept that, because giving up is so instinctive to her that she doesn’t quite grasp how completely impossible it is for Kaito – but Shuichi is certain that Kaito never, ever would.

- So in this moment, it hits him all at once – Kaito knows. He’s putting on an act to help Shuichi succeed, even though he can’t possibly understand why Shuichi would even want them to get it wrong when that’d usually get them all killed. Kaito really does believe in him that much, huh?

- (did you know: they are FRIENDS.)

- Despite Kaito saying they need to finish the trial, there really isn’t much else left to do. Without being able to discuss the idea that Shuichi could be alive, what happened really does seem obvious. Kaito – the fake Kaito who’s accepted Shuichi’s death – still believes in everyone else enough to be sure that none of them would have ever wanted to kill Shuichi, so there’s only one possible culprit. Kokichi must have killed him to make them all suffer, just like they thought from the start.

- Possibly some of the others muse that it’s still weird that Kokichi being the culprit is so obvious an answer. In a quick ad-lib, Kaito claims that Kokichi figured they’d be so utterly lost without Shuichi that he wouldn’t even need to bother hiding his crime to get away with it. But Kokichi underestimated them! There’s still plenty they can do if they work together! He killed Shuichi to try and make them fall apart and suspect each other, but they’ll show him that they’re not gonna let that happen! Which still is very convincingly Kaito, trying to keep a positive outlook and encourage everyone else despite being the one in the most pain himself.

- It crosses Kaito’s mind, now that he’s no longer in desperate denial over Shuichi being possibly dead, that killing someone just to make everyone suffer doesn’t even really make sense to him as something Kokichi would do, actually – but of course he stays quiet about it. He sticks to some very convincing fake glares at the Exisal, knowing full well that he’s actually glaring at a Shuichi who is currently being the most awesome.

- There are probably scripted reactions to Kaito accepting that Kokichi totally killed Shuichi. Shuichi’s recital of them might just be off in such a way that Kaito starts to suspect that Shuichi has realised he knows. That’s okay, though, so long as they can both keep up the act for everyone else. Even though they can’t directly communicate at all, even though Kaito doesn’t even understand why Shuichi’s doing this, they’re a team.

The reveal

- Ultimately, despite Monokuma asking them more times than usual if they’re really sure they’re decided on the culprit, not much more of note happens before they go to the vote.

- Everyone is a little surprised to see that even Kokichi voted for himself. Except Kaito, who claims that Kokichi had just seen how they’d all beaten him and given up! …Which, of course, is not at all the reason Kaito is not surprised.

- They turn to Monokuma to wait for him to announce the blackened. This has to be it, right here – the moment Shuichi blows everyone away with whatever awesome plan he’s been fighting for this whole time.

- (…right?)

- After a longer-than-usual post-voting pause as Monokuma just stares at the still-silent and unmoving Exisal…

- “You’re absolutely right! The blackened in this case is Kokichi Oma!” – and Kaito’s heart stops—

- …only to start again a second later as he hears a gloriously familiar “No, that’s wrong!”

- Everyone stares in disbelief as Shuichi emerges from the Exisal. Except Kaito, who can’t help but blurt out “I knew it!” in triumphant relief, causing everyone else’s bewildered stares to shift from Shuichi to him.

- Shuichi, of course, isn’t bewildered at all. As his protagonist status switches back on, the first thought we hear from him for half a chapter is, Thank you for believing in me, Kaito… He goes on to recap – since the players weren’t in his head at the time – that the moment Kaito started lying was the moment he realised Kaito knew, because there was no way Kaito would ever have truly given up on him like that.

- Along with apologising for deceiving and hurting everyone, Shuichi immediately confirms that yes, he did kill Kokichi, and not to worry, none of them are going to be executed for this.

- Kaito’s first proper words to Shuichi are that, geez don’t scare him like that again, and man he is gonna need one hell of an explanation for all this – but damn, whatever Shuichi just did, that was awesome. Nothing less from his sidekick!

- Maki puts in that, while she really needs to hear an explanation too – including from Kaito for that matter… she’s glad Shuichi’s alive. Kaito beams at her. He’s so proud of her for trying to believe in it the whole time. They are friends.

- So Shuichi goes into a lengthy explanation of the hows and whys of the plan, interspersed with Kaito explaining why he hid the fact that he’d figured it out.

- Shuichi is generally very modest about his part in the plan; after all, Kokichi thought up the whole thing and even gave him this script to follow, so Shuichi was basically just following instructions the whole time.

- Kaito’s having none of that. Sure, it was Kokichi’s plan, which Kaito begrudgingly admits was pretty clever, but Kokichi got himself killed and took the coward’s way out before it’d even really begun to unfold. Shuichi was the one who took on the burden and did all the hardest parts, all by himself. Kaito can’t even imagine how tough it must have been to deceive them all and act like Kokichi that whole time, knowing that if he messed up, he’d end up being executed – or worse, everyone else would.

- Shuichi doesn’t think he even did that good of a job at it, though – after all, Kaito saw through it, didn’t he? It’s only because Kaito believed in him that things still worked out. And Kaito’s act, once he started putting it on, was way better and more convincing, so… (He trails off there, realising that what he was about to say is… not exactly a compliment in some ways.)

- Picking up on what Shuichi almost said, Kaito comments that nah, no way Kokichi would have picked him for the plan. Maybe he could have put on that act too (not that Kaito really wants to think about what that would have been like, never mind the murder part), but with Shuichi there like normal in the trial, he’d have been able to unravel the whole thing in no time! Sure, Kokichi’s plan was pretty clever – but the smartest thing he did was realise how amazing Shuichi was and rope him into it rather than anybody else.

To be continued…?

- With the explanations over and Monokuma squirming in his seat, it becomes clear that he really does have no right to execute anyone. Nobody dies at the end of this trial!

- And I mean nobody. I know what you’re thinking – Kaito should be doomed to die here from his illness anyway – but, remember back in the Daily Life? How the group didn’t mope around in despair for a whole day thanks to Kaito being up and about? That means this entire case and trial happened one day sooner than it did in canon. Which wouldn’t usually affect anything – except it makes all the difference for Kaito. This means his illness won’t kill him at the end of this trial after all. He has one more day left to live.

- I’d assume that Monokuma wouldn’t just immediately let them go free simply because he broke the rules – where’d be the entertainment value in that? Instead, I imagine he might pull basically the same thing as in chapter 6 of DR1: allow them to investigate everywhere in the Academy and challenge them to solve the whole mystery of the place.

- So we’d basically enter the same situation as the canon chapter 6 of this game, without any need for Keebo to lose his inner voice and fight the Exisals (in fact, we wouldn’t need to see the Monokubs again at all, woohoo). And with the much more important difference that Kaito is still here.

- The investigation for trial 6 would happen in the afternoon rather than overnight, because this trial 5 was a lot shorter than in canon, and nobody needed to take a few hours off to grieve. With that plus Kaito having that extra day, maybe that’d be just enough once they escape to get him to a hospital in time to save him. Maybe.

- (I mean, logically speaking, it’s got to be, because in this AU, Kaito doesn’t go to space at the end of this trial. So obviously he has to survive this, because he can’t die before he’s gone to space! That’s just an Unshakeable Kaito Fact.)

As for chapter 6 with Kaito still alive? That’s a topic for maybe another AU post sometime, since there’s other possible ways that outcome could be reached as well.

(When I get around to making that post, I’ll put a link to it here, so if you’re reading this note, I haven’t done so yet. I still intend to sometime, though!)

#danganronpa v3 #danganronpa v3 spoilers #kaito momota #shuichi saihara #maki harukawa #friends #training trio #v3 aus #kaito's hero issues #writing #blood

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cregla · 3 years ago

Text

DREAM SMP UNDERTALE!AU

The previous parts can be found at the end of the post.

ONCE AGAIN:

Ranboo goes back, far back in time, to the Ruins. The ghost boy is finally there, looking extremely worried and upset, towering over him and the allium flowers that had held back Ranboo's fall the first time too. Dream is nowhere to be seen. Before Techno can arrive, Ranboo and the ghost boy talk - as even the ghost asks why he didn't leave and what happened in the final battle. Ranboo explains that someone had answered his call and freed the SIX SOULS of the other players to rescue him, and asks if it was him the one who did it - but the ghost boy denies it. Ranboo continues to be confused, and finally guesses that it had been the other presence who apparently is still following him in the shadows. When Techno arrives, Ranboo does everything he did the first time, and lets himself be escorted home innocently. Here, he spends even more time trying to bond with Techno. He helps him feed the animals, teaches him the Enderman language so he can communicate with his "roommate" Edward, they train together. When Ranboo leaves it hurts more, it almost sounds like betrayal instead of goodbye, but the time they spent together is more meaningful this time around. Ranboo explores the ruins, talks to the inhabitants, does good deeds. Techno still gives him the axe of peace. Ranboo still leaves the ruins behind. Dream is still nowhere to be seen. When Ranboo meets Karl again, he is tempted to ask him if he remembers everything: after all, Karl looks at him as if he does, or at least it seems like he knows him a bit. However the other just introduces himself again, as if nothing has happened. Again he warns him of the danger posed by his fiancées. Again Ranboo meets Sapnap and Quackity, is chased, threatened, almost defeated. Again he saves their lives before continuing on. This time, Karl does not warn him against a "Dream". There is no need. Ranboo visits the Hotlands, meets Puffy, gets escorted by her. Again he and the ghost boy run away from the Royal Guards, meet Sam, confront him. Again Sam spares Ranboo. Again, Sapnap and Quackity follow his example. Fundy tries to deceive him, Jack and Niki try to kill him. Their true plan is revealed, Ghostbur intervenes again, the three apologize and offer to really show him the way to the capital. This time, Ranbo hesitates. He wants to spend more time with the friends he made, he says. He wants to go back and get to know the Underground better before he leaves it forever.

And so, for now, he stays.

THE UNDERGROUND AND THE DREAM SMP:

It starts slowly, and happily. Ranboo explores. He speaks with all Snowchester's citizens, tours every single corner of the Badlands, of the Greater Land. The Royal Guards accompany him, scared that someone could try to kill Ranboo or bring him to the King, and the Ranboo gets to know all of them more. What they like to eat, their favorite places, their hobbies, their hopes and dreams. They introduce him to their pets, they talk about their family. It’s like if they have never, ever been enemies.

As Ranboo reaches the ruins of the “Community House”, he asks them what happened here – and this time, when Sapnap, Puffy and Sam arrive, they are ready to speak about the past that torments them. They tell him about the three Players who had fallen in the Underground a long time ago, before the Hunt, before Sam was even the Warden, when there was another King and the SMP was in peace. About how two of the children were adopted by the now King Philza, at the time Captain of the Guards, but “Clay”, who was instead an adult, decided to find himself a new home instead. That he met Sapnap and the two became best friends immediately. They formed a very close group: him, Sapnap, Sam, Puffy, Bad, and their other friends – George, Callahan, Alyssa and Ponk. They were inseparable, especially Sapnap, Clay and George. Then, one day, Clay got sick, and no matter what they tried no one could help him. He died, and then Philza’s children died too, and the Underground fell into chaos. As the new laws regarding hunting Players were passed, the group started to fight. George was the most vocal about not wanting to go along this “crazy idea”, remembering well how their friend had been from the surface, like those they wanted to kill, and didn’t want to stay to witness the Hunt, to stay where everything reminded him of Clay – some, like Callahan, Alyssa and Ponk, agreed with him. Puffy and Bad did too, but they didn’t want to leave their houses, the people they were close with – Bad had found Skeppy and Ant, and Puffy decided right there that she would stay behind so she could help the players who would fall in the future, instead of just running away. Sapnap and Sam had people here too (for example, Sapnap had just met Quackity), but mostly the two were filled with rage and grief. As those who wanted to stay believed that one day, they would either all agree with each other, or stopped fighting, George suddenly burned down the Community House where they had all lived, then ran away with Alyssa, Ponk and Callahan without telling anyone about it, leaving all of them behind. Sapnap confesses to Ranboo that he had been so angry about their decision for so long, feeling as if them, just like Clay, had left him behind, but now he was just sad, wanting his friend back and this whole situation to stop. He realizes now that George was right, seeing as Ranboo was good and innocent and that it wasn’t his fault that Clay and the others had died. Ranboo asks Sapnap if he wants him to help go search for his friend, but Sapnap refuses, saying that it’s something he has to do by “himself” or, at least, with Sam, Puffy and Bad. Puffy, Bad and Sam talk about the past too. How they all feel guilty for having let their family run away, but at the same time, they can’t stop being happy for what they have right now. Puffy introduces Ranboo to her adopted child, Michelle, confess to him how she and Niki may have something going on, tells stories about what she does when she’s not on guard, how she’s always trying to help people – when actually, the first people that needed help and support was herself, and that she’s glad that she has found that support in the rest of the Royal Guard now that they’re not enemies anymore. Bad confess how hunting players was something that he always knew was bad, but that he felt it was “the only option left” to keep what he still had left safe – he was too scared about what could have happened to his friends, to Skeppy, to the rest of the Underground, as not all those who have fallen down had approached the situation in Ranboo’s pacific way – he had to be the “evil” one to obtain what he wanted, because otherwise, he would have been useless. Except he is not, and never was, and both Ranboo, and Skeppy, and Ant and all the others actually show him that. Sam feels guilty for the incident, too. As apprentice to the Captain of the Guards, he had spent lots of time in the castle – and had met the two children who had fallen down, Tubbo and Tommy, bonding particularly with the latter one. He had been on guard when Wilbur had

taken Clay to the Barrier, and had been on guard when Tommy and Tubbo had managed, no one knows how, to follow him. He had actually witnessed their death with his own eyes. He had never felt that the Players were their enemies, he knew very well that what they were doing wasn’t good. However, he had believed it to be a necessary sacrifice – as in, if the Barrier hadn’t been active that day, Sam could have followed the kids and stopped them. To pull down the Barrier would have meant to confront the Players that had exiled them – and hopefully either start a new era of peace, or forcefully convince them to accept the Dream SMP, meaning that an incident like that would never happen again. But no matter what the intentions were, if they were good or not, murder is still murder – and Sam has realized it with Ranboo. He says to the boy that, had he known what was going to happen and what would he have become, he would have run away with Ponk – who had been disappointed in him, and had tried to convince him to join them in their journey – instead of staying, but that if that has led him to meet Ranboo, then he can accept it and start making amends.

As Ranboo leaves the ruins of the Community House, he meets Karl once again, who invites him to have a drink with him. After making small talks for a little bit, Karl tells a story that, he confesses, he has never told anyone else on the server. He tells him that he had met Sapnap and Quackity when the Hunt had already begun and, at the time, he hadn’t actually cared at all if the players would live or die. Actually, he had wanted to support Sapnap and Quackity in their job. Why wouldn’t he? Until one day, while he was walking around this area, he met a boy – a young man, watching the ruins as if he was mourning for them. When the stranger had noticed Karl, he had panicked, threatening him and asking him to not tell anyone that he saw him – until the man, apparently, had recognized the sweater he was wearing at that moment, something that he had stolen from Sapnap’s closet, and Karl had recognized him from a photo that his fiancé still kept, although hidden. Calmed down, and reassured by Karl’s promise that he wouldn’t tell anyone that he had met him, the stranger had started to open up with the boy, telling him how he would, sometimes, travel back to the SMP to look after his old friends, even from far afar and how, every single time, he had tried to help, from the shadows, the new players who would fell in the SMP. But he was tired. No matter what he’d do, the players would all try to leave, and they would die, and his friends would never go back to what they were before. His other companions were waiting for him, and he didn’t want to come back anymore. Not when this place would hold so many memories. Karl convinced him to come back, once, twice, thrice. He would keep his promise, and they would sit beside the ruins of the Community Center, and they would talk. They became friends. Until one day, the man told him that that was the last time he would go back – and he asked him for a favor. "If another player ever comes to the Underground, can you promise me one thing?" And Karl had promised – promised to be the one to protect players who would fall in the Underground and wandered around the SMP. That was the only reason why Ranboo is even alive – the only reason why Karl hadn’t killed him on the spot when he had met him. Karl reassures him that he's going to talk to Sapnap and Quackity – now that Sapnap has decided to go find his old friends, it’s just the right thing to do. Then, before leaving, he briefly mentions that while this is definitely the first time the two have had this conversation, it's not the first time Ranboo embarks on this journey into the Underground - hinting once again that he knows very well that Ranboo has the power of reset.

While traveling around the Greater SMP, Jack and Niki decide to escort Ranboo once again – this time, with no intention of killing him. They say they are sorry so many times, but it’s only when they are alone – one on one, first with Jack and then with Niki, that Ranboo can understand why they did what they did. For Jack, it wasn’t as personal as for Niki. He had known the fallen players, sure, had been friends with them and even had a bit of a rivalry with Tommy, but he hadn’t actually believed them to have been responsible for the incident, nor that other players like Ranboo could destroy them. Mostly, it had been inferiority. Jack, after many days of hesitating, manages to confess that he had always felt invisible in the Underground – no matter how close was with someone, no matter what he would do, people would just… overlook him. To hunt for other players, to go along Niki and their little schemes, it was like feeling important for the very first time – and, as years passed, he forgot about why he did it in the first place.

Niki was a close friend of Wilbur, since they were children. She had loved him like a best friend, even a brother, for so long, and then one day – the outside world had taken him away from her. Killed him, because he had been so kind and had wanted to bring Clay back to his hometown to bury him. In her heart, she blamed all of them – the Players who had killed him, Clay for having that final wish, and even Tommy and Tubbo, for she believed that maybe, hadn’t they followed Wilbur outside, he would have protected himself and survived instead of being injured to protect them. For years and years, her hate had blinded her – until now. And now, she realizes that the fault of Wilbur’s death rests only on the shoulders of his murderers: not on Clay’s, not on Tommy’s or Tubbo’s, and not on every single other player like Ranboo, who weren’t even involved. For the first time in forever, she feels… not at peace, no. That is a trauma that will never pass. But better, yes… better. As they both, once again, say sorry, they tell Ranboo to talk with Fundy regarding Wilbur – as he’s the one who has suffered more for his loss. He was, after all, his father.

Finding Fundy at home, the boy is actually a bit wary and initially doesn’t want to share his feelings regarding the situation – but as time passes, he actually starts to talk about the past, about his father. Fundy had been young, very young, when the first Players fell to the Underground, when those who would become his adoptive uncles came. At the time, he had been the child of the family, and Wilbur, his father had… well, treated him as a child. Overprotective, overbearing, affectionate – at the time, Fundy had started to hate it, because he had wanted to be seen as an “adult” (even if he wasn’t), a grown-up. He had started rejecting Wilbur’s affection until one day, he had died. And Fundy had never seen him, or his uncles, again. Left alone with a grandfather who immediately started his rampage against the players of the surface, who cared but not enough, and with friends of his father who either were angry, suffering, or left. And he had tried, at first – he met another player, and really tried to help, by hiding them from his grandpa. He had started looking at the player as another parental figure, a player who had promised to stay – until she hadn’t, and had run away to try to escape the Underground and died. Leaving him too. Betraying him, by trying to get his grandfather’s soul to use it on the Barrier. So really, what was the point? Players would only leave you behind, would only take everything you love away – why wouldn’t Fundy tried to help try to gain the attention of his grandfather, instead of helping strangers who deserved their fate? But he had been wrong, he knows now, and he still begs Ranboo to stay – to not go to L’Manberg, to not follow in the path of the others players – but he also knows that he can’t stop him from trying to get home. As Ranboo’s leaving the house, Ghostbur arrives to say hi to Fundy. At Ranboo’s confusion regarding Ghostbur’s existence (as in, everyone has said that they don’t know why Wilbur, and only Wilbur, came back as a ghost – and so different from how he was when he lived), Fundy seems to feel guilt, and after hesitating he decides to “confess” the truth to Ranboo – by asking him to follow him to a weird, now abandoned structure – the Manberg’s Laboratory.

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